When Margaret McAvity, a parishioner at St Andrew’s, Sidney, proposed holding a week of accompanied orayer at the church, Kelly Duncan, the incumbent at St Andrew’s, was keen on the idea. Although the origins of the week of accompanied prayer are unclear, Kelly describes it as “a retreat in the middle of daily life.” Margaret first encountered this type of retreat at Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver, when Ellen Clark-King was a priest associate there. Kelly had also taken part in a week of accompanied prayer at her former church of St Mary’s in Vancouver.
The dates were set for Oct. 6–12, and four spiritual companions, including Margaret, were found. Of the four, three were from this diocese and one has a United Church background. The week opened with a service of blessing on the Sunday afternoon, led by Kelly. Given that the week was leading up to Thanksgiving, Kelly highlighted the theme of “gratitude” in the opening session, which emerged again throughout the week as participants reflected on what they were grateful for.
From Monday to Friday, the 14 participants — all parishioners of St Andrew’s, and ranging in age from a school teacher to three 96 year-olds — met at the church for a one hour, one-on-one session with their spiritual companion. Participants met with the same spiritual companion, at the same time, everyday, in the same space in the church. On the following Saturday there was a closing service to wrap up the week.
“People have the support and the encouragement of an individual trained spiritual companion,” says Kelly. “And they talk about their prayer life, and they talk about how to deepen their connection with God. Each day they commit to spending some time in prayer, trying out the methods that the spiritual companion has suggested. Then they come back and talk about it with the spiritual companions, so that there is that support and that accountability each day.”
Margaret emphasized that although the week was about supporting and enhancing the spiritual life of the participants, it also had the added benefit of enhancing the spiritual life of the members of the congregation who offered their support.
“They provided lunch for the companions,” says Margaret. “They also provided tea, coffee and cookies for people as they were coming and going from their meetings, so they could stop and talk with each other. So, it provided hospitality and community involvement for the parish. It’s not just about the individuals deepening their own faith, but strengthening the congregation and the prayer life of the congregation.”
Margaret felt that it was also a very positive experience for the spiritual companions. “We heard from them how touched they were with the hospitality, and with seeing a very vital community. Although we’re not a young congregation, we’re quite aging, we’re a very faithful congregation.”
Margaret admitted that there was some hesitation from the participants at the start of the week, but that by the end of the week that had all changed. “Our sharing at the end of the week was so profound and rich and deep. I would use the word ‘transformation’ for what happened in people’s lives.”
One participant, David Olsen, described the week as a “milestone” and “revitalizing,” while another participant, Julie Lobb, called the week “amazing.” Julie went on to say that the week offered “space in time, place, thought and emotion to dive more deeply and intentionally into God’s presence. During the week, prayer became a relationship again. I was able to expand my perception of who God is, how much He loves me and how radically multi-dimensional His presence is in my life. I didn’t necessarily learn anything new about myself, but it feels like my identity as a child of God is more colourful and focused.”
Margaret and Kelly are enthusiastic about the prospect of organizing another week of accompanied prayer at St Andrew’s, and encourage other churches in the diocese to host their own. Reflecting on the practicalities of the event, Margaret felt that it would be good to have someone other than the clergy or spiritual companions overseeing the administrative aspects of organizing the week. An important role for Margaret and Kelly, however, was pairing the participants with their spiritual companion. In some cases, this went beyond simply considering who would be a good fit, to practicalities such as accessibility.
“My wish for this week,” said Margaret, “was that these people who try to lead very faithful Christian lives would receive blessing. That they would just know that they were loved and affirmed in their Christian walk, and I think that happened.”
