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 2026 and 2027 we will meet at local retreat centers near the Companions’ historic home of Adelynrood in Byfield, Massachusetts. Students beginning the program in June of 2026 are encouraged to take the four sessions in sequence to complete the program in August 2027.
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
June 15-19, 2026: Developing and Defining an Understanding of Spiritual Direction
This session introduces spiritual direction/spiritual companioning, how it differs from and relates to other kinds of helping relationships, and what gifts it calls out of us. Participants will be introduced to various spiritual direction approaches and invited to explore these in practice sessions. Attention will also be given to models of self-reflection and peer supervision.
Leaders: Linda Williams, PhD, SCHC; Kathy Staudt, PhD, SCHC | Location: Notre Dame Spirituality Center in Ipswich, MA
Registration opens March 15, 2026.
August 3-7, 2026: Integrating Practices of Discernment and Self-Care
This session focuses on the core practice of discernment in spiritual direction, drawing on Benedictine, Ignatian, Quaker, and other models. Students will explore their own spiritual journeys and practices of prayer. Attention is also given to practices of spiritual self-care for those who offer spiritual companionship.
Leaders: Kathy Staudt, PhD, SCHC; Anne Williamson | Location: Rolling Ridge Retreat Center in North Andover, MA
Registration opens March 15, 2026.
June 7-11, 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.
Dr. Kathleen Staudt, SCHC, Ph.D. (Program Co-Director and Presenter, June and August 2026)
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
Dr. Linda M. Williams, PhD, SCHC (Program Co-Director and Presenter, June 2026)
Linda received her training in spiritual direction from Christian Formation and Direction Ministries Arizona and has been offering spiritual direction for over 10 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.”
The Rev. Michelle Meech (Presenter, June 2027)
The Rev. Michelle Meech trained with the Enneagram Institute and has taught the Enneagram ever since. She works as rector for St. John’s Episcopal Church in Kingston, New York, where she lives and grows things with her beloved wife, Ana.
Dr. Kathleen Hope-Brown, DMin, (Presenter, August 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.