Executive Director’s Reflection

40 Years At The Well

By Andrea C. Pannell, OPA

Sr. Noreen did not discover that everyone thirsted in the same way. She discovered that everyone thirsts. That realization continues to shape who we are. Our work has never been to provide quick answers. It has been to keep noticing. To keep listening. To create spaces where people can bring not only their insights, but also their uncertainty, their longing, and the questions that refuse easy answers.

Organizations, like people, have seasons and I believe we are entering one that asks something new of us. Not to abandon who we have been, but to become more deeply rooted in why we began. Every generation arrives at the well carrying different questions, different wounds, different language, and different hopes. Our calling is not to have every answer, but to cultivate the kind of courageous, contemplative presence where authentic seeking can flourish. Rather than seeing this as something to fear, I wonder if this is the very work of awakening and perhaps the Spirituality Network is itself standing at the well. Listening. Noticing. Becoming. Trusting that the same Sacred Mystery that drew one woman into deeper relationship forty years ago is still drawing hearts today.

As Executive Director, I find this both humbling and hopeful. I believe every generation is invited to rediscover the heart of why The Spirituality Network exists. Our founders were courageous enough to notice a longing common to all hearts. My hope is that we will be courageous enough to keep noticing. Not rushing to answers but remaining rooted in the questions. Not settling for easy conversations, but creating spaces where authentic seeking, deep listening, and genuine transformation can unfold.

The living water has never stopped flowing. It continues to meet each generation where it is, inviting us all a little deeper. So, as we celebrate forty years, I offer my deep gratitude to Sr. Noreen who first noticed a thirst common to all hearts, and to all who dared to help her create a place where others could come and drink.

My hope is that we continue that same sacred work by having the courage to notice, to listen, and to accompany one another with depth, asking “What common longing is quietly asking to be noticed today?”