Continuing Conversations

Continuing Conversations November 2022

Friends.
This year, as we mark the 25th year of Western Seminary-Seattle / MHGS / The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, we are moved by you and the beautiful work you do across the country and around the globe. As you continue to serve those in your communities, I want you to be aware of a value that has long been with us and that we, finally, have found some meaningful articulation of:

Discourse Statement:

In an abiding belief—based on the witness of Scripture—that all people are image bearers of God, The Seattle School affirms the Belovedness of all people, including differences in ability, race, age, ethnicity, economic status, creed, gender identity, and sexual orientation. The Seattle School chooses an intentional posture of dialogue and engagement, with a desire to be a context that bridges differing traditions, perspectives, and cultures toward the possibility of encountering the generous hospitality for all people found in the reign of God. In a divided and broken world, we seek to train people to be agents of hope and healing for individuals and communities. We are a community seeking to recognize, reflect, and engage the dignity, agency, and mutuality of all people, especially those who have been marginalized.

The Board of Trustees voted unanimously to accept this statement in the Spring of 2022. In the weeks and months to come, faculty, staff, and students are seeking to deepen this value by discerning and articulating the shared practices that express it — in the classrooms, in staff and faculty meetings, in how we share governance, and as we engage the partners in our community. In so many different ways, you have led us in this posture and continue to do so.

Thank you for creating The Seattle School with us these past 25 years. As we look toward jubilee, we anticipate how you will continue to lead us in 25 years to come– as you seek to serve God and neighbor in your contexts.

Please know, we are praying for you. And that’s not just talk, we really are. If there is anything more we can do to join and partner with you in the days ahead, please let us know. We would love to do so.

Peace. paul

Alumni News

Community News

Seattle School Day of Scholarship: January 14th, 2023

The Seattle School is hosting its first community-wide Day of Scholarship, open to all students, alumni, staff, and faculty as contributors and guests. Capping off the 2023 Winter Residency, Day of Scholarship will take place on campus Saturday, January 14th, 2023 from 8:30 am-1:00 pm. The event’s aim is to connect Seattle School community members to the wider disciplinary and interdisciplinary conversations we are having as an institution. The day will begin with Poster Presentations, an opportunity to browse and see at-a-glance some of the research, works in progress, and key questions community members are engaging. We are inviting research poster contributions from all corners of our institution, alumni included. Posters can comprise sharing about an initiative your center or team has developed, a project already underway, or other relevant research. Poster presenters will be on site for informal conversation during the morning session, with their work on display for the whole day.

Submissions are due December 1st, 2022 on this Google Form. Access this Folder for information about research Poster Components as well as poster templates.

Questions? Contact Dr. Kj Swanson kswanson@theseattleschool.edu or Dr. Paul Hoard phoard@theseattleschool.edu 

Request for Alumni Hosts

Calling all folks who have a spare room (or two): If you are located in the Seattle area, we would love your help with hosting a low-residency student. The 2023 dates include January 11th – 14th and/or April 26th – 30th. Your level of volunteer hosting is optional and dependent on your availability: the offer of a restful safe space is what’s most appreciated! Contact Ligaya Avila at lavila@theseattleschool.edu to get connected.

More about Low-Residency Programs

In 2021, The Seattle School began offering a low-residency program where students attend online classes and in-person residencies. The MA degrees – both MATC and MACP– have become more accessible through this new modality. Students from across North America and as far as Beirut, Greece, and Paris have enrolled at The Seattle School. For the residencies, students travel to Seattle and we have the privilege of hosting them on campus for a four-day program with interdisciplinary teaching, listening labs, and community-wide events.  To learn more about the residencies, check out this page

Senior Scholars

The Seattle School has announced that Esther Lightcap Meek, Ph.D., will be our inaugural Senior Scholar. A Senior Scholar is a distinguished academic, teacher, or practitioner whose primary work is within the broad field of theological study, or who is engaged in the interdisciplinary work of integrating theology and the social sciences. If you’d like access to the recording from the Senior Scholar welcome reception on Monday, November 7th, featuring a lecture by Dr. Meek followed by Q&A from the audience, please contact Daniel Rusco at drusco@theseattleschool.edu.

Chimes

Reminiscing Alert! To have your own nine.noon.three chimes:  upload this mp3 file to your phone and curate moments of peace with chimes wherever you are! Find this file also on our Community Rhythms page. (For more reminiscence about the chimes, check out this 2015  blog post, The Call to Prayer, written by Kate Davis MDiv ‘15 ).

In Case You Missed It (ICYMI)

Upcoming Training & Continuing Education Opportunities

Wisdom Tree Collective:

Kasey Hitt, MHGS CSD ’05, MDiv ’06 co-founded a non-profit last year called Wisdom Tree Collective which brings together spiritual directors to help train others and offer retreats, groups, and seminars.  Its School of Spiritual Direction offers a 2-year, online Wisdom-based Certificate in Spiritual Direction.  Those going through the program are paired with a Spiritual Direction Mentor who journeys with them as a resource and encouragement throughout the two years.  Ron McClelland, MHGS MACP ‘05, CSD ‘05 is one of the Spiritual Direction Mentors. And entering into her second year as part of WTC’s first cohort of 9, Amy Hammett, MHGS MACP ’07 is offering spiritual direction while working on an integrative paper that weaves together her contemplative training with her experience as a therapist, wrestling with the church, and having healing, sex-positive conversations that particularly impact the parenting of daughters.  Wisdom Tree Collective’s application process for the Fall 2023 Cohort of 9 people is opening this week! More about the certification program as well as retreats, groups, and classes, can be found on the Wisdom Tree Collective website.

RiverTree Healing Arts:

Katie Lin, MACP 2020 offers  BodyTalk sessions. For clients who are interested in body-based work to complement their already established therapy, BodyTalk “integrates Western medicine, Chinese medicine, and depth psychology, and uses a gentle, non-invasive form of neuromuscular biofeedback to directly access the body’s main priorities for wholeness. It can be especially useful in working with trauma, as well as folks who are experiencing a combination of emotional and physical concerns.” Contact Katie and learn more here! 

Dreaming of Writing a Book?

Imagine a year from now finally calling yourself an author. Doors are now open to apply for 1:1 Book Coaching with trauma-informed Book Coach and Editor, Megan Febuary MACP ‘13. Learn more and apply today. 

Resilient Leaders: Practices for Life 

Join us for this 7-week program to help you focus on one core element of building resilience: Practices. Resilient Leaders: Practices for Life equips leaders like you – doing good work on behalf of your community –  to restore your inner resilience and live into your purpose by cultivating intentional practices to support and sustain your life. If you are a counselor, therapist, pastor, chaplain, ministry volunteer, a changemaker in a non-profit, or a social entrepreneur – Practices for Life is uniquely designed for you.

For any alumni who enroll, or who refer someone who enrolls, you will receive a free self-guided retreat box!

Registration opens December 1st, 2022 and the program begins February 4th, 2023. 

Training: How to Effectively Supervise Professionals Treating Individuals Who Perpetuate Sexual Violence

Professor Paul Hoard, Ph.D., LMHC is leading a live online training with Seth Wescott, LMLP on Thursday January 5, 2023 from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm ET (8:00 am to 12:30 pm PT). This training introduces the Integrated Developmental Model, a relationship-based approach to supervising professionals who work with individuals who have been sexually violent. Participants will learn how to enhance the professional development of new clinicians they supervise while educating them on the importance of self-care for clinicians who work in the stressful environment of sexual abuse prevention and the treatment of sexual violence perpetrators. The training will also explore the ways in which power and privilege impact the supervisory context, and how supervisors can identify their own vulnerabilities and concerns.

 

Allender Center Offerings

The Allender Center will have a busy spring 2023 including a Redeeming Heartache Conference in Richmond, Texas and a Marriage Story Intensive in Ferndale, Washington.  Take a look at the calendar here!

 

Community Podcasts

Faculty Podcast Appearances

Alumni Podcasts

A Book Release Event with Resmaa Menakem: The Quaking of America

Reflections from Danielle Castillejo MACP ‘20

Note: Author, therapist, and licensed social worker Resmaa Menakem stopped by The Seattle School this summer on tour for his latest book, The Quaking of America (video of event). Here Danielle Castillejo MACP ‘20 shares her experience:

Over the past 3 years, I held Resmaa Menakem’s book My Grandmother’s Hands close to me – whether in my backpack, or next to my desk as I work with clients or groups in the therapeutic context. His ability to create language around experiences that feel wordless, feels important to hold near. During the pandemic and quarantine times, like many others, I often relied on social media clips from some of the justice leaders I respect, including Resmaa Menakem. A wise woman has encouraged me to be “mentored” or “shaped” by those who are close in conversation with me, as well as those who are leading in more distant spheres. 

The event energy was collaborative. I sensed in Resmaa’s smile and familiar engagement with Dr. Derek McNeil that this man is who he says he is. He often engaged participants in the “audience” in the same way he writes and talks on other platforms. We were invited to be active – embodied participants in Resmaa’s presentation. After the presentation, I stood in line with my husband, Luis. When we arrived to greet one another, Resmaa Menakem’s warmth emanated, and there was a sense of belonging. Belonging is so rare. It is a gift I remember. The “event” was a place I belonged and for that, in continued tumultuous times, I continue to be grateful. 

Convocation Update & Greeting from Jocelyn

By Jocelyn Skillman MACP ’13, Supervisor of Alumni Outreach

We were overwhelmed with the incredible presence of alumni at Convocation this year as we surrounded our incoming class with support and prayer, dedicating ourselves as a community to serve with humility in the effort to embody and perfect missional Love in our need-full world. Vast light poured in through the exquisite stained glass of Saint Mark’s. Faculty and staff were adorned in robes, and we processed with flags and incense. We sang in tandem and prayed as a group at the front of the cathedral. There was a very palpable relief and joy in the air–vibrations of renewal–that we were together, embodied, close and committed to one another. Our hearts resounded as we sang.

Each alumni was given a yellow rose to pin or tuck at will, and the children and spouses of alumni carried roses also, demonstrating to our incoming students the path forward through school and beyond into continued communion. Convocation was such an immense gift, a reunion of heart, soul, and body among a huge group of alumni. Look for more invitations to join community this year during our 25th celebration.

Alumni Community Audit Voucher & Reduced Tuition

With more online courses available now, you won’t want to miss your opportunity to redeem your annual community audit voucher! As lifelong learners, our Alumni may  join a class for free once a year with the annual Community Audit Voucher. Auditing a class is different from earning graduate credit or continuing education hours for a course, however, CEUs may be purchased for $30/seat hour. In addition, all non-degree seeking alumni in need of additional course credits receive a discounted tuition rate of $500 per credit. 

View the 2022-2023 course schedule to get an idea of what you may be interested in. To register for a course using the Community Audit Voucher, please email Kelsey Wallace at academics@theseattleschool.edu for details and class availability.

Current Openings at The Seattle School

Small-Group Facilitators & Writers Wanted 

Center for Transforming Engagement is currently seeking small-group Conveners (click here to view job description) and contributors to Christ & Cascadia. Both are paid positions. If you are interested in being trained as a small-group facilitator or writing for Christ & Cascadia, please reach out to us via email to begin a conversation: transforming@theseattleschool.edu.

For more opportunities – check out Current Openings at The Seattle School. Please share this information with anyone you know who may be a good fit for our community.

Alumni Announcements & News

If you would like to place an announcement or share news in our upcoming quarterly alumni newsletter, please email Jocelyn Skillman at jskillman@theseattleschool.edu. Thank you!

Facebook – At The Seattle School Alumni Association Facebook Group you can offer and gather professional resources, promote your own events and more, learn of upcoming events and information, and connect with fellow alumni. It has been an active and vibrant place for communication.

LinkedIn – On our LinkedIn group you can connect and network with other alumni. Find a range of information relating to your professional life. Opportunities for networking events, jobs, CEUs, and general career advice can all be found in this private group. Promote an event, share a resource, or network about jobs in your area.