JUNE 24, 1917 - OCTOBER 21, 1999

The Heritage of the
Wayne E. Oates Institute

In the office of the Wayne E. Oates Institute is a framed poster of a black and white photo. In the bottom of the photo there are majestic mountains with a river flowing through the valley between the mountains. One can easily imagine this as a depiction of Creation. Built on top of the mountains is a great cathedral with one outside wall missing, so that the observer feels drawn inside the cathedral. On top of this massive structure is a great bird with wings spread for flight as he struggles to lift the "Church." The caption on the poster reads: "Spirit Struggles to Soar." This photo artistically captures some of the multiple dimensions of the Wayne E. Oates Institute and its' pioneer, Wayne E. Oates. Built on a great foundation from the life of Wayne E. Oates, the Oates Institute has spread its wings and is beginning to soar.

With the leadership of Dr. James Hyde and a small group of professionals touched by the life of Wayne Oates, the Oates Institute was incorporated in 1993 in order to carry forward the tradition embodied in Dr. Oates' ministry. Early in its establishment, the new Board of Directors, representing various health and religious fields, gathered and out of a powerful sense of community, determined the mission of the Institute. They were excited by the possibility of duplicating their own experience of interdisciplinary and interfaith dialogue for other professionals and on a much larger scale. In general, this board believed the Oates Institute needed to be involved in education, publication, and research.

Education.

In an effort to provide education, in 1994 the Institute held its first annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky, and brought in Dr. Larry Dossey, author and international lecturer who spoke on "Spirituality and Health: Recovering the Soul of Healing." This conference was a huge success. In 1995, the Institute sponsored a conference addressing "care for the caregiver." Although less successful, it provided a quality learning experience.

In the winter of 1998, the Oates Institute made an intuitive decision to move some of the work of the Oates Institute to the Internet. In November of 1998, the Oates Institute led the way in distance education within the field of pastoral care and counseling by utilizing the Internet to offer its first online conference, Hope As A Dynamic For Healing. This online format made it possible to feature 16 presentations by individuals from the medical, social work, and pastoral care professions and to engage 200 participants from various regions of the United States, Scotland, England, Canada, and Japan.

From the beginning, online conferencing included, and continues to utilize several forms of interaction between presenters and participants. As one participant responded following the November 1998 conference,

Everything old is new again. This conference has been like the old practice of sitting with the masters/teachers and learning from them through conversation.

Publication.

In 1998 the Oates Institute also began exploring new methods of publishing in order to increase the number of voices heard in the interdisciplinary dialogue. By utilizing digital technology, the Institute was able to publish new works and republish older works. The Institute began republishing out-of-print books by Dr. Oates with the release of When Religion Gets Sick. This was the first of a series to be known as the Wayne E. Oates Library Collection.

In addition, the Institute began to publish the Oates Journal, an online professional journal addressing issues of spirituality and the process of healing from an interdisciplinary and interfaith perspective. The journal is published continuously, adding new articles and book reviews as they become available. The Oates Institute was working in traditional and online environments to promote the interdisciplinary dialogue that would address spirituality, health, and healing.

Membership

Our membership, as well as our greater constituency, is made up primarily of representatives from five professional disciplines: medical, nursing, religious, social work, and therapy. The formalized identity of membership was initiated in 1996, and membership numbers have grown steadily since then.

HERITAGE OF WAYNE E. OATES

WAYNE E. OATES MEMORIAL PAGES