In May of 2023, Seminary of the Southwest relaunched its Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction (MSD) degree with a vocational focus on training for the in-demand role of spiritual director. Almost immediately, the degree program began to occupy a rare educational and formational space. Because of Southwest’s well-established theological and counselor education programs, the seminary remained uniquely positioned to provide a high-quality post-graduate degree for aspiring spiritual directors. Graduate degree programs in spiritual direction are rare; those offered at accredited institutions of higher learning are even more so.
“The landscape of spiritual life is shifting rapidly in our culture,” said Dr. Scott Bader-Saye, dean and president. “Fewer people are attending churches, yet many continue to see spirituality as a central part of their lives. The MSD degree prepares students to be spiritual directors who are able and ready to meet people where they are in their spiritual journeys, to walk with them, and to help them grow in faith, hope, and love. Southwest is well positioned to offer this program as we are one of only a handful of seminaries with a clinical mental health counseling degree. The MSD program draws inspiration from both the theological offerings and the counseling offerings to map a unique curriculum for future spiritual directors.”
“We saw a need for a high-quality, masters level, spiritual direction degree that focused on the critically important vocation of spiritual director,” said Dr. Claire Colombo, coordinator of the MSD program. “To provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive spiritual direction and formation for individuals and churches is a role with growing significance in our society. Not only churches but corporations, community organizations, and civic groups are looking for professionals trained in spiritual care to work with both individuals and groups.”
Since the relaunch, the MSD has attracted a diverse group of students looking to serve a variety of populations. This spring, MSD students have embarked on the program’s distinctive practicum sequence, which sends them into communities to offer spiritual companionship and facilitation to groups. Within this supervised field education context, students assess the spiritual needs of the community, develop a spiritual formation offering, and then assess and reflect on the offering. “By creating opportunities for spiritual direction students to care for faith communities and organizations, we are both supporting students’ formation and meeting a growing demand for corporate and group spiritual direction in today’s volatile world,” said Dr. Gena St. David, Director, Loise Henderson Wessendorff Center for Counseling and Spirituality.
The practicum sequence has been able to develop quickly and responsively in large part because of the seminary’s existing models of practicum, field education and assessment that have been developed within its Divinity and Counseling degrees.
The community formation sites of this year’s cohort include a hospice organization, a foster-parenting organization, and a trans/non-binary support group, among others. MSD student Leigh Mires will work with a corporate leadership team. “I’ve long felt that leadership training in organizations lacked a significant component — spirituality,” she says. “I’m excited to help individuals discover how spirituality supports their leadership capabilities.”
“It’s wonderful to see these students carrying a passion for spiritual formation work into communities that hunger for it,” says Dr. Colombo.“Both the students and the program are answering a crucial gap in the spiritual caregiving landscape.”
The Rev. Dr. Nandra Perry, director of the seminary’s industry leading local formation program, the Iona Collaborative, has taken notice of this broad potential impact, especially in the lay-leadership landscape in which Iona is well-versed. “Skilled spiritual directors are ideal companions for congregations learning to live into the lay-led, clergy-supported future,” says the Rev. Dr. Perry. “They are uniquely qualified to equip lay leaders with the tools of awareness, reflection and discernment they need to help churches survive, and even thrive, in our rapidly changing world.”
At the core of the MSD program remains the deep theological and pastoral training one would expect at a seminary with a tradition like Southwest. “The depth of study in this program is matched by its depth of practice,” says Montie Steele, a current MSD student. “This program has not only expanded my theological understanding, but has also deepened my capacity for presence with God and with others. We are learning impactful, embodied tools for showing up in a space of spiritual healing, and are invited to integrate liberatory hermeneutics of scripture. Through this program I am so excited to be able to offer a spiritual accompaniment practice aimed towards seeing the Divine’s active presence in the lives of those who experience oppression, especially those in the queer and trans community, and journey with people towards spiritual wholeness.”
To learn more about the Master of Arts in Spiritual Direction offered by Seminary of the Southwest, please visit ssw.edu/MSD.
