Spirituality Study Group notes:

 9 parishioners attended:  (Gudrun M. & H., Rose/Thorn, Rae, Ruthie, Judy/Harry, and Day)

(Day M.)    God is the (see links) Web of Life in nature. 

(Pete T.)    I relate the book to Turtle Island, how the Sky Woman falls, dancing the Earth into being.

(Rae S.)    I was struck by how grateful the Sky Woman was to creation.  She has seeds in her hand!  This is very different than Adam and Eve being expelled from the garden of Eden.

(Rose B.)    Looking at the Discussion Questions, I note positive interactions between humans and Earth nowadays:  For example, veganism and wildlife coming back.

(Gudrun M.)    The first religions were nature based.  Origin stories vary, e.g., deserts in the middle-east vs. the lush new world in USA.

(Ruthie H.)    I grew up in the midwest in Indiana, which had more extremes during seasons.

(Judy H.)     I've always seen myself as coming from immigrant stock and relate with pilgrims around the world, e.g., in the Middle East.

(Ruthie H.)    The roots of plants/trees are underground so communicating and interacting.  See the book - Witness Tree, by Linda V. Makes (writer for the Seattle Times).  

(Pete T.)    Please check out a splendid poem, 'Bless This Land', out of the book - An American Sunrise.

 

For next week:  Lets read 'Gifts of Strawberries' (p. 22 - >)  &  'An Offering' (p. 33 ->), 17 pages total.

 -- Thanks for your comments below --

Spirituality Study Group notes

Our group read the introduction & chapter 1 of the book The Common Good, by Robert B. Reich.  (See a book description - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37506435-the-common-good)

        -- Our lively conversation was aided with a concise discussion guide, pp 191-193 --

Day M. - Conservatives make a rational argument against providing United States assistance towards the global common good:  "Let's instead prioritize care for our citizens.  We aren't the world and can't help everyone.  Our 'global leadership' is for our military budget, which tends to fuel American military contractors and maintains our edge."

Pete R. - Our primary obligation is to be informed citizens.  Free public libraries are a public good.  For example, one can post there to give away one's computer.

Judy H. - If more wealth recompensed necessary works we wouldn't need the wealthy to 'give'.

Harry H. - Scandinavian countries are social democracies.  Jesus propounded Agape.

Gudrun M. - Let's assist others to take responsibilities and obligations, a challenge in Scandinavia.

 Rose B. - Nowadays we have so much more wealth than our grandparents, which in Seattle causes a digital divide.

For next week, please read Chapters 2 & 3, which equals 30 pages.

The next book we'll read/discuss is Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer.  The book explores reciprocal relationships between humans and the land, with a focus on the role of plants and botany in both Native American and Western traditions.  (Rose Bailey will group order the book this week.)

* See a book description - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braiding_Sweetgrass.