2025 Spiritual Directors Spring Forum April 26

Updated on

Saturday, April 26, 2025 with optional overnight Friday, April 25

Theme: Praying with the Labyrinth and Spiritual Direction

A labyrinth is a unicursal meandering path resembling life’s emotional, physical and spiritual turns.  Labyrinths evoke spiritual pilgrimage, prayer, meditation, and contemplation.  “The winding path of the labyrinth offers a blueprint for the psyche to meet the soul”[1] Praying with the labyrinth can be a useful practice to support a directee’s relationship with God. We are fortunate at Richmond Hill to have a full-size labyrinth in our garden where we can try out various approaches of praying with the labyrinth and share our experiences with other spiritual directors/companions.

The goals of the spring forum are: 

  • To learn or refresh our knowledge of praying with the labyrinth
  • To practice various approaches of praying with the labyrinth
  • To share examples of using the labyrinth in spiritual direction

Deadline to register is Friday, April 18, 2025. Contact Lydia Mercado, Spiritual Direction Coordinator (lmercado@richmondhillva.org) with questions or to see if any last minute space is available.

[1] Lauren Antress, Walking a Sacred Path: Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Tool, 1995, p. 147.

Key Times

Friday, April 25, 2025
4:00 pm – Check-in begins for overnight attendees
5:30 pm – Evening prayer
5:45 pm – Dinner
7:30 pm – Centering prayer

Saturday, April 26, 2025
7:00 am – Morning prayer for overnight attendees
7:30 am – Breakfast for overnight attendees
8:30 am – Check-in begins for commuters
9:00 am – Morning session begins
12:00 pm – Noon prayer & Lunch
1:30 pm – Afternoon session begins
4:00 pm – Departure

Suggested Donations

$55 – Saturday only
$70 – Saturday and dinner on Friday (no overnight)
$120 – Individual overnight retreat option (4pm Friday – 4pm Saturday)

Registration

Facilitator

Rev. Kimberly Barker-Brugman

Rev. Kimberly Barker-Brugman, or Kim B2, as she often calls herself, is one of us.  She completed spiritual direction training at Richmond Hill (RUAH VI).  An ordained United Methodist pastor, she is a leading voice for spiritual care and guidance in Virginia’s United Methodist. She completed Veriditas training in 2011 to be a Labyrinth Facilitator.  As clergy she knows about the lives and spiritual needs of clergy as well as their congregations. Kim has a heart for those who have been hurt by the church or lost their faith. You can learn more about Kim at Soul Stories Ministries, where she offers spiritual direction and labyrinth walks.