Update from our Spiritual Leader Goals and vision are not the same. Goals are often defined as the result or achievement toward which one’s energy and effort is directed. Vision is the power of anticipating that which will come to be and compiled in an imaginative concept. The key word here is imaginative. While goals are the result of will, vision is the result of imagination. And in our teaching, imagination is recognized and understood to be of Divine Cause, while will is directive cause. Dr. Holmes describes it as such in The Science of Mind when he writes, “Imagination is the power of the word, while will is the directive agency.” We are a vision-led organization. We place before us a vision and then place our faith in that manifestation, knowing that it must become form in our experience. This vision does not come from a recipe or defined pathway that we can, with our human minds, maneuver or direct, but instead it is a faithful Reality that we believe must be brought forth to recognition by the Power Itself. In doing this, we surrender ourselves to faith and allow the path to materialize according to the Divine, not the relative. Our purpose and vision is to “Awaken humanity to its Spiritual magnificence and thereby bring into being a world that works for all.” It is a lofty undertaking and no one knows how to make it so. However, that is its beauty, for if we believe for an instant that we understand all of the dynamics and work necessary to bring it into experience then we would simply be recreating that which we already have and know. It would cease to be a vision and become a goal, and a goal is created by what we know, not what we want or desire. Our vision demands that we steadfastly and with indomitable faith move in the direction of a newness never before experienced, doing all that is set before us to bring it to fruition. At least that’s what I’m doing and I trust others are as well, because as we all know, it’s always easier when we do it together. As the saying goes, “Many hands make light work.” Well, many minds will help make it so. Blessings, Update from our President
Earlier this year, your Leadership Council identified priorities for our organization’s expanding expression into the world. The priorities being addressed are Prosperity, Diversity, Education, Youth, Technology, Communication, Cultural Integrity and Evolution, Expansion, and Practitioner Certification and Ministerial Licensing. Our Growth and Development Commission has taken these priorities and done the preliminary work of identifying possible outcomes as the focus of 2-, 5- and 20-year plans for Centers for Spiritual Living. The Leadership Council has reviewed the initial work and has approved next-step action. A plan timeline has been drafted and development teams, which include leaders from many member communities, will soon begin looking at possible implementation strategies for the future growth of our movement. The presentation of these plans is projected to be complete by early next summer. As chair of the Growth and Development Commission, I want you to know that our integration into Centers for Spiritual Living is beginning to bear new fruit and the future for our organization looks very bright. My President’s Teleconferences continue to be a useful tool for sharing deeper explorations into key areas and activities of our organization. In August, calls focused on the future of Creative Thought magazine, how Centers for Spiritual Living is creating a presence in Europe and across the globe, the contributions of our Focus Ministries in bringing forth a world that works for everyone, and a fresh look at our Science of Mind Education system and structure. More interesting topics are being planned for September and I hope you’ll join in on those conversations. The calls are every Wednesday beginning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, 11:00 a.m. Mountain, 12:00 Noon Central, and 1:00 p.m. Eastern. I had the great pleasure of attending the 2013 European New Thought Conference in August and am most impressed by the extraordinary enthusiasm with which these wonderful people are embracing the principles of our faith. We can all be grateful for the exceptional work being done to expand the Science of Mind into European culture. Your Home Office staff members continue to be in service to us all. If anyone is uncertain who to call for support, please contact Barbara St. John, our Front Desk Administrator, at 720-496-1370 or by email at bstjohn@csl.org. If anyone does not feel they are receiving excellent service, you can call me at 828- 775-2325 and we’ll find a solution together. Member Support & Education Update
Youth Department - As many of you know, this summer our youth camp in Idyllwild, CA, was evacuated due to a nearby wild fire. While the experience was harrowing and quite surreal for those involved, the response to the situation by all involved in the camp was Science of Mind principles in action. Rev. Keith Cox, Youth Events Manager, deserves our gratitude and appreciation as he led the 350 young campers off the mountain to safety with great centeredness and clarity, caring for our youth with the deepest compassion and wisdom. Youth Program Manager, Michelle Lang, RScP, was right there too, loving our youth and helping to navigate this most challenging situation.
Our youth were awesome throughout this situation and it was noted how their practice of Science of Mind allowed them to be quite centered relative to some of the other groups staying in the temporary Red Cross shelter. Finally, Buckhorn Camp, led by Ron Norton, went above and beyond what a business relationship would require to get our youth to safety. We are grateful to Ron for how he stood with our youth. Love & blessings, Young Adult Leadership Team Update - Find out what the first-ever elected Young Adult Leadership Team is up to and how their efforts are contributing to our organization.
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Greetings from Operations! While attending Asilomar, I had the pleasure of facilitating a focus group of dynamic ministers. The discussion was very productive, guiding us on areas in the office that are working well and areas where we can improve. The latter was what I was really interested in learning more about. The comments that were made on how we can better serve are being shared with departments. And, of course, we are also sharing the many comments of gratitude received. In early August, the managers, executive team, and Walter Drew as Leadership Council Treasurer, met all day and created a balanced budget to take to the Finance Committee for review. Next it will be sent to the Leadership Council for review and approval. The election process for 2014 has begun. If you are interested in running for a seat on one of the councils or for president, follow this link to find out more information. Rev. Karen Fry, Nominations Chair, can help you with the documentation and process or any questions you may have. If you plan to submit a resolution in 2014, now is the time. The Bylaws Committee will be reviewing all proposed resolutions in September and working with the resolution sponsor. The Leadership Council will approve a ballot in early December and no new resolutions will be allowed after that date. Please remember that we can help with your insurance needs and have been saving many communities money while providing better coverages. Here is what Dr. Roger Teel of Lakewood, CO, had to say: “Mile Hi Church is most grateful for the efforts of Centers for Spiritual Living leadership in providing an excellent liability insurance option. It is saving us many thousands of dollars annually while also providing great coverages.” Follow the link to learn more. Did you know our CSL.org website contains a wealth of information to make your life easier? Information on education, licensing and credentialing, study group resources, youth program curricula, World Ministry of Prayer, and our Policies and Procedures manuals are just some of the valuable resources we have online. If there is information that you think should be added to our website, please let me know. Thank you for your continued support. Blessings, A Foundation Does Not An Endowment Make – Learn the difference between creating a foundation and an endowment and what’s best for your center.
We have an app! The Spiritual Living Resource app is available in the app stores for both Android and iPhones and can be downloaded for free. To sign up to be listed in the app, click here. Listings, which include your website, pictures, and more, are free to centers and only $7.99/month to all other businesses and individuals. The Event Strategic Planning Committee is continuing to do research and gather information about event best practices. They will be creating a strategic plan for events to be unveiled in mid-2014. After seeing all the comments on the Google Group about regional events, you can rest assured that the committee is examining every option. If you have any suggestions, you can send them directly to me at jmorley@csl.org. I will pass them on to the Strategic Planning Committee co-chairs, Rev. Dr. Pat Campbell and Eileen Flanigan. Have you checked out our blog, The Principles of Spiritual Living, recently? Rev. Dr. Edward Viljoen, Rev. Dr. Nirvana Reginald Gayle, and Rev. Dr. Kenn Gordon are among the bloggers who are writing about interesting and diverse topics including racism in America and spiritual politics. How does Home Office communicate with you? The primary way that Home Office communicates to the field is through Net Community. This method takes email addresses from our database and sends information directly to your inbox. This is one-way communication, and you can identify these emails because the sender is identified as “Home Office.” For ministers and practitioners, this is the only way we communicate important information, such as licensing renewal requirements, policy changes, and organizational updates. Although there is an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the page, if you unsubscribe from this email, you will be completely removed from all communications from Home Office. For ministers and practitioners, there is a second communication format, and that is the Google Group. This is a chat-format, and consequently is interactive. The Google Group is completely optional, and anyone of the appropriate standing (i.e. minister or practitioner) may join or unsubscribe from his/her particular Google Group at any time. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. Love & blessings, Convention & Retreat News – Save the Date for the convention – Feb. 16th – 21st at Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando! Science of Mind magazine – Learn how to sign up for our free enewsletters today! Congratulations to our new reverands
Director of Communications Rev. Judy Morley, PhD, and her husband, Rev. Shaun Furlong, successfully paneled and became ministers on the same day at Asilomar.
Publisher Rev. David Goldberg is shown “walking the field” at Asilomar after successfully completing oral paneling.
Accounting Specialist Katie Thompson, RScP, was in Mile Hi Church’s 2013 practitioner class. Centers for Spiritual Living added 123 new practitioners this year, and now has 2,643 total, active practitioners serving around the world. Congratulations to each of you for your accomplishments and your dedication to creating a world that works for everyone. Update on Home Office’s Exceptional Employee Recognition Program Let’s stay in touch!
You’ll find inspiration, links to news articles about our centers and spiritual leader that have appeared in the media, pictures and updates from our business convention and Asilomar retreat, and more!
Featuring daily affirmations, prayers, and highlights from each month’s issue.
The only magazine for and by Religious Scientists. Science of Mind Archives and Library Foundation
The archives contain a magnificent collection of historical New Thought items including radio talks, videos, and class and lecture tapes from Dr. Ernest Holmes. |
Once off the mountain and out of danger, the youth spent the night at a Red Cross shelter at Hemet High School in Hemet, CA. The next morning, all 350 of them were warmly welcomed, supported, loved, and fed by Center for Spiritual Living, Palm Desert. As the youth courageously continued camp in this new location with their talent show, Center for Spiritual Living, Palm Desert, streamed it live so family and friends back home could see that spirits were high and everyone was safe and happy. We are immensely grateful to Rev. Joe Hooper and his community for stepping in immediately and without hesitation to help.
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Certificated Courses Needed for Practitioner Studies - Recently I participated in a focus group at which I learned that many senior ministers were not aware of the changes that we have made to the requirements for Practitioner Studies. The Leadership Council approved the policy as put forward by the Education Committee in May. The number of courses has been changed from seven to six (we combined the two Consciousness Studies). Therefore, the requirements for entering Practitioner I in the fall of 2015 will be to have taken one course from each of the following sections:
The Minister Council met for two days in Monterey prior to the Asilomar conference. In our first face-to-face meeting since the few minutes we had together in Vancouver, we used ritual to connect and share who we are and then opened up to ideas about what the Minister Council is and could be.
The Laity Council is motivated, empowered, and recommitted after attending the Asilomar Spiritual Retreat and having an opportunity to work together, face-to-face, as a team for the first time. We were also pleased with the opportunities we had to share our work and vision with the Leadership Team and fellow lay members. And of course, we are always grateful to the ministers and practitioners who support us. Two of our council members, Crystal Davis and Mari Avicolli, also led workshops of their own. 
