Helen in November 2017. Photo courtesy of Park Smith.
Helen Edwards attended the first-ever cohort of the Renovaré Institute—Menlo Park, 2009-11! Since then, she has been a beloved member of RI's extended faculty team— as spiritual director, praxis grader, and student care coordinator. She has also graciously agreed to be our first featured alum in what will be an ongoing part of our News section. We invite you to join us in "Catching up with ... Helen Edwards."
Hey, Helen! Thanks so much for sitting down with me today as the first “Featured Alum” of our new Hub. Let’s get caught up. Tell us about your family, where you live, what’s going on in your world.
Currently Jeff and I are living in the Cincinnati, OH area where Jeff is really enjoying his role as the Associate Provost and CIO for Xavier University. We attend St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park. Jeff sings in the classical choir and occasionally with the Bach Vespers, and I serve as a Spiritual Director in the parish and as an advisor to their Stephen Ministry leadership. I also have a Spiritual Direction practice that includes virtual and in-person directees throughout the U.S. and other countries.
Our grown daughters are in various stages of life. Our oldest is using her PhD in the service of Xavier in the graduate college of education. They just moved from three blocks away to now three miles away from us, and while we miss the spur of the moment visits from her four children, we also understand their enjoyment of having a yard and more bedrooms. Our middle daughter owns a business, lives in Nashville, and is engaged to a doctoral student in cell physics at Vanderbilt. They are eagerly working toward and awaiting his graduation, hopefully next year, so they can plan their wedding. Meanwhile our youngest daughter, an engineer turned organic farmer and farm policy warrior in Iowa City, is getting married to another engineer in a short 45 days! We are very happy for them.
So, at the moment I am wearing several hats, busy with wedding and family details in the midst of writing my dissertation project for Fuller, working with Nathan Foster in designing and implementing the Renovaré Fellowship of the Burning Heart (the subject of my paper), meeting with people in spiritual direction, and helping out with my duties for the amazing Renovaré Institute.
Helen, you were a part of the very first Institute cohort in Menlo Park. How did you find out about RI and what drew you to the program?
If I recall correctly, my first knowledge of Renovaré Institute may have been an ad in a Conversations Journal. After that, I attended the Renovaré San Antonio International Conference where Gary Moon presented the Renovaré Institute in an informational format and James Bryan Smith presented his early work on what became the Apprentice Series. I was in the second year of a three year masters degree program for spiritual formation and leadership, but given my long study of Dallas Willard, the Renovaré messages, and resources, my heart was stirred to apply. I was accepted for reasons I can’t explain—except the grace of God. The experience was life changing. It was the first cohort, so in many ways our cohort was the guinea pig for RI (just like all first born children are for their parents). Several of my cohort mates are quick to remind those that followed us that we had more reading than they did. It was an ambitious schedule, but I am so grateful for all of it, the reading, the lectures, the monthly practices, the praxis sessions at the residencies, and the beloved cohort community of collected and individual wisdom and love that was like something I’d never experienced outside of one-on-one anam cara kinds of relationships. As I said, it was life changing in wonderful ways.
You are finishing up a DMin program at Fuller. How has your time in RI—both as a student and as a teacher/spiritual director—influenced or affected your decision to pursue a DMin?
In my ministry through the years, my spiritual gifts, and then my work with the RI students I sensed God’s call to me to pursue more formal training in spiritual direction, something I was already doing by gifting but never trained. I knew myself well enough to know I am not a gifted teacher, but I am a good listener, which is foundational to spiritual direction. In one sense much of what we teach in the RI is about listening—listening to God, listening to one’s self in honest reflection with God, and to the one’s community with the heart of God (within RI and to the one’s family, church, and beyond, as well as the community of Christ followers through the time). I pursed and competed a program with graduate credits in spiritual direction.
Eventually when the Fuller program was offered I was drawn to it, seeing, as Chris Hall often teaches, the Holy Spirit has a history. I wanted to know more of it. I found the DMin program was an irresistible and very unique blend of ancient, orthodox, and Ignatian spirituality. The course integration of these spiritualities, with Dallas Willard’s teaching on the Kingdom of God and the person, with the ancient art of spiritual direction was an irresistible combination. I saw this learning would be a helpful contribution to my work with RI students. As many RI students may remember and identify with, I loved the learning, but not so much the paper writing part of the program. Too late, after the first year, I discovered I could have audited the program, but the audit slots were filled! So, again by God’s grace, I kept going, and survived, and here I am. I have learned so much; the learning impacts how I live my moment-by-moment life and my work with the RI students With a ton more of God’s grace I may yet get my dissertation project written on time to graduate next June.
I think you've been to more residencies than just about anyone. What do you think is the best thing about RI residencies? What keeps bringing you back, time and again?
The residencies are a unique encounter with the triune God, God’s people, and God’s grace and love. These gatherings are a sacred blend of experiential learning with the lectures and the praxis experiences in the midst of sweet community with the Trinity and these students. The RI residencies are one of the few places where, over time, most students come to feel safe and, in Dallas Willard’s words, more fully human. He said the purpose of human life is to know and be known, to love and be loved. I see this happening over time in the residencies. The arc of watching and praying for and encouraging this process in individuals over the course of the program as they step deeper and deeper into the Kingdom with God is one of the great privileges and joys in my life.
What is one piece of wisdom or learning from RI that you find yourself drawing upon often? That is, what has stuck with you most from the program?
This is hard because there is so much from my learning I draw from all through the day; if I have to pick only ONE, I would pick what Carolyn has reframed into the first course, in a sense responses to the three big questions. The Triune God is the eternal, self-existent, creator and sustainer of the universe, and I am a beloved child of his, one in whom he delights, and Jesus shows me I am safe in the Kingdom of God, invited into LIFE, in all its abundance and joy, with the Triune God. Together we can face anything in this present life.
Tell us a bit about your RI Project(s).
I had three projects. The first was designing and teaching an undergraduate university course in spiritual formation. I loved the design part, quaked in my shoes teaching it, and blown away by God’s work in the classes with 21-year-old men and women who had a pretty narrow denominational view of being a Christian, and a lukewarm love for God (by their admission). Offering someone a window to see into the Kingdom of God and the with-God life, and then to shepherd them through the doorway is an amazing grace.
The second project was teaching women’s retreats on the same topics, which was delightful for me; I love extended time with people who are curious and hungry for God. And again these women experienced windows and doors into the kingdom were opened to them.
The third project was writing a children’s book with the themes from the Kingdom of God using stories and characters I’d created for my children when they were young. This project is currently put aside. I still tell the stories and make up new ones for my grandchildren, of a little girl and a little boy, who live in the midst (community) of a people who love and worship the Triune God, who have lots of adventures, using the principle of indirection, in spiritual transformation in the with-God life. [Check out our RI Project Database.]
OK, now it’s time for the speed round:
- Salty or Sweet? Salty
- Midnight or 6 AM? Midnight (actually both :-D)
- Chicken or fish? Chicken
- Rain or sun? SUN!!!
- E-books or Tree Books? Tree Books
- Staycation or Awaycation? I would just like to have any kind of vacation!! :-)
- Plane or train? Plane
- Sailboat or speedboat? Sailboat
- Ocean or Mountains? Mountains – but again, can I have both :-)
- Movie at Home or Movie at the Theater? Home
- Big Party or Small Gathering? BOTH!!! Why do I have to choose? :-)
One last question: Are you coming to the Alum Retreat in September?
Absolutely! I’m really looking forward to seeing everyone who can make it. As RI alum we are a rare community on this planet at this time in history, and I don’t want to miss a minute of our being together in the same space at the same time!
Helen and Justine at Boston's final residency in June 2018. Photo courtesy of Park Smith.