Ryan T. Schmidt

Ryan T. Schmidt is an interfaith hospice chaplain, ordained minister and spiritual care practitioner who lives in Bastrop, Central Texas. His roots are in the Christian contemplative tradition, and for more than two decades he has sat with people facing serious illness, death and loss in hospitals, hospices, schools, churches and volunteer programmes. He also works as a death doula and has led gospel singing and guided prayer for residents of memory care homes.

His approach rests on presence rather than fixing: listening closely, staying with what is true, and letting grief and meaning unfold at their own pace. He offers one-to-one support through bereavement and change, groups for people who are grieving or caring for someone, and teaching on dying and end-of-life care. He designs rituals and ceremonies for memorials, retreats and life thresholds, and trains others to hold ceremonial space. Through Illuman of Texas and Oklahoma he facilitates men's circles and retreats that explore council, archetype, time in nature and mature masculinity. With his wife, Aliceanne, he co-hosts the Remembering You podcast and runs free online circles for practising presence and connection. On Insight Timer he shares guided meditations, prayers and readings from sacred texts, including lectio divina.