Convening Spiritual Directors and Ministry Leaders in NYC
2022-23: Women of Wonder! (WOW!) exists to grow a community that walks alongside women to uncover and affirm their God-given calling through prayer, teaching, and celebration. The goal of this project is to promote pathways to care and connection in relation to sustaining healthy leaders in the urban ministry contexts participants feel called to.
2023-24: [Affinity Working Group] The goal of this group is to cultivate connection among ministry leaders who would like to explore the relationship between contemplative practices in the formation of compassionate leaders and communities. A question they will be focusing their time around is: How do we embody compassion into relationships to create contemplative spaces of listening for women struggling with faith and church life so that they can emerge and thrive as compassionate leaders in their (urban) communities? This will inform a secondary exploration of developing a roadmap or signposts for how compassion can be developed within organizations, Christian or otherwise.
2025-26: [HUB Local Gathering] The goal is to convene a gathering of spiritual directors (SDs) and ministry leaders serving in campus ministry, pastoral work, social work, and mental health (MSW & LMH) across New York City’s diverse urban landscape. These leaders often work at the intersection of faith, social justice, and holistic care, providing spiritual and emotional support to communities facing systemic inequities, burnout, and personal crises.
The gathering will offer participants the opportunity to experience, explore, and engage with spiritual direction (SD) as a practice for sustaining themselves and those they serve. Through one-on-one spiritual direction sessions, group spiritual direction (GSD) workshops focused on pressing ministry topics, and a closing theological reflection, attendees will deepen their understanding of SD as a crucial tool for navigating the complexities of ministry in the city.
Erika is the executive director of Wonder Aloud! She is passionate about helping people encounter God through personalized, creative experiences, serving as a spiritual director and companion on their journeys. Her husband Jeff is a local pastor in NYC.
Congregational and Community grants provide support for urban pastors, churches, faith-based community organizations, and theological institutions to share resources, ideas, and practices for life-giving ministry in cities across North America. Typically, we invite those who have not previously had access to resources or grant funding.
The Affinity Working Group initiative aims to provide time and space for HUB learning network members to engage in focused ways with others interested in a similar topic and questions around ministry in the city. We anticipate working group members to explore, deepen, and assess their own vocation, urban context, and church life; gain clarity about vital questions and issues in a particular focus area (eg. youth, arts, etc), and learn from group members’ lived experiences and other sources of knowledge and wisdom.
The new HUB Local Gatherings initiative supports the coordination of neighborhood or citywide gatherings by a network member to connect with other Christian leaders around a topic of inquiry, encouragement, and support related to ministry in the city. The gatherings are topical, contextual, and consider sustained engagement between or beyond the meetings themselves.
