Center for Transformative Spirituality
In the face of the problems ravaging our Earth and polarizing Earth’s humans…
- What kinds of human capacities do we need to cultivate toward effective leadership?
- What kinds of spiritual practices will foster these capacities?
- What kinds of community will allow humans and other species to negotiate the Great Turning to truly sustainable and flourishing forms of life together?
The Center for Transformative Spirituality
- Collaborates with others (especially those marginalized from social power and/or indigenous to the place, human and beyond) to create experiences of and practices fostering Earth/place as shared holy ground for those of all faiths or no faith in place-based relational mutuality, justice, humility/reverence, and interspecies pluralism across all kinds of alienations, toward the fullest possible common good: the life of the world
- Partners with the Spiritual Life Center to offer programs of spiritual companionship and discernment to HIU students and to co-sponsor events throughout the year
- Creates its own events highlighting eco-spirituality; contemplative arts and art-making; personal and communal maturity, resilience, and courage in the face of daunting ecological crises; diverse forms of spiritual expression for those within and beyond the HIU community
- Fosters HIU conversations, practices, and possible new degree or non-degree programs around listening to and long-term peace-building with non-human creatures and creation itself, inseparably from HIU’s commitment to peace-building across all human divisions
Ongoing Opportunities
Eco-Spirituality Graduate Certificate
This certificate provides a concentrated immersion that will take you into the broadest questions of science, climate, and global justice and into the beauty, relationality, mystery, and interspecies complexity of your particular bioregion and place on this Earth.
Ecological Programs and Initiatives
We offer many options for those who want to center their interreligious studies in love of Earth, including ecologically oriented pathways through HIU's degree programs.
Forum for Life and Meaning
It is the goal of the Forum for Life and Meaning, previously called the Robertson Spirituality Series, to provide provocative and nourishing presentations to seekers from all backgrounds. We hope to provide speakers who come from all faiths and no faith, who will address spirituality’s intersection with:
- environmental justice, eco-spirituality, and racial concerns
- the rich tradition of mystical and contemplative devotion throughout world history
- “thin places”
- concerns of health, beauty, harmony, and mortality.
Self Guided Meditation at the Labyrinth
Behind the Center’s building at 76 Sherman Street in Hartford is a labyrinth that is open to the public from sunrise to sunset.
Upcoming Events
6:30 pm
Writes of PassageA Four Session Exploration of Liminal InitiationGuided by Kristopher Drummond, poet, dreamworker, and wilderness guide REGISTER FOR ALL FOUR SESSIONS HEREWe have crossed the threshold.Don’t you feel that?We’ve crossed a boundary from which there’s no turning back.This is either the darkness of
7:00 pm
Gallery Opening for Dances with the DivineCome enjoy a gallery opening for the Candace Low photography exhibit Dances with the Divine, which will be on display in Hartford International University's chapel from March 19 through May 15. Enjoy refreshments and hear Candace talk about her work.This event is supported by the Center for
5:00 pm
Greening Palestine: Presentation and Eco-Justice IftarJoin us for a presentation from Simon Awad, the executive director of the Environmental Education Center (EEC), Beit Jala, West Bank.This event is co-sponsored by the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at HIU, the Center for Transformative Spirituality at HIU, the
9:00 am
Pilgrimage to IonaHartford International University plans a pilgrimage to Iona in Scotland from June 7-14, 2025. Spots remain open for the trip, but the sooner you reserve your place, the better. Iona is a tiny island off the southwest coast of Mull in the Inner Hebrides, a “thin place,” which holds great
Partnership
Center for Wild Spirituality
The Center for Wild Spirituality is a hub for the emerging wild church / wild seminary / wild spirituality movement.
For more information contact Dr. Lisa Dahill at ldahill@hartfordinternational.edu
Lisa E. Dahill
Miriam Therese Winter Chair for Transformative Leadership and Spirituality, Director of the Center for Transformative Spirituality
The Rev. Dr. Lisa E. Dahill is Miriam Therese Winter Professor of Transformative Leadership and Spirituality and Director of the Center for Transformative Spirituality at HIU.
Partnership
Spiritual Life Center
The Spiritual Life Center, in collaboration with the Center for Transformative Spirituality at Hartford International University, offers programs and services that help people explore meaning, discern the choices they face, and choose ways to put their faith or spirituality into action for justice and peace.
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