gabi campanella
Certified Spiritual Director
Compassionate Companion
Desert Dweller | Cat Mom
Seeking out Christ in all things
gabi campanella
Certified Spiritual Director
Compassionate Companion
Desert Dweller | Cat Mom
Seeking out Christ in all things
Schedule an introduction session
I started my walk with God at a young age, asking Jesus to "come into my heart" while kneeling in the Sunday School room in the basement of my grandmother's Baptist church in Upstate New York. As a child God was my constant friend and companion while navigating family difficulty and mental illness. In college God sparked a passion in me for listening deeply to others and walking with them on their own journeys with God. After college I spent six years as a campus minister in Flagstaff, Arizona. During those years of interdenominational and cross-cultural ministry, God shaped my appreciation for different streams of Christianity and for people of all different faiths, ethnicities, orientations.
I first began seeing a spiritual director after, in the midst of burnout and COVID-19, I left full-time ministry. I was isolated and God felt absent for the first time in my life. I thank God for my spiritual director who walked with me through many questions, emotions, and ultimately to rediscovering God's loving presence. As I experienced the gift of spiritual direction for myself, I felt a longing to be able to meet with God and others in the same way. I completed my training through Sustainable Faith's School of Spiritual Direction in 2024. After my training I came to see that we can truly find "Christ in All Things" - in every situation and place, from ordinary to extraordinary, God is initiating something if we only have eyes to see it.
Those first few years in Flagstaff helped me discover a love for nature and you can still catch me hammocking between the pines or paddle boarding on the Salt River. Still a homebody at heart, I love reading fantasy novels, playing with my six-year old tyrant-of-a-cat Cecil, and getting coffee with friends while talking for hours and hours... and hours.If you have questions about spiritual direction or would like to see if we would be a good fit for meeting together, please contact me through the contact form or schedule a free Introduction Session on my Calendly.
What Is Spiritual Direction?
In the Christian tradition, spiritual direction was first developed by St. Ignatius in the early 1500s. Spiritual direction is an old practice with roots among the nuns and monks of the Catholic Church before gaining more popularity among laypeople in the last 30 years. The ultimate goal of spiritual direction is greater relationship with and awareness of God by slowing down, reflecting, and praying with God.
What Happens in Spiritual Direction?
Most spiritual directors meet with a directee 1-on-1 once a month for 45minutes to an hour. It is also sometimes practiced in small groups who meet more frequently. In essence, spiritual direction is a long and slow conversation between three friends: the director, the directee, and God. The directee brings whatever is on their heart to talk about and the director listens to the directee and to God, asking questions to help the directee reflect on what God may be doing and saying, and facilitating listening and prayer. The spiritual director's role is not to instruct the directee, but to help direct their attention to God, who is the ultimate Spiritual Director for our souls.
Who is spiritual direction for?
Spiritual direction is most often practiced with those further along in the journey and are seeking more depth with God. Whether we are in the valley or on the mountain top, spiritual direction is the gift of companionship on the road, another set of eyes to help us see God with us in the darkness, or celebrate him in the light.
Spiritual direction may be especially helpful for those who are:
• Discerning a major life decision
• Having a crisis of faith or experience of "dryness"
• Navigating the spiritual aspects of a life change
• Wanting to slow down and listen for GodIt's important to note, spiritual direction is NOT a substitute for counseling or therapy. While it can be helpful to have a spiritual director accompany you as you walk with God in difficulties, it is not a substitute for the help counselors and therapists offer for those who have or are experiencing trauma, loss, or mental illness.Please reach out to me if you have any questions about spiritual direction. I would love to talk with you!
Contact
Complete the form below with some information about what you're looking for. If you're interested in learning more about spiritual direction you can also schedule an introductory meeting on my Calendly.
Resources
One of my passions is that everyone would have access to the wisdom of others in order to grow in their relationship with God. The resources below are not a replacement for time with God, nor are they are cure-all for what we might perceive as spiritual woes. Nothing can substitute for God himself, but in my own walk it has been helpful to read from the lives and experiences of others and have a structure outside myself to know where to being with God.
Retreats & Devotionals
Pray As You Go
Storyline Productivity Schedule
Prayer & Liturgy
Every Moment Holy
Common Prayer: Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
Reimagining the Examen (App for Android)
Reimagining the Examen (App for Apple)
Books
Sacred Rhythms by Ruth Haley Barton
Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren
Walking the Labyrinth by Travis Scholl
Disunity In Christ by Christena Cleveland
Boundaries: When to Say No, How to Say Yes by Dr. Henry Cloud
Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson. M.D.
find a spiritual director
SDI: Spiritual Directors International
CSDA: Christ-centered Spiritual Direction Association
For Pastors & Ministry Leaders: Sustainable Faith