Ohio Illuman Monthly Update - July 2019
Greetings Brothers!
We hope you're enjoying an extended Fourth of July holiday weekend with family and friends!
The Universal Christ Spiritual Growth Workshop
HOW A FORGOTTEN REALITY CAN CHANGE
EVERYTHING WE SEE, HOPE FOR, AND BELIEVE
SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2019
10:00 AM To 2:00 PM
ST. PAUL UMC - Dayton, OH
You are invited to join us as we explore the sacredness of all creation! Included in this workshop will be videos of Fr. Richard speaking from THE UNIVERSAL CHRIST CONFERENCE held in Albuquerque, NM, March 28-31, 2019, along with group activities selected from the book’s companion guide developed for small group study.
A freewill offering will be collected to cover lunch. We ask that you do register by calling the St. Paul United Methodist Church - (937) 252-4467 so that we can plan for lunch.
To prepare for the workshop, please read The Universal Christ which you can find wherever you buy your books. If you like to listen to podcasts, you will find Another Name for Everything with Richard Rohr to be very helpful.
➡️ CLICK TO DOWNLOAD WORKSHOP FLYER 📝
Fr. Richard Rohr @ Chautauqua Institution (NY)
Sun., July 14 at 10:45 a.m.
Mon., July 15 – Fri., July 19 at 9:15 a.m.
Location Amphitheater
Admission to the Grounds and Amphitheater is free on Sundays.
Sunday Parking is free until 2 p.m.
Fr. Richard Rohr is a globally recognized ecumenical teacher bearing witness to the universal awakening within Christian mysticism and the Perennial Tradition. He is a Franciscan priest of the New Mexico Province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Fr. Richard’s teaching is grounded in the Franciscan alternative orthodoxy—practices of contemplation and self-emptying, expressing itself in radical compassion, particularly for the socially marginalized.
Gender Equity Program
The issue of gender equality is a significant issue in our society today. There is a powerful program presented by GERI (Gender Equality Reconciliation International) being offered at Ghost Ranch in New Mexico, which Illlman is co-sponsoring, entitled: #We Too: Healing Between Women and Men in Community - it is for 25 men and 25 women – August 17 – 21, 2019.
Illuman will pay for the registration/tuition for an initiated man and his female partner. You will be responsible for transportation and lodging. There are some openings for interested initiated men and their significant female other.
If interested, you can find the contact and registration information on the Ghost Ranch website. Use the password: #WeToo.
Virtual Council
Illuman realizes that many men don’t live in areas served by local Illuman gatherings. If you cannot afford the time or money to attend retreats like the ones mentioned above, or if you simply don’t live near any other Illuman brothers, consider Illuman’s Virtual Council.
Illuman has been working to address issues of connection by conducting Council Circles online. We use an Internet video conferencing system called Zoom to connect with one another from anywhere in the world. These virtual Councils are conducted in much the same manner as in-person Councils would be: with opportunity for some grounded contemplative time, some reflective readings or poetry, and some time wrestling together with challenging prompts. We typically break the larger group into smaller Councils of four to eight men, so that everyone has plenty of time to respond and be present to one another.
Please listen to this 19 minute audio clip of men who have been practicing Virtual Council share why they continue to make the effort to connect with their brothers.
It might seem a bit incongruous to employ technology to help us facilitate connection with others. Nevertheless, in the year or more that we've been holding virtual councils, most participants are surprised to find how quickly the technology fades into the background thus allowing a deeper connection. These Virtual Councils aren’t meant to be a replacement for face-to-face gatherings, but rather a supplement. In addition to our connection with our local brothers, it is an amazing gift to have the opportunity to sit in council with men around the world.
The Way of Council is Illuman’s primary practice, implemented at all levels of our work, from rites of passage to chapter meetings, from our homes to our wider communities. We respect this enough to equip men to do it well, but we acknowledge that council emerges apart from our efforts to control it. Circles have an archetypal life of their own. Council is the best teacher of Council. Click here for a flyer on the Illuman Way of Council.
Stay connected brothers. It is vital. It is not something we as men are particularly good at. Let us know how we can help you stay connected to us and to each other.
Blessings & A-ho!
Chuck Rihm
Convener
Ohio Chapter of Illuman
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