about us

Meet Our Spiritual Director

Ram Dass once wrote that “Life is an incredible curriculum in which we live it richly and passionately as a way of awakening to the deepest truths of our being.”

Throughout the joys and traumas of my life, I have had a clear sense of my mission in this life – to love God, love my neighbor, and most profoundly, love God through loving my neighbor.

While my professional career has primarily been spent in higher education, I do not consider myself an academic. I have always learned more from observing and interacting with others and the world than I have from books and classes. Each and every day, my heart is filled with a great deal of gratitude for and wonder at this gift of life. I have an immense curiosity about how to live this experience more passionately and richly. I have found that many others have this spark living in them as well, but the existential burdens of this life have dimmed it to a mere flicker.

My greatest joy in this life has been the opportunity stoke this divine spark in others. I am, at the deepest levels of my soul, merely an impish spiritual pyromaniac.

Rick Capezza, Spiritual Director The Spiritual Care Fund.

Out of all the many projects with which I am involved, the mission of The Spiritual Care Fund is the one that is nearest and dearest to my heart and the fullest expression of my life’s work. For more information on my professional resume, see my LinkedIn Profile.

Why The Spiritual Care Fund Matters

At the heart of The Spiritual Care Fund is a deeply personal narrative. My journey began with an earnest desire to provide solace and guidance to those navigating life’s profound existential and spiritual questions.

However, the noble pursuit of caring for others often provided an escape from my own personal, spiritual, and existential burdens. As these burdens accumulated, so did the physical weight on my shoulders and, quite literally, on my body. At my heaviest, I was over 500 pounds, a tangible manifestation of the spiritual and emotional weight I bore, but the demands of work and my family life did not leave me much emotional space to process my struggles and traumas.

It was in this crucible of personal hardship that the concept of The Spiritual Care Fund was conceived. Recognizing the profound need for spiritual care professionals to find respite from their roles, I embarked on a transformative journey toward wholeness and peace. A recommitment to cultivating the mind-body-spirit connection became an integral part of my shedding harmful spiritual beliefs and practices as well as over 300 lbs.

This initiative stands as a testament to the realization that providing spiritual care requires a foundation of personal well-being. The retreats facilitated by The Spiritual Care Fund are not just an abstract concept for me; they are born out of the crucible of my own struggles and the profound understanding that caregivers need care too.

Through this initiative, we aim to break the cycle of emotional and spiritual burnout, offering spiritual care professionals a sanctuary where they can reclaim their peace, reconnect with their spiritual roots, and rekindle their passion for compassionate caregiving. The weight of others’ existential struggles need not become a burden that hinders our own well-being.

I invite you to join us in this transformative journey—a journey toward creating a culture of self-care within the spiritual care community. Your support and engagement with The Spiritual Care Fund contribute to a vision where caregivers find the respite they deserve, and in turn, provide more authentic and compassionate care to those they serve. Together, we can cultivate a community where the well-being of spiritual care professionals is valued, nurtured, and prioritized.