Stories of Impact

FROM THE PRAGMATIC TO THE POETIC

Jonathan Went came to the Ignatian Spirituality Center for Seek and Find spiritual direction services last spring, looking for guidance while in the middle of a big decision. The Dartmoor School teacher was considering undertaking a PhD program in English and wanted to know whether God was truly calling him to it. According to Jonathan, ISC’s Carla Orlando provided him with a perfect match for spiritual direction.

“I started crying during our first initial interview,” Jonathan recalled. “What started as a discernment process about his schooling, soon went to a very different place. It became apparent that I was really set on finding the holiness of God and my own relationship to his presence. There was this deepening movement within my soul.”

Raised Catholic, Jonathan experienced stages of atheism and rebellion,explored Protestantism, and had more recently been drawn back to his Catholic heritage. He described it as coming full circle.

As a result of the spiritual direction, Jonathan found his practice of writing poetry had become something more.Instead of pursuing the PhD, Jonathan started writing a daily haiku, a chance to practice “presence” in nature,finding glimpses of the divine. “It shifted from me just using art as a practice to this deeper knowing and longing that I had in my soul. That was surprising, because here I was being very pragmatic—should I go for a doctoral program—and then there’s this deeper undercurrent of being struck by the holiness of God and who I’m called to be.

GROW AND GLOW: WOMEN COMPANIONS OF COLOR

With pandemic-era roots and sponsorship by the Ignatian Spirituality Center, a small but mighty group, Women Companions of Color, has discerned and developed a Spirit-led ministry model of shared leadership and spiritual companioning that seeks to be compassionate witness and welcome to nontraditional voices and cultures, and to facilitate community building experiences for all. I am humbled by the gentleness of our processes we have grown over time, the recognition and honor given to our respective and collective gifts, and the impact our work has on the

community as we step into providing retreat leadership and host other sessions that foster safe harbors for creative engagement and personal reflection, as well as small and large group sharing.

I am grateful for Carla Orlando’s earliest vision and invitation to each of six of us to expand what it means to provide spiritual companionship beyond the educational rigor of spiritual direction with an aim to model Spirit-led leadership in its purest sense to all in witness and service. Women Companions of Color are a particular mirror to that end that together identify and grow our natural gifts while responding to the needs of the community. We are flexible in who, how, and where we serve and look forward to journeying with the ISC to both grow and glow our ministry of presence. Reception to our offerings thus far has been a thirsty welcome with invitations to do more. At a steady, considered pace, we are indeed growing our ministry.

Cézanne is a certified Spiritual Director, Advance Practice Board Certified Chaplain, visual artist, educator, and member of St Therese Parish and Shades of Praise Choir. Expressive arts, trauma-informed care, and transformational healing guide her work to inspire mind, body, soul, and spirit integration.

AN UNEXPECTED TRANSFORMATION
When travel agency manager Rufo Calvo was invited by his partner Curtis to join him for ISC’s three-day Summer Ignatian Retreat, Calvo was leery. “I was a little concerned,“ he said.
“As a gay couple, would we be accepted? That was the big thing.” But it wasn’t the only thing. While his partner Curtis had made many Ignatian retreats over the years, Calvo’s own experience with the Spiritual Exercises was more limited.
Arriving to the United States from Guam in the late 1960s, Calvo learned about prayer by watching his mother, who prayed to God and the Blessed Mother in hymns, songs and formal prayers like the Rosary. He had never considered that prayer could be conversational, one person talking to God as with a friend.
A self-described “chatterbox,” Rufo wasn’t sure about the silent aspects of the retreat, or surviving long stretches without his phone. Nevertheless, he decided he would go, even if he felt that real spiritual formation might be unlikely. “Going into that retreat I felt like the oddball. I don’t have this kind of relationship with Jesus.” But that’s exactly the kind of relationship he found.
At the retreat, Rufo’s spiritual advisor suggested that Rufo could with Jesus as a friend. “That resonated big time,” said Rufo.
This invitation to an unexpected friendship with Jesus has broadened Rufo’s understanding of prayer. “It’s a work in progress,” Rufo said. “It’s casual. I feel like I can talk to him if I need to.”
“I look forward to learning more, and getting a closer relationship with him. But I’ve
liked the casualness of it. My mom taught us that you have to be very serious when you pray, very focused. I feel like, with Jesus, he understands if I’m not 100% focused, he gets it, you know.”
Rufo is looking forward to more opportunities to expand and deepen his spiritual formation in the coming year, both at ISC and at his local parish, where he recently joined the choir.

GROWING AND HEALING WITH ISC
Serving as a presenter at the Novena of Grace: Healing Our Hearts for a Mission of Mercy in 2021 was a blessing for me. Those nine days of inspiring music, reflecting on God’s word, and community was contemplative prayer at its best, a much-needed balm in a world of isolation during the pandemic. This is just one example of how ISC has helped me grow and been a place of healing.
For the past 20 years, ISC programs and workshops have helped me see God in all things and been a pathway to a place of deeper understanding. As a member of the Board, I appreciate the planned intentionality of retreats and programs that grow spirituality and practice, especially in community with others. I appreciate that ISC has a long-standing history of spiritual practice, contemplative prayer, and spiritual direction. The staff work tirelessly and are passionate about guiding others.
As we celebrate the ISC’s 30th anniversary, I believe Ignatian spirituality crosses all cultural boundaries and is a function of daily life. The ISC understands the changing landscape of the Church and the world and seeks to invite all people, including more young people, people of color, and multifaith participants and partners in this work. I hope to be a part of this transformational change that empowers future leaders.
Barbara Henderson is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Bellarmine Preparatory School in Tacoma, Washington. Barbara is a member of the Black Catholic Advisory Circle and a parishioner at St. Leo Catholic Church. She is a member of the ISC Board. She attended Seattle University and received her Masters in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College.

FROM RETREATANT TO RETREAT LEADER

When my family first moved to Seattle in 2017, I couldn’t believe my luck that the Ignatian Spirituality Center was right in my backyard. I was fairly new to Ignatian spirituality and so hungry to learn more. I jumped right in, attending several retreats, including the annual one at Palisades Retreat Center, which was a beautiful time of getting in touch with my own sense of purpose in the midst of parenting two small children.

I loved getting to be part of an ISC book club and attending a contemplative parenting retreat with my husband.

As Covid hit, I continued to enjoy ISC programs via Zoom, often from my closet, the only truly quiet place in our house! As my vocation as a writer and retreat leader developed, I was honored to be able to contribute to the Ignatian Family Handbook and lead a parenting retreat myself. It was a delight to work on both of those projects with Maria Ochoa Vazquez.

As my work continues to grow, I’m so grateful to have the ISC as a guiding presence in my life, always bringing me back to the fundamentals of finding God in all things and listening to the call of the Divine through my own desires.

After completing her PhD in Russian literature, Cameron Bellm traded the academic life for the contemplative life. Her poems, prayers, and prose can be found at the intersection of mysticism and activism, linking our modern lives with our ancient faith. Cameron’s work has been featured in America Magazine, National Catholic Reporter, Jesuit Media Lab, and Catholic Women Preach.

SPIRIT OF DISCERNMENT AT ST. LEO PARISH
Don’t you love it when a plan comes together? Last spring, the St. Leo Faith Formation Commission sought to add adult formation content to the calendar. The volunteer committee was unsure what to offer and how to present without a dedicated staff person to plan. Then we heard that the Ignatian Spirituality Center was looking for a place to offer Ignatian Discernment: An Unfolding Story of Love series presented by Marilyn Nash in the South Sound. We had our answer!
With Marilyn’s creative approach, participants explored ways to listen to the spirit in their lives. Through prayer, reflection, and conversations, all were able to consider everyday life examples of inviting God into decisions, large and small. As a Jesuit parish, learning the practices of St. Ignatius in more depth was helpful in matching intuitive senses to actual practices.
What wasn’t on the syllabus was the sense of community the parish was thirsty for after the long stretch of Covid. The parish had fallen out of practice of gathering kindred spirits. The 30-plus participants of primarily St. Leo parishioners enjoyed the social aspects of gathering, including food, milestones, travels, and personal challenges. Person-to-person contact only enhanced the experience offered by the ISC.
Mary Gorman is a member of St. Leo’s Parish in Tacoma, Washington and serves on the Faith Formation Commission. She is also the Lead Spiritual Director for Puget Sound SEEL – Tacoma/online community. And she is a big fan of collaboration!

ROOTS AND WINGS
Roots…
A devout Catholic mother and my piano playing skills led to my first ministry as a teenage church organist in Montego Bay, then folk Mass at college in Miami. As a young adult, I drifted from religion until a friend asked about Catholicism. I devoured books by Jesuit writers and found community in a multicultural parish where attending young adult retreats and leading children’s liturgies rekindled my spirit.
Wings…
To Seattle and St. Therese where soulful preaching and spirited gospel music said, “Welcome!” The choir led to marriage and children, then a new call to serve as Lay Presider; what a privilege to nurture gifts of listening, discernment, and hospitality in this ministry. I yearned for more time to discover and recover God in all things, but as a busy working mother, was limited to a presentation here, a day of reflection there, then ISC-sponsored (silent) retreats, the Examen, and Jesuit prayer apps.
Some months into the pandemic, I finally accepted Carla’s gentle, insistent invitation to consider spiritual companionship with other women of color. Our monthly learning sessions enrich and encourage, opening my heart to receive and offer, question and listen, observe and support. The highlight so far: co-facilitating an Advent retreat with whole-body prayer, and reflection on the Visitation story and our own of pregnancy and parenting. On that snowy morning, we embraced each other as the sun warmed our faces and hearts. And as we journey into this new year, I am filled with hope for the precious encounters in spiritual companionship that lie ahead.
Sharon Spence-Wilcox (she/her) Black, Caribbean immigrant, woman | cradle Catholic | (grand)daughter, sister, niece, wife, mother, godparent, aunt, friend | lifelong learner, librarian, educator, flawed/faithful lay minister | lover of sun, sea, sand | seeker of peace, love, joy | motto: Humankind, be both.

COMPANIONSHIP AND THE LOVE OF GOD

As the youngest in a brood of eight, I was always accompanied by someone from my family, whether I was going to school, going to church, or attending social events. As I got older, I found myself being a companion to my family, friends, and sometimes strangers who became my friends.

These days, living in a world amidst COVID-19, I find myself, increasingly, accompanying people: being a companion to someone who was recently diagnosed with cancer; being present to another who is suffering from mental illness; accompanying an elder on her last few hours in this world; being there to celebrate 100 years of being alive.

As a healthcare professional, I find it humbling to walk with patients as they navigate the world of healthcare. In my mind, I think about being of help or giving some sort of assistance to them. At the end of the day as I reflect, I find myself at the receiving end of these patients’ generosity and wisdom.

Most recently I joined a community of women of color, co-led by Carla Orlando and Cezanne Hardy. We started this journey of becoming companions to people of color. This experience has been truly enlightening and uplifting. What a gift to walk with each other as we grow to be able to accompany others on their journeys.

There is a great need for companionship these days. And it is truly humbling for me to be able to be that for another human being – to be a companion. Whether it is only for a few precious moments or for a longer term, being a companion to another human being is such a gift. And in my heart, I have come to know that surely this is made possible with the love of God.

Mercy Lazo is an Ilokana mom who moved to this country about 30 years ago. At present, she is a healthcare worker in supportive housing. She considers St. Therese Church her spiritual home.