When Did You Know? A 3 month journey to meet 60 influential leaders working on substantial change

Brant Rosen, Rabbi, Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL

I was introduced to JRC and Rabbi Rosen during my year with AVODAH: The Jewish Service Corp.  I first traveled to Evanston early on a Saturday morning in September. A morning drenched with fog and hanging on to the last of the summer’s warmth. I went because I was interested in an event listed on the JRC calendar as ‘Jewish Meditation’ and was anxious to experience meditation ‘jewishly’ as meditation is important in my own spiritual explorations and, in part, what I wanted my AVODAH experience encompass.  Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I did not run into the group. I sat silently in the chapel for half an hour or so.

The building which houses that chapel is the first house of worship to be LEED Platinum certified by the United States Green Building Council. I was impressed to learn this and shocked to realize I had such easy access to it. It was just a short trip-a train and bus ride away.

Over the course of the AVODAH year I went to a few services at JRC and came away with great admiration for how much the congregation was doing.  There was, of course, the building, but the congregation was also involved in work and study trips to Uganda and congregants participated in many task forces, the Environmental and Fair Trade & Sustainable Development to just name two.

This was the first time I had been introduced to a congregation with such an intense commitment to social justice and I wanted to know more. Which leads me to this post. Rabbi Rosen had led a couple of programs for the AVODAH cohort and I had listened to a few of his sermons but I wanted to know more about him and his story. So I asked him if he’d be willing to be featured on the site and he graciously accepted.

I began the conversation with Rabbi Rosen on the topic of the ‘Green Synagogue’.

I then asked if there were any moments or signposts that he felt reinforced his decision to become a Rabbi. Rabbi Rosen told of three specific examples in this next segment. A funeral he officiated, a trip to Nigeria and a trip to Iran.

For more info please check out Rabbi Rosen's Blog Shalom Rav and JRC's website.

For my own reflections please check out the new When Did You Know? Blog page.

Arloa Sutter, Executive Director, Breakthrough Urban Ministries

While revisiting the conversation I had with Arloa Sutter I realized that there is so much she says so well that I won’t interfere too much with it. For those reasons you’ll find below a relatively lengthy audio clip. It is about 15 minutes or so and worth every second.

First, however, a little background on how the meeting came to be.  Alan Harrell, a graduate of i.c.stars and former resident at Breakthrough’s Ministry Center for men told me Arloa is a person I need to feature on the site.  I asked Alan why and he said, “Arloa was willing to give up her lifestyle to help. She changes society one person at a time.”

You’ll hear in the clip more about Breakthrough’s services in addition to housing shelters, but so there is some context heading in I’ll briefly explain what Breakthrough Urban Ministries does.  One of the values Breakthrough is built upon is the understanding of relationships and the power of being in relation to one another. Understanding that our networks are so critical to the lives we live Breakthrough provides services like housing shelters, providing groceries through the Fresh Market program, youth and family programs as well as community programs.

Now, without any further ado here is Arloa Sutter.

The clip ends where we begin, perhaps signaling that there is no end. My liberation is tied to yours. This is deep work that takes introspection and action. Breakthrough’s critical belief in the importance of relationship and network exemplifies the idea of mutually dependent liberation and creates more opportunities for us to meet together as we work to bring more and more freedom into the world.

John Bouman, President, Shriver Center

“You don't do this work with the idea that if you do it right you're gonna end poverty. It's one of those things where its just a constant struggle and the point of it is the struggle and the gains that you make within it, you do actually improve lives, you can look back over a career and see a footprint. So its not futile by any means. But it isn't ever over. The work itself is the point of it.”

Thank you John Bouman for reminding me of what I've written here at least a couple of times. It is easy to get caught up in the ends, the fruits of the labor. Yet the end isn't the purpose. His words recognize an ancient wisdom with roots many thousands of years old. Learning about Mr. Bouman's roots, however, it is easy to see how this perspective came to be.

So what does the job look like in action?

Though the struggle may be constant there are victories to savor. Mr. Bouman explains that those victories are what keep you going, keep you from getting burnt out.

For further information on the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law please see: www.povertylaw.org

Earnest Gates, Executive Director, Near West Side Community Development Corporation

I was sitting with a good friend the other day who asked me whether or not, and if so how, I was reflecting during this journey. In all honesty I told him that, “Unfortunately I haven't been.” In the conversation that followed and the questions he asked, he got out of me how I have reflected in the past and why reflection is useful.

The form it has taken for me has been twofold- writing and sitting quietly. During both of which I would think about events and experiences. More than that however, my friend pushed me to voice and put words to why reflection is valuable. To reflect is to take a moment and recognize what has happened, to create the silence and stillness necessary to become aware of what is happening.

Reflection is the necessary slowing down of thought and action to help us realize where we are in order to learn from where we were to figure out where we want to go and how we want to get there. Perhaps, in essence, reflection is the recognition of our story.

Earnest Gates knows this. For Mr. Gates, the Executive Director of the Near West Side Community Development Corporation, reflection is no trivial matter. Reflection- the recognition of what has happened and what is happening- becomes the history, the memory, of the West Haven neighborhood of Chicago. Memory and history become the shared story that defines West Haven.

Chad Bliss, Founder & Executive Director, Cob Connection

When discussing the blog and the journey recently I find myself saying that I don’t know when it will end. There aren’t any criteria, there are no metrics, there’s no quantifiable data. What happens if after meeting 60 people I still have no idea what I want to do? 60 sounds nice but there is no way to make sure I find my passion or the issue I’m ‘most’ passionate about.

This is the conclusion I’ve come to. When something doesn’t let me sleep like the earthquake in Sichuan didn’t let Aron Solomon sleep, when I feel something that presents an asymmetry in heart or head- something that “doesn't fit” like we'll hear from Chad Bliss, I’ll know I’m on to something. Finding passion isn’t a matter of numbers or thoughts. Finding passion is less measurable than data yet just as tangible, just as necessary.

So goes the story of Chad Bliss, Founder and Executive Director of Cob Connection.

Something didn't fit...

Peter Ireland, Associate Director of Social Enterprise, Inspiration Corporation

There is an adrenaline rush when developing new projects (like this blog). At least for me. The flurry of excitement has come with lessons learned. As one example, I've learned time management is key. Setting the time aside to do something makes it real and putting the time on my schedule makes me accountable to do it. Managing my time also allows me the needed structure to remember my mission.

Peter Ireland is also developing a new project. As Associate Director of Social Enterprise at Inspiration Corporation Mr. Ireland is in the midst of fulfilling Inspiration Corporation's mission by opening their second social enterprise, a restaurant in East Garfield Park, which will be akin to Cafe Too in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.

“We’re starting a new project in East Garfield Park

The Beginning

Right now people are relentlessly spending their days and nights transforming the world from the way it is into the way it should be.

When Did You Know? will tell the stories of those leaders who are changing the world in spheres like urban agriculture, food justice and  micro-finance, community development, community organizing, entrepreneurship, local and independent business ownership, international development and sustainability and everywhere in between.

For the sake of transparency, this is my first blog.  I don't know what the hell will happen, but this is my best guess. Each day I'll feature a leader who is pouring their heart and soul into making the world a better place and highlighting how and what they've done to change it. I can foresee a question, or perhaps two or three, coming at the end of each post.

If I'm lucky this is where you'll come along with me for all or parts of the journey. We'll have the joy of sharing our stories and successes and become more aware of the work we're doing to make the world a better place.

As with any journey there will be growth. We'll see the evolution in the storytelling, in the website itself, and in how we can use our stories to further learn how to change the world. Please enjoy. Please feel free to participate and share as our journeys unfold.

Here we go…!