My Approach

I am a practicing Episcopalian Christian. After growing up in Holiness Pentacostal churches in the USAmerican Deep South, I have studied religions and spirituality in multiple Protestant and Catholic settings. My own prayer practices involve use of the Book of Common Prayer, yoga, silence, mindfulness, icons, running, time spent in nature, and attention to breath.

MY APPROACH TO SPIRITUAL DIRECTION / COMPANIONSHIP

I work to maintain a network of trustworthy practitioners to whom I can refer. This includes mental health counselors, pastors, other spiritual directors, coaches, yoga instructors, and vocational mentors.

DEEP LISTENING

The gift of Spiritual Direction is that you are offering yourself the space to really listen to your own life. As your companion in this work, my role is to listen deeply with you and offer back my experiences of curiousity, wonder, grief, and joy as a compassionate witness to the stories that you share.

HONORING THE SACRED

I consider this holy work. As we enter the sacred territory of your relationship with yourself and God, my work is to honor your experience and invite you to deeper awareness of places for growth and reflection.

As your companion in this work, the direction that I provide is to draw your attention to your own life, stories, breath, and spiritual practices to help you discern your own path of growth.

DISCERNING DIRECTIONS

I approach our work together with gratitude. It is a privilege to join you in listening to the places where your soul has felt awake, and to walk beside you as you re-imagine the areas where life has invited you to become something less than fully alive. I believe that each person's life unfolds in a pattern that cannot be completely understood until that life is through. Andwe get to know the world through our bodies, relationships, and stories that shape us along the way.

When you slow down, breathe, and reflect on the shape of your soul, that's where the strength and deep connection comes from that allows you to take the next step into growing wholeness as well as inner life that is profoundly renewed.

I root my work in the spiritual practices and tradtions of several traditions because I believe, as the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins wrote, "The world is charged with the Grandeur of God." I'm informed by literature, world religions, contemporary poets, psychological theory, neuroscience, and a variety of approaches to meditation, mindfulness, and prayer. I focus on helping connect people to the places they feel alive and deeply whole within body and soul.

I also believe that growth comes through facing and honoring our deep desires and grief by naming them and bringing them into the center of our relationship with God. I work with you to identify the deep stories that shape your perceptions of God, yourself, and the world. And I journey alongside you to help you to engage those stories and develop spiritual practices to sustain you in the growth and authenticity you desire.

I'm interested in the arts, the integration of body and breath into prayer and spiritual practices, and spirituality that integrates our whole lives with the living ecosystems in which we live. I focus on building practices of spirituality and self-care to support vocational resilience.

In addition to one-on-one Spiritual Direction, I also offer classes for artists and writers focused on stewarding the creative process.

I am available for teaching classes in schools, religious communities, and organizations seeking to integrate spirituality and self-care into creative work. CV available upon request.

Contact me for public speaking on related topics including:

LGBTIQA Inclusion in faith communities
Spirituality and the arts
Process focused creative practice
Play, Imagination, and Desire in Spiritual Formation
Conversations on Religion and Sexuality

I've lectured in Theology and Prayer as well as teaching a number of classes and workshops on writing process and creativity. In addition, I regularly participate in leading liturgical and formational programs for adults and children. I have served on a number of discernment committees for people seeking ordination for ministry.

I have served on the board of multiple non-profits and currently serve on the board of Underhill House, a drop-in prayer, listening, and meditation center in Seattle for people of all faiths.

I occassionally blog on topics including cultural happenings, spirituality, and Queer Theology at www.didwell.wordpress.com.

I also work as the Alumni Programs Coordinator at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, creating co-curricular programming for spiritual and vocational formation.

Education:

Doctor of Ministry Candidate

Concentrations in Spiritual Direction and

Pastoral Leadership

Seattle University, 2017 (projected)

Master of Divinity

The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology

Internship with Sustainable Belltown Rooftop Agriculture Project

2010

B.A. Theological Studies / English Literature

Minor in Anthropology

Study Abroad in Trinidad and Tobago and Ecuador, studying world religions, literature, and liberation theology

Lee University, 2007

Religious Background and Practice

Referral Network

Experience and Education

Additional Services Offered

TOGETHER, WE HOLD SPACE

TO LISTEN TO

YOUR LIFE

More About Me:

Interests and Areas of Focus

As a gay man who grew up in non-affirming communities, I personally and professionally work to support the spiritual journeys of other Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Questioning, and Asexual people. For me, that journey has led me to remain in the Christian faith, while for many there is too much harm within their story to remain in their faith community.

I seek to support all spiritual journeys of LGBTIQA people. I also work with families and faith communities who seek to love well and grow in their capacity to support the spiritual well-being and inclusion of their LGBTIQA members.

Inclusion of LGBTIQA people in religious communities