Spirit in Action

Mary Amel is a facilitator for the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) through FNVW/AVP Minnesota . AVP happens in 6 prisons in Minnesota and a few dozen states around the USA , and widely internationally .

Ursula Ruedenberg became Affiliate Network Manager of Pacifica at a critical time, when we were on the edge of loosing Pacifica's voice and witness. Though we're not out of the woods yet, Ursula has followed this path and done this work in faithfulness to the great tradition of peace, truth, and community which is central to Pacifica, and she is a sign of hope and inspiration for the power and fut...

Ursula Ruedenberg is Affiliate Network Manager of Pacifica, doing the great work of bringing together the energies and voices of grassroots activists all over the country. Founded by peace activists, with 5 anchor stations and hundreds of affiliates, Pacifica has played a pivotal role in forming the radio and news landscape of the USA, and Ursula has played her own pivotal role over the last decad...

,p>A number of musicians sharing their songs about the environmental issues of our day (and progress being made) - fracking, frac sand mining, the loss of the honeybees, global warming, incineration, fossil fuels, and mining. Includes Si Kahn, Tom Neilson, Chuck LeMonds, Emma's Revolution, and Alice Di Micele.

George Lakey was a founder of A Quaker Action Group , Movement for a New Society and recently left Training for Change to do more direct action with Earth Quaker Action Team . With the experience & stories of 50 years of peace, justice and environmental activism, George is a treasure trove of inspiration.

Musicians United to Protect Bristol Bay have been spreading the call to step forward for the well-being of the people and way of life threatened by the proposed Pebble Mine of the coast next to Alaska's Bristol Bay. It's a hopeful time as we speak to several defenders of the land - musician Si Kahn, former Alaskan State Senator, Suzanne Little, dog-musher Monica Zappa, & Alaskan Representative...

It's almost trite to say that we can transform the world through education of our children, but Mara Sapon-Shevin does it for real. In her book Widening the Circle: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms , Mara lays it all out, including the real-life evidence of how we can foster a better world for all in how we teach our kids. Be ready to find new vistas in thought beyond the traditional paradigm(s).

Reese Erlich is an award winning journalist and author, and a frequent visitor to the Middle East over the past 10+ years. We start with a talk he gave at FNVW about Libya & Syria and the Arab Spring, and continue on to an visit with Reese addressing his goals in seeking out truth, starting from his organizing against Vietnam.

At that age of 76, Margaret Moore took part in the Teaching Drum Outdoor School family year-long, living naturally in the Northern Wisconsin woods for 11-months as an intergenerational clan of 42 people. Without the niceties of civilization, like books, soap, clocks, etc, Margaret and the rest experienced a connection to nature and each other badly missing for most people today.

Mark Leach has been teaching and living out the substance of his recent E-Book, Positive Participation with Nature: Ecological Restoration in Wisconsin. Engaging deeply with the the geography, history, flora, & fauna of a place, Mark shares lessons and insights into really meeting nature on respectful grounds and healing some of the scars of thoughtless human habitation of our land.

Mark Kastel is co-founder and senior farm policy analyst for The Cornucopia Institute , a Wisconsin-originated organization serving as a watchdog for "good food" - organics, family farms, environmental and economic justice issues, all around food. With careful research and attention to the oft-missing integrity of our food system, Cornucopia helps plug the holes in our national organic food standa...

In Yeshu: A Novel for the Openhearted, Charles David Kleymeyer re-sees and re-tells a well-known, sometimes culture-limited story, but this time with eyes and tongue influenced by decades of experience in Latin America.

Peterson Toscano , using wit, humor & theater, illuminates non-conforming gender roles in the Bible, reclaiming existence for a variety of folks ignored & silenced by the mainstream. With his winning humor and incisive vision, Peterson found acceptance for his revolutionary insights when presenting at the joint 2012 conference of the Society of Biblical Literature/American Academy of Relig...

Wix Covey  is one of the founders of the Northwoods Peace Fellowship, centered in Wausau, Wisconsin, and he also serves on the executive committee of the  Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice

MEMEnomics: The Next-generation Economics System  by  Said Dawlabani  explores an evolving, growing, & maturing of values systems, leading us to a better future, in spite of and fueled by the crises we go through. A further adaptation of the Spiral Dynamics theories of Don Beck, Memenomics may well be the lens to light our way forward.

Maxine Kaufman-Lacusta's book ,  Refusing to be Enemies: Palestinian and Israeli Nonviolent Resistance to the Israeli Occupation  delves deep into sides of the conflict that most US media never approach, and does it through the words of Palestinian & Israeli workers for peace, plus a few people outside of the Middle East. There's both more reality and hope in this work than we've bee...

Nukewatch staffer John LaForge has produced the Nukewatch Quarterly for more than 20 years, carefully documenting the dangers and disasters of nuclear power & weapons, mixed with reporting on Nonviolent Direct Action. Originating in Madison, WI, Nukewatch has long been based near Luck, WI, with the Anathoth Community Farm , living organically, nonviolently, and mostly off the grid.

In  Turn Here, Sweet Corn: Organic Farming Works ,  Atina Diffley  shares the story of the  Gardens of Eagan  and Atina's personal story of learning female empowerment, organic farming, and successfully taking on an oil pipeline owned by the infamous Koch Brothers. Mixing vivid stories, earth-centered spirituality, and organic expertise, Atina is a true Spirit in Action.

Rita Nakashima Brock is a theologian, teacher, and co-author of Soul Repair- Recovering From Moral Injury After War . She was an organizer of the 2010 Truth Commission on Conscience in War , and she recently became the co-director of the Soul Repair Center at Brite Divinity School . Her thoughts and stories are profound and transforming..

Inga Witscher is an organic dairy farmer and the star of a new Wisconsin Public TV program called Around the Farm Table , exploring a revolution in farming and connection to the Earth. Founding St.

Steve Terwilliger talks about his environmental transformation of his home, and an in-depth study of potential futures of our transportation system.

MoveToAmend.org is a nationwide effort to reverse the Citizens United Supreme Court Decision. Rick Jurmain, engineer, co-owner of a very successful local corporation, and founder of Chippewa Valley Move to Amend , is passionate about reclaiming the people's rightful place over corporations, again , and he helps us learn from the historical record of American's rising up against corporate tyrants....

Debra Rosenman is author of the upcoming collection, The Chimpanzee Chronicles: Spellbinding Stories from Behind the Bars , about our closest animal cousin. It's about increasing understanding & compassion, something Debra also does through her workshops on Journey into the Animal Heart Circles and by her private practice as a Certified Rubenfeld Synergist and Somatic Archaeologist.

There's a sea change going on around marriage equality/homosexuality/alternative sexuality, and one sign is 3 new memoirs.

There's a sea change going on around marriage equality/homosexuality/alternative sexuality, and one sign is 3 new memoirs. Chana Wilson wrote Riding Fury Home , including the trials of the "mental illness" of her lesbian mother. Annie Lanzillotto released L is for Lion: An Italian Bronx Butch Freedom Memoir , including her trials with cancer, a raucous Italian family, and much more.