Spirit in Action

Will the issues every stop repeating themselves? Everything is not about the Bible, but a good share of everything is in the Bible, at least if you look with the discerning eyes of Peterson Toscano, a gay man who produces the monthly Citizen's Climate Radio blog, and Liam Hooper, a North Carolinian trans man of Ministries Beyond Welcome.

In Powerarchy: Understanding the Psychology of Oppression for Social Transformation, psychologist Melanie Joy helps us find a way to rethink power, rewrite our future by understanding the structure, workings, & consequences of powerarchy. Melanie is also author of Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, and currently lives in Berlin, Germany, doing her work of building compassion in the world.

Ralph Jacobson has been a steadfast advocate for solar since he founded IPS Solar in 1991. In 2017 they became the fastest-growing Twin Cities Business, all the more rewarding because of their practice of inviting women & people of color into the mostly male-dominated industry, and for Ralph's effort to use MnVest.org (Minnesota Investment Crowdfunding) to jump-start solarization of the Red Lake Nation reservation.

Michael Birkel is a Professor of Christian Spirituality at ESR (Earlham School of Religion) who became a self-taught friend of the Qur'an. In addition to the courses he has taught at ESR and Earlham College, he led a week-long workshop called Reading the Qur'an as Friends as part of the 2019 FGC Gathering.

The impact of addiction can shape our lives in unexpected ways. Spencer T. and his guests on The Recovery Show podcast carry the message of healing for those affected by addiction and alcoholism. We explore the 12-steps of Al-Anon and see how working the steps can offer solutions to personal challenges we all face.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
12 Step Spirituality

Betsy Raasch-Gilman has a lifetime of experience as an activist, feminist, anarchist, Quaker, and change-maker, so she has seen the ups-and-downs of organizing and burn-out. Hearing of the exhaustion of activists in the current political turmoil, she gathered her resources and shared a presentation on Reasons for Hope.

A taste of Farm Aid 2019, the work & music, of the event & the organization. We have 2 amazing musicians from the 18 acts from this year's mainstage: Particle Kid (Micah Nelson, Willie's youngest son) and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, (Willie's 2nd youngest son), joined by Jennifer Lahy, Communication Director of Farm Aid's staff.

John Stoesz carries a ministry advocating land reparations with indigenous peoples as he has traveled 1000's & 1000's of miles on his recumbent trike, working with Dakota peoples in Minnesota, working with and alongside Unsettling Minnesota, coalition for Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery, and Waziyatawin, author of What Does Justice Look Like.

A front-row look at the situation in Hong Kong with Jerry (Chiwei) Hui, currently Associate Professor of Music at UW-Stout in Wisconsin, but he is Hong Kong born-and-raised, and he was present for the first two of the massive protests there. Jerry provides an inside glimpse of the people, laws, history, politics, & character of Hong Kong, which can be supplemented by the BBC Hong Kong page.

Kevin McMullin has created a powerful one-man show called Into the Black Sea: Stories of Darkness and Light to invite the audience to journey alongside the voyage of hurt, healing, and uncertainly he has traveled with the onset of a brain tumor. Kevin uses storytelling and music to walk a mile in his hospital bed, and out of it, show all a way to look honestly into the confusion, pain, and loving that confronts most of us at one time or another of our lives.