Listening Hearts Training Week for Trainers

The Training Week for Trainers is a six day, six night program that takes place in a retreat facility. Once trained, the trainers prepare others to serve on discernment ministry teams in their faith communities (congregations, judicatories, institutions, geographical areas). These ministry teams then lead programs such as book discussions and retreat days. They also offer spiritual discernment sessions for persons who are wrestling with issues, large or small, of any nature, including personal relationships, professional concerns, and moral and ethical dilemmas.

Intended Audience

Prospective trainers must have leadership abilities, spiritual maturity, and commitment to Listening Hearts principles. A sponsor such as a diocese, congregation, or seminary may recruit the participants and assume financial responsibility, usually asking the participants or the groups they represent to contribute toward the expense. Persons who complete the Training Week for Trainers are qualified to train church-based groups in Listening Hearts Discernment. They are encouraged to work in teams of two whenever possible.

Summary of Program Content

The program includes preparatory reading, two retreats, and four discernment group sessions, supervised by a mentor. The curriculum includes complete instruction on teaching methods, program procedures, and the use of resource materials.

Preparatory Reading List

In order to build a common theological and Scriptural foundation, participants read several books in preparation for the training:

Listening Hearts by Farnham, Gill, McLean, and Ward
Grounded in God by Farnham, Hull, and McLean
The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence
Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language by John Sanford
Seeking God by Esther de Waal
Weeds Among the Wheat by Thomas Green
Beyond Majority Rule by Michael Sheeran

Retreats

The Training Week begins with two consecutive retreats. These sessions cultivate prayerful listening and introduce the group to a variety of ways one can encounter God, such as contemplative walking, singing, writing, drawing, modeling clay, body movement, and dramatic meditation. Although participants are not expected to find every medium personally helpful, they are expected to develop an appreciation for the reality that God communicates with people in many ways.

Because the Christian’s call is rooted in baptism, the first retreat, Pondering the Implications of Baptism, draws participants more deeply into their lives in God. The second retreat, God’s Time vs. Human Time, invites them to step out of linear time to contemplate the fullness of time. Because human timetables often impede our willingness to await God’s voice, this retreat awakens participants to an awareness of God’s timelessness.

Each participant receives the Retreat Manual, the Handbook for Trainers, the Listening Hearts Songbook, and supplies to help to get started with program organization and planning.

For additional information, contact the Rev. Monique Ellison either by email or at the Listening Hearts office, 410-366-1851.