After carefully studying what experts from the CDC and Minnesota Department of Health have been writing as well as sifting the information available through other sources, it seems that the wisest and most compassionate response to the coronavirus pandemic is for Common Ground to immediately suspend all programs at the center through March 29th, at which time we will reassess.
We are taking this big step out of compassion for all. Fortunately, Common Ground has already begun offering some limited live streaming options. We will work to expand the list of programming options available by live stream as capacity for tech support grows. Let us know if you have skills to offer.
Please join us for these special evenings of dharma (spiritual teachings) and connection with the Common Ground community. These drop-in programs are an opportunity to hear guest teachers and experienced community members speak about their practice. The evening begins with a 30-minute meditation period followed by a talk and discussion.
CANCELLED Guest Teacher Talk with Meg Riley: Hope in Hard Times
Thursday, March 12th, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Please join us for these special evenings of dharma (spiritual teachings) and connection with the Common Ground community. These drop-in programs are an opportunity to hear guest teachers and experienced community members speak about their practice. The evening begins with a 30-minute meditation period followed by a talk and discussion. No registration necessary.
What practices keep us moving forward in times when our bodies and souls, values and communities, are under attack? Reflections on hope and resistance.
Meg Riley is a Unitarian Universalist minister who has benefited greatly from Vipassana practice and sangha. Her current congregation, Church of the Larger Fellowship, includes over 1100 incarcerated people, along with all kinds of other folks around the globe. Her ministries have always operated in the intersection of spirituality and justice.
CANCELLED Guest Teacher Talk with Santikaro: It All Depends
Friday, March 20th, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Santikaro lived with Ajahn Buddhadasa during the last nine years of his life and became his primary translator. Ordained as a Theravada Bhikkhu in 1985, Santikaro spent most of his monastic life at Suan Mokkh. During this time he led Dawn Kiam, a small monastic community for foreigners. He is the founder of Liberation Park, a modern expression of Buddhist practice, study, and social responsibility, located in rural southwestern Wisconsin. There he continues to teach, explore nature, and translate the work of his teacher. He teaches Buddhism and meditation with an emphasis on the early Pali sources and is a lucid interpreter of the original teachings and discourses.
CANCELLED Guest Dharma Talk with Louis Alemayehu: Many Paths, One Journey
Friday, March 27th, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Join Louis in an exploration of how practice helps us deal with difficult emotions in these difficult times, allowing our feet to stay planted firmly on the earth and in our lives. Born in Chicago of African and Native heritage, Louis Alemayehu, a multicultural elder, developed his poetic skills and musical sensibilities as a part of the Black Arts Movement in the 1970s. His believes that poetry is a tool for healing; his performances are lyrical twinings of jazz, chant, poetry and song with art-as-ritual, often performed ceremonially. He teaches Environmental Sustainability in Minnesota at the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs, and facilitates the creation of Permacultural farms and early childhood schools in rural West African villages. He as well conducts workshops on Mindfulness Meditation and community-build
Guest Teacher Talk with Susan Raffo
Thursday, April 2nd, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
All Common Ground programs are offered freely in the spirit of generosity. To learn more about supporting the center and our teachers, click here.
