“For millennia, in societies around the world, elders and adults have known how to spot the signs of a teenager ready for initiation. But today in America, even though boys haven’t stopped reaching the age when their inner fire wells up, we are failing to meet them where they’re at with a rite of passage.”
“Big Brothers Big Sisters of WNC’s motto is ‘Start Something Big’ because of the astronomical potential that can be unlocked in young people when they have a mentor who believes in them.”
Everybody needs to be needed. We want to be of use to our friends, family, community and the world at large, to have a purpose and to know that we’re making a positive impact. What that impact should look like, however, can vary widely: For one person, it may be stuffing thank-you letters into envelopes; […]
Green Opportunities, a nonprofit job training and employment program founded in 2008, works to ensure that all residents of the region have access to sustainable employment in our rapidly growing local economy. Operating out of the Arthur R. Edington Education & Career Center in Asheville’s Southside neighborhood, GO focuses on workforce development in selected growth […]
The Western North Carolina Green Building Council was established in 2000 as a volunteer effort by a handful of conscientious builders who wanted to educate others on the health and environmental impacts of design and construction. In the intervening years, the group has grown and provided direct services and weatherization education to 6,000 professionals and […]
“Just for the record, I’m spiritual, not religious.” If you live in Asheville, this probably sounds familiar. But when does spiritual exploration become more of a distraction than a path to a deepening connection with others and our best selves?
What happens when we die? Maybe you have an answer, or maybe the question elicits bewilderment and uncertainty. Or perhaps both. Most agree at the very least that we won’t be bringing along any possessions or posterity, fame or fortune, people or places. And, though the details differ, many spiritual traditions concur that—at most—it’s only one’s consciousness or soul that will continue the journey […]
Grief rituals are a safeguard against accumulated trauma, on both personal and collective levels, according to West African healer Sobonfu Somé, who will lead a grief ritual in Arden Nov. 14-15.
When the first-ever LEAF Downtown festival took place on Aug. 1 and 2 in Pack Square Park, it wasn’t just the festival’s new location that was making its debut: This year, the organization was able to unveil its all-new U-LEAF stage — a mobile art stage recently completed by AVL DesignBuild Studio, a summer internship […]
The third annual Goose Festival brought together more than 2,000 people from various spiritual persuasions that fall under a very inclusive Christian umbrella. Featured speakers at this year’s event included Bree Newsome, the activist who gained national attention for removing the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse.
Transitioning from the mission-driven military to ordinary civilian life is often when vets slip into unemployment, depression or homelessness. But two farming programs in WNC are working to give veterans a connection to the land, to their community and to a sense of purpose that so many seek.
A growing movement in Asheville is seeking to make conversations about death more commonplace: Through an ever-evolving series of public art installments and performances that began in early 2014 , locally based Third Messenger has been offering Ashevilleans the chance to share their stories surrounding death and to contemplate their own mortality.
It’s no secret that the Christian and LGBTQ communities have often found themselves at odds — each a thorn in the other’s side. But the Out to the Nations conference intends to reaches out to LGBTQ people in the Southeast who’ve felt ostracized or hurt by the church, offering them the possibility of finding a new path and personal connection with God.
An interfaith panel and workshop session presented by the United Religions Initiative of Henderson County will explore how six faith traditions can inform our actions on behalf of the planet — locally, regionally and globally.
From the Get It! Guide: As the boomer generation moves into elderhood, many are realizing what’s at stake when elders are lost from the social fabric. They’re aghast at the realities of our current model of care and are sparking a movement that seeks to redefine the later stages of life — not just for the benefit of elders but for the enrichment of all generations.
From the Get It! Guide: Some parents and teachers are seeing our children’s education fall short. It’s time to consider “who” we are graduating into the world, they say — and shift the focus from memorization and abstract academia to purpose and values.
What is unique about Raga music and the experience that it offers listeners? The first thing a singer of Hindu music does is to tune his tampura to give one chord, and while he tunes his tampura, he tunes his own soul.
Xpress corresponded with AskLizze founder Liz Cox, and Sangha Shabda vocalists Jojo Silverman and Aditi Sethi-Brown about Kirtan with Sangha Shabda, part of musical series Open to the One.
“Dowsing dates back to the earliest times,” says Brian Crissy, vice president of the Appalachian Chapter of the American Society of Dowsers. The group will host The Spring Conference of the Southern Dowsers Thursday, March 19-Sunday, March 22.
Local interfaith minister and author Tina Firewolf hosts a booksigning of Beneath the Chatter: The Wise Self Awaits, a book of contemplative photography and prose documenting her personal journey toward stopping what she calls the “fearful internal chatter.”
“I believe two things to be true: First, that each of our faith traditions are unique, with strengths and insights all our own,” says Rabbi Fuchs Kreimer, who will be speaking at Mars Hill University on Tuesday, March 3.
