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Program Presenters
Thomas Beech Tom Beech recently retired from a long career, initially in the business sector and since 1974 in the field of philanthropy. He has held executive leadership positions with The Minneapolis Foundation, the Burnett Foundation in Fort worth, Texas, and the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He served on the national Boards of Directors of the Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, Funders Concerned About AIDS and the Institute for Community Peace. He has written and consulted extensively on non-profit governance and resilience and community development, building relationships based on candor, trust, mutual respect and integrity. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Tom received his undergraduate education at Carleton College and graduate education at Union Theological Seminary and Columbia University. He lives in Kalamazoo with his wife, Carol, an artist who creates large abstract oil paintings. They have two sons, Jerry and Michael.
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Peter Block Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community.
Peter is the author of several best selling books. The most widely known being Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used; Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self-Interest and The Empowered Manager: Positive Political Skills at Work. Peter is the recipient of the Organization Development Network's 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004 he received their first place Members' Choice Award, which recognized Flawless Consulting as the most influential book for OD practitioners over the past 40 years.
In 2008 Community: The Structure of Belonging was published, and his latest book, The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, co-authored with John McKnight, came out in May 2010.
Peter's books are about ways to create workplaces and communities that work for all. They offer an alternative to the patriarchal beliefs that dominate our culture. He works to bring change into the world through consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force.
As a partner in Designed Learning, he designs workshops which build the skills outlined in his books.
He has received national awards for outstanding contributions in the field of training and development, including the American Society for Training and Development Award for Distinguished Contributions; the Association for Quality and Participation President's Award; and Training Magazine HRD Hall of Fame.
Learn more about Block and his work at designedlearning.com.
Peter Block |  | |
Barry Burnside Barry Lee Burnside is Program Coordinator of Dispute Resolution Services of Gryphon Place, one of Michigan’s Community Dispute Resolution Programs offering conflict resolution opportunities to residents of Kalamazoo, Calhoun, and Barry Counties and applying the principals of restorative justice in courts and schools.
Prior to assuming his duties at Gryphon Place in 2002, he founded and directed a program in Georgia for incarcerated adults and crime victims; established the first juvenile court mediation program in that state’s Southwestern Judicial Circuit, was an instructor in state and county prisons, and spent over a decade working with men on Georgia’s death row.
He has been a mediator since 1996 and is qualified to provide mediation services in a variety of conflicts including civil court disputes, Equal Employment Opportunity cases, victim/offender dialogues, special education conflicts, and child protection matters. From 2008-2010 he worked with the Fetzer Institute’s Campaign for Love and Forgiveness as a community partner facilitating public discussions on the topic of forgiveness.
Barry is a member of the Association for Conflict Resolution and the Victim Offender Mediation Association.
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Paula D'Arcy Paula D’Arcy is a writer, playwright, retreat leader and conference and seminar speaker. In 2001 she established Red Bird Foundation, which supports the growth and spiritual development of those in need throughout the world, including men and women in prison. The foundation has sponsored two international gatherings of women known as WOMENSPEAK, conferences which honor the woman’s voice as a force of peace and healing for the world. A former psychotherapist, Paula survived the loss of her husband and young daughter in an accident in 1975. She was three months pregnant at the time. Among her best-selling books are Gift of the Red Bird, Waking Up to This Day, and When People Grieve.
Crossing Thresholds with Paula D’Arcy |  | |
John Dear John Dear is an internationally known voice for peace and nonviolence. A Jesuit priest, pastor, peacemaker, organizer, lecturer, and retreat leader, he is the author/editor of 25 books, including his autobiography, “A Persistent Peace.” In 2008, John was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
From 1998 until December 2000, he served as the executive director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the United States.
After the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, John served as a Red Cross Chaplain, and became one of the coordinators of the chaplain program at the Family Assistance Center. He worked with some 1,500 family members who lost loved ones, as well as hundreds of firefighters and police officers, while at the same time, he spoke out against the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan.
From 2002-2004, he served as pastor of several parishes in northeastern New Mexico. He co-founded Pax Christi New Mexico and works on a nonviolent campaign to disarm Los Alamos. These days, he lectures to tens of thousands of people each year in churches and schools across the country and the world. He also writes a weekly column for the “National Catholic Reporter” at www.ncronline.org/blogs/on-the-road-to-peace.
A longtime practitioner and teacher of nonviolence, John has written hundreds of articles and given thousands of talks on nonviolence. His many books include: Living Peace; Put Down Your Sword; Transfiguration; The Questions of Jesus; Mary of Nazareth, Prophet of Peace; Jesus the Rebel; Mohandas Gandhi; Peace Behind Bars: A Journal from Jail; The God of Peace: Toward a Theology of Nonviolence; You Will Be My Witnesses; Disarming the Heart: Toward a Vow of Nonviolence; The Sound of Listening; The Sacrament of Civil Disobedience; Seeds of Nonviolence; Our God Is Nonviolent; and Oscar Romero and the Nonviolent Struggle for Justice. He has edited: The Road to Peace: Writings on Peace and Justice by Henri Nouwen; And the Risen Bread: The Selected Poems of Daniel Berrigan, 1957-1997; and The Vision of Peace: Faith and Hope in Northern Ireland: The Writings of Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire.
John’s peacework has taken him to El Salvador, where he lived and worked in a refugee camp in 1985; to Guatemala, Nicaragua, Haiti, the Middle East, Colombia, and the Philipines; to Northern Ireland where he lived and worked at a human rights center for a year; and to Iraq, where he led a delegation of Nobel Peace Prize winners to witness the effects of the deadly sanctions on Iraqi children. He has run a shelter for the homeless in Washington, DC; taught theology at Fordham University; and served as Executive Director of the Sacred Heart Center, a community center for disenfranchized women and children in Richmond, Virginia.
A native of North Carolina, John has engaged in direct action for peace, since the 1990’s in his efforts to "beat swords in plowshares," according to the biblical vision of the prophet Isaiah. He also worked with Mother Teresa and others to stop the death penalty.
John has two masters degrees in theology from the Graduate Theological Union in California.
John Dear Book Signing |  | |
Frankie Dutil, CSJ Frances (Frankie) Dutil, CSJ has a B.A. in French and music, an M.A. in educational psychology and an Associate Degree in art. She spent many years as an elementary teacher and principal. Art has always been a love in her life. Her love of Ireland goes back to her roots on her mother’s side. Both great-grandparents came to America during the potato famine. Her Celtic ancestry and trips to Ireland and Scotland have helped her develop knowledge and appreciation of the unique contributions of Celtic spirituality. Celtic scenes and objects populate her art through which she tries to communicate the ineffable qualities of these places and beliefs.
Watercolor: |  | |
Rev. Jim Dyke Rev. Jim Dyke is a reflective humorous pastor and speaker who has facilitated many retreats including some for those working the 12-steps process of AA. In addition to ministering at several area churches, Jim served as director of Ministry with Community, and has served in prison ministry. He continues to be involved with many community organizations, and currently is pastor of St. Andrew Community Church in Kalamazoo.
Men’s Spirituality |  | |
Michele Gossman Michele Gossman is the Director of the Transformations Spirituality Center, a retreat and conference center sponsored by the Congregation of St. Joseph, located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A founding board member of the Kalamazoo Drop-In Child Care Center, Gossman has volunteered for many community organizations over the years. Having just completed three years on the Executive Committee at First Congregational Church, she serves on the Board of the local chapter of Bread for the Journey, is an advisor to Bronson’s Continuing Pastoral Education Program, and is enrolled in Foundations of Christian Spirituality though the Grand Rapids Dominicans.
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Diane Hamel Diane Hamel, a lifelong artist, studied fine art at Michigan State University from 1971 to 1975. After raising her family, she returned to Aquinas College in 1989, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theology in 1991. She began working as a professional lay minister at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Greenville, Michigan, where she served as the Director of Religious Education for nine years. In August 2000, Diane began working at St. Patrick Parish in Parnell, Michigan, as the Director of the Catechumenate. In addition to her ministry at St. Patrick Parish, she served the Roman Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan as a member of the Liturgical Art and Environment Commission for many years. Diane has given numerous workshops on preparing sacred spaces and liturgical environments.
In 1997, Diane attended “‘A Brush with God’ Icon Workshop,” given by Peter Pearson, a Master Iconographer from New Hope, PA. It was during this experience that her two passions of faith and art converged, and she has been studying iconography and painting icons ever since. In 2005, Diane began studying with Xenia Prokovsky, a Russian iconographer from Boston, Massachusetts. Diane has written many icons for private collections, churches, and other institutions, including the Cathedral of St. Andrew in the Diocese of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Her icons have been exhibited around the United States. One of her icons belongs to the private collection of Bishop James Harvey, the Prefect for the Papal Household at the Vatican.
Diane has given retreats, workshops, and college courses on the technical skills and spiritual aspects of creating an icon to a wide variety of people. She works out of her studio, Viriditas Icon Studio in Lowell, Michigan, and gives private lessons to those who are interested. She is privileged to be a part of the rediscovery of iconography within the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church.
Diane lives with her husband in Lowell, Michigan, and is a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church.
Icon Retreat |  | |
Marianne Novak Houston Marianne Novak Houston has a graduate degree in religious studies. She worked for nine years with Dr. Parker J. Palmer, to help found the international formation movement. She is a senior advisor and facilitator with the Center for Courage and Renewal in Seattle, Washington. A teacher for more than 40 years, she now devotes full time to retreat facilitation and trains and mentors future formation facilitators in the U.S. and abroad.
Work Done with Great Respect - A conversation with veteran teacher and Courage & Renewal Facilitator, Marianne Houston.
Living From Within, 2011-12
Living From Within 2012-13 Circle |  | |
Jean Johnson Jean Johnson is a leadership coach with a commitment to supporting business and non-profit leaders to enhance and leverage their authentic leadership capabilities and create the most rewarding future for themselves and their organizations. She works with individuals as a catalyst for enhanced professional effectiveness with a holistic approach emphasizing the inherent wisdom within each of us. Jean’s typical clients include leaders within businesses and non-profit organizations who are seeking ways to create larger possibilities for authentic action in their work and life.
Jean’s is a graduate of the Leadership Coaching program at Georgetown University. She has an MBA in Marketing & Operations from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. degree in psychology from the University of Kentucky.
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Katheryn Ann Kobelinski, SSND Katheryn Ann Kobelinski, SSND is a former coordinator of Contemplative Outreach SE Wisconsin and has served retreats in that chapter, as well as Iowa and Illinois. She also served as convenor for the Midwest cluster.
Sr. Katheryn Ann is on the national faculty committee for Lectio Divina and is a commissioned presenter of Centering Prayer and Lectio Divina. She has also participated in national retreat guides formation.
Intensive Centering Prayer Retreat |  | |
Gertrude Maurer, CSJ Gertrude Maurer, CSJ is on the staff of Transformations Spirituality Center. She has served as an educator, retreat and spiritual director, and minister for justice in the US and Ghana. She holds a doctorate in American literature and a certificate in spiritual direction. She is also a trained Sage-ing Circle® facilitator.
Group SD Orientation
Spiritual Literacy - Field of Compassion |  | |
Mark Nepo Mark Nepo is a poet and philosopher who has taught in the fields of poetry and spirituality for over thirty years. Nominated for the Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize, he has written several books; most recently, The Exquisite Risk (Harmony Books, NY, 2005) which Spirituality & Health Magazine has cited as “one of the best books we've ever read on what it takes to live an authentic life." Other titles include The Book of Awakening, Acre of Light (also available as an audiotape from Parabola under the title Inside the Miracle), Fire Without Witness, and God, the Maker of the Bed, and the Painter. He has also contributed to numerous anthologies. The Book of Awakening was also a finalist for the 2000 Books for a Better Life Award, and was cited by Spirituality and Health Magazine as one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2000. Mark is also the editor of Deepening the American Dream: Reflections on the Inner Life and Spirit of Democracy, a collection of essays from Jossey-Bass (Fall 2005). His most recent books of poetry are Suite for the Living (2004) and Inhabiting Wonder (2004). These poetry books and a CD of Mark’s poetry, Finding Our Way in the World (2005), are available from Bread for the Journey (www.breadforthejourney.org). As well, Unlearning Back to God, a collection of Mark’s published essays from 1985-2005, is forthcoming from Khaniqahi Nimatullahi Publications (London/New York, Fall 2005).
As a cancer survivor, Mark remains committed to the usefulness of daily inner life. Through both his writing and teaching, he devotes himself to the life of inner transformation and relationship, exploring the expressive journey of healing where the paths of art and spirit meet. For 18 years, Mark taught at the State University of New York at Albany. He now serves as a Program Officer for the Fetzer Institute in Kalamazoo, Michigan, a non-profit foundation devoted to fostering awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community. He continues to give readings, lectures, and retreats.
Making Sense of Our Experience |  | |
Rev. James O'Leary Fr. James O’Leary is a respected and sought after speaker and educator. He has a degree in philosophy from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit and a degree in theology from North American College in Rome, Italy. He is currently Pastor at St. Ambrose Church in Parchment.
Men’s Spirituality |  | |
Christine Parks, CSJ Sister Christine currently serves as a Spiritual Director and Program Coordinator for Transformations. She has also served as a retreat director. She has experience in adult training and development and has facilitated numerous programs and workshops related to personal and spiritual growth and development.
She brings a love of photography, poetry, writing, nature and spirituality to share with our community, and an eye toward the artistic. Many of her original photographs adorn our halls.
Her educational background includes a Certificate in Spiritual Direction from Beech Grove Benedictine Spiritual Direction Internship program; Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Counseling from Emmanuel College in Boston; a MA in Educational Leadership/Community Development from WMU; and a BA in Secondary Education from MSU.
Group SD Orientation
Centering Prayer Retreat Day
Lamentation
Awakening the Dreamer - Changing the Dream |  | |
Laura Smith, CSJ Laura Smith, CSJ has experience in counseling, consultation, spiritual direction, retreat work, and teaching. She holds masters degrees in pastoral theology, counseling, and music. She earned a certificate in spiritual direction from the Dominican Center in Grand Rapids and studied with the Sufi Institute for two years.
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Melannie Svoboda, SND Sister Melannie Svoboda, a Sister of Notre Dame from Chardon, Ohio, has an MA in English from Indiana University and an MA in Spirituality from Duquesne University. Sister has taught high school and college for over 20 years and ministered as novice director for her own community and also served on the staff of the Jesuit novitiate in Detroit for six years. From 1999-2005 she was provincial for her community. For over 30 years, Sister has been a freelance writer with articles in dozens of publications including America, Catholic Digest, National Catholic Reporter, Religion Teacher’s Journal, Living Faith, and Country Woman. She is the author of ten books including Traits of a Healthy Spirituality, Gracious Goodness, Everyday Epiphanies, In Steadfast Love, When the Rain Speaks, When the Moon Slips Away and With the Dawn Rejoicing. Currently Sister Melannie writes and gives talks, parish missions, and retreats nationally. Her pastimes include reading, walking, listening to music, engaging in good conversations, and working sudoku and crossword puzzles.
Everyday Epiphanies |  | |
Rev. Douglas Vernon Rev. Douglas Vernon retired in 2010 after forty years in pastoral ministry, serving United Methodist Churches throughout Michigan. Currently he is engaged in development work for Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and also part-time interim ministry at the UMC in Lawton, Michigan. He has recentlyearned his Master Gardener certification, and has had a lifelong interest in all types of growth, from tomatoes to leaders!
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Margaret Wheatley Margaret Wheatley is a well-respected writer, speaker, and teacher for how we can accomplish our work, sustain our relationships, and willingly step forward to serve in this troubling time. She has written six books: Walk Out Walk On (with Deborah Frieze, 2011); Perseverance (2010); Leadership and the New Science; Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future; A Simpler Way (with Myron Rogers); and Finding Our Way: Leadership for an Uncertain Time. Each of her books has been translated into several languages; Leadership and the New Science appears in 18 languages. She is co-founder and President emerita of The Berkana Institute, which works in partnership with a rich diversity of people and communities around the world, especially in the Global South. These communities find their health and resilience by discovering the wisdom and wealth already present in their people, traditions and environment (www.berkana.org). Her numerous articles appear in both professional and popular journals and may be downloaded free from her website: www.margaretwheatley.com.
Wheatley received her doctorate in Organizational Behavior and Change from Harvard University, and a Masters in Media Ecology from New York University. She’s been an organizational consultant since 1973, a global citizen since her youth, a professor in two graduate business programs, a prolific writer, and a happy mother and grandmother. She has received numerous awards and honorary doctorates.
Making it Up as you Go Along - May program |  | |
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