NAUMAI, HAERE MAI!

 

Kia Ora.
You are welcome here.

 
 

Spiritual Growth Ministries (SGM) invites you to discover and experience the refreshing stream of contemplative Christian spirituality in Aotearoa, New Zealand. We are a network of people from diverse denominations who value contemplative prayer and practices as a precious taonga; a treasure at the heart of our faith.

 

Invitations to go deeper on your spiritual journey.

  • Find a Spiritual Director

    Ready to explore the nourishing practice of spiritual direction?

    LEARN MORE

  • Retreat Calendar 2023

    Discover contemplative retreats and events in your area.

    EXPLORE

  • Read Refresh

    Read Refresh Journal of Contemplative Spirituality, created here in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

    READ NOW

  • Become a Spiritual Director

    Become a spiritual director by participating in our two-year, part-time Spiritual Directors Formation Programme.

    LEARN MORE

Song to the Holy Spirit


Lord, Holy Spirit,
You blow like the wind in a thousand paddocks,
Inside and outside the fences,
You blow where you wish to blow.

Lord, Holy Spirit,
You are the sun who shines on the little plant,
You warm him gently, you give him life,
You raise him up to become a tree with many leaves.

Lord, Holy Spirit
You are the kind fire who does not cease to burn,
Consuming us with flames of love and peace,
Driving us out like sparks to set the world on fire.

Excerpts from ‘Song to the Holy Spirit’ by James K Baxter
In Collected Poems (ed. John Edward Weir; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979), 572.

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FROM THE SGM BLOG

Featured
SGM Annual Appeal | Invest in our Shared Future
SGM Annual Appeal | Invest in our Shared Future

This June/July, we invite you to invest in our shared future by giving to SGM’s Innovation and Development Fund. Workgroup is committed to discerning and developing SGM’s growing edge. We feel called to three strategic initiatives at this time.

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Agnes Herman | Book Review of Inner Invitations by Lucy Tierney
Agnes Herman | Book Review of Inner Invitations by Lucy Tierney

“Pay attention to what you notice” was advice given to me in my first session with a spiritual director many years ago. This simple invitation to notice is wonderfully extended and deepened by author Lucy Tierney in her book “Inner Invitations” (co-authored with Kathryn Overall-Cass) in which she describes ‘a spirituality system…. which draws on universal dynamics of spiritual growth’.

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Anna Barker | My Experience of SGM’s Spiritual Directors Formation Programme
Anna Barker | My Experience of SGM’s Spiritual Directors Formation Programme

Anna Barker is a Porirua-based contemplative, accountant, reader, maker and traveller. In this blogpost, Kathryn Overall Cass has a conversation with Anna about her experience of completing the Spiritual Directors Formation Programme in 2022/2023 and why she is so glad she did so, even though she is not currently practising as a spiritual director.

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Andrew Killick | An Interview with Author of ‘Rain Walk’ on Sacramental Encounter and Contemplative Art-Making
Andrew Killick | An Interview with Author of ‘Rain Walk’ on Sacramental Encounter and Contemplative Art-Making

Andrew Killick lives in Tahawai, just north of Katikati, in the Bay of Plenty. Creatively, he works in the areas of photography, poetry and prose, as well as various multimedia forms. In this blogpost, Kathryn Overall-Cass has a conversation with Andrew about his most recent book, ‘Rain Walk’, sacramental encounter with the elements and contemplative art-making.

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