January 2015
Dear Friends,
Lately when I read the news, I have sinking moments in which I believe that violence, oppression, and ecological shortsightedness are gaining power in the human world. Others have told me that they feel the same way. In these moments, how can we avoid despair? More importantly, how do we increase and mobilize countervailing forces of peace, justice, liberation, and sustainability? Martin Luther King, Jr. offered that we must be co-workers with God and “use time creatively.”
At Pendle Hill, we have an 84 year history of providing people with several necessary elements for the building of a peaceful society grounded in Spirit. These include programs and services which invest in seekers such that they become uniquely prepared to foster Peace on structural, community, and individual levels. We restore ourselves here through this living experiment in community and education; becoming effective contributors to that world we believe is possible. Achieving progress over the long-haul, Dr. King wrote, comes through the tireless efforts of people “…willing to work to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.”
We provide programs and services to strengthen your natural gifts, support your spiritual explorations, and supply you with inspiration, knowledge, and community so you can be effective in working on the problems of this era. Come learn to use time creatively and be grounded in Love so that many of us will, together, co-create that better world.
In a spirit of using time wisely, and in hopes that they might be a helpful discussion starter for other groups, I would like to share three queries Pendle Hill has embraced in recent years. Our Board and committees use them to guide their decision-making, and our staff holds them as a touchstone at meetings. We invite you to borrow and modify them in any way that might be useful.
Pendle Hill Queries to Advance Diversity, Justice, and Beloved Community
- How might this decision affect people from other cultures or those within the same culture who have different experiences, perceptions, belief systems, and perspectives from our own?
- To what degree have privilege, class, stereotypes, assumptions, and our ability to include other perspectives affected this decision? Will this decision promote inclusiveness, allow equal access, and welcome those we perceive as different from ourselves?
- How might this decision advance Pendle Hill’s goals of promoting diversity, fostering justice, and creating the Beloved Community for all people?
In Peace,
Jennifer Karsten
Executive Director
