New Thought youths' optimism on tap, on tape for PBS documentary

New Thought News Service

How do New Thought youths view spiritual tradition and its role in the world?

Millions may have the chance to get a sense of that when a PBS documentary about the Parliament airs, likely in late 2010.

Kell Kearns and Cynthia Lukas of Heaven on Earth Creations from New Mexico taped New Thought News Service team members Joe Murray, Katie Dutcher, Bree Alten, Wes Yarborough and Susana Wolds Tuesday as they took part in a free-form discussion with Jewish youth Benji Holzman and Baha’i youth Gulriz Locina.

Kearns and Lukas, who have been filming participants daily throughout the Parliament, may include the youths’ talk in the Parliament-approved program.

“We ended up talking about how we feel about where society is going,” said Joe Murray, a member of the Hilltop Center for Spiritual Living in Fallbrook, Calif. “We generally agreed that there is a shift that is taking place toward a more socially, environmentally, spiritually conscious community.”

Alten, a member of the Lakeside Community Church in Reno, Nev., flew in from Nepal, where she traveled and volunteered to work in an orphanage for a month, to take part in the Parliament.

The back-to-back experiences have been overwhelming, and have given her a unique vantage point from which to view the spiritual relationships among the world’s faith traditions.

“I was so, not shocked, but impressed with us,” she said of the New Thought youths’ participation in the taped talk. “We knew exactly what to say and it flowed unbelievably well. We’re so on it. It was so professional-sounding.”

Alten credited the group’s shared background in a tradition that values learning and youth participation for the success of the discussion.

“It’s how we were raised,” she said. “When you have a deep practice and a community that supports youth, it’s what happens. I was just really proud of us.”

Participants agreed that the talk reflected youths’ sense that there is positive change afoot.

“There was a definitely positive tone to our conversation,” Murray said. “We’re all very optimistic.

“And we realize that we are the next evolution of society. We are the next leaders. We are the people who will inherit the roles of leadership.”

Above left, producers Cynthia Lukas and Kell Kearns explain the PBS documentary project. Above from left, Bree Alten, Wes Yarborough, Gulriz Locina, Joe Murray, Katie Dutcher, Benji Holzman and Susana Wolds prepare for filming. Photos by Ariane Davis.

New Thought finding its voice in the global family

New Thought News Service

The “10 families” of New Thought traveled to Melbourne as a delegation. 

On Wednesday, as Parliament attendees rushed between meeting rooms to last workshops, films and lectures, New Thought participants expressed the idea that not only are they leaving as one family, but that they feel like increasingly visible members of a global family of faith.

“I really feel like the New Thought communities were extremely unified, extremely connected,” said Rev. Dr. Michelle Medrano, Core Council chairperson for the United Centers for Spiritual Living and spiritual director of the New Vision Spiritual Growth Center in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Medrano was one of the handful of New Thought representatives who attended the first “modern” Parliament, held in 1993 in Chicago. From that half-dozen or so people, the New Thought delegation grew this year to about 250, including roughly a dozen program presenters.

“It says not only that New Thought is more interested in the Parliament, but that the Parliament is more interested in  New Thought,” Medrano said.

It was the first Parliament for Joe Murray, Youth Community Leader for the United Centers for Spiritual Living and a member of the Hilltop Center for Spiritual Living in Fallbrook, Calif. It was a first for Murray in other ways as well.

“This is the first time I’ve seen my faith, my philosophical background, co-mingling on such a big scale with other faith communities,” he said. “I’ve had an opportunity to see so many different people from all over the world representing all different religions and in many ways, it feels like a New Thought gathering.”

If it felt like a New Thought gathering, it may be because so many of the spiritual threads that run through New Thought stem from many of the traditions represented in Melbourne.

“It’s funny how I kept thinking in these workshops, ‘I’m a Hindu, I’m a Sikh, I’m a Muslim,’” Medrano said. “There’s more that unites us than separates us.

“This is a model for how the world could be.”

Murray and other delegates have been struck by the environment of interest and warm regard created and sustained throughout the weeklong event. 

“The undercurrent of interaction, love and friendliness that I feel at a New Thought gathering, I feel here,” Murray said. “I share a smile with everyone that passes, and I feel that mutual respect and acceptance, even if I don’t interact with that person for more than 10 seconds.”

New Thought leaders have hoped to take the opportunity of the Parliament to raise the movement’s profile. On Wednesday, several delegates expressed satisfaction that the aim had been achieved. And it was the small, spontaneous chats that often made the strongest impressions.

“In terms of the (Friday New Thought) presentation, I expected people to have more curiosity,” Medrano said. “But then I reflected back on how often I’d had talks with people.Often that’s the importance of conferences, one on one.”

“I’ve been more inclined to stay out of the sessions and absorb the experiences between sessions, in passing,” Murray said. “It’s these interpersonal interactions that have been most rewarding for me, as well as being able to explore Melbourne.”

Murray expressed the view of many in summing up the week.
"I'm grateful for this opportunity. I really am."

At left, Rev. Dr. Kathy Hearn, community spiritual leader of the United Centers for Spiritual Living, Frank zumMallen, president of the Affiliated New Thought Network, and Rev. Dr. Kenn Gordon, president of the International Centers for Spiritual Living talk about New Thought's presence at the Parliament. Above, Rev. Keith Cox of ICSL, Katie Dutcher of the New Thought News Service and Rev. Jacqueline Triche Atkins, executive minister of the Power Circle Congregation in Chicago. Photos by Ariane Davis.

Here's what interfaith dialogue looks like

Parliament delegates and workshop 
presenters have come from all over the
world to meet with others of their own
faith traditions and to learn about
other philosophies and beliefs. Here, 
a glimpse of some of the ways 
those conversations have taken 
form as the Parliament has
proceeded. Photos by Wes
Yarborough.