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Sarum College Spiritual Direction

Sarum Course in Spiritual Direction (2023)

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About|Details|What our students say|Tutor(s)|Related short courses

Home Short Courses Spiritual Direction Sarum Course in Spiritual Direction (2023)

About the Sarum Course in Spiritual Direction (2023) course

This two-year programme aims to equip those who are called to this ministry to confidently and competently accompany others.

This course is delivered via a blend of in-person residential sessions and online support.

It is designed to provide a balanced learning environment by blending personal and spiritual formation with skills development. Alongside the course, there are peer learning opportunities such as Spiritual Directors Forums.

The focus of the first year is on personal experience; participants are invited to hone their self-awareness and listening, as preparation for listening to others with discernment. Students work in triads throughout the course.

Days at Sarum include input, space for personal reflection and working in smaller groups. Participants are asked to prepare for, and reflect after these sessions. There are some assignments which may include reading, writing a reflection, or sharing something which has been prepared. Although there is work to do, there is a ‘retreat-like’ quality to the time onsite and we ask course members to leave their emails and other concerns behind in order to engage fully with their experience and one another.

During the second year, participants continue to develop their practice, paying particular attention to their skills, good practice, and a growing sense of what their own vocation may be in this area.

Towards the end of the second year participants submit some written evidence of learning – reflections rather than lengthy academic essays. Tutors expect course members to engage with the learning at a depth which is appropriate to their own capacity and experience. Our expectation is that whatever your background, Sarum can offer the context and resources to discern and prepare for the next chapter.

Download an application for the in-person course

This course is also delivered online with an optional three-day onsite retreat.

For further details about both the online and blended versions of this course, visit the main Spiritual Direction page.

Details

Dates & Times

28 Sep 2023
The first residential is 28 & September 2023

Category

Spiritual Direction

Tutor(s)

The Revd Julia Mourant

Other Notes

This two-year programme aims to equip those who are called to this ministry to confidently and competently accompany others.

The programme is delivered via a blend of residential sessions and online support.

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What our students say

Netflix, Theology and Pastoral Practice

Peter Butchers on his MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture student experience

How do cultural tropes, like those found in Black Mirror, help bridge the gap between what academic theology espouses and what the everyday Christian believes? In his research as a student on the MA in Theology, Imagination and Culture, Peter Butchers explored platonic philosophy, digital theology and eschatology, and pastoral practice around death and dying.

Read more 

Rewarding Sabbatical Stay

The Revd Greg Syler, is Rector of Ascension & St. George’s, Resurrection Parish in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC USA, spent part of his ministry sabbatical at Sarum College in spring 2022.

His account of the experience begins: ‘I loved spending nearly three weeks of my ministry sabbatical at Sarum College earlier this year.

Not only did I rest, and rest well in the comfortable care of the Sarum College staff, I experienced very significant renewal and fresh insights.’

Read more

The Road Not Taken

Sarum Graduate Mike Truman

January 2022

Five years ago, I told my Warden of Readers that I would not be renewing my licence when it expired in 2019, as I thought my faith was becoming too unorthodox for a Church of England licensed lay minister. As someone who knew me well, she challenged me to actively explore what I did still believe. Thus started the journey that ended last August with the dissertation completing my MA in Theology Imagination and Culture (MATIC) at Sarum College.

Read more 

Clergy Study Breaks

The opportunity for clergy to get away occasionally from their own context, to have an overnight stay in the beautiful setting of Sarum College and all that the Salisbury Cathedral Close offers is hugely valuable. All the clergy I have suggested who have spent 24hrs at Sarum College have benefit greatly from the experienced mentoring where they can talk, reflect, think, plan and pray.

The support and encouragement they receive is excellent and has a positive on their on going ministry. This is something the Diocese of Rochester encourages and supports financially in preparation for their clergy preparing for Extended Ministerial Development Leave (Sabbatical).

— Canon Christopher Dench, Diocese of Rochester Director of Formation and Ministry

Retreats and Private Stays

When I arrived, exhausted and sensitive, I was grateful not to be asked by Reception were I came from, whether I had had a good journey etc. That was the kind of hospitality I needed: a non-intrusive welcome that was found in ancient cultures and still survives in some societies today, where the host asks questions about a stranger and his journey only when the visitor has rested and been given food and drink.

— guest on a private stay

Biblical Study Breaks

I just found it very refreshing – as a leader of a church I don’t get as many opportunities to step out and do courses (my fault, not the church!) and so I loved it. I think it was run really well online – which is a difficult medium to work with.

Pádraig Ó Tuama (pictured) was outstanding in his balance of getting us to engage and sharing his learning. Also the quick availability of resources provided by Sarum College Librarian Jayne Downey was excellent.

— course participant, Story Theology: Narrative Approaches to Scripture

Tutor(s)

julia-mourant

The Revd Julia Mourant

Programme Leader for the Sarum Course in Spiritual Direction and Tutor in Spiritual Formation and Biblical Studies

View all courses

Spiritual Direction Supervision Group December 2023 (onsite)

12 December 2023

This is a private supervision session for spiritual directors. If you are not part of ...

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Spiritual Direction Supervision Group November 2023 (onsite)

07 November 2023

This is a private supervision session for spiritual directors. If you are not part of ...

View course

Spiritual Direction Supervision Group September 2023 (onsite)

26 September 2023

This is a private supervision session for spiritual directors. If you are not part of ...

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Spiritual Direction Supervision Group December 2023 (online)

04 December 2023

This is a private supervision session for spiritual directors. If you are not part of ...

View course
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