According to mind/body pioneer, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, “Listening is the oldest and perhaps the most powerful tool of healing. It is often through the quality of our listening, and not the wisdom of our words, that we are able to effect the most profound changes in the people around us. When we listen, we offer with our attention an opportunity for wholeness. Our listening creates sanctuary for the homeless parts within the other person.That which has been denied, unloved, devalued by themselves and others. That which is hidden. Listening creates a holy silence. When you listen generously to people, they...
Blog
Why Do We Need Retreat Centers?
We live in a world that is constantly inundating us from all sides with information (fake and real), often in the form of tweets and sound bites. We need places where one can stop, listen deeply and reflect clearly on what matters, with opportunities for silence and for sharing in more than hashtags and 140 characters.
Where Hope Can Be Found
Dear Friends, Over the Memorial Day weekend, I trip on the broken sidewalk and fall, face-forward, on the concrete. I hear a woman in the distance gasp, “Are you alright?”. My husband kneels beside me in the street. I sit up dizzily and feel with my tongue the jagged edges of four, broken, front teeth. Bart and I had been walking in the small college-town of Lawrence, KS, celebrating our 34-year wedding anniversary at the restaurant that opened the year we married. In the car on the way to the emergency room, I close my eyes and listen to Bart’s short, panicky, rapid breaths. The CT...
When Serving The Salvation Church Isn't Fun
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Welcoming New Board Members
We are pleased to announce the appointment of two new members to our Board of Directors. Stephen G. Hart is Vice President of Human Resources and Human Capital Development at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. Dr. Maureen O’Connell is Chair the Department of Religion and Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at La Salle University. Mr. Stephen Hart joins Cranaleith’s Board following many years of service on our Work & Spirit Advisory Committee and as a program presenter. Steve resides in Willow Grove, PA. He holds a BS degree in Marketing from La Salle University and an MS degree in Organizational Dynamics from the...
Walking Your Spiritual Journey
Just half a mile from the rush of traffic on Bustleton Avenue in Northeast Philadelphia is a permanent outdoor labyrinth with the purpose of inviting visitors to seek inner peace. A labyrinth is a meditative tool, a singular winding pathway that enables the walker to center oneself in thought or prayer. It can be a means of finding peace, answers to troubling questions, or communion with God. “Our Labyrinth is used by a range of visitors from nonprofit professionals to overnight directed retreatants to local neighbors,” said Cranaleith Program Director, Cathy Maguire, RSM. “The walk to the center of the...
Volunteering at Cranaleith: George Whalen
As I was approaching retirement from a long career in Philadelphia City government, I started to think about what was I going to do with the balance of my life. I had always been interested in Religion and I was active in several groups at our parish. I also studied Theology at LaSalle University before retiring and taught Religious Studies at the Penn State Abington campus location for several years after retiring. Another driving force in this assessment of my future was a desire to give something back in my golden years. Along the way in my career there had...
View Our New Brochure
We invite you to join us this year at Cranaleith and trust that you will find in our offerings one or more that beckon you to this place of hope, this sanctuary of mercy.
Understanding the Dynamics of Religious Leadership
By Marisa Guerin — For the last 18 years or so, I have had the opportunity to consult to many of the finest people I have ever met – the women and men of religious congregations and the ministries that they sponsor, from various denominations. These people are hard-working, kind, and faithful to their missions —- but that doesn’t mean that leadership is easy in these settings. The real-world challenges are formidable, and the internal community dynamics are subtle and complex. Religious leadership is not what it used to be! Several years ago, I started experimenting with a series of...