Spiritual Directors International Announcements

Picture this—Online story on Muhammad generates protests

sdinick — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 14:38:50 -0500

Because of Islamic teaching's discouragement of the representation of humans, particularly Muhammad, Wikipedia's entry about the Prophet has generated a storm of controversy because it includes representations of Muhammad taken from medieval manuscripts. The New York Times reports that in addition to numerous e-mails, the article has generated on online petition with more than 80,000 signatures (although it is not clear that all the signatures are unique).

Read the entire NYT story here.

[Via DallasNews Relgion Blog]

Poetry contest judge

sdinick — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:27:41 -0500

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 Julie Leavitt.

Julie is a spiritual director, psychotherapist, and mom. Her love for dance has led her step by step on quite a journey of the soul (and sole). Her article, "God Danced the Day You Were Born" was published in the anthology, Jewish Spiritual Direction, by Barbara Breitman and Rabbi Avruhm Addison. She is on the core faculty of Lev Shomea, a Jewish spiritual direction training program in residence at Elat Chayyim retreat center in Connecticut.

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

Muslims and Christians in dialogue

sdinick — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:06:37 -0500

In the January 18 issue of Commonweal, Rita Ferrone writes about "A Common Word between Us and You"—an open letter originally signed by a group of 138 Muslim scholars, religious leaders, and intellectuals and written to all Christian churches, denominations, and individuals. She writes:

The “common word,” as the authors have discerned it, is found in the divine command to love God and to love one’s neighbor, imperatives found in the Qur’an, the Book of Deuteronomy, and the New Testament. Because of the centrality of these commandments to Christians and Muslims alike, the statement carries great weight and urgency. As the authors point out, obedience to God’s commands is a matter on which rest not only our earthly prospects for peace, but also the eternal fate of human souls. The statement concludes with an affirmation from the Qur’an that God made the world in such a way that there is a variety of religious communities, and that those communities should “vie with one another in good works.”

Ferrone notes that the letter could be a tool to ease tensions between Muslims and Christians in settings where one or the other group is in the minority. However, the response to the letter in the West has been mixed and hasn't yet generated enough attention. Click here to read her entire article.

Poetry contest judge

sdinick — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 15:50:38 -0500

The Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction fourth annual poetry contest will be judged by a three-person panel. The leader is Presence poetry editor Jinks Hoffmann.

Jennifer (Jinks) Hoffmann was born in 1943 and was raised in South Africa. She and her husband Alan immigrated to Canada in 1966, where they have lived since. She is a psychotherapist and a spiritual director in private practice in Toronto. From 2001-2003 Jinks trained to become a spiritual guide in a program called Lev Shomea, which means “listening heart” in Hebrew.

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

Stay tuned for info about the other judges.

Seeking direction for one's vocation

sdinick — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 11:27:15 -0400

Sherman YL Kuek, a Malaysian lecturer in systematic and contextual theology, blogs about pursuing a vocation in ministry. His perspective is Christian, but his thoughts could be applied to any institutional religion.

In seeking direction for one’s ministerial vocation, one’s preoccupation should not be fixated upon the ecclesiastical hierarchy itself. If being a part of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is necessary for one’s ministerial effectiveness, one should be willing to embrace this “call”. But if not, one’s primary consideration should rest on how one may most effectively contribute to the betterment of the wider church in the longer run, even if this is bound to take place to the detriment of one’s own “career development”.

Help improve Presence

sdinick — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 11:38:26 -0400

Please take a moment to evaluate the June 2007 issue of Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction. To participate in the current evaluation, click here and follow the online instructions.

To view the results of the survey, click here.

What did you think of the March 2007 issue of Presence?

sdinick — Sat, 24 Mar 2007 11:12:36 -0400

Click here to evaluate the articles and add your comments.

Poetry Contest Judge

sdinick — Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:23:19 -0500

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

John writes fiction, poetry, and music that arises from the well of silence. He has practiced psychotherapy, taught psychology and conflict resolution, and facilitated spiritual groups for twenty years. All his work is oriented to inviting people to discover the essential, unconditioned Self. He lives in the mountains of Santa Cruz, California, USA, with his wife and a family of animals.

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

For information about the judges, click here.

New Review Panel Members

sdinick — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:50:17 -0500

Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction welcomes three new members to the editorial review panel:

Gordon Self from Alberta, Canada
Gloria Tiede from Vancouver, Canada
Doug Gregg from St. George, Utah, USA

For a full list of current panel members, click here.

Poetry Contest Judge

sdinick — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 13:39:01 -0500

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

Hannah takes her inspiration as a writer from the Pacific Northwest, USA, landscape, where she lives with her husband, two sheep, three donkeys, twelve chickens and a dog on four creekside acres in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. Her professional background includes education and hospital administration, from which she is now retired. She completed a course of study in spiritual direction in 2004 and sees directees in her home.

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

Stay tuned for info about the other judges.