During the July 18, 2026 Souljourners graduation ceremony at St. Scholastica Chapel in Atchison, Kan., the Rev. Kara Wilson-Tucker, pastor of Weston United Methodist Church, explained the work of spiritual direction and the responsibility of accompanying others on their spiritual journeys. Wilson-Tucker was one of 10 graduates who completed the three-year ecumenical training program sponsored by the Sophia Center at Mount St. Scholastica. Her remarks follow.

Editor’s note: The following remarks have been lightly edited for punctuation, grammar and clarity. The speaker’s meaning and sequence of ideas have been preserved.

In church, we are taught that Jesus saves, and this is true. Yet salvation is not all that God wills for us. God also wills for each of us to grow in love, peace and joy through greater intimacy with God’s abiding presence. This is where spiritual direction comes in.

At its most basic, spiritual direction is a confidential gathering among a spiritual director, a directee and the Holy Spirit. Together, they may talk, laugh, cry, pray, play or sit in silence as they consider the role of the divine in the directee’s life experiences. The spiritual director humbly loves the directee as God loves them. This love is expressed through deep listening, curiosity and a nonjudgmental response to the directee’s choices, stories and desires.

The directee may bring whatever they wish into a session and is encouraged to be as present as possible in body, mind, heart and soul. The Holy Spirit is the true director of the session, beckoning both the spiritual director and the directee to listen with the ear of the heart to what she has to say. The Holy Spirit is generous with her gifts.

What is revealed to one person in spiritual direction benefits more than that individual. Because God wills the liberation, healing and transformation of all things through divine love, spiritual direction seeks to cultivate awareness of and wisdom from God for the director, the directee and the people they nurture and encounter in their lives.

Through spiritual direction, a directee may uncover deeper meaning in ordinary life, gain insight while discerning choices of all sizes and kinds, and develop a greater sense of appreciation, awe and wonder for how God made them and who God is calling them to be.

Those who feel called to explore life’s questions, spiritual growth or God’s presence in their lives do not have to do so alone. Consider reaching out to a trained spiritual director for confidential, compassionate companionship along the way. Contact https://www.sdicompanions.org/about/seeking-connection/ to learn more.