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Thanks for a great April Coffee Talk!

By: Tracy Simmons

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On April 6, at our monthly Coffee Talk, we gathered at Revel 77 Coffee to discuss the concept  of spiritual community.
On April 6, at our monthly Coffee Talk, we gathered at Revel 77 Coffee to discuss the concept  of spiritual community.

On Saturday Spokane Faith & Values held its fourth Coffee Talk, this time at Revel 77 Coffee.

A big thanks to those who showed up — 32 people — including the four panelists, the Rev. Jim CastroLang, Skyler Oberst, Dr. Pearce Fujiura and Annie May Brown.

The conversation was on spiritual community. 

The panelists and audience agreed that yes, spiritual community is still needed. But what is spiritual community, and how do we implement it?

Community, most agreed, is centered around those you choose to be with. Being in community takes compassion, a willingness to be vulnerable and deal with conflict when it arises.

Those who attended, what would you add? How do we keep this conversation going?

Our next Coffee Talk will be in May. Stay tuned to Spokane Faith & Values for details.

Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of FāVS.News, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Associate Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.
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Al Stover
Al Stover
13 years ago

It was interesting hearing different viewpoints, not only from the panelists, but also the audience. And of course, the coffee was really good.

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Tracy
Tracy
13 years ago

I agree with you Al – we have a great community in SpokaneFAVS!

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Bruce Meyer
Bruce Meyer
13 years ago

I second that! The discussion and the coffee was the best!

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Yisrael Bisman
Yisrael Bisman
13 years ago

It was one of the best – it just keeps getting better. One of the last comments was that it takes the ability to “feel safe” and be “vulnerable” in order to have the necessary open communication thatis required to have a successful community. That was one of the last comments – maybe we can pick up the discussion there.

What does it take to have a “safe” environment where people can be open and risk being vulnerable.? What does that mean – being vulnerable and why is it necessary for a successful community?

Maybe we could examine some communities (intentional) and examine the level of their success or failure.

Then broaden out into – How do we do that right here ion Spokane?

Just some suggestions…anyone else?

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Yisrael Bisman
Yisrael Bisman
13 years ago

Forgive the typos please I was squeezing this in between answering emails. LOL

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Tracy Simmons
Tracy Simmons
13 years ago

Good idea, thanks Yisrael!

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