Readings for the classes are available below in pdf format or as links to articles. If you have trouble or questions please email Rachael at: office@ecofaithrecovery.org

Monday, September 15:
Monday, September 22:
Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math, by Bill McKibben
Monday, September 29:

Monday, October 6:

Monday, Oct 13:

No additional reading assignment for this week but we ask that you…
-Review course material to date, including your sticky-note homework.

Write 1 – 2 pages reflecting on these questions:

-What has been most agitating to you?

-What are you struggling to understand/integrate?

-What “aha “/unveilings have you had so far?

-How is all of this impacting your faith, and you internally and spirituality?

Monday, October 20:

Monday, October 27:

In these readings we are attempting to look at our place in the world (bioregion/metropolitan area) through the YES-NO-YES framework.
YES:  brief excerpt by David James Duncan, entitled, “Who Owns the West?”
NO: An important summary article about the combined threat and impact of fossil fuel exports through the Pacific NW. Optional, for further reading: The National Climate Assessment’s chapter on the Pacific Northwest.
2nd YES: Here we are “priming the pump” as it were, with two examples of contrasting value systems from David Korten’s, Agenda for a New Economy. These are intended simply to get us thinking and articulating for ourselves what the foundational values of the 2nd YES (aka the Biocommons) might be. What would you add to these lists? What are the values/practices you believe should be reflected in the new economy/culture of our biocommons?
STICKY NOTE: ONE CONVERSATION with someone in the BIOCOMMONS CLASS.
After your conversation, I invite you to sit with this query (thanks, Quakers!): How does this practice of having intentional relational conversations build power and capacity to create the 2nd YES here in our bioregion?
(Check out Dick’s paper on Intentional Relational Conversations again for how he understands power and capacity, pp. 2-4). Also, you might find it helpful to review pp. 8 – 11 after tonight’s class to see how an organized focus on intentional relational conversations is a first step in a process that can lead to powerful public transformation.)

Monday, November 3 and 10th:

Below you will find a series of readings for the next two weeks. You will be receiving one more mid-week, so we ask that you read at least TWO this week, in addition to the 35 minute video, and then two more for the following week (or read them all for this week if you want!
1) An article by Matthew Humphrey on Re-inhabiting Place (6 pages)
2) A brief excerpt by Thomas Berry on our Great Work (6 pages)
3) This set of brief articles on new economic alternatives from YES magazine (8 pages)
4) One example of a large scale worker cooperative is the Mondragon cooperative in Spain. This is a 35 minute interview with one of the Mondragon directors, from Democracy Now. It’s slightly challenging to understand his accent at first, but stick with it. Amy Goodman asks some very helpful questions.
Optional: If you are interested, here’s the full 50 minute version of the Mondragon story:
FINALLY, the sticky note homework for this week is: ONE INTENTIONAL RELATIONAL CONVERSATION with someone in the class, and then reflect on the sacred dimension of the conversation.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=8bcNfbGxAdY
Additional requests for November 10th:
1) Spend some time journaling about this question: “How do we COLLECTIVELY (including our congregations and other organizations we are involved in) move toward the 2nd YES?”
2) Have ONE Intentional Relational Conversation with someone from the class, and then reflect afterwards on how 1-1’s can build the power and capacity necessary to impact the “captivity” system we are in and create the 2nd YES.
3) SET A DATE for your team/cohort to meet SOMETIME BETWEEN NOV. 10 – 17. On Nov. 10 we will be looking at many possible next steps forward, and so that meeting is for your team to talk about and discern your next steps together. (If you, for whatever reason, happen to be “team-less,” let me know and we can figure out a good option.)
(There may or may not be an additional article by Dick Harmon on “The Biocommons” coming this week. If so, I’ll get it to you as soon as possible.)
Get ready for some DANCING next Monday! Alys, Glee and John will lead us in Dances of Universal Peace as our spiritual grounding! Woo hoo!

Monday, November 17th- FINAL CLASS

Here is your homework for this week:

1) One intentional relational conversation with someone on your team!

2) Meet with your team!

3) Come next week with…

a) an 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 piece of paper (card stock if possible) upon which are words/colors/drawings that reflect your personal next steps in your own leadership development and in this biocommons work

b) one 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 piece of paper for YOUR TEAM that includes words/colors/drawings, etc. that reflect your TEAM’S next steps in your work.

We will be creating a mural with these pieces of paper, so be as creative as you want!

4) IF YOU HAVE NOT turned in the list of organizations you are involved with (see Cecil’s email dated Nov. 4 entitled “Notes, Attachment, and Additional Assignment”), please reply to Cecil with your list so he can compile them for our last class.

5) IF YOU HAVE NOT paid your registration fee…please bring a check next week or contact Rachael at office@ecofaithrecovery.org to make other arrangements. We will also be inviting you to offer further financial support for EcoFaith Recovery’s great work as we are nearing the end of the fiscal year, so if you would like to bring an additional gratitude/love offering, please do!

Also, we will spend time evaluating the course, so any thinking you can do in advance will make that evaluation more rich.

And speaking of evaluating the class…YOU ARE ALL INVITED to join the teaching team for a deeper evaluation and time to look ahead to our next steps on Monday, November 24 in the evening (exact time and location to be confirmed).

Here are some RESOURCES to help with your personal and team discernment!

1) Attached is the list of NEXT STEPS FOR BIOCOMMONS PARTICIPANTS AND TEAMS we handed out in the class last night.

2) Here is the link to the EcoFaith Recovery website, where you can find the “Practices for Awakening Leadership” as well as sample meeting formats using the practices and lots of other helpful material relating to the practices under the “THE PRACTICES” tab.

If you want to print the flyer with the practices, a downloadable version is under the “RESOURCES” tab.

3) Several people asked if the “OBC Sermon Nov. 10, 2014” I gave last night was written out, and yes, it is! If you were not able to come to the class last night, you might find it helpful for integrating as we approach the end of the course.

4) Attached also please find the lyrics to the Neil Young song Tobe played for us last night. Who’s Gonna Stand Up

5) Finally, as we all know, it’s important to know that we are NOT the only people thinking about what we’ve been thinking about! Below, in the EcoFaith Recovery e-news, see an invitation to a workshop this weekend that is all about bringing people together to envision what the 2nd YES looks like (they don’t use that language, but that’s what they’re talking about :). IF YOU GO…don’t be quiet! Bring some of the perspectives, insights and visions we have shared in this Biocommos process to help shape the vision going forward! For that matter…bring some EcoFaith flyers or the OBC flyer too (all on the website) :).

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