A desire to deepen their spiritual lives and to discover and share their personal gifts motivated the first group of Spiritual Life Covenanters at First Parish Church of Groton. The group was formed in 1996 by Rev. Charles A. Gaines. The group of seven people began by exploring ideas about spirituality and by writing and sharing their spiritual journeys. They experimented with a number of activities and wrote a covenant, which evolved with time. At Reverend Gaines’ request, some of the covenanters shared their personal writings during a Sunday service in the spring of 1997. This sharing generated much interest from other parishioners and soon new spiritual life groups formed. The first group also helped to develop workshops and trained new group members. The workshops also evolved over time.
As time passed, the workshops have continued. However, the group of active covenanters decided to direct their energies to their ministries within the congregation and wider community and to discontinue meeting as a group. The workshops continue to be especially helpful for new members who want to deepen their spiritual lives and to find the best way to share their gifts with the First Parish Church community.
Spiritual Life I consists of eight meetings, usually over eight weeks. Participants focus on their individual spiritual journeys, based on Dan Wakefield’s book, Spiritual Autobiography. Activities in the first four meetings help participants review and reflect on their own past in preparation for the writing of an 8-10 page spiritual odyssey. In Session 1, definitions of spirituality are considered. In Session 2, participants use writing and drawing activities to focus more specifically on their sense of spirituality, sense of self, and elements of their early childhood. Participants are also asked to keep a journal in which they record their own spiritual experiences as they, themselves, define them. In Session 3, participants read Questions about Adolescence by Carl Scovel and write a response paper about their own adolescence. In Session 4, participants reflect on a friend/mentor/guide who has been important in their lives and draw a "road map" of their spiritual journey. Other elements, include writing about one’s name, and a show-and-tell format on a favorite talisman, are also included in the sessions.
The activities of the first four meetings provide a starting point for each participant’s 8-10 page written spiritual life odyssey. Sessions 5 through 8 consist of the reading aloud of participants’ spiritual odysseys. Experience in the process has led us to believe that the experience of writing changes what a person is able to say, and that reading the written work out loud in the group adds extra power.
Spiritual Life II comprises five meetings during which participants explore and build on four themes: Setting the Stage: Where I am Now; Looking Ahead: Where I Want to Go; Planning for the Vision; and Personal Ministries. Note that Spiritual Life I is a prerequisite for Spiritual Life II.
Participants reflect on their values, passions and personal style/spirituality. They are then guided to envision their future, predict the date of their death, write an obituary or eulogy, and draw their tombstone. Next, participants develop a "Before I Die…" inventory of experiences they’d like to have in order to deepen their spiritual living or add to their life experiences before they die. They also brainstorm action steps to achieve some of the items on their "Before I Die" inventory and are encouraged to visualize how they are going to accomplish their goals. Finally, participants read and discuss Letting Go: Transforming Congregations for Ministry by Roy Phillips. They are also asked to articulate their personal gifts and to develop a plan for sharing selected gifts in the next year.
If you would like to sign up to participate in one of the Spiritual
Life workshops, please contact
or
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