Guidelines for Verbatim

Congregational Ministry Event

Eastern Mennonite Seminary: Spiritual Direction Seminars and Practicum

Introduction
A verbatim offers an opportunity to observe an event, and our experience of the
event at a particular moment Group review of the reflection in verbatim form helps
us to continue to gain insight into the nature and experience of offering spiritual
guidance within the congregation. The verbatim is another invitation to listen and
reflect. We listen the first time as we prepare (see “spiritual Guidance within
Congregational Ministry Event” handout). We listen a second time as we are
leading/ministering the ministry event; a third time as we reflect and write a
ministry log or verbatim, and a fourth time as we process the verbatim in small
group.

Initial reflection
Reflect on why you are choosing this particular ministry event on which to write a
verbatim.
What questions does it raise for you? How does it touch your growing edges? What
are new insights you have gleaned or received?

Content
1. Background and spirituality of the group/congregation
D.Min. cohort in a Christian seminary. Listener and Storyteller are fellow
students in the same cohort.

2. Background and context of this ministry event.

The Storyteller is an Asian man, approximately er 30s, living in Santa Rosa,
California, the United States, working as s Spiritual Care Coordinator at Hospice
Services and a Protestant minister.

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3. Verbatim Form
Interior Conversation
I am distraught if, as an interfaith
caregiver, and I am imposing with an
interpretation of the sound of the
sounding bowl a religious or theological
understanding of what unity can
represent to the ST. I am also worried
that my present process of grief and
bereavement affect my concentration in
this interfaith spiritual guidance
intervention.
Because I am a non-native English
speaker and my practice as a spiritual
caregiver for more than 2o years has been
only in Spanish, I also worried about been
using the correct words and syntaxis in
English to make I communicate
understandable to ST.
2
Spiritual direction conversation
L (Listener): Let’s begin with the sound of a
sounding bowl. This is an ancient Eastern
cultural instrument also call the Himalayan
Bowl. The sound that it makes can serve us
to relaxation, and its sound and vibrations
can be understood as a symbol of unity
between you ST, me, the Divinity, and our
ancestors. ST (Storyteller) (L plays the
singing bowl three times SL close his eyes
during the instrument playing). Paused for
about 45 seconds). …Now, tell me, what do
you feel after the instrument being played
and if the experience evokes any memory or
any vital story to you?
ST: He asks if I am asking to speak first
about his feelings and then about his
memories.
L: Yes, please, go ahead.
ST: I felt relaxed and comfortable after
hearing the sound of the singing bowl, but
my memories are uncomfortable.
L: Can you tell me more about those
memories and why they are uncomfortable?
ST: They are related to an experience we
have as family and church. That event
happens in a mega-church where the
leaders are ethnically white. They have an
international worship group that they invite
my family and me to participate. We accept
the invitation, but we knew upfront that
that experience was not going to be
pleasant. That was what happen. We were
participating in worship with a group with
plenty of ethnic and cultural diversity.
Some people were even praying and singing
their language, but we did not feel at ease
in that experience, even with that diversity.

At this moment, I felt that I made a
mistake asking that question to the ST. I
thought that I impose my understanding
of a possible conflict that doesn’t exist and
countertransference my ideologies. At
that moment, I was afraid of being an
obstacle in this intervention of spiritual
guidance.
I leave ST to explain in detail, without
interruptions, and just nodding his
descriptions and explanation. For me,
this was a way to try as an interfaith
spiritual guide not to repeat the mistake I
believe made in countertransference to
ST.
After ST finished his description and
analysis, and I was ready to close with an
open question trying to hear ST discern
and describe if he perceives the unifying
presence of the Divinity in this spiritual
accompaniment intervention, the time for
the intervention finished.
3
L: ST, I heard you describe the church as a
mega-church and that the leaders are
ethnically white. Do you think your
discomfort was because the leaders of that
mega-church are ethnically white or due to
the dynamics inherent to that type of
church?
SL. I never thought about my discomfort
with that situation on those terms.
L: Well, how can you tell how you felt
uncomfortable about the experience you had
at that church?
SL: Yes, I think it’s not related to the fact
that the church leaders are ethnically white
or is a mega-church. Also, the worship
group we attended was very ethnically and
culturally diverse. People were also
worshiping in their languages. But how I
can express my feelings in this particular
church experience is that the way they
organize their church groups and make
people participate in them seems to be
forced.
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4. Discussion of the relationship and work of the director
The L (myself) has some background information about the ST life and spiritual caregiver
experience. L has experienced the death of his younger daughter and the birth of his first
grandson of his dead daughter. The L was worried that his process of grief and bereavement
and a language communication barrier affects the helpfulness of the spiritual guidance
intervention.

5. What question(s) do you bring to peer group?

Is an interfaith spiritual guidance intervention possible?
Is spiritual guidance or direction possible between a spiritual caregiver from an African
descendent spirituality and religion and a trinitarian Christian?

Sources: Maureen Conroy, Looking into the Well. Loyola University Press, 1995.
Guenther, Margaret. Center for Spirituality verbatim material. General Theol. Seminary, NY.
Spiritual Direction resources, EMS. Wendy J. Miller.