Faith + Wealth = Freedom

Facilitator: Dwight K. Hopkins

During this retreat, participants explored what faith, wealth, and freedom mean in their own lives. The community discussed whether or not it’s possible to have a productive relationship with “faith” and “wealth.” Some claim that the Bible depicts money as the root of all evil. Others interpret wealth as existing on a spiritual plane. Some argue for a joint project of profit and purpose.

Dwight N. Hopkins (Roothbert Fellow: 1984-1987) is an American theologian and ordained Baptist minister who serves as the Alexander Campbell Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago. His interests include educational technology, entrepreneurship, and venture capital.

Hope through encounter: Strengthening connections in uncertain times

Facilitator: Stephan Hanmer D’Elía

During this retreat, we delved into the significance of belonging and community, both for personal fulfillment and as a means to foster a better world. We explored questions aimed at guiding us towards a more interconnected existence, including: How can we transition from isolated individualism to a more connected way of being? How do we create networks of belonging?

Stephen Hanmer D’Elía (on grant: 2001-2003) has worked and lived in over 20 countries throughout Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. His experience includes leading UNICEF’s work with legislative branches of government and religious communities; directing education, youth, and parent support programs for one of the largest child welfare agencies in the United States; conducting individual and group therapy with children, youth, and parents; and overseeing the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of child protection and refugee programs in Africa and the Middle East for one of the largest international humanitarian organizations.

Co-Creating Music

Facilitator: Concetta Abbate & Friends

During this retreat, Concetta Abbate and her ensemble led us in a weekend of learning, reflection, and creation. Participants had the opportunity to learn about musical theory; co-create music together; and reflect on the role that music plays in our lives. Workshop attendees collaborated to compose a collection of songs, which were performed by the Concetta Ensemble.

Concetta Abbate (Roothbert Fellow: 2015-2016) is a NYC-based violinist and composer. She centers death, life, and their interplay in her work as a violinist, vocalist, and music composer. Her art invites contemplation, reverie, and play into spaces often avoided: grief, loss, decay, and taboo. Abbate uses beauty as an entry point to make complex sonic forms accessible to a diverse audience. She is also a disability advocate and death doula.

How Do We Talk About What We Discard?

Facilitator: Robin Nagle

During this retreat, the community explored various aspects of our waste and discard practices and systems in order to expand our understanding of the Sacred. How do we talk about what we discard? Who cleans up after us? Why do those practices often go unnoticed?

Robin Nagle (Roothbert Fellow: 1991-1992) is a Clinical Professor of Liberal Studies at New York University. She has been anthropologist-in-residence at New York City's Department of Sanitation since 2006. Her research explores the category of material culture known generically as “garbage.” She has published several books, including Picking Up: On the Streets and Behind the Trucks with the Sanitation Workers of New York City,

Beloved Community: How Do We Get There from Here?

Facilitator: Judy Lewis

During this retreat, participants explored the vision of the “Beloved Community”; identified challenges to fostering this vision; and brainstormed ways to cultivate beloved communities in their daily lives.

Judy Lewis (Roothbert Fellow: 2016) is a scholar, practitioner, and activist interested in the intersection of the micro and macro aspects of mental health, human development, and non- violent social transformation. With degrees in industrial engineering, theology, and social work, she currently works as a psychotherapist in New York City.

Implicit Bias

Facilitator: Jacky McCoy and Suzanne Haley

During this retreat, community members engaged in a discussion about bias and race. Participants reflected on their own personal biases and learned to cultivate the empathy and thoughtfulness required to combat them.

For over 35 years, Jacky McCoy (Roothbert Fellow: 2007) has been an educator and an advocate for learners of all ages. She has homeschooled, helped establish a private school, tutored math, and taught in elementary, middle and high school settings. As a result of her many years in education, she decided that she needed to get to the root causes of the disparities in education outcomes. From this intention was born the Changing the Lens workshops, which seek to examine truth, awaken empathy, and activate courageous citizenship. Suzanne Haley is a facilitator, strategist, and coach, who works to inspire soul-care and human solidarity through compassionate truth sharing, awakening empathy, and activating courageous citizenship. She is the Founder & CEO of S. Haley & Associates, and Co-founder of Changing the Lens, a community-building movement created to dismantle internalized and systemic racism. 

Truth-seeking, Democracy, and Freedom of Thought and Expression

Facilitator: Robert P. George

This retreat endeavored to facilitate inter-ideological dialogue. Our facilitator, Robert George, argued that the pursuit of truth and knowledge requires freedom of thought and discussion. If we are not willing to put our values – including our most fundamental, identity-forming values – under review or scrutiny, we run the risk of slipping into dogmatism. He invited Roothbert Fellows, in small groups, to reflect on how one can lead a life of conviction while maintaining a commitment to intellectual humility and curiosity.

Robert Peter George (Roothbert Fellow: 1977-1980) is an American legal scholar, political philosopher, and public intellectual who serves as the sixth McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence and director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. He lectures on constitutional interpretation, civil liberties, philosophy of law, and political philosophy.

Mindfulness as Sustainability

Facilitator: Dr. Maria Jaoudi

“Regard the body as a biological ecosystem,” our facilitator, Dr. Maria Jaoudi, shared. “One’s thoughts, speech, and behaviors are psychologically and spiritually adaptable. We can learn to cultivate and preserve our health and energy.”

During this virtual retreat, community members interrogated the relationship between self-awareness and social change. Participants discussed the connection between stewardship of our inner environment and stewardship of the earth community, as well as non-violent resistance – including the life and work of Hildegard of Bingen, and the relationship between Dr. King and the Hindu tradition of non-harming (ahimsa).

Dr. Maria Jaouidi (Roothbert Fellow: 1983-1988) is Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies at California State University, Sacramento. Her books include Medieval and Renaissance Spirituality: Discovering the Treasures of the Great Masters and Christian Mysticism East and West: What the Masters Teach Us.

Reflection & Reinvention: Soulful Innovation For Our Times

Facilitator: Sharon Klotz

During this “salon of the soul,” participants explored how a mindset of inventiveness and innovation can bring light where there is darkness, space where there are constraints, vulnerability where there is knowing, and gratitude where there is struggle.

Sharon Klotz (Roothbert Fellow: 1989() is the Executive Director of Design for America, an organization that supports daring innovators with the toolkit, connections, and values needed to approach any challenge. She holds degrees from MIT and New York University. Previously, she served as the Head of Invention Education with the Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.

Virtual Roundtable on Spirituality and the Pandemic

Facilitators: Leonisa Ardizzone and James Heinegg

During this virtual roundtable, community members shared how COVID-19 has impacted their spiritual lives. The event was also an opportunity to connect with fellow Roothbert community members in the midst of lockdown.

The Rev. Dr. Leonisa Ardizzone (Roothbert Fellow: 2000) has been a science and peace educator for 30 years. She has degrees in Biology (BA, Ithaca College), Science Education (Ed.M., Western Washington University), and International Educational Development with a specialization in Peace Education (MA, Ed.D, Columbia University). She received her MDiv in 2017 (Union Theological Seminary) and was ordained into the Unitarian Universalist ministry in 2019. She has been a middle and high school teacher, a university professor, a non-profit executive, a museum educator, an entrepreneur/small business owner, an author, an eco-minister, and an education consultant. She is also a jazz musician and singer-songwriter. Currently, she is a Visiting Professor at Vassar College. James Heinegg (1999-2001) is a retired public school administrator based in New Jersey. In addition to organizing numerous Pendle Hill retreats, he previously served on the board of the Roothbert Fund.

Crisis in the Environment

Facilitator: Stephen Wilder

During this retreat, we explored our spiritual connection with the environment. "As members of this earthly community,” our facilitator Stephen Wilder wrote, “We find ourselves in the midst of a crisis that threatens our existence. The root cause of this crisis is not technology or corporate greed or even overpopulation. Instead, this is a spiritual problem created by our misguided belief that we are separate from the natural world.” During the retreat, we explored how, by embodying a spiritual connection to the land, we might heal the rift that we’ve created between ourselves and the rest of creation.

Stephen Wilder (Roothbert Fellow: 1985-1986) received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine, and a Master’s of Education from Bank Street College of Education. Now retired, he spent his career as a teacher. He served as the Chair of the Roothbert Fund’s Scholarship Committee from 1996-2016. On a volunteer basis, he has also served as the Treasurer of Dharma Communications, and as a Correspondant for the National Buddhist Prison Sangha.

The Immigrant Experience

Facilitator: Sally Bonet

This retreat centered on the immigrant experience, including its practical, personal, political philosophical, and spiritual aspects. Members of our community shared their own experiences with immigration.

Sally Bonet (Roothbert Fellow: 2013) is an Assistant Professor of Education Studies at Colgate University. She migrated from Sudan to Egypt as a young child. Her experience growing up in Egypt inspired her line of research on the experience of Iraqi and Syrian refugees in the United States.

Women Religious in today’s Catholic Church Sister

Facilitators: Sister Fran Whelan, OP, Sister Andrea Dixon, SC, Sister Edith Hart, RSHM

During this retreat, three nuns – Fran Whelan, Sister Andrea Dixon, and Sister Edit Hart – invited us to contemplate our relationship to spiritual communities. Our facilitators shared their experiences within the Catholic Church, including the ways in which the church has been both challenging and supportive.

Sister Fran Whelan (b. 1933, d. 2015)(Roothbert Fellow: 1993-1994) entered the novitiate of the Dominican Sisters of the Sick Poor in September 1952. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Nursing from the College of Mt. St. Vincent, a Master’s degree in Social Work from Fordham University, and a Master’s degree in Theology from Manhattanville College. She worked in the Archdiocese of New York and in the Rockville Centre Diocese in nursing, pastoral care and social work. Her life’s passion was to be an empowering presence among the sick and poor. Sister Andrea Dixon (Roothbert Fellow: 1989-1990) immigrated from the Bahamas to the United States at the age of 19. She was the second Bahamian to join the Sisters of Charity congregation, and only the fifth black woman in the Community. Throughout her career, she has worked as a first grade teacher, social worker, and trauma therapist. Today Sr. Andrea continues her ministry of healing as a practicing psychotherapist. After teaching elementary school in Virginia and Washington, DC, Sister Edith Hart spent 43 years learning and practicing the conservation of art on paper. Over the years, she has worked on countless works of art for museums, private galleries, and individual clients. Now retired, Sr. Edith continues her ministry of being of service through prayer.

Friday, Saturday, Sunday: Holy days in Islam, Judaism, Christianity

Facilitators: Mia Scharphie, Gabe Fine

During this retreat, we explored how each of us honors our need for rest. What structures and practices do our spiritual traditions offer us in order to facilitate rest?

Mia Scharphie (Roothbert Fellow: 2011) is a creative career coach, designer, and agent of change. Following degrees and work in landscape architecture and urban studies, she founded Build Yourself, a career coaching and training company that helps women in creative fields move past the obstacles that hold them back in their careers. Mia is a trained facilitator and has worked on women’s advocacy for over fifteen years. She’s run a research effort on women in social impact design for the Harvard Business School, is a founding member of the Equity Roundtable at the Boston of Architects, and was named as one of Impact Design Hub’s Social Impact Design 40 under 40.

Gabe Fine

Theatre and impact on education

Facilitator: Candace Parr

During this retreat, Candace Parr facilitated a rich discussion about theater, performance, and the need for storytelling. It was a fun, reflective, and participatory experience.

Candace Parr (Roothbert Fellow: 2004-2005) has worked as a drama and theater teacher at Brooklyn Automotive High School.

Homelessness: The Inside Story

Facilitators: Alyssa Ramos-Reynoso, Juliette Lewis

During this retreat, Alyssa Ramos-Reynoso, a member of our community, shared her own personal journey from homelessness to Roothbert scholar.

Alyssa Reynoso Morris (Roothbert Fellow: 2008-2011) received her Bachelor’s Degree from Arcadia University. As a Program Deputy at The Word: A Storytelling Sanctuary, she oversees and implements various programs that aim to support and amplify the voices of writers from underrepresented groups. She has over 14 years of experience in developing and managing projects, programs, and initiatives across different sectors and countries, with a focus on social justice, education, and sustainability. She was a Co-founder and Executive Director of Schools for Sustainability, Inc., where she assembled a team of 70 volunteers that built a water purification system and an aquaponic unit (produced both fish and crops in a closed loop system without waste) in the Dominican Republic. She is also a children's book writer, professional resume writer, and motivational speaker.

Julianne Lewis (Roothbert Fellow: 2011-2013)

Commemorating 9/11

Facilitator: Atena Asiaii

This gathering took place just after the 10-year anniversary of the September 11th attacks. The Roothbert Fund has always been committed to building a diverse, inclusive community. During this retreat, Muslim and non-Muslim fellows, board members, and guests came together to reflect on how the events on 9/11 have impacted the community personally, spiritually, and professionally. Together, we created a safe space for listening, discussion, and reflection. We also explored how this event has shaped our perceptions and beliefs about America’s role in the world, our response to terrorism, our legal system, and our views about Islam. What misperceptions have arisen, particularly on social media, in the year since the attacks? What can we do to dispel these harmful ideas?

Atena Asiaii (Roothbert Fellow: 2008-2010) is an Ob/Gyn based in California. She received a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University, and an M.D. from Brown University.

Poetry and Spirituality

Facilitators: M. Saida Agostini, J. Mase III

M. Saida Agostini (Roothbert Fellow: 2008) is a queer Afro-Guyanese poet whose work explores the ways that Black folks harness mythology to enter the fantastic. She is a longtime cultural organizer, activist, and seasoned nonprofit leader, who has guided statewide advocacy efforts promoting the rights of LGBTQ youth in foster care, education, and juvenile justice, winning critical new protections, and directed national art actions uplifting the visibility of Black girls, women, and LGBTQ communities. Founder of the Rooted Collective, a gathering of Black LGBTQ healing justice activists in Baltimore, Saida is dedicated to building radical healing spaces. J Mase III is a Black/Trans/queer poet & educator based in Seattle by way of Philly. As an educator, Mase has worked with community members in the US, UK, and Canada on the needs of LGBTQIA+ folks and racial justice in spaces such as K-12 schools, universities, faith communities and restricted care facilities. He is founder of awQward, the first trans and queer people of color talent agency. 

Surviving and transforming difficult experiences 

Facilitator: Jane F. Century

Led by longtime Roothbert community member, Jane Century, this retreat centered on how we respond to catastrophic or life-altering events in our lives, or in the lives of those we hold dear. What do these experiences have to teach us? What tools can we use to nurture and heal – to become not just “survivors,” but “thrivers”?

Jane Century (Roothbert Fellow: 1967-1970) has served as a Roothbert board member, as well as the fund’s VP for Fellowship.

The meaning of home

Facilitators: M. Saida Agostini and J. Mason

This retreat focused on the meaning and concept of home. What shapes our ideas of home? What does it mean to feel at home in one’s own skin, in one’s family of origin, identity, community, or in a new family that we create? What narratives do we create about our many homes? What does it feel like to venture out from the safety of our personal, cultural, gender, ethnic, religious, and other connections? During this retreat, we investigated these questions through discussion, poetry, art, and storytelling.

M. Saida Agostini (Roothbert Fellow: 2008) is a queer Afro-Guyanese poet whose work explores the ways that Black folks harness mythology to enter the fantastic. She is a longtime cultural organizer, activist, and seasoned nonprofit leader, who has guided statewide advocacy efforts promoting the rights of LGBTQ youth in foster care, education, and juvenile justice, winning critical new protections, and directed national art actions uplifting the visibility of Black girls, women, and LGBTQ communities. Founder of the Rooted Collective, a gathering of Black LGBTQ healing justice activists in Baltimore, Saida is dedicated to building radical healing spaces.

Prison System Ministries

Facilitator: Phyllis B. Taylor & Laura Ford

This retreat explored how to create sacred spaces within the prison system. Led by Laura Ford and Phyllis Taylor, the group discussed the prison system in general, as well as the particular contexts in which Laura and Phyllis work.

Phyllis B. Taylor is a Correctional Chaplain in the Philadelphia Prison system, a Registered Nurse and a Certified Grief Facilitator. She has published many articles and chapters in books and has made appearances on TV and radio and has lectured throughout the country. Phyllis has received many awards for the work she has done in the prisons in the area of death and dying and for the work in her community. From 1997 to 2012, Laura Ford was the Director of the Prison Ministry Program for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Since then, she has worked in the Prison Ministry and Re-Entry Program of St. Vincent de Paul Church.

Seeking one’s own spiritual path:  Reflections on Quakerism and other religions

Facilitators: Peter and Annie Blood-Patterson

This retreat provided the community with an introduction to Quakerism and its roots. It also included an evening of live folk music!

Peter Blood (Roothbert Fellow: 1987) and Annie Patterson are the creators of the Rise Up Singing & Rise Again songbooks. Annie is one of America's premiere song leaders. An accomplished folk performer and jazz vocalist, she has been singing around the globe for over 40 years. Peter grew up in a musical family, and he has been performing folk music since he was a child. The idea for Rise Up Singing emerged from Peter’s experience in the anti-war and social justice movement, as well as his desire to use song to help others’ ability to experience healing, transformation, consciousness-raising, empowerment, deeper connections with others, and the capacity to sustain long-term struggle for a better world. 

Globalization

Facilitator: Bozho Todorich

During this retreat, Bozho Todorich led the community in a weekend of reflection, focusing on – but not limited to – issues of peace, spirituality, and globalization.

Bozho Todorich (Roothbert Fellow: 2000-2003) is an ophthalmologist in Allentown, Pennsylvania and is affiliated with Penn State Health Holy Spirit Medical Center.

North Korea and humanitarian relief for TB victims

Facilitator: Steve Linton

During this retreat, Stephen Linton shared his experiences visiting and working in North Korea, and explored several interesting questions stemming from his years in the field. For instance: Why should non-governmental organizations play important roles in humanitarian work, and what is the role of religious belief in this process?

Stephen Linton (Roothbert Fellow: 1981-1987) is the founder and chairman of the Eugene Bell Foundation, a humanitarian relief organization that has provided medical assistance, particularly related to tuberculosis, to rural North Korea since 1995.

Islam: Faith, History and Reflection

Facilitator: Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub

During this retreat, Dr. Ayoub offered an overview of Middle Eastern history.

Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub (b. 1935, d. 2021) (Roothbert Fellow: 1966-1973) was a Lebanese Islamic scholar and professor of religious and inter-faith studies. After receiving a doctorate in the history of religion from Harvard University in 1975, he served as the faculty associate of Shi’ite Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, as well as the co-director at the Duncan Black MacDonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations, for Hartford Seminary at Georgetown University. He was also a visiting professor at the University of Balamand in Lebanon and editorial consultant for the Oxford Dictionary of Islam. From 1988 to 2008 Ayoub was a professor and director of Islamic studies in the Department of Religion at Temple University.

Living with Dying - Understanding palliative care

Facilitator: Mary Lee Freeman

Drawing on her experience in the field of hospice and palliative care, Mary led a workshop exploring the theme: “To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.”

Mary Freeman (Roothbert Fellow: 1996-1998) is a nurse practitioner based in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

God-Parenting and Elective Kinship

Facilitator: Brian Palmer

This retreat centered on the theme: "Choosing New Family Members: Building Community through Godparents, Godsiblings, Aunties, Uncles, and Other Extensions of the Nuclear Family." 

Brian Palmer (Roothbert Fellow: 1988-1991) is a social anthropologist and scholar of religion at Uppsala University in Sweden. He previously held the Torgny Segerstedt Guest Professorship at the University of Gothenburg. Previously, he taught at Harvard University for several years, where he also directed the undergraduate program in the study of religion.

He co-led the retreat with Ina Palmer, who wrote a thesis on elective kinship; and Cynthia Palmer, an environmental attorney who has served on the Roothbert Fund’s board.

Working Toward the Common Good: Finding Unity in Diversity

Facilitator: Rev. Allison Stokes

Drawing on her experience at the Parliament of World Religions in Cape Town, South Africa in 1999, Rev. Stokes led the community in exploring the theme, “Working Toward the Common Good: Finding Unity in Diversity.” June 3rd, 1999 was the UN Environmental Sabbath, which gave participants an opportunity to focus on their common love of the earth and their call to work together to preserve and protect it.

Rev. Alllison Stokes (Roothbert Fellow: 1978-1979) is the Founding Director of the Women’s Interfaith Institute, located in the  Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts. For over 20 years, she served as a pastor in the United Church of Christ. She also served as the director of the Interfaith Chapel at the University of Rochester, as well as the director of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.

Work and Spirituality

Facilitator: Stephen Wilder

This retreat was an exploration of how we can connect our spiritual values to the work that we do in our lives.

Stephen Wilder (Roothbert Fellow: 1985-1986) received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine, and a Master’s of Education from Bank Street College of Education. Now retired, he spent his career as a teacher. He served as the Chair of the Roothbert Fund’s Scholarship Committee from 1996-2016. On a volunteer basis, he has also served as the Treasurer of Dharma Communications, and as a Correspondant for the National Buddhist Prison Sangha.

The Sacred in the Secular City: How does it Happen? What does it Matter?

Facilitator: Lowell Livezy and Joy Bostic

During this retreat, participants explored and celebrated creative expressions of the sacred that have meaning and healing power, especially in the contemporary urban world.

Dr. Lowell Livezey (b. 1943, d. 2007) studied, taught, and wrote about the agency of religious organizations in large urban areas. was a lecturer on ministry at Harvard Divinity School and director of the Metropolitan Congregational Studies Project. Before coming to Harvard in 2001, he was director and principal investigator of the Religion in Urban America Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Joy Bostic (Roothbert Fellow: 1997-2000) is an associate professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Cast Western Reserve University, as well as the founding director of the minor in Africana Studies. She is a program faculty member of the Women’s and Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies programs. She has written several book chapters and scholarly articles on race, gender and religion.

Artists on Teaching

Facilitators: Bill Coyne, Jim Morris, David Barten, Janet Mazur & Candy Whitman

Values in Higher Education

Facilitators: Lowell Livezey

Leadership – Cross Cultural Values

Facilitator: Grace Troisi

Philanthropy

Facilitator: Phil McKean

Feminism

Facilitators: Janet Walton, Ada Maria Isazi-Diaz, Lois Kirkwood

The Third World

Facilitators: Leah Margulies, Pierre Bereron

The Spirit of Education: Your Goals, Career

Facilitator: Toby Horn

Nuclear Freeze and the Arms Control Issue

Facilitator: Robert McKim

Project Basement

Facilitator: Kathy McGlade

The Teheran Hostages

Facilitator: Charles Kimball

Arab-Israeli Issues

Facilitators: Mahmoud Ayoub, Jay Rothman

Summer Project for Polio Victims in Calexico

Facilitators: Ken Tittle

Criminal Justice

Facilitator: Janet Lugo

Spirituality and Metapsychiatry

Facilitator: Polly Berends

Women’s Issues

Facilitators: Elly Findly, Janette Harris, Michal Peled

On Death

Facilitator: James Carse

What it Means to be Marginal

Facilitator: Jeff and Pat Boyd

The Religious Meaning and Importance of the Current Political Situation

Facilitator: Lowell Livezey

Streetcorner Work with Philadelphia Youth

Facilitator: Chris Leinberger

A Gathering of Directors and Invited Fellows at Topstone Farm (CT)

Facilitator: Toni Roothbert

Mrs. Roothbert Invitational

Facilitator: David Bartlett

Mrs. Roothbert Invitational

Facilitator: Dr. Robert Perry

Informal Seminar

Facilitators: Dr. Bernard Philips

Reunion of Fellows

Location: University Club, NY

Favilitators: Albert Roothbert, Rev. Al Carmines

Reunion of Fellows

Location: University Club, NY

Facilitators: Albert Roothbert, Rev. Al Carmines

Reunion of Fellows

Location: University Club, NY

Facilitators: Albert Roothbert, Alex Mourelatos