Julene TegerstrandSpiritual direction
An hour of unhurried conversation at an interval that works for you. We pay attention to what is happening in your life and work, and to where you sense an invitation. Online or in person in Hull.
Someone to walk beside you while you listen.
Picture the first morning of a long-awaited rest. The phone is off, the calendar is empty, and the silence feels strange in your body. That is often where accompaniment begins.
People who hold a lot for others.
- Pastors and clergy, including those running on empty
- Ministry and nonprofit leaders
- Caregivers and clinicians
- Leaders in a season of change
- People between beliefs
You may be preparing for a sabbatical, recovering from a hard year, or standing at a threshold you cannot name yet. You do not need to be religious, and you do not need a plan. You need to want to pay attention.
If you are a pastor, what you say here stays here. I do not tell your church, your denomination, or your employer.
If you have been hurt.
If you are burnt out, if church has hurt you, if you have questions or doubts you have nowhere to bring, or you do not have the words for God, you are welcome here. You do not need to know where to start.
Something may have been done to you. A pastor, a church, or the place you work may have hurt you, let you down, or asked you to go along with what you knew was wrong. That kind of wound does not follow a schedule. It is a spiritual injury, and it needs time and space to be held with someone who will not hurry you. Some call this moral injury. You do not need the term to belong here.
I listen with you. I do not fix you.
I offer spiritual direction online and in person in Hull, Massachusetts: one on one, in a group of four, and as sabbatical and retreat design.
Many leaders spend their days listening to everyone else. Spiritual direction gives you someone who listens to you. It asks something of you too: the willingness to be honest about what is really going on.
I do not coach you toward a goal or hand you a program to complete. I keep you company while you pay attention to your body, your days, and what is stirring underneath. When practices help, I offer them. When silence is what you need, we sit in it.
Spiritual accompaniment is rooted in the Christian contemplative tradition, and it is open to people of any faith or none. Here is how my faith shows up, and when it does not.
What I listen for.
I believe God is at work before us, with us, and ahead of us, whether or not we notice. That work is loving, and it draws us. We can tell it is happening when we are becoming more loving, kind, and patient, and when we are becoming more free, not less.
If the word God does not fit, wisdom works too. Use the words that are true for you.
Ways we can work together.
Sabbatical design and accompaniment
A designed rhythm around a sabbatical or a season of change. We shape it together before you leave, I walk beside you while you are away, and we gather what you received when you return.
Personal retreats
A personal retreat of a day or several, with a written guide you hold on your own. It has a daily rhythm of silence, Scripture or other reading, walking, and rest.
Listening together, in a group.
Group spiritual direction is six sessions of 90 minutes. We learn a way of listening that most of us were never taught, and then we practice it with each other.
- Session oneWe meet and begin to learn this kind of listening.
- Session two, two weeks laterWe practice together. These first two sessions prepare us for the rest.
- Sessions three to six, once a monthWe listen for each other, and for what is stirring in each of our lives and work.
Online or in person in Hull. A group is four people. You form your own group, and we begin on a date we agree on together. The fee is $350 per person for all six sessions, or $300 for pastors and ministers.
Practices that have held people for a long time.
Lectio divina (read, reflect, respond, rest), breath prayer, silence, the examen, walking, and art-making. Offered as doors you may open, never as assignments.
What a sabbatical can look like.
Every sabbatical is shaped around the person and the community. This is one pattern I have used, and we would adjust it to fit you.
Prepare
A conversation before you go. We name the pressures and longings, and design a rhythm that fits your life.
Release and listen
A personal retreat to lay down the load and slow the body. Silence, reading, walks, and journaling, with a guide to hold.
Meet in direction
Spiritual direction sessions to notice what surfaces: images, feelings, longings, and Scripture.
Protect what is yours
Time with family or away, with no accompaniment at all.
Discern
When you are ready, time to listen for direction for your work or community. Vision comes when it comes, and no clarity is also an answer.
Integrate
A session after you return. Together we notice what your soul received and what you want to carry forward.
What this is, and is not.
Spiritual direction is not therapy, and I am not a mental health practitioner. We will talk about feelings, but I cannot do that work. I cannot promise an outcome, because this unfolds in time, and what you come for may not be what you find. I do not try to convert anyone or change what you believe.
If you are in crisis, please reach a mental health professional, or call or text 988 in the United States.
How it works.
One session, an hour$125
Three sessions$350
Three sessions for pastors and ministers$300
Group of four, all six 90-minute sessions, per person$350
Group of four, all six 90-minute sessions, per person, for pastors and ministers$300
I offer a small number of sliding-scale places at a time, each for three to six months. If the fee is a barrier, tell me what you are able to do, and we will find a way to begin.
Sabbaticals and retreats are designed around you and your people, so I quote them after we talk.
- Format
- Online or in person in Hull, Massachusetts. One on one, or in a small group. One on one sessions are an hour, at an interval that works for you. Group sessions are 90 minutes.
- Confidential
- What you share stays with me.
- Availability
- I am taking new directees.
- First step
- A free 30-minute conversation to see whether we are a good fit. There is no pressure to decide.
Questions people ask.
What is spiritual direction?
An hour of unhurried conversation with someone who listens with you while you pay attention to your life and to where you sense an invitation. I do not fix you or hand you a program.
Do I need to be religious?
No. I am a Christian, and I work with people from many traditions and from none. I do not try to convince anyone to believe what I believe. If the word God does not fit, wisdom works too.
Is it therapy?
No. I am not a therapist or a mental health practitioner. We will talk about feelings, but I cannot do that work, and I cannot promise an outcome. If you are in crisis, please reach a mental health professional, or call or text 988 in the United States.
How much does it cost?
One session is $125, three sessions are $350, and three sessions are $300 for pastors and ministers. Sliding-scale places are limited, each for three to six months, so if the fee is a barrier, tell me what you are able to do and we will find a way to begin. The first 30-minute conversation is free.
Is it online or in person?
Both. We can meet online, or in person in Hull, Massachusetts. We can meet one on one, or in a group of four.
How long is a session, and how often do we meet?
A session is an hour, at an interval that works for you. Group sessions are 90 minutes.
How do I start?
Write to me through the contact form. I will reply within one or two days, and we will begin with a free 30-minute conversation.
Wondering if this is for you?
Write a few lines about what brought you here and what you are hoping for. I will reply within one or two days.
If you lead others too, here is the same listening, made for your people. For churches and organizations