WELLINGTON COUNTY – Back again this year is the week of guided prayer and spiritual exploration from Feb. 18 to 24.
Occurring for nearly 40 years as an experiential event, a week of guided prayer is “an introduction to a different way of praying and being available to the transcendent, whatever the transcendent is for you,” said Dr. André Auger, from the Guelph Ecumenical Guild of Ignatian Spiritual Direction.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the event has been held over ZOOM.
The week-long event began under the direction of the Lowville Prayer Centre in 1985 with one congregation and a team of directors from the Jesuit Centre for Spirituality in Guelph.
“The next thing we knew, we had all kinds of trained people offering companionship during the week,” said Auger.
“During the week we had Lutherans, Anglicans, Baptists and a Mormon. It was an opportunity to put aside denominational differences and focus on what really matters and that’s a relationship with God.”
Prayer guides lead the way
During the week, participants will be paired with an experienced guide with whom they will meet daily for about 30 minutes by phone or online via Zoom, Facetime, etc.
All prayer guides at the event are trained spiritual directors and will suggest scripture passages, texts, art activities and meditations to explore and pray with.
Auger said directors assess “pretty quickly” on the Sunday, the first day they meet, where an individual is on their spiritual journey and find appropriate passages for them to study.
Profound experiences
“People meditate on them and we listen and see if that creates a spark, some insights… and then we offer another passage,” he said.
“But by and large, people always have profound experiences and they come back; they stay with the practices.”
Advanced registration for the event is required and must be done by Feb. 11 at guidedprayer.ca.
