Category Archives: Intentional Communities

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. The Lighthouse Christian Academy promises to provide an exemplary education, a caring atmosphere and service to God, but says in its admissions brochure that it reserves the right to deny admission to LGBT students because the Bible deems their lifestyle sinful.

As the Trump administration seeks to expand school choice nationwide, the academy was thrust into the national spotlight last month as part of a heated debate over whether schools that receive money from taxpayer-funded vouchers can discriminate against certain groups of students, such as LGBT children or students with disabilities.

Lighthouse officials say theyve never turned anyone away based on sexual orientation. But at a congressional hearing, Senate Democrats cited it as an example of a school that discriminates against LGBT students. A Lighthouse brochure says the Bible does not allow homosexual, bisexual or any form of sexual immorality and if a students home life violates biblical rules, the school can deny them admission or expel them.

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Pressed on the issue, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, an ardent supporter of school choice, told the Senate committee that discrimination is wrong, but that it was up to Congress and the courts, not her department, to intervene.

Founded in the early 1990s by a tight-knit group of families who wanted an affordable Christian education for their children, the academy is now an academically successful K-12 school serving 300 children in the Bloomington area. About half receive vouchers to help pay an annual tuition that ranges from $4,500 to $6,000 depending on a students grade.

This year, Lighthouse received over $665,000 in state funds to enroll 152 students.

DeVos and the Trump administration are strong proponents of giving states a greater role in education. Earlier this year, the administration rescinded former President Barack Obamas guidance that instructed to schools to let students use school restrooms in accordance with the gender they identify with, not their sex at birth. The move sparked criticism from the civil rights community.

The administration is looking at taxpayer-funded vouchers as a way to expand school choice nationwide, but it has not yet come out with a specific plan on how to do it.

Indiana is one of 30 states that use public money for school choice programs, including vouchers, educational savings accounts and tax-credit scholarships. The District of Columbia has the countrys only federally funded voucher program. All told, some 450,000 students participate nationally.

In a study last year, Indiana University professor Suzanne Eckes found that none of the states with voucher programs prohibits discrimination against LGBT students.

Lighthouse defends its right to educate children according to its values, saying that Christians are state taxpayers, too, and should be allowed to fund institutions of their choice with their money.

Parents are free to choose which school best comports with their religious convictions, Brian Bailey, an attorney who is serving as the schools spokesman, said in a statement. For a real choice and thus real liberty to exist, the government may not impose its own orthodoxy and homogenize all schools to conform to politically correct attitudes and ideologies.

Former Lighthouse student Mary Wegener, 24, says some of her classmates at the school were gay and received love and care. Bailey confirmed that the school did admit some students who were tempted by same-sex intimacy, saying we teach our students to flee these sins.

Wegener sees both sides of the story, but says a religious school cannot function contrary to its core beliefs.

If they (Lighthouse) are going to be a Christian school, they cant conform to everything else, because then that would be a private school that knocked out the Christian name.

Carissa Dollar, 46, of Indianapolis, who has a transgender daughter, is unconvinced.

I have a problem with public funds going to a private institution who then make decisions that would be discriminatory to any group, Dollar said. Its wrong if an LGBT student, or even if someone in their family identifies on the LGBT spectrum, could be denied admission to the school.

Dick Komer, senior attorney with Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm, said that federal law has protections against discrimination on the basis of race, national identity, sex and religion, but they do not extend to LGBT individuals.

If the people who are grilling DeVos believe that sex includes sexual orientation and gender identity, then they should propose amendments to the statues that they have written and given her to enforce, Komer said. The Congress is supposed to write the law, the agency is supposed to administer what Congress has given them. And Congress hasnt given it to them.

Eckes, the Indiana University professor, said states must create protections to ensure that any benefit they create is available to all. She said that decades ago some private schools used their own interpretation of the Bible to exclude African-American students and federal protections were necessary to stop those practices.

If you accept public money in the form of a voucher then you shouldnt be able to discriminate whether its based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability or sexual orientation, Eckes said. If you agree to take that public money, then there are certain rules that you need to follow.

Lindsey Burke, director of education policy studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation, disagrees.

Racism was based on identity and skin color and had no reasonable basis, Burke said. This is about whether a student, a family is going to live out their communal beliefs of the school that they have chosen to attend. These are intentional communities that are built upon a moral code that they have decided on.

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Lily Eskelsen Garca, president of the National Education Association, the countrys largest teachers union, said the Trump administrations attempt to fund private schools takes away money from public schools, where discrimination is not allowed.

Every child, every blessed child has the legal, civil and the human right to attend their public school, but no one can say that about a private school, Eskelsen Garcia said. Why would you get public dollars to a school that discriminates against students?

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Indiana Christian school at center of LGBT voucher debate ... - goskagit.com

The family of Philando Castile, who was shot and killed by officer Jeronimo Yanez of Minnesota's St. Anthony Police Department, has reached a nearly $3 million settlement with the city of St. Anthony Village, according to a statement from both parties.

The settlement follows the acquittal of Yanez on June 16 of second-degree manslaughter and two counts of intentional discharge of a firearm that endangers safety.

Castile was killed July 6, 2016, during a traffic stop, and his death, as well as the acquittal of Yanez, have drawn protests across the country.

The settlement over his death is the second major settlement to be awarded to police shooting victims' families in recent days.

The family of Michael Brown, a black teenager who was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, settled its lawsuit against Ferguson for $1.5 million on June 23.

"Under the terms of the settlement, Valerie Castile, as trustee, will receive a payment in the amount of $2.995 million," the statement says. "The settlement will be paid through the city's coverage with the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust."

The statement notes that no taxpayer money from St. Anthony Village will be used to fund the settlement and that the family intends to "deal with their loss through the important work of the Philando Castile Relief Foundation," a nonprofit created to help victims of gun violence.

New dashcam video, which was released last week, reopened old wounds for those who were outraged by his death.

Yanez, who is Latino, encountered Castile, 32, while investigating a broken taillight on his vehicle.

Diamond Reynolds, Castile's girlfriend, was in the car with him at the time of the shooting, along with her 4-year-old daughter.

Reynolds live-streamed the aftermath of the shooting on Facebook Live, helping make it a national news story.

The dashcam video shows Yanez saying, "OK. Don't reach for it," referring to a firearm Castile reported that he had.

"Don't pull it out," Yanez says, repeatedly, as he appears to draw his own weapon.

He fires multiple rounds into the car, and Reynolds can be heard screaming in the car.

The joint statement attempts to address the communal rift opened by Castile's shooting death and says that the city is working to "rebuild trust" between the police and those they serve.

"The important work of healing our community continues. The city of St. Anthony Village reaffirms its commitment to transforming its police department in partnership with the United States Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services," the statement says. "Through the Collaborative Reform Initiative, the city and residents are working to improve trust between the police department and the communities it serves."

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Family of Philando Castile reaches $3M settlement in police shooting case - ABC News

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Tracey Horan had never been behind the walls of a convent before she moved to El Paso, Texas, after college to teach middle-school math.

She was surprised to learn that the religious sisters watched TV, told jokes and even drank beer on occasion. But they also were deeply spiritual and committed to social justice issues. Horan, who was on a journey of self-discovery and discernment, wondered if she was being called to the religious life.

The Indianapolis native and Roncalli High School grad lived with the Sisters of Charity for two years, growing not only in her faith but in her awareness of systemic poverty, discrimination and economic oppression - issues the sisters confronted in their work and discussed at the dinner table every evening.

Today, the 29-year-old one-time cheerleader-turned-teacher-turned-community activist is a second-year mission novice with the Sisters of Providence, founded by Saint Mother Theodore Guerin in 1840. She will take her first vows this year - vows of poverty, chastity and obedience - on her way to becoming a full member of the religious order based at St.-Mary-of-the-Woods.

Aging religious

Women like Horan, now known as Sister Tracey, are a rarity these days. New recruits in the ranks of nuns and sisters in the United States have plummeted for decades, though recent years have shown a slight trend upward.

According to National Religious Vocation Conference data, more than 90 percent of the nations 58,000 nuns and sisters are 60 and older. The median age of the 300 sisters in the Sisters of Providence is 75, Sister Tracey said, adding, I bring down our average, Im proud to say.

She senses a resurgence in interest in religious life, pointing to her own class of sisters as proof.

We have eight women in formation, which is exciting. A lot of communities arent getting any new people.

I think people are looking for something, a sense of intentional community, said the young sister, who looks like most everyone else at a local coffee shop on a Monday morning, dressed in slacks, a T-shirt and sandals in the summer heat. It takes a lot to be focused on this kind of mission, so it is important to be with other people who can strengthen you.

Its hard for her to describe why she feels this is the life for her. It just fits. I equate it to falling in love. I feel like I can be my fullest self in this life.

Her parents, longtime members of St. Jude Catholic Church on the south side, were pleased but skeptical when she announced her plans to join the religious life.

She had enjoyed an active social life in high school and college, all while holding true to her Catholic faith. Joe and Eileen Horan thought their daughter would follow a more traditional path. But she had long felt there was something more she was called to do.

My parents didnt believe me at first; they thought it was a phase. Over time, they started to see I was the happiest Id ever been.

Community activist

Her mission as a Catholic and a Sister of Providence is advocating for the dignity and well-being of all people, paying special attention to the poor and disenfranchised. Its fitting then that her faith journey and ministry search brought her back to Indianapolis last summer when she joined the Indianapolis Congregation Action Network (IndyCAN) and the Justice for Immigrants Campaign of the Archdiocese as a bilingual community organizer.

Its the perfect intersection of faith and civic engagement, she said. She mobilizes support for causes critical to Catholic social teachings. And her status as a sister brings a moral presence to bear, whether its in meetings with city officials on mass transit or in organizing a public rally to force action on what she and IndyCAN call the unlawful detention of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Indianapolis.

She calls it sending a moral message. And she has no problem calling out policies she considers illegal and immoral.

But when religious leaders and others have the opportunity to meet with policy makers and put a human face on a policy outcome, the conversation shifts, she said.

Me being a sister and being part of IndyCAN and working on this in a really clear and public way, I think gives people hope. It really is an extension of the church.

Her co-workers say shes the perfect messenger.

She is so spiritually in tune, such a divine being, said Nicole Barnes, IndyCAN operations manager. Her sisterhood is integrated into who she is its not something she does - its her way of being. It just oozes out of her, and shes this tiny thing, but shes feisty and serious about justice for people.

Sister Tracey lives with four other Sisters of Providence in the Nora neighborhood. Each has her own work to do in the community, but they carve out time to pray together regularly, and they take turns cooking.

To relax, the young sister watches Parks and Recreation and Call of the Midwife. Shes also an enthusiastic runner and hiker. She keeps up with old friends on Facebook but isnt able to spend much time with them. Ive really changed a lot since those days.

At 84, Sister Marilyn Herber is the senior member of the household, and she says Sister Tracey gives her hope.

Shes just a great example to me, said Sister Marilyn, who entered religious life in 1952. The young people who come today are so filled with life and goodness and a desire to make change in this world. They get it.

Kind but stubborn

If its possible to be an idealist and a realist, that would describe Sister Tracey.

The Rev. Chris Wadelton, pastor at St. Philip Neri Catholic Church on the east side, saw both sides at a February rally organized by the young sister and IndyCAN that drew 2,000 people. The City of Inclusion rally was held in response to policies by the Trump administration that some think unfairly target immigrants, Muslims and refugees.

He marvels that she is able to balance her religious training with a job that demands long hours. She brings a renewed focus to faith-based social justice. To see a young, dynamic person, talented in so many ways, choose religious life, thats inspiring.

Juan Perez-Corona, 45, has seen Sister Tracey in action, working to help people with immigration issues, housing, medical care and employment. Hes been so impressed with her commitment that he now volunteers alongside her.

We are so blessed to have her, the father of three said. It doesnt matter color, race, religion, she just wants to help people.

Perez-Corona, who has been in the country since 1988, now has legal status here, but hes never forgotten the fear he felt 10 years ago when he said he was pulled over by a police officer in Indianapolis for no reason and asked to produce residency papers. He spent nine days in jail, but it took years to resolve his case with IndyCANs help.

Going where others wont

Sister Tracey said examples like that inspire her to do the hard work that others, even many within the church, are reluctant to embrace.

This is the heart of our mission, she said. When our sisters first came here, they were really pioneers, and thats still kind of our role. (Sisters) often choose to be in places where other people tend not to be. But if were not willing to get out in the trenches, what are we doing?

Its also challenging, she said, because it forces us to ask questions that are uncomfortable.

Take immigration, for example. Were dealing with this narrative that says all immigrants are criminals and that the only people being deported are criminals, which we know isnt true, she said. She has worked with IndyCan to develop a hotline for immigrants and others to call if they feel threatened by authorities.

She wasnt always so welcoming to undocumented immigrants, she said, recalling a high school discussion more than 10 years ago about building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

I was one of those who said, Theyre criminals; its pretty clear, theyre breaking the law. But I had no idea.

A teacher assigned her to research the other side of the argument. I was so ticked off, but it was really smart of her. I had to see - why are people crossing, what are their stories, whats behind this?

So she allows some grace for those who are not yet willing to fight what she believes is a moral imperative.

I have to remember my own transformation, and Ive come a really long way as far as understanding and getting a broader picture of peoples experiences and perspectives. If its possible for me, being as stubborn as I am, its possible for anyone.

Sister Traceys work in the community was just recognized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, who held their Spring General Assembly in Indianapolis. In a reception June 14, she received the 2017 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award, sponsored by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, for her work to reduce poverty and racial inequality.

In prepared remarks, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, formerly archbishop of Indianapolis, described Sister Tracey as a dynamic young woman promoting the common good among immigrants and brothers and sisters living in poverty.

While the day-to-day slow work of God is not always glamorous, her ministry lends hope, said Shoshanna Spector, executive director of IndyCAN.

Society yearns for courageous, prophetic leaders who are prepared to inspire, speak out and support the most marginalized. Sister Tracey is this person.

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Source: The Indianapolis Star, http://indy.st/2sKSVKC

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Information from: The Indianapolis Star, http://www.indystar.com

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Young nun fights for justice for immigrants and the poor ... - Washington Times

Portraits of GRRRLS is a short performance piece created by participants of the program, GRRRLS with HEART. During GRRRLS with HEART we work in Vienna, VA for two weeks. The first five to six days are spent creating: choreographing dances, writing autobiographical pieces, writing a song and other theatrical pieces, and doing some visual artwork. The second week we spend piecing everything together into an autobiographical theater piece rooted in personal storytelling. All participants are teenage girls from around the world, ages 12 18.

Where did the idea come from and why is it important?

Jenna & Brooke: Our producer, Rhonda Eldridge, has a passion for giving young girls the tools to live and lead their best and most powerful lives, and she has decided to bring that passion to life. The mission of GRRRLs with HEART is to empower teenage girls in an intentional community by allowing them to creatively find their authentic voice and strengthen communication skills through an interdisciplinary collaborative arts program culminating in a self-expression based performance of original work. Our hope is that grrrls will go on to impact the world around them using art and creative self expression, strong communication skills from NVC, self-affirmation, and the ability to approach all communities with mindfulness and our core HEART values: harmony, ease, authenticity, respect, and trust.

How does the show become a show? What is the rehearsal process like?

Jenna & Brooke: There are so many pieces that will make this happen! First, we spend time creating. Using prompt-based exercises and explorations, we spend a week with the girls moving, writing, singing, etc. exploring who they are as strong, empowered women. This, combined with visits from guest instructors and guest artists, influences how we piece together the show. When it comes time to create Portraits of GRRRLS, we as a team will choose what pieces will be put into the show. Each piece created individually and collectively will be thrown together to make a creative stew, each ingredient different and unique but it makes something great in the end!

What is the rehearsal process like? We have no idea! Since there is no content created yet, theres no telling what the process of putting together the show will be like. The only things we know for certain are that all content will be created by the girls, and that Portraits of GRRRLS will be a performance based in personal storytelling and female empowerment.

What is it about this project that appeals to you/what attracted you to the project?

Jenna: As a teenage girl I went through many difficult moments in life where I could have just given up. Luckily, I was given a safe environment to share my heartache and joys through journaling. Ever since I have used writing as a tool to help me cope, sort things out, look toward the future. Being invited to help create GRRRLs with HEART and ensure other teenage girls would have a place similar to what I had at their age was an opportunity I could not turn down. I learned and continue to learn so much about myself and my life through journaling, and I am so excited to see these girls shine through the art form that speaks to them.

Brooke: Growing up, I was always the weird, random, curious girl who couldnt sit still. Ideas and questions were constantly swimming around in my brain and younger me did not know what to do with so much creative energy. I became lost in my head and it became harder and harder to be present in my daily life. Performing arts saved me, creating an outlet for all of that energy and curiosity. When I heard about GRRRLS with HEART, it was everything I wish I had growing up. The opportunity to provide a safe space where girls can tell their stories and create a greater sense of self is invaluable, and I cannot wait to create with this years group of GRRRLS!

What exactly do you do? What are you individual responsibilities?

Jenna: Since I connect most with the writing aspect of the program, I work to produce prompts and exercises specifically for writing. During the program I will be a facilitator providing guidance to the creative process during our first week together, and during the second week I will be a director of the show helping piece together the content the girls create. I also hope to be an example to girls who do not connect much with the movement or visual aspects of our program to exemplify that as long as they are willing to try they will have fun with the process.

Brooke: Having an extensive background and affinity for dance movement and theater, Im working to create prompts and explorations that use our bodies to tell stories and access parts of ourselves that havent been explored much before. During the program I will be facilitating portions of the creative process during the first week. The second week I will be serving as a director, staging and putting together Portraits of GRRRLS with Jenna. My goal is to share more art forms with these girls and give them permission to express themselves fully in a physical manner as an opportunity to grow and gain confidence.

How does GRRRLs with HEARTs production of Portraits of GRRRLs speak generationally to older and younger people?

Jenna: I feel that Portrait of GRRRLs will make audience members of all ages excited about the future. Older members will be able to look at these young women with adoration and hope for the future of women in which outspoken and authentic women will be the norm. Younger members will be able to see these young women as an example of confidence and empowerment and be excited that someday they could be like the teenage girls they see on the stage. Each member will resonate with different stories and pieces based on life experience, but I believe each person will leave the theatre feeling hopeful about the future and with a new lens to dream through.

Brooke: Ideally, Portraits of GRRRLS will open minds to the potential of a younger generation. These young women are the next movers and shakers of our society, and hopefully our audience sees the tools that will carry us through and keep society moving forward. Empowered women are becoming our societal norm more and more, and Portraits of GRRRLS highlights that. Women with powerful, constructive, open voices will change the world, and I hope audience sees that through these girls and their stories. People will hopefully leave optimistic and open, ready to share just a little more of their world with the important people around them.

Tickets for Portraits of GRRRLs

Jenna Stottsis so excited to be diving into this new endeavour that is GRRRLs with HEART. She currently lives in Nashville and attends college there as a business major with a focus in nonprofit management; her ultimate goal with this degree is to create or work with nonprofits focused on youth programming. She has four years of previous leadership experience with a writing and performance program based in Nashville. Jenna is a firm believer in the importance of girls voices and is grateful she is able to help girls find the power in their stories.

Brooke Viegut is thrilled to be joining GRRRLS with HEART this summer. She is a St. Louis-based director, choreographer, teaching artist, and dramaturg. With a passion for new plays, music, and musical theater, her work has been seen in venues across St. Louis, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Pittsburgh areas. Favorite recent credits includeIpseity(director/deviser),Grease(director/choreographer),To Kill a Mockingbird (Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, assistant director/dramaturg), andShrek:The Musical(Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, assistant director). Brooke is also the founder and current Artistic Director of the Envisage Play Festival, a festival of new plays at Webster University in St. Louis, MO. She is passionate about new work and allowing young people and developing artists to find their voice in a safe, supportive, creative environment.

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Portraits of GRRRLS. A Fringe Peek - DC Theatre Scene

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Traditional Medicinals Nioma Sadler helps women lift up their communities

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CYNTHIA SWEENEY

NORTH BAY BUSINESS JOURNAL | June 23, 2017, 6:25PM

06/23/2017

From a young age, Nioma Narissa Sadler knew what she wanted to do with her life. What she didnt know was that her unusual upbringing, and challenging life experiences, would prepare her to do the work she does.

Sadler is the founder of WomenServe, a nonprofit based in Sonoma, that improves the lives of impoverished women and girls throughout the world, and subsequently their communities, by providing basic needs like water and health care.

In Rajasthan, India, women and girls walk up to 10 hours a day carrying water on their heads from a pond back to their communities. WomenServe, in collaboration with Traditional Medicinals, the wellness tea giant with products sold in more than 60,000 stores, has contributed to the construction of six large community ponds and more than 400 taankas (tanks to collect rainwater) providing water to 12,000 people.

With Sadlers guidance, five primary schools in rural India have been built, and female health workers have been trained to provide basic health services there.

WomenServe is about telling women and girls stories to create change and awareness, to draw in more interest and bring change towards equality, she said.

In addition to founding WomenServe, Sadler is the Goodwill Ambassador for Traditional Medicinals and is co-founder of the Traditional Medicinals Foundation. As ambassador, she travels the world working directly with farmers and producers to improve the quality of the herbs used in the companys tea. All three organizations work together in improving the communities that grow them.

The company works on the quality piece and the foundation works on the social piece, Sadler said. It is very unusual and is connected to the social business piece which is a big part of what TM is leading in which is to show the world how you can use capitalism to do good if youre intentional about it.

Sadler was born in Michigan, but grew up traveling the country. Her father was a college professor and a psychologist, however, My parents were gypsies. We spent a lot of time in California, Oregon, and Colorado. Theyre very esoteric people, studying the Earth as a living being. They were also isolationists. They didnt like to have the impact of outer world, TV, artificial things affect their children, she said. They wanted their children to just be affected by nature mostly.

As a result, Sadler was life-schooled. Every time the family drove by a school, her heart ached with longing for a traditional education.

I just remember driving by and feeling how much I wanted to be in that school. I had a deep longing for knowledge and learning as much as I could, she said.

Libraries were her saving grace. She checked out as many books at one time as she could, and read her brother and sisters books as well. Her obsession grew around stories and biographies of women and girls, and the common issues they face, like inequality, abuse, and not being allowed to receive an education.

One in particular was the biography of Meena Keshwar Kamal, a feminist crusader in Afghanistan, who was assassinated in 1987, and subsequently became a martyr.

I was very fascinated with her mission, and how, when she got murdered, her mission grew as all these other women and girls took it on, she said.

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Sadler did finally go, for a while, to community college. At age 19, however, she became pregnant by an abusive partner. She dropped out of school and worked as a single mom raising her son for six years.

I loved it (college), it was great. I got almost a 4.0, she said. But my life led me away from that to being a mom.

During that time, Sadlers attention was drawn to the Bosnian genocide. From 1992-1995, Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Muslims and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina in an ethnic cleansing campaign.

I became more aware of the rape of women during war, that whole thing hit me, because my partner was abusive to me, she said. There are things that happen in your life that create the passion that you want to do and for me there were several.

Sadler was also influenced by her mother, who grew up a traditional Arabic Muslim.

Traditional Arabic women are just supposed to cook and clean. Her brothers got everything and she got nothing. So there are things Ive seen that have drawn me to this work with women and girls, including my personal story of not having a formal education. So, Ive been planning to do this work for a long time, Sadler said.

The tide changed when she met her husband, Drake Sadler, co-founder of Traditional Medicinals.

We have the same kind of passion and commitment, she said.

The two partnered in the formation of the TM Foundation, providing a blend of head, heart and soul, and now seven years later we are co-managing various parts and reporting responsibilities, Drake Sadler said.

Sadler began traveling with her husband to meet with TMs source communities, and her influence on the way the company interacts with them has been profound.

Traditionally, men from the company talk through a male translator while women are serving and not part of the conversation, even though they do the vast majority80 percent of all herb farming and collection is done by rural, poor women who are very dependent on the income they receive.

Next time, I said, Im absolutely not going without a female translator. I said Drake, you go hang out with the men, talk about tractors and weather patterns, Im going to hang out with the women and find out whats hard on these communities, what are they suffering, she said. You need to involve women in the process, valuing their importance.

By working with women and girls, not just men, Sadler gets a better understanding of issues that plague those communities.

All the girls I work with in Rajasthan are just like me. All the older women, like my age are illiterate and never went to school, she said. Just making women feel important is the first step most people would not take, breaking down that barrier.

Nioma has been focused on removing barriers to womens empowerment for the past couple of decades, in Sonoma County and around the world, her husband said.

She has studied and surrounded herself with (mostly) women who share her interests and have a combination of academic and global field experience working on womens issues. She brings this intention and her passion to her various roles at Traditional Medicinals, the Foundation and WomenServe, he said.

Sadler said she has learned to develop trust and build relationships.

Its not just here were going to give you this. We have to hear them. Hear their voices, their stories, and understand how we can actually work together in a collaborative way, because its not about charity. Its a long-term relationship. This is the foundation of the company, Sadler said.

Sadler is learning the different landscapes that are out there, she said, and learning from the process, which is what shes done her whole life without a formal educational background.

She also taught herself to paint, something she has been doing since a child.

I am a self taught artist. As you know my favorite subject to study is women and girls and issues they face in the world and Im equally obsessed with painting and drawing women and girls issues. I paint in an energetic vibrant way that expresses emotions and feelings using watercolor and acrylics mostly, she said.

Despite her accomplishments and fortitude in helping others, Sadlers biggest challenge for herself is self esteem for not having an education.

She recently received an award in Rajasthan and someone asked her what degrees she had.

I said I have life degrees but not any kind of educational degrees. Ive had to work hard on my self esteem because I was feeling less than. That and freeing my voice to speak on behalf of the company.

Cynthia Sweeney covers health care, hospitality, residential real estate, education, employment and business insurance. Reach her at Cynthia.Sweeney@busjrnl.com or call 707-521-4259.

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Sonoma's WomenServe helps women, helping their communities - North Bay Business Journal

I admit it's foreign but I don't know any other intentional community that's crowdfunding to expand.

This is the relatively famous Twin Oaks Community, core of the Federation of Egalitarian Communities. They are 90+ adults on 350+ acreas in central Virginia, founded 1967. The reason they're asking is that they've just invested considerably to expand their main business and they're a little strung out financially; on the other hand the parcel they want has just been clearcut for the second time in 20 years, is on the market and adjoins them; they don't want some developer putting up condos on it and they can use it.

See

https://generosity.com/community-fundraising/let-s-help-twin-oaks-grow

and

http://www.twinoaks.org

Disclosure: a friend of 45 years standing lives there. I visited in 1972.

Those interested in low-investment sustainable technology for for the future might check out the newsletter archive at the website of a related small community:

Welcome

The Federation:

http://www.thefec.org

Know any rich socialists?

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Virginia income-sharing intentional community solicits funds to buy more land - rabble.ca

Breaking bread on Shabbat after returning to Boston.

YESUD HAMAALA, Israel For thousands of years, Jews have searched for a way back to this sacred land. And for an even longer time, theyve also been encouraged to marry other members of the so-called tribe.

But outside of Israel, especially in the United States, Jews have become increasingly likely to partner with someone of a different faith, prompting decades of hand-wringing and guilt trips. Avi Rubel, the cofounder and co-CEO of Honeymoon Israel, sees it another way.

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Its not a minus one, its a plus one, he tells 21 young Boston couples awaiting sunset in the countrys lush northern mountains. Minutes later, a buoyant party kicks off in a nearby tent, replete with grilled lamb and live music.

Drinks were raised, chairs were lifted. It was like a wedding reception, although most of us on this trip were already married. That was the point.

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Many Americans are familiar with Birthright Israel, a free educational trip to the country available to young adults with Jewish heritage.

The idea is to foster Jewish identity and a connection with Israel at an impressionable age with the unstated but welcome outcome for young Jews to meet one another and build families together. (This has been called bsheret, a Yiddish word describing a match that was meant to be.)

But an increasing number of US Jews are marrying someone of another religion. According to the 2015 Greater Boston Jewish Community Study, a decennial survey of the regions Jews, 47 percent of married couples are interfaith. That share is even higher nationwide.

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Enter Honeymoon Israel: a heavily subsidized,immersive trip for couples, many of whom are interfaith, with the aim of cultivating intentional and meaningful communities on their own terms.

Eli Center for The Boston Globe

Costumed Honeymoon Israel participants dance at a Purim party.

Youve got 40 people on a bus, and whatever your experiences are, youre having that experience together, said Karyn Cohen Leviton, director of Jewish life and Israel for the One8 Foundation, a Boston-based organization that served as one of HMIs first financial supporters and partners. Its hard to go to a program at night or on the weekends and be in a space where you can have these conversations about what you want out of life.

Eligible couples must be within the first five years of marriage or in a committed relationship. At least one of the partners must be between 25 and 40, have some Jewish heritage, and not been on an organized trip to Israel, such as Birthright.

Its selective: four couples apply for every spot nationwide, and more than 100 couples sought the 40 spots on this years trips from Boston, organizers said. My husband and I filled out an online application and completed an in-person interview, fielding questions about our attitudes toward Judaism, religion, and family life. (Our replies were not well-formed or practiced, and only later did we realize that this probably helped our case.)

We joined Bostons first trip, and HMIs 32nd overall, in March with 20 other couples who live across the Greater Boston area, from the North End and Southie to Newton. Our proximity was intentional: for building community and maintaining friendships, Rubel said, its imperative that couples are geographically close. An upcoming September trip mostly includes participants from north of the city. Applications are open through mid-July for two 2018 trips, departing in January and March.

The tour itself was organized thoughtfully, and with precision. In my dozen or so trips to see family in Israel, Ive never seen this much of the country, or experienced such a wide swath of the culture. On a single day, we awoke in Jerusalem, climbed Masada, King Herods mesa fortress in the desert, bathed in the Dead Sea, and drank local wine while watching the sun set over the Sea of Galilee.

We spent the next few days winding our way through the north, including a tour of the Syrian border, where we were close enough to hear explosions from the civil war. In addition to seeing the countrys best-known landmarks, such as Jerusalems Old City and the Western Wall, there were off-the-path presentations, such as a visit to a Hand in Hand School, which teaches Jewish and Arab students side by side in both Arabic and Hebrew.

Eli Center for The Boston Globe

Participants dip their toes in the Galilee at Kfar Nahum (Capernaum).

We ended our tour in Tel Aviv, staying at a chic beachside hotel that rivaled (OK, exceeded) any of the places where my husband and I stayed on our original honeymoon in Spain.

Organized conversations about faith and Israel were sprinkled throughout the trip, conducted by a rabbi and a staff member for Combined Jewish Philanthropies, HMIs local partner and one of the regions largest nonprofits. There were relaxed Shabbat and Havdalah services to mark the beginning and end of the Sabbath (including a particularly memorable one on the hotel rooftop overlooking the Mediterranean sunset).

In the most religion-forward portion of the trip, Avraham Infeld, a Jewish educator and former international president of Hillel gave a forceful two-part lecture about religious identity that pushed me a cultural Jew beyond my comfort zone. Still, Rubel says, HMIs goal is not to convert couples or convince them to raise Jewish children quite the opposite.

Our trips are really designed to be open-ended-question trips, said Rubel later in an interview. We dont have an agenda around politics or religion or identity beyond that we want to empower the couples who go on our trip to question those things.

Eli Center for The Boston Globe

A group photo atop Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea and Jordan.

HMI does send a Made in Israel onesie to HMI alumni who become new parents.

For all this, we paid $1,800 for two, including flights and most meals, over 10 days. HMI advertises the actual cost of the trip as being about $10,000 per couple.

Much of the trip experience depends on the other couples. It takes a special pair to sign up to travel with 20 other duos in the desert for 10 days. For HMIs part, organizers say they select trip participants to match the local community as much as possible.

On average, Rubel said, about 60 percent of participating couples are interfaith. (Im the product of an interfaith marriage, and my husband, after spending much of his youth in evangelical Christianity, left the church and now considers himself Jew-curious.) Of the other 40 percent, about half of them have a partner who is Jewish by choice and the others are born Jewish, he said.

When we departed Logan International Airport for Tel Aviv, all but two couples were engaged or married.

One proposal came at sunset overlooking the Sea of Galilee. We celebrated, nearly every night, for the rest of the trip.

A few months later, after we had settled into a pattern of Friday evening Shabbat dinners with our new friends, the other couple announced their engagement.

Bsheret, indeed.

Eli Center for The Boston Globe

A newly engaged couple is hoisted on chairs during a Horah dance.

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Making friends and maybe major life decisions on Honeymoon Israel - The Boston Globe

The judge was blunt: Although parents in a suburban Alabama community argued that their desire to secede from their county school district centered on local control, race was undeniably a motivating factor.

Since 2000, at least 71 communities nationwide have attempted to withdraw from their school district, and 47 have been successful, according to the groups analysis. Residents in nine additional communities are pursuing a similar separation. These efforts, the report notes, often create bastions of wealth, leaving behind districts with high poverty and poor funding.

Property taxes, the primary source for local education dollars, play a large role in incentivizing secession efforts, said Rebecca Sibilia, EdBuilds founder and CEO. For example, Ohios Monroe Local School District was created in 2000 after a secession effort from the Middletown City School District. In 2015, the median property value in the Monroe Local district was $159,200 more than 70 percent higher than in neighboring Middletown.

We cant forget that education is a public good, and its the publics responsibility to see all of our kids as our own, Sibilia said. The notion of opting out of the common good is one that is almost unique to education. People dont get to say that theyre not going to pay into Medicare simply because they dont have anyone they know who is on Medicare support.

Whats amazing is that its intentional discrimination in 2017, said Monique Lin-Luse, an attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund who represents black plaintiffs in the Gardendale case. This isnt about something from long ago in the past these are state actors, today, who are seeking to secede and to do so on a racial basis.

In its analysis, EdBuild found 30 states with laws that allow communities to secede from their school districts. Yet only six states require policymakers to consider how the move would affect racial and socioeconomic demographics in the district, and only nine states require a study of the financial impacts of splitting communities. Of states with laws allowing secession, approval processes differ: Some require a majority vote among neighborhood members, while legislative approval is necessary in others.

In Alabama, state law allows cities with more than 5,000 residents to establish their own independent school districts. In Florida and Georgia, state laws prohibit secessions, according to the report.

Legislatures are complicit and sometimes actively enabling these things to happen, Sibilia said. There are states that are going backward in allowing communities to just segregate themselves either along socioeconomic or race lines without having any meaningful check on whether or not thats going to have a negative effect on the students who will be left behind.

Although the Supreme Courts ruling in Brown helped incentivize the formation of smaller school districts to dodge integration efforts, Sibilia said, the importance of school district lines was really cemented two decades later. In Milliken v. Bradley in 1974, the Supreme Court barred states from imposing desegregation plans across school district boundaries.

In her report, Wilson noted that while secession efforts occur across the country, those in the South raise unique fairness and equity concerns because they exist against a backdrop of state-mandated segregation and attempts to skirt court-ordered desegregation. She said that as Southern districts reach unitary status, meaning they no longer have to comply with desegregation orders, theyre increasingly turning to secession.

Though the Gardendale decision could change following appeal, Lin-Luse said she worries the Circuit Court outcome could encourage other communities to launch their own secession campaigns.

It sends a signal to other cities that there arent really any barriers to separating, even if youre found to have had this negative impact on the county system that youre separating from, Lin-Luse said. Also, even if youre having a negative impact and youve been found to have intentionally discriminated, if thats not a city that can be stopped from seceding, then who will be stopped from seceding?

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When Communities Secede From School Districts, Inequity & Segregation Follow. But 30 States Let It Happen Anyway - The 74

Andy Douglas, Writers' Group 1:08 p.m. CT June 20, 2017

Andy Douglas(Photo: Special to the Press-Citizen)

For the second year in a row, I drove up last week to Decorah to take part in the five-day singing/dancing/playing/connecting/heart-opening gathering that is the Village Fire Singing Festival, set in the valleys of the enchanted Driftless area.

Oh, morning, what a joy, walking through you in the sun.

Village Fire offers a dynamic window on Community Sing, a movement that is growing nationwide, renewing oral traditional ways of building connection and nourishing the soul through song. Singing offers so many benefits oxygenating the blood, lifting the spirits, bringing "bonding" hormones to the brain. But Village Fire is about more than just singing. The festival offers a chance to embody a deeper sense of community, something many of us long for.

There was much interest at VF in ways that singing can serve, minister to, facilitate transitionand heal. I gave a talk about the Oakdale Community Choir (which joins people in prison with community volunteers in song in the Iowa City area). And I was delighted to share that space with former Iowa Citian Maggie McKnight who spoke about leading a Threshold Choir in her new home in California. Threshold choirs gather at the bedsides of those who are ill or close to dying to sing songs of comfort and passage.

Love prepare me to be a sanctuary. Open-hearted, tried and true.

Although most of the offerings focused on sharing various types of songs (songs for healing, kids songs, songs for empowerment, gospel songs, songwriting, silly songs), there were also non-singing events. Among the highlights this year: A contra dance with 10-foot tall puppets! A workshop on white privilege utilizing theater exercises. And a powerful workshop on grief led by Laurence Cole. The core idea here was that we all hold grief, not just for the loss of dear ones, but sometimes due to early emotional wounding, and working through that grief can free us up to live more fully. Several people shared their stories. These were then turned into short songs on the spot, which we as a group sang back to the person. Imagine how powerful it was to hear ones story sung back to you by the community.

You gotta put one foot in front of the other and lead with love.

Some of the song circles featured songs with many moving parts harmonies that wove in and out of the melody, different parts layered on top of each other, "zipper" songs that kept going as people called out new lyrics. I was impressed with the leadership ability of many of the song circle facilitators, including many young adults, who held the space for teaching these songs, making sure everyone was on board and able to participate.

Our circle was a diverse group. People from intentional communities, people working in the fields of organizing, health, teaching, and ecology, men, women and gender spectrum folks, babies and elders, people with disabilities, people from various ethnicities. Learning about all their commitments, and raising our voices together, I felt energized, ready to return to my local community and do some work.

Lots of folks from Iowa City were there. They are part of our local Community Sing group. We meet on second and fourth Thursdays, in living rooms or backyards. We come to support each other and to harmonize. If you werent able to attend Village Fire, these local gatherings can give you a taste of what Community Singing is all about. Youre welcome to join your voice with ours. For info about time and place: adinajoylevitt@gmail.com.

Beauty before me, Beauty behind me, beauty above and below and all around.

Writers' Group member Andy Douglas is author of "The Curve of the World: Into the Spiritual Heart of Yoga."

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Raise up your voice and sing with the community - Iowa City Press Citizen

Watering corn in a tiny fairy-garden. Photo by Christina.

This has been a week of hard play, hard work, fun work, challenging work, and finally some rain (which lessened the workload considerably). Christina, here, bringing news of whats been happening in this corner of NeMo.

In my past life, I often heard people use the expression work hard, play hard. What I imagined when I heard that was someone who worked 50 or 60 hours at a corporate job all week, and then became a weekend warrior, running up mountains or playing hours of tennis with the same amount of intensity that they maintained all week at their jobs. Work was what paid the bills, and play was what you did to have fun and spend some of that money.

Here, of course, as they always are, things are different. We do work hard, and we do play hard, but sometimes the play is more difficult than the work, or the work is more fun, or the work doesnt actually make any money but seems more important than the kind that does.

This has been a week of lots of play and lots of work, all of it exhausting and fulfilling.

One reason theres been an especial amount of play this week is because its been a week of many, many birthdays. I helped celebrate some of those birthdays by participating in the Try Tri-Communities Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. Trish from Sandhill organized four teams to play each other in a two-day tournament, on Tuesday and Saturday mornings. There were cheers, trombones, drums, swims in the pond, and a great deal of running after a plastic disc. It was lots of fun, but also lots of work and sort of wiped me out for a few days.

If I were to calculate how much I make working in the garden or milking the goats, it would probably come out to less than two dollars an hour. Still, I happily worked away at those jobs this weekmoving the goats to a new especially poison ivy-ish pasture and milking a few nights a week. In the garden, I weeded and planted yet another bed, and harvested more greens, radishes, and beets for daily meals. I watered at night, until we got a much needed series of thunderstorms.

Then theres the work that has no monetary value whatsoever, but is also super important here. I am now on three committees here at DR, one of which is the Conflict Resolution Team. In the outside world, conflict is often seen as something to avoid at all costs, or to move through as quickly and painlessly as possible. As with many other things, we do it differently here. In fact, Hassan enjoys calling the Conflict Resolution Team the Conflict Celebration Team.

On Friday afternoon the committee hosted a much-awaited three-hourIm not sure meeting is the right word gathering? process?about the cat restriction part of the Pet Policy. I havent been here for the entire history of this, but I do know that it involves a lot of hurt feelings, and, ultimately, gets to the question of why we are living here. Hassan took willing-if-not-all-eager participants through some connecting and some conflict-full exercises to try to go a little deeper with the issue. It was an exhausting three hours for sure, but it also brought some stuff out into the open, and is the kind of work that needs to get done every so often.

Friday night was time for another birthday celebrationthis one in the form of a dance party in Casa. It was still hot, but the playlist created by Baigz from Sandhill, including two original electronic tunes of his own (with Matt from Red Earth on one of them), kept us moving until the fireflies came out. It was nice to not think about cats or watering the garden or any other kind of work for a little while.

Yet another birthday celebration happened on Saturday afternoon, when Nathan held an appreciation circle for his birthday. What happens at these appreciation circles is that people come together to say what they like or enjoy or are grateful for about each other (not just the birthday person). Its a pretty great way to celebrate a birthday, but it can also be work. When you receive an appreciation, youre supposed to just say thank you. This means no self-deprecating jokes, no deflection to give credit to someone else, which is not always easy but is always wonderful.

Saturday night was time for a play (see what I did there?). It was a big night out for our family as we went with a bunch of other tri-community folks to see Cob, Ewan, and Duncan perform in the Memphis Community Theatres production of Oklahoma! After a long week of hard play and fun work, I was pretty tired, but I really appreciated the work that went into the production, and loved watching the cast give their all.

Then we drove home, watching the distant lightning and fireflies whiz by.

And then I had to get up early to work at this challenging, fulfilling, and unpaid job of writing an update about what happened this week at Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage. Now that its done, I hope you enjoyed it!

Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage is an intentional community and educational nonprofit outside Rutledge, MO, focused on demonstrating sustainable living possibilities. We offer public tours of the village on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month, April-October; the next is this Saturday, June 24th at 1 pm. Reservations not required. Tours are free, though donations to help us continue our educational and outreach efforts are gratefully accepted. For directions, call the office at 660-883-5511 or email us at dancingrabbit@ic.org. To find out more about us, you can also check out our website: http://www.dancingrabbit.org.

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Hard Play and Fun Work - Memphis Democrat