A Letter From Cynthia Bourgeault, Resident Teacher, November 2003

*Image: Eagle Island, Maine (LOST)

November, 2003

Dear Members and Friends of the Contemplative Society,

When I immigrated to Canada in 1998 to help form a new organization called The Contemplative Society, nobody (myself included) knew how long my time among you as resident teacher would last. It was an adventure in faith and mutual trust. We set out together to discern what kind of "new wineskin" God wished to bring into existence here in the Pacific Northwest to contain the powerful new wine of the contemplative reawakening.

Adequate financing is often an issue in small organizations. After due deliberation this summer, the Board determined the Society simply lacks the resources to maintain my present half time position, much less to grow it into a full-time role, as needed for my long-term financial security if I am to continue to make the Contemplative Society the primary focus of my ministry. While we all might wish that it could be otherwise, still this discernment corresponds well with my own need for more flexible time to respond to teaching invitations in the United States and Canada (particularly the growing network of Wisdom Schools) and to be far more intentional in my commitment to the hermit’s path.

However, the Board has unanimously affirmed its commitment to my continuing presence among you in the role of principal Teacher and Advisor to the Contemplative Society. The board intends to allocate a substantial portion of its annual budget to the ongoing support of my ministry, both through direct underwriting of my time in solitude and through funding for two or three regular annual teaching residencies. These have already been set in place for 2004.

I urge you strongly to give your full support to this new arrangement. For the upcoming year we are working toward a fairly modest goal of raising $20,000, which will support the basic programme outlined above, as well as fixed office expenses and Heather’s pivotal role as part-time administrator. Donations over and above that target goal will see immediate results in the increased frequency and/or length of my teaching residencies and a greater ability to support my times of solitude.

Essentially, my original goals in coming to Canada have been more than fulfilled. The Contemplative Society has emerged into a strong membership organization capable of charting its own the course. Capable teachers have been raised up among you to continue to offer regular retreats and contemplative teaching. And with nearly 200 members, an engaged and supportive board, and a committed and talented administrator in Heather Page, the Society has the wherewithal to continue to attract distinguished visiting teachers and to publicize ongoing contemplative events.

Please make it a strong priority, if you possibly can, to attend the AGM on the 1st of February at St. John’s Church lounge (Quadra at Balmoral) from 3 to 5 PM. It is your Society! The Board exercises it role of governance on behalf of the membership, and members’ voices need to be heard in order for the Board to do its job effectively. Please mark the date on your calendar and come prepared to share your hopes and concerns as we begin this new phase of our walk together. (Even better, plan to attend the three-day Benedictine retreat immediately preceding the meeting and help generate a prayerful space for our deliberations).

If we all pull together, this new arrangement will not wind up looking all that different from the old one in terms of my continued regular presence among you in the British Columbia.

I want to express my deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for five remarkable years of growth, transformation, and deepening along the path that we have shared so far. What I am today has come into being largely through your patient and compassionate sculpting. I consider myself deeply blessed.

Faithfully yours,

Cynthia Bourgeault