Bridges
 

PRAYER COMPANIONS
Training program

 

WHO CAN APPLY?

If you have...

Made the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola, either in a recent 30-day retreat, or in Bridges I,

Successfully completed Bridges II or the equivalent

A desire to lead others through the Spiritual Exercises in the Bridges I program.

THEN the Prayer Companions Training Program IS FOR YOU!

OVERVIEW

Time together will consist of three parts:

  1. Input and sharing
  2. Helping to develop and strengthen our skills at being a prayer companion.
  3. Practice sessions in triads

We will use as a workbook: “Journey of the Soul” by Doris Klein available at first meeting

SEPTEMBER

  • The gift of being a companion
  • Art of Listening
  • What does it mean to be a companion

OCTOBER

  • Sharing ones spirituality
  • Where and how we come from in our lives “Family of Origin”

NOVEMBER

  • God’s unconditional love and my ability to receive love
  • Brokenness as an avenue of grace

DECEMBER

  • The window of my soul
  • Vision of light of how we “see” and what colors our vision..

JANUARY

  • Consolation/desolation
  • Boundaries in the relationship of companion/spiritual director

FEBRUARY

  • Looking at health
  • Prayer in one’s life
  • Healthy life issues
  • When is religion over-emphasized

MARCH

  • Suffering as a time of a sacred journey
  • Depression/dark night
  • When you need to refer and how to refer

APRIL

  • How am I feeling about being a companion?
  • Transference/counter transference

MAY

  • Time for integration from the year’s experience
  • Faith sharing
  • The grace of being a prayer companion and how it gives me hope in our world

TIME COMMITMENT

WHEN
The Prayer Companions Training Program is a nine-month program. Participants usually meet on the first Saturday of each month (except September) as follows:

TIME
10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE
Webster Hills United Methodist Church
Christian Life Center
2nd Floor
1333 West Lockwood
Webster Groves, MO 63119
(Northwest Corner of Berry & W. Lockwood)

COST
The total cost of the program is $500 payable in bi-monthly installments of $125.00. Financial aid is available.

REGISTRATION
(Submission of Application must be completed by August 25, 2008)
  1. Download and complete the Prayer Companions Training Application Form (PDF)

  2. Return application along with your $25.00 non-refundable deposit to:

          Charlene Ricker
          1961 Hawksbill Drive
          Belleville, IL 62223

    Make check payable to Bridges Foundation, Inc.

 

  
INSTRUCTOR

Madeleine Lane, SSND, MA.L.M.F.T.

Clinical Member of the American Association of Marriage & Family Therapy. Director of the Family Center with 25 years of educational, pastoral and clinical experience, including being a spiritual director since 1979. Serves as a guest speaker, facilitator, workshop presenter and adjunct professor at Creighton University, teaching a course in counseling and family therapy and spiritual direction.
 
TOPICS
Some of the topics covered are:
• The invitation to become a
companion
• Who we are as companions
• Family of origin/my story
• Personal development and faith development; stages of growth/conversion/ change
• Art of listening/mirroring;
when to give advice and when to refrain from sharing advice or opinions
• Discernment; consolation/desolation and understanding its application
• Boundaries, triangles, and self-disclosure
• Areas of concern: when they are of God and when they might indicate the need to refer for counseling
• Additional topics initiated by the group
 
PROGRAM COMPLETION

Participants completing the full nine sessions, the day of discernment and with the approval of the instructor may submit their application to the Bridges Foundation Mentoring Program. If accepted for this program, you will be assigned a mentor and one retreatant in Bridges I beginning the September following your acceptance.