Save the Date
Spiritual Direction: A Call to Witness and Withness
CSDA Annual Gathering
Franciscan Renewal Center | Phoenix, AZ
January 26-29, 2026
Registration opens August 1, 2025!
Join us in January for our 2026 CSDA Gathering on the beautiful grounds of the Franciscan Renewal Center in Phoenix, Arizona. This in-person experience will include times of learning, times of sharing, times of prayer, and times of solitude as we examine our calling to witness and withness in our direction ministry.
Dr. Berry Bishop will lead us as we explore external and internal forces that can hinder our ability to remain fully present with our directees and Jesus as we meet together. Being a witness and providing withness are hallmarks of our work. Yet, these relational skills also require our diligent attention, evaluation, and nurturing as we seek to deepen our capacity for direction.
During our days together, we will explore:
- how to recognize when our personal stories derail our witness and withness.
- how we can stay present with Jesus and our directees when challenging/evocative issues arise in the room.
- how confession and forgiveness can ground us in the presence of Jesus and one another.
- how Jesus is the ultimate teacher and companion in our quest to witness and withness.
Our speaker this year will be Dr. Berry Bishop, Associate Director of the Institute of Spiritual Formation and Marriage and Family Therapy programs at Talbot School of Theology. Bishop graduated from Talbot with a Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation and Soul Care and then obtained her doctorate in psychology from Azusa Pacific University. Her primary research interest is in the area of trauma and spiritual direction. In addition to teaching, she continues to practice as a clinical psychologist.