A bit about me
I’m one of the founders of Urban Abbey – a new-monastic community in the heart of Nottingham, that’s part of the 24-7 Prayer movement.
I’m a member of the Order of the Mustard Seed, and I work as an Anglican Chaplain for a day every week in a nearby prison. I’m also currently training for ordination as an Anglican priest.
My spirituality started its life with Pentecostal & Charismatic roots and is currently deepening its Catholic & Contemplative connections. It’s fair to say that I really enjoy the breadth of spirituality that’s available in the Church, and feel at home with a wide variety of ‘flavours’.
Married since 1988, I have 3 grown-up children and (currently!) 4 beautiful granddaughters. I worked for 30+ years in Financial Services, leading teams that helped companies with ridiculously ambitious growth plans, before switching in 2018 to establish a House of Prayer!
Adventure is important to me - I love the great outdoors, hiking, cycling, pilgrimage, playing piano, and people!
“Earth's crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God” - Elizabeth Barrett Browning
My Aims & Commitments
I love to see growth and development. Since completing the 2 years of training with Sustainable Faith in 2024, I’m slowly taking on new people to walk alongside - and each new person and journey is proving to be an amazing privilege and an absolute delight.
I honour confidentiality (of course), and aim to provide a safe space where anything can be talked about without judgement or fear.
In each session I aim to be attentive … to your story … and also to the voice of the Holy Spirit who is always close and at work. Most of my interactions will be in the form of questions primed to help you explore and spot where God is at work for yourself. Sometimes I’ll encourage you to delve into elements of your story using your imagination, or in engaging the creative part of you in some way.
I particularly enjoy walking alongside people who have big questions or doubts - whose faith is somewhat rattled. I don’t have the answers(!) - though I hope that my company & questions would help you to navigate a route through these turbulent yet fruitful seasons.
Along with all Spiritual Directors who train with Sustainable Faith, I’m committed to ongoing learning:
• I meet with my own Spiritual Director monthly
• I participate in ongoing supervision of my spiritual direction practice
• I actively pursue ongoing education to enhance and refine my skills in spiritual direction too
Where do we begin?
Finding the ‘right’ Spiritual Director is not always easy, and you might need to try a few before it feels ‘good’. If you’re interested in me accompanying your spiritual journey, it’s worth noting that:
I only offer direction on Mondays & Thursdays at the moment;
I charge £25-40 for an hourly session (you discern the final fee)
If those 2 facts are OK for you …
I like to have an initial 'hello' session for an hour (without cost), where we tell each other the headlines of our spiritual lives - the highs and lows of our relationship with God. The purpose of this initial session is for us to both assess whether we think that there's mileage for us to give it a go together … and it’s fine if either of us feels like it might not work.
[After this initial time together, I would aim to keep my own story and experience entirely out of the picture - focusing only on you, and your walk with God].
If we both feel comfortable to give it a go, I'd ask that you commit to at least 3 sessions ... and we'd cement these 3 sessions in the diary. You might choose to run monthly, 6-weekly, or maybe every 2 months ... I feel that longer gaps are not so effective.
Then we'd begin these 3 sessions, either meeting in-person at Urban Abbey, or online using Zoom (more details when you book).
I usually open each session with a short time of quiet and either a prayer or some Bible verses, that will help you to settle and to become aware of the long and loving gaze of God on your life. Then there would be space for you to talk about the things that are most important to you - this might be something that's current for you, something that you're wrestling with, a reflection on your walk with God, feelings that are particularly strong for you, habits or patterns that you'd like to break free from ... or ones that you'd like to form, etc (the list is endless!).
If you’re participating in the Season of Preparation for the Order of the Mustard Seed (OMS), you may well find that your deep journey with the learnings related to the 3 vows and 6 practices of the OMS easily provides you with material where you’re sensing God at work in your life!
In it all, you would hold the agenda and the pace, and together we'd be dusting for the fingerprints of God, noticing where He's at work in your life, and where He's currently inviting you.
At the end of the first 3 sessions, there's no further commitment, and I wouldn't want to assume that we'd simply keep repeating. Booking a session with me is relatively simple using the tool below, so the ball will be in your court at that point. (If you struggle to find a sensible time, do drop me a note - the automatic booking might need
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© 2025 Mike & Alison Davies
