The Center for Spiritual Direction at St. Michael’s
by the Rev. Matt Holcombe
I never imagined closing a church. In fact, I know not a single priest who has aspired to close a church. And there I was — six weeks into my new call as rector of St. Michael’s, Colorado Springs, I was closing a church. I locked the doors, mailed a letter, posted signs on the doors turning people away, and then wept.
The beginning of the pandemic was like watching a slow motion, multi-vehicle car wreck that crossed international borders. Reliable and accurate information was hard to come by, uncertainties permeated every aspect of life, and people were experiencing loss and grief at an unfathomable rate.
After announcing St. Michael’s was going to be closed until further notice, I received a phone call from a worried parishioner asking, “What are we going to do?” After a few deep breaths I responded, “I don’t know … but we are going to do it together.” The first few weeks of the pandemic were a blur. We set up video-streaming capabilities, a phone tree to reach every parishioner, virtual coffee hours, and Zoom accounts so our numerous ministries could stay connected. As the weeks turned into months, we set our sights on warm weather and outdoor worship services. The staff, vestry, and a newly formed “Next Steps” committee charted a bold path forward that encouraged we go “beyond our walls together.”
Despite the church being closed, I had never experienced a community more alive. With a bold vision to make Christ known within and beyond our walls, the momentum was palpable. New small grounds formed, new Bible studies emerged, and the generosity was overflowing — and this all happened within the first six months of the pandemic. Then as 2021 came into focus, it became clear that we weren’t getting back to business as normal. With seven ambitious goals to reimagine nearly all aspects of doing church and ministry, we increased our pledged giving by 25 percent.
Making Christ known took on new meanings and challenges. From decorating our campus with 60,000 Christmas lights to preparing faith-to-go bags to hosting quarterly donation drives, St. Michael’s has been looking forward throughout the pandemic.
During the spring of 2021, five spiritual directors who call St. Michael’s their spiritual home, began meeting together to encourage and support one another. Within days of learning about this peer-supervision support group, I began praying about how God could use them in new and different ways. Unbeknownst to me this group of spiritual directors were praying the same prayer.
As St. Michael’s was reimagining the use of some of our building spaces, one room in particular called out for new purpose. It had been used for the past two decades as library. In truth, it had become a room filled with thousands of unwanted books. Only one book had been checked out in the past five years. The space could, we agreed, serve a new and better purpose.
Having seen a prayer room in another parish years prior, I began wondering, along with our spiritual directors, how an “intentional space,” a room devoted to prayer and spiritual support, might serve our community. Before I could finish the thought, the spiritual directors were boxing up the books. Within days, 60 boxes of books had been cleared out and our blank canvas emerged.
We brainstormed: “It would be great to have a space for spiritual direction.” Agreed. Another added: “What about a place to kneel and pray?” Of course. Still another offered the idea for “a desk with paint and markers for those wanting to create with their hands, and also another work surface for contemplation and journaling.” Within minutes, the vision became clear. St. Michael’s would create a prayer room for parishioners and others in the community to use.
With freshly painted walls, the prayer room quickly took shape. Chairs were added for group and one-on-one spiritual direction. Tucked into a corner was a “creation station” outfitted with artists’ supplies, while an “inspiration desk,” with curated books now occupies a second corner. Tucked behind the door is a kneeling station. The space is well supplied with tools for prayer and spiritual growth. One of our spiritual directors observed that we had set the room up “like the chambers of God’s heart” — with each space offering a distinct way to pray, search, discover, and grow in God.
With the room completed, we established the Center for Spiritual Direction at St. Michael’s, providing seekers opportunities to deepen their faith with a spiritual companion for their journey. Parishioners or community members can use an online form to be paired with a spiritual director, enroll in group spiritual direction, or sign up for retreats or workshops hosted by the center.
To learn more about The Prayer Room or The Center for Spiritual Direction at St. Michael’s, visit stmikeschurch.com/thecenter.
In many ways the pandemic invited us at St. Michael’s to reimagine how we serve, pray, worship, and care for one another. The pandemic also invited our community to move away from a maintenance mode mentality to being intentional about the way we love God and one another. Instead of focusing on what we had lost in the pandemic, we’ve leaned into making Christ known beyond our walls — even when that means taking risks and setting aside the ways it’s always been done.
As we set our sights and hearts on a new year, I am eager to see how St. Michael’s, and Episcopal churches around the state and country, will continue to move forward, not because they have to change but because God is calling them to.
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THE REV. MATT HOLCOMBE is the rector of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs.
