Correction (Feb. 7, 2026, 1:02 p.m. PT): In our Friday E-dition story “Soul Searching” Speaker Series Planned for Grace Church (By Dave Stoneberg, Feb. 6, 2026), we incorrectly stated that the Rev. Wakoh Shannon Hickey is a senior Dharma teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center. She is not. The story should have said she studied under a senior Dharma teacher there.
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ST. HELENA, Calif. — A determined group of women are seeking to transform the beautiful and historic Grace Episcopal Church into a spiritual center for the Napa Valley. To that end, an evening speaker series called “Soul Searching, Spiritual Practices for Life’s Journey” will be presented this spring.
Six speakers — one in February, four in March and one in April — will represent various faith traditions, including Celtic Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and others. Edie Kausch, a church leader, said the speaker series will bring “wisdom-keepers from various traditions into Grace that the community might respond to because we felt there is a big spiritual need in the community.”
Besides, Kausch, those women include Genevieve Schlangen, Carlyn Clause and the church’s rector, the Rev. Amy Denney Zuniga. Kausch, Schlangen and Clause serve on the church’s governing body, called the vestry, and Schlangen is the senior warden.
Last May, Grace Church celebrated the worldwide labyrinth day by inviting the community to come and walk their labyrinth, which was completed a decade ago. Some 35 people were present, both from the congregation and the community.
“We found out that people really wanted to walk the labyrinth, but they were a little intimidated,” Kausch said, because even though it is outside, it is on church property. “They weren’t used to just feeling comfortable about walking on the labyrinth, not knowing it was built for the community.”
Those who attended the event, held on the first Saturday in May, “wanted to come together, to be fed spiritually by each other,” Kausch said. The church provided a snack table, and people wanted to stay and talk to each other, she added.
That was the genesis of the speaker series, opening the church campus up to the community to feed that spiritual need. Kausch said she has heard that more and more people claim to be spiritual but not religious.
“All religions are noticing a decline in attendance and support, but we feel at Grace Church that people’s spiritual hunger is as great as it ever was,” she said. “And maybe it’s even more because we’re living in such uncertain times. People need spiritual fulfillment.”
The first speaker is John Phillip Newell, a leading Celtic Christian teacher who gives retreats all over the world and has a worldwide following.
“We brought him in to talk about the connection between spirituality and nature that we’re all a part of,” Kausch said.
He will remind those attending to remember the sacredness of Earth and every human life. His free talk will be at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 13, at Grace Church, 1314 Spring St. in St. Helena. Like all the speakers, he is expected to share contemplative spiritual practices that “can help ground us in these challenging times.”
Newell lives in Findorn in Scotland, teaches in the United States and Canada, and is an author. His 2021 book, “Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul,” will be available for purchase at the event.
The following day, Newell and Cami Twilling, director of Denver-based Earth & Soul, will offer a retreat from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at a cost of $150, which includes lunch. It is expected to be a deep dive into spiritual practice, reflection and sacred ecology. Kausch notes that Newell will offer a sermon at the 9 a.m., Sunday service.
Today’s Puzzler: Fact or Fiction
One of these doesn’t belong in 1875. Find the answer below.
The Rev. Ruthanne Svendsen is a Calistoga resident, musician, retreat leader, ordained Presbyterian minister, wilderness guide and spiritual director. She will offer a contemplative Christian path rooted in deep listening, embodied prayer and the wisdom of Ignatian spirituality. Svendsen leads retreats, Taize services and guided labyrinth walks that invite participants to slow down, notice God’s presence and rediscover inner stillness. She founded Intersection of Napa Valley, a nonprofit that invites people to the inner connections of the sacred. Her presentation will include the experience of chanting and is at 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 4. A reception follows.
The third presentation is 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 11, with a reception and book-signing afterward. It features the Rev. Wakoh Shannon Hickey, Ph.D., who brings decades of Buddhist practice and interfaith engagement to her work as chaplain, scholar and educator. She is an ordained Soto Zen Buddhism priest and a candidate for the Unitarian Universalist ministry. She is a senior Dharma teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center and has served as a professional chaplain in hospitals, universities and hospice agencies.
Up next is an evening with Rabbi Niles Elliot Goldstein, the spiritual leader of Napa’s Congregation Beth-Shalom, to be at 6 p.m., Wednesday, March 25, with a reception and book-signing afterward. The rabbi “brings a bold and dynamic voice to contemporary Jewish spirituality, inviting speakers to confront the challenges of life with honesty, courage and hope.” Goldstein is the author of 10 books, and his leadership is “rooted in innovation, compassion and an expansive vision of community.”
A Garden Retreat with Dina Saalisi will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, March 28, in her St. Helena garden. Space is limited to 35 people, and reservations are necessary. Saalisi “invites a return to the healing wisdom of the natural world, guiding others toward wholeness through empowered connection with inner and outer landscapes.” She is a healer, educator and author, and her work “springs from her own lifelong healing journey and a deep conviction that nature offers profound medicine for the soul.”
The last of the series features Baba Harihar Ram, who is the spiritual teacher in residence at the Sonoma Ashram. His presentation will be at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 8. He is a “dedicated interpreter of the Aghor tradition, a path that emphasizes simplicity, inner freedom and doing good in the world.” A reception and book-signing follows at 7 p.m.
Each of the speakers will demonstrate various spiritual practices during their presentation that people can incorporate into their spiritual lives, Kausch said. She added the group was “really excited to put this together and see what kind of reception we will have.” It is also something new for Grace Church. “And our hope is, our ultimate goal is to become a spiritual center in the valley.”
Kausch said the speaker series, with its different practices and traditions, follows in the steps taken by Jesus Christ.
“My personal belief is that Jesus did not stay within his congregation and his religion,” Kausch said. “He did preach and he did teach his own congregation, those who went to temple, but he went out to the public, and he felt that spiritual hunger and need because in his time the world was just as split and fractured as it is in our time.”
Grace Episcopal Church is located at 1314 Spring St. in St. Helena. It was consecrated as an Episcopal Church on Dec. 12, 1875, and the stone sanctuary was finished in 1882. In the early 2000s, the church congregation raised funds to build Bourn Hall, then seismically retrofitted, rebuilt and expanded the church sanctuary, which was finished in 2008. The labyrinth, based on the labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral, A.D. 1200, was dedicated Nov. 15, 2015. The church celebrated its 150th anniversary in the fall of 2025.
To register for the speaker series or for more information about the speakers and to register for any of these free events, click here.
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Dave Stoneberg is a long-time journalist and editor for Napa and Lake counties.
Today’s Polls:
Poem of the Day
“O Servant, Where Dost Thou Seek Me?”
By Kabir; translated by Rabindranath Tagore
O servant, where dost thou seek Me?
Lo! I am beside thee.
I am neither in temple nor in mosque:
I am neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash:
Neither am I in rites and ceremonies,
Nor in Yoga and renunciation.
If thou art a true seeker, thou shalt at once see Me:
Thou shalt meet Me in a moment of time.
Kabîr says:
“O Sadhu! God is the breath of all breath.”
About the author: Kabir (circa 1440–1518) was an Indian poet and mystic whose work emerged in north India during the Bhakti movement, a devotional tradition that emphasized direct spiritual experience over ritual authority. Little about Kabir’s life is known with certainty, but he is widely understood to have lived at the intersection of Hindu and Islamic cultures, drawing on both while rejecting sectarian identity. His verses circulated widely, often through oral tradition, and were later compiled in collections such as the “Bijak,” as well as incorporated into the Sikh scripture “Guru Granth Sahib,” where his hymns appear extensively.
Kabir’s poetry is marked by direct address, paradox and a fierce critique of religious formalism. He repeatedly challenged inherited practices in favor of inward attention, ethical clarity and lived spiritual awareness. This poem, presented in Rabindranath Tagore’s early 20th-century translation from “Songs of Kabir,” reflects Kabir’s central concern: that the sacred is encountered not through institutions or rituals but through immediacy of presence and faith. Kabir’s work has continued to influence poets, spiritual teachers and interfaith thinkers across cultures and generations.
Are you a poet, or do you have a favorite piece of verse you’d like to share? Napa Valley Features invites you to submit your poems for consideration in this series. Email your submissions to napavalleyfeatures@gmail.com with the subject line: “Poem of the Day Submission.” Selected poets will receive a one-year paid subscription to Napa Valley Features (a $60 value). We can’t wait to hear from you.
Today’s Caption Contest
Pick your favorite caption or add your own in the comments below.
Possible Captions:
“Let’s begin by acknowledging how attractive it is.”
“We’ve all had good intentions.”
“This felt easier before it was lit.”
“It’s helpful to remember how warm it felt at first.”
“This is a judgment-free space.”
Last Week’s Contest Results
In “The Bicyclists of Denmark,” the winning caption was “Everyone remembers being taller,” with 76% of the votes.
Caption Options:
“They say the real jungle is Medicare paperwork.”
“No one ever speaks of the yoga chair incident.”
“What’s the opposite of survival of the fittest?”
“They look nice, but just wait until bingo night.”
“Everyone remembers being taller.”
Today’s Puzzler: Answer + Explanation:
Correct answer: Beringer Bros. winery founded
Napa County was established in 1850. The City of Napa was incorporated on March 23, 1872, and was reincorporated in 1874. Calistoga is widely dated to 1868, tied to the railroad era that helped make it a resort destination.
Beringer Vineyards (Beringer Bros.) dates to 1876, making it the only choice that postdates 1875.
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Browse All Napa Valley Features Stories
Browse All Sonoma County Features Stories
Browse All Lake County Features Stories
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The views, opinions and data presented in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position or perspective of Napa Valley Features or its editorial team. Any content provided by our authors is their own and is not intended to malign any group, organization, company or individual.
The spiritual talks are timely. Thank you.
Mr. Stoneberg,
This sentence is inaccurate:
"In the early 2000s, the church congregation raised funds to build Bourn Hall"
I grew up in this church (born 1938); Bourn Hall was certainly being used before 1950.
Kathleen Conrey, Napa