Copyright: © 1996 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. This document may be freely reproduced for non-commercial purposes with credit and mention of the Lift Up Your Hearts web site http://www.worship.ca/ as the source.

Pneuma is a journal on spiritual direction and formation in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. Sr. Margaret Dorgan wrote "Spiritual Direction: An Update" in the Fall, 1995 issue of Pneuma.

Monastery Hermitage
Orland, Maine

My grateful thanks for the Copy of "Pneuma," a truly impressive newsletter, rich in content and beautifully printed.

I was especially interested in observations made by Kenneth Leech, an author I highly esteem. At the seminar on "Spiritual Direction: The Carmelite Tradition" at St. Mary's, Notre Dame, Indiana last June, the question about payment of directors came up. Quite a few members of Spiritual Directors International were there as well as many lay people who are now devoting their lives to direction. It was pointed out to me that just as pastoral ministry used to be mostly voluntary, a great change has taken place in the last fifteen years. Pastoral ministry has become professionalized, with special training and accreditation for those involved who give up much time and income to become proficient. That process is taking place now in spiritual direction.

I have heard horrified reactions to the necessity of payment for spiritual direction. I've had to note that such reactions often come from people who are part of groups that regularly solicit donations for their religious goals. Thus their members are subsidized and are free to give their services gratis.

I think of similar developments in endeavours that were once almost wholly voluntary like nursing or care of the physically or mentally disabled. At one time there was a wise person in a human community who dispensed advice to those in psychological distress. Today we pay therapists.

I agree wholeheartedly with Kenneth Leech's final paragraph.

In Christ,
Sr. Margaret Dorgan, DCM