Ben Kraker
Spiritual director and technologist bringing a heart for people and their stories to the thoughtful design of more human experiences.
Why Seen Place
A place for your whole story.
Being seen begins with being given room.
Room to put something into words. To notice what matters. To bring the joyful, ordinary, difficult, and unfinished parts of life.
We are creating thoughtful spaces to reflect, communicate with care, and live with intention. Spaces where you can arrive as you are and explore at your own pace.
The story behind the name
An ancient story of being seen, and finding strength to go on.
Our beginning
Hagar, seen in the wilderness.
An ancient story told in Genesis 16.
Hagar is an enslaved Egyptian woman whose life has been shaped by other people's decisions. Fleeing mistreatment, she finds herself in the wilderness. There, by a spring, she is met by name and asked where she has come from and where she is going.
She gives a name to the One she encounters: El Roi, Hebrew for “the God who sees me.” The well becomes known as Beer-lahai-roi, “the well of the Living One who sees me.” A place remembered for an encounter in which she was seen.
For us, that well is the first Seen Place. We take our cues from that encounter, making room for people to be heard, to notice their own experience, and to find their own next step.
There's room for you.
Seen Place welcomes people of every faith and none. You do not need to share this story's beliefs, have everything figured out, or be going through something difficult to belong here.
Joy, curiosity, trauma, overwhelm, a major life change, heightened sensitivity, or simply something on your mind. You are welcome with all of it.
The team
Mahlon White
Brings clarity and structure to Seen Place through thoughtful planning, practical processes, and a steady hand as ideas grow.