The Increasing Demand for Spiritual Directors

There is a new, popular job springing up called “spiritual director” that is something like a religious counselor but not necessarily a minister or rabbi. In our world where things are changing so quickly, many people are looking for direction and focus. They may not want to attend church services, but they are seeking counsel from religious “mentors”. Here is what Lisa Wangsness has to say writing in The Boston Globe (“Metro” section) about the increasing demand for spiritual directors.

The Increasing Demand for Spiritual Directors

Natalie Weaver, a 25-year-old musician who lives in Roxbury, does not go to church. But every three weeks or so, she visits a white vinyl-sided building on Dorchester Avenue, a former convent, to meet with her spiritual director.
For about an hour, she sits with a gentle, bearded man in a quiet room with gleaming oak floors and talks about the experiences that most awaken her spirit, the people who make her feel most connected and alive.
“It’s another person who is listening, and kind of asking questions and even just pointing things out,’’ she said. “I think it holds you accountable to dig deeper.’’
Spiritual direction is a tradition of religious mentorship with roots in ancient Christianity. For centuries, monasteries and seminaries offered direction to clergy and members of religious orders. But the practice is increasingly going mainstream, as more people, Christian and otherwise, seek help exploring their relationship with the divine.
Membership in Spiritual Directors International, the largest such organization in the nation, has increased from about 400 at its beginning in 1990 to more than 6,000 today, including more than 250 in Massachusetts.
Driving the growth are millennials like Weaver, who are more apt than previous generations to identify as “spiritual but not religious.’’ Ed Cardoza, Weaver’s spiritual director and the founder of Still Harbor, a South Boston nonprofit, mostly sees people in their 20s and 30s.

To view the original post, click here.

It seems a positive step that churches and synagogues are accommodating these young folks seeking guidance in a way that is meaningful to them. I suspect the next step would be to make the religious services more relevant to the younger set too. It’s also great that the ministers and rabbis who are spread so thin already have help in the form of these extra counselors. Lastly, it wonderful to have new jobs available due to this increasing demand for spiritual directors. Do you find this article useful or interesting? Please click on the Facebook “like” or “share” below if you do.

                                     Photo by ARAM BOGHOSIAN FOR THE BOSTON GLOBE