I am a seeker of the Spirit in all places– in nature, collaborating in community, struggling for justice, slowing down to walk at the pace of a toddler. I seek to create space for others to listen deeply to what matters most to them, and to live from that place. I have extensive work with traumatized individuals and communities, and desire to help you find what heals you, what re-connects you, what energizes you.
For over 20 years, I have worked for justice, including in Philadelphia, and New York City, in Palestine and Iraqi Kurdistan, seeking out the intersection of spirituality and justice. For 5 years, I served as the Psychosocial Care Coordinator for Community Peacemaker Teams, creating space, practices and structures to uphold peacemakers. I co-founded, along with incarcerated women and women living on the outside, an Associates Degree program at a prison in New York City, and I taught undergraduate students as a professor at the Oregon Extension of Eastern University. Alongside my spiritual direction practice, I offer workshops and retreats, and facilitation for both faith communities and nonprofits. I’m a graduate of Eastern University (BA), and Princeton Theological Seminary (MDiv), and received my spiritual direction certification through Kairos School of Spiritual Formation. I have extensive experience and training in trauma-responsive care and behavioral health. I have served as Interim Pastor at two congregations. While I call home a Mennonite congregation in Philadelphia, I work with people of all faith backgrounds, and those not identified with a particular faith, in spiritual direction, retreats and workshops. I approach my work from an anti-racist, undoing oppressions lens. I’m a parent and a partner, a yoga practitioner and a city gardener.
Melissa Berkey-Gerard 