Spiritual Formation in Parenting: A Conversation

Parenting can be a lot. A lot of chores, a lot of decisions, a lot of emotions — both our kids’ and our own. Underneath everything we need to do and be on the surface, we may catch inklings of the ways that we are different people than we were when we became parents. Perhaps we haven’t had the space to explore and name what has happened as a parent and how that experience has formed us.  The demands of parenting ask us to focus so much of our attention outside of ourselves. This is a space to focus, to breathe, to notice your experience, and to hold the questions of who we are and who we are becoming. Whether you are a stay at home parent locating yourself as you’re immersed in sustaining life for another or a full time working parent locating yourself in the tension of two worlds — or anywhere in between — this group seeks to anchor our experiences as parents in the reality that we are beloved children of God.  In this time, we will do breath work, explore and discuss questions of the heart, and explore the underlying movements that emerge. We will listen prayerfully and attentively to one another while also noticing the experiences we carry within our bodies, using a few tools that teach us how to recognize, hear, and bear witness.

Cost: Enter amount you wish to pay.  Suggested donation: $35.00.

**3:00 p.m. start time listed is Pacific Time.  Participants in other time zones, please adjust.

The Instructors:

Jason Tom

Jason is a spiritual director who loves coming alongside people in their journeys of bringing their whole selves into their relationships and experiences of God. Prior to being a spiritual director, he served as a pastor in the Vineyard and has a BA in Psychology as well as a Masters of Divinity. This heavily influences his approach through placing an importance on the value of one’s personal history and emotional experience as pathways that greatly inform people’s present experience of God. He currently lives in San Diego with his wife Nancy and two kids; Josiah (7) and Alyssa (5).

Gabrielle Smith

Gabrielle has over a decade of combined experience in integrative medicine, pastoral care, and the healing arts. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Worship Arts and Biblical Studies and an MS in Business Leadership, and is a Certified Music Practitioner and harpist. Trained as a spiritual director through Nuos Formation, Gabrielle possesses a unique lens to see the spiritual journey through the seasons of vocation, church leadership, parenthood, and entrepreneurship. Gabrielle is mom to Gloria (6) and Judah (3), and loves a slow walk in the trees of Colorado.