New Staff + Summer Plans

July 19, 2017

Dear Friends,

We’ve finally landed at the Astana in Richmond! After many months of packing and preparation, and a very special Season of the Rose, we officially arrived in RVA on the 4th of July.

Since the move, we have begun getting our office set-up and have focused on practicalities, such as helping Pir Zia and his family settle into their new home before heading off for their summer teaching tour of Turkey, the Swiss Alps, and Suresnes, France. Now that they are off, we have begun to focus more fully on getting ready for a public launch of the Astana this fall.

New Staff

Perhaps the most important aspect of our preparations has been the hiring of new staff. We are pleased to announce that we have just signed agreement letters with two great people. Kenneth Sparks, our new Executive Assistant, will support Pir Zia and Alia, and manage all operations related to the Astana. In addition, Muhasaba Molly Wender, a long-time student of this path, will be our new Programs Manager. We are extremely excited and grateful to have an incredibly capable staff come together to manage activities at the Astana and across North America.

Biographies for staff can be found here.

We also plan to hire two additional positions this fall: ourAdministrative Assistant and Communications Manager positions will be advertised in September with start dates in October.

* Even as we hire these new positions in Richmond, we want to recognize former staff members Yaqin Aubert and Molly “Moon” Mooney, two of our most devoted friends. Both are shifting into new roles with Yaqin becoming the Vice President of the Inayati Order, a board role, and Moon building her career as a healer, farmer and naturalist. We will miss them both.

Summer Plans

As we prepare to open the Astana, we have decided to cloister ourselves away a bit to focus on a few important projects. Over the next ten weeks, we will work on the following:

Preparing the Astana to open in time for Wisdom of the Prophets: Sufism & Christianity, November 2-5, 2017. This will be the Astana’s first program, and will include a special public blessing ceremony. (Preparations include construction to create a public meeting space and audio-video room, and full furnishing of the building and grounds.)
Creating new promotional materials and booklets describing our work and sharing Hazrat Inayat Khan’s teachings.
Working on communications including a new e-newsletter, updated website, and fall appeal, all noting the Astana as the center of our activity.
Finalizing details for upcoming programs, including enhanced leadership training opportunities, and a new Suluk class to launch September 2018.
Collaborating with our Esoteric Leadership on how to best support and promote Inayati Order teachers, guides, centers, and programs across North America.

While we work on all of the above, please know that you will hear from us again, and more regularly, beginning Monday, October 2, 2017. Until then, we appreciate your patience as we do everything needed to for a proper launch in November.

New Email Address

As a part of our new transition, we are phasing out the use of the word “Secretariat” in favor of “Astana” and “Headquarters.” Our offices will now be known as The Astana or The Inayati Order North American Headquarters.

As a part of this change, we are discontinuing use of secretariat@inayatiorder.org and ask that everyone begin to use the email address, astana@inayatiorder.org.

Our primary phone number, 518-794-7834, will stay the same, at least for now.

If you can, please try to be with us, either in person or online, for the Inayati Order Astana’s launch in November. Registration is open for Wisdom of the Prophets: Sufism & Christianity, with additional details to come.

Thank you for your kindness, friendship, and support as we have made our way to Virginia. May the Astana become a home of love, harmony, and beauty for all our friends worldwide!

With love,

Jennifer Alia Wittman
Executive Director

Roshan Peay
Chair of the Board