spiritual activism

Tomorrow morning (in some hours time…) i fly to Washington, for the spiritual activism conference organised by the Network of Spiritual Progressives, initiated by the people from Tikkun. I’m interested to see how the articulation between left-wing politics (explicitely anti-capitalist) and religion and spirituality takes place, whether it works or not (and according to what criteria…). I had some conversations with Susan these days, a first one last week in which she claimed that in this country things have come to such a point that we have little other choice than re-occupying the sphere and language of religion. But when we talked about the conference (and Tikkun and Rabbi Lerner), she was sceptical. Somehow too manufactored, she believed. I had given her a report on the Michael Lerner’s lecture in Santa Cruz some months ago, and she ridiculed the way in which Lerner had structured his talk: starting from a research that showed a deep spiritual crisis in society that the left was not addressing or understanding, which subsequently served as a legitimation for his initiative. With her typical dry cynical humor Susan responded: Oh sure. Did Martin Luther King ever say: “I did a research project and it shows that Black people in this country do not have civil rights.” No, he had a dream. Where’s the fire?. But we’ll need the practice of these articulations before something more attractive can be articulated, she added. In any case, i’m really curious, also about this clear take on Washington D.C. and bid for political power. (and then my house-mates are excited that i’m going since the woman who leads the church all of them go to – Inner Light Ministries – will be speaking at the conference, and talked about it in church last Sunday). Won’t be writing for some days now, but i’m copying the programme.

Wednesday, May 17
9:00 am Opening Religious/Spiritual Rituals.
10:00 am Introduction to the Conference: Deborah Kory and Rev. Robert Hardies
10:30-12:00 am Understanding Spiritual Politics: Sister Joan Chittister and Peter Gabel
12:00-12:30 pm Introduction to Small Groups
12:30-1:30 pm Lunch with small groups
1:30-3:15 pm Keynote Plenary: Rabbi Michael Lerner: How Spiritual Progressives Can Take Back our Country from the Religious Right and Build a New Bottom Line in America so that Our Society Can Manifest the Love, Kindness, Generosity and Connection to God that Reflects the Highest Vision of our Spiritual and Religious Traditions and Defeats Media Cynicism and Cynical Realism.
3:30-5:15 pm Trainings focused on the Spiritual Covenant with America to prepare participants for presenting these ideas to their elected representatives

SPIRITUAL COVENANT GROUPS preparing for meetings with Congress on Thurs.
1. Create a society that promotes loving relationships and families Rabbi Debora Kohn
2. Take Personal Responsibility for Ethical Behavior (including sexual behavior) Facilitator: Rev. Tony Campolo and Rev. Ama Zenya
3. Build Social Responsibility into our economic and political institutions Facilitator: Peter Gabel
4. Reshape education to teach love, caring, generosity, nonviolent communication, cooperation, compassion, environmental responsibility, awe and wonder, respect and thanksgiving. Facilitator: Svi Shapiro and Ralph Wolf (W.A.S.C.)
5. Build a broader understanding of health care while also pursuing a single payer national health care plan. Facilitators: Dr.Roy Farrell, Harvey Fernbach, and Dr. Bill Benda
6. Be stewards of the environment Facilitator: Thea Levkovitz & Paul Wapner
7. A spiritual foreign policy, homeland security and elimination of Poverty: safety through a strategy of generosity and nonviolence. Rabbi Michael Lerner
8. Separation of church and state and science while bringing our new bottom line into the public sphere Jonathan Granoff

5:30-6:30 pm Workshops on spiritual politics
A 1. Global Warming: An opportunity for Global Awakening? Moderator: Rev Jim, Ruth Mulligan, Russ Agdern or Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Brent Balckwelden
A 2. Our own and others’ fears of Progressive Social Change Rev. Deborah L. Johnson
A 3. Kety Esquivel: Cross Left
A 4. The Spiritual Crisis in Our Lives Generated by the War in Iraq Stacy Bannerman
A 5. How Authentic Spirituality Drives People to be Advocates of Social Justice Mary Darling
A 6. Religion and Faith in the GLBTQ Community Harry Knox
A 7. Politics of Meaning Peter Gabel and Michael Lerner
A 8. “Spiritual but not Religious”: How to create a movement that has room for those whose connection to God and the spiritual wisdom of humanity is done outside traditional religious communities and without the theo-centric language that suggests hierarchical and patriarchal visions of God? Ama Zenya
A 9. Spiritual Nonviolence Training for personal and social change Janet Chisholm
A 10. The Encounter & Reconciliation of Civilizations (a challenge to the “clash of civilizations” world view) Shaikh Kabir Helminski
A 11. The Ethical and Spiritual Dimensions of the New Immigrants-Rights Movement Norma Chavez
A 12. The Heart of a Spiritual Progressive Movement that Cares Julie Oxenberg et.al.
A 13. Youth Caucus Deb Kory
A 14. Domestic and International Poverty: The Spiritual Dimension Bread for the World & Kristan Sumbrell (Jubilee USA)

6:30-8:00 pm Dinner break
8:00-11:00 pm Carrie Newomer 2 songs Plus song by Rabbi David Schneyer
and speakers on The Role of Spirit and Religion in Politics Michael Bader, Rev. William Sinkford, Mary Darling, Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Sayyed Hussein Nasr, Rabbi Brian Walt, Rev. Tony Campolo, Marie Denis, ArchDeacon Michael Kendall

Thursday, May 18
8:45-noon Congressional Briefing to our Elected Official on the Spiritual Covenant with America. Speakers at this will include Tony Campolo, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, Taylor Branch, Abdul Aziz Said, Michael Posner, Peter Gabel and more.
1:00-3:00 pm Pray-in for peace outside the White House at Lafayette Park :
Prayer leaders include Bob Edgar, Rev.Lennox Yearwood, Rev. Joan Brown Campbell, Ahmed Ahrar, Holly Near, 2 Methodist Bishops, Rev. Osagyefo Sekou, Rev. Jim Winkler, Norma Chavez, John Dear S.J., Archdeacon Michael Kendall and Pledge of Resistance to the Iraq War: Ken Butigan. Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink and Global Exchange present Petition Against Bombing Iran to White House.

3:30 pm Workshops on spiritual politics
B1.
B2. Theological Perspectives on the Free Market System: Idolatry, Sin and the Structures of Evil in Economic Life Stan Duncan & John Surr
B3. Emancipatory Design Toby Israel
B4. Environmental Consciousness John Seed
B5. Music and Social Transformation Holly Near
B6. Islam: Perception and Reality: Ammad Ahrar
B.7 Law as a Vehicle for Social Connection or Disconnection: Can law be reconstructed in ways nurturing to the soul rather than its enemy? Peter Gabel and Nanette Schorr
B8. Torture: Building a Spiritual/Religious Campaign Against Torture Rabbi Brian Walt & Michael Posner
B9. End of Life Decisions: Moral and Spiritual Issues Barbara Coombs Lee and Rev. Paul Smith
B10 The Heart of a Progressive Spiritual Movement–Part 2 Rosa Naparstek
B11. Environmental Health and Justice Thea Levkowitz
B12. A Progressive Pro-Families Agenda Michelle Dean & Enola Aird
B13 Reconciliation, building Communities and Identities of Inclusive Otherness Gilbert Bond
B14. Declaration of Peace: Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service

5:00-6:30 pm The Struggle for the Heart & Mind of Traditional Religious Communities
Rev. Paul Sherry. Rev. Jim Winkler, Glen Harold Stassen, Andrew Weaver. Rev. Ama Zenya, Jason Lendez and more
6:30-7:30 pm Dinner break with your small group,
7:30-8:15 pm Song and Inspiration from Holly Near and All Souls Choir
8:15-10:00 pm How to Make the Liberal World Diverse Not Only in Race, Sex and Gender, but also in Class and Religious Orientation – Rev Deborah Johnson, Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Rev. Glen Harold Stassen, Jeffrey Kuan, Rev. Diane Ford Johnson, John Dear S.J., Norma Chavez

Friday, May 19
7:30-9:00 am Spiritual and Religious Practices
9:00 am Spiritual Progressives address Poverty: Rev. Jim Wallis and comemnts from Rabbi Michael Lerner
10:30 am Plenary on A Progressive Pro-Families Movement that also Addresses The Spiritual Dimension to Relationships and Sexuality
Rev. Ama Zenya, Rev. Donna Schaper, Rabbi Debora Kohn, Enola Aird, Partrick Whelan, and Matt Foreman
12:00 Noon Small group meetings and lunch
1:30 pm Plenary on How to Bring a Spiritual Politics into the Heart of the Democrats and into the Liberal and Progressive Social Change Movements. Directions for 2006, 2008 and beyond.
Obery Hendricks, Michael Bader, Congressman Jim Moran, Lisa Rea and more.
3:30 pm Workshops focused on the Spiritual Covenant with Americans: How to Bring the Spiritual Covenant to our Local City Councils and State Legislatures, unions and professional organizations, religious institutions and communal associations.
Eight workshops, each on one of the 8 planks of the Spiritual Covenant with America (see above)

5:00 pm Workshops on Spiritual Politics
C1. Spiritual & Religious Experience of Peoples of Asian or Pacific Islander Backgrounds Jeffrey Kuan
C2. Spiritual and Religious Experience for African Americans Rev. Debora Johnson
C3. Spirituality and Religious Experience for Latinos Norma Chavez
C4. Trade Justice Elizabeth Carty & Oxfam
C5. Biotechonlogy and the Human Future Jaydee Hanson and Andrew Kimbrell
C6. Reproductive Freedom and Spiritual Healing Rebecca Trotzky-Surr
C7. Using Feminine Principles to change the World Patricia Smith Melton and Elana Auerbach
C8. An Environmental Movement That Cares about More Than Humans Rabbi Daniel Swartz, with Kurt Hoelting, Felicia Markus and Bishop Mark MacDonald
C9. Non-violent Communication: Inesa Love
C10. Spiritual Challenges of Aging Debora Kohn
C11. The Role of the Arts in a Spiritual Progressive Movement
C 12. A Spirit-Friendly Approach to Science Building a spirit-friendly society requires a conception of human nature that doesn’t reduce people to selfish genes driven only by survival needs, but incorporates cooperation, meaning, pleasure, and mutuality as intrinsic biological motivations. Dan Levine
C 13. Children’s Spirituality Christie Duncan-Tessmer

6:30 pm Dinner Break
7:30 pm Shabbat Service led by Rabbi Michael Lerner
8:00 pm Evening Plenary: Spiritual Progressives Facing The Globalization of Selfishness (the globalization of capital, the environmental crisis)
David Beckman, Charlene Spretnak, Jonathan Granoff, Robert Thurman, Bill Meadows, Andrew Kimbrell, (Music with Sharon Abreu, Michael Hurwicz, and Stephen Fisk)

Saturday, May 20
9:00 am Spiritual Practices: Ecumenical Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, Sufi, Hindu, Shamanic and Jewish Shabbat Services
Plus Other Spiritual Workshops:
D1. Progressive spiritual media Jochen Strack
D 2. Grassroots Spiritual Progressives in the Democratic Party: Nicoli Bailey and Charles Lenchner, PDA
D3. Healing Israel/Palestine Muhammed Abu-Nimer
D4 The Ethics of Eating Jaydee Hansen et.al. Molly Anderson
D5
D6 Is God a Pacifist? Not according to Carter Phipps in this provocative workshop. Zen Peacemaker Bernie Glassman on Not Knowing, Bearing Witness and Loving Actions

10:30-11 am Small group meetings
11 a.m. Plenary: Spiritual Resources for Peace and Social Healing Arun Gandhi, Svi Shapiro and more
12:15 pm Small groups and lunch
2:00 pm Spiritual Wisdom at the Center of our Spiritual Politics: Matthew Fox, Andrew Harvey,
3:30 pm Strategies for the NSP in the coming year: how to bring these ideas into your local communities led by Rabbi Michael Lerner
5:30 pm Dinner break
Conference Grand Finale
7:30 pm Poetry Kathryn Fishman-Weaver, Drew Dellinger
Performance from the Play “Motherblood” by the Omega Theatre (with Saphira)
Speakers on Spiritual Wisdom and Planetary Sanity:
Roshi Bernie Glassman, Rev. Deborah Johnson, Jim Garrison, Carter Phipps, Harry Knox, Thea Levkovitz, Sarah James, Eric LeCompte and Pamela Taylor
Humor from Swami Beyondonanda and music from Michael Franti.