The Training Programme: A Participant’s View
posted on February 27th, 2010
The first Spiritual Accompaniment Course (SAC I) finished last Wednesday morning and the Team has been taking some time to recover and prepare for the rest of the training programme so it seemed like a good time to hear from one of the course participants.
Eugenia Atta Paidoo, from Ghana, has been a Roman Catholic Sister for over 36 years, working first in Ghana as a teacher and formator and then in Nigeria helping administer her congregation, the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus. Having the opportunity to take a sabbatical, she has already spent some time at St Beuno’s (our sister site in Wales) doing the Spiritual Exercises, making a pilgrimage to Ignatian sites in Spain, and learning about Ignatian spirituality. Now, feeling that she wanted to gain some practical skills as a spiritual director, Eugenia has come to Loyola Hall to join our Training Course. She explains that although her congregation has adopted Ignatian spirituality there has been a lack so far of people to help the sisters with spiritual direction.
So what was SAC I like? “Serious!” she says with a laugh, “straight down to business, even intensive. For example, we were right into learning about listening and then straightaway practicing in triads. I’m not complaining; it was well worth it! It is amazing how much can be learned in 8 days when the material is so good.”
Did you get what you wanted? “Yes – confidence. I know I have new skills to build on. I discovered I was able to put the skills to work – and found the Team agreed – and even thought I was better at it than I did myself.”
So you liked the practical, intensive nature of the course – that makes it sound like a lot of hard work… “The best part of the course was probably the sessions when we could just watch the team as they modelled giving accompaniment – getting the chance to see what spiritual direction can really be. Also, the teaching was very clear and uncomplicated with lots of visual aids and easy-to-understand presentations – and now that I have a few quiet days I am reading the very clear handouts to catch up and deepen what I learned … Oh and watching the Loyola Team working together so well has also taught me how I can work as part of a team.”
How would you sum up the experience so far? “To hold the precious story of someone and see God working in their life – it’s a privilege. And it’s taught me to listen to my own inner movements – which is a real treasure. God is in everyone that comes before me – whether their experience is mundane, ugly, beautiful – God is there and I can help the person find that. But it’s also changed what I notice in my own prayer – I don’t just stay with insights now – I taste, feel, touch God. It has changed what I will take to my own spiritual direction.”
Many thanks to Eugenia! We’ll hear from her again: next week she and the others on the 12-Week Training Programme take part in a week of guided prayer in the local area and then, the week after, they will be joined by another twenty or so participants for Spiritual Accompaniment Course II (SAC II).