Summer Book & Film Discussion
Sunday June 29, 2025
7:00 – 8:30 pm ET
(online via Zoom)
The Guild for Spiritual Guidance lovingly invites you to join us for a free and heart-opening discussion of the book and accompanying videos, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit, by Parker J Palmer (Originally published in 2011. A new updated edition was issued in January 2024). Please click on the cover for purchase options or buy from your favorite bookshop.
At this critical time in North American life, Palmer looks with realism and hope at how to deal with our political tensions, exploring ways we can reweave the communal fabric on which democracy depends by cultivating five “habits of the heart.” Along with videos that highlight each chapter’s themes, readers can…
• Reflect on the personal implications of the claim that “the human heart is the first home of democracy”
• Consider everyday actions you can take to restore the infrastructure that supports our democracy
• Transcend the “us vs. them” mentality and find ways to expand and enrich your life by appreciating the value of “otherness”
• Reignite your sense of personal voice and agency to resist authoritarian appeals and restore a politics of freedom and responsibility
To access accompanying videos with Parker Palmer, some of which include singer/songwriter Carrie Newcomer, go to this webpage: https://couragerenewal.org/healing-heart-democracy-hub/ where you can also purchase the book if you wish. As the late Congressman John Lewis said, “We have been trying to bridge the great divides in this great country for a long time. In this book, Parker J. Palmer urges us to ‘keep on walking, keep on talking’―just as we did in the civil rights movement―until we cross those bridges together.”
While our Quarterly Book and Film discussions are free and open to all, we welcome your voluntary donations of any amount (suggested donation is $20) to help us at the Guild for Spiritual Guidance defray the costs of offering and hosting them.
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