But if you’re picturing a group of people sitting around a campfire contemplating their innermost selves, think again. That’s certainly not what the Sisters have in mind when they talk about spirituality and transformation. They don’t want spirituality to take people to another world. They want it to ground them in this one. “Wisdom Ways has created a community of people who have an interest in integrating their spirituality with their work and their lives,” says Sister Joan Mitchell, who teaches classes every year for Wisdom Ways. “In that sense, it is totally external. In our classes, we always ask: ‘What do we carry from here into the world?’ We challenge people to use their spiritual knowledge to become leaders in the community, to do what’s right for the dear neighbor.”

      
        “I think the spirituality of Wisdom Ways lets you see what’s around you. What’s concrete, what’s real,” says Wisdom Ways Director Barbara Lund. “It helps you connect. It takes down the barrier between you and the rest of the world,” Recently hired by the CSJs to run the Wisdom Ways Center  Barbara also happens to be an ordained Lutheran minister. She’s another testament to the Sisters’ ecumenical approach to spirituality. 

        In order to better apply spiritual knowledge to the world, Wisdom Ways offers educational programs that are relevant to the time and place in which we live. “Programs on the leading edge of spirituality,” Julie calls them. One good example of “real world” programming is the fifteenth Annual Soul Conference. This year, Wisdom Ways will partner with renowned Irish eco-theologian Nellie McLaughlin, RSM, to present a 2-day program ripped from today’s headlines. Sister Nellie will invite participants to look at their relationship to Creation, as well as at the practical matters that relate to it. For instance, she’ll talk about land stewardship in the Twin Cities, as well as community-based agriculture and the sustainable food movement that has become such a hot button topic lately. “A two-day event like this shows the holistic nature of the CSJs spiritual thinking,“ says Barbara. She adds: “Nellie McLaughlin will share her scholarship with us. But at the same time she will continue her own learning as those who gather at the Soul Conference share back with her.” Continued...
Back

Back to Contents