Our Spiritual Directors
Retreatants will be assigned a spiritual director to meet with for a half hour each day.

REV. DR. ARVID STRAUBE
Arvid (he/him) has been helping people grow spiritually for over 35 years, first as a parish minister, and now as a spiritual director. Arvid's daily spiritual practice is meditation in the Buddhist tradition.
You can read about Arvid's spiritual coaching on his website and on his Facebook page.
Arvid's offerings at SpiritRest include:
Arvid (he/him) has been helping people grow spiritually for over 35 years, first as a parish minister, and now as a spiritual director. Arvid's daily spiritual practice is meditation in the Buddhist tradition.
You can read about Arvid's spiritual coaching on his website and on his Facebook page.
Arvid's offerings at SpiritRest include:
- A half hour walking mediation each morning of the retreat
- A teaching session on "Introduction to Meditation and Mindfulness"
- A teaching session on "Prayer Practices" with Sharon Wylie

REV. LUCY BUNCH
Lucy (she/her) uses an embodied approach to help draw out the unconscious aspects of our spirit. She is a trained labyrinth facilitator through the Veriditas foundation, a Tai Chi practitioner, as well as an Interplay leader – a program of body-mind- spirit connections.
Lucy serves the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, where she has developed a spiritual deepening program involving more than 100 members of the congregation. She has twenty years of experience as a mentor and coach through her work at the University of California.
Lucy's offerings at SpiritRest include:
Lucy (she/her) uses an embodied approach to help draw out the unconscious aspects of our spirit. She is a trained labyrinth facilitator through the Veriditas foundation, a Tai Chi practitioner, as well as an Interplay leader – a program of body-mind- spirit connections.
Lucy serves the Unitarian Universalist Society of Sacramento, where she has developed a spiritual deepening program involving more than 100 members of the congregation. She has twenty years of experience as a mentor and coach through her work at the University of California.
Lucy's offerings at SpiritRest include:
- Labyrinth walks
- Embodied Practice at the labyrinth
- Daily Qi gong practice
- Three teaching sessions on "Body Grounding"
- A session of Interplay

REV. BATYA DALE
Batya (she/her) has over twenty years of experience as a Unitarian Universalist and Interfaith minister, helping people of all backgrounds access the awe and wonder that leads to meaning-making, spiritual courage, and joyful service. Most recently she has shifted to a Spiritual Direction practice working one-in-one and with small groups seeking to counter the stresses and responsibilities of this tumultuous time through focus on rooted spiritual resilience.
Batya offers deep presence, holy curiosity, questions that help unlock inner wisdom, compassionate listening, guided meditations, poetry, rituals, creative arts, energy work, humor, and faith in the sacred, unifying mystery that underlies all diversity. She is a panentheist mystic and student of the esoteric, drawing largely from the Jewish tradition,
You can read about Batyas approach on her website TendingSpirit.com and through her daily Facebook postings on TendingSpirit.
Batya's offerings at SpiritRest include:
Batya (she/her) has over twenty years of experience as a Unitarian Universalist and Interfaith minister, helping people of all backgrounds access the awe and wonder that leads to meaning-making, spiritual courage, and joyful service. Most recently she has shifted to a Spiritual Direction practice working one-in-one and with small groups seeking to counter the stresses and responsibilities of this tumultuous time through focus on rooted spiritual resilience.
Batya offers deep presence, holy curiosity, questions that help unlock inner wisdom, compassionate listening, guided meditations, poetry, rituals, creative arts, energy work, humor, and faith in the sacred, unifying mystery that underlies all diversity. She is a panentheist mystic and student of the esoteric, drawing largely from the Jewish tradition,
You can read about Batyas approach on her website TendingSpirit.com and through her daily Facebook postings on TendingSpirit.
Batya's offerings at SpiritRest include:
- A teaching session on "The Tree of Life as Map"
- A teaching session of Guided Art: Mapping
- A teaching session of Self-Guided Rattle Making
- A teaching session of Toning (a 1/2 hour of nonverbal sound release)

REV. TANIA Y MARQUEZ
Tania (she/her) is a community minister currently serving as a hospital chaplain in San Diego.
Tania (she/her) is a community minister currently serving as a hospital chaplain in San Diego.

REV. SHARON WYLIE
Sharon (she/her) is the minister at Chalice Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Escondido, CA, where she has served since 2012.
Sharon's spiritual life is deeply informed by earth-centered theologies and practices. You can follow Sharon on her personal blog and on her public Facebook page.
Sharon's offerings at SpiritRest include:
Sharon (she/her) is the minister at Chalice Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Escondido, CA, where she has served since 2012.
Sharon's spiritual life is deeply informed by earth-centered theologies and practices. You can follow Sharon on her personal blog and on her public Facebook page.
Sharon's offerings at SpiritRest include:
- Daily silent prayer
- A nightly "Self Soothing" practice
- A teaching session on "Finding the Self in Silence" (Internal Family Systems thinking)
- One session of UU communion
- A teaching session on "Prayer Practices" with Arvid Straube