The Adelynrood School for Spiritual Direction
A Deeper Understanding
We may have many people in our lives but few with whom we can share the depths of our spiritual journey. If you are someone who finds yourself listening to others, perhaps it is time to seek a deeper understanding of the spiritual path. Is it time to develop your skills in accompanying others along the way?
The Adelynrood School for Spiritual Direction is held in person each summer in June and August for four one-week sessions over two years. In 2027 we will meet at Rolling Ridge Retreat and Conference Center in North Andover, Massachusetts. Students may take the four sessions in any order.
Spiritual direction takes many forms, informal and formal: guiding, companioning, befriending, counseling, mentoring and sharing. The Adelynrood School for Spiritual Direction is a ministry of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross. We offer special training for women and men from all faiths seeking to develop a call to holy listening.
Dates, topics and locations of each session are as follows.
Sessions
May 31-June 5, 2027: Seeing the Diversity in Human Persons
This session invites participants to examine the ways in which biases shape our responses without our being aware of them and how we can cultivate openness through our spiritual practices. Our presenters will offer tools that can be used with any population, including dream work, exploration of archetypes, and the effects of trauma and addiction. The practicalities of ethics and developing a spiritual direction practice will also be addressed.
Leader: Kathleen Hope Brown, D.Min | Location: Notre Dame Spirituality Center in Ipswich, MA
Check back for registration information.
August 2-6, 2027: Observing Ourselves and Others
Our approach to this training assumes that self-understanding and continuing growth is essential to our availability to others as spiritual directors. In this module we look in depth at the Enneagram as a tool for understanding human personality.
Leader: The Rev. Michelle Meech | Location: Notre Dame Spirituality Center in Ipswich, MA
Check back for registration information.
Meet Our Leaders
All faculty have been trained in recognized spiritual direction training programs and are experienced directors.
Kathleen Staudt, SCHC, Ph.D. (Program Co-Director and Presenter)
Kathy has worked as a teacher, poet and spiritual director at a number of institutions in the Washington, DC area. She received her certificate in Spiritual Direction from Washington Theological Union and has been offering Spiritual Direction for over 20 years. A finalist in the 2021 Paraclete Poetry contest, she has published several books of poetry, most recently Viriditas: New and Selected Poems (2023) as well as scholarly work on the British artist and poet David Jones. Her approach to discernment is developed in her book Shaping a Faithful Life: Discernment and Discipleship for Young Adults (2021). Her website is kathleenstaudtpoet.com
Linda M. Williams, Ph.D., SCHC (Program Co-Director and Presenter)
Linda received her training in spiritual direction from Christian Formation and Direction Ministries Arizona and has been offering spiritual direction for over 15 years to both clergy and lay individuals exploring their journeys. She has served the faith community in multiple capacities, including teaching Christian Ethics and co-developing a Second Half of Life Spirituality Ministry within the Arizona Episcopal Diocese. Her work experience is diverse: USAF and NASA management positions, formation and leadership of nonprofits, and consulting with city governments on social services….from boardrooms to prisons. “The opportunity to walk alongside individuals committed to contemplating and exploring their spiritual journeys is my most precious experience.”
Dr. Kathleen Hope-Brown, DMin, (Presenter, June 2027)
Kathy is affiliate faculty at Virginia Theological Seminary and DeSales University, where she teaches spiritual direction and spirituality studies. She is the co-founder and primary instructor of the Bon Secours Spiritual Direction Institute and Director of Spiritual Care Services at the Saint Luke Institute in Silver Spring, MD, a psychiatric treatment facility for clergy and religious. Kathy trained at Catholic University and the Washington Theological Union. She is the author of Lay Leaders of Worship: A Practical and Spiritual Guide (Liturgical Press 2004) and co-author of Companions on the Journey: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship (DeSales Resource Center, 2006). Her article about spiritual direction with victims of abuse was published in Presence (Vol 23, No 4) in December 2017.
Ivy George (Presenter, 2027)
Dr. Ivy George teaches sociology at Gordon College in Massachusetts. She was trained at the University of Madras, Bryn Mawr, Brandeis and Harvard. She has written two books on child labour, (From Child Labour to Child Work, 1990) and cross-cultural comparisons of romance and marriage (An Uncommon Correspondence – East West Conversations on Friendship, Intimacy and Love, 1998, co-authored with Margaret Masson). She has published articles and contributed book chapters and lectured on a wide variety of crucially important topics including masculinity, feminism, religion, social stratification, and international adoptions. Excerpts from her memoir Blind Sight – When Freedom Was Not Enough (2026) have been published in The Journal of Expressive Writing (2025), Braided Way (2025) and The Other Side of Hope (2025).
Becky McCoy (Presenter, 2027)
Becky L. McCoy is a writer, retreat leader, and spiritual director. She works for the Brian Dagle Foundation and is the podcast host of Sucker Punched. Her book “In the Company of the Weary” explores spiritual practices that are gentle and kind, particularly for those navigating grief, mental illness, and burnout. Becky earned her master of arts in Christian theology and spiritual formation from Regent University and is pursuing a doctor of ministry in spiritual formation and soul care at Friends University.