Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power

Winter Book Group

Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in with Unexpected Resilience & Creative Power by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone, 2nd edition published June 2022

Hi everyone, Cassidy here, the Youth and Family Ministry Director. I am thrilled to be leading a winter book group here in 2023! 

Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects has been an inspiration to me – a lifeline to meet the crisis we’re in with a sense of hope and empowerment. In this book, she and Chris Johnstone invite us to look honestly at the mess we’re in – the war-making, the climate catastrophe, the violence, and the suffering. But instead of going into hopelessness, separation and scarcity thinking (and staying there), they invite us into practices and processes to discover and grow what’s ours to do and come away with a shared sense of hope and a greater sense of purpose to meet these times with positive, focused action.

In each session, we’ll begin with a short mindfulness practice, then discuss what stood out from the reading and how to apply the wisdom in the book to our own lives. Between each class, you’ll be invited to engage in group and partnered exercises, such as trying out the gratitude practices.

If you’re concerned about world problems, recognize a mismatch between the magnitude of the problem and the size of the response, and want to nourish and strengthen your ability to make a positive difference surrounded by like-minded folks in the Unity community, consider joining me for this winter book group!

Warmly,
Cassidy Meeks

Please read the following chapters to prepare for our time together:
Jan 10: Session 1 – Introduction plus Chapters 1 & 2
Jan 17: Session 2 – Chapter 3 on Coming from Gratitude
Jan 24: Session 3 – Chapter 4 on Honouring our Pain for the World
Jan 31: Session 4 – Chapters 5, 6, 7 & 8 on Seeing With New Eyes
Feb 7: Session 5 – Chapters 9 & 10, Going Forth pt 1
*skip Valentine’s Day*
Feb 21: Session 6 – Chapters 11, 12 & 13 on Going Forth pt 2

Advance registration required.
Suggested Love Offering: $12 per class or $60 for the 6 session series
Facilitated by: Cassidy Meeks