What follows outlines our aspirations as a team. We recognise that we will fail to achieve
these aspirations. We will struggle to identify and learn from our mistakes and will seek
opportunities for growth individually and collectively.
All Staff
- A thorough knowledge of the Exx and experience in giving them; an ability to teach:
- To teach the Exx material in the syllabus
- To make connections with other material throughout the year and make explicit links
with the Exx
- Knowledge of, and ability to teach, the communication skills covered in the
syllabus
- Experience in giving on-going direction, and ideally also in other ministry:
- To model good practice
- To teach from own experience
- Ability to work with large and small groups in:
- Giving presentations/processing in the whole group
- Facilitating small groups
- Ability to work creatively and experientially with the group:
- To use a variety of media, styles and methods in teaching
- To lead meditations and reflective exercises
- To encourage creativity in the participants
- Skill and experience in affirming, challenging and giving feedback to participants:
- Conducting appraisals
- Reflecting on participants' practice of spiritual direction
- Reading and commenting on assignments
- Ability and openness to role-play directors and directees; to hold a teaching point
while acting out or working with a directee's story
- Ability to work flexibly and collaboratively, and to deadlines, in the staff team:
- Preparation of work
- Sharing in presentations
- Generosity with own experience and resources
- Supporting other staff and covering if necessary
- Ability to create and model a particular learning community which has unconditional
positive regard at its core, through
- Being loving, sensitive, respectful, observant, tolerant and forbearing
- Maturity
- Enthusiasm, passion, hospitality, vulnerability, a sense of 'living' the
transforming nature of the Exercises
Additional Requirements For 1st Year
- Knowledge of the other spiritualities covered in the syllabus and/or willingness to do
research and prepare presentations
- Ability to facilitate participants' discernment of how to proceed after 1st
Year
Additional Requirements For 2nd Year
- Ability to teach and present the theory of the Exx comprehensively and at a depth which
builds on participants learning from the 1st Year
- Capacity to read and mark the theory assignment
- Ability to conduct vivas as part of the appraisal process
- Ability to help participants to integrate their work on the theory of the exercises in
the morning work with the development of their skills as spiritual directors in the
afternoon work, making direct connections wherever possible and appropriate.
- Facilitating participants discernment of their present competence and alerting them to
areas of necessary growth in this ministry
- The ability to hold a group process at the level of depth required by the work of the
2nd year practicum
Additional Requirements For 3rd Year
- Ability to work in greater depth with the theory and practice of Discernment
- Ability to lead tutor groups:
- Experience of giving supervision in spiritual direction both individually and in a
group context
- Ability to facilitate the tutor group process
- Willingness to share elements of personal journey
- Ability to treat participants increasingly as equals
- Ensure that the material of the Exx is consolidated in student presentations
- Ability to integrate theory and practice, and help students in this
- Ability to help participants discern more specifically the area(s) of ministry they are
called to exercise