Honoring diversity,
Celebrating unity,
Transforming community.
"How very good and pleasant it is for kindred
to dwell together in unity."
(Psalm 133)
WHY KINDRED SPIRITS?
We are quickly becoming a pluralistic nation, faced daily with customs, languages and beliefs foreign to us. While the Internet can link persons anywhere on the planet, our local families and communities and families suffer and break down under the impact of violence, consumerism, technology, etc.
How might we able to respect other people's faiths and cultures while keeping our own special cultural and faith identities intact? Furthermore, within our faith communities, how do we treat those who are "different" or those whom society marginalizes? We all have a common stake in the survival of the planet and the flourishing of everyone. What kind of disciples are we? How might we find ways to deepen in our traditions, to share our visions, strengthen our solidarity, and celebrate our diverse gifts and talents within specific communities of faith?
Kindred Spirits seeks to provide both activities and reflection upon our participation in the community in which we live, work or worship. It takes its name from the folk term. To recognize a "kindred spirit" is to find someone, often from another family, culture or faith who, though different, shares a similar heart's desire. One mysteriously feels a "kinship", a deep bond, arise. The Lakota use the prayer phrase "Mitake Oyasin" before all sacred events. It means "All My Relatives", referring to all human beings and creatures upon the earth. Kindred Spirits acknowledges such a relationship, seeking to make that knowledge conscious and intentional.
Through workshops, activities, reflection and writings that honor embodiment, and are nourishing and inclusive, and through exploring and practicing spiritualities of Sabbath and Jubilee, Kindred Spirits seeks to help the streams of compassion, mutuality and justice spring forth among God's people and out into this precious world. Kindred Spirits invites us to deepen in our own faith while opening to and engaging people of other beliefs or viewpoints with respect. In such engagement and through the power of the Holy One, all can become a new creation, dwelling together in peace.
WHO IS PAMELA BRO?
Pamela is a liberation theologian who has received her doctorate from The Chicago Theological Seminary. She studied cultural anthropology at the University of Chicago, focusing on Native religions, and did training in cross-cultural ministry (and field work with the Lakota) at Catholic Theological Union and. A graduate of Union Theological Seminary in New York City, she was ordained 20 years ago and has joint ministerial standing with both the Disciples of Christ and the United Church of Christ. Possessing a Master's in Theater from Schiller College in Berlin, Germany as well, she has taught in colleges and universities since 1975. A dynamic and passionate workshop leader, Pamela enjoys living and creating with her husband John and her daughters Chelsea and Kaitlyn and various treasured kindred spirits around the globe.
A few of the groups Pamela has provided leadership for include:
Chicago Disciples Union gathering, Chicago
St. Theresa's parish, Chicago
Global Ministries, Indianapolis
Women's Center, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA
Pilgrim Institute, Wisconsin
Association for Research and Enlightenment, Virginia Beach, VA
If your would like to receive more information
about KINDRED SPIRITS
or to request a workshop for your group or community
please write to:
Dr. Pamela Bro
225 Bloom Street
Highland Park, IL 60035
You can also e-mail your requests to:
h t t p : / / w w w . k i n d r e d s p i r i t s . o r g
[RITUAL MAKING] [WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY] [CROSS-CULTURAL ENCOUNTERS] [SABBATH AND JUBILEE] [STORY-TELLING]
SITE CREATED BY 
Marco Tavanti
The Kindred Spirits Web page was last updated on
Saturday, February 24, 2000 at 9:30 PM
