Sr. Chris Beckett

For more than 45 years, I have accompanied individuals and groups as a spiritual companion and director, including people from diverse faith traditions and cultures. I hold a master’s degree from the Saint Louis University School of Divinity and Theology and was certified as a spiritual and retreat director in 1980 through a program led by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. My ministry includes individual spiritual direction, group and retreat work, and service as a certified director for the 30-day and 19th Annotation retreats. I am continually grateful for the blessing of walking with those who seek a deeper relationship with God, others, and all creation, and I believe we are called today to journey together with tenderness, hope, and care for one another and the earth.

Lisa Downs

I am a mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, friend, and lifelong seeker whose journey has been shaped by family life, ministry, and attentive listening to God’s call. With a background in finance and nearly two decades of parish ministry as a pastoral administrator and associate, I was drawn more deeply into spiritual accompaniment through the encouragement of Sr. Sharon Gray and completed the Spiritual Direction Internship in 2011, followed by a Master of Pastoral Studies. I have co-facilitated Spiritual Direction Internships, accompanying individuals as they discerned their own call to spiritual direction. Now retired from full-time ministry, I bring a grounded, compassionate presence formed by life’s joys and challenges, and I continue to find grace in family, hospitality, prayer, and everyday life.