Deacon Jeanne Ensor: Some years ago while I was in the ordination process I took a class at one of the churches that I had been assigned too. I found it a means to meet people in the church, grow in my faith, be exposed to new ways to worship the Lord and know more about being Episcopalian. It is a structured process but allows folks to be where they are in their walk with the Lord then grow from there. It is set up in a Twelve Step manner. Many learning opportunities are often set up in this manner. You don’t have to be having trouble with an addiction to take part. The following article really explains it best.
The
Spiritual Quest was developed in 1989 as part of a “Practicum in Spiritual
Direction” under the oversight of the Rev. Dr. Robert D. Hughes of the
The
weekly seminars begin with worship (Eucharist or guided meditation), and include
one hour of “spiritual friendship” sharing the prayer experience of the
previous week, and one hour of lecture on the nature of one of the steps.
Once each month, the Spiritual Director meets with each participant of
individual Direction. Following Step
5, the participants are strongly encouraged to make a private confession to a
priest (not necessarily the Spiritual Director).
The Director should provide the participants with a list of area priests
who are available to hear their confessions.
It is also important that the Director be in spiritual direction, and
have made a recent confession.
In
addition to attending the weekly seminars, participants are expected to engage
in servant ministry, to make a sacrificial pledge to the work of God’s Kingdom, to
attend Lord’s Day, worship in their own church, and to read from the works of
one or more Christian spiritual masters.
This may sound like a lot of work but I believe that this is a wonderful opportunity to water, plant, and expose your faith to the Son.
We will begin the 14 week series in Wilson Hall on October 19 at 11:45 AM.