Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Where are the Exercises taking us now? SEN Conference: Hinsley Hall, Leeds, 15-19 August 2016
Lefttoright:DrAnnemariePaulin-Campbell,NikolaasSintobinSJ,PulengMatsaneng
Inanewdeparturefortheconference,ratherthanonespeakertherewerethreekeynotesessions.Ageing,culturaldifferences,andthepossibilitiesofferedbytheinternet,werethemainstrandsbuttheseweresupplementedbyavarietyofworkshopsnottomentionpop-upconversationsandplentyofopportunitiestomeetovermeals.
The Exercises and Ageing Another‘first’fortheconference:asill-healthmeantBishopBrianNoble(left)wasunabletobeattheconferenceinperson,hegavehispresentationviaSkypeandthiswasenthusiasticallyreceived.
StartingwiththeprayerofanelderlyJesuit,‘Lord,helpmetogrowoldgracefully’heshowedhowthegracesofthefourweeksoftheExercisescanbelivedoutinthelaterstagesoflife.
Oldageissooftenregardedasatimeofloss:lossofmeaningandpurpose,lossoffaith,lossofpossibility.Brian’stalkdidnotdenythepotentialdifficultiesofageandshowedacompassionateunderstandingofthecomplexpsychologicalissuesthatcanarisewithadvancingyears,buthegentlyshowedhowtheinsightsoftheExercises,fromtheinnerbalanceoftheFoundationandPrincipletothe‘Take,Lord,receive’oftheContemplatio,canhelpoldagebecomesomethingonegrowsintoasoneletsgoofthebusynessofyoungerdaysandfocussesonthefaithfulnessandtrustofChristinthemidstofhissuffering.
Brianhimselfclearlyexemplifiedthegraceofageandhiscontributionwaswarmlyandthoughtfullyreceivedbyhisaudience,themajorityofwhomwerenolongeryoung.
The Speakers BishopEmeritusBrianNobleisanativeofLancasterbybirth.Hewasordainedandfor35yearsservedinparishesinthatDiocese,inuniversitychaplaincyandasastaffmemberoftheBedaCollegeinRome.Throughouthisministry,including15yearsasBishopofShrewsbury,educationandspiritualformationhavebeenon-goingpriorities.Now,inretirement,theycontinuetobeso.
DrAnnemariePaulin-CampbellisheadoftheJesuitInstituteSchoolofSpiritualityinSouthAfrica.HerprimaryworkisthetrainingandsupervisionofspiritualdirectorsandgiversoftheSpiritualExercises.ShehasgivenworkshopsinternationallyandisaneditorialcorrespondentforTheWay.
PulengMatsanengworksintheJesuitInstituteSouthAfrica.Sheisanexperienceddirectorandtrainerofdirectorsandhasgiventhe30-dayretreatseveraltimes.HermainareaofinterestistheinculturationofIgnatianSpiritualityinSouthAfrica.
NikolaasSintobinSJjoinedtheSocietyofJesusin1989,afterashortcareerasalawyer.HetrainedasaJesuitinParisandSantiago(Chile)andspecializedinIgnatianspiritualityandpedagogy.Hehasbeenworkingineducation.HisfocustodayisInternetApostolate.
The Exercises across cultural divides FromtheJesuitInstituteinJohannesburg,SouthAfrica,DrAnnemariePaulin-CampbellandPulengMatsanengcommentedthat‘internationallyweseemtobeatacrisispointinrelationtoissuesofraceandculture’andasked:• HowcantheExercisesbeatoolforaradicaltransformationof
consciousness?• HowdowegivetheExercisesinawaythatrecognisesandhonoursthe
culturaldiversityofthepeoplewhomakethem?• Cantheexercisesbealeaveninourglobalsocietyandameansof
healingandreconciliation?
Morethantwentyyearssincetheformalendingofapartheid,thelegacyofviolenceandsuspicionisstillsubtlyshapingSouthAfricansociety.Thisaffectspeople’simagebothofGodandofthemselvesandtheirownworthinGod’seyes.Itaffectsthewayinwhichpeoplecanaccompanyotherswhentrustacrossbarriersofgenerationandracemaybehardtobuild.
ThefundamentaldifferencesbetweenculturesalsoaffectsthewayspiritualdirectionandthegivingoftheexercisescanbestbedoneinSouthAfrica.Whitewesternsocietyhasalonghistoryofone-to-onedirectionwhereasthecommunalnatureofAfricansocietymeansfamilyandtheancestorsaretheforumwithinwhichguidanceisgivenanddecisionsmade.
PickingupPhilipEndean’ssuggestionthat‘aplicar’intheExercisesdoesnotmean‘toadapt’asmuchasitdoes‘toapply’,AnnemarieandPulengtalkedoftheneedfordirectorstoreallyunderstandboththedynamicoftheExercisesandthecircumstancesandcontextoftheindividualexcercitantinordertouseimagesandexampleswhichwillbetruetoIgnatiusbuthavemeaningtotheexcercitant.
ThecommunalnatureofAfricansocietyimpactsonthewaypeoplewillapproachtheExercises.PulengdescribedthewayinwhichshetakesagroupthroughtheExercises,meetingforsixhoursatatimeandpatientlylisteningtoeachotherintheAfricanway–somethingwhichwouldnotbepossibleinsuburbanwhiteculturebutwhichishighlyappropriateinAfricantownships.
IntheSouthAfricancontext,healingandreconciliationisanimportantfacetoftheexperienceoftheExercises,butcaninturnleadtoadecisionaboutawayoflife.ParishWeeksofAccompaniedPrayerarealsotimesofhealingwhenpeoplegrowtogetherastheydeepentheirrelationshipwithGod.
ToseeAnnemarieandPuleng,youngwomenfromoppositesidesoftheracialdivide,workingtogetherasequalpartnersinpassionatecommitmenttothetaskofbringinghealingandreconciliationtoindividualsandcommunitiesthroughthedynamicofIgnatianspiritualityandtheExercises,wasamovingexperienceforallattheconference.
Relaxinginthemorningbreak
What delegates said:
“Ithasenabledmetobemoreconvincedthatonedoesnotneedtostagnateinoldage!
“IthasrenewedmyenthusiasmfortheExercisesandhelpedtofeelanimatedtoexplorenewwaysinmyworkasspiritualdirector.”
“Enjoyableandstimulatingnetworkingandtimetogether.Excellentbalanceofinput,reflectivespace,discussion,worship.”
“Areallygoodupdateandencouragementbothinpresentations,workshopsandinteractionwithparticipants.”
“Wellbalancedtimetable.Enoughfreetimeandtimeforpersonalreflection.Smallgroupswereveryuseful.”
“Thespeakers-wonderful!Thenetworking-amazing.”
“Ifoundthewholeexperiencelivegiving.”
Andsuggestionsfornexttime:
“Moreonvarious'creative'waystodotheExercises.”
“Perhapssomeinter-faithinput,toenrichtheinterpretationandadaptationofsomeoftheexercises.”
“Becominghuman-reallycaughtmyattentionasapossibletheme.“
The Exercises in a digital culture NikolaasSintobinSJfocusedontheInternetApostolate.Heexplainedthatthisisnotabouttransferringoldwaystonewmediabutaboutdiscoveringnewwaysofmakingcontactwiththemoderngeneration.Whenwespeakofthespirituallife,peopledon’tknowwhatwearetalkingaboutbecausetheydon’tunderstandourvocabularyorourlanguage.EducationisaboutenablingsomeonetobecomemorehumanandIgnatianspiritualityaddressesdeeperlevelsthanthesuperficial,invitingpeopletoexploreaninnerspace.
AsweknowfromIgnatianimaginativecontemplation,thevisualisagoodchannelforachievingthisandNikolaasdescribedhismethodofusingvideosingroups–amethodveryIgnatianinitswayofcreatingasafespacewhichallowsindividualstosharewithoutfearofjudgement.Hiscriteriaforchoosingvideosare:• secular,• short,• asfewwordsaspossible• open-endedstoriessothatpeople’sfreedomofinterpretadonis
respected
andheaccompaniedhistalkwithavarietyofvideoswhichamplyillustratedhispoints.
Inthis,andinconversationsthroughouttheweek,hisownquiethumourandpassionatedesiretoconnectwithpeopleinordertosharethegoodnewsofGod’sloveshonethrough.
Workshops Alongsidethemainpresentationswasarangeofworkshops.Themainspeakerseachofferedworkshopswhichbuiltontheirpresentations.
OthercontributorsconsideredthewisdomthatseculardisciplinescanoffertothepracticeoftheExercises.RogerDawsonSJfromStBeuno’sdiscussedanobjectrelationstheoryapproachfrompsychologyinthecontextofspiritualdirection;AndrewBunchlinkedinsightsfromtheEnneagramwithWeek4oftheExercises;StephenHoylandconsideredhowtomakegooduseoftheTwoStandardsExerciseinaworldfar-removedfromthechivalricidealsofIgnatius’stime.
EdelMcCLeanledapracticalworkshopongroupfacilitationusingthehighlyrelevantexampleofthefutureofSEN.Theresultsbecamepartofthebusinessmeetingandwillinturnguidethecommitteeinthemonthsahead.
Meanwhile,inaroomfullofartandcraftmaterials,DeirdreMcConnellencouragedparticipantsto‘tendthecreativesparkwithin’andexploretheexercisesbymark-makingandart.Thepointofusingartinprayerisnottoproducegreatartbuttoengagewithprayer,andparticipantswhothoughttheywere‘nogoodatart’weresurprisedandinspiredbytheresultswhichDeirdregentlyencouraged.
The Programme Afterbreakfastweconvenedforatimeofreflectiveprayerledbyourliturgist,ShirleyTaylor.
Eachkeynotepresentationwasfollowedbyatimeforpersonalreflectionandthen,fortifiedbycoffee,sharingingroups.
Therewasfreetimeafterlunchbeforetheworkshopsandthenanopportunitytojoinothersina‘pop-up’conversation–arrangedbypostingasubjectontheboard.
Aftertheeveningmealtherewasavariedprogrammebeforeclosingwithnightprayerinthechapel,againledbyShirley,andanightcapinthebar.
Oneperson’simagefromthe‘tendingthesparkwithin’workshop.
Chattingintheloungeovercoffee
Business meeting ThebusinessmeetingtookplaceontheThursdayevening.ItwasnotedthatthiswasSEN’ssilveranniversary–25yearssincethefirstconference.
TheChairman’sreportsetouttheprogresswhichhadbeenmadetodeveloptheprioritiesidentifiedatthelastconference:planningthepresentconferenceanddevelopingSEN’swebsiteandpresenceinsocialmedia.
TheaccountsaspresentedrelatedtothetwoyearsendinginDecember2015the2016conferencefigureswerenotincludedbutitwasclearthatthisconferencewouldmakealosswhichwouldcomeoutofSEN’sreserves.ThefactorsaffectingthefinancialsituationwereexplainedintheChairman’sreport.
Allofthecommitteewerewillingtocontinueandallwereendorsedbythemeeting.Howeveritwasagreedthatforthefuture,thecommitteeshoulddrawupaplansettingoutthetermofofficeforcommitteemembersandthesizeofcommittee.
PrioritiesforSEN
EdelMcCleanthenpresentedthefindingsfromherworkshopsondiscerningthefutureofSEN.
6headingshademerged:Finance,ContinuingtheConference,Communicatingwithmembers,Lookingforwards,Lookingoutwards,Offeringresources.
Ofthese,ContinuingtheConferenceandLookingforwardshademergedasthetoppriorities.Asfinancewasanecessaryaspect–withoutit,SENcannotcontinue–itwasremovedfromtheboardasanon-negotiablepriority.Everyoneinthemeetingwasgiventwodotstoaddtheirvotetotheremainingfiveheadings.Thecommitteewasthenchargedwithlookingattheresultsandplanningaccordingly.
Inclosing,themeetingwasremindedthattherichnessofSENisconcentratedintheSpiritualExercises.ThemeetingthenmovedtotheChapelforNightPrayer.
Worship Thetimesofprayertostartandendtheday’sprogrammewereanessentialpartoftheconference.Awell-chosenimagewasshownonscreentohelpholdthethemesfromthedayincontemplativesilence.Shirley’sguitaraccompaniedoursingingtoincorporateanothersenseintotheworship.
Thosepresentclearlyappreciatedthiscontemplativeapproachtotheliturgy,commenting“thewellpreparedprayertimesweresoul-renewing”.
The SEN Committee Chairman:NickHelm
Secretary&Treasurer:MargaretSheldon
JanetBone
AndrewBunch
JoBusby
EdelMcClean
GeorgieSimpson
ShirleyTaylor
SueWilson
RodericBallantine(SocietyofRetreatConductors)
Wehavealsohadinattendanceatmeetings
SimonBishop(Jesuits)
RogerDawson(StBeunos)
Find us online at: spiritualexercisesnetwork.uk
facebook.com/SpExNet
uk.pinterest.com/SpExNet
email:[email protected]
orbypostc/oMargaretSheldon4JamesBradfordAlmshousesButlersGreenRoad,HaywardsHeath,WestSussexRH164BD
WhereshallIputmydot?Votingforthefuture
