1.   We would like you to meet with one of our staff for an introductory interview.  This staff member will discuss with you your reasons for wanting direction.  Direction helps many people, but it does not help all.  It can also be more helpful at some times rather than other times.  Talking about what you are looking for can enable you and us to decide whether direction here would benefit you now.

      If you are seeking direction in order to fulfill a requirement (for ordination, entrance into a novitiate, or acceptance into a course), this will be discussed during the interview.  Direction will be helpful only if your strongest desire is not for admission to a program, but for what it can accomplish for you personally.

2.   Since direction is not helpful unless a person is also trying to pray, the interviewer will ask you to say something about how you pray and whether you intend to continue to pray with some frequency during the weeks or months of direction.  The interviewer will also ask if you are willing to talk with your director about what happens when you pray.

Prayer is not the only subject one can talk about in spiritual direction.  Life and prayer are bound together, and they influence one another.  But in spiritual direction what is happening between God and you is the prime focus of our attention; the other issues of life get looked at and often resolved with the help of prayer.

 3.  One of the major assumptions for our practice of spiritual direction is that God knows you, loves you, and acts in your life.  Our directors help people to notice God's personal presence and help them to consider how they want to respond to that presence.

 4. Counseling, therapy, and spiritual direction are all disciplines which serve useful though different purposes.  They cannot substitute for each other and should not be expected to do so.  While spiritual direction can be very beneficial to someone who is also engaged in counseling or therapy, careful consideration must be given to its potential helpfulness in individual situations.  Often a person simply does not have sufficient energy to give to two different disciplines at the same time.  For those now engaged in counseling or therapy, discussion on this topic will take place at the introductory interview.

 5. Direction takes place every week.  After 6 or 7 meetings you will have an opportunity to discuss with your director whether the direction is sufficiently helpful to be worth your time and effort.

 6. Our directors, associates at the center, are qualified and competent in their ministry.  They are people who have had experience in spiritual direction or other one-on-one means of furthering spiritual life.  They are taking time out from their usual ministries to deepen and broaden their abilities as directors.  Supervision of their ministry by the staff is a key means of achieving this end.

 7. CRD does not charge for direction. However, we depend heavily on contributions which come almost entirely from people who are receiving spiritual direction at CRD or have personally experienced and appreciate CRD’s work.

Those who come for direction will receive a letter at Christmas and Easter describing our current finances and asking for contributions.  We ask that those who are able to contribute make a just and fair offering.

CRD is a non-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible.

 8. We highly recommend that those who are beginning spiritual direction attend a three-evening Fall Prayer Workshop at CRD in the fall.  It is designed specifically to help new directees.

Download the latest CRD Spiritual Direction Program brochure in PDF format here. 
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