For over ten years, stone circles has worked to develop the field of spiritual activism – the integration of social change work and spiritual practice. In partnership with others, we have cultivated a thriving national network and captured stories in a range of forms: videos, case studies, publications and curriculum. Highlights of this work have included:
- Intensive collaborations to raise the profile and availability of practice at the two U.S. Social Forums – in Atlanta (2007) and Detroit (2010)
- National convenings
- A national fellowship program
national convenings
We’ve convened three significant gatherings to build the field. The first was at the Rigmor House (ironically, only 5 miles from The Stone House!) and brought together 20 leaders from across the country to help define “spiritual activism.”
A second gathering at the Garrison Institute in 2005 was entitled Spiritual Activism: Claiming the Poetry and Ideology of a Liberation Spirituality. With funding from three major foundations (Ford, Nathan Cummings and Hidden Leaf), this event convened 50 leaders to define the field and a collective theory of social change. Both an extensive report and video were produced from this event. To watch the video trailer, click here. For the longer video and study guide, contact us.
The third gathering was a large national conference in 2009. Deep Change: Transforming the Practice of Social Justice was a collaboration with Movement Strategy Center, Rockwood Leadership Foundation and the Seasons Fund. Held at the Blue Ridge Assembly in Asheville, the gathering brought together 100 frontline organizers, intermediary organizations and funders to explore how transformational practice is changing organizing on the ground. Watch the slide show about the gathering here.
national fellowship program
A cohort model with four gatherings, a small grant and ongoing opportunities for communication and collaboration, the fellowship was designed to foster collaboration between the organization and leaders in spiritual activism across the country. The fellows represented diverse and vial institutions; they included Kenny Bailey, Design Studio for Social Innovation (Boston, MA), Arrington Chambliss, Life Together, Episcopal Diocese (Boston, MA), Simon Greer, Jewish Funds for Justice (New York, NY), Albino Garcia, La Plazita Institute (Albuquerque, NM), angel Kyodo williams, Center for Transformative Change (Oakland, CA), and shash yahzi, (Boston, MA).
