March 2020
Dear BCF, please be patient with this extremely lengthy newsletter. There is so much to share with you…
Current Certified BC Facilitators
As of March 1, 2020 there are 98 certified Boundless Compassion facilitators from the USA, Canada and the UK. Following the recent Evaluation, some chose to discontinue, five never responded and a few are “on hold” due to personal or family illness. Besides all names/addresses on my website (BCF / Member Profiles) I also have a Word Doc. containing this contact information. If you would like a copy for your files (a quick way for you to have access) request this via email and I will send it to you.
BC Facilitator Training Workshops
Unless the Coronavirus dictates otherwise, there will be two BC training workshops scheduled for this year: Benet House at Rock Island IL on June 24th and Christ the King Retreat Center at Buffalo, MN on October 30th. I will be leading these training sessions, each of which is preceded by the four day BC retreat. Please encourage persons from your area to attend. (The June retreat now has a waiting list.)
There are also two other Four Day retreats being offered: Dubuque IA June 29-July2 and in Springfield IL, August 9-13. Anyone participating in these retreats could go to MN in October for a training day. (Check my website, Events Schedule 2020 for details.)
Heather Glenn has updated the Members Profile on the BCF section of my website. Please visit this listing to check and be sure your contact information is up to date. Notify me of any changes you wish to have made.
Introducing/Describing Yourself in Publicity Items
(The following description of yourself in relation to being a BCF may be used in any of your marketing materials. Include the BC logo on your publicity items. I am also gathering into a file a variety of descriptions regarding some central themes related to BC that might be helpful for you. I’ll make those available sometime this spring.)
In 2007, Joyce Rupp co-founded the Boundless Compassion program to encourage and enable people, both personally and professionally, to engage with compassion as a way of life. Since then, over 2,500 persons have experienced the four day retreats and conferences, both nationally and internationally. In 2018, Joyce began a training program to certify participants who desire to share the concepts and practice of Boundless Compassion in their particular domain of life. These certified facilitators are now actively engaged in leading events that contain aspects of this program.
(your name)______________ has been trained and certified as a Boundless Compassion facilitator.
Who is a Boundless Compassion Facilitator?
In order to become a facilitator of this program, the interested person is required to attend a four day Boundless Compassion retreat, which is followed by a one day workshop with specific details about sharing the program with others. Following this certification, the facilitator designated as a BCF, (Boundless Compassion Facilitator) is actively involved in sharing the components of the program and stays in regular contact with Joyce Rupp who provides support and assistance.
Four Day BC Retreats
Please check your BCF Handbook if you are leading a Four Day retreat. All the components (the six themes) must be included if the participants are to be eligible to take the training workshop. You can use the BC videos or create your own presentations. Integration of the material is essential; feel free to develop your own processes rather than those indicated in the syllabus. (If you choose to focus on just one or two topics for the Four Day retreat, those attending are not eligible for BCF training.)
Your Programs to be Posted
www.joycerupp.com/eventsYou are welcome to have programs you are facilitating – any that extend beyond an individual organization and open to the general public- to be posted on my website. When you send a request to me for this posting please include the following:
Date & time / name of place or building where it is to be held / city, state / title of the event / name of contact person, phone number, email and/or website for registration. If you are unsure of what information to send, visit the website and look at the “Events” section for the details to send.
Assistance in 2020
Thank you to each one who gave specific suggestions on the Evaluation form for how I might assist you. I intend to follow up on these. The first suggestion I will address is to align the BC video talks with the PowerPoint files on the BCF site.
I will not be editing blogs or descriptions for events, nor do I intend to spend time editing or revising material you send for posting on the BCF resource site.
Boundless Compassion Journal
I am currently working like a squirrel gathering nuts to have this journal ready to send to the publisher by the deadline of June 1st. The journal will include the BC suggestions for each day (I’ll be creating a few new ones), a fresh quote for each day, along with newly created prayers and poems for each Week. Thanks to BCF Colleen Shephard for her persistence in suggesting I develop this companion piece for study with the BC book.
Resources Resources Resources
My heart always holds a happy smile when you send a pertinent resource you’ve discovered and used. Here are some that have come recently.
The Morning Star Singers, Songs of Comfort and Healing
Listen to “Surrounding You” here
Verse from the song “Surrounding You”
I wish you courage for the next step and the next.
I wish you peace in the middle of the storm.
I wish you unexpected joy, strength to see you through,
And a heart wide open to all the love surrounding you.
It’s surrounding you.(Click here to see the story behind this music which as been used in prison.)
Flower in the Rain
Kateri Schrems sent info on this video that speaks of being broken open, “dying in order to live.” Flower in the Rain, Jaci Valesquez (Maybe use with Compassion and Suffering)
Lyrics to the song found here.Quantum Science Short Video
Patty Forsberg: “I presented on compassion this weekend and one the attendees told me about this video of Dr Quantum and the Double Slit experiment – the take away is that the waves of the particles change just because they were being observed. Huge ramifications for being seen and how we can offer this to others. An added impact to the Loving Kindness meditation we practiced later in the day.”
Empathy
From Nancy Brown: Check out “Sympathy v.s. Empathy” from Andrea Hirotsuji on Vimeo. This short piece could be followed with conversation about “empathy” and the participants’ experience of this quality.
Coming Soon
Bobbi Bussan has given numerous presentations on BC, often using some portion of the DVDs. She has divided the talks into several segments, with some discussion after each segment. This approach seems to work better for participants to absorb the material. Bobbi promises to send an outline to me of the places on the videos where she pauses for conversation. When I receive this I’ll have Heather post it on the BCF site under Resources and will notify you via a future newsletter of its availability.
I will be working with Heather Glenn in the coming months to add a section under “Resources” on the BCF site that will include the helpful items you are creating as you develop your programs on Boundless Compassion. These will include areas such as compassion and the enneagram, compassion and contemplative prayer, compassion and the labyrinth.
with much gratitude for your compassionate presence and your generosity in sharing the BC program with others,
Joyce
Programs Related to Boundless Compassion
Go to my website, Events 2020 and scroll down to the BCF section to view the Four Day Retreats, etc. being offered.
Be sure to send information on BC programs/projects you are leading or organizing so I can include them in future newsletters.
