A reflection for All Saints Day
Our gathering this week will honor the life and legacy of Dr. Barbara Holmes, a theologian, activist, contemplative guide, and core faculty member at Richard Rohr’s Center for Action and Contemplation.
Our community has become familiar with Dr. Holmes, who passed away on Oct. 15, through several videos she recorded for The Work of the People. Through her works, we have learned more about Womanist Theology, divine mystery, the role of the church, and much more.
This Sunday, as we mark this week’s observance of All Saints Day, we will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Holmes and her impact on our community through her TWOTP video entitled A Contemplative Moment. Taking her lead, we’ll discuss how contemplative prayer leads to acts of justice, mercy, and liberation…key values of our contemplative community.
Please join us this Sunday, Nov. 3, in the New Wineskins Virtual Theology Pub powered by Zoom as we honor Dr. Barbara Holmes with a conversation on what it means to be a contemplative community in a world of noise and distraction.
6:00pm ET: Happy Half-Hour (informal meet & greet time)
6:30pm ET: Presentation & conversation begin
Check out this week’s discussion video
Click here to view this week’s discussion video on The Work of the People (email address required, no subscription necessary)
Everyone Deserves Clean Water
For many residents of the Southern West Virginia Coalfields, clean water cannot be taken for granted. Groundwater pollution from decades—if not centuries—of exploitative land use practices has contaminated both private wells and municipal water sources, leaving whole communities of already vulnerable people in even more precarious circumstances.
How can you help? One way is to participate in our WV Coalfields Water Drive! Your donation will help us purchase cases of bottled drinking water to deliver to our partners at From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice in McDowell County, WV, on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
We wish we didn’t have to do this. We’re as aware as anyone of the environmental cost of single-use plastics. We understand that cases of bottled water is not a long-term solution to the problems our neighbors in Southern West Virginia are experiencing. But sometimes the best way to treat a wound in the short-term is with a band-aid, even while we continue to work on fixing the underlying problems that have led us into the current situation.
If you can help, we encourage you to give to our WV Coalfields Water Drive with a one-time donation to this special link on our New Wineskins Network fundraising portal. Just click the button below to make your donation now.
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Feature image via The Center for Action and Contemplation
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