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Spiritual Direction / Mentoring
Spiritual Direction/Mentoring/Companioning:
  • is a relationship in which a trusted spiritual guide accompanies you on an exploration of your relationship with the Holy.
  • provides the opportunity to be more intentional about your spiritual life.
  • allows you to focus, gives permission to question and grow, and provides assurance of God's unfailing love.
  • invites you to pay attention to what is happening inside yourself, and to discern how that connects with your world. 
  • is primarily a relationship of support focussed on your experience and interpretation.
  • may also provide guidance in using spiritual disciplines such as journaling, meditation and prayer.
  • holds the sacred space, freeing you to explore your personal experiences.
  • facilitates communication and greater intimacy with the Holy.
  • enables you to participate more fully in the sacred movement and purpose of life.
Spiritual Direction is ideally a long term process, not a question and answer session. The mentor and the person receiving mentoring usually meet once a month for about an hour, depending on what is happening in life.

Spiritual Direction/Mentoring is for:

  • seekers newly aware of a curiosity or hunger for the Sacred.
  • those far along a spiritual path separate from formal religious ties.
  • life-long followers of a faith tradition who want to enter into deeper communion with Spirit.
All seekers must be serious about pursuing and deepening intimacy with the Sacred and ready to claim and assume responsibility for their own journeys with God. New seekers often wonder what their experiences mean and want to find ways to grow in their faith. Those with more years of experience or in leadership roles often seek mentoring in critical times of growth and transition. Some of the new theological literature (Spong, Borg, O'Murchu) can challenge deeply held belief systems and it may be helpful to have a mentor as you sort out your beliefs. When the call of God is changing or someone is moving into a deeper phase of service or ministry, questions abound. Faith may even be called into question. Although God is never absent in these times, sometimes it is difficult to find the Sacred in the familiar way we are used to knowing it. A mentor can provide support, hope and encouragement in these desert times.
  • Counselling and therapy focus on specific life issues to discover root causes and facilitate insight and healing.
  • Spiritual Direction/Mentoring focuses more on your present experience and relationship with God, and how that is directing your decisions in daily life.
Obviously there are areas where mentoring and counselling overlap. For example, the spiritual disciplines of healing and prayer may also address difficulties in one's life. Forgiveness and healing often go hand in hand. However, spiritual mentoring is not a quick fix for psychological problems, and when these are identified as a continuing source of difficulty a referral to an appropriate professional will be suggested.

The Spiritual Director/Mentor:
  • is open to God, practices times of solitude and silence in prayer, and receives regular spiritual mentoring from another.
  • should maintain an attitude of openness to God for his or her own spiritual life as well as an openness to the Spirit of God in others.
  • has the gifts and skills of discernment, a listening heart, a gentle and patient spirit, a good working knowledge of the Sacred texts and a basic understanding of psychology and counselling.
  • has felt called by God to participate in this spiritual practice.
  • has been called forth and sought by others seeking a closer relationship with the sacred.
A mentor then builds on these basics by seeking appropriate ways to sharpen and enhance his or her skills.


Our Spiritual Directors

We have three Spiritual Directors presently offering Spiritual Direction in Calgary: John Griffith, Norline Johnson and Betsy Young. Each has a different style and gifts in companioning. It is appropriate to talk with the mentor on the phone and have an initial appointment to determine whether you are a good fit for each other. Please phone 403-210-2802 to speak to a mentor or book an appointment
Fees for Mentoring are negotiated with your mentor
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Spiritual Directions operates under the auspices of the Community Opportunity Foundation of Alberta
March 29, 2010 9:51:21 AM