ALSO KEYNOTING: 

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John Philip Newell  

John Philip Newell committed to the opening lecture via zoom but hoping to be there in person which he will know soon! He is a Celtic teacher and author of spirituality who calls the modern world to reawaken to the sacredness of Earth and every human being. Canadian by birth, and a citizen also of Scotland, he resides with his family in Edinburgh and works on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2016 he began the School of Earth and Soul (originally called the School of Celtic Consciousness) and teaches regularly in the United States and Canada as well as leading international pilgrimage weeks on Iona in the Western Isles of Scotland.

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His PhD is from the University of Edinburgh and he has authored over fifteen books, including A New Ancient Harmony, Sounds of the Eternal, The Rebirthing of God. His latest award-winning publication, Sacred Earth Sacred Soul, was the 2022 Gold Winner of the Nautilus Book Award for Spirituality and Religious Thought of the West.

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Newell speaks of himself as ‘a wandering teacher’ following the ancient path of many lone teachers before him in the Celtic world, ‘wandering Scots’ (or scotus vagans as they were called) seeking the wellbeing of the world. He has been described as having ‘the heart of a Celtic bard and the mind of a Celtic scholar’, combining in his teachings the poetic and the intellectual, the head as well as the heart, and spiritual awareness as well as political and ecological concern. His writings have been translated into seven languages. In 2020 he relinquished his ordination as a minister of the Church of Scotland as no longer reflecting the heart of his belief in the sacredness of Earth and every human being. He continues, however, to see himself as ‘a grateful son of the Christian household’ seeking to be in relationship with the wisdom of humanity’s other great spiritual traditions.

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In 2011 John Philip was awarded the first-ever Contemplative Voices Award from the Shalem Institute in Washington DC for his prophetic work in the field of spirituality and compassion. In 2022 he received the Sacred Universe Award from the Well Center for Spirituality in Chicago, IL in recognition of his significant work in furthering humanity's relationship with the sacredness of Earth.

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Catherine Meeks​   

Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing. Prior to the center's opening she chaired its precursor, Beloved Community: Commission for Dismantling Racism for the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta. A sought-after teacher and workshop leader, Catherine brings four decades of experience to the work of transforming the dismantling racism work in Atlanta. The core of her work has been with people who have been marginalized because of economic status, race, gender or physical ability as they pursue liberation, justice and access to resources that can help lead them to health, wellness and a more abundant life. This work grows out of her understanding of her call to the vocation of teacher as well as her realization that all of humanity is one family which God desires to unite. She can be found at www.centerforracialhealing.org

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Keynote: “From the Ashes of Oppression to the Sacred”   

How do you name the space sacred that you have been told does not belong to you? Oppression’s lie to the oppressed is that you do not belong here, thus you have no space, sacred or otherwise, in spite of the fact that the oppressed person is on the earth. The challenge to see beyond this lie requires deep interrogation and much intentional soul work. Oppression’s lies have to be burned away by the fires of consciousness and the ashes can become a part of the pathway that leads to the sacred. 

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Kathleen Wiley​   

Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and diplomate Jungian Analyst in private practice. Her work with clients recognizes the importance of the present moment, the moment of meeting between analyst and analysand, as primary. She is author of New Life: Symbolic Meditations on the Birth of the Divine and New Life: Symbolic Meditations on the Promise of Easter and Spring. She can be found online at www.kathleenwileyjungiananalyst.com and www.innerdivinespirit.com

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Keynote:  “Sacred Earth, Sacred Soul, Sacred Body”   

Honoring the sacred soul of the Earth begins by honoring the sacred soul of the body-mind. The body-mind is indelibly intertwined with the Earth as soul permeates both. The recognition of the body-mind as an expression of soul, as embodied spirit, is key for relating to Earth as sacred. To consciously live from soul, we have to live with respect and care for the ground from which the self or ego emerges. This ground is the body-mind which is shaped by relationship to the earth from the beginning of time. Sacred texts affirm the sacredness of the earth and body-mind as creation is an expression of the Divine.

 

Each individual body-mind-ego embodies soul that is both specific to the individual and a ray of the divine soul. Connection to soul comes through the psyche which contains the totality of the life processes that are both conscious and unconscious and intersect in the body-mind. Reclaiming the sacredness of our body-mind as an expression of Soul offers a path for changing relationships to self and Other, including the Earth. All expressions of the psyche via the body-mind, including dreams, bridge the soul within the subjective, personal self to the objective (non-personal) soul of the Earth. Join Kathleen in reclaiming the sacredness of your body-mind as a path of knowing soul that leads to respectful relationship for all bodies—your own, others, and the Earth.

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Sheri Kling​   

The director of Process and Faith with the Center for Process Studies at the Claremont School of Theology and director of the John Cobb Legacy Fund. She is also a writer, teacher, and coach who draws from wisdom and mystical traditions, relational worldviews, depth psychology, and the intersection of spirituality and science to help people find wholeness. She is the creator of Deeper Rhythm and Transforming Women as well as a faculty member of the Haden Institute. She can be found online at www.sherikling.com

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Keynote:  “Sacred Sorrow: Loss and Longing in a Fully Lived Life”   

What do you do when life doesn’t turn out the way you’d hoped? When all your projects for love and success fail you? The world tells us that constant self-renovation programs and abundance manifestation mantras are the answer, but what if there is something sacred in being shattered? What if there’s holiness in the abyss? In this presentation, psycho-spiritual theologian Sheri D. Kling will offer an exploration of sacred sorrow.

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Jerry Wright​   

A Jungian analyst in private practice in Flat Rock, NC, and a training analyst with the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. Prior to completing his analytic training in 2000, Jerry served various churches as a Presbyterian minister over the span of 25 years. Jerry is the author of A Mystical Path Less Traveled: A Jungian Psychological Perspective (Chiron, 2021),  and Reimagining God and Religion: Essays for the Psychologically Minded (Chiron, 2018). His primary professional passion includes the application of the insights of Jungian psychology to all human endeavors, including religion and spirituality, politics, and the care of the Earth. Jerry is a graduate of Erskine College (B.A.), University of Georgia (M.Ed.), Erskine Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and Columbia Theological Seminary (D.Min.).

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Keynote:  “Psychological Mysticism”   

Drawing on the Analytical Psychology of C. G. Jung and on various mystical traditions, Dr. Wright will propose a psychological mysticism that preceded, and now replaces, the historical theological mysticism that has been dependent on theistic god-images. Such dualistic, divisive images are no longer relevant for many people – nor necessary. The presentation will explore an alternative spiritual path that has the character of a grounded, embodied mysticism that honors the universal experiences of the numinous. Psychological Mysticism could be a relevant and meaningful path for persons of all religious orientations, as well as for those who embrace no particular religion. Such a perspective could contribute to the healing of the deep divisions that tear at our cultural, political, and religious fabric, and that threaten our species and sacred, global nest.

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Larry Maze​   

Served as the Bishop of Arkansas for 13 years before retiring in 2007. He frequently taught in his diocese around issues of Jungian psychology as it interfaces with Christian spirituality. Since retiring he speaks on the topics of Jungian spirituality and dreamwork and how it interfaces with Christian spirituality. He has led teaching conferences in many areas of the southeast and served on the faculty of The Haden Institute.

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Keynote: Implications for the Death of the Christian God

“Everybody’s gotta serve somebody. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but everybody’s gotta serve somebody."  

 

So sings Bob Dylan and it’s true! Whether we look or not, all of us are in service to whomever or whatever occupies the Center of our being. 

 

The god-image long shaped by Christianity in America is dying if we go by the numbers of people still tending that image. I formally studied history and sociology before I studied theology. All of those disciplines suggest to me that such a shift at the center demands our attention. Where do we find ourselves as a new god-image is born?

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Music by River Guerguerian and Chris Rosser: 

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River Guerguerian​   

River  has been inspiring audiences with his ecstatic and versatile percussion for over 30 years. Whether collaborating with world-class artists, supporting symphonies or creating his own dynamic explorations of rhythm, River’s devotion and attention to the vibrant life of the drum reverberate through the mind and soul of the listener. A respected music educator, River is Music Director of the Odyssey Community School. He also conducts “rhythm and sound exploration” workshops throughout the country, and enjoys teaching privately. You can hear his lyrical style with his world jazz trio Free Planet Radio, and other ensembles he curates.

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Chris Rosser​   

Chris Rosser is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, composer and producer. As a solo performer, he has opened shows for folk and pop luminaries such as John Mayer, Tom Rush, David Wilcox, Shawn Mullins, John Gorka, Nickel Creek, and more. He has released four solo singer-songwriter recordings, Archaeology (1998), The Holy Fool (2000), Hidden Everywhere (2006) and A Thousand Hands (2014). Rosser illustrates his talent as an instrumentalist and composer in the world fusion trio Free Planet Radio.