Building the 'The Beloved Community'

A Summit on Rising Hate Crimes in New England

September 24-26, 2023

Dear New England friends, families, and colleagues: Hate crimes are on the rise across New England. Unity of action, outreach to all, and citizenship responsibility are keys to a spiritually-based approach to community-building. We invite all who believe in the oneness of humanity to our second summit at Green Acre, at which we will educate and empower ourselves, start to heal the rifts created by hate crimes in New England, and build the Beloved Community.

This second summit follows the inaugural gathering in April 2023, and will provide further opportunities to explore what a hate crime is: socially, legally, spiritually and ethically. We’ll look more deeply at relevant data about what’s happening where we live through ‘heat maps’ of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut. We will also hear about what has transpired in your home communities since our first summit.

Once more, interactive sessions will welcome new attendees from the broader community. We will provide space for sharing experiences, consult about tangible ways to respond as individuals and groups, and brainstorm about numerous connections and resources. We hope our joint efforts will generate new networks of cooperation to implement in your family gatherings, neighborhoods, workplaces, social circles, and at all levels of education—primary to higher (including bullying that stems from bias). On Saturday night, we'll have the opportunity to enjoy an arts and performance evening.

We will also circulate the results of the first Summit’s questionnaire prior to the Summit in September.

Friday, September 22, 2023

Arrival, Dinner at Green Acre, informal gathering

Saturday, September 23, 2023

Morning: Welcome, Blessing, Devotions; “Games People Play”; Immigrant Stories; Vignettes from “Transformative Change”; Ebonee Bell’s Participatory Presentation on Hate Crimes, Part II

Afternoon: What’s Transpired Since the Spring (In society, in our communities, in our lives); A Conversation with Eliot police chief, Elliott Moya; Meditative Nature Walk and Gathering Around the Fire Pit

Evening: Arts

Sunday, September 24, 2023

Morning: Devotions; Roundup, networking, next steps; Closing Blessing & Gratitude Circle for open testimonials