Center for Action and Contemplation

Sr. Ilia Delio, OSF, Ph.D.

Sister Ilia Delio is a Franciscan sister who holds doctorates in Pharmacology from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and in Historical Theology from Fordham University. She lectures internationally in Franciscan theology/spirituality with a particular focus on integrating Franciscan theology and contemporary questions.

Sr. Delio has written Simply Bonaventure (2001), Franciscan Prayer (2004), The Humility of God (2005), and Christ in Evolution (2008).  She also is a contributing author to Care for Creation:  A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth (2009).

She served as Chair and Professor in the Department of Spirituality Studies at the Washington Theological Union, where she also was Director of Franciscan Studies.  She is a member of the Commission for the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition that is sponsored by the English Speaking Conference of Friars Minor.  She currently serves as a Research Analyst for the Franciscan Action Network and is a Senior Research Fellow in the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

Fr. Richard Rohr, ofm,

an internationally known author and spiritual teacher, is a Franciscan of the New Mexico province and founder of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He considers the proclamation of the Gospel to be his primary call and the related themes he addresses include eco-spirituality, scripture as liberation, the integration of action and contemplation, community building, peace and justice issues, male spirituality, and the Enneagram. He is a regular contributing writer for Sojourners and Tikkun magazines.

Some of his best-known books include: Everything Belongs; Radical Grace: Daily Meditations; Adam’s Return: The Five Promises of Male Initiation; The Enneagram: A Christian Perspective; From Wild Men to Wise Men: Reflections on Male Spirituality; and his latest book The Naked Now: Learning to See as the Mystics See.

Fr. Richard has been a featured essayist on NPR’s “This I Believe” and a guest of Dr. Mehmet Oz on the “Oprah and Friends” radio show; he also appears in the 2006 documentary, ONE, featuring spiritual teachers from around the world. Check the Mustard Seed Resource Center for all Fr. Richard's works.

Pamela Wood

Pamela Wood is an art therapist, spiritual director and retreat facilitator based in Portland, Oregon. She has facilitated experiential workshops and retreats nationally which explore the interconnections of ecological and social justice, creativity, and engaged spirituality.  She has a passion for working with teens, and started the first Earth Scouts group in the Northwest (scouting based on the Earth Charter), leading kids on hiking, climbing, and backpacking adventures.  

Her deepest calling is to create experiences which expand one's sense of connection to all of creation, deepen the motivation to act on behalf of our world, and create a positive and hopeful vision for a sustainable future.  

Pam co-authored Care for Creation: A Franciscan Spirituality of the Earth with Ilia Delio, OSF, and Keith Douglass Warner, OFM.  

For more information, go to: www.sacredgroundhealing.com.

Sr. Paula González, SC, Ph.D.

A Sister of Charity of Cincinnati, Sr. Paula is a futurist and environmentalist. She has offered over 1600 talks, minicourses and retreats on various aspects of Planetary Awareness: Learning from Earth, Ecospirituality, Renewable Energy andSustainable Futures. In the '80s she gained direct experience with passive solar design and superinsulation techniques by converting a chicken barn into a solar residence. A second major building project, also modeled on nature's cyclic processes, resulted in EarthConnection, "a center for learning and reflection about 'living lightly' on Earth."  Sr. Paula has produced several book chapters, articles, and audio and video programs.