Congregational Spiritual Direction
Across The Episcopal Church, congregations are navigating profound change. Many are experiencing leadership transitions, financial constraints, volunteer fatigue, and declining participation. These challenges are both organizational and spiritual. They invite deeper questions about identity, vocation, leadership, and God’s call for your congregation.
To meet these challenges, the Iona Collaborative at Seminary of the Southwest developed Congregational Spiritual Direction as a way to accompany small churches through what we call the small church journey: making the intellectual, emotional, organizational, and ultimately spiritual transition toward becoming a church without full-time clergy leadership.
Interested in Congregational Spiritual Direction for Your Congregation?
Join us for an upcoming Q&A session to learn more about Congregational Spiritual Direction, how it works, and whether it might be a good fit for your church.
What is Congregational Spiritual Direction?
Congregational Spiritual Direction builds on the traditions of individual and group spiritual direction while extending them in a distinctive way: accompanying the congregation itself as a living body in its ongoing relationship with God.
A Congregational Spiritual Director helps a congregation shift from primarily asking church questions – How do we increase membership? How do we attract more families? What are growth strategies we should try? – toward also asking God questions:
- Where do we see God at work in our ministry right now?
- Where is the Holy Spirit giving us energy and enthusiasm these days?
- Who are we being called to become given the changes we are experiencing?
- What is giving us life right now?
- What are we being invited to let go of so we can focus on God’s call for us?
- How is our grief of losing what used to be getting in our way of answering God’s call for our future?
- What unique gifts and assets has God entrusted to this congregation that benefit the community outside our walls?
Congregational Spiritual Direction is based on three principles of spiritual direction:
awareness → reflection → discernment
Congregational Spiritual Direction helps congregations grow in awareness of who God is calling them to be today, reflect on the ministry they have done and are currently doing, and discern what God is calling them to in the future.
Is Congregational Spiritual Direction Right for Your Congregation?
While all congregations, like individuals, could benefit from spiritual direction, we are seeking churches that:
- are navigating change, transition, or new possibilities;
- have moved or will move toward lay leadership, bivocational ministry, or part-time clergy leadership;
- want to move beyond managing institutional challenges toward deeper spiritual growth and discernment;
- are willing to engage with a spiritual director to grow in awareness, reflect on their ministry, and discern where God is calling them at this time;
- are curious, reflective, and open to listening for the Holy Spirit, who might be calling them to something unexpected.
Congregations do not need to be in crisis. We hope to include churches of diverse leadership arrangements and ministry settings whose participation will help us understand how congregational spiritual direction can serve the wider Church.
Ready to Learn More?
Download:
A Guide to Congregational Spiritual Direction
Learn more about the program and share the information with your congregation.
Click the image to preview/download a .pdf.
Watch:
What is Congregational Spiritual Direction?
Rebecca Hall and the Iona Spiritual Directors explain the practice and share how it can serve congregations.
42-minute video
Register for one of our upcoming Q&A sessions to learn more about Congregational Spiritual Direction and determine if it might be right for your congregation:
Have questions? Contact Rebecca Hall, Associate Director of the Iona Collaborative.
