The Human Agenda

Upcoming Vital Conversations

“The purpose of a Vital Conversation is not to win an argument,

but to win a friend and advance civilization.”  Vern Barnet 

Vital Conversations are intentional gatherings of people to engage in dialog that will add value to the participants and to the world.  In Vital Conversations we become co-creators of a better community. We welcome all people to attend our conversations and celebrate the rich pluralism of the greater Kansas City area. The topics and books are subject to change.  We meet the 2nd Wednesday of every month at 1 p.m.  at Mid Continent Public Library, Antioch Branch.  

For two more months we will discuss three unique ways religions have approached diet and health as religious practice.  Our quests will share their personal journeys and insights they share in their unique and wonderful communities here in Kansas City.

 March 13, 2013 Science and Health With Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. First published in 1875 and read by more than eight million people, this nondenominational book has a 119-year history of healing and inspiration. Named one of "75 Books by Women Whose Words Have Changed the World."  Our guest co-facilitator will be Riley Seay from the Christian Science Center on the Plaza.  Read chapters 1,2, and 6.

April 10, 2013 How To Eat To Live by Elijah Muhammad, Messenger of Allah.  For many years, Messenger Elijah Muhammad has been teaching the so-called Negroes of America on the proper foods to eat to improve their mental power, physical appearance, for prevention of illness, curing of ailments and prolonging life. Isaiah Muhammad, a friend from “Eggs and Enlightenment” will be with us along with others from The Nation of Islam.

May 8, 2013  Sacred Ground:  Pluralism, Prejudice and the Promise of America by Eboo Patel.  Patel asks us to hare in the vision of a better America – a robustly pluralistic country in which our commonalities are more important than our differences, and in which difference enriches, rather than threatens, our religious traditions. Pluralism Patel boldly argues, is at the heart of the American project.

June 12, 2013  Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig.  This is one of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century.  It is a powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live . . . and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better. Here is the book that transformed a generation: an unforgettable narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father and his young son. A story of love and fear -- of growth, discovery, and acceptance -- that becomes a profound personal and philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions.

July 10, 2013   How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman.  God is great for your mental, physical and spiritual health.  This book is both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health and to avoid mental decline.  Al and Nina Babich will be our guests.  They both have done training on brain awareness and Al has a training company, “My Gray Matters.”

August 14, 2013 “Dakota 38”, a movie free on line, documents the ride to Mankato in 2008. It was a memorable trek, filled with blizzards but also warm greetings from small town residents along the way. In the movie, Indian spiritual leader Jim Miller describes his painful dream and its hold on him. The dream inspired an annual horseback ride from the Missouri River in South Dakota to Mankato to remember those executed. That journey, in turn, inspired Hagerty and his colleagues to honor both the modern day riders and those hanged in 1862.   

 

Vital Conversations - Next Six Months

November 14, 2012 – Human responses to AIDS in Kansas City and the World

In the documentary "A Closer Walk", Ron McMillan, a Kansas City friend, demonstrates what one person can do to respond in a positive way to a major crisis.  International AIDS Day is on December 1st.  In preparation for that day we can look at current material, breakthroughs, national and global options to respond to this important issue.  Ron will be with us to share his experience and to assist in our conversation about the past, present, and future

December 12, 2012 – Hanukkah Stories.  Hanukkah is celebrated from December 9-16, 2012

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar.  The festival is observed by the kindling of the lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Hanukiah, one additional light on each night of the holiday, progressing to eight on the final night.  

January 9, 2013 The Breath of God by Jeffrey Small

In 1887, a Russian journalist made an explosive discovery in a remote Himalayan monastery only to be condemned and silence for the heresy he proposed.  His discovery vanished shortly thereafter.  Now, Grant Matthews journeys to the Himalayas in search of this ancient mystery.  But Matthew couldn’t have anticipated the conspiracy of zealots who would go to any lengths to prevent him from bringing this secret public.

February 13, 2013 Savor:  Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh

Bethany Klug from the “Heartland Community of Mindful Living” here in Kansas City will share reflections about this book and will invite us to experience the “Apple Meditation” in chapter 2.  She will bring the apples.

March 13, 2013 Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy

Riley Sea of the Plaza Christian Science church will be with us to discuss Christian Science.  

April 10, 2013 "How To Eat To Live" by Elijah Muhammad, Messenger of Allah

For many years Messenger Elijah Muhammad has been teaching on proper food to eat to improve mental power, physical appearance, for prevention of illness, curing ailments and prolonging life.  Isaiah Muhammad, a friend from “Eggs and Enlightenment” will be with us along with others from The Nation of Islam.

God Is Not A Christian

“Without us, God has no eyes; without us, God has no ears; without us, God has no arms or hands.  God relies on us.  Won’t you join other people of faith in becoming God’s partners in the world?”    Desmond Tutu, April 2011

 

God Is Not A Christian and Other Provocations

By Desmond Tutu

Human Agenda Study Guide for a Vital Conversation

To be held September 12, 2012

 

Desmond Mpilo Tutu  (1931 -) is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. He was the first black South African Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa).

Tutu has been active in the defense of human rights and uses his high profile to campaign for the oppressed. He has campaigned to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984; the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism in 1986; the Pacem in Terris Award in 1987; the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999; the Gandhi Peace Prize in 2005;[1] and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Tutu has also compiled several books of his speeches and sayings.  (Wikipedia)

1. “We must not make the mistake of judging other faiths by their least attractive features or adherents.” (p.16) Do we make this mistake and why?  Can you give examples?
2. “Ubuntu ngumtu ngabantu” - “A person is a person through others persons.  We need other human bring for us to learn how to be human, for none of us comes fully formed into the world.”  (p 21)  Tell a story of a person who taught you how to be human. 
3. “People in the West have been brought up on in a culture of success, where stomach ulcers become status symbols.  There is an obsession with achievement, and it seems it does not much matter in what you succeed as long as you do succeed.”  (p. 23) Do you agree?  What could result if compassion or justice became more important than success?
4. “My feeling would be to say as our Lord would say, that in the end the positive thing that could come out of the horrors of the Holocaust…is the spirit of forgiving, not forgetting, the spirit of saying, ‘God this has happened to us; we pray for those who made it happen.  Forgive them.  Help us to forgive and help us so that we in our turn will not make others suffer.”  (p. 26) Would Jesus advise us to forgive the Nazis?  Does our faith encourage forgiveness? 
5. I would like an apology when someone has hurt me or done something that has hurt others, but ultimately it is not necessary in order for me to live fully and forgive.  Do you agree?
6. Describe the difference between restorative and retributive justice.  Can you give examples of both in your experience or knowledge?
7. We live in a universe marked by diversity as the law of its being and or being.  We are made to exist in a life that should be marked by cooperation, interdependence, sharing, caring, compassion, and complementarity…. Anything else, as we have experienced, is disaster.”  (p. 50) Why is diversity such a challenge for so many?
8. “Opposing apartheid was a matter of justice.  Opposing discrimination against women is a matter of justice.  Opposing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a matter of justice.  It is also a matter of love.  Every human being is precious.  We are all –all of us—part of God’s family.” (p. 54) Do you agree?  Are there others in our community we need to be concerned about?
9. “I am a Christian, and many of the Palestinians are Christians … and it you changed the names, the description of what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank could be a description of what is happening in South Africa…  Eli Wiesel and I are Nobel Pease laureates.  Might it not be possible that he and I jointly be mediators in this matter?  P.88-89) Why was this offer not received and accepted by the United States and Israel?
10. “I would like to change the title of my address from “Occupation Is Oppression” to “Give Peace a Chance, For Peace is Possible.”  You see, we are bearers of hope for God’s children in the Holy Land, for God’s people the Israeli Jews and God’s people the Palestinian Arabs.”  (p. 101-102) What difference would the title of an address make?

 

The Lemon Tree

The Lemon Tree

An Arab, A Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East

By Sandy Tolan

Reflections by David Nelson

I just finished reading this non-fiction book published in 2006.  I had hoped that on completion I would have more hope for my sisters and brothers in Israel and Palestine, but sadly that is not the case.  I learn best when I read about individual people and through the true story of Dalia and Bashir I have gained a deeper understanding of the continued tragic reality of the people.  The unfolding story of these two precious individuals takes place in the context of the beginning of modern day Israel, the many wars and intifadas, the attempts at peace, and the ongoing acts of terrorism that makes life barely tolerable for all concerned.

I didn’t gain more hope, but I am more convinced that no attempt at understanding or act of compassion is wasted.  That may sound like a contradiction, but it is not for me.  This ongoing situation as seen through the eyes and experience of these two people remind me how important it is to listen and to talk with one another.  It is not enough to simply hang out with those who profess what I already believe.  I need to listen to other voices.  I must attempt to understand the “others” life experience if I am going to be an ally and friend.

Can we be friends across the gaps that divide us?  Can we share diverse opinions about our political divides?  Can we hold a truth dear to our heart and remain friends and collogues with those who hold different truths?  I certainly hope so.  I remain strong in my belief that it is possible.

 I am planning to attend the world premier of the movie “Rise and Dream” this coming weekend.  It is the story of a friend’s dream and his efforts to add some value to people oppressed by war and difficult circumstances.  I will have lots more to say about “Rise and Dream” in the future.  One line in an interview with Barclay Martin, the songwriter and key individual behind the movie, touched me deep in my heart.  He was asked, “What can we do about the problems of the world?”   To which he responded, “Have a dream.  What is your dream?  What are you doing to make this a better world for all our global brothers and sisters?”

In spite of the difficulty of reading this book and feeling even more than before the pain of so many on all sides of this huge divide, I have a dream.  I have a dream that we can live together in peace on this planet.  I dream that one day even more people will travel and makes friends with people around the globe.  I even dream of a day when political conversations can be done respectfully and we can all listen to one another more.

We will be discussing The Lemon Tree at our next Vital Conversation to be held on July 11^th at 1 p.m.  I hope that many of you can attend the conversation. 

 

 

Vital Conversatons

VITAL CONVERSATIONS

“Where we have been --- Where we are going”

 It started with a request from my friend Vern Barnet.  He asked it I would facilitate a discussion of Karen Armstrong’s book The Battle for God.  We met in the CRES living room and had a lively and enlightening conversations.  I loved the opportunity to listen to others and hear about their experience of life.  I also enjoyed sharing some of my own experience and thoughts on issues of concern.  With the support of Vern and CRES, The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council and Mid Continent Public Library, Antioch Branch, I started to organize and facilitate Vital Conversations on a regular monthly basis.

These gatherings are VITAL because they give opportunity to explore issues essential to living a full life.  We talk about faith development, spirituality, religion, politics, science, personal relationships, sexuality, current issues, and other topics as they emerge.  I need a community that is willing to address the issues of living in today’s world.

They are CONVERSATIONS designed to engage the participants in two important skills of communication: listening and speaking.  It is difficult for me at times to find groups where people really listen to each other.  Like me, many people like to talk about their own experiences and opinions.  Sometimes we listen to engage in debate.  Sometimes we listen to shape our response.  Sometimes we tune out and do not listen at all.  Listening for truth and to grow in understanding is both the challenge and the gift of these gatherings.  There are other times and places for debate, argument, confrontation, and passive enjoyment. 

In that last half dozen years we have discussed books by and about protestant Christians, Catholic Christians, Mormons, Scientology, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Free Thinkers, Mystics, and Atheists.  We have read and discussed several collections about issues of interfaith relationships, race, politics, and ethics.  We read fiction and non-fiction books as well as watching movies and televisions programs.  We have used the “Art Form” to discuss movies.  We have welcomed guests to share their insights and experience with the firm conviction that it is more appropriate to talk “with” others rather than talking “about” others.  I always welcome your suggestions about how we can nurture Vital Conversations to be an even better and more attractive community for you to be a part of.

 

Vital Conversations

“Facilitating a Vital Conversation”

A Human Agenda Top Ten List by David Nelson

 “The purpose of a Vital Conversation is not to win an argument but

to win a friend and advance civilization.”

Vern Barnet

1. Nametags or card-tents are important.  I prefer name tent cards (5 by 8) with first name in large letters.  Calling people by name increases the level of respect and understanding.
2.  Be conscious how you sit or gather for a conversation.  Six to eight people sitting around a table works best.
3. Begin with a “check-in” or “releasing conversation” where every person speaks to the group.  This should include name and something non-threatening but related to the topic.
4. Frame the conversation with “appreciative inquiry” type questions.  Individuals can listen and share disagreements more appropriately following some sharing of common ground.
5. The role of facilitator is to assist the conversation.  The more divisive the topic, the less the facilitator should share personal opinions.  Further the conversation with clarifying statements and questions.
6. Identify desired outcomes early in conversation.  Often people can agree on what they want in the end.  It is the paths to get there that are more diverse.
7. Ask for silence before responding to difficult questions.  Invite each participant to reflect on what he or she wants to accomplish and how he or she might articulate their response.  It is good to have paper and pen on the tables for notes.
8. Invite all participants to share their insight but be careful not to force people to speak before they are ready.
9. Avoid name-calling or judging others.  Reflect and respond to opinions and behaviors without evaluating others.
10. Wrap up conversations by summarizing key points.  Repeat quote about Vital Conversations (above).  Evaluate with two questions.  1) What worked for you during this conversation?  2) What could we do better next time?

 

A Novel About Russia

Why Read and Discuss A Book About Russia?

David E. Nelson, D. Min.

I was born in 1945 and grew up living in the shadow of the Cold War.  Soviet Russia was the evil empire that was seeking to gobble up all the nations around it and destroy our way of life.   We practiced air raid drills hiding under our school decks and against the walls preparing for the immanent attack of the Russians.  Neighbors in California build bomb shelters for their survival and there were conversations about who would be allowed entry and who would be kept outside.  I even had nightmares about a bright light and total darkness and silence.

I did not know anyone from Russian, or from many other countries for that matter.  Most of my thinking and understanding about the world came through my family, my school and my church.  They were all wonderful and safe places, but the fear of the evil Communist threat was felt deeply in my head and heart.  This living in fear began to recede a bit as I read Newsweek, Time and US News and World Report in preparation for speech and debate at Excelsior High School, but I had a very conservative speech coach that continued to remind us that we were in danger.  The Cuban missile crisis in 1962 brought many of these fears to the surface even as I did not fully understand all the circumstances.

The Cold War is over.  The Soviet Union has dissolved and a variety of countries now exist with different types of governance.  My wife and I had the pleasure of visiting St. Petersburg, Russia in 1993 and discovered a beautiful city that needed paint and flowers, but appeared very interesting and attractive.  My interest in Russia began to grow.  In recent years I have been more and more drawn to this country of mystery.  The story of the Tsars, Rasputin, Communism, and struggling democracy invited me to read and study more.

I was thrilled when several months ago a friend at the library informed me that we have an author in the community who has written a book about Russia that she would like for our Vital Conversations group to read and discuss.  The book is Rodina:  A Novel of Mother Russia.   I met Kirsten Berg and started reading the book.  I was hooked.  The historical novel covers the period from about 1861 through World War II and the liberation of Leningrad (the name given Saint Petersburg in 1924).

Kirsten has been a part of Vital Conversations and will be present to discuss her novel on March 14^th.  The story she tells is a true story.  The historical events she writes about are all painfully and powerfully revealed through the lives of a family we get to know personally.  The experience of reading this historical fiction was both painful and attractive.  It is hard to believe the courage and strength of the human beings in this story.  I shed many tears as I read about the monumental battle to defend the Motherland against the Nazis.  Orthodox Christianity emerged for me as a spiritual force giving hope to so many during such a difficult time.  The book touched me and I am excited about discussing with Kirsten and with you.

On my web blog are discussion questions Kirsten has prepared.  You can also bring your questions about the book, the history of Russia and the impact on our world today of this amazing nation.  I hope you can read the book, but even if you can’t, you are welcome to join us and become engaged in a delightful Vital Conversation. 

 

RODINA - Discussion Questions

Rodina:  A Novel of Mother Russia

By Kirsten E. A.  Borg

Questions for Discussion

1. With which character(s) did you most identify?
2. How did Evgenia feel about reading books?  How does her attitude compare with that of Americans in general?  Your book club in particular?
3. Imagine yourself in Father Ivan’s Church?  How do you feel?
4. Why did Lisya have to leave Derevnia?  Have you ever been in a comparable situation?
5. How does the status of Alexander Pavlovich compare with that of doctors today?
6. Why did Lisya become concerned about the status of women?  How did it change in the course of the novel?  How has the status of American women changed in your lifetime?
7. Did the Russian Revolution eventually make things better – or worse – for Evgenia and her family?  For most Russians?
8. What was Vladimir seeking?  Where did he search?  How did he find what he was looking for?  Can you relate to his quest?
9. Why was Stalin such a problem for Katya and Alexie?  Was their dilemma typical?
10. 10.   Where was your family during World War II?  How dies their experience then compare to that of Evgenia and her family?
11. 11.   Why are older women in Russia so strong and influential?  What our older women in the USA?
12.     12. Why was Babushka Tatiana so homesick?  In her place, would you have been?
13. 13. Why did Katherine go to Russia?  What did she find?  Have you ever connected with your roots?  Why is it important to do so?
14. 14. “Whatever doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.”  Does this statement describe Russians in general?  Americans in general?  Is there a difference?  Why?
15. 15. The author spent several years researching and writing RODINA.  Why do you think she did it?
16. 16. After reading RODINA, how has your attitude toward Russia changed?

 

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. A Legacy Worth Celebrating January 2012

Kansas City has some of the best celebrations of Dr. King in the country. I encourage each of you to find the time and place for you to again focus on this amazing and relevant man and his message. I offer information on two gatherings that are worth attending.

Vital Conversations January 11, 2012, 1 p.m. The Letter from the Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. will be discussed and we will listen to Archie Williams as he delivers one of Dr. King’s speeches. This response to a published statement by eight fellow clergymen from Alabama was composed under somewhat constricting circumstance. This document is considered by many as contemporary scripture, revealing the “word of God” in a modern context. Copies are available on line.

"From the Mountain Top" January 16, 2012 Words of Martin Luther King Jr will be read aloud on Monday, Jan. 16, from 9 am to 4 pm at Grace and Holy Cathedral (Episcopal) by members of the Men's Bible Study and others at Founders Hall, 415 W 13th St. (13th and Broadway). Following the continuous reading in the morning, at 12:05 pm, a short Holy Eucharist service is offered, after which the reading resumes through the afternoon. Visitors are welcome to drop in to listen. Scheduled readers are ready to invite visitors to participate in the reading. Texts include "Letter from Birmingham Jail," “I Have a Dream,” “Remaining Awake through a Great Revolution” (delivered at the Washington National Cathedral, this was the last sermon King ever preached ), and “I've Been to the Mountaintop.”

Selected passages from “Letter From The Birmingham Jail”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial “outside agitator” idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never be considered an outsider anywhere in this country.”

“In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: 1) Collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive. 2) Negotiation. 3) Self-purification and 4) Direct Action.”

“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue.”

“History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily. Individuals may see the moral light and voluntarily give up their unjust posture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has reminded us, groups are more immoral that individuals.”

“So segregation is not only politically economically and sociologically unsound, but it is morally wrong and sinful.”

“We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.”

Martin Luther King Jr. is celebrated as a national hero because his words and his work transcend time, race, religion, and class. His message is the message of the United States and we can all join in remembering and recommitting to the truths he revealed. Make this National Holiday a “Holy Day” for you and your family and friends by joining in the gatherings around our city and nation. Read, listen, ponder, discuss, write, and live the powerful message this American Saint offers us.
David E. Nelson D.Min.

Vital Conversations - Dec. 14, 2011