COMPANIONSHIP

Companionship is the time-honored practice of being accompanied through a season of life. Pilgrims and seekers have long known that a journey can ask more of us than we can make sense of alone. In modern terms, it is space carved out with another to pause and tend to what is happening beneath the surface.

People often come to Companionship during times of great transition, when something is longing to be born, when something is dying, or when we stand at a threshold. It is a practice where you engage at a pace different from your normal life. At first, the time may be filled with silence, or you may have more to say than you expected. Both are welcome.

In Companionship, we will sit and listen to what you bring and what begins to emerge. We may stay with a question for a while. We may work with a practice. Sometimes questions simply need time. The point isn’t necessarily to arrive at an answer. It is to notice what is asking for your attention and discern how to respond as a pilgrim.

Companionship brings together several ways of accompanying people, drawing on the wisdom of pilgrimage, spiritual direction, coaching, and relationship with the living world.

A particular spiritual or religious faith is not required. The work is open to people from many backgrounds, and your own faith or spiritual tradition is welcome. At its heart, Companionship is a relationship. It is built on trust, confidentiality, warmth, and vulnerability.

Pilgrim Venture offers 3 types of Companionship

  • Personal Companionship

    One-to-one Companionship for those entering a season of change or wanting to deepen into a contemplative unfolding. We will explore where you are in your transition with the understanding that buried deep inside our questions is an invitation to attend and listen to soul.

    Transitions are often about what is trying to happen in you, and not just to you. We turn to this through the lens of the pilgrim, learning to listen, discern, and respond faithfully to what is emerging. The pilgrim lens asks you to loosen your grip on the outcome instead of tightening it. Personal Companioning is an invitation to see your life as a pilgrimage.

    This companionship is for those who are not actively preparing for or returning from a pilgrimage, but who nonetheless find themselves in a season of transition and desire a companion along the way.

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  • Pilgrim Companioning

    A pilgrimage begins the moment you say yes and may truly only be beginning when you return. Pilgrim Companioning offers a container for preparing yourself for your pilgrimage, and for sifting what the journey has given you when you return.

    Before leaving, we might explore what is calling you and what you are carrying into your pilgrimage. We might work with questions, explore how to listen on pilgrimage,  consider a simple ritual for the threshold, or create a Vade Mecum, a small collection of words, practices, or prayers to accompany you on the road. 

    Coming home can be harder than expected. You may find that you are changed and struggle to fit back into the world you knew before. Companioning after the journey offers a place to explore your pilgrimage, and consider how to bring the gifts of your pilgrimage into your life.

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  • Written Companioning

    This is a slower form of companionship and a return to one of its original forms: communication over distance through the written word. Companions exchange handwritten letters through the postal service, allowing the conversation to take its own time. You do not have to find the right words in a session or move quickly from one thought to the next. The slow, handcrafted act of writing and responding becomes a way to be seen and witnessed.

    Over time, the letters become a written pilgrim record. You can return to them later and find yourself in an earlier place along the way. You may notice something you couldn't yet name when you first wrote it. At the end of written companionship, you will receive the original letters you wrote, giving you a complete record of this written pilgrimage. Letters can be exchanged up to two times a month.

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Nathan as Companion

Nathan is the founder of Pilgrim Venture, and a lifelong pilgrim and wanderer. His own experiences of pilgrimage, transition, and threshold crossings have shaped the way he understands Companionship. His background includes work as a Wild Guide and Certified Coach, along with study and practice in spiritual direction, ecospirituality, rites of passage, and the Christian mystical tradition. He has served as a spiritual leader and coach, guided others on the Camino, and spent time in the solitude of vision quest. These experiences now come together in his practice of Companionship.

More about Nathan

Entering Into Companionship

Here is what might be helpful to know as you consider companionship:

  • Companionship happens once or twice monthly depending upon your desire, with room for communication between sessions if something arises. Three months is the recommended starting point, enough time for a rhythm to form and lead to emergence. Handwritten companionship moves at its own pace: letters are mailed twice a month, though that timing follows your response rather than the calendars.

  • Companionship is a reciprocal relationship that asks something real of both parties. That includes both our time and willingness to be present with one another, along with a financial commitment.  We offer Companionship and Pilgrim Companionship at $150 per session. Handwritten Companionship is $50 per letter with the option to exchange letters twice a month. We can craft a rhythm and frequency that meets you where you are. Some choose to meet twice a month while others prefer to come together once a month.

  • Sessions happen over Zoom or by phone, with the encouragement to consider being outside during a session if possible. If you are local to Philadelphia, meeting in person may also be possible.

A First Step on the Road

If you would like to explore Companionship and consider if this is the right season for you, you can do so in two ways:

  • A Discernment call is a 30-minute chance to meet, talk about where you are, answer questions, and consider being in Companionship together.

    Book Discernment Call

  • Do you have questions you would like answered before a Discernment call?

    You can reach out with questions or more information here.

  • “Nathan Schultz has a remarkable ability to truly listen, creating a space where I feel deeply understood and seen. His empathy and open-mindedness have made it easy to explore challenging topics in times of great uncertainty and his experiences are a great resource of support for me.”

    — Shu Cao

  • “Working with Nathan has been an incredibly empowering experience. From our first session, I could tell how deeply he cares. He has a unique ability to connect on a meaningful level, making me feel truly seen and heard. His calm presence and thoughtful questions have led me to insights I hadn’t considered before, and his attentive listening has made every session impactful. I always leave our conversations feeling more centered and clear....I’m grateful for his guidance and support on this journey.”

    — Lysanne