SDI Educators Gathering
Join us on January 22nd, 2025, from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. PST for the Spiritual Director Formation Program Leaders and Spiritual Companion Mentors Gathering. Presenters Nan Weir and Leonard McMahon will join us to share their insights and foster meaningful discussions to support our work in spiritual direction and companionship.
During this time of dramatic change in our world, many people are wondering how they will find a way forward. This workshop will be an opportunity to explore and engage with this question more deeply, and to draw on the wisdom of the group.
As educators and leaders, it is important to do our own work as individuals and organizations as we prepare for the work of helping others. What is the Spirit inviting? How do we discern what is called for now in our programs to meet this changing world? How can formation programs / spiritual communities help prepare people to be a part of transforming the world? This blend of teaching and discussion is intended to be an opportunity for reflection, discernment, and direction.
If you are part of a spiritual direction formation program or a guide or mentor to spiritual companions, we invite you to join us.
About the Presenters:
Nan Weir is an architect, spiritual director, and small group / retreat leader who is dedicated to creating sacred space and deepening spiritual community.
Throughout her forty-year career as an architect, Nan’s work has been dedicated to building community and creating community gathering places such as churches, libraries, and community recreation centers. She thoroughly enjoys creating and facilitating the public input and listening process that leads to successful community projects. She serves as the Ohio Regional Manager for the Chicago-based architecture firm, Williams Architects.
Nan is a graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation’s Transforming Community: Leading Contemplative Prayer Groups and Retreats, Facilitating Group Spiritual Direction, and Soul of Leadership long-term programs. She has been a Shalem adjunct staff member since 2005, is a past-president of the Board of Directors, and currently leads Shalem’s Group Spiritual Direction (GSD) program. She has been practicing and teaching GSD for nearly twenty-five years and continues to experience awe and wonder at the transformational work of the Spirit in these small groups.
Nan also facilitates retreats and workshops for many different churches, boards, and non-profit organizations in central Ohio. She is a member of First Community Church, where she served as the Owner’s Representative for their new Sanctuary project. She resides in Columbus, Ohio, with her husband Michael.
Leonard McMahon has a Doctorate in Theology at the Graduate Theological Union at UC Berkeley, working in spirituality, theology, and political theory. Leonard holds an MA in Religious Studies from UC Santa Barbara and an MDiv from Harvard Divinity School.
With his interest in improving the common good through political theology, spirituality, and pastoral care, Leonard works through his consultancy, Common Ground Dialogue, to bring divergent citizens into deeper conversation for the sake of our democracy. He is deeply concerned about the current polarization and draws upon classical spirituality and modern political theory to craft a pastoral approach that attends to both the personal and public aspects of our common life.
A longtime supporter of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, Leonard has also ministered in the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Church. In addition to his academic studies, he has worked on Capitol Hill and taught English and History in the Cheongdam-dong area of Seoul, South Korea. He is a big fan of the WNBA and enjoys seeing games live whenever possible.
