Uniting People for the Benefit of All

Spring is upon us – and as we begin to enter this season of renewal and rebirth, I invite you to join Spirit in Action in celebrating beginnings every day.  There are so many new openings and opportunities for uniting to create change for the whole of humanity. This is a time when many are reflecting on what their individual desires for changes are in the upcoming months. Here at Spirit in Action, we are feeling an increased momentum for facilitating change for our communities, our nation, and our world in an innovative and more expansive way. This is a year of joining hands with more individuals, communities, and organizations to bring about change from a place of empowered compassion.  It is time we help lift our brothers and sisters of all cultures, all classes, and all circumstances out of survival and into true living.  Everyone deserves to feel hope, support, and internal power from which actualized change emerges.

Collectively, we create Love, Unity, Empowerment, Trust, Respect and Hope for the benefit of all.  These are the values of Spirit in Action.  Below see how each of these values are reflected at Spirit In Action.

Love

Our vision at Spirit in Action is to create networks of change bringing all people together in love.  Spirit In Action was founded in love and continues to grow upon the seeds of love that have been sown.  Each of our programs is fostered through the loving care and attention of those committed to furthering transformation in the world.

 Unity

The mission of Spirit in Action has always been to facilitate empowerment by uniting communities through common ground.  We the People Working Together, our most recent project, is stirring progressive movement within low income and working class communities. This is a demographic that has often been left behind by mainstream progressive movements. In Western North Carolina, we have been working to open lines of communication and education through partnership with students and faculty at Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC.  Last Spring, we interviewed 40 community leaders in Swannanoa and went door to door listening to local community concerns. Our plan is to take the information gathered from the community to create powerful initiatives for forward movement.

Empowerment

Standing in Our Power provides women of color who are social justice leaders a safe space to inspire and empower one another.  It is here that they come to gather strength, inspiration and encouragement from one another and themselves in order to step back into their own communities to facilitate change through empowerment.    Like an intricately woven quilt, each woman has a piece from her generation, her ethnicity, her class, her region of the United States and her life experience.  Together, they are stronger, more powerful, and represent the greater picture of what “Spirit in Action” embodies.

Trust

The Progressive Communicators Network builds a bridge between grassroots organizations and the media in order to create a long term vision for neighborhood stabilization.  Through active listening, mindful communication, collective visioning, and media training, a firm foundation is established for communities to thrive. The Network’s work with Right to the City of Boston is an example of how effective this network is in facilitating neighborhood change.

Respect

The Education Justice Project is responding to the educational needs in communities locally and nationally through respectful communication.  This project harnesses communication between educators, communities, organizers and the government to better serve the interest of all Americans.  In 2015, we are choosing to create effective conversations and change for public education.  We are excited to introduce our YouTube series that is a dynamic exploration of powerful educational narratives.

Hope

Our future as humanity is bright with the rising of our younger generations into leadership roles to support greater evolution in our movements for social change. It is an honor to witness the growth of junior high school students living through Katrina, and now, in college speaking at national and international conferences. Young activists who participated in our early Circles of Change are now national, state and regional leaders in well-known organizations working on evolving education, communication, collaboration, and healthier communities nationwide.

Through each of these programs, we inspire transformation. We seek to foster positive vision, acceptance of diversity, true connection across traditional barriers and diversity of voice all united in heart and spirit.    Join us in furthering the values of Love, Unity, Empowerment, Trust, Respect and Hope!  This is Spirit in Action. Please share with us your vision for the upliftment of your community through written word, conversation or financial support.

Many Blessings for Peace, Power and Love in 2015!!!

Linda Stout