Spiritual Direction with Kathy Cleaver

Helping to Pave Your Spiritual Path

About Kathy

“Our yearning for God is the most important aspect of our humanity; our precious treasure; it gives our existence meaning and direction, it is, indeed universal and primary…. it is a very specific desire for an actual loving communion, even in an absolutely personal relationship with God.”
Gerald May

Kathy deeply respects the mystery of life unfolding in each unique person.  She is rooted in Ignatian Spirituality.

Kathleen Cleaver, Spiritual Director, Philadelphia Area

Through her ministry, she offers a life-giving approach to finding the Holy in all things.

Experience

Kathy has worked as a spiritual director for over 18 years.  Some of her work has focused on issues such as:

  • Becoming more intentional about one’s spiritual life within the joys and challenges of marriage/partnership, family life, or single life.
  • Seeking spiritual growth in mid-life
  • Enlarging images of God ~ including female images of the Holy One
  • Dreams as a Spiritual Practice

Read more about Kathy’s areas of experience in Spiritual Direction on the What to Expect page.

Kathy proudly hails from southern California.  She began her working career as a Navy Nurse during the Vietnam War at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital working on medical-surgical and psychiatric units.  She later worked as a social worker in the Public Health Department in Goshen, Indiana.  After moving to Allentown, Pa and studying pastoral counseling  she practiced  individual and couple therapy as well as facilitating support groups for widows and widowers and divorced and separated individuals.  She also taught parent education classes.

Personal

Kathy lives in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia with her husband Gene.  They have two daughters, Rachel, who lives in Washington, DC and works at George Mason University as Associte Director of K-12 Partnerships.  Sarah, who lives in Lowell, MA with her wife and their two children works as a Hospice Social Worker. Kathy has been an active Associate in Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Chestnut Hill for over 15 years.

Education

  • M.A. in Holistic Spirituality/Spiritual Direction
    Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia
  • Certification of Advanced Study in Pastoral Counseling
    Loyola College, Maryland
  • M.S.W.
    University of Missouri School of Social Work, Columbia, Missouri
  • B.S. in Nursing
    Seattle University, Seattle, Washington

Memberships and Training

  • Spiritual Directors International
  • “The Retreat in Everyday Life” which follows the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola
  • Group Spiritual Direction
  • Dream Work

Examples of Programs and Retreats Facilitated:

  • Introduction to the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola online course through Moravian Seminary, Bethlehem
  • An Invitation to Ignatian Spirituality for Our Day online course through Moravian Seminary
  • Dreamwork as Soul Work through Mt. Airy Learning Tree, Philadelphia,
  • Introduction to Dream Work Series, SSJ Center for Spirituality, Chestnut Hill, Pa
  • Weekend Dream Retreat, St. Mary by-the-Sea Retreat House
  •  Spiritual Direction as a Ministry of Accompaniment, Germantown Mennonite Church, Germantown, PA
  • Directed Silent Retreat, St Francis Center for Renewal, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
  • Directed Silent Retreat Weekend: Come…Let Your God Love You, St. Mary-by-the-Sea, NJ.
  • Sacred Listening Programs: New Jersey and Philadelphia
  • Spiritual Formation Series to Deepen One’s Spiritual Life, St. Vincent’s, Germantown
  • Spring Spa Day for Your Soul, St. Phillip Neri, Lafayette Hill, PA
  • Taking the Pulse of Your Spiritual Life, St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, Trexlertown, PA

What is Spiritual Direction?

“Nothing is quite so rewarding or so at the heart of what we are made for as the spiritual quest. ” – Thomas Hart

Spiritual direction is the art of deep listening.

It is for all people who are seeking growth in their inner journey to wholeness. It is focused on your growing relationship with God, self and others.

Meetings usually occur once a month for about one hour; fees are mutually agreed upon. This is not a substitute for psychological counseling, although at times both may address similar content.

The process is simple and the journey is profound.

What to Expect from Spiritual Direction

Through prayerful attention, I will accompany you to help you discern your own individual truth, inner wisdom, and God’s loving guidance for you.  Spiritual Direction helps one to grow in inner freedom to act more justly in the world.

My areas of experience include working with the following:

  • Becoming more intentional about one’s spiritual life within the joys and challenges of single life, marriage and family life
  • Building the discipline of a contemplative life
  • Learning new prayer styles including meditation and contemplation
  • Seeking spiritual growth in mid-life
  • Enlarging images of God ~ including female images of the Holy One
  • Journeying with those who identify as LGBTQ+
  • Journeying with parents of those who identify as LGBTQ+
  • Dreams as a Spiritual Practice
  • Experiences of transitions and changes
  • Marginalization as a result of race, class, or sexual orientation
  • Learning to make life-giving choices
  • Disillusionment by past religious experiences, yet desiring a relationship with God

Dream Work

Inquire about Kathy's Dram Work

 

Dream Work is a spiritual practice whose goal is to bring individuals, groups and the world to conscious wholeness through engaging the Wisdom that lies within.

Kathy, a trained spiritual director and enthusiastic dream leader, guides participants as they unpack the richness of their dreams.

Dreams are shared in a contemplative and confidential atmosphere  through individual Spiritual Direction, Dream Circles, Dream Workshops, or Weekend Retreats.

 

“Give me a candle of the Spirit, O God, as I go down into the depths of my own being. Show me the hidden things. Take me down to the spring of my life and tell me my nature and my name. Give me freedom to grow so that I may become my true self- the fulfillment of the seed you planted in me at my making.”
(George Appleton)

 

"Are you seeking deeper meaning in your life? "