There’s a New World Coming

“There’s a new world coming,” Dr. Barbara Holmes told us during the community event in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Hundreds of people gathered to learn from her how mystical ways are passed on in black family traditions. When Holmes played Bernice Johnson Reagon’s music, “There’s a New World Coming,” the song’s rhythm sank into my ears and my bones. Throughout the conference, the refrain, “There’s a new world coming. Where will you be standing when it comes?” stayed with me.

Holmes personalized her story about spiritual direction in the mystical legacies of black women by letting us know that the following morning she would be burying her mother. The ballroom quieted as we held Holmes in her grief. Many of us met Holmes’s mother during the Tributaries of Compassion gathering last October. Her mother gazed with pride and gentle strength when Dr. B—as students at United Theological Seminary call their new president—shared her passionate response to a Langston Hughes poem.

The bond of love and deep respect between mother and daughter filled the room with a sense of purpose back in October. Dr. B.’s compassionate mother was witnessing her daughter live into her dream of becoming a leader in her new city and in her innovative role as seminary president. On stage in April, Dr. B offered kindness and gratitude to her beloved mother—for passing along her faith and compassion that she so freely shares with others. There’s a new world coming.

Another mother, daughter—and grandmother—touched my heart during the conference: Christine Luna Munger, the chair of the local host committee. Because her baby is only five months old, Christine invited her mother to look after daughter, Elisa, between nursing and napping. Elisa is pictured here soaking up lots of attention from volunteers who helped Christine make the conference a very meaningful event. I don’t remember an SDI conference with so many generations all in one place. There’s a new world coming.

There is one more mother to acknowledge, even though her novices are not biological kin: Kathleen McAlpin, RSM, who celebrated her golden jubilee during the conference. For fifty years, Kathleen has been tending her relationship with God as a sister of Mercy. She had just returned from the Philippines caring for the spiritual formation of young novices in one of the poorest regions of the Philippines. We had a good time listening to Kathleen’s nurturing stories while indulging in cake.

Yes. There’s a new world coming, and I am blessed to be standing among some of the best mothers on the planet.

Reflection:
As you celebrate May Day and Mother’s Day, what are you noticing about a new world coming? Where will you be standing when it comes? We welcome your reflections on the SDI blog.

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Scroll down to read the articles associated with these headlines.

1. SDI Fundraising Academy: Featuring Susan Howlett
2. Pilgrimage Filling Fast: Register Today
3. New! Turning toward 2014 and Emerging Wisdom Educational Events
4. Invite a Seeker to the Free Teleconference
5. Expressing Gratitude for Cultivating Compassion on the River
6. Nurturing Transformation
7. New! SDI Learns From... Jennifer Hoffmann and Mirabai Starr
8. Suggest an Author
9. Insights from the SDI Blog
10. May Poem by Charlotte Doctor
11. May Blessing from the Executive Director

Classified Ads:
2013 Summer Institute
Finding Seekers

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1. SDI Fundraising Academy: Featuring Susan Howlett

Imagine feeling joyful about generating the revenue necessary to sustain your work—it’s possible! Register today for the SDI Fundraising Academy.

Facilitator Susan Howlett is committed to helping spiritual organizations feel confident about their bright future. She has been raising money joyfully for over forty years, as a board member, development director, executive director, and consultant to more than a thousand nonprofits nationwide.

Register today for the SDI Fundraising Academy, July 1, 2013, in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA. Discover the joy in fundraising!

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2. Pilgrimage Filling Fast: Register Today

Is your creative spirit ready to take flight? Register today for the Interfaith Pilgrimage to Germany—only a few spaces are left!

Nourish your inner mystic in the footsteps of Hildegard, poet, healer, and spiritual director. Embrace the legacy of her creative outpourings as gifts for our time.

In the words of past SDI pilgrim, Barbara Davis: “Don't miss it! It will enrich your spiritual life in ways you cannot imagine.”

Enrich your spiritual life; be a contemporary pilgrim.

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3. New! Turning toward 2014 and Emerging Wisdom Educational Events

In 2014, Spiritual Directors International Educational Events will be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, April 24–28, 2014. Everyone seeking wisdom is welcome!

We are honored to announce the Keynote Presenters for the
2014 Conference:

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, is a globally renowned ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within mystical and transformational traditions.

Roshi Joan Halifax is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and author, focusing for more than three decades on engaged Buddhism.

Eve Ilsen is a psychotherapist, rabbinic pastor, storyteller, and singer.

Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi is widely recognized as perhaps the most important Jewish spiritual teacher of our time, committed to a post-triumphalist, ecumenical and Gaian approach.

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4. Invite a Seeker to the Free Teleconference

Are you looking for an engaging way to introduce people to spiritual companionship? Consider inviting a seeker to the upcoming SDI teleconference. Simply copy and paste this message into an e-mail and send it to a seeker:

Free Teleconference: “How to Seek and Find a Spiritual Director”
May 21, 2013, 12:00 p.m. EDT; 4:00 p.m. GMT/UTC

The teleconference will include tips on how to use the online Seek and Find Guide, discernment questions for the seeker, and more! RSVP online now.

Don’t miss this opportunity to share the ministry and service of spiritual guidance with colleagues, chaplains, campus ministers, and the spiritual care department at your local hospital. Everyone is welcome!

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5. Expressing Gratitude for Cultivating Compassion on the River

Spiritual Directors International 2013 educational events in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, are wrapping up. We honor and express gratitude to the amazing St. Paul local committees and community for so generously sharing their talent, spirit, and hundreds of hours of service.

More than five hundred participants, presenters, staff, volunteers and each of you blessed and prayed for meaningful educational events—thank you!

Watch a slideshow from St. Paul and listen to music we sang together during Cultivating Compassion on the River. Do you see yourself or a colleague in the photos?

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6. Nurturing Transformation

SDI expresses gratitude for Dr. Helen Kwon who facilitated a transformative experience for the 2013 cohort of New Contemplatives during Cultivating Compassion on the River in St. Paul. The New Contemplatives Initiative seeks to illuminate the web of connections with and among emerging spiritual companions in hopes of creating more opportunities for spiritual guidance and contemplative formation for those in the first half of life. Thank you, Helen!

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7. New! SDI Learns From... Jennifer Hoffmann and Mirabai Starr

Jennifer Hoffmann and Mirabai Starr candidly converse about imagination, creativity, prayer, and paradox.

Jennifer (Jinks) Hoffmann was born in 1943 and was raised in South Africa. Hoffmann and her husband Alan immigrated to Canada in 1966 where they have lived since. Hoffmann trained in the Lev Shomea program, which means “listening heart” in Hebrew, and is on the coordinating council of Spiritual Directors International.

Mirabai Starr writes fiction, creative non-fiction, and contemporary translations of sacred literature. Starr teaches philosophy and world religions at the University of New Mexico in Taos, New Mexico, USA, and speaks widely on contemplative practice and inter-spiritual dialog.

The SDI Learns From... series of videos is free and online to help you learn from spiritual directors around the world and across traditions. View the newest video on the SDI website to learn from Jennifer Hoffmann and Mirabai Starr.

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8. Suggest an Author

Have you heard a speaker recently that you think should write for Presence? Send your suggestions to editor@sdiworld.org. Include the speaker’s name and e-mail address and the topic you think he or she should write about.

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9. Insights from the SDI Blog

“Gazing out over the shimmering autumn gold of the vineyards beyond Saint Hildegard’s monastery in Rudesheim, Germany, I felt this sense of deep surrender where that porous line between myself and the earth seemed to fade,” shares Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, in her blog post highlighting the deep inspiration she has gathered from her studies of Hildegard of Bingen.

Visit the SDI blog to share your story today.

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10. May Poem: Dance Lesson by Member Charlotte Doctor, MA, California, USA

Dance Lesson

            Kiss joy as it arises!
            Worry not, nor mourn.
            Fear nothing
            Yearn for nothing.
Live into the moment in its richness
It is eternity abundant, full, alive!

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11. May Blessing from Executive Director

Happy May Day! Happy Mother’s Day! As our poet writes, “Kiss joy as it arises!” during this glorious month. As you meet with people whom you spiritually companion, notice if you sense the new world coming.

Peace be with you,
Liz Budd Ellmann, MDiv
Executive Director

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