nurturing the relationship between spirituality and social justice
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Contact us
by e-mail at
leavencenter@leaven.org
by mail at Leaven
P.O. Box 97
Lyons, MI 48851
or by phone at
989/855-2606.
Upcoming Events
We invite you to join us at the following events sponsored or led by Leaven! For more information about an event, you may call us at the Leaven Center office, (989) 855-2606, write us at Leaven, P.O. Box 97, Lyons, MI 48851 or e-mail us at leavencenter@leaven.org. The Leaven Center is near Lyons, Michigan, midway between Lansing and Grand Rapids.
There are two ways for you to register. You can register on-line by VISA, Discover, or MasterCard, paying the full amount of the registration fee by credit card. Or you can print out a registration form and send it by mail to our post office box. If you register by mail, you have a choice of making the specified deposit to hold your space, or you may send a check for the entire registration fee. Partial scholarships are available for all events. Please be registered at least 14 days in advance of the event.
Leaven Center Calendar 2009-2010
February 19-22. Doing Our Own Work: A Seminar for Anti-racist White People, with Melanie Morrison and Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom.
March 10-11. Individual Retreat (self-directed).
March 12-14. Forgive for Life: A Way of Releasing Resentment, with Jacki Belile.
March 26-28. Open Heart, Peaceful Mind: A Yoga Retreat for Rest and Reflection, with Valerie Brown.
April 7-8. Individual Retreat (self-directed).
May 12-13. Individual Retreat (self-directed).
May 21-23. Green Apple Trees and Old Houses: A Writing Retreat for People with Disabilities and Their Allies, with Mike Ervin and Rahnee Patrick.
June 8-10. Spirit & Pride: Re-Imagining Disability in Jewish and Christian Communities, with Julia Watts Belser and Melanie Morrison.
February 10-11, March 10-11, April 7-8, May 12-13
Individual Retreat
This year the Leaven Center is offering space for individual retreats the second Wednesday and Thursday of each month in the Lodge. Retreatants can come for Wednesday or Thursday only, for Wednesday and stay over Wednesday night, for Wednesday night and stay over Thursday — or for the entire time.
There will be no programming — the time is yours to make of it what you choose. Meditatively walk the 20 acres of meadows and woods, sit and write beside the Grand River, read, or simply catch up on much-needed rest.
Overnight retreatants each will have their own room — maximum for overnight is seven. Bring your own food for meals — snacks and beverages provided. Daytime guests will have use of the grounds and the common areas of the Lodge.
This event is gender inclusive.
Leader: Self-directed
Time/Cost: Total amount is due with registration form.
- Wednesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. — $25
Thursday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. — $25
- Wednesday, 9 a.m., to Thursday, 11 a.m. — $55
OR Wednesday nite, 5 p.m., to Thursday, 5 p.m. — $55
- Wednesday, 9 a.m. to Thursday, 5 p.m. — $75
To print and send registration form
February 12-14, 2010
The Sacred in Everyday Life:
A Creative Writing Workshop for WomenOur lives carry within them glimmers of the divine, moments of sacredness. Sometimes these moments come as bright flashes — epiphanies, inspiration. Perhaps more often, the holy moments are quiet ones, deeply embedded in what has become familiar and everyday: washing dishes, hanging laundry, raking leaves, drinking coffee with a friend, watching a child paint or practice piano. They’re not huge moments, but in their very ordinariness they are, indeed, extraordinary — filled with grace. All they ask is that we pause long enough to see them for the holy times that they are.
In this workshop we will explore the holy moments in our lives through the process of writing. There will be room for many kinds of writing and many kinds of writers. We will read, write, and share our writing with one another (by choice, never by obligation). We will think about writing as a process — a way to tell stories we already know, but also to find stories we have not yet imagined.
This event is for women.
Leader: Laura Apol
Time: Friday, 7:00 p.m. - Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Cost: $190 ($75 deposit + $115 balance due)
Laura Apol is a poet who teaches writing and children's literature at
Michigan State University. Her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies and literary journals, including two full-length collections, Falling into Grace (1998), and Crossing the Ladder of Sun (2004), winner of the Oklahoma Book Award for poetry.
February 19-22 AND March 19-22, 2010
Doing Our Own Work: A Seminar for Anti-racist White People
Doing Our Own Work is an intensive seminar for white people who seek to deepen their commitment to confronting and challenging racism and white privilege where they live, study, and work. It is our conviction that those of us who are white need to "do our own work" – educating ourselves, confronting racism, holding each other accountable, and demonstrating good faith as we seek to build genuine and lasting coalitions with people of color. Doing Our Own Work is designed as a supplement to, not a substitute for, contexts where people of diverse races discuss and strategize together how racism can be challenged.
The seminar consists of two extended weekends, providing more than 45 hours of "class time." Anti-racist action and reflection form the heart of Doing Our Own Work . Each participant is invited to identify a "sphere of influence" in her/his life that will serve as the focus of action and reflection. Utilizing input from the leaders, assigned readings, videos, group discussion, and structured exercises, participants explore the following topics and issues:
• The four realms of racism: personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural
• Historical roots of racism in the U.S.
• Movements for racial justice in the U.S.
• White privilege and unearned advantage
• How to be an effective anti-racist ally
• Cultural appreciation versus cultural appropriation
• Discerning our spiritual resources for change
• Practicing the skills of interrupting racism
• Strategies for institutional changeThe facilitators are committed to working with participants to create a respectful, loving, and truth-telling environment where we may bring our whole selves to this vitally important work.
Event is gender inclusive.
Leaders: Melanie S. Morrison and Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom
Time: Friday, 7:00 p.m. - Monday, 1:00 p.m. Attendance at both extended weekends is required.
Cost: $690 ($100 deposit and $590 balance due). The balance may be paid in installments extending beyond the close of the seminar. The cost includes program, materials, lodging, and meals. Partial scholarships are available.
To Register: www.alliesforchange.org/calendar.html
Melanie S. Morrison is founder and Executive Director of Allies for Change (http://www.alliesforchange.org). As an anti-oppression educator, activist, and spiritual director, she has 20 years experience designing and facilitating transformational group process. Melanie is passionate about working with individuals and organizations to better understand the connections between systemic oppressions and to nurture authentic relationships across differences such as race, age, abilities, and sexual orientation. She helped to launch the first Doing Our Own Work seminar in 1994 and has led it for 16 consecutive years in different parts of the country. Melanie is the author of three books including The Grace of Coming Home: Spirituality, Sexuality, and the Struggle for Justice.
Aaron Wilson-Ahlstrom is a teacher who is passionate about the role of schools in working for social justice. As one of the founding teachers, he taught for four years at University Prep High School (UPHS) in Detroit. Currently, Aaron works for the Henry Ford Learning Institute, a small non-profit that is developing a network of small, innovative charter schools based on the Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, Michigan. Aaron believes that anti-racism work is critically important if white people are to regain their collective humanity. In addition to being a training partner with Allies For Change , Aaron is a community training partner with the Michigan State University Extension multicultural awareness program. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his life partner, Alicia, and their two sons, Malcolm and Langston.
For additional information about Doing Our Own Work or to inquire about partial scholarships, email melaniemorrison@alliesforchange.org or call 517-230-6727.
March 12-14, 2010
Forgive for Life: The Way of Releasing Resentment
Are you on a justice journey? Do you seek to experience and offer healing of past and present wounds? Join others seeking the spiritual freedom that only forgiveness can bring.
In this dedicated space and time, attendees will explore the promise of creating forgiving lives so that we — like leaven — may experience and offer tranformation in this world. Such lives disrupt the impact of seemingly endless cycles of imperfection, personal trauma, family violence and social oppression. This approach to forgiveness holds together the necessity of honesty about pain’s impact, the liberation of compassion’s insights, and the mystery of our interdependent lives. The way of releasing resentment is the way of moving forward creatively to live full lives of peace, compassion and justice-making.
This retreat will offer opportunities to:
- Gain a new definition of forgiveness which is freshly empowering and practical;
- Apply this definition experimentally and rigorously throughout the weekend;
- Share stories of resilience and encouragement;
- Experience meditation, journaling and other reflection exercises;
- Design next steps which support and enhance well-being.
This event is gender inclusive.
Leader: Jacki Belile
Time: Friday, 7:00 p.m.-Sunday, 1:00 p.m. (includes lunch)
Cost: $190 ($75 deposit + $115 balance due) Scholarships available.
Jacki Belile is an ordained American Baptist minister and certified empowerment coach. She is the founder of Living Well Ministries, which creates sacred space for transformation through spiritual life coaching, classes and retreats. Jacki has led classes and retreats on wellness, LGBTA spiritual journeys and forgiveness since 2002. Her local and long-distance coaching clients often focus on forgiveness in their work with her.
March 26-28, 2010
Open Heart, Peaceful Mind:
A Yoga Retreat for Rest and Reflection
Relax into the nourishing, healing setting of this retreat and consider the gifts of the new year. Sustained periods of silence and mindfulness meditation will quiet the mind. Prayer and reflection will open the heart, and small group discussions will build community. Gentle Kundalini yoga will help us develop mindfulness of the body and support our healing. There will be opportunities to journal, explore your creativity, share laughter, and rest deeply. Through these experiences, we will reclaim our true spirit, restore balance in our lives, and nurture awareness of the many gifts of the present moment. You will take home new tools to create peace and happiness in your everyday life.
This event is gender inclusive.
Leader: Valerie Brown
Time: Friday, 7:00 p.m.-Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Cost: $190 ($75 deposit + $115 balance due). Partial scholarships are available.
Valerie Brown is a nationally trained facilitator and retreat leader. Ordained in 2003 by Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh as a lay member of the Tiep Hien Order; and a founding member of Old Path Sangha, a Buddhist community in New Hope, Pennsylvania; Valerie studied with Parker J. Palmer at the Center for Courage and Renewal and the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness. She received graduate level training in holistic spirituality from Chestnut Hill College. Valerie is a certified Kundalini yoga teacher, a frequent retreat leader throughout the U.S., and author of The Mindful Quaker: A Brief Introduction to Buddhism for Friends. As a former farmhand, certified biodynamic gardener and Master Gardener, her work is informed by a deep love of nature. As an attorney, mediator and registered lobbyist representing New Jersey’s lowest income people, Valerie’s life reflects a confluence of contemplation and action.
May 21-23, 2010
Green Apple Trees and Old Houses: A Writing Retreat for
People with Disabilities and Their Allies
In the introduction to his book Dandelion Wine, Ray Bradbury says his breakthrough as a writer occurred when “I took a long look at the green apple trees and the old house I was born in and the house next door where lived my grandparents.”
During this weekend writing retreat, disability rights activists and writers Mike Ervin and Rahnee Patrick will lead participants in taking a long, reflective look at their own lives, in search of their personal green apple trees and old houses. What are those people, places, things and events that made us feel inspired, frightened, motivated, daunted, defiant, angry, joyous, grieved? Participants will discover how to recognize and capture the significant twists and turns of their lives and express them in writing.
Beginning and experienced writers are encouraged to attend. Participants need only a desire to spend the weekend reflecting, writing and sharing their work with others. Poets, playwrights, fiction and non fiction writers are welcome.
Event is gender inclusive.
Leaders: Mike Ervin and Rahnee Patrick
Time: Friday, 7:00 p.m. – Sunday, 1:00 p.m.
Cost: $190 ($75 deposit + $115 balance due). Partial scholarships are available
Mike Ervin is a writer and disability rights activist. He has published more than 1,200 articles and essays in more than 40 newspapers and magazines, and is a radio essay contributor for NPR in Chicago. Mike’s plays, including
“The History of Bowling,” have been produced at theaters across the United States. A founding member of the Chicago chapter of ADAPT, he is proud to have been arrested more than a dozen times for civil disobedience. Mike is also founder of Jerry’s Orphans, which organizes annual protests against the Jerry Lewis telethon.
Rahnee K. Patrick is Interim Program Director at Access Living in Chicago. She is the 2008 recipient of the American Association of People with Disabilities’ Paul Hearne Award and awarded for her short stories. She is a member of ADAPT and Not Dead Yet and a co-founder of Feminist Response in Disability Activism (FRIDA). Rahnee is the oldest of four children, the daughter of a Thai immigrant mother and a European American father.
June 8-10 , 2010
Spirit & Pride: Re-Imagining Disability in
Jewish and Christian CommunitiesSpirit and pride are powerful forces in the disability rights movement and the lives of people with disability – calling forth a radical wholeness and a passion for justice. All too often, however, theological traditions of pity and charity shape how Christian and Jewish communities treat people with disabilities. There are prayers for healing that aim to “make whole the broken,” scriptural passages that describe disabled people as “blemished,” and religious images that depict disability as spiritual deficiency: “I once was blind, but now I see.”
Yet religious communities can provide powerful resources in the struggle for a more inclusive and just society. Brining together theology and activism, Spirit & Pride invites disability activists, students, members of congregations, clergy, and others to a three-day process of self-reflection, study, and dialogue. This retreat draws upon ancient and emerging traditions of liberation to help participants become more effective catalysts for change where they live, work, and worship.
During the retreat, there will be time for personal reflection, journaling or creative writing, text study, and small group conversations. We will draw upon poetry, music, videos, case studies, and stories that reimagine disability in ways that are liberating for people with disabilities.
This event is gender inclusive.
Leader: Julia Watts Belser and Melanie S. Morrison
Time: Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. to Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
Cost: TBA
Julia Watts Belser is a rabbi, scholar, activist, and anti-oppression educator with a passion for racial justice and disability rights. She holds a Ph.D. in Jewish Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and is Assistant Professor of Judaism in the Religious Studies Department at Missouri State University. She co-authored A Health Handbook for Women with Disabilities, published by Hesperian Foundation and distributed to grassroots groups and health workers around the world. Her articles, workshops, and lectures address disability rights, feminist theology, LGBT issues, and Jewish thought.
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