Going Deeper: Long-Term Christian Contemplative Formation

What this program is

Going Deeper is a two-year ecumenical Christian contemplative formation program offered by the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, founded in 1973 by Tilden Edwards. Shalem operates from Bethesda, Maryland, and is among the oldest credentialed Christian contemplative training organizations in North America. The program is designed for people already committed to a contemplative life who want depth, peer companionship, and structure rather than introduction. Participants come from across the Christian denominations, including mainline Protestant, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, and Eastern Orthodox traditions. Many are spiritual directors, pastors, hospital chaplains, or lay leaders working in contemplative ministry. Others come without formal ministry roles but with sustained personal practice. Going Deeper sits within Shalem's broader curriculum, which also includes the Spiritual Guidance Program, the Group Spiritual Direction program, and the Transforming Community for clergy. What distinguishes Going Deeper is its length, its peer-group structure, and its insistence that formation isn't a course of study but a sustained companioning over years. Cohorts include residential retreats at Bon Secours Retreat and Conference Center plus monthly online video meetings, monthly small peer-group meetings, monthly individual spiritual direction with a Shalem-approved director, and ongoing reading and journaling. Practice forms include centering prayer, lectio divina, the prayer of examen, contemplative walking, silent retreat, and contemplative reading of scripture and the Christian mystics. Participants read across the contemplative canon, drawing on figures like Thomas Merton, Howard Thurman, Evelyn Underhill, and the Cloud of Unknowing alongside contemporary writers like Cynthia Bourgeault, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Tilden Edwards himself. Tuition runs roughly USD 5,500 to 7,000 across the two years, depending on residential retreat costs. Application is competitive and requires letters of reference, including from the applicant's current spiritual director. The program is recognized within Christian formation circles as a senior credential rather than an entry-level introduction to contemplative practice. Graduates often go on to teach in their own ministry settings, serve as spiritual directors, or lead silent retreats within their denominations. Shalem itself is a non-profit and offers scholarships and sliding-scale options.

Curriculum and topics

Coursework is organized around four pillars: contemplative practice, contemplative theology, peer companionship, and integration. The contemplative practice strand sequences through silent prayer, centering prayer in the Keating tradition, lectio divina, the examen, and contemplative walking. The theology strand reads broadly across the Christian mystical canon, drawing on patristic sources, the Cloud of Unknowing, John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Howard Thurman, Thomas Merton, and contemporary contemplative theologians. The peer companionship strand structures monthly small-group meetings, where participants practice deep listening and shared discernment. The integration strand connects formation to ministry context: participants articulate how contemplative practice meets their work and life, and develop sustainable rules of life. Three or four residential retreats anchor the cohort year, with extended silence and group spiritual direction practice. Reading is substantial, and participants keep a contemplative journal throughout.

How it's taught

The program runs on a hybrid rhythm: residential retreats at the start, middle, and end of each year, monthly large-group online sessions led by senior faculty, monthly small peer-group meetings, monthly individual spiritual direction with a Shalem-approved director, and continuous personal practice. Cohorts are typically thirty to fifty participants, with small groups of four to six. Faculty include Shalem senior teachers and visiting contemplative leaders. There's no exam; formation is assessed through ongoing peer feedback, journaling, the participant's own discernment, and the spiritual director's confidential support.

Who this program is for

Outcomes

Graduates earn recognition as Shalem Going Deeper alumni, a credential well known within ecumenical Christian contemplative circles. The program does not certify spiritual directors directly; that's the work of Shalem's separate Spiritual Guidance Program. Going Deeper graduates often serve as retreat leaders, contemplative ministry leaders within their denominations, faculty for shorter contemplative programs, or as senior practitioners offering peer support. The credential signals sustained formation, not a license to practice; many graduates continue with Shalem in faculty or alumni-leadership roles.

Prerequisites

Applicants need a sustained personal contemplative practice, typically several years of regular silent prayer, plus engagement with a current spiritual director who provides one of the references. Letters of reference and an essay are required. Shalem looks for grounded practitioners rather than newcomers; the program isn't an introduction to contemplative life.

How this compares

Going Deeper sits alongside two other senior Christian contemplative programs in North America: the Living School of the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, and the Centering Prayer Commissioned Presenter pathway of Contemplative Outreach. The Living School emphasizes Richard Rohr's perennial-philosophy framing and runs a more academically structured curriculum. The Commissioned Presenter pathway is narrower, training presenters of centering prayer specifically. Going Deeper is broader than centering prayer, more peer-group oriented than the Living School, and more rooted in mainline ecumenical formation than either. For senior practitioners seeking peer companionship over a defined credential outcome, Going Deeper is the strongest fit.

Frequently asked questions