The Wayne E. Oates Institute is a Connected Learning Community exploring spirituality and health as a way to advance integrative care for the whole person. The Oates Institute is a non-profit educational organization made up of caregivers from the medical, spiritual and counseling communities providing a forum for joining together as an interdisciplinary dialogue toward understanding the relationship between spirituality and the healing process.

The Oates Institute board promoted Michael Purintun to Director of Publications and Administration at its January meeting. With this change, he will be taking over the primary responsibilities for the publication of the Oates Journal, the Wayne Oates Republication Project, and new book publications. He will also be serving as the staff liason to the Institute's Publications Committee. He comes to this role with extensive experience in editing and administration with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Caregiving professionals are frequently blindsided by dual relationships as well as the intimacy of the professional's relationship with client/patient/parishioner. To help pastors, counselors, chaplains, social workers, and nurses address the challenges of these issues, the Oates Institute is offering an online seminar on Holding the Boundaries: Professional Ethics in Practice. The seminar runs February 6–24, 2012 and offers 12 contact hours of continuing education credit. It features peer group dialogue around a collection of articles addressing the nature of these boundaries and their implications for the role of professional caregivers. Participants may attend from anywhere they have Internet access.

One thing every development director knows to be true: donors like to visualize where their money is going.  It’s a lot easier to cough up the bucks for a great cause, if you know that it matters. I get that. I’m open to skipping a couple lattes or missing a few nights out if I know that it frees up money that can actually pay for something meaningful.

"Our computers and mobile devices do wonderful things for us," declares William Powers, author of Hamlet's BlackBerry. "But they also impose a burden, making it harder for us to focus, do our best work, build strong relationships, and find the depth and fulfillment we crave." How do we learn to find balance in our lives in this new digital age? When we carry the crowd with us in our pockets and purses, how do we find moments of solitude and renewal away from the crowd, away from work, and away from the noise? These are questions that participants will be exploring during the seminar on Hamlet's BlackBerry from February 6-24.

I was sitting at one of my favorite local coffeeshops doing some writing recently. Glancing around the room I was drawn into the energy of the various conversations taking place around the tables. There is great energy here. It is one of the reasons I like writing in places like this; the air is supercharged with this energy as it jumps from person to person, from brain to brain. There are a few people I know to say hello to, but most I don't. Nevertheless, there is community here. Suddenly, I had a recognition and an idea.

What better way to chase away the winter blues than to sign on for an interactive three-week seminar?  And you can receive 12 Continuing Education credits for each seminar since the Oates Institute is an approved provider by the National Board of Certified Counselors.  There is still room in each of the February seminars but register soon to get your first choice. The registration deadline is Thursday, February 2. All seminars are free to Oates Institute members, and only $80 for non-members. Become a member today, and continue taking seminars at no charge through the rest of the year.