From poet Robert Bly`s Men`s Movement and New York Times best-seller ”A Return to Love” by Marianne Williamson to Hollywood star Cher and
professional athletes such as veteran Chicago Bulls forward Horace Grant, it seems just about everyone is proclaiming their ”spirituality” these days, whether they`re turning to God, Zen or hugs and healing.
This spirituality movement is strongly afoot in Lake County and the northwest suburbs, where men`s support seminars are springing up at local junior colleges. Spiritual journey roadmaps are the hottest titles at bookstores, teens are hanging around after school to devour the New Testament, and churches are filling their pews with soul-searchers hungry for a personal experience with God.
This inner search speaks loudly to members of the Baby Boom generation who are disillusioned with and find their lives empty from the materialistic, Me-generation decade of the `80s, according to John Fontana, a noted theologian of spiritual life and executive director of the Crossroads Center for Faith and Work at Old St. Pat`s Church in downtown Chicago. There, more than 5,000 LaSalle Street stock brokers, lawyers and other business types who work in the Loop gather before and after work to find answers to their need for fufillment, to seek solace in God.
”Spirituality and the church are resources for people to be hopeful,”
said Fontana, a Hoffman Estates resident who, with an MBA from Northwestern University`s Kellogg School of Management under his belt and firmly ensconced in the corporate world, forged a new religious path for himself, returning to school for a master`s degree in religious education and a doctorate in ministry.
He helped found St. Pat`s, the center for work and spirituality, five years ago. ”In the workplace, we`re told to do and be productive. Now workers are turning to the church and spirituality because they are finding they need a santuary for the soul, a place to be reflective and discover ways for themselves to be actively involved in a good life.”
For some, this newfound spirituality is rooted in religion, in the search for a relationship with God and service to mankind. For others, it is more self-directed, an inner, non-religious quest for self-improvement, such as the Men`s Movement, where guys gather to bare their souls to learn how to become
”Real Men.”
Secular spiritualism also is a backlash to the feminist movement, according to Russell Vallimont, an expert in secular spirituality who has a master`s in theology and is a counselor at Elgin Community College. Starting this summer, he will be teaching a first-time offered course in Secular Spiritualism at the College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn.
”Women are disenchanted by the feminist movement and are finding their spirits weak from trying to be everything-wife, mother, successful business woman,” said Vallimont. ”There`s a whole new awareness of the inner part of their lives that is their spirit.”
Indeed, where social action was the buzzword of the `60s and `70`s and money and materialism the `80s, spirituality is the emerging hot topic of the `90s, experts agree. ”The problem with the term `spirituality` is that it has become so popular and all kinds of different people are using it to mean different things,” said Father Louis Cameli, a doctor of theology who teaches several courses in spirituality to seminarians and lay people at the the University of St. Mary`s of the Lake in Mundelein.
”For some, it`s just referring to their inner spirit, a way to improve their own lives. In religious experience, the spiritual experience is one of building a gifted relationship with God. It is a new way of knowing and connecting God and people and of cultivating values and attitudes that lead to a commitment to God.”
This spiritual search is showing up in expected places-church. More than 17,000 religious seekers head to church each weekend at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington. There, church fathers say attendance has grown tremendously in the five years since it opened its doors. The church recently added a $23 million addition, its fourth major expansion.
Like so many adults, Darlene Wera of Streamwood grew up in a family with a strong religious bent. But as a teen and a young adult, Wera drifted away from her Roman Catholic roots. It wasn`t until her children, now ages 11 and 6, were born that Wera realized how much she missed the religion. That`s when she began her search for deeper meaning in her life.
”When my eldest daughter was born, I kept thinking, `Gee, I really should find something with more meaning in my life. But I had fallen away from the Catholic Church and knew that wasn`t right for me.”
Instead, Wera and her husband, Glenn, found the spiritual peace and sense of purpose they were searching for at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington. That was nine years ago. Since then, she has become an active volunteer in the non-denominational Christian church`s ministries, a role that has brought her ”extreme peace and joy in my life.”
”Especially after becoming a parent, I realized there were too many gray areas in my life,” she said. ”Through the church, I have learned to cope better and found answers for the uncertainties in my life. It has been instrumental in changing my adult life.”
Alpine Chapel in Lake Zurich, which, like Willow Creek, bills itself as a non-denominational Christian community, has more than doubled its membership during the last year to almost 400 from 150.
Said Tim Ayers, co-pastor for Alpine Chapel: ”The `80s Me-generation turned out to be a big letdown. We target the 30- to 35-year-olds for our membership, and they`re all telling us the same thing: They want self-help messages. That`s what we give them, action-step messages to help them turn their lives around.”
What`s more, experts such as St. Mary`s Father Cameli say the religious spiritual movement is manifesting itself in more than just increased church attendance. ”We`re seeing people take a much more active role in helping others,” said Rev. Cameli, who adds that St. Mary`s Center for Ministry Development is seeing a surge in lay people training themselves through classes and workshops on how to minister to the needs of others.
”They`ve found that getting ahead doesn`t seem to yield much meaning.”
Not too long ago, Valerie Burkat, 39, of Arlington Heights, began her search for deeper meaning and spirituality in her life. Raised a Roman Catholic, she went to church every Sunday, but didn`t feel her deeper needs were being satisfied. That is when she began her extensive spiritual research, looking into everything from the New Age Movement to other religions and churches.
At the urging of and help from friends and associates, she arrived at Willow Creek Community Church six years ago. Today, the mother of a 4-year-old and infant is active in many of the church`s ministries.
”I really was searching deeply,” recalled Burkat. ”I wanted to know God as a real part of my life. I also was kind of scared of being a Christian, thinking that the religion could take away from my life. But it has enchanced it incredibly.”
The search for spirituality is also springing up at Lake County and northwest suburban junior colleges. At William Rainey Harper College, which offers courses in Palatine and Wheeling, one of the expected-to-be-most-popular attractions at the upcoming wellness week April 21 is a seminar called ”Males: Growing Up, Needs and Spirituality.” Also scheduled is a talk by Woodfield Church Pastor Phil Miglioratti on ”Coping Through Faith, Hope and Love.”
Said Stephen Infantino, a Ph.D. and professor of philosophy at The College of Lake County in Grayslake, who teaches a course called the Philosophy of Religions: ”In the last two years, we`ve had to add another whole time section for the class because religion has become such a popular subject. I`m seeing a growing number of students who are taking the class because they want to understand religious philosophy and get into a ministry where they can help others. I really feel this spirituality movement reflects a deeper concern for mankind, an active involvment in religion and ministry.”
