Mary Lou is a spiritual director and retreat leader in St Paul. She received her Certificate in Spiritual Direction and an MA in Theology from St Catherine University in 2005. She has taught in the Sacred Ground Spiritual Formation Program since 2012. She writes a bi-monthly column for The Phoenix Spirit, a local newspaper for the recovery community. She is retired from a 30+ year career in Information Technology at BlueCross and BlueShield of Minnesota.

Christine participated in the Spiritual Direction Training Program offered by the Cenacle Retreat House in Wayzata. She was a Sacred Ground board member in its early years. She is an active spiritual director, retreat leader and an instructor in the first semester of Sacred Ground’s current training program. Christine is also experienced leading the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.

As a member of Spiritual Directors International, Christine has led sessions on Spirituality in Hip Hop Music, Spiritual Direction in Islam, and in other topics.

By day, she has a career in technology. She is a mother, grandmother, writer, world traveler and a storyteller. Christine’s particular interest, experience, and strength is in spiritual practice across religious traditions and in 12 Step Spirituality.

Christine’s favorite things include: fun with family or loved ones like tubing down the hill at Theodore Wirth, watching a grandchild play basketball, or stargazing!

Spirituality–our basic practices of being alive and awake–has been of keen interest to me since my own awakening when I got my life back in recovering from addiction. It is a privilege to sit with others and be a witness to their own life unfolding, as they discover and deepen their sense of connection with the Sacred, That Which is Greater Than the Self. Our lives are the raw material which we examine in spiritual direction; prayer and meditation are two of the tools we use in that process. I do not “direct” anyone, but rather, I do what I can to help others see the direction that is already in progress.Doug identifies as Christian with the United Church of Christ.

Rev. Dr. Johnson joined the Sacred Ground Spiritual Formation teaching staff in 2015-16 as an intern for the 1st year 2nd semester students. In 2016-17 Janet transitioned from intern to being a co-teacher of the 1st year 2nd semester class. Janet’s spiritual direction certification was completed through Sacred Ground in 2010.

Rev. Dr. Johnson is currently serving in her local church, Wayman African Methodist Episcopal Church (WAMEC) as the Assistant to the Senior Pastor and the Director of Christian Education.

Dr. Johnson volunteers with two nonprofits: From Death to Life and Child Evangelism Fellowship. In 2005 she took early retirement from General Mills as a Marketing Research Associate and went to work in the K-12 education arena until 2014 when she retired from Harvest Network of Schools as the Family Engagement Manager.

Education: BA in Business Administration from Metropolitan State University/1988, a Masters of Divinity with a Concentration in Christian Education from Bethel Theological Seminary/2001, and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from the University of St. Thomas/2015.

Susan Stabile is an experienced spiritual director and retreat director trained in the Ignatian tradition, who offers retreats and other programs of spiritual formation in parishes, retreat houses and other venues around the country. She teaches in the second year of Sacred Ground’s program for the training of spiritual directors and also trains people to direct the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. She is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and an adjunct Instructor in Theology at St. Catherine’s University, where she co-directs a Lilly Grant secured by that university to bring contemplative practices to congregations and parishes. Susan previously served as Director of the University of St. Thomas’s Office for Spirituality, and is the author of numerous publications, including Growing in Love and Wisdom (Oxford University Press 2013).

Peter is a certified spiritual director, guides folks through the Ignatian Exercises, and is a retreat leader in the Twin Cities area. He holds a Master’s of Divinity degree from the University of St. Thomas, and a B.A. in Philosophy from St. John’s University in Minnesota. Peter retired in 2021 from his work as a high school theology teacher of 25 years at Cretin-Derham Hall high school in St. Paul. He has also taught graduate classes in Old Testament Theology, and Adolescent Psychology and Spirituality, and has co-authored a high school text book, Guarding the Fire: A Spiritual Guide for Young Men through Good Ground Press. Peter helps lead ministry discernment groups for the Episcopal Church in Minnesota, has three grown children, loves going on pilgrimages, and is a life-long runner.