The Parenting Pilgrimage

Parenting can demand so much from us. 

The mountain of chores.

Decisions about school and what to make for dinner. 

And lots of emotions to hold – both our kids’ and our own.  

It’s easy to get swept through chaotic and busy days and feel untethered from God in the midst of it.  And we can easily lose ourselves.  

—

God is with you in all of it, present with you and forming you through it. Let’s take space together to discover how. 

The Parenting Pilgrimage is a spiritual formation and kinship group for parents who desire to find where they are and where God is in it all.   

—

As parents, we focus so much on who our kids are becoming. But another important question begs to be answered: Who are you becoming as you parent?  

Sometimes it can feel like kids turn up the volume on so many things that demand our immediate attention that to make space for it we quiet the volume of ourselves – our needs and desires, our emotions, thoughts, and bodies. But rather than hitting the pause button on a song only to resume it when we’re available to turn the music of our own lives back on, we can come to discover that we haven’t hit pause but instead turned the volume on the song of our own lives low enough to hear our kids and that the music of ourselves has kept playing the entire time. But we realize we are no longer on the same song anymore, not in the same place but are somewhere entirely different and not sure how we got there.  

As we make space together to turn down the volume of parenting and allow the volume of ourselves to be heard, we can notice a more true and authentic experience of ourselves and how God is meeting us as we meet our kids.

In group spiritual direction, we will listen prayerfully and attentively to one another while also noticing the experiences we carry within our bodies. We will also:  

• Explore your own life story and the origins of your parenting sensibilities .
• Gain insight into the way God is at work within your particular story in this particular season of your life as a parent.  
• Find rest and prayerful, contemplative space held by someone else where you can simply be.  
• Explore how that story continues to unfold through your parenting journey in guided exercises.  --  

Why a group?  

Experience kinship with other parents on the journey of facing similar struggles and joys.  

Learn from the insights of others as we share life and experience.  

As you walk alongside your kids, you’re also being formed and we all need sojourners along the way to support us and help us notice God’s movement and invitations for us.  

What does a group look like and when does it meet? 

This will be a series of six remote gatherings that meet monthly. Gatherings are two hours long with the first hour focusing on spiritual practices and the second hour focusing on group spiritual direction.  

Meetings will be on Sundays from 4-6pm PT on the following dates:

October 20

Novemebr 17

December 15

January 26

February 23

March 16

For questions or interest in other possible dates, email jasonjtom@gmail.com

Facilitator: Jason Tom 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 (8) and Alyssa (6).