2013 Vital Conversations

A Program of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council, CRES, And Mid Continent Public Library - The Antioch Branch 6060 N. Chestnut. Gladstone, MO 64119

The Second Wednesday of each month from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

“The purpose of a Vital Conversation is not to win an argument,

but to win a friend and advance civilization.”~Vern Barnet

Vital Conversations are intentional gatherings of people to engage in dialog that will add value to the participants and to the world. In Vital Conversations we become co-creators of a better community. We welcome all people to attend our conversations and celebrate the rich pluralism of the greater Kansas City area. The topics and books are subject to change.

April 10, 2013 How To Eat To Live by Elijah Muhammad, Messenger of Allah. For many years, Messenger Elijah Muhammad has been teaching the so-called Negroes of America on the proper foods to eat to improve their mental power, physical appearance, for prevention of illness, curing of ailments and prolonging life. Isaiah Muhammad, a friend from “Eggs and Enlightenment” will be with us along with others from The Nation of Islam.

May 8, 2013 Sacred Ground: Pluralism, Prejudice and the Promise of America by Eboo Patel. Patel asks us to hare in the vision of a better America – a robustly pluralistic country in which our commonalities are more important than our differences, and in which difference enriches, rather than threatens, our religious traditions. Pluralism Patel boldly argues, is at the heart of the American project.

June 12, 2013 Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig. This is one of the most important and influential books written in the past half-century. It is a powerful, moving, and penetrating examination of how we live . . . and a breathtaking meditation on how to live better. Here is the book that transformed a generation: an unforgettable narration of a summer motorcycle trip across America's Northwest, undertaken by a father and his young son. A story of love and fear -- of growth, discovery, and acceptance -- that becomes a profound personal and philosophical odyssey into life's fundamental questions.

July 10, 2013 How God Changes Your Brain by Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman. God is great for your mental, physical and spiritual health. This book is both a revelatory work of modern science and a practical guide for readers to enhance their physical and emotional health and to avoid mental decline. Al and Nina Babich will be our guests. They both have done training on brain awareness and Al has a training company, “My Gray Matters.”

August 14, 2013 “Dakota 38”, a movie free on line, documents the ride to Mankato in 2008. It was a memorable trek, filled with blizzards but also warm greetings from small town residents along the way. In the movie, Indian spiritual leader Jim Miller describes his painful dream and its hold on him. The dream inspired an annual horseback ride from the Missouri River in South Dakota to Mankato to remember those executed. That journey, in turn, inspired Hagerty and his colleagues to honor both the modern day riders and those hanged in 1862.

September 11th Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know -- And Doesn't by Stephen Prothero. The Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council is working with The Kansas City Library to make Kansas City a more religious literate community. Discussion of the ideas presented in this book can be helpful in this process.

October 9th Government is Good: An Unapologetic Defense of a Vital Institution by Douglas J. Amy Teri Barr, Assistant to Senator Claire McCaskill will be present to share thoughts about the role of a citizen in nurturing a better community. This book is a force for good in our fragile experiment in democracy called the USA. This book is an antidote to the cynicism that currently pervades American politics.

November 13th The Mountain of Silence: A Search for Orthodox Spirituality by Kyriacos C. Markides.