Leadership

During 2022, Spiritual Direction Colorado reorganized its leadership structure. Rather than having one person as the Chair, the leadership and planning occurs within what is called the Guiding Circle. The purpose of the Guiding Circle is to provide structure, direction and the mechanisms needed to carry out the vision and mission of SDCO. The members of the Guiding Circle are committed to carrying SDCO into the 21st century through creating a collaborative, consensus-building, open, and inclusive leadership practice.

The members of the Guiding Circle conduct their work by consensus, collaboration, and shared leadership. Members take turns opening, closing, and leading meetings. They report on any work they have done and contribute to discussions. They are also responsible for coordinating the efforts of the various specialty circles.

GC members share in the overall operations of SDCO as they share in visioning, planning, and participating in the various initiatives of SDCO. They can also serve SDCO within a specialized arena called Specialty Circles.

Currently the specialty circles include: The Programming Circle, External Communications Circle, Membership Care Circle, and Finance and Administration Circle. Potential future circles include the Professional Support Circle and Social Media Circle. Participation in the Guiding Circle and the specialty circles is open to members who seek to contribute to and become engaged in the unfolding of SDCO.

If you are interested in contributing to the sacred efforts of GC by participating in either the Guiding Circle or a Specialty Circle, please indicate[CB1]  your interest by providing us some information about yourself and how you’d like to participate.

Guiding Circle Members

Nancy Arko

I find meaning in art as spiritual practice and the living images of dreams. I draw joy and inspiration in the natural world through my love of hiking, trees and gardening.

Nancy completed her Spiritual Direction training at the Haden Institute in March, 2022.  She was raised a Catholic in both the Roman tradition and Malachite Rite. After 35 years as a psychiatrist she is now retired and has a passion for bringing people together in sacred community beyond church. She is widely read, Jungian in her orientation and interested in understanding the soul’s path through life’s thresholds. She has designed and led an Elder Circle and has served as facilitator for the Denver Guild for Sacred Studies, focusing on Jesus’ true message as reflected in the Synoptic Gospels. She currently facilitates an ongoing dream circle. 

Catharyn Baird

I discovered spiritual direction as a faculty member at Regis, a Jesuit university in Denver. Over a nine month process, I was able to participate the “retreat in daily life,” a way for people to complete the Jesuit Spiritual Exercises while working. Embracing life at Regis, I was able to make many retreats—both at my home university as well as within the larger Jesuit network. Finally, a colleague and I engaged in mutual spiritual direction, which introduced me to the discipline of being a spiritual director—albeit I never was anything but a novice. 

 She and her husband of 44 years enjoy spending time together with their two cats, as well following the lives and activities of four adult children (and spouses) and eight grandchildren. To get a bit of balance, she spends her at-home time gardening and reading—with an occasional spot of crocheting.

For the past 15 years, Catharyn has been the CEO of EthicsGame, an ed-tech company that provides ethics education and simulations to universities and corporations. The core learning tool is the Ethical Lens Inventory, which helps people explore their ethical identity and supports members of organizations living into their core values. She is also active as the Clerk of the Vestry at St. Martin’s Parish in Aurora and as a member of the Board of Colorado Council of Churches.

An educator at heart, after several years of practicing law, Catharyn was hired by Regis University in Denver to teach law and ethics. During that time, she fell in love with the Jesuit Spiritual Exercises and
Ignatian Spirituality. With that introduction, she taught classes in Spirituality in Business as well as wrote extensively in the area of spirituality and work. Her spiritual direction activities were primarily
counseling students as they worked to make sense of their faith within the context of their calling and vocation.

Jane Ann Ferguson

Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there. Rumi

The soul journey of companioning through spiritual direction takes place
in a beautiful field of listening and conversation where our whole selves are allowed space to breathe, feel, question, contemplate and pray.
It is one of my most cherished places to spend time. JAF

Jane Anne Ferguson is delighted to part of the SDCO Guiding Circle. It is deeply meaningful work to co-create with the other GC colleagues the programming for SDCO. You can usually find her online the first Friday of every month leading the SDCO Contemplative Gathering. Jane Anne is happily retired from full-time ordained ministry as pastor and chaplain in the progressive Christian denomination, the United Church of Christ. She is a certified Spiritual Director through Stillpoint: The Center for Christian Spirituality, as well as a professional storyteller and story coach. You can discover more about her current work at jafspiritualdirection.wordpress.com and her profile is on the SDCO website.

Jane Anne lives in Fort Collins, CO with her husband, Hal, also a retired minister. They enjoy yoga, gardening, reading, hanging out with one or more of their adult sons, their good friends, and always, the golden retriever, Bridey.

Jon Gottsengen

Ann Christensen

“Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire.” St. Catherine of Siena

God promises that “whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:21

'Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.' Howard Thurman 

Ann graduated with a certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Benedictine Spiritual Formation Program (BSFP) in 2013.  She has often found herself listening to people, whether in formal spiritual direction or Stephen Ministry, or - most often- through one-on one, informal encounters with family, friends and strangers.  She finds the most joy in encouraging and affirming people in the gifts -qualities, abilities and presence- they share with the world. She finds the opportunity to do this most frequently as a spiritual gifts interviewer for the Catherine of Siena Institute’s Called and Gifted Program.

What Ann finds most delightful in being on the SDCO Guiding Circle is that, here too, is a place to appreciate the various gifts of each person and see what emerges from their collective contributions.

Other things that make Ann come alive are fitness, moving to music (whether dance lessons with her husband or dancing free-style in the family room), learning new things about gardening, cooking, or everyday “hacks”, and looking and reflecting as her two grown daughters become who they are.