About this Retreat
Paul has been accompanying others in spiritual direction for twelve years now. A former industrial chemical researcher and high school teacher, Paul has a master’s degree in Holistic Spirituality and a certificate in spiritual direction from Chestnut Hill College, certificates in supervision of spiritual direction from Together in the Mystery (affiliated with San Francisco Seminary), and Mercy Center, Burlingame, and he is trained to (and has a special love for) accompanying others in the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola. A member of Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church for more than thirty years, he has developed and taught a number of adult education classes. For six years, he also was a teacher/facilitator at Kairos School of Spiritual Formation at the Jesuit Center in Wernersville, PA. With an interest in the history of spiritual direction, he is researching the early history of spiritual direction training in the United State. Paul lives in Wayne, PA with his wife, Sharon, a piano-playing chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College. He has two adult sons, Alan and Andrew. Paul enjoys gardening with Sharon, woodworking, singing, and writing.
Details of this retreat
Online Enrichment Sessions for Spiritual Directors
Sundays, 1:00-4:00pm EST - Zoom
February 23, 2025: Paul Burgmayer, Ph.D
Identifying Your Own Voice as a Spiritual Director
An afternoon of exploration into your spiritual direction practice
Ever find yourself questioning why you do certain things as a spiritual director? Is it habit? Training? Or simply what you feel is expected? Have you ever considered changing your approach? Maybe you're drawn to being more contemplative. Or less serious - allowing a bit more laughter into your sessions. Perhaps you're interested in finding a different balance between exploring your directee's prayer life and their everyday life. What if you tried breaking one or two of the rules you learned in training to see what new possibilities arise?
Your growth as a director doesn’t stop when formal training ends. During our time together, you'll reflect on the evolution of your practice, compare notes with other spiritual directors, and explore adjustments to your practice that might uncover deeper connections with God and the person before you.
During our online session, topics to be explored include:
How our training has shaped our practice
Experiences since our training that have changed us
Aspects of our practice that feel comfortable or uncomfortable now
A look to historical spiritual direction practices for new perspectives on ours
Considering alternative methods like the enneagram or focusing to explore a directee’s inner life
Crafting a personal plan going forward based on insights gleaned from our discussions
Does this sound intriguing? Maybe even fun? If so, join us for an afternoon dedicated to exploring your spiritual direction practice. Let’s see what emerges with lots of introspection, discussion, and a little bit of learning.
Additional Session
April 6, 2025: Tricia Way
Listening as a Radical Act of Love, Healing, Justice, and Transformation
This session will offer Spiritual Directors an opportunity to join together in community and reflect deeply on the content, quality, and impact of our listening in the work that we do. Tricia Way, co-author of The Little Book of Listening and facilitator with JUST Listening, will guide us in thinking about what hinders our ability to listen presently and what can strengthen it. We will also contemplate the radical potential of listening from a place of presence with ourselves and another person, opening space for love, healing, justice, and transformation to emerge from the listening encounter. There will be time for personal reflection as well as large and small group discussions during our time together in this enrichment session.
Register here for April 6
Online
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