Update from our Spiritual Leader

Staying Connected.  During these past few months, I’ve been on the road connecting with Centers from sea to shining sea, and meeting with key New Thought leaders and Centers for Spiritual Living ministers. While I appreciate the importance of communicating virtually via technology, which allows me and the Centers for Spiritual Living staff to reach people in every corner of the globe, I am also committed to maintaining one-on-one, “real” face time.

In April, I participated in an Association of Global New Thought (AGNT) summit with 30 of the most influential ministers in New Thought. Our agenda focused on the inaugural AGNT Film Festival, which will be sponsored by Centers for Spiritual Living. To learn more about the first Awakened World Film Festival being held in Santa Barbara October 27-30, 2014, log onto:  www.agnt.org

I also had the pleasure of honoring the commitment and dedication of Rev. Madayln at her Ordination with Center for Spiritual Living Grass Valley in Sierra California. My East Coast sojourns included visits with the membership of Rev. Patrick Pollard’s Center in Connecticut; time at the Boston Teaching Chapter; and a meeting in Cape Cod with Rev. Christie Hardwick. It was also a thrill to be able to speak at Emerson's church, the First Church of Religious Science. My journeys also included a trip to New Jersey; where I attended a New Jersey New Thought Conference, as well as spent time communing with the congregation of Center for Spiritual Living North Jersey. Another stop on my spiritual road trip was New York, where I spent quality time with Rev. Wade Adkisson. 

As the Spiritual Leader of Centers for Spiritual Living, one of my key goals is to stay connected with all the Centers, so that we continue to evolve, grow and co-create a world that works for all. 

Blessings,
Dr. Kenn Gordon

Be Inspired by Dr. Kenn’s weekly blogs on Principles of Spiritual Living on Patheos.com.

Update from our President

By Rev. Dr. John B. Waterhouse

UPLEVELING OUR COMMUNICATIONS

Maintaining clear, open and relevant two-way communication is a high priority for our staff, our leadership and for me.  The question is: how do we best ensure it happens in a strategic and meaningful way?

Here are some of the methods we currently employ:

• Online. Our Centers for Spiritual Living website is filled with valuable information on an array of topics. Coming soon…a new and separate “Intranet” website that will provide you with easy access to these resources and simple, user-friendly log-ins.
• Emails. We email every minister, practitioner and lay leader on matters deemed important to these constituencies.
• Google Groups. Our Google Group platforms allow ministers and practitioners to share ideas and information with one another. About 20% of ministers participate in their forum.
• Social Media. Connect with us on the Centers for Spiritual Living Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/centersforspiritualliving
• I host a weekly President’s Teleconference where you can call in to ask questions and receive updates and information.  Recordings of these conversations are always available to everyone after each call on the internal website.
• We have agreements with staff to return calls and respond to emails in a timely manner. If you are not receiving prompt responses, please contact me directly.
• The Monthly Update from Home Office, which we thought would be an effective way to give everyone easily accessible summaries of interesting and important leadership and staff activities within our organization.

What we are learning is that these Monthly Updates are not widely read by those who receive them. With 3,818 electronic Updates sent out in March, only 121 people clicked the link to view the Update.  Of those who did, only 34 read and responded to a recent brief survey in my report regarding the viability of this method of communication.  Those who did respond told us that they enjoy the Updates and encouraged us to keep producing them.  We’re just not certain if this is a wise use of resources.

We want to hear from you -- as the Executive Team continues to discuss options, we are interested in your feedback.  If you have an idea, please email me with your thoughts at jwaterhouse@csl.org.

So many blessings!
Dr. John

Don’t Miss Dr. John’s Teleconferences every Wednesday at 10:00 am Pacific; 11:00 am Mountain; 12:00 Noon Central, and 1:00 pm Eastern. The call-in number is (605) 475-4700. When you hear the welcome message, enter code 183892# to join the call.

Member Support & Education Update

By Rev. Gregory Toole, Director

STAFF CHANGES AT THE CENTERS FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING HOME OFFICE

I will complete my role as Director, Member Support and Education as of June 30, 2014 to return to the field in more direct ministry. The Leadership Council and Executive Team are currently considering how these responsibilities will be fulfilled after my departure.

• The Department is pleased to welcome Rev. Jaine Ryder.  Rev. Jaine has replaced Rev. Mark Gilbert as Manager of Licensing and Credentialing, as Mark has moved on to pursue other endeavors in ministry. He will be missed. We hope you will reach out to Rev. Jaine.
• Rev. Nicole Merges began a new role as Manager of Spiritual Development Education on May 1, 2014. Nicole is overseeing the evolution of our educational offerings to our laity, while Rev. Bob Deen continues to focus on professional education (primarily practitioner and ministerial training).
• A new part-time position is open for a Global Services Coordinator who will work closely with our Global Services Committee to ensure that all of our products and services are effectively serving our communities abroad.

EDUCATION

The Education Committee has drafted and submitted a strategic education plan to the Centers for Spiritual Living Growth and Development Commission based on great input and feedback from the field.

LICENSING AND CREDENTIALING

Instructions have been sent to the field regarding how to conduct written licensing exams for new practitioner candidates during the month of May. Ministers may access the instructions on our password-protected site by clicking the following link: csl.org/licensing-and-credentialing/minister-license-renewal.html

YOUTH DEPARTMENT

Register your youngster for “BE-YOU-tiful” Summer Camp. Registration is now open for the Centers for Spiritual Living teen camp, which takes place July 12-19 in Buckhorn Camp in Idyllwild, CA. To register click here:  bit.ly/CSLTeenCamp.

GLOBAL SERVICES

Global Services now has a live website in a multitude of languages to expand awareness of our global presence. Click here to access it: globalservices.csl.org

Love & blessings,
Rev. Gregory

Operations Update

By Steve Burton, Director

The Centers for Spiritual Living Insurance program continues to grow.  We are very excited that we can now offer coverage through Guide One in many states. Guide One is the second largest insurance company specializing in churches and enables us to offer highly competitive rates and coverage. We plan to expand by adding more states this year.

You can purchase your personal insurance from us too! As an individual, you can use the service for your home, auto, and business coverage. Centers for Spiritual Living has partnered with WAVE Financial Partners, an insurance brokerage firm that has access to over 38 major carriers.

When you purchase insurance through Centers for Spiritual Living you are doing many things. First, you are shopping for the best rate for you, your center, focus ministry or teaching chapter. Second, you are ensuring that every year you will receive the best rates and coverage for your community upon renewal. Third, Centers for Spiritual Living receives a commission as your agent and thus is creating another revenue stream to provide services to member communities.

For more information read the FAQ’s and contact Nancy Mitchell-Edwards at: nmitchell-edwards@csl.org or 720-279-8983.

Blessings,
Steve

Communications Update

By Rev. Judy Morley, Ph.D, Director

Save the Date! Centers for Spiritual Living is proud to be a sponsor of the Awakened World International Film Festival, October 27-30, 2014 in Santa Barbara, CA.  Watch for more information at www.csl.org or www.agnt.org/awfilmfest. 

Welcome Aboard. Please welcome our new, full-time Marketing Associate,
Lori Ella Miller. Lori Ella comes to us with an impressive resume and years of experience, and has already jumped right in. We are so thrilled to have her!

Looking for Something on the Website?

If it’s applicable to all Centers for Spiritual Living, it will be on the “Internal Website.”  This is an archive site, and has documents and materials that are used by all our communities. This is where you can find information on branding, marketing, curriculum, youth programs, new ministry applications, and a host of other resources. To access this site, simply log in at the bottom of the home page at www.csl.org. There are different levels of access for ministers, practitioners, and laity, but each of those categories has a generic password.  For example, the user name for laity is “member,” and the password is “Holmes” (case sensitive).

If you’re looking for information that’s unique to you as an individual or center, it is in NetCommunity. To access NetCommunity, you click on the tab on the left of the home page at www.csl.org, and then enter your unique user name and password. This takes you directly into our database and allows you to update your personal information, renew your practitioner or ministerial license, or fill out information regarding your community. 

If you have any questions about where to find a document or other information, you may contact me at: jmorley@csl.org.    

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 an interactive chat-format. 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.

Spiritual Living Convention

Save the Date! The Annual Spiritual Living Convention will be held February 16-19, 2015, in Las Vegas!  Our convention host hotel is Planet Hollywood.  Watch for more information – coming soon.

Love & blessings,
Judy

Convention News – Thanks to our Convention Volunteers. Centers for Spiritual Living wants to honor and thank our volunteers for making the 2014 Spiritual Living Convention in Orlando a success.

Publishing News – SOM Magazine in Barnes and Noble Book Stores Now through the end of June, Science of Mind magazine is available in more than 600 Barnes and Noble book stores in the US and Canada.

Science of Mind Archives & Library Foundation Update

Archives Receives Special Collection - The Science of Mind Archives and Library Foundation is the proud announce that Dr. Kathy Vogt has donated her New Thought and Religious Science book collection to our SOM Archives. Dr. Kathy is the wife of the late Rev. Dr. H. Fred Vogt.  Dr. Fred served as President of United Centers for Spiritual Living from 1982 to 1988 and was the Senior Minister at Mile Hi Church of Religious Science for many years.  Dr. Fred also as had a successful television ministry called New Design for Living that aired on local Denver, Colorado television stations for several years.

This special collection includes rare titles, including Principles of Healing, by H.B. Jeffrey, first edition, copyright date of 1939, and a 1905 edition of Mary Baker G. Eddy’s classic Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures. There are a total of 122 gems that Dr. Kathy donated to the Archives and many are first editions, signed by Dr. Fred, as well as autographed by the individual authors. These volumes will join our Rare and Special Book Collection and the Research Library.

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