|
 Print Friendly
I want to welcome all who have entered this website and especially the Circle Participants. As you read Constance Fitzgerald’s quote and reflect on the picture of our planet on our home page, you can tell that this website is about some of the major shifts we are experiencing in our world today and how these shifts are affecting those of us whose vision is one of transformation and change.
This website is about engaging impasse through communal contemplation and dialogue. It primarily serves the project: Engaging Impasse: Circles of Contemplation and Dialogue®. This project is convening persons who have experienced impasse in their work for transformation either within society or within the Church who are willing to engage that experience through a process of communal contemplation and dialogue. The Circle participants gather three times over a period of months to see what might emerge as they enter the experience of impasse more deeply and surrender it to the Spirit within.
Impasse might not be a familiar word for you. But see if the following questions resonate with you. As you reflect on your life on this planet do you experience a sense of powerlessness, a feeling that things have gotten so complex that you don't have the answers anymore? Do you feel a sense of futility as you continue your work of transformation, a realization that all the ways you know for effecting change and influencing others are not enough--they are not adequate--they just aren't working? Do you experience a low-grade anger or a grief that never leaves you?
That is an experience of impasse.
Yet, you continue to believe that as a citizen of this planet you must do something about the situation in which you find yourself.
Those of us participating in the project believe that God is profoundly present, even if hidden, in the darkness and pain of the impasse. That is why we are engaging in a process that opens ourselves to the divine energy that may spark new imagination and new ways of being and acting.
Over 240 people have participated in the Circles and additional Circles are scheduled for 2008 and 2009. What is becoming clear is that this experience invites one to a transformation of consciousness within a communal setting. It prepares persons to approach the impasse in their lives in new and creative ways.
If you resonate with this I invite you to use this website. The first three topic pages deal with contemplation, impasse, and dialogue. These provide some understanding as to the way these concepts are understood within the project.
The section entitled “related topics” deals with the societal context, the ecclesial context, globalization, and the new cosmology. They describe trends, current realities that influence the work for transformation and impact the experience of impasse. It may appear that these are being dealt with separately; however, the project and its design reflect the interconnection of these realities. I encourage you to read all the sections over a period of time. You will see cross references and many of the suggested resources address the interconnections.
This site first went up in November, 2002 and has been added to throughout the years. If this is your first visit I suggest that you read the reflection pages within the major topic entries --Contemplation, Impasse and Dialogue -- in sequence as they build upon each other and draw the connections among them.
I have chosen to write the reflections on the topics from my perspective. When you read about me under, “Who We Are”, you will find that I have spent many years working for social justice and the transformation of church and society. I have lectured widely on a variety of related topics. I have chosen to make accessible some of my work. Although it is mine it represents the growing understanding of many scholars and activists throughout our globe. I want to acknowledge that my insights and work reflect the richness of their thought and experience as well as my own.
A special feature is the Book Club. Periodically, we will be posting excerpts and questions for reflection from the book, Crucible for Change: Engaging Impasse through Communal Contemplation and Dialogue. I hope this will help make the project come alive for those of you who are not part of the Circles.
The newest section Seeing Through the Impasse began in Winter, 2008. These periodic reflections evolve from the Circle experience. They provide an opportunity to integrate what is happening in the Circles with some of the other movements for transformation. The hope is that this section will nurture the ongoing transformation that is needed today.
I hope you will find here a place for contemplation as each page begins with artwork and poetry. Come often and let me know what you are learning and what is attracting you from our common future. Contact the project at circles@engagingimpasse.org or at nsylvester@aol.com.
Nancy Sylvester, IHM
Executive Director
Return to Top
Written by Nancy Sylvester, IHM
© Institute for Communal Contemplation and Dialogue 2003-2008
Reprint with permission circles@engagingimpasse.org
|
