Spiritual Directors and Soul Friends Directory
See below a list of people directly connected with the 24-7 Prayer movement who offer Spiritial Direction or Soul Friendship. You can also review the Sustainable Faith lists for Europe and Canada and the USA to find the right spiritual companion for you.
Sam Willis (UK)
Sam lives in Luton with his wife and son (with a second on the way). Growing up in Watford in a small charismatic church, he has since discovered contemplative spirituality through meditation practices, visits to the Taize community in France as well as joining and in and facilitating prayer sessions in City Life Church Luton. He enjoys reading, running, trying to garden, being a tickle monster (for his son, not unannounced in social situations) and anything that involves socialising. He works as a community worker and as a volunteer coordinator for Luton Council’s Parks Services.
Lucie Shuker, OMS (UK)
Lucie lives in Luton, where she is part of a 24-7 prayer community and a member of the Order of the Mustard Seed. She encountered contemplative spirituality nearly ten years ago during a week of guided prayer, and loves to create space for people to notice what is happening in their life, and what God might be up to in the everyday. Lucie has been offering spiritual accompaniment in the Ignatian tradition since completing training by the Jesuits in Britain in 2016. In her day job Lucie leads the Youthscape Centre for Research, and is also involved in church leadership, inter-faith work to address child sexual exploitation and ‘researching’ the local chicken and chip shops.
Jennie Pennant (UK)
Retirement has brought the gift of time to develop a long-held vocation in offering Spiritual Direction.
For me, this builds on my skills and sense of self developed through a varied and stimulating professional life in both secular and church settings.
As I approach the midpoint in my three years of Spiritual Direction training, it is a joy to be able to offer to accompany another on their unique spiritual journey.
My experience of life to date has been a mix of mountains and valleys, joys and deep challenges and learning (sometimes slowly and painfully) to find God in them all.
My desire is to offer the hospitality of listening, to create a space for you to reflect on your journey and to support you to find God in all things, in line with the Ignatian tradition.
Outside of this, joys for me are often found in hill walking, being by the sea, sunsets, gardening, family and grandchildren
If you feel prompted to explore the possibility of walking together for a while do contact me.
Brenda Stephenson (Canada)
Brenda lives in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada, although she grew up and worked as a psychotherapist in South Africa. She moved to Canada in 2001 to teach in a small university college but discovered that spiritual direction is where her heart lies. She received training at the Haden Institute, Niagara Falls and has been in this ministry for the past 16 years.Brenda loves to bear witness to the soul transformation of people who listen closely to God’s invitation in their lives. She is drawn to the contemplative life and to live a more intentional and slow life. She loves taking walks with her dog, Sophia and noticing the seasonal changes in the natural world.
Andy Groen, OMS (M Div) (Canada)
Andy serves as the Director of the Greater Ontario House of Prayer (GOHOP). Andy trained as a spiritual director in Tyndale Seminary’s Spiritual Formation program. Drawing from many different traditions – a “contemplative charismacademic” – he pursues, with other, answers to these kinds of questions: How does one become more like Christ? What kind of practices (spiritual disciplines) are helpful in that quest? How do we rid ourselves of the things that hinder us in this journey? Andy is married to Gwendolen and they and their five young children live in Hamilton, ON. He loves hiking, reading, cycling and a good game of chess.
Peter Giokas, OMS (M.T.S., M Div) (Canada)
Peter started his career as a Child and Youth worker. He then worked at Mission Services of Hamilton for many years in a variety of leadership roles. Ordained with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, Peter later pastored a church in East Hamilton for several years. While a core member of the Greater Ontario House of Prayer community (GOHOP), he studied spiritual direction with the Emmaus Formation Centre and as a spiritual director he finds delight in seeing people recognize and respond to the Spirit as He draws them into deeper faith, greater freedom and fullness of life. Peter has three grown sons and one grandson and loves being married to Sandy. He is a student of old and new monasticism and is a member of the Order of the Mustard Seed, having served as the Candidate Overseer.
Doug Horst, OMS (Canada)
Doug lives in Hamilton, Canada with his beautiful wife Stephanie and has great joy in being a grandfather and teacher to 7 wonderful grand-children. He is a spiritual director with the GOHOP house of prayer in Hamilton and has been involved with YWAM for 29 years, going to many countries with short-term missions teams. Bilingual, he took his Spiritual Direction Training in Quebec, with an emphasis on the Ignatian tradition, and received his Diploma of Spiritual Accompaniment from St Paul’s University in Ottawa.
As a spiritual director, his delight is to be a spiritual companion for those he accompanies. Together, as fellow pilgrims, led by the Holy Spirit (The True Spiritual Director), Doug and his directees discover truths about themselves, others and God, the good, good Father. Listening well, reformulating, asking good questions, spending time in silence, and connecting with our emotions are useful tools in the process. Doug has no agenda and no answers but believes that God invites each of His sons and daughters to enter into increased intimacy with Him, and that He has things He wants to say. Typically, Doug and his directees will meet once a month, knowing their time together has significance in the eyes of God.
Meagan Tutti-Peters (Canada)
Meagan is a spiritual director from downtown Hamilton, Ontario who was trained through Emmaus Formation Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. She leads from a Franciscan spirituality but has studied others and loves to see how they connect and overlap. She gets excited when people start to discover their true worth and value and wants to sit with people while they explore their spirituality through invitation, imaginative prayer, guided Christian meditation, and conversation with themselves and God in order to come home to themselves, discovering identity, purpose, and fulfillment in Christ. Meagan is married to Jon and together they have two little boys and a cat named Chewbacca.
Ajay Bliss (Canada)
Ajay lives in his own home in North Etobicoke, Ontario. He was born in a small town in India then moved to Zambia when he was 10 months old. When he was 5, his family moved to Toronto where he currently lives. Ajay is passionate about creating a safe place for people to honestly talk about life without feeling judged or ridiculed. After many years of wandering through the “Christian life”, Ajay found his place in life through silence, solitude, prayer and a forgiving community. In June 2020, Ajay received his certification as a spiritual director through Emmaus Formation Centre. He enjoys backyard firepits, Curry chicken (Mom’s style) and Afternoon Tea (Orange Pekoe, two sugars, one milk). “God is always speaking to us through the Holy Spirit, are we willing to slow down and hear His gentle and loving voice.”
Kathy Gust, OMS (Canada)
Kathy lives in Burlington, Ontario with her husband and 4 children. Her passion is connecting with Jesus and one of her greatest joys is to facilitate connection between God and others. Kathy loves to come alongside people in spiritual direction and provide a welcoming context for them to explore and express their relationship with God. The intention of her spiritual direction practice is for people to grow in self awareness and God awareness so they can make free choices and experience more of God’s love and peace in their lives. Kathy values family, friendship, authenticity, creativity, and learning. She likes to experiment with different creative expressions (sewing, contemplative photography, poetry, writing guided prayers…..) and loves all forms of skiing.
Karen Krige, OMS (ZA)
My own faith tradition is Christian and so I seek daily with grace to follow Jesus in the Way, the Truth and the Life that he taught and lived. I am trained as a Spiritual Director for both adults and children and as a Giver of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. I hold a Masters degree in Practical Theology, an Honours degree in Psychology and a Higher diploma in Education. I have worked as a Pastor in Spiritual Formation and as an Educator. I am registered as a Spiritual Director with the Jesuit Institute of South Africa and with the Centre for Spirituality in Cape Town. Spiritual direction is an invitation to a journey of growth and transformation. It is an opportunity to cultivate your life with God; to respond to the longings deep within your own soul for a life in relationship with God that is whole, authentic and well-lived. My privilege as a spiritual director is to accompany you on your path; to listen carefully to the whole of your life and to notice with you the nudgings of the Spirit calling you to new life and growth.