Submitted by Rabbi Arthur Waskow on
My friends have persuaded me that stories I have thought of as a book would be wonderful to share with you as –- stories!
I have been collecting from my life and the lives of my friends what I call Tales of the Spirit Rising: tales of spiritual growth in ourselves, our communities, our countries.
Moments to give us new hope –- real hope out of real life -- in an age that is ragged with fear, anger, even despair.
I have been thinking of these as a book. But when I have gotten a chance to tell the stories, people have kept telling me – “You’re a great story-teller! These are stories to tell around a modern campfire like Zoom, stories where the listeners will want to join and comment and explore.”
So I began to imagine and enjoy what that would feel like -- To listen to each other– an even better word, to hearken -- with the real organ of hearing – our hearts, not just our ears – and then to join in the telling.
What better time to do this than a summer when we are venturing out once more to a restaurant, a friend’s house, a beach, a park, even a sidewalk filled with faces?
So I am going to begin with five weekly gatherings. In each one, I will tell two or three stories around a specific theme, and then invite a conversation: a story of your own life that my story sparks, a question, a laugh, some tears.
These “campfires” will happen on the Wednesday evenings of August 4, 11, 18, and 25, and September 1, from 7:30 to 9 pm EASTERN Time (4:40 pm Pacific, etc.).
There will be a contribution to meet the costs of doing this and to help support The Shalom Center ‘s work: $90 for the series, $25 for those who can’t afford the regular fee, and $120 for those who can afford more, so as to help make the lower fee possible.
The sessions will be recorded, so if a participant has to miss a session, it will still be available. The number of people will be limited, so that we can have a real conversation. So register now! The link again:
https://theshalomcenter.org/civicrm/event/info?id=47&reset=1
May our spirits rise together! -- Arthur
