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Supporting spiritual companionship around the world
 
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New Contemplatives 2019

We are delighted to announce this year's New Contemplatives. We see this group as future leaders in spiritual companionship - people who can help us grow our global movement. We congratulate them and welcome them to our community.

The New Contemplatives Initiative seeks to encourage, understand and engage with spiritual directors in the first half of their lives (aged 40-ish or under). Each New Contemplative will receive full tuition for the 2019 SDI conference as well as hotel accommodation and a travel stipend. With our conference theme of "
Seeking Connection - Across Generations," these New Contemplatives will play a key role in helping SDI create a truly inter-generational community.

Please take a few minutes and get acquainted with these 11 deep listeners who have answered the call to change the world from within. 
Generous donors make the New Contemplatives Initiative possible, and more donors are needed to grow the program. Please donate here to keep this initiative thriving. Thank you for anything you can do to help support the next generation of spiritual companions.
PREETA BANERJEE, PH.D.

"Someone might wonder how a Wharton Ph.D. who taught business school for 8 years and then ran a consulting team for 5 years would become a spiritual director. The process of becoming a mother is fully and deeply transformational. While each time pregnancy and labor were extremely difficult, the process of growth and nurturing presented
an opportunity to step into 'I AM.' "


Preeta M. Banerjee is a spiritual companion who draws on a broad and deep range of experience, having spent 20 years in academia, coaching and consulting as an advocate, educator, researcher and author. She is a strong voice for combining spirituality, creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and social change. Her daily practice comes from yoga, Let Your Yoga Dance, meditation, Kirtan, reiki and crystal healing as well as being an Ayurveda and a black-belt Tae Kwon Do practitioner. She draws inspiration from a number of spiritual traditions and looks forward to curating contemplative spaces for the Mystic Soul Project. Currently, co-founder and partner at WhiteLeaf Advisors LLC, she previously led a team at Deloitte and was a business school professor at Brandeis and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has a PhD in Strategic Management from the Wharton School and BS in Computational Biology and Business from Carnegie Mellon.
DAVID BRONSTEIN

"I envision an integration of my profession as a social worker with my truth as a spirit worker, caring for the physical and emotional needs of oppressed people as well as the spiritual nourishment of all people
living in this spiritually desolate, morally bankrupt dominant culture."

 
David Bronstein is an educator and seeker who helped start Alt*Div, a grassroots alternative to divinity school for artists, activists, and community builders. This year he will be in residence at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California living with nuns and millennials experimenting with new forms of prophetic community, deepening in relationship, spiritual practice, and justice work to meet the needs of our time through a partnership called Nuns & Nones. Rooted in the Jewish tradition, he is devoted to transformative education -  teaching in gap-year programs, youth empowerment trainings, schools, mentoring youth, and leading experiential learning journeys.
LORREN BUCK, M. DIV.
“Beauty and pain are two threads simultaneously stitched in the quilt of the human experience …  As a woman pastor in a non-traditional space, I am called to support individuals who have experienced harm from religious institutions and oppressive doctrine.”

Lorren Buck is a spiritual companion who serves as InPower Institute’s Pastoral Fellow. In this role, Lorren co-leads InPower’s spiritual growth and discovery core and develops programming around spirituality, sexuality and gender. Her activism is aligned with her co-creation of a womanist gathering which critically integrates scripture while placing black women at the center. Lorren has a background in non-profit leadership and development on the local and state levels. She also served as a former health educator, developing comprehensive sexual health curricula for Missouri and Illinois schools. Lorren earned her Master’s degree in Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary where she examined ways single black women can reclaim their bodies as sacred and embody a liberated sexuality.
CRISTINA MARIA PAHILAN
"Not all Spiritual Directors are Beekeepers; so blessed I am. In my ordinariness and simplicity, God calls. He calls where I am and what I am. I represent those who are farmers, agriculturists, beekeepers; that we too can lead people, gifted with the capacity to listen to other peoples' journeys, give retreats and spiritual direction and draw people closer to God."

Cristina Maria Pahilan is a spiritual director and a beekeeper from the Philippines. She's sold honey and honeybees as her business for almost a decade. She also works at the Center for Ignatian Spirituality in the Philippines, where she gives retreats following the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Orphaned at age 9, she says she is "very determined to achieve goals in life." She completed the Ignatian Immersion Course at Cova Sant Ignasi, Centre Internacional d’ Espiritualitat, Manresa, Spain. She has a  Bachelor of Science in Communication from Philippine Christian University in Manila.
BIANCA ESQUIVEL
“I truly love people and believe we are all seekers, whether we call ourselves that or not…. We all yearn to be seen and heard. Spiritual direction is a gift to the world and I feel so humbled by the opportunity and responsibility to be a fruitful, genuine, open-hearted spiritual director.”

Bianca Esquivel lives, works, and plays in Austin,Texas. She currently serves as a Senior Family Services Coordinator for Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, journeying with grieving families as they choose the gift of life through organ donation. She feels privileged and humbled to serve and learn from others in all walks and stages of life - as a spiritual director and on pilgrimages. Her most recent pilgrimage was to El Paso and Juarez, serving families who have fled their homes. Rooted in the Catholic witness of Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton, Oscar Romero, Mother Teresa and St. Hildegard, Bianca loves interfaith dialogue, eco-spirituality, social justice and  health/wellness. She finds great passion in living the mystery of God's love that transcends all boundaries.
CANDACE LEWIS, PH.D.
"At 12 years old I explained to my mother I did not believe in God. Soon after, she abandoned me and I spent three years homeless until I was adopted at 15. I became a stanch atheist and committed my life to academia. At 24 years old, I was blessed with the arrival of many spiritual teachers. They exposed me to God unbounded by exclusion and dogmatism. Life took on new meaning and I felt appreciation for suffering, beauty in breath, and my love for life found a depth I had never known. I am called to provide this experience for hungry seekers that cross my path."

Dr. Candace R. Lewis is a spiritual companion who received a BA in Psychology from the University of Alaska and a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience from Arizona State University. Her research primarily focuses on the interplay between genetics and human experience and how this relates to mental health. For example, she investigates how early life experiences shape the genetic architecture of emotional and reward neurosystems in adulthood. Candace received a certificate in spiritual direction from Wisdom’s Way School with Tacheria Interfaith Spirituality Center in 2018. Through her spiritual companionship, she hopes to articulate a modern and accessible language for ancient forms of spirituality that are currently being validated by science such as mindfulness, psychedelics, service, and gratitude.
 
LANGSTON KAHN
“I would love to meet more courageous human beings working to create change within themselves, their communities and the world through deep engagement with spirituality and the numinous, especially (but not limited to) people of color… As a person of a German Jewish and Swiss father and an African-American mother, I bring a very nuanced understanding and ability to speak to and navigate issues around race compassionately.”

Langston Kahn is a New York City based spiritual companion and shamanic practitioner specializing in emotional clearing and radical transformation. His practice is informed by the western modality of Inner Relationship Focusing, initiations into traditions of the African Diaspora, the contemporary shamanic tradition of The Last Mask Center and the guidance of his helping spirits and ancestors weaving it all together. He joyfully endeavors to bring spirituality out of the dark dusty recesses of the esoteric and into our daily existence, where it can aid us in re-aligning with our soul’s purpose and opening our hearts to create real lasting change. He firmly believes that no emotional wound or trauma is beyond healing.
 
CHRISTINE LUNA MUNGER, PH.D.
"I first learned of spiritual direction through my mentor, Diane Millis. We worked together with intergenerational Group Spiritual Direction, following Rosemary Dougherty’s model as practiced at Shalem. I would like to explore models of contemplative dialogue in public spaces, especially through lenses informed by Group Spiritual Direction."

Christine Luna Munger serves as the Director of the Episcopal House of Prayer in Collegeville, Minnesota. Earlier, she served as Coordinator & Professional Professor of Theology for the Spiritual Direction Certificate in the graduate department of Theology at St. Catherine University (2012-2018). An alumna of  College of Saint Benedict, Christine completed her master’s degree in Christian Spirituality at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, with a certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreat Direction. Christine completed doctoral studies in Practical Theology at Saint Thomas University in Miami. Christine is a wife and mother of two young children. She is bilingual (English & Spanish) and enjoys wimming,all forms of dance and being outdoors.
 
REV. RICH NELSON

"I am shifting the focus of my work from local congregational ministry towards spiritual companionship, online faith development resources, retreats and pilgrimage... [ I ] seek to understand faith less as adherence to a narrowly defined concept of beliefs or membership in an organization, but as an adventure that we have been called to walk more deeply into."

Rev. Rich Nelson is a pastor, curriculum writer, spiritual director and contemplative. He has served both Episcopal and Lutheran faith communities, founded a rural ecumenical nonprofit outreach ministry and is deeply interested in non-traditional ways of creating and fostering communities of faith. His online spiritual formation program, Following the Way, helps people explore the major faith traditions and walk more deeply into a life of action and contemplation.

RABBI LAUREN TUCHMAN
"I am particularly drawn to working with individuals with disabilities or who live with chronic illness … I believe spiritual work is fundamental, but without a safe container within which to explore, it can be challenging to find a place to discuss the multiple layers of experiences a person carries. It is my prayer that I will be able to accompany seekers in that way."

Rabbi Lauren Tuchman received rabbinic ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary in 2018. She is committed to contemplative practice personally and as an integral part of her spiritual work. As far as she is aware, she is the first blind woman in the world to enter the rabbinate. Rabbi Tuchman was named to the Jewish Week’s 36 under 36 for her leadership concerning inclusion of Jews with disabilities in all aspects of Jewish life. She spends her days teaching and companioning young folks involved in social justice work.
JAMARI MICHAEL WHITE

"As a Black queer trans man, I grew up having a strained relationship to faith and spirituality but I always wanted to serve people… Ever since I answered God’s call upon my life, spiritual direction has been whispering at me…  I have felt like I am not “enough.” …Who am I to offer anyone spiritual direction? However, God has continued to show me that this path is necessary to do the work God calls me to, in addition to my work as a coach. For instance, this past summer a friend living in Alabama called me. We hadn’t spoken in many years. She said to me “Jamari, I don’t know what to do. I’m not sure I believe in Jesus anymore. I know my ancestors talk to me and the birds. How can I believe in Jesus anymore?” We had a beautiful conversation about her experiences and her connection to her evolving faith. At the end, she thanked me and stated that she couldn’t say those words to most people but she knew I would not judge her… I recently asked those closest to me what they saw me doing in the future. Every single person mentioned walking with people on their spiritual journeys, and most specifically walking with people who others have given up on, rejected, or thrown away."


Jamari Michael White is a transformation coach, spiritual care provider, educator, facilitator and artist living in Louisville, Kentucky. With roots in the Baptist and Black church traditions, Jamari has developed an "always seeking and expanding sense of the divine and sacred mystery." Jamari welcomes the opportunity to be a witness to the being and becoming of others within and beyond religion, holding a specific commitment to the liberation, healing, and spiritual wisdom of Black and queer communities. He is currently pursuing an MA in religious studies at Chicago Theological Seminary and holds an MSW from Ohio State University and BA from the University of Chicago.
 

Join Our Celebration of Spirit
REGISTER NOW, SAVE $100 -  Our annual conference comes early next year, March 14-17. It promises to be the friendliest, most inclusive gathering of spiritual companions and contemplative seekers on the planet. Seeking Connections - Across Generations will be an inter-generational celebration of spirit with amazing speakers, great workshops and full-day seminars. A 1-day spiritual journey in the beautiful Puget Sound area and a 4-day inter-spiritual retreat are also available. This is an extraordinary chance to create community and deepen your practice. As always, members will save $100 from the price of admission for the conference. If you act soon, you can save an additional $100 with the early bird rate.  All you need to do is register herePlease join us - and meet our extraordinary New Contemplatives!... For those in financial need, scholarships are available.
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