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Guest author: Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv
What does it mean to serve justice as a spiritual companion? How does God change our hearts? When is it time to stay in and be present to the tensions of injustice, and when is it time to leave for the sake of justice? These questions beleaguered me as Spiritual Directors International discerned that the 2011 Cultivating Compassion educational events must move out of Boston due to labor disputes at the hotel where we planned to gather.
I realize the move from Boston will disappoint many people in New England and create a lot of work for staff and volunteers in Atlanta, Georgia, where Spiritual Directors International will host Cultivating Compassion in April 2011. Yet it is the right thing to do. How do I know? To be honest, I do not quite fully understand with my head’s knowledge. But my whole body knows: heart, soul, and communal spirit knowledge.
This is not the first time that Spiritual Directors International has been asked to serve justice in a hotel situation. Flashback to 2002, during the SARS epidemic. Spiritual Directors International discerned to stay in Toronto and host educational events, despite SARS, in part to demonstrate support for the Toronto community and to provide work for the hotel housekeepers and kitchen staff. Some amazing conversations occurred between housekeepers and spiritual directors as a result of Spiritual Directors International choosing to stay.
In the current circumstance, the plight of Boston hotel housekeepers who lost their jobs a year ago has polarized executive staff at the hotels, unions, New England clergy of many faiths, and SDI members. Instead of black and white, right and wrong, spiritual directors listen for many shades of gray. We ask “Where is God in this situation?”
For me, the discernment to move the 2011 Cultivating Compassion educational events from Boston to Atlanta has opened my heart to people who seek justice everywhere. Please join me in praying for God to continue to change our hearts.
In the comments section below, please share your thoughts about what it means to you to serve justice as a spiritual companion. Where do you notice God changing hearts? How does contemplative practice contribute to justice?
09/01,2010, at 04:21
Whilst I know nothing of the specific dispute, I do see disputes involving companies and employees, and too often they are caused by conflicting Values. Consider a Values hierarchy similar to Maslow's and apply it to the situation. Typically the company will be making decisions at Values level 3 (beat all opposition) and staff union at Value levels 5 (share together for the gaining of a future benefit). The call is to move corporate culture to a higher Values level. It is of sound commercial benefit for all companies to operate at Values level 5 because it introduces the promise of quality in product, staff and service and at this level the corporate leadership can gain a fresh understanding of Why the company exists. Historically it has been done and it is not just enlightened benevolence, gaining the 'Why' of the company and with a Value 5 work ethic, it is also the way for a company to gain brand loyalty by giving employees at every level of the business a work/life balance. Solidarity with employees does not cause change. It is the sharing with the leadersip a fresh paradigm that can lift corporate culture and that is what can make change for the better happen.
09/01,2010, at 09:13
Labor disputes are particularly challenging arenas in which to serve justice. Real, good solutions usually require at least some flexibility and sacrifice on both sides. I feel compassion for both the owners/managers and the housekeepers (those who are currently working and those who are out of work as a result of the dispute). May profit-sharing justice prevail, and may mutual understanding deepen. As a New Englander who was planning to attend but who will now likely be unable to, I support this decision.
09/01,2010, at 11:04
I am happy to hear that you made a stand for Jusice with the hotel in Boston. It would be a contradiction to our theme CULTIVATING COMPASSION were we to stay there. Our Social Justice Committees in the Twin Cities have been supporting and speaking for the Maintenance and Housekeepers in our hotels labor disputes also. So Thank you for speaking for us in Boston.
09/01,2010, at 11:43
Clearly, SDI and all Christians should live lives that support peace and justice, including the workplace-related issues. SDI does not bring a conference of this magnitude to New England that often, so it is disappointing that no other site in the 6-state New England Region could be identified, necessitating the move from Boston to Atlanta. I pray that this conflict will come to a speedy resolution so SDI might, once again, consider New England as a viable site for future conferences.
09/01,2010, at 12:24
Thank you for making this decision. If spirituality and justice are not linked, we all may as well pack up our tents and disappear. Neither can be faithful without the other.
09/01,2010, at 14:28
To the Executive Committee of SDI: Thank very much for taking the stand you did against the Hyatt Hotel. We Franciscan Friars here in Boston had a standing reservation for a block of rooms at the Hyatt because of a program we run for parents who have suffered the loss of a child(ren). When we heard about the unjust employment practices; we attempted to negotiate with the hotel - to no avail - and suffered a considerable financial loss. Our feeling was exactly the same as yours. It was a matter of injustice on the Hyatt's part. It's wonderful that as ministers we are coordinating our efforts for the sake of justice and compassion. Yes, I'm disappointed that we will not be able to attend "Cultivating Compassion"; however, I think it is far more to be a part of "practicing compassion'.
09/01,2010, at 15:14
I am proud to be a member of SDI because we are an organization whose leaders act in integrity and stay clear on our priorities regardless of any inconvenience to ourselves. This inspires me to do likewise in my life and in my practice as a director. Thank you, Liz, and others who continue to be the leaders we need.
09/01,2010, at 18:08
I applaud your careful discernment and prayerful choice. Yes, these issues are never perfectly clear, but we as spiritual directors, we as Christians, we as human beings, must listen, first, to the voices of those who struggle for basic human rights in our system. Might we, perhaps, ask ourselves about the venues we choose for our "conventions"? I was embarassed to go to the hotel in San Francisco in June, even if only to hear the presentation on Merton.
09/02,2010, at 14:03
I see contemplative practice contributing to justice in two ways. One is that, quite simply, it helps fend off burnout! The other is more complex. When we get involved in justice issues, it's pretty easy to get righteously angry and and start oversimplifying the issues. Contemplation helps us slow down and listen. Situations almost always turn out to be more complex than they looked at first glance, but solutions that address the real complexity are likely to work better and be longer lasting than more simplistic ones--and people who can sense that they've been carefully and compassionately heard are a lot more likely to work with, rather than against, the justice process.
09/02,2010, at 14:39
Congratulations, Liz, and everyone on the team who had to make that very difficult decision to change the conference from Boston to Atlanta. I was looking forward to visiting Boston for the first time, but I trust that your discernment was/is well guided. I look forward to seeing you in Atlanta. May you be richly blessed in the work ahead for the Atlanta conference. MP MacD
09/02,2010, at 16:52
What does it mean to serve justice as a spiritual companion? How does God change our hearts? When is it time to stay in and be present to the tensions of injustice, and when is it time to leave for the sake of justice? These questions captured the current questions in my heart when I read them, as I am currently seeking the Just Way Forward for a church situation ... waiting patiently to be heard, yet aware that the current structures move against this. So - what to do? Point out the faults and bring closure to an unfinished unchanged situation or wait and pray and quieten my spirit and hope that the moment will come..? The second way is the one I have chossen this morning, but - like you, Molly, it is the 'hard way' the narrow path. it is ultimately God who will act to make the changes. All I need to do is to be a channel for Him. Am i ready for such a challenge? I am ready for today anyway. Enough Grace for today ... tomorrow will bring it's own way.
09/02,2010, at 17:01
As a spiritual companion who has served as an interfaith worker for social justice I believe this is a truly a compassionate move. It is not ours to take side but to be the caregivers to both the workers and the employer. That said sometimes the best way to get both sides to come to the table and be open to care is to make sure the table is clear. In this case the employer has no revenue from us as this may soften the heart of the corporation and allow themselves to be ministered to as well. My prayers are with the workers, their families and the corporation that their hearts may soften and all may quickly be resolved.
09/02,2010, at 23:29
Spiritual companionship is sharing/bringing the God in me(who is a God of justice) to the person I am accompanying. In spiritual direction we witness by our lives and persons to the God of justice whom we inevitably share in this ministry.
09/13,2010, at 14:10
Well I am disappointed we are moving from Boston, but my disappointment is as nothing by comparison to the importance of being alongside those whose lives are diminished by unjust employment practices. Thank you SDI for choosing to stand up and speak up for justice.