Tag Archive for: members

Saying “Goodbye” to Felicity Hanington

Dear friends in The Contemplative Society,

It is with great sadness that I must share the news with you of the death of Felicity Hanington in Victoria last Saturday, October 29th. Felicity was one of the earliest members of The Contemplative Society, and I owe both her and her amazingly talented family an enduring debt of gratitude, both professionally and personally.

Felicity fought a long and hard fight with cancer. It was 1999, nearly 20 years ago, when she first received her diagnosis of breast cancer. At that point she herself was barely 40, and her young children Charlotte and Mathew were 9 and 4 respectively. Opting for fiercely aggressive chemo, Felicity fought the beast into remission – and then proceeded to totally remake her life, with spiritual growth and inner authenticity at the center of everything. It was a gamble that paid off profoundly. She lived to see her children grow into amazing, productive adults, and to face both life and death as gift.

EagleIsland2012Feb2My own most powerful interface with the Hanington-Dawe family came in 2001, when Felicity and husband Larry Dawe discerned that they were called to help me build my hermitage on Eagle Island. They came, Felicity still barely recovered from that first bout with chemo, and proceeded to give their hands and their hearts to raising my hermitage. That it stands and has housed me for more than a decade is entirely their profound and mysterious gift to me. I am still awed by their generosity – and fortitude. Perhaps from her now-more-spacious viewing platform, the beauty of this gift will shine through even more clearly.

Felicity evidently completed her life just as she had lived it: with openness, receptivity, grace, and gratitude. I share her obituary with you here as a small token of the gratitude and awe I feel for this Wisdom seeker who has exemplified the path in better ways than I will ever know.

felicity-hanington

To Larry, Charlotte, and Mat, my deep condolences, but a gratitude as well for the precious additional years you were able to be together. And, for her spirit, which I know you all carry within you with equal grace and fortitude.

En christo,

 

Cynthia

The board also wishes to share our condolences with Felicity’s friends and family.

We invite you to share your sentiments below in the comments.

You Are the Change: Help Sustain the Contemplative Future

How things change.

 Just two years ago, I had never heard of Cynthia Bourgeault. At the age of 26, I was only a fledgling in the meditation world, meeting regularly with a group I had joined while studying at the local university. Through that group, I had the opportunity to go to a retreat on a scholarship.

UVIc meditation

Five other people from the university also received this gift, and we affectionately became known as the “young people” at the Poet’s Cove retreat in 2013. 

That retreat changed my life. Not only did I find a practice that began strengthening my ability to simply be and allow, I found a community that celebrated and actively cultivated surrender, an ingredient I now consider crucial (and often underestimated) to a fulfilling life. I soon joined the board in early 2014, serving as a liaison between the university meditation community and TCS. I started practicing Centering Prayer regularly and joined others doing the same at other TCS events. The highlight for me was receiving another scholarship to attend the Wisdom School with Cynthia on The Holy Trinity and Law of Three held last year at Cowichan Lake, BC. Without the support TCS has offered me, both in practice and financially, I doubt I would have been exposed to the Christian wisdom tradition in the way that I have as early in my life as I did.

Miranda Harvey

I now co-teach Centering Prayer at the university to an audience of primarily “young people”. It gives me a great sense of hope for our future that the teachings of the Christian wisdom tradition continue to be carried forward. And it gives me a deep sense of gratitude and belonging to know that I am part of a community that shares this mission. 

Change is present in the contemplative community as well: you may have heard of a “consciousness shift” on the horizon, and I believe that the “young people” today are the stewards of this shift. You might consider Matthew Wright, the leader for this year’s main retreat, an example of this shift. A major priority of TCS this year is being able to offer support to the younger generation of burgeoning contemplatives and their leaders so that we can ensure the luminous future of the Christian wisdom tradition. 

How can you help? By joining The Contemplative Society’s family of donors, you will actively help us maintain and expand our ministry, as well as support our principal teacher, Cynthia Bourgeault (read her letter). Your financial support of TCS has enabled us to weather our own changes, such as the recent website upgrade and transition in staff – changes that help all of us to participate fully in a changing world. This fall, we are asking you to consider supporting TCS by becoming a member or donor. A monthly gift is enormously appreciated as it helps us to plan ahead, but all gifts help us to be even more inclusive and accessible, particularly by ensuring our ability to offer more scholarships. Please visit our Support Us page to give a gift today that will continue to make vibrant change tomorrow. 

bird-in-flight

With gratitude and blessings, 

 

Miranda Harvey
Administrator

 

For more information on donating or membership, please visit contemplative.org/about-us/membership, or contact Miranda at admin@contemplative.org or 250-381-9650.