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The Mastery Foundation - June 2005 |
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This is the second issue of a quarterly newsletter designed to keep you up-to-date on the work of
the Mastery Foundation. We try not to send unwanted email. If you would like to be taken off the
email list for this newsletter, just click on the Unsubscribe button at the bottom of the page. If you
would like to update your record with us, you can either click on the Update Profile button below,
or send an email to information@masteryfoundation.org.
Every email we receive is personally read.
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Interfaith
In April we held a Making a Difference course in
Cookstown, Northern Ireland among the rolling green hills of Country Tyrone adrift in
daffodils. The 23 participants in the course were men and women with a range of ministries
including parish priests, parishioners with lay ministries, clergy with ministries of peace and
reconciliation in divided communities, the principal of a religious school, and lay ministers serving
the sick and grieving.
| Schedule of Upcoming Workshops |
| August 22 - 24 |
Litchfield, Connecticut |
| October 5 - 7 |
Frederick, Maryland |
| October 17 - 19 |
Bloomingdale, New Jersey |
To register for an upcoming course,
click here.
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Community Empowerment
It is a story of
two rivers: the Mississippi River and the River Foyle. It is a story of two cities: Greenville
and Derry-Londonderry. Different continents, different environments, different situations.
And yet there are striking similarities. Each is defined by divisions; with people divided
by identity and by history. Each is a story of good people in local communities who now
struggle to share a land that two peoples have lived on divisively for generations.
In June of 2005, the Mastery Foundation hosted Community Empowerment Programs in
both Greenville, Mississippi, and Derry-Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Click
here
to read the full report on these two programs.
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Peace and Reconciliation
Our April
trip to Israel was typical of how much we can accomplish in one visit. We delivered two programs,
did the groundwork for new programs to be delivered in July, and began conversations for at least
one new program in the next few months. In the Arab municipality of Tamra, we held a program on
leadership to empower the participants in their commitment to improve and strengthen their
communities in the face of wide-spread resignation and breakdowns. In Haifa, we held a staff
development workshop for the Jewish studies institute at the Leo Baeck Education Center that
transformed their experience of working together and gave them the tools to navigate a difficult
transition. In July, we will return to Israel at the invitation of the Rabin Center to offer leadership
programs to the youth, educators, and parents of the largest Bedouin community in Israel.
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Celebrating Two Extraordinary Human Beings
Recently we have had reason to celebrate the lives and contributions of two extraordinary
priests and founders of the Mastery Foundation. In May, Fr. Gerry O’Rourke reached his 80th
birthday, still going strong. To read more about Gerry's life and ministry, click the link under
his picture.
And sadly for us, Fr. Basil Pennington died on June 3rd of injuries suffered in a car accident. He
would have been 74 years old in July. To read more about Basil's life and ministry, click the link
under his picture.
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