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Home Programs New Directions Sabbatical
New Directions Sabbatical Program
"During my time in Berkeley grace came knocking at my door and I was ready to let her in."
- Derek Laverty, SSCC
London, England
Your sabbatical, your time! New Directions offers men and women, priests, religious, and laity, the flexibility to design their sabbatical experience from a variety of options. Your fellow participants are persons with years of experience in ministry who desire to integrate and deepen their spirituality in order to prepare for the next phase of their lives. Here, they find a balance of personal reflection, relaxation and renewal, and updating in theology and spirituality.
New Directions begins with an opening retreat where students reflect on their lives and careers up to this point. We pause to listen to God's call. During the retreat a sense of community begins to build through our shared liturgies. Insights from the retreat are developed through ongoing spiritual direction, and those who are interested participate in a faith-sharing group. All of these components focus on personal and spiritual renewal, the heart of the sabbatical.
"It is a dozen years since my sabbatical yet I still regularly have new insights which flow from that experience. It was a time for integrating many years of religious life, priesthood, ministry and healthy self awareness. The new integration has made an enormous difference in my life."
- John M. Lee, C.P.
Willowdale, Ontario
New Directions is limited to 25 participants. This number is small enough to allow for interpersonal sharing yet large enough to allow for a diversity of participants. Members become a support for one another. You also have the opportunity to share some of your sabbatical experience with the larger community at the Jesuit School. Often, mutually enriching relationships develop between younger students and experienced ministers.
Over the last several years, nearly two-thirds of New Directions participants have come from countries outside the United States. Students from forty different countries attend the Jesuit School, and one's outlook is immensely enriched and broadened in this a culturally rich environment.
"I came in contact with a variety of people, some quite young, others not so young! Here, I met students from so many countries, of different religions, different customs, and different cultures. Coming from Ireland, all this was very new and proved to be a very enlightening, enriching experience."
- Mary Power, RSM
Limerick, Ireland
New Directions aims for a holistic sabbatical experience: spiritual, social, physical, and intellectual. See the links to the left for more details. For another sabbatical option, see Special Student Status under Continuing Education.
StaffBruce Lescher serves as Director of Sabbatical Programs, a position he has held for seven years. Bruce has his Ph.D. in Christian Spirituality from the Graduate Theological Union, and he is a lecturer in spirituality at the Jesuit School. His classes include "Transitions and Transformation" and "Ministry and Spirituality." In addition to teaching Bruce has been involved in the ministry of spiritual direction and in formation programs for religious brothers and for permanent deacons. He has published articles on a number of topics, including American Catholic spirituality, spiritual formation, and spiritual direction. He coordinates the program and serves as advisor for choosing classes.
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