Our spiritual directors

April Allison, M.A., M.P.H., is a graduate of the Internship in Spiritual Direction at St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt, Michigan. For 10 years she was on the staff of The Leaven Center. She is a Quaker (Religious Society of Friends), and serves on the Worship and Pastoral Care Committee of her meeting. She also travels in the ministry as an elder and companion through the Friends General Conference Traveling Ministries Program.

Melanie Morrison, M.Div., Ph.D., is executive director of Allies for Change, which provides anti-oppression education, training, and resources for individuals and organizations committed to social change. She is an ordained United Church of Christ minister who has served three congregations. She is a graduate of the Internship in Spiritual Direction at Saint Francis Retreat Center. For 20 years, Melanie was director of Leaven. She is the author of three books including The Grace of Coming Home: Spirituality, Sexuality, and the Struggle for Justice.

Learn more about spiritual direction. To make an appointment, call 517-855-2277.

Spiritual direction at Heron Rising

Times: One-hour sessions can be scheduled to occur monthly, every other week, or weekly.

Cost: Contact us for fee information.

Location: Sessions Heron Rising near Lyons, Michigan (midway between Lansing and Grand Rapids).

Directed Retreats: The Heron Rising Guest House can be reserved for overnight, weekend, or week-long retreats. Periodic meetings between director and retreatant can be scheduled during the retreat.

The land at Heron Rising provides a beautiful, restful context for individual retreats. Meditative pathways wind through woods, through fields of wildflowers, and alongside the Grand River. A bench in the orchard looks out over rolling farmland. By a spring-fed stream you can pause to listen to water tumbling over moss-covered rocks.

For more information, contact reservations@heronrising.com or (989) 855-2277.