Spiritual Direction and Retreats

Steve Givens is available for individual spiritual direction, as well as to give presentations and facilitate retreats.

He’s available to speak to your church, retreat center or organization, and can present talks, workshops, days of reflection and retreats centered around the topics closest to his heart and soul — contemplative prayer, creativity and spirituality, and facing life’s tough moments (like disease and treatment) with faith and clarity of purpose. Drop him a line if you want more information: givenscreative@gmail.com.

If you are seeking a spiritual director or would like more information on spiritual direction, he would be happy to speak to you. He works with a small number of people in the St. Louis area who desire to have a companion for their spiritual journey and is also available for spiritual direction via Facetime or Zoom for those at a distance. For more information, write to him at: givenscreative@gmail.com.

Steve approaches the ministry of spiritual direction with one overarching and authentic vision — that there are always three persons present when he meets with an individual seeking direction, with God’s Holy Spirit occupying the third and unseen chair in the room. This vision, beyond all else that he brings to this ministry, encompasses and illustrates his belief that the act of spiritual guidance is a sacred one, a sacramental sign of God’s presence and action in our lives. 

Don’t be misled by the term “spiritual director,” for he will not be directing your spiritual journey. But he will accompany you, listen to you, and be a trusted companion as you seek to make your way toward a more mature relationship with God. 

Steve believes, as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin once wrote, in the “slow work of God,” and will encourage you to nurture a willingness to open yourself to a life of awareness and paying close attention as you wait patiently for God’s response to your life of prayer. He knows from his own experience that this is not easy work.

Is there a fee for spiritual direction?

Generally, yes, but Steve approaches this ministry from a position of abundancy. He knows he has been given much and tries to leave himself open to meeting the needs of others. So he sees people who cannot afford to pay anything, as well as  others who can. He asks you to share from your own abundance if you can. The going rate in the St. Louis area for spiritual direction is between $25 and $60 per session. He asks you to prayerfully consider what you can afford, knowing that you are also helping him continue to see those who can afford little or nothing.

This is what Henri Nouwen had to say about this notion. He wrote, in Bread for the Journey: “With an abundancy mentality we say:  ‘There is enough for everyone, more than enough:  food, knowledge, love … everything.’ With this mind-set we give away whatever we have, to whomever we meet. When we see hungry people we give them food. When we meet ignorant people we share our knowledge; when we encounter people in need of love, we offer them friendship and affection and hospitality and introduce them to our family and friends. When we live with this mind-set, we will see the miracle that what we give away multiplies:  food, knowledge, love … everything. There will even be many leftovers.”