The Sufi Healing Circle of Atlanta welcomes
Shekinah Cynthia Daniel (formerly Trapanese) ~
Representative, Guide, Cherag, Healing Conductor in the Sufi Order International. Shekinah was ordained by Pir Vilayat in a Universal Worship Service at the Abode
of the Message in February 1997. As a Cherag, Shekinah completed two years of Clinical Pastoral Education at Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, NY, and was certified as a Board Certified Chaplain by the Association of Professional Chaplains in 2002. She has served as the Spiritual Care Coordinator for Hospice Atlanta since 2003, and serves as the State Continuing Education Chair in Georgia for the Association of Professional Chaplains. Shekinah was appointed as a Representative and Guide in the Sufi Order, by Pir Vilayat, in 1999. She was a co-leader of the Sufi Center of Yonkers until her move to Atlanta in 2002. Due to difficult life circumstances, Shekinah has been unable to be fully involved as a leader in Atlanta's Sufi community until this time. Shekinah has been recently married to a fellow Board Certified Chaplain, ordained Methodist clergy, Larry Daniel, and lives together with him, and their four children, in Decatur, GA.
A Message from Jacob Kabb:
Thank you for your interest in spirit, in mysticism,
in Sufism and your own spiritual unfoldment.
We encourage you to look deeper into this path
through reading, attending programs, through
attunement and meditation and listening to your
heart.
The local center sponsors activities and there are
regional and national events that may be of interest.
This website lists a number of links and related
information that may be helpful.
Blessings,
Jacob Kabb
Please Note: Jacob Kabb is currently in Ohio, recovering from his recent illness.
Questions about the Sufi Order of Atlanta should be directed to our SOI Atlanta Representative,Shekinah Cynthia Daniel, 678-768-9512 or cynthia@heartandwings.com
A Message from Hamza Darrell Grizzle,
Ordained Conductor in the Sufi Healing Order:
Greetings! It is my pleasure and honor to coordinate
each month at our Third Sunday Gatherings. This is
a short but powerful ritual, written by Hazrat Inayat Khan,
in which we send healing prayer to those who have
requested it. All the participants in the circle are invited
to allow this healing energy to flow through them, by
praying two of the sacred names of God in rhythm with
one's breath. I invite you to join us! I also invite you to
about ongoing events in our Atlanta Sufi community.
of if you would like to submit someone's name to the international
healing list (the person must consent to be added), please contact
In November 2007 I was ordained as a Cherag (Minister) in the Sufi Order International. Ordination as a Cherag (the word means "light-bearer" or "lamp") authorizes me to conduct the Service of Universal Worship, a beautiful service created by Hazrat Inayat Khan, exemplifying the underlying unity of religious ideals. At one altar we read from the Scriptures of several world religions and traditions. We light a candle for each religion, symbolically representing the wisdom brought to the world by each faith tradition.
Ordination also authorizes me to conduct weddings, funerals, house blessings, and other ministerial functions.
I was ordained by Shahabbudin David Less and Devi Tide at Rising Tide International, a Sufi center in Sarasota, Florida, where I completed a 12-month course of study for Healing Cherags (Sufi ministers with a special emphasis on healing ministry). The course included three week-long training sessions held in Sarasota between October 2006 and November 2007, as well as extensive home study.
The Sufi Order International is a universalist Sufi order, so there are mureeds (initiates) in the order who are also active in other faith traditions. In fact, there are even some Episcopal priests who are also ordained as Cherags. I am an active member of Gentle Spirit Christian Church in Atlanta, and I am also involved in the Emergent (postmodern) Christianity movement. While I recognize that some conservative Christians would have difficulty with the universalism of the Sufi Order, there is no such conflict between my beliefs as a Sufi and my beliefs as a liberal Christian. Jesus (known in Sufism as Isa Ruhallah, the Breath of God) is very much alive in my life, as Healer as well as Divine Beloved.
I'll also be using my Sufi name more often: Hamza, which means "Lion." This name was given to me by Jacob Kabb; he and Shekinah Cynthia Daniel were my mentors in my Cherag studies.
shalom/salaam,
Hamza
(the websufi)
