Spirit in Action

Hayley Hathaway  is passionate about the relationships between ecology, economy, and faith. She is publications director for  Quaker Earthcare Witness  and lives as part of the  South of Monadnock Community , after having spent 6 years with  Casa de los Amigos  in Mexico City.

Peterson Toscano of Citizen's Climate Radio visits with 5 guests, on topics including climate comedy with Brian Ettling , climate-coping lessons from the Netherlands with Edgar Westerhof of Arcadis North America , environmental racism with Brentin Mock , and poetry from

Robert B. Jones, Sr  works joyfully to build bridges of understanding through music in an organization & project called  Common Chords . Using tools of music, story-telling, history, & inspiration, Robert brings pleasure and insight to diverse audiences. Part of his richness is that he is also pastor of  Sweet Kingdom Missionary Baptist Church  of inner-city Detroit, wh...

Iris Graville  is an author, book artist, and a former nurse. Her memoir,  Hiking Naked: A Quaker Woman's Search for Balance  shares her quest for meaningful & life-balancing work. The journey took Iris & her family far off the grid, radically exploring simplified living, freeing her to find her own answers to the big questions, less controlled by society's prompting.

Pam Taylor's work with  Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan  is an inspiring example of citizen-driven environmentalism which informs & guides govt with feet firmly rooted in both agrarian living & scientific scrutiny. NoCAFOs is her goal, sustainable agriculture is her means, and good neighbor living her ethic.

Peterson Toscano  is an amazing and innovative thinker whose acting talent reaps revolutionary insights with his video,  Transfigurations: Transgressing Gender in the Bible . With humor, drama, and insight, Peterson unearths a wide range of non-gender compliant people & passages hidden in plain sight in the Bible, for LGBTQI and Straight to see. Past/current religious/spiritual influ...

J.E. McNeil has powerful points of view, but she also has a profound devotion to communication and unity, skills and attributes fostered by the Conversations with the Other trainings she presents widely.

Billie Holiday still looms larger than life even close to 60 years after her death. At the nexus of complicated subjects like race, drugs, sexuality, & music, she acts as a compelling subject for those seeking to understand our society's trajectory, especially when religion is added as a layer to the experience.

One of the most informative & persuasive writers ever,  Gordon Lafer  is author of  The One Percent Solution: How Corporations are Remaking America One State At A Time . Both empowering & maddening, the piercing exposé of the destruction of labor & the middle class by moneyed interests is essential to mounting an effective reply. Gordon Lafer is a political economist and...

Guest host  Peterson Toscano  of  Citizen's Climate Radio  looks at psychological effects of climate change with Dr. Lise Van Susteren, discusses environmental health with  Dr. Natasha DeJarnett , and we see the Artic Circle through the eyes of artist  Fritz Horstman .

Thousands of groups sprang up across the USA very shortly after the election of Donald Trump, all as part of the  Indivisible  movement of resistance to the assault on our nation's well-being. A local branch sprouted  here in the Chippewa Valley . An early participant and communications activist with the group is Rachel Hart-Brinson, and the newly-selected leader is Ann Francis.

North Carolina in 2017 is surely not the most welcoming place for a trans guy, yet it's where  Liam Hooper  is doing the work he's called to do. As Minister of Welcome & Beyond at  Parkway UCC, Winston Salem, NC , Liam delivers a message of inclusion and strength to government, institutions, and individuals all around the state, rabble-rousing, preaching, and lecturing to make a...

Part 2 of visits with participants of the  March For Our Lives  witness in St Paul, MN, Eau Claire, WI, and Washington, DC, with special focus on the voices & work of youth. Bonni Knight taught HS French & public speaking skills for many years & writes for  VolumeOne , ZariaWhitacre has been active with a number of clubs & organizations, among them  Amnesty Inte...

Inspirational stories of participants of the  March For Our Lives  in Washington DC & St Paul, Minnesota: Myron Buchholz, retired high school history teacher, Donna Wagner Backus, former high school math teacher who attended with her daughter & granddaughter, and Christine Ashley, Quaker Field Secretary for FCNL, who hosted marchers at their DC lobbying center.

Though every day should be Earth Day, we are generally ignorant of so much of what nature holds for us, near at hand. Erin LaFaive of  Full Circle Herbals  has produced her  Learning Herbalism Wookbook  to help people learn their way to health through our plant resources.

Sarah (or Seres) Kyrie is living a life exploring the edge of the American cultural tides, and she captures the inner journey powerfully through her writing.

Our ways of thinking about the Earth, and our place in it, produce radically different outcomes for life on the planet, including a possible ecological crash for humanity and many other species.

In searching for the why of what we need to do to have a sustainable world, we need to sort out our connection to the Earth, and  Jeremy Lent , author, integrator, and founder of  The Liology Institute , does that in his amazing new book is  The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning . This is part 2 of a 3-part series.

Jeremy Lent , has an MBA, is an author, integrator, and founder of  The Liology Institute . His amazing new book is  The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity's Search for Meaning , which is all about understanding and leveraging humanity's fundamental drives toward sustainability of our species and the planet. Past/current religious/spiritual influences:

On this Spirit in Action, we'll get past propaganda and agendas by sharing first-hand Israeli & Palestinian stories of the Occupation.

A key element to changing the world is having a voice, and that is what  Jim Page  provides for a wide variety of Peace & Justice efforts, using his bully pulpit to call for free speech, freedom from corporate tyranny, and much more. Since the 1970's Jim has broadcast the message loud and clear from ground zero in Seattle, WA. Past/current religious/spiritual influences:

Peterson Toscano uses  Citizen's Climate Radio  to find earth-healing work everywhere, with  Indy car racer Aaron Telitz , in the sculpture of  Emily Puthoff about Bee Habitat ,  Chantal Bilodeau's Arctic-located climate change play , and  Grant Samms'  research about wind power in Oklahoma.

There's a long history of trying to convince folks to go vegetarian or vegan by argument, but  Compassionate Action for Animals (CAA)  (or  on FaceBook ) is trying something different - emphasizing the sheer fun of it.

In an atmosphere where so often there is religious intolerence & distrust, it's beautiful to see diverse spiritual communities sharing deeply together. At Eau Claire's Interfaith Prayer Service for Peace & Unity, conceived by Bob Lesniewski, a Benedictine oblate, prayers were shared from Presbyterian, Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Ba'hai, Catholic, & Quaker representatives. It was a rich...

Steve Chase  did a major course correction about Israel/Palestine, a journey he shares in a 30-page pamphlet  Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions? A Quaker Zionist Rethinks Palestinian Rights .