“El Shaddai: The Christian New Testament and Women”

Some of the scriptures have been used out of context to harm women.  What do they really mean in context?

Facilitator: D. Patton White
Musician: Charli Vogt

“Open to Wonder”

We live in a time where there’s not much that can’t be explained or answered away in just a few moments. Of course, that has its benefits. Is there something we have lost by knowing “all” the answers? Sara will explore the role of wonder in our lives and how we might attempt to cultivate more of it.

Facilitator: Jan Lister
Musician: Jean Heinrich

“Your Daily Dose of Beauty”

Kathie deNobriga  lived in seven cities, and in each one she has collected original art from the local artists. This art has followed her from state to state, bringing joy to each new wall. In this talk, she will reflect on the process and of having a daily dose of beauty.

Facilitator: Marti Keller
Musician: William Chelton

“Maintaining Sanity in Today’s World”

Our world is complicated and often chaotic. How do we navigate with authenticity and an open heart the challenges presented each day.

Facilitator: Wade Marbaugh
Musician: Craig Rafuse

“Tall Oaks From Little Acorns Grow: My Life’s Journey of Learning That I Am Enough”

With gentle reflection and heartfelt humor,  Abby will share a little of her life, from childhood to the present, and the influences and circumstances that shaped her commitment to embrace a life of kindness and fairness.

Facilitator: D. Patton White
Musician: Kathy McGuire

“My Southern Angst and the Way I See the World”

I would like to live long enough to experience a country where I am fully accepted as a Black woman and a Southerner — that I may finally heal from my personal psychological scars dating to Jim Crow segregation. I want to know what it is like not to feel a visceral reaction for survival whenever I sense the revulsion of a White supremacist, whose roots of hate were instilled during the origin of what would become the US. These roots were imbued in the Doctrine of Discovery created by the Catholic church in 1493, giving White men permission to destroy the lives and culture of anyone who would not convert to Christianity. I feel angst that such thinking continues to rule who I am. I want to know what it would be like as a Black woman, only six percent of the US population, not to be thought of as the savior of democracy. I am exhausted and my shoulders hurt from moving that boulder of social change, although I will never stop doing my part to build a country where my existence matters.

Facilitator: Charlene Ball
Musician: William Chelton

“Juneteenth: Emancipation or Independence”

We celebrate Juneteenth to mark the date that the final African slaves were freed. We will look at the importance of freedom in its relationship to independence.

Facilitator: Marsha Mitchiner
Musician: Jean Heinrich

“Reflections on Fatherhood”

Facilitator: Wade Marbaugh
Musician: Craig Rafuse

“We’re Still Here”

Resilience, natural strategies, and community are part of why we’re still here.

Facilitator: Cindy Lou Who
Musician: Alan Brown

“Why I Have Hope: Reflections from 35 Years of Teaching a Bit of Everything to Nearly Everybody”

Dr. Arri Eisen has had the privilege of teaching a diversity of students – Emory undergraduates, Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, US Air Force cadets, MDs and PhDs – across two centuries and many disciplines, from basic science to the humanities, engaging leaders such as Jimmy Carter and the Dalai Lama.  He will offer some stories and reflections from these experiences that have convinced him there is hope.

Facilitator: Patton White
Musician: Mick Kinney