In this workshop we will draw on the wisdom of some of the greatest Western and Eastern mystics from Jesus to Eckhart, from Hildegard to Thomas Merton, from Rabbi Heshel to Rumi to address questions such as:

  · Where is God?

  · What are the ways to

We will also consider themes such as the sacredness of creation,  the dark night of the soul, the ways we can bring wonder alive again and the nature and practice of compassion and justice-making. We will utilize the fourfold path of the Via Positiva (awe and wonder), the Via Negativa (silence and darkness and suffering and letting go), the Via Creativa (creativity) and the Via Transformativa (compassion) to help shed light on the various mystic/activists we are exploring.

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This event is brought to you by

Cultivating Connections

with the support of the

following cosponsors
 

• Interfaith Paths to Peace
• Natural Awakenings Magazine
• First Unitarian Church
• Covenant Community Church
• The Merton Institute for Contemplative Living
• Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church Green Sanctuary Committee
• The Thomas Merton Center
• Unity of Louisville
   

The Goddess has been returning to Western consciousness for decades through the women's movement, Goddess rediscoveries, and more. This presentation explores some of the rich and hopeful implications of this reemergence with special emphasis on the return of the Black Madonna.

The times also call for a resurrection of the "sacred masculine" so that the Goddess may have a proper consort. Much of what passes for masculinity in our culture and religion is anything but sacred. It is toxic, and this toxicity affects not only men but also women in their roles as mothers, sisters, spouses, and human beings.

As such this lecture (drawn in part from Matthew's book, "The Hidden Spirituality of Men") also explores the positive examples offered by such ancient archetypes of the sacred masculine as Father Sky, the Green Man, the Spiritual Warrior, Hunter-Gatherer, and the Grandfatherly Heart.

This event is a fundraiser for Cultivating Connections.

The cost for attending is self determined starting at $10 per person.

Or come early for

5:30 pm Cultivating Connections Fundraiser

Reception with Matthew Fox

(Donations start at $75 and include

premium seating for the 7:30 pm presentation)

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Matthew Fox (b. 1940) is an internationally acclaimed theologian who was a member of the Dominican Order for 34 years.  He is author of more than two dozen books that have been translated into 42 languages including Original Blessing; The Reinvention of  Work; Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet; One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths; A Spirituality Named Compassion; The Coming of the Cosmic Christ; Prayer: A Radical Response to Life; A New Reformation; The A.W.E. Project: Reinventing Education, Reinventing the Human; The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors for  Awakening the Sacred Masculine.  His latest book, Christian Mystics: 365 Meditations is scheduled for publication in February 1st.  

Fox founded the Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality that operated for seven years at Mundelein College in Chicago and twelve years at Holy Names College in Oakland . For ten of those years at Holy Names College Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict), as chief Inquisitor and head of the Congregation of Doctrine and Faith, tried to shut the program down. Ratzinger silenced Fox for one year in 1988 and forced him to step down as director. Three years later he expelled Fox from the Order thus terminating the program at Holy Names College. Rather than disband his amazing and ecumenical faculty, Fox started his own University called University of Creation Spirituality where it thrived for nine years and closed in 2007.

Fox is a well received lecturer who has spoken at many professional and community gatherings on many continents and in many countries around the world. His books have received numerous awards and he is recipient of the Peace Abbey Courage of Conscience Award as well as the Ghandi-King-Ikeda Award.  Fox has been featured in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, Utne Reader, YES! Magazine and the Today Show.

Fox believes that by "reinventing work, education and worship we can bring about a non-violent revolution on our planet" and has committed himself to this vision.

Visit his website