The Faithwalking Blog

La Integridad en el Matrimonio

En la comunidad de Faithwalking definimos la integridad como el funcionamiento de acuerdo al diseño de Dios. Decimos que algo tiene integridad cuando funciona de acuerdo al diseño con el cual fue diseñado o diseñada para funcionar.

Cómo se aplica esto al matrimonio?

A continuación ofrecemos el video de una entrevista de Radio Amistad de Houston a Marcos Leon explorando el tema de la integridad en al matrimonio. Esperamos que le sea de utilidad.

Para información acerca talleres acerca de integridad, comuníquese con Marcos Leon.

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Podcast (Episodios en Español)

Meet the Faithwalking Board – Terri Pilarski

The Rev. Terri C. Pilarski is an Episcopal priest serving in parish ministry for twenty years, and a licensed clinical social worker specializing in Bowen Family Systems Theory for Clergy and Congregations. She has been the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Dearborn, MI for nine years, which was once the parish home of Henry and Clara Ford and their families. She’s been married for thirty-five years to Dan, and they have two grown children and two grandchildren as well as two dogs and two cats. She loves to exercise, is a lifetime practitioner of meditation (contemplative prayer), and knits to relax. She is a poet and storyteller through social media and photos, telling stories of life, love, and faith.

Question: Describe something in your life that you were not aware of before Faithwalking (FW). What was the impact of that lack of awareness in your life?

Answer: Although I have done significant work to understand my life and what drives me, consciously and unconsciously, I learned a lot about myself from the concept of “negative” vows and first formation. Negative vows are the idea that something happened to me in my childhood (first formation) from which I made a meaning that informed (subconsciously) my future thoughts and actions but are untrue. That through awareness of the event and the meaning I made, which was not true about me, I could change that meaning into something that was more honest and true, has enabled me to be more comfortable in my own skin and more at peace with who I am.

Q: Tell us about you. Who are you? How did you connect with FW?

A: I am an Episcopal priest who has worked with Bowen Family Systems Theory for twenty years, having first studied it for my MSW degree in the 1990s. As part of my continuing ed work to increase my effectiveness as a priest, I attended the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center’s Clergy Clinic in Lombard, IL. There I met Jim Herrington, a founding member of Faithwalking, and his presentation intrigued me. I contacted Faithwalking and arranged for a presentation for my parish, and from there I took the online courses. These have changed my life for the better, in countless ways.

Q: What has changed through FW? How are you different?

A: Although I have studied Bowen’s Family Systems Theory (BFST) for many years, Faithwalking helped to make the theory practical and applicable. Faithwalking utilizes more approaches than just BFST to create an effective approach to leadership and discipleship that has given me peace and confidence in all aspects of my life.

Q: Describe the vision you have of your best self.

A: I am living into my vision of my best self as someone who is fully aware and centered in her values and beliefs which are grounded in love of God, love of self, and love of neighbor. To this end I am actively engaging in deepening my intercultural competency and adaptability so that I can be more aware and effective in relationship building across the spectrum of humanity. I live in a very diverse community, and being an effective member of and leader in this community asks me to be aware and adaptive. I do this while also staying really clear about who I am and what I believe.

Q: Describe the vision you have for FW in 5 years.

A: I talk about Faithwalking all the time and to many people I meet. I hope more people are drawn to the profound, life inspiring work of wholeness that FW offers.

Q: What was the most helpful tool you learned in FWF?

A: The process of becoming really clear on my guiding principles so that I am confident in living from them.

Faithwalking exists because of your support.

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Faithwalking in 2020 – Executive Director’s Update

*Faithwalking Foundations Module 1 Retreat at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Houston*

We are off to a great start in 2020. Our mission is making wholeness possible in individuals, communities and the world. We provide people with tools that help them repair broken places in their lives, and ultimately in their world. Currently there are 285 participants engaged in the Faithwalking process, in at least 16 different locations.

Our vision is to make Faithwalking accessible to every person in the world, and our vision is that participants will become agents of wholeness in their own context. We are far from that being a reality, but we are moving in that direction. Currently we have 15 Faithwalking Circles around the U.S. that are using the tools of Faithwalking. (A Faithwalking Circle is a group like a church or a group of churches that we have trained to use the Faithwalking process within their local context, and they are aligned with us here in Houston.) Each of these Faithwalking Circles contributes $50.00 per participant to Faithwalking Houston to help us sustain this ministry. We are extremely grateful for their partnership and friendship. Eight of the Circles are using the new Foundations curriculum, and 7 of them are using the Core Four curriculum. We have 4 more Circles that should begin to offer Faithwalking before the end of 2020. All of these groups are English speaking.

In addition, we have 10 Spanish-speaking individuals who are being trained as Faithwalking facilitators. Five are in the US and 5 are in Central America. They have already begun to lead Faithwalking Foundations groups in Spanish. We are equally excited about this emerging ministry among Spanish speakers.

The Faithwalking board worked diligently in 2019 to establish a strategic plan for our work. We are implementing that plan now. In 2020 we’ve added two new members to the Faithwalking board. Currently our board consists of Gail Edmonson from Katy, Texas, who is our chairperson. Jeff McGee from Cypress, Texas is our treasurer. Linda Powell from Katy, Texas is our secretary. Our other board members are Sherri Meyer-Veen from New York, Tim McGee from Houston, Chris Godfredsen from Iowa, and Terri Pilarski from Michigan. I hope that you will pray for each of them as they oversee our work.

We want to evaluate the impact and success of Faithwalking in a more clear and scientific way. To help us do this, we have recently enlisted the Social Research Lab at the University of Northern Colorado to help us evaluate our current data and to develop new tools for evaluation. The executive director of the research lab is Dr. Josh Packard, who is a professor in the department of sociology at the University of Northern Colorado located in Greeley. We are very excited about partnering with this excellent group.

Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your financial support. We couldn’t do what we do without you.

Ken Shuman, Faithwalking Executive Director

Faithwalking exists because of your support.

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Praying for the Faithwalking work

Sharing and promoting Faithwalking

Donate to Faithwalking

Faithwalking Spanish Facilitators’ Certification

In January 2020, Faithwalking launched the Faithwalking Spanish Facilitators’ Certification with a group of 10 participants, 5 of them in Central America and 5 in the United States.

Faithwalking’s first Spanish retreat was offered in January 2012. Since then the program has reached about 500 individuals in the United States, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Spain. Faithwalking in Spanish has expanded thanks to the faithful work of a group of volunteers committed to the possibility of making the process accessible in their networks, in their ministries, and in their areas of influence. The need for growth in the ministry requires new structures capable of making Faithwalking available with integrity and flexibility. The certification of facilitators is a response to this need.

The vision of certification is to equip individuals, organizations and networks of Spanish-speaking followers of Jesus Christ to facilitate spiritual formation processes in those who are in their areas of influence, while participating in and expanding a learning community that shares the vision of Faithwalking.

The certification’s mission can be summarized in three basic goals:

Equip Faithwalking facilitators through a certification process.
Provide the learning resources to help facilitators and coaches fulfill their purpose.
Facilitate a continuous learning community that promotes skill development and offer additional training to those facilitating Faithwalking.

The first group of facilitators are men and women who have already been part of the Faithwalking community for several years and have completed almost all of the traditional Core Four Faithwalking curriculum. They have served as volunteers coaching or co-facilitating in various retreats and Faithwalking groups. All these participants have committed to completing a two-year certification process. The certification requires their participation in six retreats designed specifically for facilitators, completion of academic work, and practicum work as facilitators of the Faithwalking process in small groups.

We appreciate your prayers for vision, wisdom, strength, and provision for this group of Faithwalkers committed to creating spaces of spiritual formation in the lives of others.

For information about certification or to support this project, contact Marcos Leon.

Faithwalking exists because of your support.

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Praying for the Faithwalking work

Sharing and promoting Faithwalking

Donate to Faithwalking

Meet Sandra Patel, one of the participants, as she shares her experience with the certification.

Certificación de Facilitadores de Faithwalking en Español

En Enero del 2020, Faithwalking inició el proyecto de certificación de facilitadores de Faithwalking con un grupo de 10 participantes, 5 de ellos en Centro América y 5 en los Estados Unidos.

El primer retiro de Faithwalking en español se ofreció en Enero del 2012. Desde entonces se ha extendido a cerca de 500 individuos en los Estados Unidos, Guatemala, República Dominicana, El Salvador, Nicaragua y España. Faithwalking se ha extendido gracias al fiel trabajo de un grupo de voluntarios comprometidos con la posibilidad de hacer accesible el proceso en las redes y en los diferentes contextos de sus ministerios y áreas de influencia. La necesidad de crecimiento requiere de nuevas estructuras capaces incrementar nuestra capacidad de hacer disponible Faithwalking con integridad y flexibilidad. La certificación de facilitadores es una respuesta a esta necesidad.

La visión de la certificación es la siguiente: Equipar a individuos, organizaciones y redes de seguidores de Jesucristo de habla hispana, para ser capaces de facilitar procesos de formación espiritual en aquellos que están en sus áreas de influencia, mientras participan y expanden una comunidad de aprendizaje continuo que comparte la visión de Faithwalking.

La misión de la certificación se resume en tres aspectos básicos:

Equipar facilitadores y entrenadores en el proceso de Faithwalking a través de un proceso de certificación.
Proporcionar los recursos de aprendizaje necesarios a través del sitio web de FW para ayudar a los facilitadores y entrenadores a cumplir su propósito.
Facilitar una comunidad de aprendizaje continuo que promueva el crecimiento de las habilidades para facilitar y ofrecer entrenamiento.

El primer grupo de facilitadores lo constituyen hombres y mujeres que han sido parte de la comunidad de Faithwalking por varios años, habiendo completado casi en su totalidad el currículum de Faithwalking tradicional y habiendo servido como entrenadores o co-facilitadores voluntarios en distintos retiros y grupos de Faithwalking. Todos ellos se han comprometido a completar un proceso de certificación de dos años de duración. La certificación requiere su participación en seis retiros diseñados específicamente para facilitadores, trabajo académico y trabajo práctico como facilitadores y entrenadores del proceso en grupos pequeños.

Apreciaremos sus oraciones por visión, sabiduría, fortaleza, y provisión para este grupo de caminantes comprometidos con crear espacios de formación espiritual en la vida de otros.

Para información acerca de la certificación o para apoyar el proyecto, comuníquese con Marcos Leon.