The Virtual Chapel has a team of three spiritual directors who work together, caring for people within and outside our community. In Celtic Christianity, a spiritual director is called an anamchara, which means ‘soul friend.’ While each of us has a unique understanding of what it means to be a friend of the soul, we all agree that equality, compassion, and deep listening are essential for the flourishing of any friendship.
A short bio and a link to contact each of us can be found below. You can get to know us a little more by checking out our YouTube channel, where we discuss a wide array of topics, drawing from our diverse backgrounds and skillsets, always with an emphasis on spiritual direction and spiritual practice. You are also welcome to attend our regular Chapel meetings, where we discuss the nature of life and the path to stillness, among other things.
Justin Coutts is the primary author and founder of New Eden Ministry. His writing and practice as a spiritual director are informed by his diverse background. Over the course of his life, he received spiritual formation in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Indigenous ceremony (Ojibwe and others), and the United Church of Canada. He currently teaches Celtic Christianity with a particular emphasis on the monastic tradition and its application for people today. As an anamchara, he focuses primarily on religious formation, pastoral care, and theological exploration.
You can learn more about his work and contact him by clicking HERE.
Julie Holtz is a spiritual director, scientist and mystic who brings curiosity, creativity, and contemplation to everyday life. She is a ceramic artist, adores riding her bicycle, and devours deep wisdom from all sources. She embraces the power of telling our sacred stories and understands the need for a safe space to explore spiritual questions and longings. Her approaches include deep listening, creative expression, embodiment, and dreamwork. Julie believes that everyone can claim and express their divine spark; we are never alone and always loved. Visit her website www.julieholtz.com
If you are interested in spiritual direction with Julie, please reach out by email at juliekholtz@gmail.com
Owen Rachal has been a spiritual companion and guide since 2008. His calling in life is helping people contact and embody their truest selves, and discover that they are deeply loved. Reflecting the diversity of his own spiritual journey, Owen’s work with others is inter-spiritual, drawing on traditions as varied as Buddhism, Advaita Vedanta, the Christian contemplative tradition, 12 step wisdom, and modern psychology and behavioral science. He’s an avid Star Wars fan, a capoeirista, a movement coach, a meditation and contemplative prayer teacher, a chronic pain warrior, an addict in recovery, a dad, a husband, and a lover of God, the world, and people.
You can learn more about his work and contact him by clicking HERE.
In this video the three of us talk a little about our backgrounds with our friend Carmen Acevedo Butcher. We meander our way through a garden of beautiful thoughts about spiritual direction and contemplative practice.
Each of our spiritual directors is an active volunteer in the Virtual Chapel. While we come together for support, supervision, and continuing formation, we all have our own private practices and liability.