Spiritual Accompaniment Course organised by The Birmingham Forum for Spiritual Directors and Companions

Applications are open for a one year ecumenical training course for lay and ordained Christians that begins in September 2025. The booking forms are below.

Read on to hear an interview between Caroline Homan, one of the tutors, with a previous participant.

Caroline: Thank you so much Ian, as a recent participant on the Spiritual Accompaniment Course for agreeing to answer a few questions about it.

1. What made you think of applying for it?

I was retiring after 37 years as a Methodist Minister, and was trying to discern what sort of ministry it would be appropriate to exercise in my retirement. I have had a spiritual accompanist for most of my ministry, and knew what a valuable resource he had been for me, and wanted to explore whether this was a way of continuing to exercise my call to ministry in my retirement.

2. What do you remember most fondly about the course?

The sense of mutual support within the group, led by a sensitive and thoughtful leadership team enable me, and I think others to grow on understanding and confidence, both in the theory and the practice of spiritual accompaniment.

3. Can you suggest anything that it helped you with?

In practical terms the most useful part of the course were the small groups where we worked through real situations, often with one person sharing, one person ‘accompanying’ and one person observing. In these sessions an enormous amount of wisdom was shared, and we were all helped to be more aware of our skills in listening and responding appropriately.

4. What sort of people do you think might enjoy the course?

The course both covered basic understandings of spiritual traditions, and wider understandings and expressions of spirituality. As such I thought the course worked well both for those who might want to tip their toe into the water of spiritual accompaniment and discover what it might be for them, and also for those like me who had experience of being in spiritual accompaniment themselves, and are considering offering as accompanists.

For me the course offered an opportunity for discernment, and to put things into practice in a safe environment, with skilled and experienced leaders that I much appreciated.