As we entered into the beauty of Autumn, Cheryl, Dale and I find ourselves at the beginning of a new “DOH”, welcoming eight bright individuals into Cycle 13. I find myself feeling a renewed sense of wonder and anticipation as we begin again.

Each of these souls has come with a sense of longing - a desire to become more self-aware, to explore their own interior life and to deepen their understanding of what spirituality means in their own lives.

Saturday morning, while most of Canada was awaking to their weekend of busyness, something quite beautiful happened. 

The participants of Prairie Jubilee Cycle 12 gathered for the closing of their two-year journey. These 11 fledgling spiritual directors will now move into the world to be of service in whatever way they are called. 

Jennifer Desrosiers writes about how enrolling in Prairie Jubilee was one of the best decisions she made. The teachings from the leadership gave her words for the patterns, habits, motivations, and unconscious ways I related to myself, others and God.

CheryI Kinney Matheson writes about being weighed down with news reports and full of concern for our world. In the midst of it all, She has been heartened by stories of courage and caring, and of people standing, walking, holding, reaching out.

Jennifer Desrosiers, Prairie Jubilee Instructor reflects on the the newly formed Cycle 12 of Prairie Jubilee.

Carol Ann Gotch, Jubilee Elder, takes a fresh, new look at the meaning of Jubilee, which has always meant so much to her, and still does.

Ramona Pauls shares about the importance deconstructing old religious frameworks that no longer serve us.

Lyndell Drever shares about the importance of grieving one’s companion animal.

A few thoughts from Cheryl Kinney Matheson…The 11th Cycle of Prairie Jubilee will begin in September. We have noticed a common thread of questioning, so I thought I’d offer a response…

In this critical and stress-filled time, the need for spiritual direction is greater than ever.

Ramona Pauls shares her perspective on the new online format a few days before the second gathering of Prairie Jubilee Cycle 10 begins

Prairie Jubilee is now ONLINE - 2020 has called many organizations and institutions to take a deeper look inside themselves and answer the question… The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted our usual routines and expectations, but calls us all to a new creativity.

In response to the changes we have all been experiencing during the COVID-19 pandemic, the leadership team of Inscapes Centre for Enneagram Studies in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada has recorded a video to guide us in our processing of this and other experiences in our lives. A statement that accompanies their video reads, in part,

Through Enneagram Lens - We are so wonderfully and intricately made, yet sometimes confused in the mystery of it all. Throughout this season, may we journey into deeper relationship as you accompany us into the soul’s journey.

This post first appeared on Cheryl Kinney Matheson’s blog Spiritual By the Lake and is shared with her permission.

Susan Butler-Jones is a retired minister of the United Church of Canada. She founded the Prairie jubilee Program in the late 1990s.

Dana McWhirter completed the Prairie Jubilee Program in 2012 and has worked as a hospital chaplain and as a spiritual director. She is currently serving on the Prairie Jubilee council.