Mark Your Calendars! We are excited to share with you that from May 19th – 21st we are hosting (with the Shift Network) a series of calls with activists, leaders, theologians, historians, authors and others who are working to create a world based on a New Bottom Line of love and justice in fields such as: Conscious Politics, Global Capitalism, Structural Injustice, the Environment, and Youth Activism. We will explore how the values of love and justice infuse their work and how we can build a movement of love and justice. The series is called:The Politics of Love and Justice: Integrating Spirituality and Activism to Build a Sustainable and Caring World. Keep your eyes open for an email in the next few weeks with information to register for the telesummit.
Happenings from Chapters
We are so excited by the outpouring of enthusiasm and support we’ve received as of late and the interest in building chapters and connections with others who share our vision. If you are interested in starting a chapter or project where you live, please click here to read our Starter Guide and then join our monthly calls – see below for details.
To join a local chapter or learn more, please contact the person listed below if you if you live in their neck of the woods. Click here to read more information from chapters throughout the country.
Chapter Support
Need some ideas for how to get your chapter moving? Here are a few things you can do to get people to join you:
Begin with outreach! Invite people to learn about the NSP – you only need about 3-5 people to get started. Reach out to folks in your work, home, and spiritual communities who embody values of love and justice and who would be excited to participate in the NSP. Use your own networks, read the starter guide, or create a notice in Meetup.com
The First Meeting
Once you create a group, you want to make sure folks have an understanding of what the NSP is. A good place to start is to read the following pieces by Rabbi Michael Lerner:
And the following piece by Cat Zavis:
Once you have a sense that people understand who we are, then you can read the Starter Guide together, decide on the project you feel excited about working on, and collectively create goals for the chapter and for each person individually (see goal setting guide on page 25-26 in Starter Guide). Remember to consider the talents of each member and how those gifts can help advance a movement of Love and Justice so that our movement is a reflection of the world we envision.
Monthly Support Calls
Cat Zavis, NSP Executive Director, is hosting two calls a month – the 3rd and 4th Wednesdays of the month at 5:00pm Pacific Time.To access these calls, Dial-in Number: 1-302-202-1110, Conference Code: 241099.
The 3rd Wednesday of the month is for folks interested in learning more about the NSP, starting a chapter or getting involved in an NSP project.On these calls, Cat will explain the NSP and the work that we do. She will discuss the history of our movement, our vision going forward for building a movement of Love and Justice, as well as NSP initiatives and frameworks: the New Bottom Line, the Environmental and Social Responsibility Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Global Marshall Plan. Cat will shed light on different ways to get involved from engaging in immediate action to building a chapter, and will answer questions that arise from what is shared.
The 4th Wednesday of the month is for those who are either in a chapter or are heading up a chapter. This is more of a problem-solving call. Agenda for April’s call:Explain the work of the NSP, how to get chapters going (outreach strategies), importance of creating a beloved community, bringing in intention and spiritual values into the meetings, goal setting. The goal for chapters for the month of April is to have chapter participants recruit 1-3 additional people to come to the next meeting and to have a clear focus area for the group.If time allows we will cover other things as well and answer specific questions from chapters.The questions are to be focused on questions that have arisen in your chapter and not intended as a general discussion of NSP work or policies or discussions of politics in general.If you have questions or concerns about our proposals yourself, please email cat at cat@spiritualprogressives.org. If, on the other hand, you have questions about how to respond to questions from others about our work and want to learn how to respond effectively, those are great questions for the call.
Here’s is what one participant said about March’s Chapter Support Call:
By the way, last night’s NSP national call-in was superb, in part, I believe, because we all let our shortcomings/ vulnerabilities “out there to be seen”. Also, your response to one of the challenging questions raised was truly a good example of the gentle way all NSPers need to respond. Muchas gracias.
Abrazos,
David Sinclair,Tampa, Fl.
These monthly calls are for the purpose of supporting folks who are actively engaged in promoting the work of the NSP or interested in learning how to do so.If you are interested in connecting with other members of the NSP, we encourage you to start a local group (either an action group or a study group).
Recordings of prior calls with chapter leaders and members (click the month to listen):
Listen to a general informational call: Click Here
Professional Task Forces
In addition to local chapters, professional task forces are also forming around the country. These groups will work on field-specific issues.Click here to read more about the task forces for health care professionals, mental health professionals, and engineers. |
