Jenna Edgar | Meet the new SGM Administrator! (+ she’s the inspiration behind the new SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund)
An SGM Interview with Jenna Edgar
Meet our new SGM Administrator
Jenna Edgar is a freshly-minted spiritual director, quiet-day facilitator and the new Spiritual Growth Ministries Administrator. We are blessed by Jenna’s grace, depth, bubbly personality and her extraordinary administrative skills. In this blog-post, Kathryn Overall-Cass has a conversation with Jenna about her new role and why she and her husband, Zach are seeding the first donation into the newly formed SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund.
Welcome Jenna! What drew you to applying for the SGM administrator position? What is meaningful about this role for you?
Towards the end of my second year in the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme, I stumbled across the website banner advertising the position and immediately I was excited at the prospect. I took note and decided to leave it for the time being and take it to God. This lasted all of two or three days!
Something in me knew I wanted to apply to be on the team of people who contribute to making the formation space available for others, in the same way it had been for me.
The impact that SGM and the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme has had on me has been genuinely life-changing, so the thought of being a part of providing the same opportunities for others filled me with excitement. I love that I now have the opportunity to use my skills and administrative experience to assist the SGM team, it is a real privilege.
What first drew you towards contemplative spirituality and towards becoming a spiritual director?
I feel as though I have always had a leaning to the contemplative, however there hadn’t always been a framework or understanding of just what it was that I seemed drawn to. Something in me was curious and filled with wonder about the Divine Creator, prompting an invitation to look deeper.
After facing some difficult life experiences, I found that God was in the midst of it all, in comforting ways that I wouldn’t have expected. I love stories, and love to listen to others share what is happening in their lives. I found that I was naturally combining this joy with my wondering of where God was, my personal experience of finding Him deeply in unexpected ways, and how others were experiencing Him in their own lives. After hearing about the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme, I wanted to embrace the passion I already had for being with others and helping them experience God right where they were, even if circumstances didn’t change like they thought they would, like in my own story.
How would you describe your experience of the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme?
It has been an incredible two years. I’ve learnt about a wide variety of people, topics and practices, let go of some things, cried a lot (some happy and some not so much!), met wonderful friends, laughed, been challenged and supported, and adopted new practices of being with God that I absolutely love. What an incredible gift to be able to lean on ancient practices! More than all of this, I currently feel the truest version of myself, learning to being free in Christ exactly as I am, which has been physically evident to people in my life! It is a priceless outcome that I will be forever grateful for.
The ability to listen - to really listen, without judgement to others as they share their experiences of life has been a beautiful gift to take hold of. The Kohanga Ako in itself was one giant gift with a big bow on top, having a week together was precious and is one I will never forget.
As the SGM Administrator, you have the important role of taking minutes at SGM Workgroup gatherings, where governance decisions are prayerfully discussed and made. What was your experience of the first Workgroup like?
I didn’t know what to expect as we met for the first time, and was moved to actual tears by the way I was so generously and warmly welcomed by the entire SGM Workgroup.
I had no idea as a participant of the Formation Programme what went on “behind the scenes”. It was very clear from the beginning that this was a group of people who loved both each other and God, and who were committed to creating a beautiful contemplative space in Aotearoa with an invitation and desire that people from all backgrounds would be welcomed.
It was clear that SGM is in great hands, being led from a contemplative place with integrity and trust in what God is already doing, and looking at innovative ways of engaging with this.
Spiritual Growth Ministries Workgroup (Governance Body)
Can you describe your experience of learning about the financial sustainability challenges SGM faces with the Formation Programme? What happened within you when the idea of the SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund was floated?
Something stirred inside me as the future finances were discussed, that I can only describe as a the sparks of a fire in my belly!
I had no idea that the fees participants pay for the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme don’t actually cover the costs of the programme. Currently, SGM has to find an estimated $800 per participant in order to break even.
Workgroup are reluctant to significantly increase fees as they want the SDFP to remain affordable to the wide range of people who feel called to this unique ministry of spiritual direction. It’s something of a dilemma.
Workgroup are prayerfully and creatively developing multiple income sources to help transition SGM into a financially sustainable organisation. One of the ideas floated was to invite alumni to consider making a donation to help sustain the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme for future cohorts. A kind of “pay it forward” fund seeded by donations by alumni who know the value of the programme, enabling SGM to continue to offer affordable fees to the people who come after them.
As the newest, soon-to-be ‘alumni’ in the room, I expressed my enthusiasm for the idea and I am thrilled to say we are launching the SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund this year!
The SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund invites alumni who feel moved to do so, to partner with SGM in our ministry of forming spiritual directors and fostering the growth of contemplative spirituality in Aotearoa, New Zealand by making an annual, or a one-off donation to SGM.
I realised that not only would alumni donations go towards the needs of SGM and it’s work, almost more importantly it would do a small part to ease some of pressure of the Facilitators and Workgroup moving forward, so they could focus on the work, rather than having any concern of the finances involved. The idea of alumni having an opportunity to pay it forward in this way feels like a privilege to contribute towards, and I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
And you are leading by example! A big thank you to you and your husband Zach for seeding the first donation into the new SDFP Alumni Partnership Fund.
Zach has benefitted from the Programme by default, so we are both passionate about the impact SGM and the Formation Programme has had for us both - in obviously different ways! Whenever asked by people in my life about the last two years, I can’t help but include in my response that my heart is for everyone to do it, which is the main motivator for both of us. Without knowing it, I have been the recipient of other people’s generosity in the form of the affordable fees I paid for the programme.
To be able to contribute financially to the future of the SDFP and SGM is an honour. I see it as planting a seed for another in the very place I feel I have come to life myself.
What encouragement would you give to other alumni who might feel moved to contribute?
The invitation to offer a financial contribution to the work of SGM is bigger than making a donation. It gives each of us a way to invest back into the Formation Programme that has sculpted and shaped our very own lives, with the knowledge that in doing so we are creating opportunities for others to experience the same.
We have seen first hand what an absolute gift Fran and David and the workshop facilitators are (and those who came before them!), so the invitation to ease any financial pressure, which then frees them up to focus on the programme content is a gift we can offer back to them. More widely, it’s an opportunity to support the contemplative community throughout Aotearoa as we flow with the current of God’s loving activity in this space.
What does 2024 hold for you?
This is a great question! I would love it to be a continuation of what has already begin - working with my directees, facilitating some quiet days (possibly even a retreat), and getting my teeth into on-going professional development as opportunities arise. I am really enjoying the Administrator role, so am grateful for all that this brings, and the connections I am making in the role. On a personal note, I plan on some travel, some concerts and a lot of fun to sprinkled throughout the year as well - I have a feeling 2024 will be a good one!
Anything else you’d like to add?
I would love to encourage each of us to also keep our hearts, eyes and ears open for anyone who may want to participate in the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme. For myself, and others I know of too, it was through someone sharing about the Programme that introduced me to SGM, and another who also encouraged me that it was worth considering for myself. We are each now in a position to encourage those who may be highlighted to us to consider applying in the future. This may sound small but it is a huge way we can continue supporting SGM and the Formation Programme!
