"Listening Hearts" Spritual Discernment
Introduction To Spiritual Discernment
Overview
The Introduction to Spiritual Discernment workshop is designed to make it easier to understand and appreciate the concept of Christian spiritual discernment. Special emphasis is devoted to outlining the issues of call, discernment, and community that form the basis of the Listening Hearts Ministries discernment model. As they participate in a series of carefully designed sessions, attendees gain a clear understanding of how the practice of discernment can be incorporated into their personal lives and the life of the congregation. Attendees participate in activities that provide firsthand experiences of prayerful listening, imaginative engagement with Scripture, and guidance on how to be more attuned to signs of the Spirit.

Intended Audience
The Introduction to Spiritual Discernment workshop is for groups of individuals who are members of an active faith community. The program is well suited to meet the needs of people who may have little or no prior direct experience with the practice of discernment. The workshop is beneficial both for those who want only to gain a basic knowledge of discernment concepts and for those who are seriously interested in incorporating discernment practices into their daily spiritual journey. It will prepare them to participate knowledgeably in other, more focused Listening Hearts Ministries programs.

Program Content Summary
The agenda has been carefully designed to incorporate a variety of activities that engage the participants directly in the learning process. Several broad themes are introduced and covered in varying depths of detail. A series of short presentations on various aspects of discernment form the foundation of the program. A variety of meditative exercises are incorporated so that participants can begin to experience first hand the concepts being covered. A selection of hymns and prayers that complement the presentations and exercises are included at multiple points in the program. Opportunities for participants to share their reflections with other attendees help to round out the workshop.

Congregational Discernment Group Leader Training
Overview
The Training Program is an eight-day, intensive course of spiritual formation and spiritual discernment. The objectives of the program are twofold: The first, and more immediate, is to prepare individuals to gather as a group of Listening Hearts discerners for members of their congregation. They do this in order to help persons who are seeking the guidance of God through Christian community as they try to resolve issues that have arisen in their lives. The second, which is of a longer-term nature, is to train this initial group so that they can in turn train other congregational members how to participate as Listening Hearts discerners in group discernment sessions. By attending this program, participants also gain a foundation for leading discernment educational programs, book discussions, and retreats for members of their congregation.

Intended Audience
The program is intended for a group of parishioners desiring to take a lead role in establishing and growing the discernment ministry within a congregation. Persons who have had previous meaningful experiences with contemplative approaches to prayer and worship are particularly well suited to benefit from this program. However, individuals do not need to have attended a previous Listening Hearts Ministries spiritual discernment workshop, or other contemplative-oriented program, in order to participate successfully.

Program Content Summary
The Training Program is designed to take place at a retreat facility that offers overnight accommodations. The program components include a set of reading requirements, retreat sessions, and discernment group practicum sessions. In addition, it includes complete instruction on teaching methods for discernment topics, program procedures, and use of Listening Hearts Ministries' resource materials.

Reading List
In order to build a theological and Scriptural foundation, participants are asked to read the following books in preparation for the training:

* Listening Hearts: Discerning Call in Community - Farnham, Gill, McLean, and Ward
* Grounded in God: Listening Hearts Discernment for Group Deliberations - Farnham, Hull, and McLean
* The Practice of the Presence of God - Brother Lawrence
* Dreams: God's Forgotten Language - Sanford
* Seeking God - de Waal
* Weeds Among the Wheat - Green
* Beyond Majority Rule - Sheeran

The onsite program consists of two components. The first is a set of consecutive retreats. Since the call for the Christian is rooted in baptism, the first retreat, "Pondering the Implications of Baptism," draws participants more deeply into their lives with God. The objectives are to nurture prayerful listening, to practice ways of contacting God, and to deepen one's comprehension of the concept of baptism. The second retreat, "God's Time vs. Human Time," invites the person to step out of linear time to contemplate the fullness of time. This retreat awakens awareness of God's timelessness because, all too often, human timetables impede our willingness to await God's voice. Here, the objectives are continue nurturing the ability to prayerfully listen, to practice varied approaches to meditation, and to awaken one's awareness of God's timeless time.

The second component is the practicum series. This section begins with workshops on practical aspects of working together as a discerning community and the mechanics of arranging and conducting a group discernment session. Participants then practice discernment together under the guidance of the Program Leader. In each practicum session, one of the attendees serves as the "focus person," bringing a real personal issue for discernment to the group. Participants have the opportunity to assume each of the group's roles over the series of practicum sessions as well as to observe sessions in which they are not playing an active role. Each practicum concludes with a feedback session.

One important note to emphasize relates to confidentiality. At various points throughout the training program, participants are given the opportunity to discuss personal issues and concerns. Listening Hearts stresses that all information shared by an individual is to be treated with the utmost confidence by the other attendees. This is done to encourage participants to be as open and candid as possible at all times.
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