About
Walking alongside people seeking deeper meaning.
Spiritual direction helps you notice God's presence and grow into the person you were made to be, with purpose, peace, and freedom. It's open to anyone, including those in the demanding world of competitive sports.
Meet the founder
Rev. Ryan Irmer
Spiritual Director · Pastor · Teacher · Former Coach
Every one of us has a spiritual side. Spiritual direction is a way to nourish it — with you as the sole focus.
Inner Life Spiritual Direction was founded by Rev. Ryan Irmer, a certified spiritual director trained through Francis House of Prayer, a spiritual center of the Catholic Diocese of Trenton.
I’ve been receiving spiritual direction for over a decade, and I don’t know where I’d be without it. Having received so much, I want to share with others how much it can change a life.
Ryan spent twelve years coaching basketball, from high school to an NCAA Division II staff, then went to Princeton Theological Seminary and has served in ministry for more than a decade. Today he is Lead Pastor of Wilson Memorial Union Church, an interdenominational congregation in Watchung, New Jersey; he and the congregation are both affiliated with the International Council of Community Churches.
Listen to Ryan preach — Wilson’s Weekly Word · weekly messages from Sunday worship at Wilson Memorial Union Church
With twelve years of coaching behind him, Ryan is working to holistically bring the sports world and the spiritual landscape together. Those years showed him a real and largely unmet need: players, coaches, trainers, staff, and administrators all carry a great deal, and rarely have a place to tend their inner life, a part of wellbeing no high achiever can afford to neglect.
What guides the work
- Presence
- Every person receives unhurried, undivided attention.
- Accessibility
- Flexible fees, so cost is rarely a barrier.
- Confidentiality
- What is shared is held in trust, always.
- Ecumenical welcome
- Open to people across faith backgrounds, and to those still searching.
- Supervision
- Ryan meets regularly with a supervisor of his own, and has for twelve years.
- Integrity
- Sound ethics, clear boundaries, and what we promise, we do.
Background
- Basketball coach, 12 years, from high school to NCAA Division II
- Pastor since 2014, now Lead Pastor at Wilson Memorial Union Church
- M.Div. and M.A., Princeton Theological Seminary
- Certified spiritual director, Francis House of Prayer
See the full background
In ministry
In sport
Education & training
Closer to home
Ryan lives in New Jersey with his wife and daughter. The inner life he companions others through is one he tends himself — in a family, in a congregation, and in the ordinary week like anyone else.
Ready to begin?
Your first 20-minute conversation is free, and there’s no obligation.