In this LCSD Member session, spiritual companion and author Catherine Cowell will join Fiona Koefoed-Jespersen for a conversation on discovering the beautiful, but often overlooked feminine imagery for God in the Bible and an exploration of why our view of God has been so masculine, why that imbalance might be a problem and what we might want to do about it.

In this workshop we will explore how coming to the Creator through our creating can be part of our own journey of being re-created. We’ll have time to consider how creativity can be instrumental in our formation and discipleship, space to engage in guided creative practices, and opportunities to reflect together on our experience of encountering the Maker in our making. 

A Lenten retreat for members. This is a sacred pause during Lent to reflect on the invitation of Wisdom in your life and your ministry. 

Those we accompany in spiritual direction come with myriad images of God—images gifted to them, images imposed upon them, images that bring deep comfort, and images that create tension or struggle. God is rock, shepherd, father, mother, spirit, source-of-all-being—and sometimes God is “I don’t know.” In direction, we are invited to hold these shifting divine imaginings with reverence, compassion, and curiosity.

This experiential workshop introduces participants to the Circles of Trust framework, a model developed by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage & Renewal. Grounded in Quaker principles and contemplative wisdom, Circles of Trust provides a structure for creating safe, confidential, and sacred space where individuals can listen deeply to their inner teacher, hold space for one another without fixing or advising, and encounter “solitude in community”.

Many spiritual practices - particularly imaginative ones - assume an ability to visualise. But what about those who cannot form mental images (aphantasia), or those whose imaginations are vividly overwhelming (hyperphantasia)? This workshop explores how neurological diversity impacts prayer, reflection, and the experience of God's presence. As Spiritual Directors, how can we support directees with different imaginative capacities?

This workshop will look at how we as spiritual Directors use prophetic imagination to inform our practice.

Some female directors are “wary about taking on men as directees because of a sense of ‘otherness’ and feeling ill-equipped to work with them.” Some male directors regret “the limited number of men involved in spiritual direction. These are complex, delicate, risky, and stimulating issues.

How can we use the great gifts in the rhythms of both the liturgical calendar and the seasons. Helping directees to engage with where God is in the present.

This will be a creative and practical morning, helping us grow in what we offer as spiritual directors being informed and enhanced by the liturgical year.

Deconstruction refers to the dismantling of religious beliefs, where deeply held doctrines are re-examined and sometimes jettisoned. Although this process is nothing new, it has gained new attention in the past few years as more and more people make that deconstruction process public, particularly in online spaces.