Update from our Spiritual Leader Every December for my entire life I have participated in the sacred celebration of the Christ. Name it or call it as you will, December is a holiday month and as such is available to be called sacred. The word holiday of course, comes from the root of holy day, and it is during this month that we who seek to live in faith and a transcendent concept of a material world choose to symbolize this date in our own lives. We seek to recreate and replicate the inherent attributes of Spirit in our lives. We seek to capture an inner vision of the Christ that dwells within each of us and to bring it fully orbed into our experience and existence. And, to the degree that we succeed in this, we reap the greatest gift of all for ourselves and for those whom we come in contact - grace. I encourage all of us to continue in this vein, to strive not only on Christmas Day, not only during the month of December, but every day and every hour, for in our pursuit lies the seeds of the awakening to the holiness that resides behind, above, below, beside, and within all. I leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Raymond Charles Barker: “The inner hunger for righteousness persists. It gnaws at our hearts and troubles our consciousness. We know intuitively that there are inner gifts that must be made, and we shall not find peace until we have released these unto the Christ within. Gold, frankincense, and myrrh would be easy to give for they can be purchased of men, but the pure consciousness of our indwelling God cannot receive these. Integrity, love, and right thinking are the only gifts acceptable to the Christ. These are the nourishment needed by the inner Self in order to increase Its area of activity in our lives. So, at Christmas, we should turn within and be like those Wise Men, and do this real giving of ourselves, which is not easy, but which guarantees so much that is true and good.” Happy Holidays to All! Update from our President
Whenever we are required to learn new ways of connecting within our organizational structure, it’s not always easy to know how to get the information we want. For this reason, I have worked diligently over the past two years to make information on a broad array of topics as easily accessible as possible to you, our ministers, practitioners, and lay leaders. One way this has occurred is my weekly President’s Teleconferences. Nearly every Wednesday I invite a group of leaders and experts from within our organization to join me in a conversation about some area of activity that is important and meaningful to us as a spiritual movement. I follow up each teleconference letting everyone know how anyone can listen in on these conversations. What has happened over the 75 or so calls we’ve had is that more people are listening to the recordings than the actual live conversations. To me, this is great! I know most of us can’t stop everything we’re doing in the middle of the day on Wednesdays to join in even important conversations. And listening when it’s convenient is a very effective way of finding out what’s going on in our organization. I consistently learn things from these conversations. Recently a colleague told me she was listening to a recording of one of our calls and got so interested in what was being discussed that she called the conference line to make a comment. It didn’t take her long to remember that she was listening to a recording, but what was wonderful to me was how engaged she became with the conversation. I invite you to go to www.cslpresidentscalls.org and look down the list of topics. See if there isn’t something there you’d like to learn more about. If there is and I suspect there will be, let it play while you’re doing other tasks at home or in your office. You might be surprised by what you learn. So many blessings! Member Support & Education Update
Licensing and Credentialing
Love & blessings, Youth Department Update – The Youth Curricula is being updated and we want your input! Plus, 5 ways our beloved youth directors, ministers, and volunteers can take care of themselves during the holiday season. |
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As the year winds down, I want to say thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who serve countless hours every month serving on councils, commissions, committees, and teams. There would be no Centers for Spiritual Living without these wonderfully dedicated people. I also am very thankful for our staff and all the fantastic work that they do. Everyone wears many hats and it is appreciated. The financial support of the communities is high on my gratitude list as that support is the financial backbone of Centers for Spiritual Living. It has been a good year and I know that next year will be even better. The Science of Mind Foundation is growing financially. Communities are beginning to promote planned giving for the community endowment, which in the decades to come will be the financial foundation of each community that starts a plan now. The insurance program that started this year is growing and as we add carriers I am confident that we will be able to insure 80% of our communities in the future. We will provide coverage for home owners, automobile, professional and business insurance to anyone. All of this, of course, provides the Centers for Spiritual Living with a new revenue stream while providing great coverage at affordable rates for our centers, practitioners, and congregants. It is the people who make Centers for Spiritual Living and I am honored to be on the executive team with Dr. Kenn Gordon, Dr. John Waterhouse, Rev. Judy Morley, and Rev. Gregory Toole. I am inspired and blessed to serve with the wonderful members of the Leadership Council and create our future with so many wonderful expressions of Spirit on the Legal Committee, Finance Committee, Foundation, and numerous other committees and teams. Every day that I come to the office I am blessed. I consider what I do a privilege and an honor. It’s not work when you’re doing what you love to do with wonderful people. Blessings,
If you haven’t already done so, don’t miss out on signing up for the Spiritual Living Convention in Orlando in February! Everything we’re doing this year is geared toward developing leadership skills and providing practical tools to take back to your center. Find out more at SpiritualLivingConvention.csl.org. Where Can I Find Something on the Website? The other location for information is in our NetCommunity. This is information that is unique to an individual or a center. To access NetCommunity, you click on the tab on the left of the home page at csl.org, and then enter your unique user name and password. This takes you directly into our database and allows you to update your personal information, renew your practitioner or ministerial license, or fill out information regarding your community. If you have any questions about where to find a document or other information, you may contact me a jmorley@csl.org. Creative Thought magazine is coming up on its 60th anniversary in 2014! Watch for more information in the coming months. If you haven’t yet downloaded the Spiritual Resource App, you can now do so at either the Apple App Store or the Google Store. We will be working to populate the app with like-minded businesses in every market. To do that, we are investigating sponsorships for conferences that service the vital Cultural Creative and LOHAS (Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability) markets. If you know anyone who would be interested in having their business listed on the app, please urge them to sign up at app.csl.org. How does Home Office communicate with you? For ministers and practitioners, there is a second communication format, and that is the Google Group. This is a chat-format, and consequently is interactive. The Google Group is completely optional and anyone of the appropriate standing (i.e. minister or practitioner) may join or unsubscribe from his/her particular Google Group at any time. Love & blessings, Convention News – Do you want to find out how to build a successful broadcast ministry? Are you interested in becoming a published author? Would you like to learn how to use New Thought principles for more success in your working life? Whether you are a minister, practitioner or lay member of your community, the Spiritual Living Convention has something for you! Publishing News – Find out about the special holiday offer from Science of Mind magazine, as well as what’s happening with the magazine app. Plus, if you have ever wanted to publish a book, 2014 may be your year! Let’s stay in touch!
You’ll find inspiration, updates and pictures about community events such as World Day of Service, information about our Spiritual Living convention and more!
Featuring daily affirmations, prayers, and highlights from each month’s issue.
The only magazine for and by Religious Scientists. Science of Mind Archives and Library Foundation
The archives contain a magnificent collection of historical New Thought items including radio talks, videos, and class and lecture tapes from Dr. Ernest Holmes.
Offering life-changing affirmative prayer for people of all faiths Where in the world is our Spiritual Leader? What do you think? This monthly newsletter provides important information from home office without overwhelming your inbox every day. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas on improving this newsletter or other communications from Home Office, email Marketing Coordinator Diane Bishop at dbishop@csl.org. |
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One of the first things we worked on as a Leadership Council was our purpose, vision, and mission.
In just 10 brief months of our existence, the Ministers Council has been very busy. Besides developing the highly successful Ministers Gathering in Napa, California, the council has provided input for other Centers for Spiritual Living committees and is currently planning our Mini Gathering in Orlando (Tuesday afternoon). Be sure to plan on reconnecting with your colleagues in a welcoming supportive session. 
As we enter this season of Gratitude and giving, all eyes are on Orlando. We have started to develop the program for our mini-gathering; an opportunity to share information and create a spiritual and experiential event for the community. We’re also pleased that this year’s schedule may allow any interested ministers and practitioners to attend as well.
