My name is Bret Lortie. I’ve had many professional roles in life: writer, educator, ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, and military chaplain. I’ve also had an ecclectic personal life, from years as a street musician and performer in Chicago to being a volunteer search and rescue pilot with Civil Air Patrol. In my current chapter of life, I’m finishing my training as a spiritual director at Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies.
I approach spiritual direction knowing the Universe created you well and good, exactly as you are. You’ve been led to a way of knowing and encountering the Divine (however you name that holy unseen mystery that guides each of us), and my role as a spiritual director isn’t to guide you to my way of encountering God, but toward your experience to remind you of that which holds your spirit and life in tenderness, compassion, and strength.
As I finish my graduate certificate at Loyola, I’m doing a year of supervised “contextual education.” During this time I’m able to offer spiritual direction at a reduced rate ($20-50 on a sliding scale) in order to gain experience in this new modality. While spiritual direction is different than pastoral counseling, I hope my long-time experience as a pastor and chaplain will benefit my work as a director for you.
Please use the contact form above to schedule a first session, always free to see if we’re a good fit, or with any questions you might have.
I took the picture in the header at Garden of the Gods. Each of the rock formations has its own identity, representing how a single unity can take many forms, and be known by many names.