The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) supports the conservation of forests and helps people lead better lives.  Choosing FSC® certified products does make a difference.

You can imagine the elation on green consumers faces when Consolidated press, Seattle's premier publications printer, announced last month a partnership that would change their entire inventory of regularly stocked coated papers to comply with global standards for forest and social sustainability.   All stock paper will now carry the FSC® logo, recognizing the 10% recycled designation and a higher standard for sustainability of our forests.

What does this mean for Spiritual Directors International?  As an organization who truly cares about the environment and maintains a standard for using recycled papers and soy ink, our publications which are printed through Consolidated Press will proudly bear the FSC® logo.  

Thank you Mother Earth for loaning us your resources. 

Regina Roman, Amey Upton and Liz Ellmann participated in Sojourner’s Training for Change conference. 

Jim Wallace, President of Sojourners, kicked off the Training for Change conference by inviting participants to find our stories that led to the desire to end poverty and to recall the biblical basis for ending poverty.

Marshall Ganz, PhD, lecturer at Harvard College in public policy, introduced participants to the ways values move to action.

Adam Taylor, senior political director at Sojourners, modeled telling his personal story and how it led him to care about eliminating poverty.

Spiritual Directors International seeks ways to support young adults who are entering ministry with the intention of working on justice issues. By offering spiritual direction to young leaders, we hope to create sustainable ministry and lessen the likelihood of compassion fatigue and burn out. 

 

Rev. Canon Dr. Howard Anderson, Warden of the Cathedral College, and Kathy Spaar, faculty member, share with Liz Ellmann the commitment of National Cathedral to prayer, pilgrimage and spiritual direction. 

In the past year, twenty two participants completed the inaugural “Art of Spiritual Companionship” course sponsored by The Cathedral Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, USA.  The course provides participants an opportunity to deepen their spiritual life and discern with others their gift for spiritual direction.

 

  Renee DeVigne, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Professorial Lecturer in Law, Regina Roman, and Rosanne O’Hara, Director of Academic Support Services  at The George Washington University Law School met with Liz Ellmann to continue conversations about supporting law students.  

Christina Pulchalski, MD, Executive Director of The George Washington Institute of Spirituality and Health (GWISH) and Associate Professor in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences met with Regina Roman and Liz Ellmann to discuss ways that Spiritual Directors International might support physicians, medical students, and other health care providers.  George Washington University is committed to experimenting with ways to provide compassionate listening to medical and law students as they prepare for service in healing and justice.

Our spiritual life is like singing. Most of us can sing, but few of us do it in public. Even fewer can do it in public without embarrassment! Try these simple, soulful, spiritual workouts to help develop your religious voice so that you can--to use the words of the Psalms--"sing a new song to God."

-Rabbi Brian

Can you spend time 'not doing'?  Can you accept change?  If God wrote you an email what would it say?

Spiritual Directors International Member, Rabbi Brian Mayer, Author of "How to Find Out What (the) God (of Your Understanding) Wants from You" has written Ten Simple Exercises for your Soul.  

To view these Ten simple exercises, visit the full article at Belief.net  and let us know,
did these exercises help you?

Jim Keegan, SJ and MaryAnn Scofield, RSM facilitated two programs in Korea communicating the value of spiritual direction.  Comments from one of the organizers of the programs, Sister Han Soon Hee, RSCJ:

It is really a historical moment in the Korean Church because it is the first lectures on spiritual direction in Korea.  The two of you really sowed the seed for God in Korea. It will grow and spread like a mustard seed, and one day it will become the biggest tree for God in Korea. The Korean Church needs to deepen the Gospel messages through … retreat and … spiritual direction. 

 

For more pictures, please visite us here. 

By Debbie Lewis, BCC, MDiv, MS

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) has established a standard of patient care for healthcare organizations including spiritual and emotional care for patients.  JCAHO identifies professional hospital chaplains as direct care providers, members of the interdisciplinary clinical team, and the discipline most responsible for assuring that these values are included in the care plan for patients.  

“Spiritual assessment should, at a minimum, determine the patient’s denomination, beliefs, and what spiritual practices are important to the patient.  This information would assist in determining the impact of spirituality, if any, on the care/services being provided and will identify if any further assessment is needed.  The standards require organizations to define the content and scope of spiritual and other assessments and the qualifications of the individual(s) performing the assessment [with many organizations requiring chaplains to be board certified].”   

While there is no direct relationship between spiritual direction and requirements for the hospital, JCAHO states that the patient’s spiritual assessment is to include identification of spiritual practices important to the patient.  These practices are then considered in the plan of care for the patient, be it anointing, prayer, or meditation. 

The Joint Commission is also an advocate for the ANCC’s Magnet Services Recognition Program - a credentialing program for recognizing a hospital as a center of nursing excellence - because of the positive impact the program has had in creating workplace cultures and nursing practices that support patient safety and high-quality care.

For more information on the Joint Commission, visit http://jointcommission.org/

I am delighted to read about the connection between Spiritual Directors International and Sojourners! I live near Philadelphia, am a member of Sojourners, and have attended the last two annual events. Thank you for bringing together two remarkable groups .... there is much spiritual energy here! I look forward to seeing how this connection grows. Also, I attended the Spiritual Directors International [Washington, DC] conference and have told many people it was the best conference I have ever attended. I felt blessed throughout the conference and am grateful for your commitment to this important ministry.

Linda Toia,
Lansdale, Pennsylvania
USA

 

Thank you Linda! 

Pangea Day - May 10th 2008.

In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common.  Jehane Noujaim, a documentary filmmaker and winner of the 'Technology, Entertainment and Design' prize, wanted to create a one-day, global, cross-cultural film festival — a marathon of movies, amateur and professional, whose common thread was fostering understanding of "the others." 

Pangea Day endeavors to bring the world together and promote understanding and tolerance, to help people see themselves in others.  All through the power of film.

The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008.  Locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will also be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers.

For more information visit: www.pangeaday.org
Ny Times Article

Can Pangea Day Make a Difference?  Thoughts? 

November 4th will be a landmark day.  Pope Benedict XVI will be hosting the first Catholic-Muslim summit November 4th - 6th in hopes to improve dialogue and ties between the two religions.  Twenty four religious leaders and scholars from each side will be present at this 3 day event in which the Pope will address themes of "Love of God, Love of Neighbour", "Theological and Spiritual Foundation" and "Human Dignity and Mutual Respect".

Read Entire Article Here.

Will this be a start to regular dialogue between the two Religions? Thoughts?

 

Michael J. Murschel is beginning a series of discussions on spirituality in the Courier News that you may be interested in following. In his initial article, he writes:

Spirituality is not religion, though religion contains a spiritual component. One can have spirituality with neither faith nor religion.... In working with individuals and a wide array of denominations, I have discovered that although the language of spirituality is blurry and often confusing, there are basic building blocks to be applied across its varied waterfront.

You can read his entire aricle here.

Regarding the recent Spiritual Directors International events, Kim Preske writes:

I was blessed to make life long connections with so many beautiful souls. On the first morning Rabbi Jacob, the conference spiritual director, set the tone for the entire conference as he led us in the oldest prayer, silence. Six hundred individuals from all faith backgrounds breathed as one a unified communal breath of the Presence. It was a moment in time I will carry with me into the future.

 

Click here to read her entire post.

One Nation.  Many Voices.

December 2007, over 2,000 American Muslims were asked what they would wish to say to the rest of the world.
This is what they said.

 

Thoughts?
 

To learn more about how spiritual direction interfaces with the visit to Seattle of Desmond Tutu, Joan Chittister, David Rosen, the Dalai Lama, and many more spiritual dignitaries, click here.

To watch these historic events on your computer, click here, starting 9 a.m. Pacific Time, April 11 through 2 p.m. April 15.

Add your thoughts about spiritual direction as a way to cultivate compassion, or any other thoughts about the Dalai Lama’s visit to Seattle, by replying to this blog.

Liz Ellmann, Jamal Rahman, and Karen Lindquist met with Tibetan Lama Tenzin in preparation for the April 11-15, 2008 multi-faith events in Seattle, Washington, USA.  The purpose of the interfaith gathering is to foster global compassion, especially in children. To learn more about April 15 InterSpirituality Day including the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Joan Chittister, David Rosen, and many other spiritual dignitaries, click here.

Spring Cheng, Liz Ellmann, Ted Falcon, Valerie Lesniak and Jamal Rahman are offering a public workshop on Nurturing Compassion: Spiritual Traditions East and West, at Seattle Center, April 15.  Please come to the FREE workshop!

Author and scholar Karen Armstrong talks about how the Abrahamic religions -- Islam, Judaism, Christianity -- have been diverted from the moral purpose they share to foster compassion. But Armstrong has seen a yearning to change this fact. People want to be religious, she says; we should act to help make religion a force for harmony. Click below to see her Feburary 2008 talk at the annual TED conference. The talk is about 20 minutes long.