SPIRITUAL FRIENDSHIP, Accompaniment, AND DIRECTION

Spiritual

These days the term, ‘spirituality,’ has come to denote the more personal and subjective side of our relationship to non-material realities, to the transcendent, or to sacred time and space.

Spirituality is the outward expression of the inner workings of the human spirit. (Swinton, J. Spirituality and Mental Health care: Rediscovering a Forgotten Dimension. (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London); 2001: 20)

Our focus upon this spiritual aspect, of daily life, could be mistaken as being divorced from religious practice and so we might wish to add something to our definition to affirm that,

spirituality is the living reality of religion as experienced by an adherent of the tradition. Nelson, James. M. Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality. (Indiana: Valparaiso University); 2009: 8.

Understanding this we can see that exploring (our own) spirituality does not take us away from religious practice, within the community life of the church; but complements, and helps us to deepen, our engagement with the tradition of faith. This is why the exploration of personal spiritual discovery can be, for some, the crucial point of entry, and way into the life of the local church. The diocese is always ready to welcome both the lost and found and spiritual friendship/accompaniment/direction is open to the spiritual seeker, whoever you are.

For a long time, the gardens of Christianity have been deserted. And yet, they are there. And I believe that they are waiting to be found. They wait patiently, freely available as support and nourishment for the human journey towards a fuller and deeper experience of life…(Spence, Simon. Thresholds: Counselling with Spirit; 2021: (pp 13-15))

Friendship

First, and foremost, to participate in spiritual friendship is to enter a safe, and non-judgmental, space and time. In which someone is invited to speak one-to-one, be assured of confidentiality, and openly be themselves.

A friend is called the guardian of love, or as some prefer, the guardian of the soul. (Aelred of Rievaulx (translated by Lawrence C. Braceland SJ). Spiritual Friendship. (Liturgical Press; Minesota); 2010: 59.)

This means that wherever you are on your spiritual journey a trained spiritual accompanier will affirm your own spirituality and work along with your own self-directed spiritual needs and preferences.

You do not have to already be a church attender, nor do you have to have made a full Christian commitment, before you receive spiritual friendship/accompaniment/direction.

Accompaniment

The frequency and duration of meetings with your spiritual accompanier will be agreed upon, and assessed at intervals, as part of a covenant. Spiritual accompaniment is a process of accountability, and of course a relationship.

People benefit from this relationship for a specific period of time, or for many years; depending on who they are and where their life is going. Spiritual accompaniment is not a counselling service, although some of our accompaniers are also qualified as counsellors/therapists and are able to refer you to appropriate services if that is what you need.

Direction

The relationship between (spiritual) Director and Directee is supported and informed by the Director’s own spirituality, professional development, and regular supervision. Directors have a person-centered approach, their vital role always being to remind that the real Director in this relationship is, of course, God.