PrairieFire Program Details

Meeting Schedule and Class Size

Each year we will gather with a two-day retreat in September and on the third Saturday of the month from October through June.

Class size will be limited to 24 to ensure an optimal experience.

Sample schedule for monthly day-long gathering:

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. – Gathering and Refreshments

8:30 – 9:30 a.m. – Centering, Opening Reflection and Check-in Circle

9:30 – 12:15 p.m. – Topical Presentations

12:15 – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch

1:00 – 2:00 p.m. – Spiritual Practices Presentations and Experiences

2:15 – 3:30 p.m. – Group Spiritual Direction

3:30 – 4 p.m. – Closing

Topics covered include but are not limited to:

  • The Christian Wisdom Stream
  • Celtic Spirituality: Listening for the Heartbeat of God
  • The Human Condition: True and False Self
  • Listening Skills: Deep Listening, Heart Listening, Compassionate Listening
  • The Rule of Benedict
  • Incarnated Spirituality
  • Obstacles to Spiritual Growth
  • Creativity as Spiritual Expression

Spiritual Practice includes but are not limited to:

  • Centering Prayer
  • Lectio Divina
  • Welcoming Prayer
  • Art as Prayer

Tuition Schedule

Application fee: $50 (non-refundable)  — (Click here to pay your application fee)

Tuition: $1,950 annually for two years

Tuition payment schedule:

$200 Non-refundable deposit. Upon acceptance into the program this will be a down payment toward tuition for Year I
$775 Due September 1, 2023
$975 Due January 15, 2024
$975 Due September 1, 2024
$975 Due January 15, 2025

Additionally, the cost of books, individual spiritual direction, and your personal retreat will be the responsibility of each participant. Limited scholarship funds are available for those who show financial need.

PrairieFire: Leadership

Andrea Severson, (she/her), Co-Director, is a spiritual director and Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Mind & Spirit Counseling Center and an ordained elder in the United Methodist Church.  Her degrees include a Master of Science in counseling from Drake University and a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University.  She is a member of Spiritual Directors International and graduate of the PrairieFire program.  Andrea is grateful for opportunities to hear the unique stories of others, to explore intersections between mind, body and spirit and to bear witness to the work of the Sacred through her work in spiritual direction and counseling.  In her practice, she works with adults from a variety of backgrounds and faith traditions.  Outside of work, Andrea enjoys reading historical fiction, listening to live music and camping with her family.

Paul Witmer (He/His/Him), Co-Director, is an ordained in the United Church of Christ. Paul has served as a pastor for more than 30 years in rural and suburban settings, including a new church start in the 90s here in Iowa. He has extensive experience teaching contemplative practices, leading retreats, and working with folks in twelve-step recovery. A trained Spiritual Director, Paul also works with many in developing deep listening skills and growing on the spiritual journey, which has included many years of teaching and leading with the PrairieFire program.  As an artist and musician, Paul is especially drawn to the arts as creative expression and experience of the Divine.

Paul currently serves as the lead pastor for Women at the Well, a prison congregation of the United Methodist Church at the Iowa women’s prison in Mitchellville, Iowa. Paul is a graduate of Southwestern University (Georgetown, TX) and Eden Seminary (St. Louis, MO). He resides with his wife in Urbandale, and between them they have five grown children and four grandchildren.

Guest presenters and small group facilitators will be posted online as scheduled.

PrairieFire: Foundational Bibliography

Texts for the 2023-2025 cohort will be announced.  Foundational texts for the 2021-2023 program included:

  • Bourgeault, Cynthia. The Wisdom Way of Knowing:  Reclaiming an Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart. Jossey-Bass, 2003.
  • Chittister, Joan. Wisdom Distilled from the Daily: Living the Rule of St. Benedict Today. Harper Collins, 1990.
  • Dougherty, Rose Mary. Discernment: A Path to Spiritual Awakening. Paulist Press, 2009.
  • Rohr, Richard.  Everything Belongs: The Gift of Contemplative Prayer. Revised and updated edition. NY: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 2003.
  • Thurman, Howard. Meditations of the Heart. Beacon Press, 1981.
  • Wall Kimmerer, Robin. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2013.

Spiritual Group Process (one of the following):

  • Palmer, Parker. A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward An Undivided Life. Jossey-Bass, 2004.
  • Dougherty, Rose Mary. Group Spiritual Direction: Community for Discernment. Paulist Press, 1995.
  • Fryling, Alice. Seeking God Together: An Introduction to Group Spiritual Direction. IVP Books, 2009.