It’s heartbreaking to remain conscious and engaged in these times. Everywhere we turn, we experience the unraveling of our society and our world: intensifying racial and gender injustice, attacks on queer and trans rights, health and wealth disparities the climate emergency, the global rise of authoritarianism and white supremacy, mass extinctions, and more. It’s clear that we can’t continue with business as usual. The fear, grief, outrage, and helplessness we feel can be unbearable because it’s not only our personal pain; it’s the collective pain of all life on Earth. When we come together and honor that pain, we realize our radical interconnectedness with all peoples and species and become part of the Earth healing herself. We build resilience together - strength for the work that must be done.
The Work That Reconnects, is an interactive group process developed by Joanna Macy that helps us transform fear and despair into inspiration and empowerment. It reawakens our innate connections with each other and our sacred living Earth, so that we may be enlivened and motivated to play our part in creating a just and life-sustaining world. The Work follows a spiral sequence flowing through four stages: gratitude, honoring our pain for the world, seeing with fresh eyes, and finally, going forth into action. This workshop includes experiential practices, time outside, inspirational readings and simple yet powerful rituals. It’s engaging and invigorating, and gives us tools and practices to support our work as active collaborators in creative liberation.
Our Space
We will gather in the Event Hall of the Rainier Arts center. Accessiblity info can be found here and a map (including ADA restrooms and ramped entrances) is on page 6 of this document. This is an indoor, in-person event. More updates regarding COVID19 precuations as we get closer.
The photo at the top of this form is by Dori Midnight.
Kathleen Rude fell in love with the natural world as a young child and found her voice for environmental activism at age 10. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Ecology and a Master of Science degree in Natural Resources. Kathleen began her career as an environmental writer.
Her studies of Indigenous spiritual practice eventually led her to become a shamanic practitioner and ceremonial leader. She has been mentored by elders of Blackfoot, Lakota and Northern Ute descent and trained with Betsy Bergstrom. She is a member of the Society for Shamanic Practice and Energy Medicine Professional Association. Her spiritual practice is also rooted in liberal Lutheranism and Jungian psychology.
Kathleen has been mentored by Joanna Macy and is a senior facilitator and mentor of The Work That Reconnects (WTR). She is a founding member and Weaver of the Work That Reconnects Network. She created an audio Guided Self-Practice of the Work That Reconnects. She offers WTR workshops in person and online.
Kathleen published her first novel, The Redemption of Red Fire Woman. She is currently working on a non-fiction book, How To Become an Every Day Difference Maker.
She is a board member of Nuclear Energy Information Service (NEIS), a nuclear power watchdog organization, opposing nuclear power and promoting sustainable renewable energy.
