Don MacDougall - Contemplative Living and Justice Seeking

01/11/21 • 58 min

Contemplative practices and ways of living are complimentary practices to working for change. In this episode Laura talks to Rev. Don MacDougall, a wise teacher, leader, and mentor of Spiritual Direction and contemplative living. They dig into the differences between dedicated practice and spontaneous practice, why “mindfulness” might not be the best word to describe the practice, and how it is important for all of us to have ways that we attend to our hearts and minds while working for change in the world. Don describes what was missing for him after 8 years of preparation for ministry and how a journey into contemplative ways of living and working helped.

Don MacDougall has served with several congregations around the Maritimes; at Dalhousie University in Halifax; in youth, young adult and outdoor recreational leadership through Camps Sherbrooke Lake and Kidston, and the NS Dept. of Recreation; he has given leadership in adult learning at Tatamagouche Centre; and most recently with education for contemplative living, spiritual direction, and spiritual leadership. He is a graduate of the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation, and a founder of the Atlantic Jubilee Program for Spiritual Deepening and Guidance (now Contemplative Pathways), with a special interest in the spiritual journeys of men. He lives with his wife Lois in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
Don mentioned a book called The Original Vision: A study of the religious experience of childhood , by Edward Robinson. (1983, HarperCollins Publishers)

You will find this episode and past episodes at Making Hope Visible.

Remember you can always find more what’s happening with Justice, Mission, and Outreach by visiting the website, https://ucceast.ca/justice-mission-outreach-2/ and by joining the Facebook Group, Justice and Mission – UCC Atlantic.

Music

Morrisson's jig - Leslie's march by Aislinn is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

You will find this episode and past episodes at Making Hope Visible.

Music

Morrisson's jig - Leslie's march by Aislinn is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives (aka Music Sharing) 3.0 International License.

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Special Episode: Meet the New General Secretary - Rev. Michael Blair

Reverend Michael Blair offers evocative images to describe how he will approach his new role as General Secretary of the United Church of Canada. In this conversation you will learn about his early roots in ministry, his visions for “reconnecting with the commons” from a place of spiritual comfort and humility, ....and about a couple of his “superpowers”. But more than anything you will get a sense of the depth of experience and spiritual grounding he brings to his leadership. And that he is also a very cool human being!

Remember you can always find more about what’s happening with Justice, Mission, and Outreach by subscribing to receive our somewhat regular e-newsletter. Simply visit the Justice and Mission pages on our UCC East website. Also, we want you to have the chance to share ideas, questions, inspiration with this wider Justice and Mission network so come join the Facebook Group, Justice and Mission – UCC Atlantic.

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13 Nancy Hartling: The Senate, Guaranteed Income, Faith and Justice, and more!

Senator Nancy Hartling has deep roots in frontline work for social change. In this conversation, we hear how even as a child she was seeking to understand the experiences of others and wanting fairness for all. She offers us a short primer on the role and function of the Canadian Senate. Then she and Laura discuss Guaranteed Livable Income and why this idea is an important conversation for Canada today. Senator Hartling is a member of the United Church and is a living example of how faith, and hope, and political life can be well integrated.

Nancy J. Hartling was appointed to the Senate as an independent Senator for New Brunswick in November 2016. With a career focused on families and social issues, she is well versed on mental health, poverty, violence against women, and affordable housing. She has advocated extensively for socio-economic issues facing families, particularly single parents and their children. Senator Hartling is a dedicated proponent of social justice and human rights and is an advocate for issues relating to mental health, diabetes, and Basic Income.

Get involved:

As the movement for a Guaranteed Livable Income continues to grow among the people of The United Church of Canada, an emerging Guaranteed Livable Income network is seeking individuals to come forward to help grow the effort further as they plan actions in 2021! The network's co-chairs area Barry Morris and former Moderator and retired Senator, the Very Reverend, the Honorable Dr. Lois Wilson. In the eastern Regional Councils, this work of this network is supported by another former Moderator, the Very Reverend Dr. Marion Pardy. Please contact Lori Neale at [email protected] for more details, and to join the network.

You can reach us by email at [email protected] .
Remember you can always find more what’s happening with Justice, Mission, and Outreach by visiting the website, https://ucceast.ca/justice-mission-outreach-2/ and by joining the Facebook Group, Justice and Mission – UCC Atlantic.