The History & Ethos of the Course

The Ministry of Spiritual Direction Course (formerly The Bristol Exploring Spiritual Direction Course) exists for the purpose of training people in the art and practice of Spiritual Direction within the Christian tradition.

The Beginnings...

A course to train spiritual directors in the Bristol area was initially the idea of the Bristol Diocese Association for Promoting Retreats group under the chairmanship of the Revd. John Bowes. An initial one year course - running one day a month (Thursday) from 10.00am to 4.00pm, October to June - began in October 1984 under the leadership of The Revd. Brian Hawker and (the then Dss.) Christine Clarke. (Christine in fact stayed with the course until her untimely death in 2006. She was a major influence upon the development of the course into what it is today).

The style of the course was heavily theoretical and academic, contained limited practical work, and almost no directional practice. From the beginning, the course was open to both lay and clergy from all denominations, and in its actual make-up reflected this policy decision.

The Development...

Over the years the ethos, boundaries and purpose of the course remained the same, though the style and content changed during this time, in an effort to keep it up todate, relevant and fresh. The content became broader, with less emphasis of the history of classical spirituality, there was more group participation, and some practical directional experience was included.

Now...

The course today has a proven track record, a syllabus which contains the basic material covered, and the intention of responding to the changing needs of the world to-day without losing the value of the experience of the past.