Spiritual Direction Program
Spiritual Direction Certificate Program
2-YEAR PROGRAM — Fall 2012
Listening for God
We believe that meeting with another Christian brother or sister on a regular basis to attend to/pay attention to the present activity and prayer going on within your heart and soul is a spiritual discipline that grows the roots of our faith. Eugene Peterson, author, theologian, and pastor, describes well the discipline of spiritual direction, “It is teaching people to pray, to discern the presence of grace in events and feelings, affirming the presence of God at the heart of life, sharing a search for light through a dark passage, guiding the formation of a self-understanding that is biblically spiritual instead of merely psychological or sociological.” He goes on to say, “It is ‘space to explore the everyday ordinariness for the presence of God and workings of grace,’ precisely at those times when ‘nothing seems to be happening.’”
CFDM will be offering a two year certificate program to help equip others in their call to this ministry of spiritual direction, beginning in the Fall of 2012. As well, we are asking those who are interested in the spiritual direction program to take part in a 9 month discernment process (see below) around their sense of call to the program. This process would be assisted by the faculty of the Spiritual Direction Program, Rev. Terry Tripp and Margie Van Duzer, Mth.
SCHEDULE:
1st retreat: September 14-15 2012
2nd retreat: January 16-19 2013
3rd retreat: May 17-18 2013
4th retreat: September 20-21 2013
5th retreat: January 29-February 1 2014
6th retreat: May 16-17 2014
A Description of the Year of Discernment Preceding the Two Year Certificate Program in Spiritual Direction
The goal of the discernment year before entering our two year certificate program in spiritual direction is to help you be able to articulate your discernment process and readiness to serve as a spiritual director back in your faith community.
It is our hope that the following requirements surrounding this discernment process will guide you in the nine months between September 2011 and May 2012.
1. You must be in individual spiritual direction yourself for these nine months
2. Let Terry Tripp know of your interest in this period of discernment by September 1, 2011
3. Meeting with faculty in two ways.
A) Meet with the faculty of the program on Saturday, September 17, 2011 for a meet and greet time to answer questions and help you understand what is expected in this year of discernment.
B) Meet with a faculty member one on one at least two more times before June of 2012.
4. Read 2 books during this time: Jeanette Bakke’s Holy Invitations and Tilden Edwards’ Director Companion — Guide to Tending the Soul
5. You must be at least 35 years old before applying to the Guidance Program
Along with your application to the program at the end of the nine months discernment period the following questions ought to be addressed in a summary paper describing your journey.
1. Describe what discernment is, from your perspective, and describe the process of discernment surrounding your desire and giftedness in spiritual direction ministry.
2. Who are the people that are telling you that this is a fit in your life and how would they know?
3. In your engagement with the two books that were required reading during this year, what in either or both was helpful in increasing your understanding of spiritual direction?
4. Given the reading and where you are now, describe what spiritual direction is from your point of view.
For questions and enquiries please contact Terry at ttripp@belpres.org or Margie at margievanduzer@hotmail.com.