life demands space.
Spiritual direction is one place, sometimes I think in the whole world, where you don’t have to fix or strive or have a single expectation placed on you—or place a single expectation on yourself. This is the kind of space your life deserves and that spiritual direction offers.
MEET YOUR COMPANION.
hi, I’m Katie (she/her).
I’m a sober, childfree, poetry-and nature-loving spiritual companion who founded Juniper House to create and foster a sacred space–specifically for those for whom healing spaces either don’t exist or are hard to find. I am a progressive, contemplative Christian who journeys with all—especially people experiencing disenfranchised grief and ambiguous loss like infertility and those recovering from religious and workplace abuse.
Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from United Theological Seminary | Advanced Grief Counseling Specialist (CAGCS) Certification | Episcopal Safe Church-trained | Member of Spiritual Directors International & Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart…do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now.”
— Ranier Maria Rilke
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL DIRECTION?
I view spiritual direction as journeying with you as you live the questions now.
And life is nothing if not a series of questions, big and small: questions about meaning, God, vocation, why things happen the way they do, why things don’t happen the way we think they should. The list goes on and on. A spiritual director is someone who accompanies you through these mysteries as you cultivate a rich inner life and journey closer to God.
I believe this ordinary life with all of its questions is sacred. I offer 1:1 and group spiritual direction, where I listen without judgment and foster a sacred space, providing contemplative tools for you to live the questions now. Here is an excellent description of spiritual direction from the Episcopal Church in Minnesota.
WHY SPIRITUAL DIRECTION?
I seek to provide a space where you can explore what healing means for you.
Where you don't have to find a cure for what ails you, but you can find a little respite. A refuge. A stop on the journey and a place to explore the sacred.
In spiritual direction, we get closer to inhabiting the uninhabitable through diving into our own sacred questions and stories. In so doing, we can find belonging, comfort, peace, and maybe even a little meaning.
WHY SPECIALIZE IN GRIEF & LOSS?
‘healing and places intertwine.’
—Esther M. Sternberg, M.D.
Spaces and ceremonies abound for death loss. There are funerals, cemeteries, and memorials. And that matters because these spaces help us find meaning in our loss. But this type of space can be hard to find for those experiencing disenfranchised grief and ambiguous loss, such as infertility, divorce, chronic pain, religious trauma, and so much more. It can also be fleeting for those who have experienced death loss. Juniper House is a physical and metaphorical space offering spiritual direction and space to heal—a place where you can simply be without answers, fixes, or opinions.
THE SPACE.
THE SPACE.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Juniper House is proudly located on Dakota land inside Saint Nicholas Episcopal Church in Richfield, Minnesota. Enjoy a mug of tea in the cozy seating area for 1:1 or group spiritual direction. Create healing art, practice meditation, walk the labyrinth, add to our shared working memorial, pull a grief ritual prompt, or borrow a book. Don’t live in the Twin Cities? We can create a healing space on Zoom.
ACCESSIBILITY
I am committed to creating an accessible space. Located on the first floor, I use dim lighting and have a variety of seating options. I only burn unscented candles, but diffuse essential oils and burn Palo Santo, so please let me know in advance of your appointment if you have sensitivity to scents—or if there is anything else I can do to make sure the space is accessible for you.
WHAT DOES THE NAME MEAN?
Juniper
Juniper comes from the poetry of Isaiah 55. “Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.” To me, this speaks to the promise of life and fullness and beauty in the face of loss.
House
House speaks to the importance of both metaphorical and physical space to my spiritual direction practice. One of the first books I read after being called to create this space was “Poetics of Space” by philosopher Gaston Bachelard. In it he says, “If I were asked to name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.” May it be so.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Your support helps sustain Juniper House Spiritual Direction.
It is important to me that spiritual direction is accessible for all and that I can build this practice in a fiscally responsible way. Use this sliding scale as a guide when discerning how much to pay for your session. Those who can afford to pay more help make this practice accessible to all—thank you!
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income > $75,000
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income $45,000-$75,000
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income $25,000-$45,000; reach out if your income is less than $25,000.
book with Juniper House.
explore what is sacred to you in a safe space.