Deadline March 1, 2026
Description
This application is for Cohort 2026 of the Certificate in Contemplative Spiritual Direction program, a two-year formation and training program for persons who discern a call to the ministry of spiritual direction. Applicants will be notified of the status of their application within two months of completing their submission
To complete the application, please submit the following:
- One recommendation letter (see Application Requirements for more details).
- A PDF or Word document of your responses to the short essay questions. See below for more information.
- A non-refundable application fee of $75.
Participants must be comfortable using technology, uncluding joining online meetings and saving and uploading documents.
More information on the Certificate in Contemplative Spiritual Direction available
here.
Application Requirements
Reference
Your reference should be a current spiritual director or a faith community leader (pastor, elder, someone who can attest to your understanding of, and relationship to, the church.) That person must fill out the online reference form found at
this link. Please share this information and link directly with your reference.
Short Essay Questions
Please respond thoughtfully and completely to each of the following prompts before starting the application form. Save all your responses as a single PDF or word document of no more than five pages. You will be asked to upload that file on the application form.
- Tell us about your inner life, spiritual practices, and the relationships that sustain you.
- How or why do you feel called to the ministry of spiritual direction, and what has led you to this sense of call? What important life experiences can you elaborate on behind your sense of call to spiritual direction?
- Describe your experience of giving and receiving spiritual direction. What in this experience supports your desire to learn more about spiritual direction? Any psychological counseling received or given that has contributed to your insight into human nature? What communal support are you receiving to undertake this training?
- What attracts you to this program? What specifically do you need from our program?
- Provide your proposal for program requirements in one page. This includes details on:
- Plans for receiving spiritual direction for yourself, and the length of time you have been in spiritual direction.
- Plans for offering direction to at least two individuals, and the length of time you have been directing if you have any. (Please note, we welcome individuals with a variety of experiences. Some people come to training after having already offered spiritual guidance in some form, whether formally or informally, and we encourage them to share that experience. However, having prior experience as a spiritual director is not a prerequisite. We expect you to direct two indivduals throughout the program. We will provide guidance once you are in the program.)
- Plans for how, with whom, and where you anticipate applying or using what you learn in this program.
Contact
