The Journey Center Association

The mission of the Journey Center Association (JCA) is to offer spiritual practices rooted in Christian contemplative traditions to the spiritually thirsty: individuals both within and beyond the church who are longing to encounter God more deeply and are reaching out for experiential resources, guidance and community. 

Is the Spirit Calling You?

Joanna’s Story

It can be both exciting and overwhelming to recognize that something is stirring in you…that perhaps the Spirit is inviting you to listen more deeply for God’s invitation at this season in your life. I’m Joanna Quintrell, the Executive Director of the JCA, and I will never forget experiencing those first stirrings on my own journey!
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Resources for Members of the Journey Center Association Community

Phase 1: Entering into Discernment


Our journey together begins with informal conversations in which we get to know each other and begin to listen to God together, and there is no charge for the resources in this first phase of early discernment. We simply want to offer you support, prayer and a listening ear as you begin to explore what God is saying and how the Spirit is moving in you and in your area.

As you enter into early discernment, we offer consultation, community and written resources. Read the following document An Invitation to a Discernment Journey (pdf) for more details.

Phase 2: Becoming a JCA Associate Group


If you and your group discern that God is indeed inviting you to move toward birthing something in your area, we offer a variety of resources to support and equip you as you enter into active discernment. There is no requirement at this point in your discernment process to commit to birthing a Journey Center; our desire is to walk with you as you continue to listen deeply to God, whatever the calling turns out to be.

Choosing to join the JCA as an Associate group gives you and your leadership group access to the following resources for active discernment: consultation, mentoring, training, community, resources and discounts. Read the following document An Invitation to a Discernment Journey (pdf) for more details about resources and fees.

Phase 3: Becoming a JCA Member Group


Some Associate groups will discern that God is calling them to birth a Journey Center in their area, which is a process that requires specific mentoring, training and support as it includes becoming a non-profit organization.

Choosing to become a full member of the Journey Center Association licenses you to use the Journey Center name and gives you access to all the resources that the JCA offers, including: guidance through the process of becoming a nonprofit organization, consultation, mentoring, training, community, resources and discounts. Read the following document An Invitation to a Discernment Journey (pdf) for more details about resources and fees.

Journey Center Association Events

The Journey Center Association has an annual gathering, regional events, online member groups, trainings, orientation sessions and other resources. Some are open to Associates and Members only, and others welcome all who are interested. We will list upcoming events here.

Contact joanna@journeycenter.org if you would like more information.

Journey Center Association Board and Staff

Click on a name to read the bio for each Staff or Board Member.

Executive Director

Joanna Quintrell

President

Emily Conway

Treasurer

Paldrom Collins

Secretary

Pamela Carraher

Executive Director

Joanna Quintrell

Joanna Quintrell serves as the Executive Director of the Journey Center Association. It was in the year 2000 that she found herself in a spiritual crisis and first learned about spiritual direction, a gift that was life-changing and heart-transforming for her… no one had ever taught her how to nurture her own inner life with God. Joanna began her training as a spiritual director in 2003 (trained at the Mercy Center, Burlingame and the Center for Spiritual Direction in Chicago). She served as the founding director of Journey Center Santa Rosa in California through 2016 and then established the Journey Center Association in 2017. She has been the co-director of the Association’s 2-year Spiritual Director Formation Program since 2009. In addition to the joy of holding sacred space for others, Joanna loves organic gardening, hiking, traveling and grand-parenting. She and her husband live in Santa Rosa, California.

Email:joanna@journeycenter.org

President

Emily Conway

Emily Conway is a writer, spiritual companion, and host of retreats, workshops, and travelers at her Airbnb, Sojourner House, in Omaha, NE. She received her training in companioning from Richmont Graduate University in Atlanta, GA. She is particularly passionate about companioning those who feel that their lives’ narratives fall outside the traditional ones that society often assigns us. As someone who spent many years feeling like she was standing at a window looking in at the rest of the world, she understands what it is like to live with the difference those with non-conforming sexual associations, beliefs, bodies, or other circumstances might experience. She is honored to accompany these individuals on their journeys.

Emily’s writing reflects her belief in the utmost importance of the interior and intentional life. Her newsletter and other publications seek to articulate this experience in hopes that others will find her words to be companions on their own journeys.

Emily is a partner, a mother of three teenagers, a gardener, swimmer, and meditator.

Treasurer

Paldrom Collins

Paldrom’s first introduction to religion was with her parents as a young child in the First Baptist church in Oklahoma. But by the time she was in high school, her mother was studying Theosophy and her father had announced his agnosticism. She spent years seeking enlightenment first as a Tibetan Buddhist nun, then through the non-dual Advaita-Vedanta lineage of Ramana Maharshi. Now returning to her Christian roots, she, like T.S. Eliot, has found:

And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

Email:paldrom.collins@gmail.com

Secretary

Pamela Carraher

Pamela Carraher is a listener, teacher, spiritual director, facilitator, and education consultant, with emphasis in spiritual formation and worldview studies. She mentors lifelong learners of all ages and carries a passion for bringing life’s deeper questions into meaningful conversations.

Pam received her training in Spiritual Direction and Contemplative Retreat Leadership from Journey Center Santa Rosa where she currently serves as a facilitator in their two-year formation Program. She received Supervision training in Chicago at North Park Seminary.

As a board member of the Journey Center Association, Pamela works with teams worldwide who have interest in developing Journey Centers in their areas, as well as developing Advanced Training Seminars intended for Spiritual Directors. Her newest project is a program in Spiritual Formation, currently in development.

She is married with three adult children and five grandchildren.

“As my formal career draws to a close, I find my deepest interest and desire is to facilitate groups that discuss and reflect upon our deepest longings and desires combined with meaningful action in and around our neighborhoods, communities and the world. I love reading, spending time with family and friends, nature study, art journaling, and Yosemite. “

Email:pamelacarraher@me.com

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