Cultivating Connections Recommends:  
Events for Metro Louisville - January 2016 

Affirming Connections between Planet, People, Power and Possibilities

Table of Contents - Click to Jump to the Details
Earth Talks, a study and wisdom group facilitated by Mark Steiner Begins Feb 1st
Wednesday the 6th * Louisville Sustainability Forum: UPS Trying to Do the Right Thing
Thursdays Starting the 7th * Walking with Compassion: Reading Pope Francis' Letter
Sundays at 5 pm * The Guest House: Launching Exploration of Human Life Cycle
Thursdays Starting the 14th * Emergence 2016: A 21st-Century Blueprint at The Loft
Sunday the 17th * Louisville TimeBank Anniversary Celebration and Contra Dance
Monday the 18th * Environmental Justice "Where do we go from here: Community or Chaos?"
Monday the 18th * MLK Jr. Day of Service at Chickasaw Park
Tuesday the 19th * Compassionate Louisville Town Hall Meeting at Embassy Suites
Tuesday the 19th * Sierra Club: "A Visit to Darwin's Muse" with Bruce Miller
Saturday, Feb. 27 and Sunday, Feb. 28 * Deep Imagery Retreat with Doug and Marilyn
Solar Over Louisville is looking to hire a part time program manager
The Children and Nature Network - Connecting Youth with the Natural World

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Seeking to explore and deepen your relationship with planet Earth?

Join us for Earth Talks,
a study and wisdom group
meeting the first Monday of the month at 6pm
at The Loft, 107 Crescent Ave, 40206 

Our very existence, each moment of our lives, is dependent on Earth and her ability to sustain us.  It is a relationship that Earth-elder Thomas Berry described as "primary," yet fails to make our consumer-based culture's "top ten."

"Earth Talks" will offer a counter to this cultural error, offering a safe place to nurture the Earth-centric aspects of our nature.  Utilizing the books and essays of some of today's greatest wisdom teachers, we will gather as a mutually supporting circle learning from both these important texts and one another. Through discussion, reflection and process we will expand our sense of connection and the reach of our compassion to deeper inclusion of the natural world.

While reading of the full text is encouraged, participants will have the option of reading a suggested section, chapter, or essay that will be central to the focus of that month's group exploration.  

               
Sessions will be hosted and facilitated by Mark Steiner, co-founder and director of Cultivating Connections, a grassroots nonprofit contributing to the creation of a just and sustainable community by nurturing and celebrating our connections with each other and with our world.  Mark has been exploring Earth-based spirituality in community sittings since 1991 and serves as an official facilitator of Joanna Macy's "Work that Reconnects". He has presented widely at events ranging from the Earth Charter Summit to the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly and local venues from The J.B. Speed Art Museum to the University of Louisville.  

Winter/Spring 2016 Calendar
* February 1: The Great Work: Our Way into the Future by Thomas Berry
(alternative reading - "Every Being Has Rights" click here)
* March 7: Coming Back to Life by Joanna Macy
* April 4: Legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Hill
* May 2: Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life by Richard Louv

Future sessions will focus on the anthology Spiritual Ecology:  The Cry of the Earth (edited by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee) as well as the works of wisdom teachers such as Mary Oliver, Thich Nhat Hanh, Jane Goodall, David Abrams, Starhawk and the team of Michael Dowd and Connie Barlow.

Pre-registration and further details forthcoming.

Loft CC Logo Final

 
Wednesday, January 6, 12pm 
Louisville Sustainability Forum
Passionist Earth and Spirit Center
(located behind St Agnes Church at 1920 Newburg Road)

Featured presentation:
UPS- "Trying To Do the Right Thing, Even When It's Not Popular"
with Nicholas D'Andrea 
 
Shorter presentations:
Louisville's Waterfront Botanical Gardens 
Kasey Maier, Director of Program Development

E-Z Construction, Allison Carmack

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!
 
 
Thursdays Starting January 7, 6:30 -8:00pm
Walking with Compassion:
Reading Pope Francis' Letter to the World from an Interfaith Perspective
with Tim Darst, Executive Director of Interfaith Power and Light
Drepung Gomang Center for Engaging Compassion, 411 North Hubbards Lane, 40207

Join this six week dynamic process of reading and discussing Laudato Si, Pope Francis' much discussed "Letter to the World."  Explore the Pope's call to each of us, by our common humanity, to care for our planet home with special attention to the vulnerable and marginalized people of the world.  Examine this challenge through an interfaith perspective and with open hearts. Six Thursdays, Jan 7 - Feb 11, 6:30 - 8pm; $60; Early Bird: $50 by Dec 31.

To register and for a full listing of classes 
visit www.DrepungGomangUSA.org or phone 502-614-1652.


  
Sundays at 5 pm
The Guest House:
an intentional community of integrative wisdom and practice
The Loft, 107 Crescent Ave, 40206

We will be exploring a theme of the human life cycle from birth to death
using Bill Plotkin's model as a scaffolding for both our Sunday evening programming
and our outward focus.  This is a broad theme that I hope provides enough
structure to evoke our creativity and collaboration.  

We are exploring three primary expressions within each of the 8 stages:

* Inward Journey - "What are the primary developmental tasks of this life stage? 
What can we learn about being human from this phase of life?"

* Outward Journey - "How can we create a city that supports each phase of life so
those in this stage are able to thrive?"  "What rituals, ceremonies and rights of
passage can we create and host for ourselves and our city that support the
transition into these phases of life?"

* Communal Journey - "How can we gather and organize ourselves as an intentional
community of wisdom and practice to support our own growth and wholeness and
empower us to move inward and outward?"

January 2016 Birth and Early Childhood - Schedule

January 10th - Stephanie Barnett who works with Freedom House that supports
young mothers recovering from addiction
January 17 - Jud Hendrix sharing on The Soul Hypothesis, scientific inquiry into the possibilities of a Human Soul
January 24 - The Power of a Name, potluck meal and storytelling about the
meaning of our names
January 31 - t.b.a.

 
  
Thursdays Starting January 14 at 7pm
Emergence 2016:
A 21st-Century Blueprint for Physical Health, Emotional Balance,
Mental Clarity, and Spiritual Awakening
The Loft, 107 Crescent Ave, 40206

Emergence is a intentional community of integral practice, designed for those who want to go deeper into their journey of waking-up and being whole.

We meet every Thursday evening for 16 weeks at 7:00 PM, starting on January 14th, to learn and practice a variety of different methodologies for waking-up and being whole.

Collectively we have access to the wisdom, cultures, traditions and practices of all major human civilizations - premodern, modern and postmodern, humanist, religious and scientific. What we need to integrate this wisdom is an intentional community of practice. This is the idea of Emergence.

Each week, over a four-month period, we will study and experience different sources of wisdom and practices designed for personal growth and development. Here is a taste of some of the methodologies and practices we will explore; meditation techniques, working with archetypes dream work and active imagination,Enneagram studies, shadow integration, body-centered therapies, authentic movement and interplay, art therapy techniques and family constellations, energy systems and healing.

A balance will be sought during our gatherings between the study of the practice, the experience of the practice and a collective debriefing of the practice. Optional outside readings and study suggestions will be provided to those who want to go further into a specific methodology or practices.

Cost $20 A Week -  $60.00 Deposit To Reserve A Space
Register here.
.

 
Sunday, January 17 from 5pm - 9pm
Louisville TimeBank 4th Anniversary 
Celebration and Contra Dance
1228 East Breckinridge Street, 40204

Our fourth year of building community in Louisville! Come at 5 pm and join us for a festive potluck, see terrific items in our silent auction and buy tickets for our 1/2 and 1/2 raffle. Potluck information sign up here.

At 7pm, Contra Dancing featuring Tom Cunningham, Ben Andrews playing, and TimeBank member Deborah Denenfeld callling . . . along with a dessert buffet!

Don't know how to Contra dance? The Louisville Country Dancers has a dance every Monday night at Highlands Community Campus where at 7:30, you can take a lesson. The first time you attend it is free. :-)

$5 tickets available here.

For Louisville TimeBank members, we need helpers for the evening. All members who take on jobs for any part of the event will receive a ticket.

 


Monday, January 18th at 3pm
Asking King's Question on Environmental Justice in West Louisville
"Where do we go from here:  Community or Chaos?"
St. William Church, 1226 W. Oak Street, 40210

As Louisville grows into a 21st century city it is important to remember that large portions of our history are filled with the struggles of environmental justice.  Many neighborhoods in West Louisville have long carried disproportionate burdens in air, soil and water quality so that other Louisville neighborhoods could enjoy the benefits of both dependable energy systems and a strong industrial economy.  

As Louisville stands at the beginning of a new chapter in development of renewable energy sources it is important for citizens to know when and where the city's environmental struggles have been so that we can make healthy choices for our neighborhoods now and into the future.

On January 18 at 3:00 a group of individuals and organizations from both sides of the 9th Street divide will be exploring the history of environmental justice in Louisville in solidarity with Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  Please join this group of concerned citizens at St. William Church (1226 W. Oak Street) to learn what we can do to help neighborhoods being affected by poor environmental quality as we transition toward a 'just' sustainability for all.

KIPL Banner

Hosted by Kentucky Interfaith Power and Light 
 
Monday, January 18, 11am - 1pm  
MLK, Jr. Day of Service 
Chickasaw Park

Olmsted Parks Conservancy invites you to make the day off, a day on!nMartin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service was created to encourage people to come together to improve lives, bridge barriers, and move the nation closer to the "Beloved Community" Dr. King envisioned. Olmsted Parks Conservancy will host a volunteer event in Chickasaw Park in celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service on January 18 11:00am-1:00pm. Projects may include mulching, removing invasive plants and general park beautification. Gloves, tools and refreshments provided. Dress for weather and working outdoors.

For more information and to register, please contact 
Sarah Wolff at (502)456-8125 or visit www.olmstedparks.org/events.


  
Tuesday, January 19th from 12:00 -1:30pm
Compassionate Louisville Town Hall Meeting 
The Embassy Suites by Hilton, 501 South Fourth Street, 40202
 
Experience compassion in action!  Each month we invite you on a pilgrimage to discover the city's often hidden compassion gems. Once at the site, we will share the mission of the host organization, celebrate the newest organizations to have adopted a compassion resolution, share how Compassionate Louisville is encouraging compassionate action, and provide a forum for you and others to share their compassionate actions.
 
Everyone is invited! Bring a Friend! No RSVP required. 
 
Questions: Contact Mary Sullivan, (502)292-6154 or mary.sullivan@metrounitedway.org   
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.

You Are Helping to Build A
A Compassionate Louisville!


  
  Tuesday, January 19 at 7pm
Greater Louisville Sierra Club January Program
"A Visit to Darwin's Muse" with Bruce Miller
Clifton Center, 2117 Payne Street, 40206

Please join us as we enjoy a travelogue on the history, geology, flora & fauna of the Galapagos Islands offered by Sierra Club member Bruce Miller.

The Galápagos Islands is one of the most ecologically unique places on Earth. Composed of 18 main islands, the Galápagos Islands and their surrounding waters form the Galápagos Province of Ecuador. This stunning archipelago features many rare animal species including marine iguana, the only iguana to feed in the sea; waved albatross, the only living tropical albatross; blue-footed booby, who display their blue feet during courtship; and the Galápagos tortoise, after which the archipelago is named.

Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection was influenced tremendously by his observation of the finches inhabiting the islands. Since Darwin's time, many species have been threatened or wiped out. The Galápagos National Park has made great strides in protecting this precious ecological gem, but there is still work to be done.

Bruce Miller graduated from University of Louisville's Speed School and worked for the federal government for 34 years. His photography hobby began early in his youth, and photos from the Gaspe Peninsula raised his interest in artistic photography. The Galápagos Islands was a long-time plan for a travel destination.

Greater Louisville Sierra Club's programs are always
free and open to the public.
Please join us.

Coming in February


Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February 28
Deep Imagery
Participating with Images from Earth, Soul and the Invisible World

With
Marilyn Stoner and
Doug Van Houten

Venue: Rice House, Goshen, Kentucky - with fields, woods and ponds to wander
Saturday 9 am - 8:30 pm  &  Sunday 10 am - 3 pm
Fee: $150 - 225 (a sliding scale to fit your financial needs. Your generosity allows others to participate.) A $75 non-refundable deposit is required to hold your space.  Advance registration required.

Deep Imagery is a traditional tool of 21st Century psychologists for exploring the unknown parts of our individual psyches helping us to befriend the demons and angels, fears, wounds and shadowy entities that dwell there. Deep Imagery is the process of inner journeys in which one interacts, while awake, with the images, beings, and entities that live in the deeper layers of our psyches. Jungians know this as Active Imagination. On such journeys we gather up healing, direction, and radical transformation.

There will be time for solo wandering on the land while engaging in tasks designed to feed the mystery at the center of our lives. Practices that we'll use could include art*, poetry, council (group sharing), ceremony, dreamwork, and deep imagery journeying.  

To register or obtain more information you may contact:
doug@dougvanhouten.com (502) 472-6563  or  
marilynstoner@fastmail.fm  (502) 456-1502


 
Solar Over Louisville is looking for a part time program manager. This is a part-time contract position for the Solar Over Louisville (SOL) campaign in Louisville KY, which is a program of the Louisville Sustainability Council.
 
Duration of contract work is expected to be six months, but may be longer if additional funding is obtained.  Responsibilities listed are larger than what can be accomplished in a part-time position, so prioritizing will be done in collaboration with the Renewable Energy/SOL Planning Team.
 
Description:  
The Program Manager will manage the implementation of the Solar Over Louisville (SOL) campaign, which is a city-wide initiative, under the supervision of the SOL Planning Team and broad oversight of the Louisville Sustainability Council (LSC).  Responsibility areas will include the implementation of program goals; community and agency education and outreach; building partnerships with local government, business, education, and community agencies; planning, scheduling, and holding a regular series of events, including workshops, tours, and trainings; working to identify and pursue fundraising activities in partnership with the LSC and the SOL Planning Team; promoting the program and developing positive public relations; community and media relations and outreach; and program administration.

Qualifications:
Minimum: Bachelor's Degree, preferably in an energy, environment, or sustainable development field, with prior experience working with a government, business, education, or nonprofit agency desired. Demonstrated skills in program management and administration, including goal setting and financial tracking; working with teams and independently; organizing and prioritizing tasks; oral and written communications including presentations; fundraising activities; media outreach and community relations; partnership building across sectors; events planning and implementation; preparing effective publications and reports; monitoring, evaluating, and reporting on progress, recommending mid-course adjustments; and supervising volunteers.
 
For the full job posting email info@louisvillesustainabilitycouncil.org.
 
The Children and Nature Network is an organization leading a powerful international movement dedicated to reconnecting our youth with the natural world.

From their website (which is chock full of articles, resources and activities):

Vision:  A world in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives.

Mission: The Children & Nature Network is leading the movement to connect all children, their families and communities to nature through innovative ideas, evidence-based resources and tools, broad-based collaboration and support of grassroots leadership.

History:  After the publication of "Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder" in 2005, author Richard Louv and others co-founded the Children & Nature Network, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to fuel the worldwide grassroots movement to reconnect children with nature. By investing in local grassroots leaders, we are inspiring and supporting them to take action to create a future in which all children play, learn and grow with nature in their everyday lives. In 2014, our support was provided to 369 grassroots campaigns worldwide that collectively connected more than 3.5 million children to nature experiences in 48 states & 12 nations.

Sign up for their eNewsletter here.
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