So many people seek to be part of or create inclusive and diverse communities, especially in a church, but few are successful with this venture. Many don’t know where to begin, how to continue through the time of doubt when attendance is low, or how to navigate the changing of their community. La Mesa is an example for what a multicultural, bilingual, and open-minded spiritual community can look like. In the Winter of 2015, Rev. David Mateo began a small bilingual worship service at United Church of Chapel Hill. In the beginning, the worship service was led by primarily Rev. Mateo and a few other bilingual members of the congregation with a small attendance of sometimes only 10 people. Now, La Mesa has grown into a flourishing community with more than 50 people worshiping together each Sunday as well as sharing in meals and outside gatherings. La Mesa is a truly unique community in that all services are bilingual, radically inclusive, seeking to break down the barriers of racism, homophobia, classism, ageism, ableism, and much more. Join this session in order to hear about how and why La Mesa started and continues. Hear from Rev. Mateo as well as members of the La Mesa community about not only what this community means to them but also what it takes to start such a community as well as continue to ensure it grows and thrives.

In the fall of 2014, a group of acquaintances made a risky commitment to meet together weekly to explore issues of vulnerability modeled after Brene Brown’s work. Now, 4 years later, we have each experienced personal transformation beyond what we ever expected through the power of practicing vulnerability and supportive friendship. In this discussion we will talk about what it means to be vulnerable, our specific experiences of transformation, and how participants might form similar groups.

This session will consist of a brief introduction to the “why’s” of growing your own food, followed by practical suggestions about how, especially in small suburban and urban spaces. Lots of photos and ideas, presented in visual and hands-on format, will inspire those who wish to get started on the path to healthier, more sustainable, and deeply connecting life changes in how we relate to the earth, to our community, to food, and to our bodies. Growing food is literally a down-to-earth way to democratize food production, fight industrial agriculture, pursue a more sustainable lifestyle, build community, and engage in contemplation. But how can a beginner get started, when the ancient skill of growing food is a praxis handed down from person to person? Alex began gardening as a toddler helping in her family’s kitchen garden. But when she moved to the city, she had to learn how to utilize small spaces for growing food: microgreens in the kitchen, vertical techniques for patio and terrace, straw bales for places where there was no dirt, square foot gardening, straw bale gardening, cold frames and greenhouses. Alex offers to get people started with practical ideas and suggestions that can be used in any space and in any climate.

Not every faith community likes recycling or can afford solar panels. While many do seek to love God, love neighbors and see caring for the planet as an expression of this love they do not know where to start.
The Creation Care Alliance of Western North Carolina will offer a hands-on look at a variety of practical ways small and large communities can address poverty, climate change, food resilience, and creation care. This workshop will offer a discernment tool with a variety of entrance points into the creation care conversation, whether you or your congregation are just getting started or are ready to mentor other congregations, this workshop will provide an opportunity to grow more deeply into caring for neighbors and creation. Creative local acts are critical for this time in human history. This workshop will illumine current and future ways to encourage creation care in your context.

The Old Testament book Song of Solomon isn’t what you think. It is not a love story between a king and one of his many wives. It is a story of resistance! The story of a sex slave who has been kidnapped by the king’s men and whose lover, a shepherd, has come to rescue her.This was the most popular translation and interpretation of the Song of Solomon until slavery became popular in the United States. It is a story that helps us understand how love can dismantle injustice. Its hilarious, sexy, and thought provoking!

This 6000 year-old play was performed on village greens across ancient Israel to encourage resistance of the unpopular King Solomon, who was ripping the country apart. It is a story very relevant to our world today! So let’s rehearse this play together using the translation, which is laid out as a script, in April Love-Fordham’s book “Dismantling Injustice.” We will come together with props and costumes, reading and acting it out together. The script will accommodate an impromptu cast of seven — and as many as want to be part of the harem. We will pause after each act to see what questions this ancient texts raises for us. Scripts, props, and simple costumes are provided.

In a complex world of dizzying and accelerating change, Americans are distracted, rushed and anxious.
A deep concern about the direction we’re moving is compounded by feelings of powerlessness to
change course. There is scant “bandwidth” to gain our bearings, even as we are aware of the gravity of
what’s at stake in today’s world.
The idea of exceptionalism and progress has been the foundation of the American worldview, our sense
of security and the promise of future prosperity. Yet we are witnessing the breakdown of norms and
systems upon which we have depended and largely taken for granted. In some cases they no longer
serve us, in others they actively hinder our progress and, at worst, they threaten our very existence.
Climate change and sophisticated weapons of mass destruction loom on the global stage.
When confronted by the critical implications of rapid, unsettling change, a common response is to
isolate and waver between impending doom and numbness, between hysterical hedonism and sad
loneliness. How do we gain our bearings and reclaim our hope in the midst of uncertainty? Join Sr.
Quincy Howard to learn how the 12 Step Fellowship structure of Al-Alon can help us engage
authentically with our world as we move through epic times.

Lessons from Latin America on how to create intentional communities that heal the soul and change the world.

Communication is one of the most important elements in building a more inclusive community. Persons of different backgrounds bring with them different communication styles often causing conflicts in an unconscious way. This workshop will present tools to provide a foundation to express the essence of God’s inclusiveness and uphold the well-being of the community.