New Day Herald On-Line

Santa Fe grads
(L to R):
Barbara Hefner
Brian Skeele

Click here for the archives...

From the Land of Enchantment...
Santa Fe Masters Class Finale and a Visit with the Traveler

by Stede Barber

The final class of the 2-year Master of Theology in Practical Spirituality class in Santa Fe was just grand! The class itself is an awesome experience in a deeply quiet, exuberantly joyful way, and adding to the mix, we had a visit from John Morton, Paul Kaye, Angel Gibson and Vincent Dupont that weekend.
Angel, PK & Vincent stepped off the plane in Albuquerque after one of those flights that leaves you weary. Spirits were quickly revived as folks from Albuquerque greeted them with bottles of cold fresh water, hugs, and all the assistance they needed to load sound equipment into a rented van and follow their guide, Mark Morris, up to Santa Fe. Dinner at a favorite restaurant started off the weekend journey of MSIA services, ordinations and initiations for this crew, along with preparing for a Saturday night seminar with John Morton. Vincent's agility was required as he climbed to great heights to cover windows in the meeting hall, PK spiritually warriored his way through sound and video set-up, and Angel, along with the mighty Nancy Sue Sierra, practiced their dramatic skills imitating Stede Barber and Rebecca Skeele for a sound check...since those two were busy facilitating the Masters class. Wish there'd been a fly on the wall videotaping that one...

(L to R):
Michael Manion, Marsha Winborn, Barbara Hefner, Christine Walentiny, Todd Lane -- Santa Fe Masters class grads!

John Morton shared with the Masters class Saturday morning, answering questions ranging from "How can I be more loving?" to "What is your golf handicap?" Saturday evening after class, more than 100 people gathered in the Unitarian Church for a seminar with John Morton and a "Retrospective of 20 years of MSIA in New Mexico -- A History of Loving," program honoring MSIA and the loving of the Traveler in New Mexico. Before enjoying John's warm seminar, which became a Q&A session, people enjoyed hearing an audiotaped interview with Ellavivien Power, who gave J-R his first aura balancing back in the 60's; heard from Robert Waterman, who has held the Light for many people to find the Traveler; and enjoyed a video from Ron & Mary Hulnick, who discovered the Traveler while in New Mexico, and who still love to visit Santa Fe any chance they get.

Santa Fe grads
(L to R):
Margie Hughes
Denys Cope
Kate Ernst

John Morton was at the seminal event in 1979 where it all came together for MSIA to begin to flower in New Mexico, and the threads from those early days came together with a sweet, powerful gathering Saturday night. His seminar included classic John ingredients: humor, insight, intelligence, a demonstration of the depth of his loving, and a blessing to conclude the evening. If you haven't experienced one of John's trademark blessings, get thee to a seminar...and watch for his book, "The Blessings Already Are," coming out this fall.
In the meantime, the Masters class continued to its completion with a great deal of hugging, loving and sharing, spilling over to a celebration pot-luck in a lovely adobe home with spectacular views of the sunset. As always, people's lives are touched and changed forever with the loving of the Traveler, and deeper knowing of themselves as Soul.

Santa Fe Masters Class
Facilitators
(L to R):
Rebecca Skeele
& Stede Barber

Happy Santa Feans moving
into the seminar hall for a
John Morton seminar and a
special "20 Years of MSIA in
New Mexico -- A History of
Loving & Retrospective."

(L to R):
Barbara Cooper
Beth Remus
Patricia Heyman
Steve Dreher
Kate Ernst
Stan Heyman
Lucy Dickinson

(L to R):
Marsha Winborn
Christine Walentiny
Santa Fe Masters class grads

Santa Fe grads
"Dressing in their Best"
(L to R):
Lucy Dickinson
Todd Lane

Santa Fe grads
from Albuquerque
(L to R):
Annie Onderdonk
Kristi Semler

(L to R):
Stede Barber
Rebecca Skeele
Patricia Heyman

Click here for the archives...