The Rev. Robert Bowler (Beau) is an ordained minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. He has been active in pastoral care ministry, including spiritual companioning, for more than thirty years.

Beau had a high school teacher who taught world religions through basic spiritual texts as well as through science fiction, fantasy, and humanistic and transpersonal psychology. This experience sparked a lifelong spiritual exploration and inspired him to major in Religious Studies at Reed College with a focus on the western mystical tradition. He went on to earn an M.Div. degree from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California and serve Unitarian and Unitarian Universalist churches in England and the U.S. for ten years.

Eventually, he came to Vermont where he managed both a concert series, focused on world music, and also a retreat and conference center. His time in Vermont ended during the pandemic, but inspired him to start Halcyon Arts in 2020, followed in early 2023 by The Oratory, the new monastic community that presents the Halcyon Arts programs in world spirituality.