Parliament of Worlds Religion 2009 Melbourne Australia

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 178

PROGRAMA Friday, December 4, 2009
4:30-6:00pm OPEN SPACE
12 Steps are in fact a complete, rigorous spiritual path, comparable with any of the great spiritual traditions of mankind. Non-denominational, principle-based, without theology of any kind, the 12 Steps are compatible with all paths and traditions, and are sufficient, in and of themselves, to deliver all of the spiritual fruits and benefits promised by any of the great spiritual traditions. This program will describe the spiritual journey of the 12 Steps, and will reveal the Steps as a potentially radical, contemporary spiritual tradition for the 21st century. Doug Childers is a published author and meditation teacher. For 30 years, he studied and practiced 'Sadhana in several spiritual traditions. But his rigorous apprenticeship in the 12 Steps of Alanon/AA distilled the practices and understandings of spiritual life in a straightforward, practi cal, non-theological path of awakening to God consciousness through surrender, self-knowledge, and selfless service.
Kava Schafer, MDiv, MA in Holistic Spirituality, certificate in spiritual direction, has worked as a hospice and bone marrow transplant chaplain for the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for nine years. She holds a certificate from Upaya Zen Center's 'Being with Dying Program in contemplative Buddhist practice and is a certified Reiki Master Openness to contemplative spiritual practices across traditions characterises her interspiritual direction practice and her work as a chaplain. Rev Jill Manton is a Protestant minister, in addition to parish ministry. she has been actively involved in ecumenical and interfaith activities for many years, including the interfaith seminars at the WellSpring Ecumenical Spirituality Centre in Ashburton, where she was the founding director. Now retired from fulltime ministry, Jill remains a member of the Council of Christian and Jews, with an ongoing commitment to interfaith activities and ecurrienical concerns. She maintains an active ministry of spiritual direction, retreat leadership and professional development of spiritual directors Nola Vanderfeen belongs to the Christian faith tradition and the Catholic denomination. She has great interest and involvement in Multi-Faith Relations. She is a past Convenor of the JCMA Women's Conference and belongs to JCMA Women's Group and the Catholic Interfaith Council and the Port Phillip Multi-Faith Council. She is a trained, active spiritual director, with membership in the Australian Council of Spiritual Directors and International Spiritual Directors. She finds great heart and life in the privilege of accompanying others in their faith life journey.
A Listening Place Each Day Kristen Hobby Lynette Dungan Bernie Miles Kava Schafer Jill Manton Nola Vanderfeen Room 217 Interactive Workshop We welcome you to a safe place where you can simply be. This is a quiet place where you can sit and meditate or reflect on what has touched or challenged you throughout the day of the Parliament of the World's Religions. Spiritual directors will be available in this room: you may talk to them if there is anything you would like to share. Spiritual directors are trained to listen in a non-judgmental and respectful way and are available for people of all faith traditions. Kristen Hobby lives in Melbourne and works as a spiritual director and retreat leader. She recently self-published her first book, "Nurturing a Gentle Heart - Exploring Spirituality with Pre-Schoolers. She has a passion for social justice and is a member of the Victorian Council of Churches Act for Peace Commission. She is a member of the formation team that trains Prayer Guides at Kilbride Spirituality Centre as part of the Week of Guided Prayer program. Lynette Dungan is a Minister of the Word and Sacrament within the Uniting Church in Australia. She received her formation as a spiritual director in the Siloam program at Heart of Life in 1997. She is a spiritual director and supervisor to people in ministry placements and at Wellspring. She is part of the Australian Ecumenical Council for Spiritual Direction and has been a member of Spiritual Directors international since 2002 Bernadette Miles BTheol, GDAS (Org Dynamics) is director of the Campion Centre of Ignatian Spirituality in Kew, Victoria. She rained in spiritual direction after twenty years in business management and database consulting, Bernadette is married and is the mother of four boys She is currently in her final year of a Masters in Applied Science [Organisational Dynamics).
Educating Religious Leaders for a Multi-Religious World: The Need for Multi-Religious Education for All Religious Leaders North American Theological School Students Room 218 Panel Discussion In this session, students and faculty will address the question, 'Why is multi-religious education needed in seminaries and theological institutions?' It will explore the various reasons why the issue of 'the religious other is impinging on the awareness of, and calling for new answers from, believers in all religious traditions. Among the different contexts that are stirring these questions and calling for new forms of interfaith engagement are the following: 1) Pastoral: the growing perplexity many ordinary believers feel about the reality and vitality of so many other religions, 2) Theological: how to reconcile an understanding of other religions with the traditional understanding of one's own, 3) Civic: the complexities of being good multi-religious neighbours' in societies that are becoming ever more multi-religious, and 4) Political: In a world in which religion is playing an ever more significant role in geopolitical relationships, religious believers feel the need to foster interreligious cooperation toward a world of peace, justice and ecological sustainability. This is part of a symposium entitled 'Educating Religious Leaders for a Multi-Religious World'. The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, with the support of The Henry Luce Foundation, has coordinated with fifteen theological institutions to explore ways to increase education for interfaith leadership in North American
174 PWR - Parliament of the World's Religions Jain Education International