Spiritual Guidance Program: Timeline & Components
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The design of Shalem's Spiritual Guidance: Nurturing the Call allows for at-home study, practice, and peer group accountability and support supplemented by two intensive ten-day residencies, which are held at a facility in the Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area. There is one class each year, with residencies in the Summer. The Program spans two years with residencies approximately one year apart. Schedule for the 2013 Program class is as follows:
2013 Class Timeline
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February 2012- December 2013 |
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Application deadline |
January 10, 2012 |
| At-Home Work | February-May 2012 |
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1st Residency
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June 5-14, 2012
Holy Trinity Spiritual Center, Pikesville, MD |
| At-Home Work | September 2012-June 2013 |
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2nd Residency
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June 11-20, 2013 Holy Trinity Spiritual Center, Pikesville, MD |
| At-Home Integrative Phase | September-December 2013 |
Holy Trinity is located at 8400 Park Heights Avenue North, Pikesville, MD 21208; (410) 486-5171.
NOTE: Residency dates are subject to change. The residencies are at Holy Trinity Spiritual Center in Pikesville, MD. There is no handicap accessibility at this residency site. Meals offer healthy options but cannot accommodate special diets.)
Components
At-home work includes receiving and offering one-to-one spiritual guidance, mutual support and accountability with a self-established peer group that meets monthly, reading of selected texts including classics and specific topical material, preparation of several brief theme papers, brief periodic reports to Shalem, personal journal-keeping, and a personal spiritual practice. In addition, a minimum of three self-scheduled solitary retreat days is required during the two years. Staff responses will be provided approximately quarterly, and additional consultation can be arranged as needed.
Residencies include topical seminars, practicums in prayer and spiritual disciplines, individual interviews with staff, supervised peer groups, group processing, and reflection. An attempt is made to foster a community of peers within a prayerful atmosphere. Frequent sessions on prayer will expose a broad range of prayer forms and issues, both theoretically and experientially. Associates will lead regular morning and evening prayer, and one-and-one-half days of the ten days will be spent in a guided silent retreat.
The integrative phase includes continuation of spiritual guidance and peer group participation, one brief report to Shalem, and completion of a 6-12 page paper, which will be due near the end of the Program. Associates are expected to continue in a peer group after completion of the Program, as long as they are offering spiritual guidance.
A Certificate of Completion will be awarded to those who satisfactorily complete the measurable objectives of the Program and is not intended as a certificate of the person as a spiritual director or validation of one's call to the spiritual guidance ministry.
For more details about the program including at-home work, residency topics, peer groups and other program components, you can download a detailed program brochure (PDF) here.
If you would like to apply for this program, contact Christine Jeffrey This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it the Program Registrar at 301-897-7334 or download the application form (PDF) now.