Formation in Soul Care
An online 15-month program
Addressed to the needs of anyone
Called to the ministry of spiritual direction
Desiring to serve and companion people in poverty or seeking renewal in their service of others
Important Dates for 21-22 Cohort
Opening Webinar – June 15, 2021 (time determined by participants)
Opening Intensive – July 23-30, 2021
Twice monthly webinars (dates & times determined by participants)
Monthly supervision (dates & times determined by participants)
Closing Intensive – August 20-26, 2022
What do we mean by Soul Care?
Soul Care is about the whole person. It goes by many different names, including spiritual direction, spiritual companioning, spiritual friendship and soul care mentoring. We use these terms interchangeably.
Soul Care responds to the need for life purpose and meaning. It is concerned with integration of all of one’s life, physically, emotionally, spiritually, relationally. It attends to healing and calling; interior life and relationships; family and community; sabbath and work; service and social justice.
In a time marked by constant change, discernment becomes increasingly important and spiritual companionship helps in the recognition of what is enduring. External pressures focus on productivity and constant innovation. So many people live day-to-day reacting to the latest stress and are depleted. Soul care fosters spiritual thriving not just survival. It enables an individual to explore a core foundation in their relationship with the divine.
Our Experience and Perspective
We have been involved in the preparation and support of spiritual directors and all those who serve on the margins for thirty-three years, training more than 600 individuals on 6 continents. Program graduates, in addition to being from many parts of the U.S., are found in China, South Korea, Macao, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, Colombia, Guyana, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, England, Spain, Armenia, Sweden, Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Kenya, and Nova Scotia.
Individual graduates provide soul care in all types of environments. Many of our graduates are providing soul care for unsheltered people, justice involved men and women, refugees and migrants, victims of trafficking, terminally ill, indigent people, survivors of abuse, elderly homebound individuals, and wounded veterans.
The history of spiritual direction and our own experience have taught us a great deal about the mutual transformation that results from being in relationship with people in poverty. We are constantly renewed and facilitate opportunities for participants to learn from and discover the spiritual insights of marginalized people. We exist as a program to ensure soul care and spiritual presence for those who are most neglected. We recognize that not every person is called to accompany those who have been marginalized, but we provide the structure for participants to discover their own way to living in solidarity with others.
Are Formation and Training the Same?
Formation is focused on the continued spiritual growth of the individual soul care provider, especially in the practice of discernment. Training is concerned with knowledge and skills development. Our program embraces both but emphasizes the significance of the individual soul care provider’s growth in the ways of the Spirit, development of a discerning heart and orientation to God’s activity in everyday human experience. Knowledge and skills practice are highly valued in our program, but never substitute for a spiritual director’s continued maturing in the spiritual life.
Our Vincentian Ethos
Animated by the spirit of Vincent de Paul we seek to walk with, reflect with and be inclusive of perspectives from marginalized people, especially those in poverty. We are committed to ensuring soul care and retreat opportunities for those who typically do not have access to these opportunities. Brothers and sisters who are marginalized are not objects of our charity, but gifted neighbors who can teach us a great deal about our own need and lack of interior freedom. Every person has a spiritual life and their spiritual growth unfolds and is fostered through relationships and in the midst of ordinary moments.
Program Strengths:
· Supporting the continued spiritual growth of each participant
· Individualized attention to the learning goals of each participant
· Integration of a mature and informed spirituality with the Christian spiritual tradition, mental health perspectives (including trauma informed care,) human biology, and the social sciences
· Opportunities to companion, share in and appreciate the spiritual life of marginalized people
· Exposure to various models of group spiritual direction and their practical application
· Focus on discernment, its practice, and its significance for spiritual companioning.
· In depth supervision that fosters the interior freedom of the soul care provider and also provides opportunities to explore methods and skills practice for effective service.
Program Structure
We have been working with a distance learning format for many years, including refining the use of webinars and other technology. This enables an international participation and reduces program cost by eliminating airfare and room & board expenses. The online format has increased the level of connectedness throughout the entire 15 months and enriched the continuous level of sharing from diverse perspectives and cultural contexts.
Opening Webinar
Participants meet members of their cohort, learn a little about each other, have a beginning orientation and negotiate dates and times for webinars throughout the duration of the program. The opening webinar will be held on the evening of Friday July 23, 2021. Participants are encouraged to set aside the full week as a time of retreat.
Opening Intensive
Begins on Friday evening, July 23. Participants are encouraged to set aside the full seven-day time frame as a time of retreat. We will be in online session 3-1/2 hours each day separated into two different segments with ample time between each segment and a break in the middle of each segment. Participants are encouraged to use the remaining time each day for individual reflection, reading, rest and recreation. This structure creates a concentrated learning process while allowing time for personal mind/body/soul integration.
The webinars during the intensives and the following months are participative, experiential, community-building, and practical.
Twice monthly webinars
Required reading and some reflection exercises help prepare members of the cohort for full participation in the webinars. Webinars are 2 hours in length including a break. The dates and times of the webinars are determined by the members of the cohort. Topic areas include ethics, history of Christian spirituality, a look at a diversity of models of spiritual direction (soul care), experience of different models of group soul care; the practice of discernment; understanding of personhood and the impact of addiction, mental health issues, racism and trauma on personhood, human development, and spiritual life, assisting others with growth in prayer and opportunities to put it all into practice. The rich spiritual understanding is regularly brought into dialogue with mental health, human biology, and the social sciences. Undergirding it all is the Vincentian commitment to companioning, learning from, and serving with those who are marginalized.
Monthly Supervision
Each person meets online with a small group of peers and a supervisor. Dates and times are determined by members of the cohort. Everyone has the opportunity to receive supervision and to learn important supervision tools that can assist them after graduation.
Practicum in Soul Care
Individually designed, each participant is involved in the ministry of soul care with others and in relational presence with individuals who are marginalized. This is structured to meet individual needs and growth goals as well as in respect for other personal, community or family responsibilities.
Closing Intensive
Participants are encouraged to set aside the full week as a time of retreat. We will be in online session 3-1/2 hours each day separated into two different segments with ample time between each segment and a break in the middle of each segment. Participants are encouraged to use the remaining time each day for individual reflection, reading, rest and recreation. This structure creates a concentrated learning process while allowing time for personal mind/body/soul integration. The final intensive concludes with graduation.
application process
Interested parties should complete the application packet (DOWNLOAD A PDF HERE) and submit with $50 nonrefundable application fee by April 16, 2021. This can be done by email or be mailed in.
References should be completed by two individuals and submitted directly to our offices by email or regular mail.
Once the application form, application fee and references are received, an online interview will be scheduled. All interviews must be completed by April 23.
The purpose of the interview is to ensure that there is a fit between the goals of the applicant and what we are able to provide. It is also a perfect time to get any questions answered.
Each cohort requires the enrollment of 10-20 participants. We strive for a cohesive learning group in which each person offers something to the whole.
For further questions contact the program director at vie@restoringconnections.org or call 303-383-1610 x2
Please return this form with your nonrefundable $50.00 Application Fee to:
Dr. Vie Thorgren
Restoring Connections
P.O. Box 102168
Denver, CO 80250-2168
vie@restoringconnections.org
**Make checks payable to Restoring Connections**
OR
Call us at 303-383-1610 x2 to provide credit card information
Program Cost
Tuition for the 15-month program is $1200 and includes program materials, instruction, supervision and advising. Books are extra, but a loaner program is available.
Tuition in full is requested following program acceptance. We do have a negotiated quarterly or monthly tuition payment plan with a minimum down payment of the first three months of tuition ($240) due by May 15.
Individuals needing scholarship assistance should contact the program director. We are animated by the Vincentian spirit and committed to being an inclusive program available to everyone.
Formation Program Facilitating Team
Andy Drance, M.A., Board Certified Chaplain, exemplifies the meaning of service. He has served in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps, as a Religious Education Coordinator in a Catholic parish, as a civil servant in the U.S. Department of Energy, in social justice ministry on the parish level and finally as a chaplain for St. Anthony Hospitals and the Denver Hospice until his retirement. He continued serving as a volunteer chaplain at the Medical Center of Aurora from 2013-2020. Andy’s educational background includes Business Administration, Applied Theology and Clinical Pastoral Education. He completed his formation as a spiritual director in 2004 and has continued as a facilitator for the Formation Program in Soul Care since 2010. Andy is a loving husband, father and grandfather.
Carla Graham, Ph.D. is a talented listener and an exceptional facilitator. Her training and experience as a psychologist included mental health issues with marginalized populations, people living in poverty, at-risk youth, immigrants and homeless families. She joined our formation program in 2018. Carla has facilitated women’s spiritual direction groups and provided individual soul care. She has a particular interest in the connection between spirituality, mental health and women’s psychology. She enjoys working with those who are becoming spiritual directors as well as helping those she companions to heal and grow spiritually. She currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and three children.
Vie Thorgren, D.Min. is a skilled spiritual director and retreat leader. She developed the Formation Program in 1987 at the request of the Vincentian Fathers and flowing from her awareness of the needs of marginalized people for spiritual direction and retreat services. Vie’s background in education, counseling psychology and spiritual theology along with her multi-cultural and ecumenical experience has fostered her integrative thinking. She has mission experience in South Korea and Kenya, facilitated programs on the parish and diocesan level, served on the faculty at St. Thomas Theological Seminary for 10 years and is the founder of Restoring Connections. Her best teachers have been the justice involved women, unsheltered people and at-risk youth she has companioned for 40 years. She is an associate of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth and of Nazareth and an affiliate of the Vincentian Priests and Brothers. Vie is married and a mother who especially enjoys her additional vocation of grandparenting.