|
August 17 to 24, 2019
The Chairs for LOAS 2, 2019 are
Elizabeth
Hutchinson & Ken Swanson
Contact
Co-Chairs at: loas2chairs2019@gmail.com
or 978-239-5818 (Ken)
Register
HERE
LOVE
& JUSTICE
As we gather with people we cherish in a place that is
our spirit's home, we will consider the relationship between love and
justice. As author and meditation teacher Sharon Salzburg reminds
us, love is at the root of a radical re-imagining of human relationships
in the world. This week will be full of opportunities to connect
with one another through music, fellowship and games. We will share
conversation and contemplation so we can return to our daily lives
feeling inspired and empowered to make the changes we envision and help
bend the arc of history toward justice.
Our theme speaker, Cathy O'Neil, will challenge us to
think about one of the great impediments to social justice: shame. She
will help us understand and explore how shaming serves to justify and
perpetuate inequality in our society. In fact, she will illuminate how
shame is built into the very algorithms that regulate access to medical,
financial and social support. Can we use love and empathy to reduce
societal shame and promote equality and justice? How might our own shame
keep us from acting on behalf of others?
What better time to deepen our commitment to love and
justice than our week together at LOAS II? We look forward to exploring
these topics with you!
Theme Speaker: Cathy
O'Neil
 Our
theme speaker is Cathy O'Neil, a data scientist who currently writes for
Bloomberg and other major publications, as well as her own books.
Recently she appeared on a panel with Emmanuel Macron and as well a
meeting with 20 senators and representatives in Washington
Cathy will engage our conference theme of love and justice through
the lens of shame:
Cathy will break down shame as a social mechanism: who uses it, and
to what end? when is it an appropriate civil rights tool, and when is it
a form of oppression? Who profits or gains power from mass shaming
campaigns, and how does social media weaponize shame? What will the
long-term effects be? Closer to home, how do we learn to recognize how
we participate in shaming ourselves and others?
Cathy
O’Neil earned a Ph.D. in math from Harvard, was a postdoc at the MIT
math department, and a professor at Barnard College where she published
a number of research papers in arithmetic algebraic geometry. She then
switched over to the private sector, working as a quant for the hedge
fund D.E. Shaw in the middle of the credit crisis, and then for
RiskMetrics, a risk software company that assesses risk for the holdings
of hedge funds and banks. She left finance in 2011 and started working
as a data scientist in the New York start-up scene, building models that
predicted people’s purchases and clicks. She wrote Doing Data
Science in 2013 and launched the Lede Program in Data Journalism at
Columbia in 2014. She is a regular
contributor to Bloomberg View and wrote the book Weapons
of Math Destruction: how big data increases inequality and threatens
democracy. She recently founded ORCAA,
an algorithmic auditing company.
 Cathy's
Blog
can be read here and there is a very interesting article from
the New
Yorker here!
She
also plays fiddle and sings in a bluegrass band called the Tomtown
Ramblers (https://www.facebook.com/tomtownramblers/)
Minister Of The
Week: Rev.
Eva Cameron
 Eva
Cameron is an experienced minister, having served both large and small
congregations. Most recently she was called to be the settled
minister at the First Universalist Church of Essex, Massachusetts.
Previously she had been the minister at Cedar Valley Unitarian
Universalist Church in Iowa since 2005. She has also served in
congregations in Illinois, Michigan and Oklahoma. She graduated
from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 1988.
In
addition to her service as a minister, Eva has also served as a Regional
Transitions Coach and has provided services for cancer survivors.
She has organized a Peacekeepers Corps, chaired the Cedar Valley
Interfaith Council and taught Ministerial Formation as an adjunct
professor. Eva has organized retreats, been a member of the
Blackhawk Evangelical Association, has been a Girl Scouts Cluster Leader
and has spoken before the Parliament of World Religions. Eva has a
relationship with the UU community in the Kashi Hills of India and has
spent time there recently. There is much more to Eva’s resume,
and it will be exciting to hear about her adventures as we get to know
her.
Eva’s
family roots are here in New England, especially in New Hampshire,
although she has lived in other parts of the country and grew up in a
multi-cultural environment in Chicago. She is single and has grown
children as well as a loving Doberman named Sophie. She loves the
outdoors, especially fishing, canoeing and hiking. She is open,
warm and joyous. Eva believes in a ministry that is collaborative
and creative and is built on loving relationships. She draws on
the wisdom of all faith traditions and loves to sing.
LOAS
II Youth Group Team
Workshops and Starbursts:
WORKSHOPS
Week long classes offered daily
The
Writing Circle
with Ellen Schmidt
The
Writing Circle provides a time to relax and write from the heart
in a warm, supportive, and stimulating environment.
Enjoy the magic of writing in a group -
people do some of their best writing this way.
Write spontaneously and without judgment.
Participants have the opportunity to write about real
experiences, ones not so true, totally made up, or a combination.
Each day there will be a new spark, a special stimulus that
is practically guaranteed to kindle your creative energies.
Come one, several, or every day.
The Writing Circle has proven to be a wonderful way to
discover and appreciate each other as well as a time for
individual reflection, invention, and pleasure.
Ellen Schmidt teaches writing
in Ithaca, NY. The
Writing Room website can be access here.
|
Print Making
with Annie Quest
This workshop will focus on making mono prints using gel-plate and
linoleum prints. We will utilize found and recycled objects for
the mono prints and will print onto many types of papers - from
standard cotton rag papers to book pages to papers from the
recycle bin. We will be printing with water-based inks and various
acrylic mediums. Participants are invited to contribute and use
saved wrapping paper, grocery lists, as well as onion bags,
string, elastic bands and plant materials for this purpose. There
will also be materials available for simple stencil cutting and
inks suitable for transferring lino cuts onto fabric (t-shirts).
|
Yoga
with Darlene Nadeau
Darlene's gentle yoga classes are infused with breath awareness,
acceptance, compassion, and mindfulness. She has been teaching
yoga since 2005 and integrates yoga traditions from Anusara,
Iyengar, and Kripalu yoga studies. Darlene is a Licensed Massage
Therapist, Reiki Master, Yoga and Pilates Instructor.
Come experience
yoga whether you are a beginner or experienced yogi.
You will experience an increase in breath awareness, more
range of movement, improve postural alignment, relieve increase
immune response, as you learn to relax and release tension, and
much more. Darlene enjoys connecting with supporting each person's
highest levels of wellness. She has a passion for learning,
growing, and thriving. She also delights in art, travel, nature,
gardening and dance.
|
 Adult
OWL
with Tanya Van Order & Beat Barblan
"Back by popular demand with new
material"
Come explore lifelong sexuality in all its glorious manifestations
in a covenanted, safe, open-minded and fun environment!
Tanya and Beat have been teaching OWL (Our Whole Lives) Sexuality
Education for over 20 years to youth at the Morristown Unitarian
Fellowship in Morristown, New Jersey. They are excited to
facilitate this universally interesting workshop to fellow
shoalers at LOAS 2! Together we will find meaningful, respectful,
enlightening, and fun ways to enhance our communication skills and
continue to increase our understanding of healthy relationships,
sexual diversity, and sexuality. |
| Conversations
On Race with Rev.
Kimberly Quinn Johnson
We often struggle with meaningful conversations about race and
racism in our lives and our communities. This workshop will
explore the ways that we participate in structures of race and
racism, offering tools for engaging in deeper more authentic
reflection and conversation about race. Cultural critic and
political activist Rev. Dr. Cornel West says that “Justice is
what Love looks like in public.” How does our faith inspire us
to embody love and justice in our lives by confronting race and
racism?
*We ask that you commit to the entire
week of workshops in order to build the trust and vulnerability
that will allow us to get the most out of this workshop.
|
| Tile
Mosaic Art Workshop with Heather
Troyer
 The
process of creating a mosaic picture can be quiet, precise or
random, sentimental, intricate and structured, or big, bulky, and
bold. This workshop will allow the participants to create a
mosaic out of tile, as well as recycled or otherwise meaningful
objects: shells (purchased or brought, symbolic of Star),
buttons, seeds, or even special flat objects from home. The
finished product can be hung on a wall, used in a garden, or
displayed anywhere that color and creativity is needed.
Participants will be encouraged to bring light-weight ceramic
objects from home that can be smashed into bits and re-worked into
a new art form. The pressboard for the base, additional
tile, equipment, mastic, grout, and finishing supplies will be
provided.
Mosaics are liberating and create an opening for conversation and
fellowship as the circle of workers can both focus on a product
while using their hands, but also problem solve and coordinate
color and shape, as if working a unique puzzle. You don't
have to be an artist to create a beautiful mosaic.
Heather Troyer is a
lay-artist/veterinarian who actually spends most of her time
working on animals and herding her children. She began working
with tile mosaics during vet school as a way to clear her mind
when she was going crazy from studying. Her desire to use
textile art at Star Island began when she attended soap stone
carving. The quiet group of workers became some of her closest
friends since beginning to attend LOAS II.
|
S T AR B U R S T S
Single, 45 Minute Mini-Workshops to fill in your days
Check The Chalkboard for days and
times. Locations may vary.
|
 Sunday:
Summer Snacks
with Anna Henschel and Chris Vann
Join your LOAS II 2020 Chairs
Chris and Anna in preparing tasty Social Hour snacks. We'll
provide the ingredients and tools, come prepared to roll up your
sleeves and get a taste (pun intended) of the catering world - and
then share your results with family and friends immediately
following. No cooking experience required. |
|
 Monday:
Nature
Weaving
with Bromwyn Cotton
In
the Starburst we are going to create several outdoor, large
collaborative weaving projects that can be added to by everyone 
throughout the week. They’ll incorporate natural elements from
the island with organic fibers. We’ll also learn some weaving
techniques for creating smaller, personal projects. |
|
Tuesday:
Adult Tie Dye
with Jessica Robidoux-Leger, Mike Leger and Toby Dills
 When
you are choosing which pieces of clothing your kids can bring to
Star to Tie Dye, choose a few for yourself as well! Join in the
fun that LOAS kids have been enjoying for decades. No experience
needed (the three leaders have enough experience to do a Master's
Class in Tie Dye)! Bring shirts, shorts, hats, scafves,
bandanas, socks or anything else you want to personalize.
|
|
 Wednesday:
Henna Tattoos
with Terri Behm
They're back! If you
haven't had a henna tattoo yet, this is the year to check them
out. If you have, try a new design! |
|
 Thursday:
Shrinky-Dinks
with Bethany Swanson
Create a souvenir of your week
of Love & Justice to hang around your neck, or off your
keychain. |
Website created by and maintained
by Staris Consulting. © 2019 | Contact the LOAS
Webmaster pertaining to the website
Special Thanks to Matt of svaha.com
for Hosting this website
|
