COMING: November 14 2023 – Conversations in the Commons with David Weiss
NOTE: This announces a local (St. Paul) in-person event, so it won’t be accessible to many of my readers. But I want you to know that it’s happening. As I’m able, I hope to offer similar opportunities in a Zoom format … if you’d be excited for a Zoom option in the future, please comment or message me.
I am pleased to announce my THIRD “Conversations in the Commons” around my work “Writing into the Whirlwind” coming up on Tuesday, November 14!
Through a creative collaboration with Zion Lutheran Church as part of their commitment to serve as a “community commons” in their neighborhood, I’m hosting “Conversations in the Commons” around my “Writing into the Whirlwind” every second Tuesday of the month—from 6:30-8pm. (The last date for 2023 is Dec. 12.)
These evenings are an opportunity for me to share some of my recent work (or some of my favorite) and then open things up for conversation. I’ll typically identify the blog posts we’ll be discussing at least a week in advance so you can read them ahead of time and come ready to engage! Each evening, I’ll offer a few opening reflections, and then invite conversation, which might simply be in response to my reflections and selected writings or in response to some posed questions. My work has always been enriched by conversation, and that’s more important than ever today. You’ll find topics for the next two upcoming conversations, as well as key details for all these events on the backside.
Tuesday, November 14, 2023 – The Roots of Our Ruin: We Fell Apart
There is a lie at the very heart of our Western cosmology. Whether religious or secular we imagine ourselves somehow other than the world in which we live and move and have our being. That sense of human separation is perhaps the most primal seed of our current crises. Plural, because “crisis” doesn’t begin to name the depth of our entangled dilemma(s). Understanding—and undoing—this lie is the only “green” path forward. From how we consume resources to how we grow the economy, from how we dispose of waste to how we bury our dead, we have been enchanted by an otherness that is fundamentally untrue. Coming to terms with how we fell apart—and how we might come back together—is the work of communities that might bring us home. For this Tuesday, please read this new essay up on my blog: The Roots of Our Ruin: We Fell Apart. It’s 6 pages long and in a couple days I’ll add a link to a PDF of this new piece at the top of the blog post if you’d like to print it out. Of course, you don’t need to read the essay in advance, but the conversation will be far richer if you do! Bring your comments and questions; I’ll bring mine.
If you plan to come, please RSVP by email (drw59mn@gmail.com) or on the FB event. This isn’t “required,” but it helps me make sure the room is set up appropriately.
Other key details:
- Location: Zion Lutheran Church, 1697 LaFond Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104. No parking lot, but plenty of street parking right near the intersection. Unfortunately, Zion’s building is not (yet) accessible; an elevator is coming in the next year!
- Entrance: Use the door along Aldine Street near the alley. There will be plenty of signs (maybe even a smiling person) to guide you to the Conference Room.
- These evenings are no cost to you. I will usually set out a donation basket if you feel moved to put a couple dollars to benefit some aspect of Zion’s ministry or a cause dear to me. But all that I truly ask is your presence and participation!
- The second Tuesday of each month Zion hosts a gluten-free, nut-free, vegan community meal. You’re welcome to come early for this pay-as-you-can meal served in the church basement. But you do need to RSVP separately by 8am Monday for this. Find important details about the meal BELOW.
I hope you can join me for conversation around “The Roots of Our Ruin: We Fell Apart” on November 14!
UPCOMING CONVERSATION TOPICS:
Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023: Christmas Pageant Pandemonium: Untangling & Untaming Christmas.
Shepherds and Magi often traipse nearly side-by-side down church aisles in Christmas pageant cuteness. Some wee kids become angels underneath shiny halos while another child gets to be “the” glittery Christmas Star. But Matthew and Luke, whose images we blend together in our Christmas pageants, each offer their own distinctive Christmas story. And by untangling these yuletide tales, we also untame them—releasing their imaginative foreshadowing of the world-challenging power of God experienced in Jesus. If you’ve ever wondered whether there’s more to the Christmas stories than wondrous tales and a cute baby, this evening will give you plenty to ponder. This is Christmas wonder made most real. I can pretty much guarantee you’ll learn a few new things—and that you’ll never think about Christmas in quite the same way again. (Although not directly joined to my “writing into the whirlwind” around climate and ecological-societal collapse, this session will lift up the unexpected—and necessary—power residing in these sacred stories. Power that can help up meeting the future well.)
THE 2nd TUESDAY COMMUNITY MEAL AT ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH
These full meals are prepared by chef Colin Anderson of Eureka Compass Vegan Foods as part of his passion for food solidarity. Each Community Dinner at Zion benefits their Food Justice programs and Thursday food shelf program. You can read more about them here: https://eurekacompassveganfood.com/community-dinner.
The community meal is served all day, from 11am to 7pm.
Here are the important details:
Make Colin’s life easier by preordering your Community Dinner meals no later than 8am on Monday. That’s his shopping day. Here are the preordering instructions:
- Email eurekacompassveganfood@gmail.com to let Colin know HOW MANY meals you need and WHEN you’re coming. (If you’re coming for my 6:30p “Conversations in the Commons,” you’ll want to arrive 5:45-6p and dine in. We WON’T be meeting in the dining area, so you’ll want to finish your meal there and then head to our conversation room at 6:25p.)
- NO PAYMENT IS NECESSARY, but cash contributions are accepted the day of the dinner. If you’d like to contribute with a credit card, indicate how much you wish to contribute when you email your pre-order. You’ll receive an invoice by email that you can pay electronically via a prompt on the invoice.
- Show up on the day of the dinner at your designated time, and we’ll have your meals ready for you! If you have any questions, just send us an email! We’re happy to connect!
Each meal is gluten free, nut free, and vegan to make it accessible to as many in the community as possible. Other allergens such as corn and soy are rarely used. These meals are always offered “Pay what you want/can.” No one is turned away for lack of funds. Each Community Dinner has a philanthropic partner and half of all contributions at Tuesday dinners benefit Zion Lutheran’s Food Justice programs and Thursday food shelf program.
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David Weiss is a theologian, writer, poet and hymnist, “writing into the whirlwind” of contemporary challenges, joys, and sorrows around climate crisis, sexuality, justice, peace, and family. Reach him at drw59mn@gmail.com. Read more at www.davidrweiss.com where he blogs under the theme, “Full Frontal Faith: Erring on the Edge of Honest.” Support him in Writing into the Whirlwind at www.patreon.com/fullfrontalfaith.