Souljourning is a new project founded by Rev. Jim Burklo, Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California.

Souljourning empowers parents, children, and communities to nurture the natural spirituality of people aged 0-21. Souljourning offers resources, publications, events, and consultation for parents and groups. Souljourning brings together young people around the globe in a shared spirit of awe, compassion, and respect.

Commitments of Souljourning:

1) Nurturing the natural spiritual development of young people through multi-faith resources that empower them, their families, and their communities of the world’s religious and secular traditions.

2) Demonstrating compassion through our efforts to preserve the planet and to make social and economic systems just for all.

3) Religious pluralism: demonstrating deep respect for people who practice the spiritual traditions of the world, recognizing that religions or world-views other than yours or mine may be as good for others as they are for us. Inter-religious literacy is crucial for young people to become global citizens.

4) Demonstrating, in all we do and say, the dignity and equality of people of all ethnicities, cultures, sexual orientations, and gender identities.

5) Respecting science as a way to find facts, and respecting religions and cultural traditions as ways to find meanings. Religious myths can reveal potent spiritual truths.

Souljourning offers:

1) Practical guidance empowering parents to nurture their children’s natural spirituality.

2) Resources for the spiritual nurture of children and young people in faith communities and secular organizations.

3) Resources available directly to children and young adults.

4) A global network of Souljourning individuals and local communities.

Learn more here.

ABOUT JIM BURKLO
 Rev. Jim Burklo has been a spiritual educator for over 40 years. He is the Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California. The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life is the interfaith center of the University, hosting over 50 student clubs representing all the world’s faiths. Jim is an ordained United Church of Christ pastor with a Masters of Divinity degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. He is the author of seven published books on topics related to progressive Christianity. He is an honorary advisor to ProgressiveChristianity.org, and a member of the board of directors of ProgressiveChristiansUniting.org. He has served as a pastor to churches, as the ecumenical Christian campus minister at Stanford University, and as the organizer and executive director of the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto (now part of LifeMoves Inc), which serves people experiencing houselessness and food insecurity. Jim is a father, stepfather, and grandfather living with his wife, Roberta, in Ojai, California. His weekly blog on the practice of spirituality and compassion, “musings”, has a global readership.