Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color

Sherry Bryant-Johnson, an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church, is associate director of the Center for Ministry, a Christian leadership development organization in Jackson, Mississippi. She holds professional certification in spiritual formation through the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church and is a member of Spiritual Directors International and the Fellowship of United Methodist Retreat Leaders and Spiritual Directors. Therese Taylor-Stinson is a native of Washington, DC, and an ordained Deacon and Ruling Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), who recently served as Moderator of the National Capital Presbytery. Taylor-Stinson is a founder and incorporator of the Spiritual Directors of Color Network, Ltd., and serves as the Managing Member. A graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, she has served on the board of directors, is a member of the Shalem Society for Contemplative Leadership, and was commissioned associate faculty to offer Shalem's Personal Spiritual Deepening Program in her local community. Rosalie E. Norman-McNaney, MDiv, M.Ed., is an ordained American Baptist minister and graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. She offers individual and group spiritual direction as well as serving as a conference, workshop, and retreat leader.

“The writers open their hearts to share a beautiful, rich, and varied tapestry of spiritual experiences, both personal and corporate. We are blessed to see through their eyes how they open to the Divine presence in each spiritual direction encounter. This book makes an important contribution to greater understanding for us all and fills a void in the spiritual direction literature.”
—Leah Rampy, Ph.D., Executive Director, Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation

“Embodied Spirits is a significant work that tells the rich stories of faith, spiritual guidance, and discovery for people of color. Told in heartfelt and eloquent ways, this volume offers a window into the practice of spiritual direction through the stories of a variety of persons. Embodied Spirits is a much needed resource that will help anyone who desires to know and attend to the soul journeys of people of color.”
—Bernard L. Richardson, Ph.D., Dean of the Chapel, Andrew Rankin Memorial Chapel, Howard University

“Embodied Spirits is an extraordinary addition to the field of spiritual direction. Each story bears witness to the inner guidance, the inner knowing, that we seek in spiritual direction. Each story bears witness to the possibility of ‘living spiritually free,’ in the midst of human suffering. We are encouraged to keep listening one another into hope.”
—Dwight H. Judy, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Spiritual Formation, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and author of Discerning Life Transitions: Listening Together in Spiritual Direction

“That the world within is as vast and worthy of adventure as the world without is a wonder on wonder to behold. Spiritual guidance is not just needed to help us excavate the hidden, but to help us absorb without continually collapsing before the all-too-amazing, ever on view. The wholistic witness of spiritual direction offered in this groundbreaking work is a spiritual adventurer’s guide of the highest order.”
—Kirk Byron Jones, author of Fulfilled: Living and Leading with Unusual Wisdom, Peace, and Joy

“A much-needed book in the spiritual direction literature, Embodied Spirits showcases powerful stories of deep spiritual yearnings and sacred journeys of spiritual directors of color. God’s presence in the lives of contemplatives of color shines through the stories of the authors’ yearnings for God, enriching understanding of the ministry of spiritual direction.”
—Margaret Benefiel, author of Soul at Work and The Soul of a Leader and co-editor of The Soul of Supervision