The Common Good podcast is a conversation about the significance of place, eliminating economic isolation and the structure of belonging. The host is Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp. This episode is the Abundant Community Conversation from September 15 where Rabbi Miriam spoke with David Whyte and Peter Block. Abundant Community conversations happen every couple of months on zoom and they always contain poetry, small groups and an exploration of a particular theme.
David Whyte's writing explores the timeless relationship of human beings to their world, to creation, to others, and to the end of life itself. He makes his home in the Pacific Northwest, where rain and changeable skies remind him of the other, more distant homes from which he comes: Yorkshire, Wales and Ireland. He has traveled extensively, including working as a guide in the Galapagos and leading trips into the Himalaya; much of his work chronicles a close relationship to landscapes and histories. He speaks to the suffering and joy that accompany revelation, and the necessity of belonging to families, people and places. David Whyte's poetry can be heard in the boardrooms of Fortune 500 companies, the hallowed halls of educational institutions, and from the stages of literary festivals and theological conferences. In each of these disparate settings, his work and compelling speaking style is moving and relevant, transcending the confines of any individual context.
Peter Block is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio. His work is about chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community. Peter is the author of several best selling books including "Community: The Structure of Belonging" and he co-authored "The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods" with John McKnight. His writing is about ways to create workplaces and communities that work for all. They offer an alternative to the patriarchal beliefs that dominate our culture. His work is to bring change into the world through consent and connectedness rather than through mandate and force. He is founder of Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops designed by Peter to build the skills outlined in his books. Peter serves on the Board of Directors LivePerson, a provider of online engagement solutions, and the Cincinnati Access Fund; he also serves on his local neighborhood council. He is director emeritus of Elementz, an urban arts center in Cincinnati and is on the Advisory Board for the Festival in the Workplace Institute, Bahamas. He was the first Distinguished Consultant-in-Residence at Xavier University. You can visit his websites at peterblock.com, abundantcommunity.com, designedlearning.com, restorecommons.com and asmallgroup.net. He welcomes being contacted at pbi@att.net. He lives with his wife, Cathy Kramer in Cincinnati, and helped raise a bunch of kids.
Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp serves as the spiritual leader of Temple Sholom in Cincinnati, Ohio.
You can register for the next Abundant Community Conversation on November 15 at 1pm with Jenn Hoos Rothberg here.
This episode was produced by Joey Taylor and the music is from Jeff Gorman. You can find more information about the Common Good Collective and the reader here. Common Good Podcast is a production of Bespoken Live & Common Change - Eliminating Personal Economic Isolation.