Lisa Hudkins is a graduate of the SLC Internship Program, the Advanced Training Program for Spiritual Directors, is a trained supervisor and currently serves as Chair of the SLC Board. Lisa is also a Team Associate and a Partner in the Internship Program. Her background is in education and mentoring and training beginning teachers, skills that have served her well as a Spiritual Director. The ability to listen deeply and to be present to those she companions fills her with great joy. Lisa has found the practice of daily contemplation is an important part of her life. Whether reading inspirational books, poems, chants or working in her journal she realizes the importance of spending time in silence to hear the Spirit within her. She enjoys working in her gardens and in taking long walks with her four-year-old boxer Gracie. It is during these times that she finds herself giving thanks for the beauty of creation that she encounters all around her. Lisa has enjoyed providing retreat days of reflection and running various book clubs at Lourdes in Litchfield. Lisa and her husband Paul have been married for 45 years and have two adult children who live in Wyoming and Michigan. These are their favorite places to visit!
Patricia Knight-Bellisle is an experienced spiritual director, graduating from the Spiritual Life Center’s internship program in 2018 after she retired as an attorney. She is a long-time practitioner of Centering Prayer and learned the technique from a student of Basil Pennington. She met Basil Pennington at St. Joseph’s Abbey and this experience confirmed for her the value of a contemplative practice. She practiced Zen mediation for eight years at the New Haven Zen Center while remaining rooted in Catholic tradition. She has facilitated both Centering Prayer and Bridges groups in her home parishes. She joined Connecticut Legal Services as an attorney in 1987 to practice public housing defense and to do tenant organizing in Bridgeport, Connecticut. While serving in Legal Aide, Tricia also completed a candidacy year with the Newburgh Dominicans (now the Dominicans of New Hope).