Semester 2 Requirements

Below are the requirements for Year 1 – Semester 2

  1. Participation in monthly spiritual direction sessions.
  2. Participation in a minimum of 8 of 9 online sessions. (Mondays) and all scheduled weekend sessions.
  3. Completion of the Pre-Class Reading and Reflection Questions for all online classes.   Reflections should be posted prior to the start of each Monday class.
  4. The following book is required reading for semester two:*

Spiritual Direction: A Practical Introduction, Sue Pickering, 2008, Canterbury Press Norwich, London

Please note that all of these books may be accessed and purchased via our website. 
The institute receives a small percentage from using these links.

Plus ONE of the books below (your choice): 

Holy Listening, M. Guenther, 1994, Cowley Publications, Maryland

The Practice of Spiritual Direction, Barry and Connolly, Second Ed., Revised, 1982, HarperOne, NY, NY

Soul Care in African American Practice, Barbara Peacock, PhD, 2021, IVP Press, IL

The Misunderstood Jew: The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus

Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color, Johnson, McNaney, and Stinson, 2013, Morehouse Publishing, PA

Surrounded by Love: Seven Teachings from St. Francis,Murray Bodo, 2018, Franciscan Media

A Spirituality for the 21st Century: The Rule of Benedict, Joan Chittister, O.F.M., 3rd Ed. 2014, Crossroads Publishing Co.

Ignatian Spirituality A-Z, Jim Manney, 2017, Loyola Press, Chicago, IL

Standing in the Need of Prayer: A Celebration of Black Prayer,  Coretta Scott King, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, 2008, Free Press

Joy Unspeakable: Contemplative Practices of the Black Church, Barbara Holmes, 2017, Fortress Press, Minneapolis.

  1. Meet with your assigned Mentor during the month of March.  Your Mentor should contact you to schedule this meeting.
  1. Complete the “Self-Reflection Worksheet.”   The second page of this worksheet includes instructions for the book summaries.
  1. Choose one of the spiritualities, presented this semester, that seems to most reflect your own spirituality.    Write a 5-page paper about this particular spirituality, as well as how it affirms and challenges you as you seek to live your faith.  OR – you may express the ideas above through original art, poetry, music, or any other creative expression.  Detailed instructions will be given mid-semester.

Individuals will present their response to this assignment in class beginning May 20, 2022. 

  1. Meet with the mentor to whom you are assigned during the last month of classes for the semester.  (Your mentor will contact you to schedule this meeting.)
  1. Fulfill the covenant agreed to in your application for this 2-yr. program.  

I covenant to:

  • Growth in my relationship with God
  • To meet monthly with my spiritual director.
  • To be faithful to daily spiritual practice
  • To bring as much of myself as is possible to each session.
  • To come prepared for class
  • To an openness to deep self-reflection
  • To honest and respectful communication
  • To a willingness to try new ways of praying, new ways of knowing/experiencing God
  • To being a participant in this spiritual growth community which requires vulnerability, honesty, and a non-judgmental acceptance of self and others.