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Feeling called to support affordable housing efforts, churches across the United States are partnering with nonprofit developers to create rental units and homes along with other necessary community facilities. Last fall, one church shared it's plans to provide “18,000 new affordable rental and homeownership opportunities and 72 community facilities — such as adult day care, child care, health clinics, and more — on vacant or underutilized church-owned land across the country.” Read the full story here.
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Kathleen Yap was born in Singapore but moved to Taiwan and then England by the time she was 5 years old. She felt like an outsider, judged and friendless, as a child. Nature became a solace anywhere she went. "I want to show people that it's okay to be vulnerable in my love for nature. To inspire others to do the same" said Kathleen. Check out the moving video below, a tribute to the possibilities and connection possible through nature.
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Entrepreneur Promotes E-bikes In Ghana British-born businesswoman, Valerie Labi, began converting secondhand pushbikes into e-bikes during the pandemic. Four years later, there are 300 delivery riders using e-bikes in Ghana's capital, Accra, with a vision to expand the effort into additional African countries. Read the full story here.
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A Famed Cellist Played For Bison In Montana The legendary Yo-Yo Ma took his cellist to a buffalo pasture in Blackfeet lands. He was playing for the free roaming buffalo herd reestablished by the Blackfeet Tribe toward a multi-Tribal effort to restore 30 to 60 million bison in the western United States. Read the full story here.
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Me-to-We Youth Retreat in Ahmedabad + Ripples Last month a retreat was held in Ahmedabad with youth aged 18 to 25. It was an embodied head-hands-heart journey from me-to-we in the spirit of inner transformation and service. During the retreat, youth had a lot of fun singing, dancing, listening to each others’ life journeys, and participating in acts of kindness together. They also met some uncommon love warriors and had a few surprises throughout their three days together! Watch an uplifting video of highlights from the retreat here and check out this post about some ripples of kindness that emerged.
We are not merely what we do, but who we become by what we do. |
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I no longer pray— now I drink dark chocolate and let the moon sing to me. I no longer pray— I let my ancestors dance through my hips at the slightest provocation. I no longer pray— I go to the river and howl my ancient pain into the current. I no longer pray— I ache, I desire, I say “yes” to my longing. I no longer pray as I was taught but as the stars crawl onto my lap like soft animals at nighttime and God tucks my hair behind my ears with the gentle fingers of her wind and a new intimacy is uncovered in everything, perhaps it's that I’m finally learning how to pray. ... [Read more] Seed questions for reflection: How do you relate to the notion of prayer as finding an intimacy with everything? Can you share a personal story of a time you recognized intimacy with everything? What helps you feel your connection to all that is? |
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Couple of stories from our KindSpring community this week ...
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New AI Detects 13 Deadly Cancers With 98% Accuracy From Tissue Samples While cancer remains the leading cause of death, most cancers are treatable, and early detection and intervention are key. A new study from the University of Cambridge and the Imperial College of London details how artificial intelligence may be used to identify cancer before it fully develops. As noted by Shamith Samarajiwa, lead author of the paper, “This will provide better patient outcomes.” Read the full story here.
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I Spent A Week At A Chat Bench. Here's What I Learned. Chat benches first appeared in 2019, in response to scams targeting the lonely. Since then, they've begun popping up worldwide. In a special article, Annabel Abbs-Streets recounts her experience with the chat bench as she faced an empty nest. "Daily walks to the chat bench softened the pain of an emptying home. They became a pilgrimage to possibility -- offering me radically different perspectives." Read the full article here.
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Demetrio wanted to find his own joyful higher purpose. He became a surgeon, and was inspired by his experiences with humanitarian services in the military to help the less fortunate. After much soul searching and some stumbling, he created a program where people have the option to pay for their surgery by volunteering at a local non-profit. Studies demonstrate that “people who are invested in their outcome get better outcomes.” Demetrio said if he did their surgery “without that investment on the part of the patient, I'm taking away one of the most important tools for a successful result.” He invests in success, and it creates a ripple effect: the patient gets the surgery without crushing debt and possible bankruptcy; because they had to invest, they take better care of themselves; they regain or enhance their dignity and self-esteem; and both the non-profit and community benefit from the service. Demetrio hopes to inspire others to develop creative ways to invest in their neighborhoods and help those the current system leaves behind. [Read more ...] |
