Friday Evening Workshops

Note: The percent (%) figures following workshop descriptions indicate the relative percentage of presentation, discussion, and experiential activity.

FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 28, OPPORTUNITIES
(CHOOSE ONE AND ONE ALTERNATIVE)

FE1. Creating a Native American Medicine Wheel: A Way to Be Present

Using simple art materials, create a personal medicine wheel exploring four aspects of our inner landscape: spiritual, mental, physical, and emotional. We’ll then process through group spiritual direction. No previous art experience is required.

Richard Bough, MFA, incorporates artistic expression into the spiritual direction process. He teaches “Art and Spiritual Direction” at Loyola University’s Institute of Pastoral Studies, Illinois, USA.

FE2. Sacred Touch: Using Our Hands as Instruments for Spiritual Direction

Learn and practice simple techniques adapted from the healing modalities of massage therapy and Reiki as well as simple rituals using gentle, non-threatening forms of touch. Discuss ways to safely and respectfully incorporate sacred touch into your spiritual direction practice.

Susan Butler-Jones coordinates the Prairie Jubilee Program for Spiritual Direction through the University of Winnipeg, Canada. She is a minister in the United Church of Canada, spiritual director, registered massage therapist, and Reiki practitioner.

FE3. Prayer for Busy People

We often hear the guilt-ridden lament, “I don’t have time for a deeper prayer life!” But God is more interested in our growth than our guilt. This workshop invites participants to explore a number of integrative prayer practices: the rolling sanctuary, preparation prayer, breath prayer, and creative prayer practices such as gardening, art, music, pottery, knitting, and cooking, among others. Find practical ways to expand your own and your directees’ communication with God.

Linda Douty is a spiritual director, retreat leader, book reviewer, and author of How Can I Let Go If I Don’t Know I’m Holding On? and How Can I See the Light When It’s So Dark? She lives in Tennessee, USA.

FE4. Vibrations of Creation: Tibetan Singing Bowls

Experience the open and accepting vibrations of creation through the lingering, penetrating sounds of Tibetan singing bowls. Listen to the circle of sounds emanating from a collection of bowls as they are struck or rubbed. Learn their history, and experience their use on the body. (Limited to twenty participants.)

Ann Kulp, DMin, is a spiritual director who leads workshops and retreats. She is a staff member at Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and the author of Spirit Windows: A Handbook of Spiritual Growth Resources for Leaders. She lives in Virginia, USA.

Elise Wiarda, who lives in Amsterdam, Netherlands, has 30 years of private practice in body-centered therapy. She teaches workshops in healing and works with cancer patients at the Smith Farm Center when she is in the United States.

FE5. Sacred Poetry: A Pathway to Being Present

Listen to the cries of the spirit as expressed in the Hebrew psalms and by Rumi, St. Francis of Assisi, Mary Oliver, and others. Then, through step-by-step practical guidance, we’ll develop a deeper presence with our own spiritual unfolding by writing from our sacred centers. Everyone will have time to compose and share sacred poems as an expression and model for being present.

Canadian author Ray McGinnis has taught more than 7000 people how to use creative writing as a path to being present. Writing the Sacred: A Psalm-Inspired Path is his first book.

FE6. Awakening Awareness: An Evolutionary Shift

We are in the midst of an evolutionary shift as more and more people leave behind the smaller ego-self and awaken to a consciousness of oneness. Together we will explore this emerging reality, learn how to open ourselves to its energy, and discuss its implications within the context of spiritual direction.

Jan Novotka, MA, who lives in Pennsylvania, USA, is an eco-spiritual songwriter, retreat director, and wilderness fast and retreat guide. She is committed to the evolutionary shift taking place in consciousness.

FE7. Music in Exile: How Can I Sing God’s Song in a Strange Land?

The experience of exile has inspired beautiful music throughout history. Come listen to the music of homelessness through history and across cultures and reflect on the divine heart of our own exile experience. Together we will share and discover ways we can be present to those who come to us with the ache of exile.

David Christian Nelson, MDiv, is a spiritual director, musician, author, and homemaker in Ohio, USA. He sings and plays historical instruments with Musica Antigua de Toledo and Jubilatores, specialists in Iberian medieval music.

FE8. Spiritual Challenges and Opportunities Health Care Providers Face

Join us for a lively conversation about spiritual issues often encountered by health care providers, and learn about innovative programs encouraging spiritual direction for health care providers. Participants will have ample time to share experiences and stories. Let’s learn from one another!

Julie Harper, nurse, counselor, and spiritual director, has been a major participant in the spiritual direction programs at Orlando Regional Health Care Systems, Florida, USA.

Andrea Henson, RN, is a certified healing touch practitioner, ordained minister, and spiritual director from Florida, USA. Carol Ludwig teaches in the Audire spiritual direction formation program, Florida, USA.

Patrick O’Connor has practiced family medicine for 25 years and is committed to the spiritual well-being of physicians, nurses, and others who provide hands-on medical care. He is a spiritual director in training from Minnesota, USA.

FE9. We Are the Dance of God the Dancer

Kabir, an Eastern mystic, describes music and dance as the food and clothes of the soul. Experience how the ineffable finds expression through movement and music. No dance experience required. Come and delight! Be surprised!

Barbara Perry, CHF, BMus, Dip, a dance meditation teacher and Holy Faith Sister from Dublin, Ireland, leads dancing circles and has given dance workshops in Ireland and England.

FE10. Latinos: Stories of Immigration and Triumph

Explore the effect of country, class, and legal status on our spiritual lives through three stories of diversity and immigrant resilience. Reflect on Latino principles of respect, hospitality, and kindness, and increase your understanding of the impact of Latino diversity in our spiritual direction work. We’ll then write and share brief autobiographies of immigration or transition.

Rev. Maria Pierre is an interfaith minister, spiritual counselor, and human resources consultant. She is the director of Esperanza Interfaith Center, Florida, USA. Born in San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, she has lived in Canada and England.

FE11. Being Present with Youth Through Service Projects

Take a closer look inside the world of spiritually committed youth. Young people, ages 13 to 22, experience contemplative processes on summer mission trips and year-long volunteer projects that help them develop reflective living and presence to self, others, and God. Learn how the examen, reflective questions, communal prayer methods, and journaling are tailored to young people who feel called to serve their communities, the poor, and the wider world.

Richard Schlitt is a spiritual director, youth minister, and the director of Youth on a Mission (YOAM). He resides in Vero Beach, Florida, USA.

Maureen Schlitt, MPS, is a spiritual director, youth minister, cantor, co-director of Center for Spiritual Care, and serves on the teaching staff of the Audire training program in Florida, USA.