In this edition:

Final Days to Register for May Seminars
Explore Issues of Ecology, Water, and Suicide in a May Reading Seminar
Just $2K More Until We Reach the Building Fund Goal
Spring Discount on Clinical Membership
Popular Seminar Adds a Part Two

It's almost May, and that means more seminars for members and friends. For the Oates Institute it also means juggling our local schedules around Kentucky Derby activities and work. We wish you happy Derby, and a wonderful May!

At this point, every day brings new work with the online system. We continue to work on all aspects of the web site, to pull in members, and to make the environment even more useful. We are adding to the Oates Journal from its archive, building the Hollon Center for Oates Studies, and continuing work on our member database. MOST members should be in the system. You are the best testers we could have, so explore and let us know what we can do to improve your experience.

FALL CONFERENCE REGISTRATION is now open. Check out the growing number of presenters and join us for a transformational event.

Final Days to Register for May Seminars

We are at the end of April with May just a couple of days away. We have an exciting group of seminars coming up May 6-24 with topics ranging from palliative care to to providing care for bereaved parents to exploring family systems in a second set of fables from Edwin Friedman. Each of these seminars offer 12 contact hours of continuing education credit for chaplains, counselors, social workers, and pastors while also providing the opportunity to participate from wherever you are according to your schedule. But you need to register now for May seminars; the deadline is Wednesday, May 1.

Read more ...

Explore Issues of Ecology, Water, and Suicide in a May Reading Seminar

In About A Mountain, John d' Agata shares his observations, experience and conclusions based upon time living in Las Vegas with his mother. Key issues that provide material for group reflection and discussion are the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Respository (now a non-issue after many years of work and wrangling from Nevadans who didn't want in their back yard what no one else did), the very high comparative rate of suicide in Las Vegas, and Las Vegas as a microcosm that, in some ways, may be symbolic of the nation. Ecology, suicide, water, and the desert (and more!) all resonate in this study. The seminar, Reading as a Pathway to the Spirit, presented by Jan Olandese, will run from May 6-24. Read more ...

Just $2K More Until We Reach the Building Fund Goal

We are almost there. We have just $2,000 more to go before we reach our $30,000 Building Fund goal for the new Vicki Hollon Center for Oates Studies. Now we just need a few people to push us on over the top with the contribution of a few more bricks, foundation stones, or cornerstones. The Building Fund is to enable us to build this new virtual library that is crucial to expanding our programming to serve both Clinical and Congregational Members. Please consider helping us celebrate the Oates Institute's 20th Anniversary year by contributing brick. Read more ...

Spring Discount on Clinical Membership

Membership plus conference for only $179

Budgets are tight everywhere right now. At the same time, the challenges of adapting the roles of pastoral and spiritual caregivers to the new reality are doing anything but slowing down. With those challenges comes the need and the opportunity for continuous education. Caregivers must learn new ways to adapt to new possibilities and expectations.

We at the Oates Institute would like to help by offering a discount on Clinical Memberships for the next month. Instead of paying $165 for all the seminars you want to take (seminar registration is free for members), you only pay $140, a 15% discount! For a better deal, combine your membership and the early bird registration for the upcoming Envisioning the Future of Spiritual Care conference in November. Instead of paying $120 to register for the conference as a non-member, pay only $179 for the conference and a year of membership in the learning community of the Oates Institute. Read more ...

Popular Seminar Adds a Part Two

The popluar seminar, Exploring Family Systems through Friedman's Fables, has added a Part Two to further explore family systems dynamics through three more of Edwin Friedman's famous fables. Exploring Family Systems through Friedman's Fables, first offered last spring and again this year, features Dr. Friedman’s storytelling ability first noted in Generation to Generation, which is about Bowen family systems. That ability comes alive in the book Friedman’s Fables. This second class in exploring Friedman's Fables features three different stories and different issues in family relationships, each dealing with dilemmas and each providing fresh perspectives on familiar human foibles that go beyond the family. Participation in the first class is not required. But registration by May 1 is. Read more ...

OATES JOURNAL NEWS

We are working on the first series of Oates Talks. This will be a series of short two-minute videos that feature some of the best and brightest sharing their thoughts. The first series is sponsored by Norton Healthcare. If you find yourself interested or have a suggestion, please contact Michael Purintun, Director of Publication and Administration, by email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let him know. If you are part of an organization that would like to sponsor the next series, please contact Chris Hammon at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

WE ARE STILL WORKING ON WRITERS, AUTHORS, BLOGGERS...

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