Shiftings Are Afoot; Gratitude for Bill

Dear Northeast Wisdom Community,

Shiftings are afoot!  First of all, with immense gratitude for his years of service, we announce Bill Redfield’s retirement from the Northeast Wisdom Council.  In a recent letter to the Council, Bill wrote:

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I am stepping down from my work on the Board (Council). Having served since its inception, I have seen the growing stability of our organization in promoting the proliferation of Wisdom in our time. We are serving as an anchor for the various outposts in our greater Wisdom community. I can sense the future growth of our organization in a wider reach that may end up being national and, even perhaps international, in scope.

Because of the demands of my own Wisdom work, I feel unable to give to this post the time and energy it deserves. While relinquishing this board position, I do want to assure you that I remain committed to NEW and will continue to vigorously support it in every way I can.

I offer deep bows of appreciation to Cynthia and her teaching over these many years. She continues to chart a path forward toward deeper being and presence. And I am thankful also for our greater lineage stream as it grows in both breadth and depth. May we all continue to contribute everything we can.

Finally, I am grateful to call each and every one of you my friend. My love remains with you always.

Apart from Cynthia, this leaves me the longest serving member of our Wisdom Council (how did that happen?!), and I have never known our NEW board without Bill Redfield’s generous presence–as Vice President since late 2013 and as President since 2017.  I have learned so much from Bill’s leadership, which has been steady, calm, compassionate, and wise.  Bill showed us all again and again how to hold space as a leader who did not center himself or his own authority, but rather held the post in such a way that allowed the wisdom of the group to fully emerge–holarchy rather than hierarchy.

He’s also navigated the ship for us through a number of transitions and organizational growing pains.  Northeast Wisdom would not be what it is without Bill.  His heart is woven fully into our DNA, and as a Council we trust his discernment in these next steps in his own Wisdom calling and work, and look forward to supporting him along the way.  Bill may now be an “emeritus” Council member, but he continues among us fully as an active Wisdom community member and teacher.

This transition in leadership also comes at a major inflection point in our life as an organization.  We’ve been aware as a Council over the past few years that our mission has exceeded our regional naming as Northeast Wisdom.  With that reality in mind, and much behind-the-scenes discernment, we’re happy to finally announce our upcoming rebranding as Wisdom Waypoints.  According to National Geographic, “A waypoint is a reference point that helps us know where we are and where we’re going. Whether we’re driving, sailing, or flying, waypoints help us find our way.”  It was Cynthia who brought “Waypoints” to us an a new name possibility, and we all loved it–waypoints, not endpoints; dynamic, rather than static; a journey, not a destination.

With this new naming, we are more committed than ever to serving as a Waypoints resource and community hub for our growing Wisdom network, nationally and internationally.  To that end, we’ve recently been engaging in some wonderful conversations with the board of The Contemplative Society in Victoria, British Colombia, a sister organization in Cynthia’s lineage, whom we look forward to working with in increasingly collaborative and creative ways.

MarcellaAnd finally, I’m happy to announce that at our Council meeting this past week Marcella Kraybill-Greggo and I were elected as Council Co-Chairs for the coming year (it’s going to take two of us to fill Bill’s shoes!).  We’re both so honored to be entrusted with the opportunity to serve the community in this way.  Stay tuned as our expanding vision manifests more fully through an updated and renamed website, which we hope to launch early in the coming year.

With you on the Wisdom way,

Matthew

 

 

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5 thoughts on “Shiftings Are Afoot; Gratitude for Bill

  1. Would love to be a connect point here in San Diego on the West coast in any way I can serve. Also would love to see Matthew bring the work of Sufism more and more into this Wisdom work. Thank you all for being such truth and light.
    Deeply grateful,
    Jon

  2. Bill Redfield has been the anchor of NEW since I joined the parade at Kanuga #1. His online Wisdom teachings have been so valuable during this time of separation, so I understand his desire to step out of the middle. Many thanks, Bill.
    Marcella and Matthew are the perfect dynamic duo to guide Wisdom Waypoints in Wisdom’s journey into the future. Thanks for stepping up.

  3. I haven’t been a member of this group for too long, but having taken three of Bill’s online retreats, I can appreciate the fullness of his impact, wisdom, gentle humor and guidance. All the best to him, and to the new guides stepping up.
    And the new name is itself a powerful wisdom, that we are never ‘settled’ in this human embodiment, and can find and BE waypoints for each other.

  4. Most wonderful to read! May the growing pains themselves serve as just another “waypoint” on the journey. I really appreciate the renaming and the intention and action to expand beyond the Northeast. Much needed in our days. Gratitude.

  5. Thanks, Bill, for your many years of leadership in this great work. I’m also very pleased to hear that NE Wisdom has outgrown its name! – and that it is renaming itself with opening to the global…all the more welcome from my outpost here in Hong Kong. To my own great surprise, this Wisdom work appeals very much to my generally secular-minded, high achievement-oriented high school students. In fact, nearly 20% of them describe themselves as “progressive vertical,” which is marked by interspirituality, divine immanence and transcendence, mystery and deep symbolism. In this sense, there is a connection for me between the Wisdom work in New England – with mostly a second half of life crowd – and mostly Asian teenagers aiming for an Ivy League education in the future here in HK. It’s very encouraging to see growth in this area. (More info on our teaching Wisdom to high school students in Asia: https://martinschmidtinasia.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/exploring-the-vertical-dimension-creating-a-wisdom-path-for-21st-century-students/ )

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