In addition to the general nonviolence trainings I've been offering, this fall I'm leading seven trainings specifically for people volunteering at the polls for the mid-term elections. What I'm doing is a little different than many of the trainings larger groups are offering. Mine is less about telling people exactly what to do and more [...]
Recently, I spent two rejuvenating days participating in an annual prayer ceremony for the Earth. It was led by Penobscot visionary Sherri Mitchell (Weh’na Ha’mu Kwasset), along with Indigenous people from around the world. I won't quote any of the profound things that people said since I do not have their permission, but I [...]
Last Friday morning, I went down to the Philadelphia ICE office to support the Interfaith Clergy Coalition, which has been organizing weekly vigils there. I found them where I expected, on the sidewalk holding a special prayer vigil for Good Friday. It turned out that another group I support, No ICE Philly, was around the [...]
Dear friends who are coaches: I've been thinking about you lately. You are experts at helping people to overcome their fears and find their purpose. That is why you are so essential in this time when many people are afraid about the state of the world, the erosion of democratic norms, and the elevation of [...]
Farmers’ Almanac predicts a cold winter. I predict that the next several months will be key to thwarting authoritarianism in the United States. For me, some of that work will involve protests outside of ICE or other places where Philadelphians are taking strategic nonviolent action. At the last one I attended, my fingers got numb. [...]
First time seeing the book It’s hard to believe, but my launch party for Common Ground will happen two weeks from today! It’s been a long road, but the timing is perfect in a way I couldn’t possibly have planned (and wouldn’t have wished for). It turns out that years of visiting communities [...]
Recently, I’ve had several opportunities to help people understand what their options are in the face of the flagrant power grab we are experiencing in the United States. Since I'm getting that question from old friends and people at the coffee shop, I'll share a framework that I find especially helpful right now. At University of [...]
The New York Times observes that the “resistance” is quieter this inauguration day, foregoing the pink hats and large marches of eight years ago. For some, this may be a sign of acquiescence to the agenda of the second Trump administration. For me and many I know, I sense something less fatalistic—a desire to be [...]
It's not just me, is it? I am a faithful attender of Sunday Quaker worship, but this morning I skipped worship at my meeting and walked in the woods. That’s because I knew that walking alone amid the gorgeous trees in autumn would be grounding, and I feared that hearing other people’s anxieties about the [...]
The Delaware River A week ago, the news broke that industrial chemicals had spilled into a tributary of the Delaware River, possibly contaminating Philadelphia’s drinking water. Following the announcement, there was a rush on bottled water, a less publicized rush of people checking on their neighbors, and constantly changing updates from the city, [...]