“Budd’s commitment to, and work on behalf of interfaith understanding is remarkable. There may be no greater challenge in our world than that of building bridges between religions and religious cultures, and I know no Christian who works harder at this or is more effective. From the interfaith pilgrimages to the courses he’s developed to his own writing and service, he’s a leader in this important and challenging work. And what Budd teaches us is that the more we learn about the faith and religion of others, the more articulate we become about our own, to others and to ourselves. He helps us let go of the threat and embrace the challenge.” – Rev. Dr. Sally Purvis Colleague and Author
Rev. Dr. Gilbert (Budd) Friend-Jones has led Jews, Muslims, and Christians on interfaith pilgrimages in Spain, Morocco, Gibraltar, and Turkey, and has preached and taught seminars in Russia, South India, Turkey, and the UK. – A native of West Virginia, Budd earned his doctorate at Howard University Divinity School in Washington, D.C., his M. Div. at Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at Frostburg State University. He has published two books and numerous articles. Dr. Friend-Jones is the Board Vice-Chair and Chair Elect of the North American Interfaith Network. He lives in Sarasota where he also serves as a Minister in the local Unitarian Universalist Church. Before moving to Florida in 2017, he served Congregational and UCC churches in Maine, Minnesota, Virginia, Georgia, and Illinois.
Rev. Dr. Gilbert (Budd) Friend-Jones North American Interfaith Network Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota First Congregational United Church of Christ
Recently, a friend was telling me about his experience leading a team of woofers, an acronym taken from the term, Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms(WWOOF). These are people who are somewhat nomadic and travel across the state, country and the world working temporarily on organic farms. The pay consists basically of food, shelter and an environmentally friendly culture within which to work.
Because of the nature of the work and the adventurous nature of the woofers, turnover was naturally somewhat high. This, not because the work was hard, environment was bad or the leadership poor. In fact, it was quite the opposite, even though some of the tasks were harder than the others and required working outside and getting sweaty. This was more than offset by the beautiful setting, the organic meals and how the somewhat transient team was led by my friend.
Work had come to a pause for the season and the last of the woofers had just moved on. My friend expressed how relieved he was not to be leading the woofers for a few months. He loved each one who had come to work, but he recognized he had earned his time for retreat and renewal, and taking off the mantle of leadership for awhile felt good.
Having kept up with him over the past couple of years, I shared how impressed I was with his situational leadership abilities. To this, he gave me a quizzical look. Even though situational leadership was innate to him and he used it daily, he had not given the technique conscious thought in many years. This sparked me to go back to my notes from the 1980’s to review Paul Hersey’s and Ken Blanchard’s theory on Situational Leadership.
In short, Situational Leadership is based on the theory that the best leaders vary their leadership style to fit the competence and commitment of the person or team being led, and there are sound principles and techniques that are well worth considering. This video is an excellent introduction:
Bret Williams is a life-long spiritual student and has served as Pastor of a Unity congregation in Austin, Texas. He and his partner of over 40 years have felt the calling to support a network of other spiritual seekers. Bret is also a serial entrepreneur and has created and helped numerous business endeavors.
In January, Bret will be launching, ProjectOne Network, a network for connecting spiritual seekers as they travel on their own journey and discover a deeper connection and oneness with a higher consciousness and presence; a journey best taken with others.
We never know where the gold will be when we tape our conversations. Sometimes it surfaces during the informal conversation after the taping. Here’s a clip that I decided not to toss. The complete conversation filed with more nuggets of gold will be out in a few days.
About Don Frick: On the day when he first read Greenleaf’s essay The Servant as Leader in 1986, Don Frick decided to dedicate the rest of his career to understanding and teaching Greenleaf’s ideas about servant leadership. Since then, he has written books and essays about servant leadership—including Greenleaf’s biography—made presentations, conducted workshops, taught graduate seminars, and consulted with corporations on the principles of servant leadership. He is currently working on another book that offers details about how various organizations have implemented servant leadership. Before encountering Greenleaf’s work, Don engaged in multiple careers, including: managing departments at a university and museum of art; university teaching; television, radio, and film writing, production, and performance; trainer; specialist in advertising and marketing for Fortune 500 companies, plus an entrepreneur. His formal education includes a B.S. in Education, Master of Divinity, and PhD in Leadership and Organizational Studies.
Don is based in Indianapolis and can be contacted at: [email protected].
Matthew Hayes is a transformational results coach from Southern California and he affectionately describes himself as a Son, a Sun, and a Son. A son to his loving mother Robin, a sun (or light) to the world, and a Son to his creator. With a firm belief in the human spirit and the power we hold when we lead with love- he has dedicated his life to helping those who crave more. More peace. More joy. More passion. More connection. He believes that ‘in order to take people to higher ground, you must first find common ground’. Because of that, he is not shy with what he has been through and hopes that if he can’t help someone directly, his story can stand in as a reminder to keep believing in what’s possible.
Dennis Patrick Slattery, Ph.D., is Distinguished Emeritus Professor in Mythological Studies at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Carpinteria, California. He has taught there for the last 26 of his 52 years in the classroom. He offers riting retreats and workshops in the United States and Europe on exploring one’s personal myth through the works of Joseph Campbell and C.G. Jung’s Red Book.
He is the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 30 volumes, including seven volumes of poetry: Casting the Shadows: Selected Poems; Just Below the Water Line: Selected Poems; Twisted Sky: Selected Poems; The Beauty Between Words: Selected Poems of Dennis Patrick Slattery and Chris Paris; Feathered Ladder: Selected Poems with Brian Landis; Road, Frame Window: A Poetics of Seeing. Selected Poetry of Timothy J. Donohue, Donald Carlson and Dennis Patrick Slattery; and Leaves from the World Tree: Selected Poems of Craig Deininger and Dennis Patrick Slattery. He has co-authored one novel, Simon’s Crossing with Charles Asher. Other titles include The Idiot: Dostoevsky’s Fantastic Prince. A Phenomenological Approach; The Wounded Body: Remembering the Markings of Flesh; Creases in Culture: Essays Toward a Poetics of Depth; and Bridge Work: Essays on Mythology, Literature and Psychology.
With Lionel Corbett he has co-edited and contributed to Psychology at the Threshold and Depth Psychology: Meditations in the Field; with Glen Slater he has Myth and Metaphor. His more recent books include Our Daily Breach: Exploring Your Personal Myth through Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; Day-to-Day Dante: Exploring Personal Myth Through the Divine Comedy; and Riting Myth, Mythic Writing: Plotting Your Personal Story. With Jennifer Leigh Selig, he has coedited and contributed to Re-Ensouling Education: Essays on the Importance of the Humanities in Schooling the Soul and Reimagining Education: Essays on Reviving the Soul of Learning. With Deborah Anne Quibell and Jennifer Leigh Selig he has co-authored Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit; with Evans Lansing Smith he has co-edited Correspondence: 1927-1987 on the letters of Joseph Campbell. His most current book is a series of essays: An Obscure Order: Reflections on Cultural Mythology published by Mandorla Books. He has also authored over 200 essays and reviews in books, magazines, newspapers, and on-line journals.
For recreation he takes classes painting mythic themes in both watercolor and acrylic. He also enjoys riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle with his two sons, Matt and Steve, through the Hill Country roads of Texas.
***
Continued from home page: Through the publication of over thirty books that I have authored, co-authored, edited or co-edited—as well as hundreds of articles and book reviews in journals, newspapers, books and on-line venues—I have given shape to many of my ideas on this subject. Through the dozens of workshops, writing retreats, and presentations in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Italy and Switzerland, I continue to explore the relationship of narrative, mythology, and the shaping of personal identity more deeply.
But what are these arenas of exploration in service of? I think that their fundamental goals include: a deepening of self-consciousness; cultivation of a coherent life of meaning; compassion for the suffering and struggles of others; a deepening practice of contemplation and meditation to enrich one’s spiritual life; and a further understanding of the mysteries and miracles of the human imagination.
I invite you to explore my writings and future plans as well as to consider joining me in one of my programs that will allow you to explore your own myth, including an awareness of the webbing that relates all of us to one another and to the suffering earth that yearns for our constructive intervention to restore her exhausted body.
I thank you in advance for your interest and attention to my life projects.
Simon Cohen exemplifies the essence of the new compassionate male and shares his views on the suffering of women, from childbirth to the ancestral and the strategic suppression of women by the patriarchy. Simon shares from his own profound journey and his awakening to a greater purpose.
Faculty for the Amani Institute, teaching and training social entrepreneurs from around the world in ‘Marketing and Open Leadership,’ in Sao Paolo, Nairobi, Bangalore
Host, Chief Storyteller and Facilitator at the Just Peace Summit – a global mentorship programme – with Nile Rodgers and the We Are Family Foundation
Keynote speaker on leadership and entrepreneurship for various national and international organisations, including Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, United Nations, Worldwide
Meeting on Human Values, and many others
Devised and led global communications campaigns for TED, HH the Dalai Lama, UNESCO, HRH The Prince of Wales, Gandhi’s grandson, and many others – reaching hundreds of millions of people with positive social stories
At the age of 24, set up Global Tolerance – an international communications agency that only worked with people committed to positive social change. Built it over the next decade to be a global leader in social change communication
‘Pause for Thought’ contributor on the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, the most popular broadcast show in the UK, for two years
Multi award winning entrepreneur and leader; Fellow for the Royal Society of Arts; Global Brain Trust, Boma; Senior Advisor, Purpose; writer for Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Huffington Post; voted one of the most influential people in the PR industry; voted Interfaith Visionary by the Temple of Understanding; UnLtd level 1 and level 2 funding
First person in the UK to place an entire company on a one year sabbatical; first to give away his £1m company through a new exit strategy, the Open Leadership Exercise, to reflect the value of non-material values
Manage the global communications for a Buddhist master (lineage holder) based in India, and an Indigenous leader in Australia
Clay Boykin is In Search of the New Compassionate Male. Since the fall of 2018, Clay has been on a quest to connect with men all over the world in the belief that a New Compassionate Male is emerging as the new archetype; and this quest has taken him across the U.S., Canada and into Africa.
Clay founded the Men’s Fellowship Network in 2012 which has grown into a global constellation of men and women. Clay’s podcast, In Search of the New Compassionate Male, has recently been ranked #4 out of over 300 podcasts related to men and men’s health.
Clay has over forty-years’ experience as a change agent transforming cultures within organizations. He is a former officer in the United States Marine Corps and, throughout his career, has been described as a servant leader.
In 2007, at age 53, a mystical experience and heart attack led Clay to leave the business world and begin pursuing his spiritual path towards inner healing.
Clay is the author of the book, Circles of Men: A Counter-Intuitive Approach to Creating Men’s Groups, published in August 2018. In addition to founding the Circles of Men Project, Clay is developing the global Men & Boys Initiative for Charter for Compassion. As well, Clay is working with International Peace Initiatives-Kenya and United Religions Initiative (URI) to bring his counter-intuitive approach to men’s circle-work to Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and elsewhere along the Nile River Basin.
He is also in close collaboration with Gender Equity & Reconciliation International in the area of deep healing between women and men which addresses many of the issues raised as a result of the #MeToo Movement.
Clay is an international speaker and conducts workshops on the topic of The New Compassionate Male, which is the subject of his next book. As well, he is a strategy consultant for organizations and mentors individuals applying a uniquely counterintuitive approach to finding clarity, direction and purpose.
Neil Feiereisel grew up studying Christian Science for more than 20 years, including stints as a Sunday School teacher and a leader in his Christian Science college organization. After a 10 year exploration of all things spiritual, through many books, workshops and classes, Neil and his wife were led to Unity Church of the Hills in 1995 and have “grown up” there spiritually, along with their children. Neil has grown through service to others as a leader in the Family Ministry, a Sunday School teacher and by serving on the Board of Trustees. For the last 20 years, Neil has studied and facilitated study groups for A Course in Miracles, bringing him a greater sense of peace as he learns to listen to God’s guidance and see the best in his fellow man. By day, Neil is a Chief Software Architect at National Instruments, where he masquerades as an engineer, but really serves as an instrument of joy and cooperation.
Charter for Compassion believes the New Compassionate Male is emerging as the New Archetype and has made In Search of the New Compassionate Male their #1 collaboration partner campaign to support.
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With Lionel Corbett he has co-edited and contributed to Psychology at the Threshold and Depth Psychology: Meditations in the Field; with Glen Slater he has Myth and Metaphor. His more recent books include Our Daily Breach: Exploring Your Personal Myth through Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick; Day-to-Day Dante: Exploring Personal Myth Through the Divine Comedy; and Riting Myth, Mythic Writing: Plotting Your Personal Story. With Jennifer Leigh Selig, he has coedited and contributed to Re-Ensouling Education: Essays on the Importance of the Humanities in Schooling the Soul and Reimagining Education: Essays on Reviving the Soul of Learning. With Deborah Anne Quibell and Jennifer Leigh Selig he has co-authored Deep Creativity: Seven Ways to Spark Your Creative Spirit; with Evans Lansing Smith he has co-edited Correspondence: 1927-1987 on the letters of Joseph Campbell. His most current book is a series of essays: An Obscure Order: Reflections on Cultural Mythology published by Mandorla Books. He has also authored over 200 essays and reviews in books, magazines, newspapers, and on-line journals.
exemplifies the essence of the new compassionate male and shares his views on the suffering of women, from childbirth to the ancestral and the strategic suppression of women by the patriarchy. Simon shares from his own profound journey and his awakening to a greater purpose.
