When the first cohort of the Communities for Spiritual Vitality began in August of 2024, participants were unsure of what was to come. Now, as the program gears up for a second cohort, members of the first cohort and the facilitators look back on a year rooted in prayer and spirituality practices.
The Communities for Spiritual Vitality, a shared ministry of the Dioceses of Vermont and Massachusetts, seeks to provide spiritual and emotional support to lay leaders as they deepen their faith. Funded through the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative, the Communities for Spiritual Vitality was envisioned as a way of providing lay leaders in lay-led congregations with opportunities for spiritual growth.
“Parish ministry is hard work,” wrote the Rev. adwoa Wilson, the program’s director, in a recent blog post, “But it is especially vulnerable when the parish feels small, weak, and fearful about the future. This is true for lay people as much as for clergy.”
Lay participants are broken into cohorts of 20 to 30 people. The curriculum includes in-person gatherings, clergy-led online formation groups, coaching and spiritual direction, and resource development. A second year may be added for those members of a cohort who wish to integrate what they’ve learned at the parish level.
“The main focus [of year one] was developing a prayer practice,” said Rosemary Kinser, a member of St. Anne’s, North Billerica in the Diocese of Massachusetts. “I used to pray but it wasn’t structured in this way. Now I’m focused, I’m intentional. I make the time. I’m lost if I don’t do it.”
During their first in-person retreat, lay participants filled out a “Spiritual Inventory.” A questionnaire that asked questions such as “What is spirituality? How do you define it? How do you think about it?”
Ed Darling, a member of All Saints, South Burlington, wasn’t sure how to respond at first. “I do not consider myself to be a spiritual person,” he wrote on the questionnaire. “That was a true response at that time,” said Darling, “and being in the community has really turned me around.”
The program is facilitated through regular Zoom meetings and three in-person retreats led by Wilson and facilitators: the Rev. Jeremy Means-Koss, rector of St. James, Arlington and St. Peter’s, Bennington, and the Rev. Stephanie Bradbury, interim priest at St. Mark’s, Southborough in the Diocese of Massachusetts. Over the course of the year, the facilitators introduced participants to different prayer and spirituality practices as they walked alongside the participants.
“Our role is to be a companion for folks in the community,” said Means-Koss, “Alongside teaching spiritual practices, providing spiritual direction, or facilitating group listening, we also provide the Communities for Spiritual Vitality staff with active feedback about what participants need, so the staff can best support members in their journey.”
“[The Facilitators] encouraged all of us to share what we do and then pull what worked best for us as individuals,” added Kinser.
As their prayer practices developed, so did the relationships between the participants. “Many of us were from constellations, and we compared notes,” said Darling. “We also spoke about our spiritual lives and our shared spiritual experiences. That, and the facilitator’s presentations, were the central part of it for me.”
This growing sense of connection and community was also felt by Kinser. When asked why someone should consider joining the second or a future cohort, she offered, “There is a lot going on in the world today which can be overwhelming on individuals, on groups, on your parish. But with this group, I could put aside all of that and know that I was being loved and appreciated for who I am.”
For Darling, the answer was simple, “Everyone might end up having different reasons or motivations, but interest in prayer is a reasonable motivation to join.”
“If you’re interested in deepening your spirituality, your connection to Jesus and finding tools to do that,” said Means-Koss, “this is one of the best ways to jump in in a fully supported way.”
Wilson, for one, is hopeful for what’s to come for the second and future cohorts. “My prayer and my trust is that together we will create a new culture of connection, mutual support, and spiritual depth in our Body of churches,” she said. “One cohort of disciples at a time.”
The second cohort of the Communities for Spiritual Vitality will be launching this winter. Information sessions will be offered on July 21 from 6 to 7:30 p.m., September 6 from 9:30 to 11 a.m., and October 15 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Interested lay leaders should email communities@diovermont.org to indicate their interest in the cohort and to register for an information session.
