NEWSLETTERS

Conference of Spiritual Directors Australia (CSD Australia) produces bi-monthly newsletter for members. The latest Newsletter can be downloaded now CSD Australia Newsletter September 2026.

Invitation to contribute to the newsletter: Contributions are welcome from members of CSD Australia and other organisations of spiritual directors. Please email Karen the Chair with your contributions or suggestions.

Closing Date for the next Newsletter:  Monday 26th October 2026 for November 2026 issue.

Past newsletters

CSD Australia Newsletter July 2026

CSD Australia Newsletter May 2026

CSD Australia Newsletter March 2026

CSD Australia Newsletter December 2025

CSD Australia Newsletter September 2025

CSD Australia Newsletter July 2025

CSD Australia Newsletter May 2025

CSD Australia Newsletter March 2025

CSD Australia Newsletter November 2024

CSD Australia Newsletter September 2024

CSD Australia Newsletter July 2024

CSD Australia Newsletter May 2024

CSD Australia Newsletter March 2024

CSD Australia Newsletter November 2023

CSD Australia Newsletter September 2023

CSD Australia Newsletter July 2023

CSD Australia Newsletter May 2023

CSD Australia Newsletter March 2023

CSD Australia Newsletter November 2022

CSD Australia Newsletter September 2022

CSD Australia Newsletter July 2022

CSD Australia Newsletter May 2022

CSD Australia Newsletter March 2022

CSD Australia Newsletter November 2021

CSD Australia Newsletter September 2021

CSD Australia Newsletter July 2021

CSD Australia Newsletter May 2021

CSD Australia Newsletter March 2021

CSD Australia Newsletter December 2020

CSD Australia Newsletter September 2020

Artist: Therese Quinn

NEWS FROM NATIONAL CHAIR

From the National Chair

Renewal 

Over the past few months, I have had the privilege of connecting with each of you through the rhythm of membership renewal. While attending to finances is, in truth, one of my less loved tasks. I have come to cherish the quiet connections it makes possible: a simple hello, a reply received, a brief moment of checking in.  

There is something unexpectedly sacred in these small exchanges. Each one feels a little like a gentle turning towards the light: a reminder that beneath the visible structures of our organisation is a living community. We are not held together simply by membership, professional development, meetings or calendars, but by the attention we offer to one another, the willingness to pause, to notice, and to say, “I am here.”

At the same time, I have been seeking speakers and shaping plans for next year’s professional development gatherings. I look forward to sharing dates with you soon and to welcoming voices with lived experience of spiritual direction. My hope is that these voices will open fresh windows onto our practice and invite us again into the deep listening at its heart. 

There is always a measure of uncertainty in this planning process. Yet again and again, something more than we could have planned seems to arise. A word that lands at the right moment, a shared silence, an experience named by one person that gives language to another. These are small signs of renewal. 

This season has left me with a deepened sense of the giving and receiving that sustains us. Each of us brings something: our presence, our questions, our wisdom, our weariness, our longing. Together, these gifts form something more vivid and life-giving than any of us could create alone. 

Renewal is not always dramatic. Sometimes it is as quiet as a returned message, as steady as the work of preparing a place at the table, or as gentle as discovering we are still connected to one another. May we continue to make room for these life-giving encounters, and in them, be renewed in hope, belonging, and in the sacred work we share. 

 

With every blessing in your ministry

Karen Englebretsen 

National Chair

Image: The Sun by American glass artist Dale Chihuly.  It was part of Chihuly in the Botanic Garden at the Adelaide Botanic Garden in 2025. 



BOOK REVIEWS

The Spiritual Director: Practising the Charism of Presence and Attention by Julia Mourant here

In the Stillness, Waiting: Christian Origins of the Prayer of the Heart  by Nicholas Worssam here

Dark Night of the Soul by Gerald May here​

Supervision of Spiritual Director: Engaging in Holy Mystery by Mary Rose Bumpus and Rebecca Bradburn Langer reviewed by Karen Englebretsen. here​

Pope Francis Hope: The Autobiography reviewed by Rita Malavisi. here​

Every Day is New by Michael McGirr reviewed by Mark Needham. here​

Enneagram Companions: Growing in Relationship and Spiritual Direction by Suzanne Zuercher reviewed by Patricia Naughton. here

Present Moment, Wonderful Moment by Thich Nhat Hanh reviewed by Fran Smullen. here

Spiritual Direction Supervision: Principles, Practices, Storytelling by Lucy Abbott Tucker reviewed by David King. here

Conversations with Silence: Rosetta Stone on the Soul by Sally Longley reviewed by Maureen O’Halloran. here

Walking the Labyrinth as the Beloved in John’s Gospel by Sally Longley reviewed by Marie O’Shea. here

The Immortal Diamond: The search for the True Self  by Richard Rohr reviewed by Gerry Kalinowski. here

Christ-Figures: There on our Screens by Peter Malone msc reviewed by Rita Malavisi. here

The Simple Care of a Hopeful Heart: Mentoring Yourself in Difficult Times by Robert J Wicks reviewed by Gail Paxman. here

Intercultural Ministry: Hope for aa Changing World by Grace Ji Sun Kim and Jann Aldredge – Clanton (Eds) reviewed by Gail Reneker. here

The Moment of Life: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda French Gates reviewed by Rita Malavisi. here

The Life You Can Save by Peter Singer reviewed by Marlene Foote. here

The Joy of Ageing: A Spirituality for Oldies by Brian Gallagher msc reviewed by Carmel Tedesco. here

10 Minutes: Gospel Reflections for Minds & Hearts by Peter Malone msc reviewed by Jeff Hood. here

Strengthening Spirit – Releasing Potential: Spiritual Direction for Leadership and Organizational Development by Bernadette Miles Read a review by Kristen Hobby here.

Three recent book releases from Brian Gallagher MSC can be viewed here.
Set Me Free: Spiritual Direction and Discernment of Spirits;
The Eyes of God: Living Discernment;
God’s Foolishness: A Spirituality of Heart.

No Greater Love by Brian Gallagher MSC. Read a review by Michelle Vass here.

See with the eyes of the heart by Chris Monaghan CP. Read a review by Tim McCowan here.

Grace by Michael Casey OCSO. Read a review by Tim Moloney CFC here.

AECSD CODE OF ETHICS

Code of Ethics for Spiritual Directors (Revised March 2019)

Introduction

In presenting this revised Code of Ethics we acknowledge the desire of the gathering of religious leaders to preserve the integrity of the practice of spiritual direction. We also acknowledge and give thanks for the wisdom and dreaming of the interim council which led to the birth of AECSD. ….

For the full text of the revised AECSD Code of Ethics click here.

Supervision Guidelines

In 2025 AECSD released Supervision Guidelines. They provide clarity for spiritual directors seeking supervision, outline the attributes and formation required for supervisors, and offer guidance for spiritual direction formation programs. The document emphasizes the importance of supervision in fostering life-giving and ethically responsible spiritual direction

For the full text of the AECSD Formation Guidelines for supervisors of Spiritual Directors click here.