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.

If you thought of colleges as places where young people go to lose their faith, you might be heartened by a recent poll, reported on in USA Today:

From the pollsters come recent data showing that religion and spirituality are alive and well at colleges and universities. A recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA finds that more than half of college juniors say "integrating spirituality" into their lives is very important. Today's juniors also tend to pray (67%, according to the UCLA study) and 41% believe it's important, even essential, to "follow religious teachings" in everyday life.

To read more about the faith lives of today's college students, click here.

Joan Chittester, OSB, gathered in Jaipur, India, with many women leaders of different religious traditions to raise awareness of the potential for change through women and religion. Chicago Tribune correspondent, Laurie Goering writes, “Participants called the conference itself an example of what women with a talent for compassion, forgiveness and building trust might accomplish in resolving conflict. 

‘The moment people are in dialogue they no longer demonize each other: I'm not the occupier, and you're no longer the terrorist,’ said Rabbi Naamah Kelman, dean of Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. She at one point shared the stage with Iran's Zarif, a moment she called "a start" to better relations between the two rival nations. 

"We have to take steps into territory where we are uncomfortable, where we are afraid, and establish some connection," urged Donna Markham, a Dominican nun from Toronto.”

Click here to read the entire story.

The Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction fourth annual poetry contest will be judged by a three-person panel. One of the panel members is Roger Midgett.

Roger has written poetry, novels, and screenplays. His poetry has been published in Exhibition, Pontoon, kaleidowhirl, Presence, and The Dupage Review. One of his poems, "Passage," was set to music by Paul Lewis as part of The Last Poem On Earth: A Jazz Oratorio that had its world premiere in April of 2007. Roger works as a mMental health professional and lives with his family on Bainbridge Island in Washington State, USA. He tinkers at odd hours in his laboratory of applied metaphysics.

If you would like to submit a poem, click here for the contest guidelines.

If you haven't yet gotten around to reading the survey on the religious landscape in the United States conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, there is a good summary of the data here.

And for a cool interactive map of the United States that interprets the Pew data visually, click here. (You need to have Flash installed on your computer to see it.)

The March 2008 issue of Presence is mailing now. Depending you where you live, some of you have your copies already and the rest will be arriving over the next six weeks. The editors would really like to know what you think of this issue.

Click Here to take a 5-minute survey about the March issue.

The University of Oxford's Ian Ramsey Center for Science and Religion is planning a three-year to figure out if belief in a divine being is naturally human.

"We are interested in exploring exactly in what sense belief in God is natural," said Justin Barrett, a psychologist and leading member of the research team, according to the Church of England Newspaper. "We think there is more on the nature side than a lot of people suppose."

You can read more about the details of the study here.