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Ingrid singing with the sacristy team after High Mass in the narthex (The Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Manhattan)
supervision
Blessings on you if you are a spiritual director, you are engaged in a holy calling. If you are seeking supervision, you have come to a gentle, loving, and substantive place. You may reach out to me to schedule a time for an initial conversation. Take a look at my profile to see if we're a good fit. Godspeed.
I was baptized as a Lutheran, confirmed as a Presbyterian, and became an Anglican and then an Anglo-Catholic as an adult convert. Since my adult conversion, I have had a call to spiritual direction. I obtained an MA in Spiritual Direction from Fordham in 2016; in September 2024, I completed the Fordham ACS certificate in Supervision of Spiritual Directors. I work in Manhattan and live in the Bronx. I serve on the liturgical team in my parish, The Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Manhattan, and love to sing during mass.
All of this is true. But it is very different from how I experience myself and my call.
I had a profound experience with spontaneous drawing in my spiritual journey beginning 25 years ago when, during my contemplative work as a new convert, I started to see shapes and lines during my prayer work. After weeks, the experience of these drawings and shapes in my prayer became so intense that I had to stop and buy paper, pen, and pencils and make the drawings that were occurring to me in my prayer. They were abstract drawings; I have continued to see images in prayer and have created hundreds of drawings; some are offered below for you to see.
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Drawing, "Woman with Orange Spirit"
Drawing, "The Heart of the Refugee"
Drawing, "Epiphanytide: 'But they were warned in a dream"
This drawing experience, which came out of the blue during prayer, forever changed my internal spiritual experience. I have sought to learn how to give this gift of drawing during prayer to others in my life and spiritual direction practice. So, in my work this year in the ACS, my final project took on spontaneous drawings in the focus portion of the TIM supervision sessions. I presented it as a long-awaited gift, grateful for the chance to serve God. Today, I offer it to you, too, for a taste of what is possible with God. May you see something in the video that inspires you as it has me.
Yet my experience of myself and God has been rich beyond the drawings. To stay focused on the present I will share an experience a few months ago during Group Supervision. To my surprise, I was led into deep contemplation during my supervision role, which is new to me outside of a retreat setting, yet this was what I learned during preparation for the sessions; I used it to be around the group. As I struggled to lead the group, I was invited by the spirit to hold a state of deep contemplation. That is, to go deeper into myself to that vast still space that holds all things in wholeness and love. In that state, I was always clear on my intention to love and serve my colleagues and to bring the group to life. The logistical and emotional problems became 'noise' around me in this state. I dealt with them as noise, addressing them but not attaching significance to them. Today, deep contemplation lasts longer in my ministry than before, and I sense a confidence and clarity about my call to supervision that I did not have before.
More riches from God: Facilitating the group supervision sessions was heavenly and liminal for me, and the experience of being in a liminal space is heaven adjacent; all in all, it is a circular spiritual experience. It was as though the group members were like a choir of angels in heaven, all dancing and floating around one another in a dynamic circular motion. Even on Zoom, I had this palpable sense of moving together in liminal space. This was startling to me since I have been on other groups on Zoom and have not had that kind of intense, liminal, heavenly experience. It may be because we were so intentionally contemplative for such an extended period and prayed for each other throughout the process. That may be it; I do not have the answer yet.
I hope that I have opened myself to you; I pray that we connect.