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CLERGY

BELOVED Compassion Network (BCN) has been teaching and facilitating the Compassion Practice since 2016. Its healing and transforming power have touched and transformed the lives of dozens of pastors, chaplains, Christian educators, and denominational officers.

The best witness comes from BCN’s students and practitioners. In the videos and written testimonies below, we hope you will hear their passion for the Compassion Practice and how they have learned to savor their own belovedness, to heal their inner reactivities, and to celebrate the belovedness of others . . . all in the presence of God.

“Everybody believes in compassion, but nobody tells you how to practice it.  Until now.”

Brian McLaren, Public Theologian
This is not a ‘kumbaya’ type of compassion, but the strength to encounter and ground ourselves in the holy . . . even in moments when anger or fear or any other kind of human emotion would tend to knock us off our square.
—Rev. Terri Hord Owens

When I’m overwhelmed or stressed or I’ve been activated in a way that I get agitated or angry, I’m able to just breathe in those moments and not react.
—Rev. VeAnn Clark

The Compassion Practice is a practical guide for how to love God, love the people in our lives, and love ourselves in healing and generative ways, especially in times of crisis.
—Nancy Fowler

Testimonials

We're not perfect. And we're not going to be perfect.  But I believe that the Compassion Practice is an important and valuable set of skills that has certainly helped me to be a better witness of God's limitless love and to find a deeper place in my own spiritual walk. So I encourage you, if you're thinking about this, to explore what the program might mean for you. I was part of the interfaith cohort, and I appreciated learning from traditions, not only from Christianity, which is mine, but other world traditions. It really made it a very special experience.
Rev. Terri Hord Owens
Rev. Terri Hord OwensGeneral Minister & President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
I've just completed the three levels of cultivating compassion, and I want to share with you how much that program has meant to me. It's helped me gain tools to understand what's happening within me as I work with other people, and it has been such a helpful program for deepening my spiritual life. I feel connections to God that are grounded now in a new kind of practice.
Rev. Nancy Brink
Rev. Nancy BrinkExecutive Director of the Fish Interfaith Center at Chapman University
I discovered the Compassion Practice during a time of transition in my ministry and life. The uncertainty of what would follow seminary graduation and ordination alongside an extremely challenging season in my family left me spiritually dry and stuck in depression and anxiety. The Compassion Practice thus brought me into deeper relationship with myself and with God. When I invited Jesus to tend to my garden with me, I was able to bear fruit again for my family, friends, and ultimately the youth and hospital patients I now serve.
Rev. Rachel Cooley Shawler (she/her)
Rev. Rachel Cooley Shawler (she/her)Chaplain, UCSD Medical Center & Youth Pastor, Kensington United Church of Christ

Why the Compassion Practice?

The Compassion Practice is unique and uniquely suited for healing and transforming, especially for Emerging Clergy and serving seminarians, strengthening their faith and enriching their ministries. Here’s why:

1.

The Compassion Practice invites Sacred Presence into the journey.

2.

The Compassion Practice affirms the belovedness of all of God’s children.

3.

The Compassion Practice incorporates a “you-turn” to address personal fears, longings, woundedness and obstructed gifts.

4.

The Compassion Practice invites God’s presence into the healing and growing process.

5.

The Compassion Practice teaches that compassion is not complete unless it is expressed in concrete actions that ease the suffering and promote the flourishing of oneself, others, or, most often, both!