Cultivating Connections Recommends:  

Events and More for Metro Louisville - December 2014

Affirming Connections between Planet, People, Power and Possibilities

Table of Contents - Click to Jump to the Listing
Starting Tuesday the 2nd * Wandering Together in the Dark with Jud Hendrix
Wednesday the 3rd * Louisville Sustainability Forum - CAFO Watch
Saturday the 6th * Restore the Forest Workday at Louisville Nature Center
Tuesday the 9th * Light for Lima, a Vigil for Climate Change
Thursday the 11th * Compassionate Louisville Town Hall Meeting at Peace Ed
Sunday the 14th * Louisville TimeBank Potluck Dinner
Monday the15th * Social Change Book Club: The Five Stages of Collapse
Tuesday the16th * Greater Louisville Sierra Club presents Winter Potluck at Locust Grove
Sunday the 21st * Winter Solstice Sacred Celebration at Unity of Louisville
January - The Great Work: Recovering a Sacred Community
Save the Dates March 2015 - Matthew Fox Evening Presentation and Workshop
Donate Resources to Nonprofits via Donor Resource
findusonfacebook

If You Are on Facebook,
 Please go to our Facebook Page
and give us a "Like".


   

Tuesdays December 2, 9, 16, 24, 30 and January 6 at 7:30 pm
Wandering Together in the Dark:
A six-week contemplative journey with the world's mystics
The Loft, 107 Crescent Avenue

Wandering together in the Dark, is a six week contemplative experience guided by wisdom of the world's mystics.   In the midst of a holiday season, often obsessed with being busy and full, we will seek to be still and empty.    

In the mystical tradition, the soul meets the Divine in a "cloud of unknowing," a type of spiritual darkness where our theologies, explanations and doctrines are revealed to be thin veils keeping us from a more intimate encounter. 

Teresa of Avila, Rumi, Kabir, Meister Eckhart and St. John of the Cross will be our guides as we wander and wonder together in the darkness.  Please join us, as we support one another in our inward journeys and build a contemplative community of practice.

Darkness is your candle.   Boundaries are your quest.    - Rumi

For more information, please contact Jud Hendrix. 
502.235.3250   judhendrix7@gmail.com



Wednesday, December 3, 12 - 1:45 pm
Louisville Sustainability Forum
featured presention:
Indiana Confined Animal Feeding Operation Watch
with Barbara Sha Cox
Passionist Earth and Spirit Center
(located behind St Agnes Church at 1920 Newburg Road)

Featured presentation:

CAFO stands for Confined Animal Feeding Operation.  A CAFO confines the animals at all times and does not let them roam on the range.  These operations are sometimes referred to as factory farms because they resemble a factory in their composition and design.  The animals are fed, milked, cleaned, etc. all using an assembly line mentality tailored to the agriculture industry.  This is becoming a very heated issue for Indiana residents because of the possible environmental contamination that may occur.

Barbara is part of a group of environmentalists that meets monthly with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management and is a regular at committee meetings of all kinds held by the General Assembly and other state agencies. Barbara is a retired RN from a fourth generation farm family. Her retirement plans were to spend all of her time at her farm. Life did a complete turnaround when she learned a CAFO was coming to her neighborhood.  Barbara did her research and has since committed to raising awareness about this issue.

Shorter Presentations

Good Garbage --
Where Material Destined for the Landfill meets Art
Lynn Quire
Executive Director/Founder

Organizing a Neighborhood Tree Planting
Joshua White,
Neighborhood Reforestation Sub-committee Chair,
Highland Douglass Neighborhood Association

Now in its seventh year, the purposes of the Louisville Sustainability Forum are:
1.We hold and promote the intention of sustainability for Louisville.
2. We establish and nourish relationships that strengthen
community and create change.
3. We create a space for discussion that inspires, motivates and deepens
our ability to catalyze social change.

Food & drink:
Feel free to bring a bag lunch. If you'd like to prepare extra food or drink to share with others,
that is always welcome!

 




Saturday, December 6, 2014, 10:00am to 1:00pm
Restore the Forest Workday at
Louisville Nature Center, 3745 Illinois Avenue 40213

Join fellow nature lovers for an energetic Saturday morning, helping manage invasive plants and transplanting small trees to a recovery area.

Tools and gloves provided. Bring water and pruning shears if you have them.

 

Appropriate for adults and teens. If heavy rain occurs, the workday will be rescheduled.

For more information, or to register for any of our events:
E-mail Jessica Wheatley at jwheatley@LouisvilleNatureCenter.org
or call us at (502) 458-1328

 



 
Tuesday, December 9 at 6 pm
Light for Lima, a Vigil for Climate Change
organized by Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light
First Unitarian Church, 809 S. 4th Street

Join us for a Light for Lima, a vigil organized by Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light in support of the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima, Peru, Dec. 1 through 12. Let's show our support for global response to climate change to the world leaders that will be gathering at this conference.

This event is being held in conjunction with other events of its kind around the world. Our Voices (http://ourvoices.net/lima) is encouraging "households and communities around the world will light a candle, or solar lamp, and pray, meditate, or offer an invocation for a climate agreement."  The 20th session of the Conference of Parties is meeting as a part of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to draft an international agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol that expired in 2012.

The vigil will be at 6 pm, Tuesday, Dec. 9, at First Unitarian Church, 809 S. 4th St., in downtown Louisville. Parking is available behind their building. Contributions thanking First Unitarian for hosting are welcome. For more information, contact Joy Jamison, 502-618-0179, joyjamison@twc.com.


 

Thursday, December 11 at 12 pm
Join Peace Education Program as it hosts the
December Compassionate Louisville Town Hall
Central Presbyterian Church 318 West Kentucky Street

Friend of Peace Ed, Brenda Moorman, to be honored as
first Compassion and Peacemaking Laureate

Peace Education Program is excited to host Compassionate Louisville's Town Hall Meeting Thursday, December 11th, 12:00 - 1:15 pm where our longtime friend and partner Brenda Moorman will be named the first Compassion and Peacemaking Laureate!

In addition to sharing updates about Compassionate Louisville's work and honoring Brenda, Peace Ed will share a little about their 32 year history and offer a conflict resolution activity.  Everyone is invited to join in the celebration at Central Presbyterian Church, home of Peace Ed's offices (318 West Kentucky St, 40203).

Experience compassion in action.
Each month we invite Louisville on a pilgrimage to discover the city's
often hidden compassion gems.

Everyone is invited! Bring a Friend! No RSVP required.

Through intention and social innovation, Compassionate Louisville creates
and celebrates a community and world becoming more and more compassionate.

The mission of the Partnership for a Compassionate Louisville is to
champion and nurture the growth of compassion.

 

Sunday, December 14 5 - 7pm
Louisville TimeBank Potluck Dinner
Highland Community Campus, 1228 E. Breckinridge 40204

Open to anyone interested in learning more about the Timebank!

Potlucks are a big part of the TimeBank community. We come together to share food, fun and build community all at the same time. Members get to know each other, and people who are not members can learn a bit about timebanking from chatting with our members at the potluck. Many exchanges get set up at our potlucks too!

This will be a great potluck to join because there will be many creative members exhibiting their art or craft work for sale or for Time Credits. If you are a member and are interested in participating in the Art and Craft Showcase, you may simply show up by 4:00 to set up. Please do bring your own table. .

Parking is behind the building. The entrance is also on the back of the building off of Barrett.
 

 

Monday, December 15 at 6 pm
Social Change Book Club explores
The Five Stages of Collapse: Survivors' Toolkit
by Dimitri Oriov 
Heine Bros. Coffee, 119 Chenoweth Lane, St Matthews

When thinking about political paralysis, looming resource shortages and a rapidly changing climate, many of us imagine a future that is much less of the same. But it is during such periods of profound disruption that sweeping cultural change becomes inevitable. In The Five Stages of Collapse, Dmitry Orlov posits a taxonomy of collapse, suggesting that if the first three stages (financial, commercial and political) are met with the appropriate personal and social transformations, then the worst consequences of social and cultural collapse can be avoided.

The Social Change Book Club is open to everyone who is interested in understanding, participating, leading, or supporting social change. Please just show up if you are interested--no RSVP, commitment, etc. It is great when people have read the book, but that is not a requirement to come and discuss.

Hosted by Howard Mason

 
 Tuesday, December 16, 6 pm
Greater Louisville Sierra Club
Winter Solstice Celebration and Potluck
Locust Grove, 561 Blankenbaker Lane

Greater Louisville Sierra Club (GLSC) will host its traditional Winter Solstice Celebration on Tuesday, December 16, 6:00 p.m., at the Visitors Center of historic Locust Grove, 561 Blankenbaker Lane, Louisville, KY (for directions see www.locust-grove.org).

This is a potluck event, but the Club will provide drinks and two main dishes (one meat, one vegetarian).  

Please come for a casual dinner and engaging fellowship as GLSC celebrates successes of 2014, wraps up a challenging and productive year, and welcomes special guests. The regular general meeting will return to the Clifton Center on Tuesday, January 20.



Sunday, December 21, 7pm
The Womb of Winter Solstice Celebration
Unity of Louisville 757 South Brook Street
Enter the Activities Center via Brook St 
Please arrive at 7pm as the doors close at 7:15pm


Our 9th annual Winter Solstice Sacred Celebration at Unity of Louisville honors the beauty, wonder and mystery of the longest of nights with quiet reflection, music, ceremony, story and poetry.  You, and yours, are invited to join us for this spiritually inclusive community gathering facilitated by Mark Steiner with kRi and Hettie and Unity's own Rev. Ray Nelson.

Cultivating Connections' Sacred Celebrations are designed to offer an opportunity to strengthen our awareness of the sacredness of creation and to nurture our connections to each other and the natural world. Sacred Celebrations are a cooperative effort by artists, spiritual leaders, and activists to share relevant and nurturing experiential celebrations with the broader community.

Sacred Celebrations are offered without a fee though
donations are very much appreciated.

Please note:  The doors for this program close at 7:15. No one will be admitted after that time.


 


Tuesdays and Wednesdays in January
The Great Work:
Recovering a Sacred Community
Passionist Earth and Spirit Center, 1924 Newburg Road

Many people now recognize that caring for the Earth is of vital importance for survival and the well being of our children. This course explores how we can make a transition from a period of human devastation of the Earth to a period when humans would celebrate the sacredness of all creation. It is a transformative educational experience that empowers participants to respond to humanity's current situation with action and informed, grounded optimism about our future.

Employing the observations and insights of Thomas Berry, the course examines the current ecological and cultural crises as well as considers the values and vision we need for the healing of our world. The goal is to engage in the Great Work of our time: to bring forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling and socially just human presence on the planet.

Learn about the extraordinary shift taking place in our understanding of the world and our place as humans within it.

Four Tuesday Sessions: January 6, 13, 20, 27, 2015 from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Four Wednesday Sessions: January 7, 14, 21, 28, 2015 from 10:00-12:00 noon.
Facilitator: Emily DeMoor, PhD
Cost: Suggested donation $100 early registration or $120 if paid after December 22. Some scholarships are available upon request. 

Registration and information on the Passionist Earth and Spirit website

 


Save the Dates



Save-the-Dates! Registration Opens January 1, 2015

Friday, March 27, 2015 * 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Bellarmine University, Frazier Hall
"Merton, Eckhart and Calling:
The Blessings and Curses of Following Your Bliss in a Culture of Conformity"
a talk by Matthew Fox

and

Saturday, March 28, 2015 * 1:00pm - 5:00pm
at Unity of Louisville
"Becoming a Mystic Warrior for Our Times"
a workshop featuring Matthew Fox
with Mark Steiner, kRi and Hettie


DonorsResource can help you find a nonprofit organization that needs the items you want to donate.  Simply log on to www.DonorsResource.org to search for a specific need in our nonprofit directory, or to post your items for donation.  We encourage you to take a few minutes to gather all the great stuff you no longer use around your home or office, post it on DonorsResource.org, and get it into the hands of an organization in need!  

You can follow us on Facebook at DonorsResource.org/KY.  For more information, please contact Susan Spalding by phone at (502) 338-6733 or via email at susan@DonorsResource.org.

This information brought to you by
Cultivating Connections
15000
 
cultivatingconnections@twc.com
502-897-2721
Louisville, Kentucky

Join Our FaceBook Group Find us on Facebook