The term “spiritual direction” is most familiar from Catholic and Anglican contexts. In both churches, understandings have changed, and contemporary understandings are strongly ecumenical.

It’s worth thinking of “spiritual direction by another name” in the Reformed world. Richard Baxter’s The Reformed Pastor is a snapshot from the seventeenth century.

Something that has emerged from ecumenical conversations is a sense that there are parallels between spiritual direction and what, in the URC, might be called “pastoral care”. One of the things that featured in the Exploring Spiritual Direction events at Windermere was what people in the URC might be drawing on when becoming involved in spiritual direction.

As a church with a deep commitment to ecumenism, the experience of working with a director from outside of the URC enriches the URC, as URC directors working with people from other traditions is a contribution to the wider church.