Meet Christine
Christine D. Maschka grew up in St. Louis, MO, and received a B.A. in Religious Studies from Benedictine College in Atchison, KS (1987). She completed an M.A. in Christian Spirituality and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Creighton University in Omaha, NE (1996). Christine has served in parish ministry as a Youth Minister in Overland Park, KS, and as Director of Pastoral Care in Denver, CO from 2012–2022. She has also served as a Hospice chaplain in both Kansas City and Denver.
A speaker and facilitator for spiritual and educational programs, workshops, and retreats, Christine has been involved in the ministry of Spiritual Direction since 1996. She is passionate about sharing her experience of liminal space with others and has been facilitating classes and retreats focused on this theme since 2022. Christine is married, has three young adult children, and a chocolate lab.
The term liminal was introduced in 1909 by anthropologist Arnold Van Gennep to describe a period of transition: separation, liminal space, re-assimilation. Social Anthropologist, Victor Turner, describes liminal space as being betwixt and between. It can be a feeling of being stuck.
But, if we let it, liminal space can be a sacred space for transformation.
Liminal Space, as a sacred space, is not stagnant. It involves a journey of growth from what was to what will be. It’s a time of letting go, but also a time of embracing what the future can hold. Depending on the circumstances that leads one into liminal space, the time on the journey will vary. It’s not about getting through liminal space, but about learning and mourning and growing and searching along the way. It’s about experiencing God on the journey with you and opening your heart to what God has for you along the way and in the future.
What is liminality?
“The first task of seeking guidance then is to touch your own struggles, doubts, and insecurities—in short, to affirm your life as a quest. Your life, my life, is given graciously by God. Our lives are not problems to be solved but journeys to be taken with Jesus as our friend and finest guide.” - Henri J.M. Nouwen, Spiritual Direction: Wisdom for the Long Walk of Faith
Simply, Spiritual Direction is a confidential relationship between the director and the directee, with God at the center. In this relationship, my desire is to be a spiritual companion for you on your journey to deepen your relationship with God. Through compassionate listening and reflecting back, I hope to support you in experiencing God in prayer and in daily life. As a spiritual director, I am also a support to you when this relationship with God seems distant, uncertain or troubled. I want to encourage you in your conversations with God. Utilizing Scripture, spiritual reading, and familiar prayers, we can discover ways to enter into conversation with God in prayer, and experience God's presence in the blessings and challenges of life. As a Spiritual Director, I usually meet with a directee once a month for an hour.