Group Leadership, Organisation and Spirituality

This unit aims to help participants become more aware of the structures and processes at work in the collaborative ministry teams in which they minister. The guiding matrix for this unit will be The Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the spiritual pedagogy and dynamism of which are as valid for groups as for individuals, though the Spiritual Exercises for groups uses a different framework.

A significant proportion of each day will be devoted to reflecting on the lived experience of group life and integrating that with the theoretical understanding of group dynamics presented in the unit. Specifically, each student will reflect on and share about his or her experience in a collaborative ministry team. Because some time each week will be devoted to group processes, it is expected that each student will attend and actively participate in all five days. It is also expected that the content of any discussion and sharing about actual collaborative ministry teams in this unit will remain confidential. The unit will be offered in conjunction with the team from the Campion Centre of Ignatian Spirituality under the supervision of Dr Michael Smith SJ. Applicants from all traditions are welcome.

Each student will write two essays. In the first he or she will summarize the theoretical understanding of group dynamics presented in the unit. In the second the student will reflect on the collaborative ministry team with which he or she is working and design a series of structured spiritual exercises to help that team flourish.