Internship in the Art of Spiritual Direction

The Internship in the Art of Spiritual Direction is a two-year practicum of nine sessions each year in which candidates learn the art of listening to another’s soul in ways that assist the person’s growing relationship with God.  Building on the pre-requisite experience of depth personal formation called Listen to Your Life, interns learn skills and tools under supervision that allow them to extend ‘holy listening’ to others.

Who can apply? During Listen to Your Life some individuals find themselves drawn to explore spiritual direction as a possible calling. A discernment conversation with a faculty mentor at the end of the LTYL program helps the candidate assess a potential fit. With a faculty recommendation, a candidate is eligible for entry into the program.  A second assessment happens at the end of the first Internship year prior to entry in the final year. We will begin filling the class in summer 2023 for the 2024-2025 cycle.   

Applicants who have completed an equivalent program like Sacred Journey (Mercy Burlingame) are eligible with a letter of completion and recommendation from the program.

What are you looking for in a candidate? We seek growing maturity in life and faith; grounding in God through a specific faith tradition with openness to the Spirit that moves beyond one’s tradition; the ability to be self-reflective; a desire and capacity to cultivate a contemplative attitude; participation in and accountability to a spiritual community; the ability to listen deeply and to maintain confidentiality; commitment to one’s ongoing, emerging life in God coupled with a deep desire to encourage others in their relationship with God.

How often is the program offered? We have not offered the Internship since the last cohort finished in 2021. We are exploring the option now of beginning a new cohort each spring.

How is the Internship different from Listen to Your Life? Listen to Your Life is about entering one’s own story with fresh perspective, noticing the rich variety of ways Spirit is present around one’s ‘circle of life’ and noticing the pattern in how Grace moves in human experience. The internship builds the tools and skills needed to hold and evoke that same quality of discovery in another’s soul. Within a few months interns begin practicing spiritual direction - first with one another and then in their spiritual community under supervision.

What is the theological stance that underlies the Internship? Grounded in Christian faith and practice, we draw on the rich resources of other traditions as a complement. We trust that a work of the Spirit in our time is to go so deeply into one’s own faith tradition that we are touched by the one Spirit alive in each tradition for the good of all. We find that cultivation of a contemplative attitude and attention to the building of community are foundational elements within which the faithful life takes shape. 

What level of commitment is required for this program?

Participation requires a sustained commitment to one’s personal formation, including attendance at all planned meetings, regular time for prayer and reflection, assigned reading, monthly spiritual direction, and writing a monthly reflection paper.

By the mid-point of the first year each participant will also need to be meeting monthly with two ‘directees’ secured from their spiritual community. This is also the point when monthly meetings with an outside supervisor starts. By the beginning of the second year, each participant must have 3 directees/month plus monthly supervision. Generally we assume a commitment of 25-30 hours/month (not including travel).

What does the program cost? The cost will be $3150/year including retreats and supervision costs. Costs for books and personal spiritual direction are not included.

We have scholarship assistance available and are willing to work with you to develop a payment plan. We encourage applicants to engage in conversation about their desire/call within their spiritual communities to seek financial and spiritual support.

What does hybrid mean?

We acknowledge that online tools have allowed greater access to our formation programs for people who have not been able to access them before. This could be for geographical constraints, but also due to work and caretaking responsibilities obligations among other reasons. We celebrate being able to include a more diverse population.

We also have experienced the value of being able to create community and experience vulnerability in face to face encounters. The richness of shared time over meals and through a day helps cultivate a quality of presence to body language as well as to words.

So, we are offering this internship with some elements in person and others online in order to attempt to capture the value of both methods of gathering. Each gathering with either be in person or online. We will not attempt to have some people in the room together, while other are on a screen.

Please see the schedule for details of which gathering is planned in person and which on line. The In Person meeting space will depend on the number of people in the program, but will be in the Sacramento area.

Dates for 2024: The next cycle begins with an opening retreat at Mercy Center Auburn on March 15-17, 2024. The schedule is here.

OUR FACULTY

We have an ecumenical staff with years of experience as spiritual directors, supervisors, and trainers of spiritual directors. A participant-faculty ratio of no more than 6:1 assures building of the essential experiential component of a ‘holding community’ needed for depth work. Depending on class size some mix of the following will assume leadership.

Sandra Lommasson, founder of Bread of Life, has a ministry of retreat leadership, teaching and writing that spans over 30 years. She has served as a spiritual director to individuals, organizations, and communities since 1993 and a faculty member of formation programs for spiritual directors in California and Hawaii. Service to the community of colleagues includes serving on the Council of Spiritual Directors International for 6 years. She is a contemplative Christian.

Daniel Daeseop Yi, Affiliate Faculty in Spirituality at San Francisco Theological Seminary/ University of Redland, is dedicated to understanding how humans can be their authentic selves and live their lives fully through various contemplative practices. This wholistic transformation and growth is interconnected with communal and social change. His main desire is to help people who are hungry for spirituality to find themselves and their vocations through spiritual direction (individual and group), supervision, various spiritual classes, and retreats.

Erin Matteson is ordained in the Church of the Brethren and is a spiritual director, mentor to spiritual directors, musician and retreat facilitator. She has enjoyed working with the spiritual formation programs of Mercy Center in Burlingame, CA, where she was trained in spiritual direction and supervision. Erin has a passion for creating safe space for deep listening and compassionate companionship for the greening and growing, deepening and ripening of each one, and so all creation.

Susan Cosio is an ordained Covenant pastor, a spiritual director and a contemplative retreat leader.  She loves to help create space so others can experience the presence of the Spirit.  She is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Fuller Seminary and completed her Spiritual Direction training at the Journey Center in Santa Rosa.  

Susan Phillips (Ph.D.) is a sociologist, professor of Christian spirituality, a spiritual director and supervisor, and an author (her books include “Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction”). Her great love is seeing how Grace permeates lives.