Bono sings "Amazing Grace" at Rose Bowl concert, and it is amazing. Grace. The U2 concert is on YouTube. Live. Free. Two plus hours of an amazing concert. A first.

Have you experienced amazing grace? Being lost in life ... and then found? In spiritual direction, so many people share how they are lost, and waiting to be found by someone, anyone. Maybe it's as simple as a smile or greeting from you. Or me. Or a companion through the gift of spiritual direction who helps listen for the sacred, already present.

Watch Bono, along with 100,000 other people. Millions tune in on the Internet. Let him speak and sing to you. It's powerful. He knows what I mean. I can hear it in his voice. See it in his body. My wish is that everyone could know this sense of presence, embrace. Fast track to 1:48:10 for five minutes, and then respond. Or give yourself a treat and watch the full two hour concert. You'll even see Desmond Tutu speak.

I wish I could have been at this concert, live. Not just watching it now on my laptop. And I could have, really. I happened to be in southern California on Sunday. Friends went. Many friends. In fact, I read on Facebook that some friends and members of Spiritual Directors International were there. A member of SDI has written about U2 and Bono, making connections to soulful leadership. Yesterday, when I flew home to Alaska, I heard fellow passengers talking about the concert. They'd been there. But, I had just co-led a women's retreat, and hadn't known U2 would be performing so close, when I happened to be in town. And, truth be told, I was already spent, having led, shared, talked, prayed and played with women on a weekend spiritual retreat. So, thanks to the Internet, and the generousity of U2 and sponsors, I'm now streaming the concert, live, free.

An invitation to you:
Take a music break. Then listen, as I am, to Bono sing, "I once was lost, and now I'm found ... was blind ... and now I see." Hear the chorus and crowds rejoice. What do these words, and the energy from the crowds evoke in you? Maybe, perhaps, an awareness of amazing grace? Listen for five minutes as he flows into the next classic U2 tune, and sings "reach out and touch the flame." What flame do you touch? Where is fire alive in your life of service, of prayer, of play?

On Tuesday, October 27, 2009, The New York Daily News reports:

The legendary rock group set yet another career record Sunday night as the first band to broadcast a concert live on the popular video sharing Web site YouTube. The band performed at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. in front of a crowd of 100,000 while simultaneously, Internet users from 16 countries around the world were able to tune in to the concert from the comfort of their own homes. U2's October 25th concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasedena, California was viewed live by millions who couldn't be there - on YouTube.

Take a five minute break, click the YouTube video link, and fast forward to 1:48:10. Where do you experience amazing grace?

I found out about spiritual direction from a Pastor of a church I'd visit. This was my first time I'd ever experienced anything like this. The prayer time was so peaceful, and I felt I actually got connected to the Spirit of the Living God. Then when I started journaling I could actually see the Holy Spirit moving (directing) me closer to God. I could actually feel the Presence of God in a new more powerful way that I hadn't experienced in a long time almost as if I was becoming one with God as everything else began to fade away becoming less of importance.
It was such a great experience I would encourage everyone to try it at least once in their lifetime. It was a great privledge and I am so grateful to that Pastor for taking her time.

Liz Kowalczyk reports for The Boston Globe: "More patients are seeking spiritual guidance from chaplains."

In this photo, The Rev. George Winchester, chaplain at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said a prayer for Sara Meaney of Topsfield. Winchester said he is often called in to translate “doctor speak’’ for patients. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff)

Kowalczyk writes:

• There is a growing belief that providing for spiritual needs increases patient and family satisfaction and may even provide medical benefits. Doctors and nurses are so busy, and chaplains can fill the void, gleaning information they pass on to the medical team. Winchester said he sometimes senses a family moving away from aggressive care for their loved one and toward comfort measures only, which he then relays to providers.

• Since 2004, requests for chaplains at the Brigham have jumped 23 percent. At Massachusetts General Hospital, requests have grown 30 percent since the hospital began tracking visits in 2006. And at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, which expanded its pastoral care program last year, monthly visits are expected to rise to at least 540 this month, a 10-fold increase over the same time last year.

• The Brigham has significantly increased its chaplaincy staff in the past six years and now requires chaplains to respond to all trauma cases along with the medical staff. The hospital also started a residency program to train chaplains and compassionate care rounds, “tea for the soul’’ and other programs for staff to talk about caring for terminally-ill patients.

 

Spiritual care through compassionate listening, spiritual direction, and spiritual guidance is on the rise. Are you called to respond, and perhaps offer "tea for the soul" to others? Or, do you seek spiritual guidance? Consider helping others learn about the ministry and service of spiritual direction by talking to your local hospital, and learning what is occuring in your community. Spiritual Directors International offers many educational resources at www.sdiworld.org. 

Click here to read the entire article, "More Patients Seeking Spiritual Guidance from Chaplains."

Would like your prayers for my son in law, who has Glioblastoma, which is one type of brain cancer. He has a wife and 3 children, who are all having a difficult time as they watch the changes in him. They know God is with them, but the journey is still very hard. My daughter and son-in-law's children are age ten and under. Thank you very much for this opportunity for prayer. A friend of mine just returned today from your conference in Ireland. Can't wait to hear about it. God bless.

Take a five minute inspirational break with Joanna Macy in video, "Gratitude as a Revolutionary Act" From "The Work That Reconnects."

Macy says,

"Things don't have to be hunkydory for you to feel gratitude."

"It's a primal movement of all spiritual traditions."

"Gratitude is liberating, and it is subversive."

Throughout the next year SDI will post articles, videos, stories and poetry about "Gratefulness" as we celebrate the twenty year anniversary of SDI in 2010!

Click here to watch, "Gratitude as a Revolutionary Act"

Please pray with everyone gathered in Dublin, Ireland for Spiritual Directors International in Europe "Being Present!" 16-18 October 2009.

 

Spiritual Directors International is celebrating twenty years with a multifaith learning community of people concerned about spiritual care and world harmony. Members of the All Ireland Spiritual Guidance Association is collaborating with Spiritual Directors International on this first ever event.

Members of SDI, the Retreats Association in the United Kingdom, theology faculty and students, religious educators, pastors, lay people, chaplains, social workers, hospice caregivers, spiritual directors, and all people engaged in spiritual care are gathering now!

What a treat! The educational events combine thought-provoking plenary sessions, stimulating workshops, Irish m

usic, and masterful story-telling into a holistic learning experience.

• Keynote Presenter: Daniel O’Leary, United Kingdom
• Conference Spiritual Director: Una Agnew, Ireland

Special Presentations

• A Celebration of Irish Art hosted by Claire Roche, Ireland
• An Evening of Story with Megan McKenna, United States
• Integrated Spiritual Practices from East and West with Korkos Moses, SJ, India
• Workshops, prayer and play!

Please send your blessings. Know that many blessings are flowing into all the world as everyone gathered offers blessings and spiritual care.

Watch for reflections on this blog, and in Connections, the official newletter of Spiritual Directors International!

 

 

A German member of Spiritual Directors International sent the following link to an interview with Brother David Steindl-Rast, "Life Moves From Crisis to Crisis."

Brother David Steindl-Rast will be presenting at the SDI "Gratefulness: The Heart of Spiritual Care" in San Francisco, California, April 8-12, 2010.

Click here to read the German interview with Brother David Steindl-Rast.

Suicide is never an easy topic. The September issue of Presence journal included a story by Anne Cronin Tyson and C. Karen Covey Moore about offering spiritual direction with survivors of suicide. Readers appreciated the Presence article and requested more resources.

When I asked Spiritual Directors International member and editor, Pegge Bernecker, if she would be comfortable sharing with spiritual directors her article in Every Day Catholic of losing her son to suicide, here’s what Pegge wrote:

Please share this anywhere and everywhere. I believe it is God’s voice bringing God’s healing Spirit alive, and I am simply the instrument. It is an honor and testament to my son, to everyone who suffers, and in all humility, to my love of God and God’s power working through me. I am humbled and also know in a very strong way that my “yes” is what can bring this alive. From this place it just flows, and I am grateful. It gives meaning to my life.

 

Towards the end of the article, Pegge shares:

My journey as a survivor has taught me…

• Suicide is first and foremost a medical issue—not a moral issue.
• No one who is mentally healthy ever jokes about suicide. Anyone who talks about suicide needs to be taken seriously. Seek professional help.
• Suicide can carry a burden of shame and an invisible social stigma.
• A crisis of faith in God can erupt when we question how God allows a suicide death to occur. God doesn’t interrupt our free will, cause deliberate suffering or punish us.
• God forgives; therefore, our spiritual question becomes, Can we forgive?
• Choose a joyful and expansive memory of the person who has died by suicide. Allow this image to override what you may have seen, heard described or imagined.
• Go online to research suicide facts and prevention tips and resources. Share what you learn with others.

Follow this link to read "Beyond Suicide--Trusting God With Our Broken Hearts" by Pegge Bernecker.

To offer your resources and reflections, please reply in the comments section. To see others' comments, click on Reply.

Several members of Spiritual Directors International including executive director Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv; Roshi Joan Halifax, PhD; Carolyn Jacobs, MSW, PhD; Mary Jo Kreitzer, PhD, RN, FAAN; and Sharon Stanton, MS, BSN, RN served on a national consensus conference committee improving the quality of spiritual care at the end-of-life. The Special Report was published today in the Journal of Palliative Medicine. Included in the report, you will see that we recommended spiritual direction as a community resource for spiritual care of patients and families. In addition, we recommended that health care providers seek spiritual direction and other forms of spiritual care as self-care for their profession. Spiritual directors and spiritual director formation program directors may be asked to offer in-service training to health care providers who are integrating spiritual care into a holistic model of end-of-life care.

The article, “Improving the Quality of Spiritual Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care: The Report of the Consensus Conference,” represents the final Consensus Report of a conference sponsored by the Archstone Foundation of Long Beach, CA. According to Joseph F. Prevratil, JD, President and CEO, “The report’s recommendations seek to ensure that spiritual care is a fundamental component of quality palliative care, which strives to prevent and relieve suffering for seriously ill patients and their families.”

“For the first time we have a practical model for the implementation of inter-professional spiritual care which will result in improved healthcare outcomes for patients,” says Christina Puchalski, MD, MS, FACP, Co-Principal Investigator and lead author of the Consensus Report, from The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health (GWish) at the George Washington University Medical Center.

The Consensus Report outlines seven key areas for improving spiritual care: Spiritual Care Models; Spiritual Assessment; Spiritual Treatment/Care Plans; Interprofessional Team; Training/Certification; Personal and Professional Development; and Quality Improvement. Co-authors Christina Puchalski, MD, MS, FACP, and Betty Ferrell, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, Principal Investigator from the City of Hope and colleagues from City of Hope National Medical Center present practical recommendations for implementing spiritual care in palliative care, hospice, long-term care, and other clinical settings. The guidelines provide spiritual care models, recommendations for professional training, advice on how to develop accountability measures to ensure integration of spiritual care, and guidance on engaging community clergy and spiritual leaders in the care of patients and families.

“Of the physical, emotional, practical, and spiritual dimensions of hospice and palliative medicine, spirituality has been least well addressed. This report aims to improve that situation,” says Charles F. von Gunten, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Palliative Medicine, and Provost, Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice.

To read the Special Report, follow this link.

A PowerPoint presentation is available for free download from the SDI Web Library to help you communicate the value of spiritual care in palliative health care. Follow this link for the presentation and more resources about spiritual direction and health care. 

 

Participants in the national consensus conference. 

Please add your comments in the Reply section below.

Spiritual Directors International Learns From ... Joseph Tetlow, SJ.

Father Joseph Tetlow, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, and has written numerous articles and books. Among them are Ignatius Loyola: Spiritual Exercises, Choosing Christ in the World, Making Choices in Christ, and a commentary on the full cycle of Sunday readings in America. He is the director of Montserrat Jesuit Retreat House in Lake Dallas, Texas, USA. He spent several years in Rome as head of the Jesuit Generals Secretariat for Ignatian Spirituality, guiding the efforts of 250 Jesuit retreat houses.

In this video he talks about Jesus and prayer, and shares with is what nourishes him as a spiritual director.

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View additional YouTube videos in the SDI Learns From ... series.