About

 

Since 1983, the Academy for Spiritual Formation® has offered an environment for spiritually hungry pilgrims, whether lay or clergy, that combines academic learning with experience in spiritual disciplines and community.  The Academy's commitment to an authentic spirituality promotes balance, inner peace and outer peace, holy living and justice living, God's shalom.  Theologically the focus is Trinitarian, celebrating the Creator's blessing, delighting in the companionship of Christ and witnessing to the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives, churches and the world.

 

The Academy for Spiritual Formation® has both a two-year program and a five-day program.

a•cad•e•my [uh-kad-uh-mee]

n. (L. academia, from Gk. Akademeia) A center for specialized learning and experience.

The Academy for Spiritual Formation is an experience of disciplined Christian community emphasizing holistic spirituality—nurturing body, mind, and spirit. The program is ecumenical in nature and meant for all those who hunger for a deeper relationship with God, including both lay and clergy persons. Each Academy fosters spiritual rhythms—of study and prayer, silence and liturgy, solitude and relationship, rest and exercise. Academy participants rediscover Christianity's rich spiritual heritage through worship, learning, and fellowship. In covenant community and at a personal level, participants find time and space to discern direction, make covenants, and practice commitments.

The Academy for Spiritual Formation recognizes that the Holy Spirit is the enabling power in all Christian spiritual formation. It is designed to provide a setting where a spiritually disciplined community of lay and clergy can open their lives to receive God's love and grace so that they increasingly may become spiritual leaven within the Body of Christ.

 

Who Should Participate?

 

The Academy for Spiritual Formation is open to lay and clergy persons who want to be part of a community of seekers who learn the spiritual traditions of the church, are open to God's spirit in new ways, and who wish to be further formed for Christian living and ministry.

The academy is ecumenical and inclusive. It is open to all persons who are seeking God and wish to grow in Christian community with others. Members of ethnic minorities and persons with handicapping conditions are encouraged to apply.

Two-Year Program

Two-Year Academies meet in residence (in the same location) for five days each calendar quarter (40 days).

The first year focuses on the inward journey with Christ; the second year begins to shift to outward aspects of spiritual leadership. Throughout the two years, participants engage in spiritual practices of body, mind and spirit in the context of a supportive community.

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See Upcoming Two-Year Academies
Download the Brochure PDF
Download the Prospectus PDF

Five-Day Program

 

The Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation® is like the Two-Year Academy, but it consists of a single five-day session.  The leadership team of Five-Day Academies are chosen from alumni/ae of the Two-Year Academies.

Five-Day Academies are offered each year in locations around the world. The cost varies according to the location.

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See Upcoming Five-Day Academies

 

The Difference Between a Five-Day Academy and the Two-Year Academy

The Two-Year Academy for Spiritual Formation® is a more intense and involved program than the Five-Day Academy, though the daily schedule is the same. Participants in a Two-Year Academy spend 40 days in residence at the same retreat center (five days every three months for two years).  A curriculum of sixteen courses is followed and additional commitments are kept. Five-Day Academies are shaped in response to the perceived needs of a particular area. They offer a taste of "The Academy", and an invitation to deeper Christian spirituality.

The purpose of The Academy is...

  • To provide a setting in which lay and clergy persons can enhance their sense of call to follow Christ and serve the church and the world.
  • To provide for participants an in-depth and comprehensive experience in spiritual formation.
  • To educate participants in the history and development of the Christian spiritual life.
  • To encourage participants to live out their call through the recovery of the disciplines of daily prayer and the ongoing participation in personal and group spiritual guidance.
 
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