God of Dirt: A Meditation on Intimacy with Nature — Lane Williamson

As children we feasted on lying in the grass watching ants carry big loads, on the swing going higher and higher in anticipation of actually touching those clouds; we carried endless curiosity into exploring the way the frog zipped his tongue out – so fast – and caught the fly; and we passionately cared when the blue robin’s egg fell from the nest, or the baby squirrels lost their home because a tree was cut down.

What happened to us? We grew up – and away – from intimacy with nature. Our loss.
Retrieve some of that curiosity and passion of childhood; spend time exploring how you might recapture that intimacy.

Lane Williamson is a painter and a teacher.

What Is It About Guns – Seth Kaplan

Seth will be talking about why guns occupy the position they do in our society, how this is evidenced in the level of gun violence in America, and what this boils down to in his life.

Lughnasadh! — The Earth Centered Group

Join the First Parish Earth Centered group as we celebrate Lammas, also known as Lughnasadh and First Fruits, comes from the Anglo-Saxon hlaf-mas, “loaf-mass”. It is a Cross Quarter Day, along with Halloween, Groundhog Day and May Day, half way between the solstices and the equinoxes. It is the first of the three harvest festivals and celebrates the reaping of the grain. In Gaelic traditions it is called Lughnasadh in honor of the Celtic blacksmith god Lugh.

Summers on the Farm — Marion Tratnyek

My Year of No Shopping – Leslie Bryant

Leslie Bryant will be speaking about her ongoing “year of no shopping”, how it has impacted her thoughts on consumerism and influenced her behavior in a manner that allows her to be more mindful and more able to share her resources of time and money with her community.

The Financial Social Worker — Fred Pryor