We often push away from difficult feelings or shutdown when we don’t know how to handle things. Carl Jung recognized that doing so doesn’t rid us of those struggles. Those feelings persist and can seep out of us in ways that are not healthy or helpful. We will look at...
“We are all just walking each other home” with Kathleen R. Smythe Many have been deeply moved by Ram Dass’s declaration that “We are all just walking each other home.” It is interpreted as accompanying each other through the end-of-life process. The resonance between Dass’ oft-quoted statement and the KiSwahili...
01000010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 {binary} Societal binaries have shaped our collective worldview in a powerful way. The gender binary holds within it another binary of “preferred” vs “assigned,” but even biological sex is more fluid than the general public’s understanding of it. What if we understood gender as...
There are many in our world who experience Exile – displaced from their homes against their will. Although we may not experience locational exile, there are situations which are imposed upon us and from which we hope to escape. But what do we do when we cannot escape? What do...
The Right of Nature (RON) is a movement to protect land and resources for generations to come by bestowing legal personhood to nature. We will discuss how Tribes in the US play a major role in the movement, and the current work that’s being done locally on RON. Anahkwet (Guy Reiter)...
Especially on Easter Sunday when we hear the word “resurrection” I suspect many, if not most of us, think of some version of the Biblical New Testament discussion of Jesus’ death, his bodily disappearance, and his subsequent reappearances to a few women and disciples. That is not my focus this...
Celebrating International Women’s Day Transformation in Changing Times: Lessons from Camp Meenahga with Kathleen Harris What can a twentieth century girls camp tell us about ourselves and today’s Door County community? Camp Meenahga (Peninsula State Park, 1916-1948) offers surprising stories of intention and resilience. Camp yearbooks, written by girls like...
Arts as Community Work with Jacob Janssen of Third Avenue Playworks (TAP) Artists are care workers, not unlike nurses or teachers. Those who work in the arts provide spiritual, emotional, celebratory support, and energy in our communities. Jacob Janssen serves as the Artistic Director of the iconic Third Avenue Playworks,...
Resilience: Is It Really About Bouncing Back? with Laura Smythe What is resilience? When is it useful? Many of us think of resilience as the ability to “bounce back” from difficult circumstances. But, do we really want to bounce back from challenging moments? What does the desire to “bounce back” suggest about the role...
Ready to Be Unsteady with Rev. Karen Hering What does it mean to keep our balance when the unknowns of our times require that we let go of so much that was familiar before? How do we find balance in times of change – in the world, in our communities and...