Hopework Supper, Sunday, November 30
From: Lynn Englund (lynnhopework.org)
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:27:19 -0800 (PST)
Dear Hopework friends,

Happy Thanksgiving! If you're in town this weekend, please join John and me Sunday evening for our last Hopework pot-luck supper and story circle of 2008. Details below.

I had my first Thanksgiving dinner of the season with friends last Saturday. It is an annual tradition for this particular group to gather
just before Thanksgiving to assess what our community-by-intention has
meant to us during the past year and to express our intentions and hopes
for the coming year. As we went around the circle sharing our thoughts,
one woman suggested that we were no longer acting as a community
because we do not meet as regularly as we used to and no longer have any
group projects that extend beyond ourselves because we're all too busy
working. Then she declared that we had gone beyond the bonds of
community and were now like family. In her view we became like family when we started believing that we would remain connected to each other no matter what. Whether we saw each other or not. Wherever in the world we were. Forever.

As we reflected on her observation, we agreed that it's the deep
listening we have for each other that has made possible for each of us
this extra "net" of "family" relationships. It is like having a safety
net below us as we walk Life's tightrope. I am grateful to be a
participant in many different groups and gatherings at which I have experienced this extraordinary quality of deep and attentive listening. In its presence I feel alive and find it easy it is to be present to others. I feel real and well-nourished afterward. I hope the deep listening at Hopework suppers and story circles have helped expand your "safety nets," too. Thank you for expanding mine.

John and I are pleased to invite you to the last Hopework supper this
fall on Sunday, October 30. Four weeks ago, eleven of us greeted each
other around the table and shared a meal. Afterward we went around the
circle to tell a story of a time when we had promoted health and well being by adopting a strategy to either reduce something that had a toxic effect on us, or to add in or increase something that was positive for us. Stories included using the money saved by walking to work to buy an expensive backpack that made it doable; healing a psychological wound in oneself by serving others; taking a risk for oneself; searching for and finding the right home for an ailing parent; avoiding toxic conversations and finding more people with whom to have nourishing conversations; listening and asking questions rather than seeking solutions on one's own; meeting with others to provide mutual support to sustain healthy practices; and paying attention to place--being aware that it's who you know and what you do in a place that gives it meaning.

Hopework is the name that John and I use for the work we do. Hopework is
the practice of creating safe spaces for people to get to know and like
each other, and finding renewed hope and purpose in life with and from
each other. John and I host a pot-luck supper on the last Sunday of each month September-November and January-April as a way to reconnect with friends who have shared in our work and to meet new acquaintances who share our interests. Each month we look forward to greeting new and long-time Hopework friends, Philosophy Camp/Lives Worth Living alumni and fellows, and other friends and acquaintances who share our interests. Please join us when you can!

Last Hopework Supper this fall

Date: Sunday, November 30

Time: Arrive at 4:00 pm; meal will begin at 4:30 pm. We usually finish
and clean up about 7:00 pm.

Menu: Please bring a dish or beverage to share. I'll provide a
vegetarian soup or main dish and water, tea, and coffee.

Topic: I am interested in examining health and wellbeing--what is alive
for us and what we resist or put off. This month I'm interested in our
experiences of feeling in charge of our health, or of not feeling in
charge of it.

Lynn Englund and John Wallace
The Metro Lofts building
2650 University Ave West, #315
Saint Paul, MN 55114

651-646-0069 (home)
612-710-7287 (cell)

Map and directions: http://tiny.cc/FkhvY

Park on University Ave. near Dunn Bros., or in the lot along the east
side of the building. The entrance is on the east side of the building,
just south of Dunn Bros. entrance. Push 300 on the security box to have me buzz you into the building. The elevator is to the right of the lobby. Turn left when you get off on the 3rd floor.

Dates for Spring: January 25, February 22, March 29, April 26.

Lynn and John


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