Tyndale Spiritual Formation Centre

Spiritual Formation Certificate: Journey of The Soul 2024 - 2025 will start next Saturday! Register today!

The Spiritual Formation Certificate program is designed to guide individuals on a transformative journey, deepening their relationship with the Divine through an exploration of key spiritual practices and concepts. This program offers a comprehensive understanding of spiritual disciplines, the significance of pilgrimage and sacred companions, gain insights into the ways God's grace has been evident in the individuals’ lives, and recognize the vital importance of Sabbath and Soul Care, especially for those in leadership roles within the church.

Tyndale Spiritual Formation Certificate 2024- 2025 offers 7 modules, beginning September 28, 2024 running through April 12, 2025. A minimum of 6 modules are required to graduate from the program, however, all 7 are recommended. Upon completion participants will receive a certificate of completion.

https://www.tyndale.ca/tsfc/certificates/spiritual-formation

What is the Enneagram?

The Enneagram is a dynamic, spiritually grounded personality system, describing nine different patterns of thinking, feeling and acting. It helps you become more aware of your own patterns, blind spots, automatic reactions, and gifts so that you can change and grow. This inner work creates more depth in your spiritual journey. True transformation takes place and compassion grows!

In these times, we need ways to be more at peace within ourselves, ways to soften our edges. We need ways to find more empathy for others, ways that help us see and hold our differences with less judgment. We need ways that support our being deeply loving in this extraordinary world we are an integral part of.

The Enneagram helps us with all this. It is a dynamic spiritual system that invites us to become our most loving, generous and spiritually grounded selves. It describes 9 types, each one distinct. Working with our type gives us access to remarkably accurate information about ourselves. It helps us understand and accept ourselves, our limitations and our gifts, and so helps us to become more loving towards ourselves, as well to more easily know and receive God’s love for us.

We come to see not only how we are on automatic, but also the underlying motivations for what we do. We learn to notice our type in action and to pause and allow responses arise that are appropriate to the situation in the moment. We also understand others more deeply and have more empathy for their struggles. In time, we become more patient.

The Enneagram:Self-Awareness and Growth Certificate offers 7 modules, beginning September 21, 2024, running through April 26, 2026. The Enneagram Certificate program cover the detailed dynamics of the 9 Enneagram types and also ways of working with ourselves to be more available and “present” in day to day life.

For more information, please visit
https://www.tyndale.ca/tsfc/certificates/enneagram

Join missions and ministry leaders from across Canada to be equipped in supporting the mental health of your community.

Date: May 22-23, 2024

Location: Tyndale University

Register for the Ministry Mental Health Summit in Canada! Join missions and ministry leaders accross Canada and be equipped to support the mental health ofyour community.

module happening on Saturday, March 30 from 9am to 3pm.

We are all creative as we have a creative God who instilled beauty into our souls. Our inner artist yearns to be participants in the healing of the world by bringing images, words and actions that inspires others and attract people to God’s amazing love.

Art making process is a creative journey which help deepens our spiritual experience of both our inner life and the world around us as we being more aware of the beauty and goodness in the creation. The process of art making is a contemplative and healing process as we mediate on Scripture and religious art and reflect on our relationship with God.

Art becomes a container of projections and expressions of longings for God. Often times, art is used as part of our worship to God. Colours and patterns become coding of how we see and experienced God. Each person is uniquely created in the image of God to glorify Him. Art can also offer an alternative vocabulary, narrative and language of hope for the marginalized and outcast, being the voice for the voiceless. This module is very interactive and experiential, no previous art making experience is required except for an open heart.

Learning Objectives:

- Discover and develop creative gifts through arts and imagination

- Develop pastoral and practical applications connecting art, imagination and spirituality in the spirit of contemplative prayer, to nurture our attentiveness to God’s presence in our daily lives

- Become more aware of our emotions and bodily sensations

- Experience the healing power art and giving voice to the voiceless and marginalized in our society

To register, please visit
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spiritual-formation-module-6-art-spirituality-tickets-667998350047?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

module on Feb 24 from 9am to 3pm

This module on the imagination will begin with a biblical study on the topic of imagination, exploring the questions of why it needs to be sanctified and how we can avoid self-deception. In prayer the imagination can be applied to an approach used in a healing ministry, and one way to engage in the reading of Scripture is through the imagination.

C.S. Lewis said his Narnia stories began with an image of a faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. “Suddenly Aslan came bounding into it… and soon He pulled the six other Narnian stories in after Him.” The imagination can be a means of grace and a way to encounter God.

Learning Objectives

- Come to an understanding of imagination through Biblical and theological foundations
- Discover prayer practises that use the imagination
- Engage in a devotional reading of Scripture through the imagination

You can register for this event via Eventbrite

Spiritual Formation Module 5: Sanctified Imagination Spiritual formation is an ongoing journey to greater intimacy with God.

module on Feb 24 from 9am to 3pm

This module will explore the nature of disenfranchised grief by understanding the language of grief and loss. Disenfranchised grief can include su***de, traumatic death, and other losses that are challenging to process because they are unacknowledged avoided, or not legitimized. The second part of this module will provide training in setting up a support recovery group. This will include guidelines for groups, intake forms, the content of a good group, and learning to be a facilitator.

Learning Objectives

- You will understand the various types of disenfranchised losses in their contextual setting
- You will learn various interventions and techniques to use in addressing disenfranchised loss
- You will know how to establish grief support groups
- Guidelines to care for the care giver

You can register through Eventbrite here,

Death & Grief Module 4: Dealing with Disenfranchised Grief Tyndale Death, Dying and Grief 2022 - 2023 offers 6 modules, beginning September 23, 2023 running through April 6, 2024.

Jan 13 from 9am to 3pm

This module will explore what it means to grieve and lament, we will learn how to help others in their time of sorrow and loss. Special attention will be paid to the Psalms as a resource for encouragement for those dealing with death.

Learning Objectives

- Deeper understanding of key biblical passages that address death, grief, and loss
- Theological resources to respond to common cultural misconceptions and myths surrounding the death experience
- Discover how Christian have practiced spiritual care for the dying and grieving
- How to conduct a caring visit with those facing grief, including the appropriate use of prayers and Scripture

You can register for the module through this link here,
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/death-grief-module-3-spiritual-biblical-resources-to-cope-with-loss-tickets-667627360407?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

n 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 we read about “being transformed into His image”, a process we know as spiritual formation. By the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we fulfill two purposes through this sanctification. The first, is to glorify God and we do this through worship and service. The second, is that our formation is to benefit others in the community of believers.

Whereas disability is a fact of life, within our faith communities, those with disabilities are either absent or segregated, which explains why their seldom seen or hidden from plain view. This means they are not participating in the body of Christ as God had intended. If we are serious about recognizing the church’s need for all its members, as Paul has described in 1 Corinthians 12, we need to consider how to create accessible environments with the concept of universal design. The classic example of physical universal design is the curb cut on most street corners in Toronto. The curb may be initially intended for wheelchair users. Still, it benefits many people, such as parents with strollers, people using walkers, cyclists, and those riding electric scooters. Similarly, a universal social “ramp” will benefit all people. It is when we can remove physical and social barriers and allow people with disabilities to be part of the community that the body can enjoy all the gifts that God has prepared for us.

The gifts for the body of Christ and how they are given however, presents challenges because disability can change the means and character of the gift, i.e., the worship expressed by a person with a disability may be different and not fit the expectations of others. We can create a universal design, but how can we change the hearts of those who put up barriers and reinforce them knowingly or unknowingly? How can we support those with disabilities to become and be fully engage with the community of believers.

Although this is a complex issue, this change can happen through personal discipleship, providing education and raise awareness of disability, create a community of belonging and true engagement. This can only be accomplished by understanding the needs of those in our circles of responsibility and influence. Engage with others intentionally and make it your practice to take down barriers and make accommodations. And finally, learn to walk alongside those who are different as they too are part of the body of Christ, and all are welcome and needed.

Learning Outcomes

- To reflect on the Body of Christ as a united body made up of different members: some seemingly able, others we think as disabled, but all members are indispensable.
- To develop a deeper understanding of the concept of disability and what can be done to promote universal accessibility
- To consider how to live out the unity in the Body, by the Spirit’s guidance, so that our community life can bring glory to God and benefits to all members in the community.

You can register for this module through this Eventbrite link,
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spiritual-formation-module-3-disability-spiritual-formation-tickets-667990436377?aff=oddtdtcreator

October 28, 2023 from 9am to 3pm

Christians engaged in all forms of ministry regularly encounter issues related to mental health—both in their own lives and in the lives of those they serve. Opportunities to explore how mental health and spiritual health intersect and interact are greatly needed. You are invited to bring your experiences, questions, and concerns to this interactive, dynamic, and relevant module on the integration of mental health and spiritual health. Join us as we look at integrated topics such as the brain-body connection in wellness, intentional awareness, building resilience, the blessing of limitations, and a multi-faceted approach to the healing power of connection. Through a blend of didactic and experiential teaching and learning, participants will gain both understanding and practical tools for how to foster connections between their mental well-being and spiritual life.

You can register through this link below,
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/spiritual-formation-module-2-integration-of-mental-spiritual-health-tickets-667979162657?aff=oddtdtcreator

Learning Objectives

- Participants will learn about the design and relevance of the brain-body connection as we explore ways to respond intentionally and adaptively to our system’s need for safety and connection
- Participants will explore the meaning of and opportunities inherent in the interconnected lived experiences of limitations, vulnerability, and boundaries
- Participants will explore and apply a four-part integrative “connection” model designed to nurture mental and spiritual health and wellness

Facilitator
Lisa Oppitz, M.Div., RP.

Lisa completed her MDiv (Counselling) at Tyndale University in 2019. Currently working as a Registered Psychotherapist with Tyndale Family Life Centre, Lisa brings her teaching, mentoring, and parenting experiences to her therapeutic work with children, adolescents, and families. Lisa has particular interest and additional training in spiritually integrated psychotherapy, systemic and trauma-informed approaches to treatment, and working with grief and loss.

with Trevor Hudson
Saturday, October 14 2023 from 12 - 3pm (ET)
Many coming for spiritual direction have been deeply affected by trauma and loss.

In this Zoom conversation we will reflect on how we as spiritual directors can accompany those who suffer deeply. And how do we walk with others, when we ourselves are struggling with our own grief and pain.

This conversation will be facilitated by Trevor Hudson who has offered spiritual direction within his own painful South African context for the past thirty years. Presently he works closely with the Jesuit Institute of South Africa where he trains others both in spiritual direction and the giving of the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.

Trevor will be sharing his message with us from 12-2pm. There will be a networking time for spiritual directors from 2pm - 3pm.

This event is co-hosted by Tyndale Spiritual Formation Centre (TSFC) and Tyndale Association of Spiritual Directors (TSFC).

This is a FREE event and you can register on Eventbrite through this link, https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/engaging-tears-in-spiritual-direction-tickets-726195719947?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

September 23, 2023

You will have the opportunity to consider and work with your own personality type structure as you journey inward. Your personality type gives you a lens for self-reflection. This enables you to overcome the obstacles which prevent you from being present to God, self and others.

Learning Objectives

- To settle on a Personality Type and develop an awareness of type-related automatic thoughts, feelings and behaviours as well as your type’s gifts
- To see how this kind of self-reflection helps you make more constructive choices in life
- To appreciate the different lenses through which others view the world.

You can register at this link below,
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/enneagram-module-1-introduction-to-enneagram-tickets-667720107817

John Calvin wrote that wisdom “consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.” An introduction to spiritual formation can best begin by learning more about ourselves. In this module, we will take a look at our God-given talents, learned skills, spiritual gifts, and personalities, so that we can know how God has designed us to serve.

We will undertake three inventories in preparation for this module: a spiritual gift inventory, a ‘sacred pathways’ evaluation, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (R). When you register for this certificate program you will be contacted by the instructor with information about completing these inventories ahead of the class. The full profile for the MBTI test is optional.

https://www.tyndale.ca/events/spiritual-formation-module-1-knowing-god-knowing-myself