Ryan Black
https://nashvilletaichiandwellness.com/
Mindfulness on the Mountain Retreats, May/August/December 2026
Ryan Black is the Founder and Chief Instructor of Nashville Tai Chi and Wellness. He received his training in the original martial art of Tai Chi (t'ai chi ch'üan) and advanced in the art with YMAA instructors in Boston and then at Dr. Yang's retreat center in California.
His formal training in mindfulness facilitation is through Vanderbilt’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. Ryan is currently a co-teacher for the Osher’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction program and a regular facilitator for Mindful Mondays.
Tom Camp
Yoga instructor for Centering Prayer Retreats, Workshops
Tom Camp is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Clinical Fellow in American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, a Certified Yoga Therapist (IAYT) and Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT500), and an ordained United Methodist Elder, with over 40 years of experience practicing and teaching psychotherapy and integrating relationships, Yoga, ethics, spiritual guidance, breath work, and meditation in the healing process.
Bill Combs
Centering Prayer Retreats
A former oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Bill felt a calling from God to drastically change his path in life and do something different. The Rev. Bill Combs graduated from the Virginia Theological Seminary and has served many years in the Episcopal Church. He retired as the rector of Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Georgia. Bill’s time away from the church is spent largely with his family.
Carole Forét
Soulful Studio: Stillness Inspired, March 10, 17, 24, 31, 2026
Carole comes from a strong lineage of family artists and has spent decades creating and teaching across the Southeast and Europe. She has owned galleries in Florida and Alabama, was featured in Southern Living (2008), and was the keynote speaker and demonstrator at the Congressional Art Competition in Washington, D.C. (2013). She has led art retreats in Italy and completed a month-long artist residency in France's Champagne region (2019). Now based between studios in Huntsville, AL, and Sewanee, TN, Carole continues to inspire others with her passion and expertise.
David Frazelle
Centering Prayer Eight Day Retreat, January 9-16, 2026
The Rev. David Frazelle has served as an Episcopal Priest since 2004 in parishes in North Carolina, currently at Christ Church, Raleigh. He has been leading Centering Prayer groups, workshops, and retreats since 1998.
John Gatta
Deep Green Faith Workshop: Rediscovering the Green Roots of Christian Faith
August 15, 2026
John Gatta is Emeritus Professor of English both at the University of Connecticut and at Sewanee, where he has also served as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. A long-time staff member of the Center for Deep Green Faith, he has taught as well at the University of Missouri, as a Fulbright lecturer in Senegal, and in South Africa. Much of his teaching and research has addressed theological topics, as well as American environmental literature and the interplay between religious faith and literary imagination. Among his many publications are books such as Green Gospel: Foundations of Ecotheology, The Transfiguration of Christ and Creation, Spirits of Place in American Literary Culture, Making Nature Sacred: Literature, Religion, and Environment in America from the Puritans to the Present, and (forthcoming) Green Worlds of C.S. Lewis: the Ecology of Aslan’s Realm.
Carolyn Goddard
Centering Prayer Facilitators Retreat 2026
Carolyn Goddard began practicing Centering Prayer in 1986 and quickly became involved with Contemplative Outreach as a facilitator of support groups, a presenter of various workshops, and a retreat leader. She served on the Leadership Team for Contemplative Outreach of Middle Tennessee. Until recently, she wrote for Contemplative Outreach’s Word of the Week, she continues to facilitate Prayer Chapels for that program. Carolyn lives in Nashville with her husband of forty-seven years.
Robin Gottfried
Deep Green Faith Workshop: Rediscovering the Green Roots of Christian Faith
August 15, 2026
Robin Gottfried is Professor Emeritus of Economics and Founding Director (Retired) of the Center for Religion and Environment, The University of the South. He has published and taught extensively in the areas of environment and sustainability, including the intersection of Christianity, economics, ecology, and spirituality. He is the author of The Audacious Great Singing School Adventure, Living in an Icon: A Program for Growing Closer to Creation and to God, and Economics, Ecology, and the Roots of Western Faith: Perspectives from the Garden. He currently is working on a new book, Building God’s Home: Creation Caring, Spiritual Formation, and the Renewal of the Church.
Kasey Hitt
Women’s Writing Retreat, June 25-28, 2026
Kasey Hitt, MDiv, is a spiritual director, teacher, retreat leader, and co-founder of Wisdom Tree Collective, an online contemplative community offering training in spiritual formation and spiritual direction, along with groups, workshops, and retreats. Her path into contemplative spirituality began through ministry burnout and a transformative retreat experience at San Francisco Theological Seminary. She later relocated from Missouri to Washington, where she earned a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and a Master of Divinity from The Seattle School of Theology and Psychology. With over twenty years of experience, Kasey offers a grounded, compassionate presence rooted in contemplative practice. She is also a Level III Reiki Therapist. Kasey resides in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, with her husband, Russ, daughter, Lainey, son, Alex, and their Russian Blue cat, Birdie.
Lisa Kammerud
Eight Day Centering Prayer Retreats, January & June 2026
https://www.lisakammerudlmt.com/
Lisa Kammerud is a Licensed Massage Therapist specializing in trauma-informed, fully clothed bodywork. She offers a stable, safe presence that combines bodywork (touch), supportive communication, meditative visualizations, and movement as appropriate. Lisa often collaborates with centering prayer retreats and other programs by offering sessions as part of the program schedule. She also is available for individual appointments. Lisa has multiple certifications in several bodywork modalities and brings her own special gifts and experience to her practice.
Jamie Kyne
Love is Your Nature: An Inner Works Retreat, September 25-27, 2026
Jamie Kyne, Ph.D., is a licensed clinical psychologist in private practice in Nashville, Tennessee. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1981. He earned an M.A. in theological studies in 1989 from Fuller Theological Seminary. That same year he also earned an M.A. (equivalency) in clinical psychology and in 1992 he completed his Ph.D. in clinical psychology. Jamie worked in private practice in Pasadena, California between 1989 and 1993. During those years he also worked on a project in the Los Angeles County Jails system for the L.A. County Department of Mental Health. He and his wife, Carolyn, moved to Nashville in 1993. Jamie took a position in outpatient behavioral health with the Tennessee Christian Medical Center in Madison, TN. He served for a while as the Director of Outpatient Services there before moving into full time private practice in Nashville in 1996. He has provided psychotherapy, supervision, and organizational consulting services in the years since then. Currently, his practice is limited to individual, couples, and family psychotherapy. He and his wife have two children, Rosemary (29) and James (26) who live in Boston and New York City, respectively.
Becca Impello & Kim Drye
Training for Your Next Decade: Mindful Longevity, February 13-15, 2026
Becca is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance, a member of the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and has done specific training in pre-natal yoga, therapeutic yoga and studied the teachings of Gary Kraftsow, T. K. V. Desikachar, Doug Keller, Suzi Hatley, and Timothy McCall, among others. Becca currently works with clients one on one for individualized yoga instruction to address acute or chronic issues, learn modifications for safe entry into community classes, or develop a personal practice. She also teaches yoga classes, therapeutic focus yoga workshops, and anatomy trainings.
Kim is a skilled and knowledgeable yoga instructor who specializes in alignment, therapeutic and restorative yoga. She teaches at HereNowYoga and is the owner of West Asheville Yoga Studio. She has trained primarily with instructors in the Iyengar tradition including Asheville, NC teachers Lillah Schwartz and Cindy Dollar, as well as nationally recognized master teachers Matthew Sanford, Roger Cole, and Aadil Palkhivala. Her certifications include a 200 hour certification from the Asheville Yoga Center with Stephanie Keach (2008), and a 500 hour Yoga Therapy certification from Lighten Up Yoga with Lillah Schwartz (2009-2013).
Janka Livoncova
Equanimity Retreat, May 13-17, 2026
Janka Livoncova has been a dedicated student and practitioner of meditation since 1994 and started sharing her practice with others in 2004. Janka has been practicing and studying the dharma for over three decades. Initially in the Soto Zen tradition and, since 2010, under the guidance of her Vipassana mentors Kittisaro and Thanissara. She is a graduate of Spirit Rock’s Community Dharma Leaders program and the Sacred Mountain Sangha two-year Dharmapala training with Kittisaro and Thanissara. Janka leads the Chattanooga Insight Meditation Community and retreats in Chattanooga area.
June Mays
The Undoing Workshop, May 9, 2026
June Mays enjoyed a 31year career as a financial advisor in Birmingham with Merrill Lynch and UBS. Since 2009 she enjoyed a second career as a garden designer, writer, and lecturer. She spent a year studying garden design at the English Gardening School in London and has designed or consulted on over 100 gardens.
Although she has retired from garden design, she continues to speak and to write about gardens. She has spoken at Tryon Palace in New Bern NC, Longvue House in New Orleans, the Chattanooga Nature Center, Callaway Gardens, the Augusta Georgia Garden Festival, the Festival of Flowers in Mobile, the Herb Society of America in Austin, TX, the Homestead Resort Garden Symposium in Hot Springs Virginia, the Birmingham Botanical Garden, Aldridge Gardens, St. Mary’s Retreat Center in Sewanee, the University of the South in Sewanee, and at numerous garden clubs and master gardener groups throughout the country.
She has written for Fine Gardening, Southern Accents, Flower, Lowe’s Creative Ideas, Birmingham Home and Garden, The American Gardener, The Alabama Gardener, and the DIY Network website. She has been published by Warner Books with “Women’s Guide to Financial Self Defense”, in 1998, during a time when women didn’t know as much about finances as they do now. The book is still available from amazon.com. During her financial career, she gave 75 presentations on this topic and several workshops on putting together a notebook to help a woman learn more about the family financial situation. This workshop focuses on what you can do now to help your family after your death. This workshop is for men, too. Both singles and couples will benefit from this workshop.
June and her husband Joe live in Birmingham and in Sewanee Tennessee.
Gordon Peerman
Mindfulness on the Mountain Retreats, May/August/December 2026
The Rev. Gordon Peerman, DMin, is an Episcopal priest and leader of many retreats at St. Mary’s Sewanee. He has been engaged with contemplative practices, including Centering Prayer, mindfulness meditation, yoga, and Qi Gong since 1975. He has taught Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at Vanderbilt and St. Thomas Health Services, as well as classes in Buddhist Christian Dialogue at Vanderbilt Divinity School. He lives in Nashville.
Dr. Robbie Pinter
In Image and Word: Listen to Your Life, February 6-8, 2026
Dr. Robbie Pinter serves on the Board of St. Mary’s Sewanee. She taught English at Belmont University for forty years. She now enjoys what was once her “career within a career,” offering Spiritual Direction, retreats, and Centering Prayer groups. She is also a supervisor for those offering Spiritual Direction. After a nudge to dwell more fully in the world of metaphor, symbol, ritual and social justice, she converted to Catholicism. Raised in the Baptist tradition, Robbie now speaks two spiritual languages.
A three-time graduate of Shalem Institute (The Spiritual Guidance Program, Transforming Community and the Soul of Leadership), Robbie has served as a Spiritual Director for 18 years. She also serves on the leadership team for Contemplative Outreach, west and east Tennessee.
Throughout her career, Robbie taught classes that she designed such as Journaling within and beyond the academy. This course incorporates wisdom from sources such as Ira Progroff’s eponymous program, “In a Journal Workshop” to Suleika Jaouad, The Book of Alchemy. She has also offered academic papers and non-academic workshops for those interested in spiritual writing.
Robbie has a deep love of teaching—both teaching and spiritual direction are a little alike in that they both involve “listening a person into existence” as Mary Rose O’Reilley writes. Both teaching and spiritual direction offer their own kinds of listening. All of these courses inform her current work.
Robbie is wife to Mike, a Math professor at Belmont University, and mother to Nicholas who teaches pre-school at the Jewish Community Center (she’s thrilled he joined the family business of education).
Kenneth Robinson
Mindfulness on the Mountain Retreats, May/August/December 2026
https://www.kennethrobinsontherapy.com/
Kenneth Robinson has worked for more than thirty years in the healing arts. He began as an addictions counselor, then as director of a family counseling center, and for the past twenty-five years as a body-oriented therapist and teacher. Throughout that time he has been a student of meditation and yoga, and for four years studied Alaya Process, a transpersonal approach to healing.
Kenneth received a Master’s degree in Counseling and Education from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1977. He received his Master’s in Theological Studies from the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University in 2007. He is a member of the Nashville Psychotherapy Institute and past chair of NPI’s Diversity Committee, which offers educational programs for the membership that promote diversity and multiculturalism. He also holds membership in the United States Association of Body Psychotherapy.
Beyond his practice, Kenneth is a poet, musician, and founding member of the music group Chant Ram. The music of Chant Ram leads kirtan, a form of meditation through music that allows participants to move to open-hearted awareness and self-expression through sound.
Tom Ward
Centering Prayer Retreats
Since he retired as chaplain of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tom has dedicated his time to teaching others the method of Centering Prayer. He has served on the St. Mary’s Sewanee Board and been a presenter/facilitator of retreats and workshops for decades. His passion for sharing the spiritual gifts of the Centering Prayer practice are extraordinary.
Amy-Lyles Wilson
Women’s Writing Retreat, June 25-28, 2026
Amy-Lyles Wilson, M.A., M.T.S., believes it is the sharing of our stories that saves us. Toward that end, she helps people get to the heart of the matter through words. A Mississippi native who calls Nashville home, Amy-Lyles works as a writer, story coach, spiritual director, and communitybased teacher. She has hosted several creative retreats at St. Mary’s Sewanee, and is affiliated with such local organizations as Wisdom Tree Collective, Day 7, and The Porch. She has been published in a variety of magazines and co-authored or contributed to eight books. Amy-Lyles is a former board member and program committee chair for St. Mary’s Sewanee. She has served as adjunct professor and writer-in-residence at the Earlham School of Religion, and led workshops across the South, as well as at the Chautauqua Institution. Amy-Lyles is a trained spiritual director and facilitator of both Amherst Writers & Artists and SoulCollage® workshops, and holds degrees in English, journalism, and theology. She recently earned a certificate in narrative healthcare from Lenoir-Rhyne University as part of her commitment to continued education and training.