On Going Formation: Facilitation Course 2025

The 2025 Training in Group Facilitation Course in English concluded on June 16, 2025. It was the third year the Program had been offered. As a new co-facilitator of the 2025 Course alongside Chris Chaplin and Gene Pejo, I have since been reflecting on what made the Course such a special experience for everyone involved and so enriching for me. I would like to share some of my reflections and insights as a Facilitator with you.

I found the course itself excellent. It was created and endorsed in response to stated priorities from the 2017 General Assembly. The need had been identified and prioritised. The course comprised ten modules of content delivered over thirteen weeks of online self-paced learning, from 1st March to 16th June. The components in the structure of the course were cohesive and reinforcing. The full course itself has received high praise from many for its creative and unique construction, engaging approach, and the volume and depth of its content.

There were twelve participants in the Course in 2025. The identification and registration of participants involved recommendations from Provincials and Leaders and were drawn from the wider Chevalier Family. This year’s cohort included seven MSC Priests, one MSC Sister, and four DOLSH Sisters. This diversity of gender, locations, and missions enriched the interactions and sharing. The Course is deeply grounded in and highly reflective of the MSC Charism and Spirituality of the Heart.

My immersion and resonance with MSC reignited and deepened the fire within me. The course exposed Trainees to numerous experiential methodologies, moving them beyond theory to embodied practice. Most were able to trial and refine their training skills in real situations as the Course progressed. The content’s relevance and degree of application exceeded my expectations. Critical to the Course structure is the assignment of a Trainer to each Trainee within an Online Learning Community of four Trainees for the duration of the Course. Weekly support is vital for the Trainee. It allows for depth, processing questions and issues that may arise. With my background as a Clinical Psychotherapist and Spiritual Director, I found the opportunity for deep connection and personal exploration invaluable.

The OLC and Triads demonstrated possibilities to provide much-needed and appreciated peer networks and support structures. Trainees even expressed a desire to continue beyond the Course due to its acknowledged value. For me, the two-week face-to-face experiential practicum in Rome from 20th April to 2nd May was an integral and integrative highlight. Coming together in Rome, meeting and working face to face with the four trainees from our online learning group, along with six other trainees and the two trainers, Chris Chaplin and Gene Pejo, was not only enriching and community-building but also dynamic, transformative, and expansive. Grounding each day in trainee-led dynamic and experiential processes, such as Communal Wisdom, Mirroring Prototyping, and Deep Sharing, created a sacred crucible of shared faith, learning, and a joyous, celebratory community. As a facilitator, it offered me further scope to step back and ‘let go and let God.’

Wendy Bignell (Australia)