Loving God’s Word

I grew up in Southern California, the youngest of six children in a Roman Catholic family. I was drawn to daily prayer and reading of Scripture from early childhood. I was moved by the beauty, truth and power of God’s Word. 

Following God’s Word

At U.C. Berkeley, I attended the Newman Hall Holy Spirit Parish and participated in the community. However, I was surprised to find my primary Christian community relationally in an ecumenical collegiate Christian Fellowship which was largely Protestant. The earnest study and prayerful reading of the Bible and the discipline of applying what we learned to our daily lives drew me into deep friendships and partnerships. Also during this time, my prayer life was growing tremendously. Through His Word, God built a strong foundation for experiencing the reality of God’s presence in prayer. My appreciation of the Catholic Church and liturgy was growing as well. It made my heart glad to see the ways that the mass and liturgy were rooted in Scripture and crafted to help individuals and communities enter into worship and form them spiritually. I graduated from U.C. Berkeley with a double major in Biology and Art. While working in a clinical lab post-college, I volunteered with the college Christian Fellowship I had been involved in.  I eventually ended up working full-time as a regional prayer specialist serving communities in Nevada, Hawaii and California- training, teaching and coordinating students and staff in all types of prayer, including personal, healing, intercessory and corporate prayer.

Painting God’s Word

During my time as a prayer specialist, I met a Roman Catholic iconographer from Alaska named Charles Rohrbacher. As I looked at his work and heard his stories of prayer and the ministry God gave him through iconography, I felt a nudge from God.  Years later, after my second son was born, I contacted Charles. And, through a God-ordained series of events, Charles became my teacher and I started traveling to study with him in Juneau.  One of my first icons was the Baptism of Christ. I worked with Bruce Hansen, a colleague at the time and Biblical scholar, on the theological and Scriptural elements of the icon and saw in a deeper way how the icon is the Word of God in line and color. Each icon is a journey of discernment and prayer for and with the individuals and communities I paint for. From the choosing of the icons, icon elements and Scriptures, through the painting of the icon and prayer process, God makes His presence, power and Word known.

Discerning and Deepening God’s Word

I began my journey in Spiritual Direction in my early twenties. My spiritual director, Sister Antonia Killian introduced me to the mystics and contemplation, Scriptural prayer, and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.  Over two decades later, I began the Exercises and was reunited with Sr. Antonia. During this long retreat process which at the foundation is a deep meditation and contemplation of God’s Word, I discerned the call to be a spiritual director. Through the prayerful reading of Scripture, I grew in awareness of God’s movement, discernment of His presence and voice and a deeper freedom to respond to the many ways God calls me. I feel privileged to accompany others in their journey with God as a general spiritual director and a director of the Exercises. I completed the three-year Pierre Favre program in Los Altos and was on staff as a spiritual director at Church Without Walls in Berkeley, CA for five years from 2018-2023. I am currently on adjunct staff at New College Berkeley as a spiritual director and iconographer and have a private practice as well.