The Spiritual Directors Network does not provide training, certification, or credentials for spiritual directors. The directors who choose to advertise on our site are not pre-screened by SDN, nor are they evaluated in any way. By accessing the list provided, the reader accepts the responsibility for interviewing and selecting a suitable spiritual director. (adapted from Spiritual Directors International).
Below you will find a directory of spiritual directors in mid-Michigan who are active members of the Spiritual Directors Network.
April Allison
April Allison, MA, MPH, offers spiritual direction for individuals and groups through Heron Rising. Being contemplative by nature and justice seeking by conviction, her passion is to assist individuals and communities as they grow in right relationship within themselves, with one another, and with the world around them. She is a graduate of the Internship in Spiritual Direction at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt, Michigan, and and is trained in mediation through the Dispute Resolution Center of Washtenaw County.
For 12 years she was on the staff of The Leaven Center, a retreat and study center in Michigan that sought to nurture the relationship between spirituality and social justice. She is a Quaker (Religious Society of Friends), has traveled in the ministry through the Friends General Conference, and leads contemplative retreats through the School of the Spirit. She can be reached at aprilallison (at) heronrising.com. April has recently moved to North Carolina and continues to meet with Michigan-based directees on Zoom
Erma Chastine
Seeking to be your companion on your pilgrim journey called “life.”
- Worked professionally for thirty plus years
- Received Certification for Spiritual Direction from the Dominican Center of Religious Studies at St Francis Retreat Center, Dewitt, Michigan
- Single mother of three sons, eleven grandchildren, and five great grandchildren
My work has been involved with military families, developed international sister cities, worked with the homeless, hospice care, families affected by natural disasters, and developed programs for the marginalized. Currently a member of St. Gerard Catholic Parish of Lansing, Michigan, and involved in many parish activities.
After thirty years of working with people from all walks of life, spiritual direction became a natural progression for continuing to serve others. I can be reached at 517-507-1361 or erma455@gmail.com.
Sharon Mick McAuley
Minister of Spiritual Formation and Art
As a spiritual director, Sharon is committed to honoring each person through attentive listening. She enjoys encouraging prayerful expression through the arts while supporting each person in deepening their relationship with God through:
- meaningful spiritual practices.
- involvement in a faith community.
- maintaining a vital connection with the natural world
Ministry Training and Experience
Sharon earned a master’s degree in counseling, was ordained in the American Baptist denomination and completed the Advanced Program in Spiritual Direction at St. Francis Retreat Center. She served as a co-associate pastor for ten years, spiritual care coordinator with Genesys Hospice for three years, campus minister for American Baptists at Michigan State University for six years, and grief counselor at Ele’s Place for twelve years. Sharon has offered spiritual guidance for twenty years. Riverain Song Studio is the mid-Michigan art/spirit ministry of spiritual formation she established to facilitate group and individual growth.
Involvement in The Arts
Sharon is an artist who enjoys watercolor, pencil and pen sketching, oil painting, and mixed media. Music has been an important part of her life since she was a child. Encouraging others to discover and exercise their own artistic gifts is given a high priority in Sharon’s ministries.
Home and Family
Cherishing her family roots in Benzie County, Michigan, Sharon considers the Lake Michigan shoreline her place of homecoming and sacred renewal. Her life has always revolved around being part of a family—biological family, spiritual family, earth family, universe family—relationships that are life-giving and life-sustaining. She believes that both belonging and solitude—time with others and time alone—kept in balance nourish the whole person.
Sharon can be reached at 517-881-4351; sharonmickmcauley@gmail.com; facebook.com/riverainsong.
Mary Mitchell (she/her)
As a spiritual guide, Mary Mitchell values meeting seekers where they are spiritually and companioning them as they find the Divine Presence in their everyday lives by exploring:
- the ways that Presence might be speaking to them
- spiritual practices that help with becoming more available to the Divine
- how to shape their lives with the Divine Presence as the Center.
Mary’s own personal enthusiasm for artistic expression, gardening, walks along Lake Michigan, and keeping meaningful sacred traditions within communities of faith have all contributed to her understanding of communion with our Creator. She willingly walks with those who are experiencing life’s most important events and passages, encouraging and supporting those who are getting to know their true selves, loved by the Divine Presence.
A graduate of the Internship for Spiritual Direction offered by the Dominican Center for Religious Development at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt, Michigan, Mary has experienced learning and mentoring as a way of life.
Mary can be reached at mjjm321@gmail.com.
Christina Rhebergen
Hello! My name is Christina, and I founded Present Spiritual Direction to help people explore and grow in faith through spiritual direction and other practices. The links to my website share information about me and my services. If you have any questions after looking around that aren’t answered in the FAQs, please feel free to contact me
I would be honored to be a part of your journey and to witness the work of the Divine in your life, whether in spiritual direction or a retreat setting.
Stephen M. Rivet
“Above all, trust in the slow work of God… We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new… Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you.”
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Stephen has been trained in spiritual direction and is affiliated with the Dominican Center of Marywood in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is insured and a member of SDI – Spiritual Directors International. He has a Master of Pastoral Studies from Loyola University – New Orleans and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Wayne State University – Detroit. Currently an Executive Consultant with over 40 years of international business experience having traveled extensively throughout the world and has lived in Europe. He has been married 39 years with four grown children and eight grandchildren and is a FAA Certified Private Pilot. He looks forward to taking the slow journey together with you and God.
Stephen lives in Grand Ledge, Michigan, where he is a member of St. Michael Parish and can be reached at stephen@smrdirection.com or 517-719-9498
Denise Waytes (she/her)
“Growth in a relationship requires that I pay attention to the other person. It also requires that I pay attention to what happens inside me when I am in the presence of the other and that I share my reactions with him. What does contemplation of the Lord do to me? I am only free to respond or not respond to him when I am aware of the reactions I experience when I begin to pay attention to him. Noticing these reactions is fundamental to growth in the spiritual life, and helping a person notice and communicate them is one of the most fundamental tasks of spiritual direction.”
~The Practice of Spiritual Direction by William A. Barry and William J. Connolly~
Denise has been trained in the art of spiritual direction through the Dominican Center of Religious Studies. She has an MA in education from the University of Michigan and an MPS from Loyola University – New Orleans. She has served as the RCIA director, campus minister, and liturgist for St. John Student Center, East Lansing, which serves the student population at Michigan State University. She was pastoral associate in charge of worship and outreach at St. Thomas Aquinas/St. John Student Center. This past year Denise attended classes through Archdiocese of New Orlean’s Spirituality Center to learn to direct persons through St Ignatius’ 19th Annotation, an adapted form of the full Ignatian 4-week retreat. Denise currently resides just outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan. She has been married for 40 years and has three adult children. Besides spiritual direction work, she paints with watercolors, crochets, and likes to spend time with her new grandson.
Denise feels privileged to walk with all who seek to understand their spiritual experiences.
Denise can be reached at waytesd1@comcast.net
Pat Zandstra
Pat Zandstra grew up on a large fruit farm in Novi, Michigan. She served as an agricultural missionary with Wycliffe Bible Translators in the eastern jungles of Ecuador after her graduation from Michigan State University in 1973. On returning to the United States, she began to work in campus ministry with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship at Michigan State University.
In 1974 Pat joined the faculty of the MSU Horticulture department to work with undergraduate students. After 25 years in that position she joined the staff of River Terrace Christian Reformed Church in East Lansing, where she was ordained as a ministry associate and served as the director of Spiritual Growth and Development for 10 years.
Pat earned her master’s degree in counseling at MSU in 1978 and her certification in spiritual direction through the Dominican Center of Religious Studies in DeWitt, Michigan, in 1997. In 2006 she took a position at Calvin Theological Seminary as their Formation for Ministry Specialist where she helped design a spiritual formation program for their M.Div. and M.A. She currently serves as a spiritual director to pastors, priests, professors, para-church staff members and she facilitates spiritual retreats.
Pat has been married for 46 years and has three children and three grandchildren. She loves to read and travel. She can be contacted at patzandstra@gmail.com.
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