Jim Burklo
Jim Burklo is the Associate Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California. He is a co-founder of Mindful.USC.edu, a campus-wide initiative for learning, practice, and research; he has been practicing and teaching mindfulness meditation for nearly 40 years. He is an ordained UCC pastor and the author of six books: Open Christianity; Birdlike and Barnless: Meditations, Prayers, and Songs for Progressive Christians; Hitch-Hiking to Alaska: The Way of Soulful Service; a novel, Souljourn; Deeper Love: Faithful Rhetoric for Progressive Social Change; and MINDFUL CHRISTIANITY. He writes a weekly blog, MUSINGS, on progressive Christian spirituality and social activism. Many of his liturgical elements and meditations appear at ProgressiveChristianity.org, and he is an activist, writer, and board member with Progressive Christians Uniting. An avid hiker and lover of the desert, he dabbles in artistic tinwork. He and his wife, Roberta Maran, live in Hollywood; they are blessed with three children and two grandchildren.