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. He has also worked with the Kanza Heritage Society and Real Rent Duwamish. John is former executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee for the Central States.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Mennonite

Susan Urban is half of February Sky, along with Phil Cooper, a duo originally from the Chicago area now well-installed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They play a wide range of traditional, modern, and original folk and Celtic tunes, on guitars, banjos, citterns, dulcimers, and other instruments. Susan's songs are full of reality-based fictional story-telling, conveying important meaning and values at the heart of our lives.

Phil Hoose writes songs that we all love and that other performers love to perform. His best-known, Hey, Little Ant, is a song, but also a book that has sold over 1 million copies in 10 languages. With a quirky eye for seeing the world differently, his songs intrigue, amuse, & enchant. An employee of The Nature Conservancy for decades, and the author of more than 10 books, including the inspirational Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, Phil's awards include the John Newbery Medal, Sibert Medal, and the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

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. You can help support the protest movement by advocating for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019 (H.R. 3289, and S. 1838).

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Buddhism, Non-affiliated

Liam Hooper, a Trans Bible scholar, talks about Jael in Judges chapter 4, her famous tent peg, & the naughty unconventional way she uses it. Fierce, subversive, and gender non-conforming, Jael stands as a bold figure in the Bible.

Peterson Toscano joins in the discussion then shares an "other" text. He reads a poem by Sapho (ca. 610-580 B.C.E.) from Andrew Harvey's The Essential Gay Mystics. 

Steve Suffet has the heart & the pedigree of a 100% authentic old-fashioned folk singer. Growing up near ground zero of the folk music explosion of NYC in the early 1960's, Steve has witnessed & shared the music of many others, and added his share to the conversation. Though he waited a few decades to start recording his music, Steve has 7 CDs on CDBaby.

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. Check Kevin's site for the full schedule, but there is a looming opportunity in Eau Claire, WI, on Saturday, Sept. 21, 7 pm, at the UU Eau Claire, 421 S. Farwell St, Eau Claire, suggested donation $15.

Though he's of & lives in South Armagh, Ireland, the music of Ben Reel is variously described as Rock/Americana, Roots Rock, Alternative Folk, Adult Alternative Pop/Rock and even Jazz Pop. Thing is, he's great. Though Irish through-and-through, he's influenced by musicians all over, like Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Neil Young, Rob Orbison, U2, & many more. Having grown up in the middle of "the troubles" in Ireland, Ben is deeply committed to a better country & a better world.

Permaculture is much more than organic gardening because it uses whole systems thinking. It is explained eloquently by Carol Barta of the Kansas Permaculture Institute, one of the places where Carol teaches folks to see the world differently by focusing on the Big Picture, supported by the 3 core tenets and 12 design principles of permaculture. Their quest for a healthy and balanced way to meet our needs is supported by research by The Land Institute.

Past/current religious/spiritual influences:
Quaker 

Climate Communication experts Blair Bazarich from the San Francisco Zoo and Hannah Pickard at Boston's New England Aquarium share proven insider tips about effective communication strategies.