Wednesday, February 3, 2016

For Reflection:
Before moving on to Mission #3, take a moment to reflect on yesterday's mission. How did it feel to listen compassionately to another person - respecting their worth as a human being regardless of their differences in tradition, perspective or culture? Were you able to connect with them in a heartfelt way? How might it affect your life if you took this approach toward connecting and listening to others everyday? If you haven't done so, post your reflections and experiences on theCompassion Report Map to amplify your compassionate action!

Due to my work with YLOKC, I have been able to become friends with people from the Jewish and Muslim traditions.  They have NAMES: Sam, Buthaina, Joan, Amira, Sirenee.  They are wonderful, intelligent, caring, compassionate human beings.  We are people with different passions on what directions are the foundations of our values, but the inspiration to be connected to goodness, happiness, and peace are the same no matter what religion we profess.  I am a non-practicing catholic.  Love the Pope and his humanist view of his path in this world.

I went to a forum on Confronting Islamophobia yesterday.  At the end of the forum, I thank the host via text.  I want to keep it in my heart, therefore a teen at the forum helped learned how to take a screen shot of my own text!



Our third mission, Agents, is to harmonize our voices with other traditions and cultures through the universal expression of music.
Every culture and society values music as a fundamental expression of human life. Its enchanting qualities transcend language, as it can be understood on levels that dive deep below the rational, thinking mind, straight to the heart.

Today, find a hymn, chant, or song from a tradition different than your own and listen to it deeply. Even if you cannot understand the words, allow the music to move your spirit. Feel the nuances and movement of the music. Imagine the visuals these sounds invoke, and allow yourself to feel theexperience in your body. Then, when you are ready to, add your own voice to the piece of music in your own way. You might hum quietly to the music, or add your own harmonies.

Agent, your voice is an incredibly powerful tool. From it arises your deep, personal truth and through music, you can share it with the world.

Need a place to start? We recommend listening to “The Gift of Love” by Sami Yusef, a song composed for World Interfaith Harmony Week in 2015!

Agents, remember... As you fulfill your mission, share your experiences on theCompassion Report Map to amplify its power! Check out all of the inspiring reports posted on the map so far!

Inspiration for Mission #3:

Inspiration for Mission #3 comes from Malala Yousafzai, a young woman whose voice and truth could not be silenced. Malala, a Pakistani activist for female education, is the youngest laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize. The local Taliban in her region attempted to assassinate her on October 9th, 2012, due to her work to see that all children receive an education.Watch an incredible interview with Malala and Oprah Winfrey here.

Additional Resources:

For Reflection:
Before moving on to Mission #2, reflect on yesterday's mission. What was it like to sit with the reality that our personal ancestral lineages reach to so many people who have lived before us? Did you feel more connected to yourself, to life, and to others? How might you continue to carry this awareness in your everyday life, and how might it impact your interactions with others?

When I think who I am, what I value, and where I am heading (I am going to be a grandmother for the first time), and by reading this mission, I realized how the Shinnoyen's Foundation Paradigm of Service is the woman perspective of any religion, You are the other Me.  I am the Other You!  We are made of the molecules and backgrounds of the people who created us and the ones who created them.  Even if after death, there is nothing like a heaven or a hell, we continue in the continuum of life in our grandchildren, hence the importance of birth and the response not to fear death.  Just make the memories that will bring a smile in people's hearts and you are inmortal.  I dearly love the 3 Interfaith Amigos video.  I will share with my students and use their approach of sharing how the religions are connected during Peace Week 2016 at my school!
“Why is interfaith dialogue so difficult? [It is] the confusion between the particular and the universal. Every authentic spiritual path is an avenue to a shared universal. But that universal is far greater than any particular path.”
-Rabbi Ted Falcon, The Interfaith Amigos


Our second mission, Agents, is to listen compassionately to someone from a different tradition, perspective, or culture than our own.
We introduce the concept of Compassionate Listening with The Interfaith Amigos!
Few things can stir up our emotions like listening to someone say something that goes against what we believe to be true. Agents, this is a sign! There is profound treasure buried where these feelings exist… If we can rise to the challenge!
It is easy to have compassion for someone who thinks and lives like we do. It is much more difficult to see past the differences that seem to divide us from the “other”, to look past judgement, and find the will to care and try to understand regardless of these different views. It can be difficult toaccomplish, but where these feelings lay, untold growth awaits!

Today, seek out and listen to someone that holds a different perspective than you do. It could be a friend, a family member, or even an acquaintance you’d like to learn more about. Listen with an open mind and heart, without judgement, with a genuine interest to understand their perspective or tradition.


There is a rare opportunity today to learn directly from the Interfaith Amigos about compassionate listening, and listening past differences! Register free for a live, interactive call in Charter for Compassion Speaker’s Series!
When: Today - Tue., Feb. 2, 12 p.m. ET/ 9 a.m. PT
Register Here for Free!
Agents, remember... As you fulfill your mission, share your experiences on theCompassion Report Map to amplify its power! Your report inspires others, amplifying the power of your compassion and generosity!

Going Deeper:

If you want more guidance on how to be a more compassionate communicator, The Interfaith Amigos have put together 5 interfaith dialogue stages:
  1. Reaching beyond distrust, suspicion and fear by sharing our stories together.
  2. Gaining an appreciative understanding of the core teachings of another's traditions.
  3. Understanding how some of the verses and practices in our traditions are consistent with core teachings and other verses and practices are inconsistent with those core teachings.
  4. Being willing to enter into more difficult conversations, such as Israeli and Palestinian conflict.
  5. Celebrating and experiencing spiritual practices from other traditions.

Inspiration for Mission #2:

The Interfaith Amigos started working together after 9/11. Since then, they have brought their unique blend of spiritual wisdom and humor to audiences in the US, Canada, Israel-Palestine and Japan. Their first book, Getting to the Heart of Interfaith (Skylight Paths, 2009), brought the Interfaith Amigos international attention with coverage from the New York Times, CBS News, the BBC and various NPR programs. Karen Armstrong calls their "exuberant and courageous" second book, Religion Gone Astray: What We Found at the Heart of Interfaith (Skylight Paths, 2011), "an inspiration and example for all of us in these sadly polarized times."

Additional Resources:


Agents of Compassion,

We have critical information available for you from Agent HQ...

Every step we take on our precious Mother Earth is simply profound. It may appear that we journey alone but this is in fact not true.

If each of us only peer back through time a mere 10 generations ago, every human being owes their lives to an astounding 2,046 people who came before us and make our lives possible. These 2,046 people are our relatives, those who passed on the legacy of life that lives within us.

Somehow, it gets even more incredible. If we each look back just 1,000 years, or through 30 generations of our ancestors, the number increases dramatically… from 2,046 relatives to one billion ancestors!

In other words, we are the newest growth on a very ancient, very large tree!

If you continue going back through time, you realize that our eyes have played a trick on us: although we appear separate - located in different regions of the world with different skin tones, cultures, spiritual paths and religions - we are actually all related. In fact, we are inter-related. We are each invaluable members of the Human Family, and since we share one Earth and one common ancestry, we too share one common destiny.

Agents of Compassion, let us use this time together to bring to life the vision of harmony for all humanity. Let's strengthen our hearts and the ancient bonds that bring us together, so we can actively lean in to the world we know is possible.
“In my culture it’s a fact, and an understanding of life, that everything is connected, and we were put on this earth to be stewards and caretakers of the environment.” -Ta’Kaiya Blaney, Tla’Amin First Nation

For the first day of World Interfaith Harmony Week, our first mission, Agents, is to honor our ancestors.
Indigenous peoples maintain ancient traditions that recognize the essential importance of honoring one’s ancestors, and sending them thankfulness for our very lives. By honoring our ancestors, we connect more fully to ourselves, to the legacy of life within us, and to those members of the Human Family all around us sharing the gifts of Mother Earth.

Begin today’s mission by simply placing your feet upon the Earth… Feel the Earth come up to knowingly meet you, to hold, support, and ground you. Imagine roots extending from your feet deep into Mother Earth like a tree.

Now, begin to feel the pulse of your countless ancestors who have each also walked upon the very same good Earth surging through your body. Imagine your ancestors are also holding you, always there, singing your name.

Next, look up to Father Sky, open your palms, eyes and heart to connect and let it soak in. Like leaves absorbing the rejuvenating trickle of sunlight from our Sun, feel the expansiveness of the cosmos pouring into your entire body, illuminating every part of your spirit.

Once in this connected state of being, feel the wells of gratitude for all those who have come before you. And then, wish for the peace of all your fellow human relatives alive today who share a great journey with you.

By honoring our ancestors, we celebrate the unseen links that bond us to all people on our beautiful Mother Earth, offering a prayer of gratitude to those spirits who have come before us so that we can live today.
Agents, remember... As you fulfill your mission, share your experiences on theCompassion Report Map to amplify its power! Your report inspires others, amplifying the power of your compassion and generosity!

Going Deeper:

You can take this honorable experience of connection to Mother Earth and the Sky above into an action to share with another today. Is there an elder in your life - living or passed - that you want to acknowledge and give thanks to? You can take this appreciation and amplify your thoughts by writing a letter to them. Share this completed letter with a friend, or gift it to the elder if possible. Share your experience on theCompassion Map to inspire others with your experience!

Inspiration for Mission #1:

This mission is inspired by the legacy of Chief Dan George (July 24, 1899 – September 23, 1981), an international leader of interfaith and Chief of the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. And we are honored to feature youth Indigenous leader Ta’Kaiya Blaney of the Tla’Amin First Nation. In four short years, she has traveled the Earth sharing the voice of her ancestors through her music and powerful message. Watch a video of her singing here.

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Casady Register the Service-Learning Program, Peace Team, YAC and YLOKC
  • First and Last Name:: Carmen Clay
  • Email Address:: clayc@casady.org
  • Community, Organization, or Group Name:: Casady School Service Learning
  • Team Name:: Casady Peace Team- The Oklahoma Standard
  • Sub-Team Name(s) (Optional):: Casady YAC / Youth LEAD OKC
  • Location:: 9500 North Pennsylvania, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73120

Congratulations! Your team registration is complete!

So, what’s next? There are many resources available to support your participation in the World Interfaith Harmony Week Coopetition, and to ensure you and your team have a positive and meaningful experience.

Consider this message your Team Playbook, the ultimate guide to everything you need to play and win!

Table of Contents
1. Connect With Other Organizers
2. Invite Individuals to Your Team
3. Challenge Other Teams to Play
4. Daily Agent Missions
5. Explore Ways to Play
6. Add Your Events
7. The Compassion Report Map
1. Connect With Other Organizers
Join the Compassion Games Team Organizer Messaging App called Slack - a free communication tool for resource sharing and connecting with fellow Team Organizers. Slack makes it possible for you to build relationships with organizers from around the world, share ideas, stay informed, and get support if you need it! You will receive a personal invitation within the next 24 hours to join Slack. Simply follow the link and create a free account to log in.
2. Invite Individuals to Your Team
For others to join your team, have them sign up to play so they receive the daily missions. Use the social sharing tools here to invite them to sign up. Additionally, make sure to have your team members use your registered team name when they participate on the Compassion Report Map, as this is the only way your team's points can be tallied together on the Coopetition Scoreboard!
3. Challenge Other Teams to Play
Use the power of competitive altruism to ignite more compassion by challenging other teams to join the coopetition and play together! This creates an exciting and engaging environment for everyone involved. Use the social tools found here to invite others to register their teams to play. (Sign in to access these social sharing tools.)
4. Daily Agent Missions
During each day of the Coopetition, all players will receive an Agent of Compassion Mission that offers tangible ideas and inspiration for ways to play. Agents of Compassion continue to be a simple and meaningful way to bring compassion to life for oneself, others, and the Earth! They are a great supplement to service projects as well.
5. Explore Ways to Play
Looking for ideas to engage your team during the Coopetition? Check out the growing list of Ways to Playfor individuals and for team as a place to get started!
6. Add Your Events
Once you've committed to events and activities for your team, add them to the event calendar on the Compassion Games website. Promote your upcoming events and attract more volunteer team members!
7. Compassion Report Map
The Compassion Report Map measures your teams "compassion impact." Benchmark the number of volunteers, hours of service, monies raised for local causes, and number of people served. Reports combine a description and a reflection, resulting in stories that inspire and uplift players around the world while providing a framework for participants to view the impact of their actions. Post your reports here!
Questions?
Have any suggestions or questions? Ideas? Feedback? Contact Compassion Games Coach Sommer Albertsen here: Sommer@CompassonGames.org.


We invite you to play in the...
World Interfaith Harmony Week Coopetition!
Join us to bring the growing spirit of global unity to our communities!
What is World Interfaith Harmony Week?
The World Interfaith Harmony Week Coopetition is a seven-day global challenge to promote acts of peace, collaboration and tolerance between people of all faith, spiritual, and humanistic traditions. An annual U.N. observance beginning on February 1st and going through February 7th, individuals and teams will use the spirit of coopetition to inspire collaborative acts of service to give back to their communities and strengthen mutual respect, understanding, and harmony between people of all backgrounds. 
How Can You Get Involved?
There are many ways that individuals and teams can play, from organizing creative service projects to performing acts of kindness. (Check out thefeatured ways to play here.) By signing up to play, individuals and teams receive simple yet profound compassion “missions” to guide their actions each day of the coopetition. These missions make participating in the Compassion Games accessible and meaningful for players of all ages!

You can also participate in one or several of the special World Interfaith Harmony Week Speaker Events hosted by the Charter for Compassion during World Interfaith Harmony Week. We are kicking this off on Monday January, 25th at 2:30 PDT with a special interview with Dr. James Doty, Chairman of the Dalai Lama Foundation, discussing his new book “Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart.”   
How Do the Compassion Games Work?
In addition to receiving daily missions, players report on their activities on theCompassion Report Map. The reports of Registered Teams are reflected on the Coopetition Scoreboard, displaying the number of volunteers, number of hours served, number of people served, and the monies raised for local or global causes. The purpose of the scoreboard is not to receive credit for one’s actions (you can report anonymously), but to inspire others by the stories that emerge as a result of players being actively compassionate in the world!
Are you in?! We look forward to
playing alongside you!
Have any suggestions or questions? Ideas? Feedback? Contact Compassion Games Coach Sommer Albertsen here: Sommer@CompassonGames.org.
Our Partners

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Casady YAC and YLOKCasady MLK Day 2016

MLK Day, Monday February 18, 2016

Why? ON SERVICE

Where? Direct Service/Advocacy Rebuilding Together Mission:"Rebuilding lives and neighborhoods. Making homes safe warm and dry. Bringing volunteers and communities together to improve the homes and lives of low-income elderly homeowners in the Oklahoma City and metro area."
8:30-4:00 From the home of Mr. Ronald DeWitt-Clark: Coach B., Coach T., Isaiah L.'17, Dylan D.'16 (Photographer) reporting  20 UD volunteers refurbished the exterior of Mr. Ronald Dewitt-Clark. Cyclones scrapped the exterior and painted the whole house in a very cold MLK Day 2016. The project was coordinated by Mr. Brett Crecelius, Rebuilding Together, Project Manager.

Preliminary comments were:
"It was so much fun!  Love to accomplish so much in such little time."
"It was so cold! I had several layers of clothing so I could take it, but on the ladder my toes were freezing.  It was fun."
"The bus left and we did not want to bother Mr. Dewitt-Clark.  We went in the house only to use the facilities when needed. We went to Coach B. and Coach T.'s vehicles for some warmth."  "It was nice to have lunch at a warm pizza restaurant. Thank you Coach T. and Coach B. for carpooling us.  It would have been painfully cold to eat lunch outside!"




Cost of the Project: Transportation, lunch, snacks, drinks, supplies (donated by Rebuilding Together), time https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time


Where? Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Volunteer Center  Indirect Service/Advocacy. "The Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma distributes food and other products through a network of more than 1,250 charitable feeding programs, including food pantries, homeless shelters, church pantries, soup kitchens, food resource centers and schools." 
t
9:30 -12:00 Packing Food  Morning Shift:  Reported by volunteers.  "We served during the morning shift packing frozen vegetables for hungry Oklahomans!"

Afternoon Shift: 1:30-4:00  Packed food for the Food for Kids backpack program and had a food insecurity simulation at the end of the shift.  
Mrs. Cherylynn O'Melia reporting.  Mrs. Briana Titus, photographer
The Regional Food Bank's Food or Kids program started as a pilot program in 2003 after hearing a firsthand account of an Oklahoma City elementary student who fainted on a Monday morning while waiting in the school lunch line, due to lack of food over the weekend. The program provides chronically hungry children with backpacks filled with non-perishable, nutritious, kid-friendly, shelf-stable food to sustain them over weekends and school holidays.
During the 2014-2015 school year, the Backpack Program served nearly 18,500 elementary school students attending 514 schools across 53 central and western Oklahoma counties, providing more than 2 million meals for chronically hungry children..


Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma Totals
75 total people volunteered/represented Casady. 9,630 meals packed. 3,852 backpacks!



Fifth grade had the most volunteers with a total of 22. They were followed by 18 in 8th, and a total of 10 in 7th.  10 Casady Lower Division students, 6 Casady Upper Division teens and 10 OU students were also part of the Casady volunteer team in the afternoon shift.



Pictures of the MLK Day 2016 by Mrs. Titus at the Food Bank here 

Cost of the project:
Self-transportation, snacks and drinks (provided by Food Bank), Time https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time

Where? OKC National Memorial and Museum
Advocacy/Research Service 9:45-4:00 pm "At the core of the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum’s mission are efforts to educate about the impact of violence, as well as advocate for violence prevention. Our legislature was integral in passing progressive legislation to ensure the Oklahoma City bombing is taught in all U.S. and Oklahoma history classes in the state."
Mrs. Carmen Clay, Daniela Rodriguez-Chavez'19 -reporting Anna Buckley, Timothy Bryer-Ash, and Mrs. Shannon Presti -photographers

Interactive learning experience facilitated by Youth LEAD OKCasady, Daniela R-C'19 who created the advocacy project after an investigation visit to the museum the Sunday before MLK Day 2016 with her cultural competency, diversity/identity education, and leadership through service youth board, Youth LEAD OKC.  http://youthleadokc.blogspot.com/

This project brought together teens from Casady, Heritage Hall, Putnam City West, and Capitol Hill High Schools. 24 teens and 3 adults received free admission to the museum courtesy of the museum and lunch and snacks courtesy of Casady School Upper Division Principal, Dr. Jon Powell  

To begin the day, after waiting a few minutes for people to arrive, Daniela ushered participants to the museum's classroom and facilitated a welcome, "share your expectations" on post it notes while enjoying a cereal bar.  













Then, Daniela took participants to the Museum, an experience "through a chronological self-guided tour of the story of April 19, 1995, and the days, weeks and years that followed the bombing of Oklahoma City's Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.  The story tracks the remarkable journey of loss, resilience, justice, and hope."

















At the end of the tour, back at the Museum's classroom, during a Cheezets and hydrating water break, Mrs. Beverly Kirk, a guest from Diversi-Tea and quilter, put the museum in "real time" perspective because of her personal experiences with victims and survivors of the bombing.  Mrs. Kirk also connected the museum's visit to Dr. King's vision of peace, understanding, teamwork, collaboration, and going beyond co-existence interactivity.




The morning continued with a lesson at the museum Uncover-Discover STEM forensics lab. The lab "creates a multimedia experience that aims to excite and encourage students to pursue STEM careers. 

The Uncover-Discover Lab integrates STEM concepts with history in a highly interactive environment that stimulates learning and connects the past with the future. 

TheUncover-Discover Lab is an academically oriented experience that is geared toward middle and high school students."

Mrs. Shannon Presti, Youth LEAD OKC CEO suggested to work in groups by birthday months to connect teens from different schools. Mrs. Lynn Porter facilitated the session.  Special thanks to Mrs. Porter for helping Daniela create this advocacy for hope, kindness, service, and honor opportunity for Cyclones and Oklahoma City teens on her day off from work.




 











During pizza and salad lunch time, a quick survey by Mrs. Clay and Mrs. Kirk showed that most teens had taken tours with their schools of the memorial, but only a couple had visited our state of the art memorial museum.  The lab was a second experience to a hand full of participants.  
Most teens were born by 9/11. The bombing is something they read about in books, see online remembrances off or have indirect connections with, as when some of the members of the Class of 2019 explored the Museum's Hope Trunk and planted a survival tree seedling at the Casady campus during Peace Week when they were in the 5th grade.


Survival Tree Seedling Planting in honor of September 21, 2011 -  International Day of Peace, Class of 2019
http://pinwheels-4-peaceinlanguageclasses.blogspot.com/2011/09/casady-pinwheels-one-goal-peace.html






In the afternoon Daniela ushered the group to a quick outside tour of the Memorial guided by a Park Ranger in a very cold winter MLK Day.  






As the freezing temperatures shorten the experience, the group had an opportunity to visit the museum's store before starting a tour of the Museum's archives facilitated by Mrs. Porter.  "The Memorial Archives has assisted researchers from all over the country and the world. Resources from the Memorial Archives have been utilized for projects ranging from middle school research papers to doctoral dissertations to video documentaries, even to assisting novelists."









At the archives, Mrs. Clay showed a collage of 1,000 service pics from 2000-2005 that created a picture of the memorial walls and reflecting pool made by Cyclone Bandon Spivey'05.  Brandon named his collage, "Reflecting Resilience."  At the archives, the group discovered many historical facts and stories of how violence and death turned into hope and serenity by the Oklahoma Standard displayed after the bombing.
"April 19, 1995, altered the face of Oklahoma – and the nation – forever.  But rather than bow to fear as the attackers intended, the community banded together. Cars became ambulances. Strangers became neighbors. People literally donated the shoes off their feet. Visiting rescue workers and journalists called this spirit of generosity the “Oklahoma Standard.”

When Mrs. Porter was asked about the relationship between the 9/11 museum and the OKC museum, she mentioned that the NYC organizers had consulted with our museum before building the NYC Memorial and Museum. Sadly, some of the rescue workers who helped in the OKC bombing, perished while helping during 9/11. Another difference pinpointed was that it only took a few years to build our memorial.  It took a decade to build the 9/11 Memorial.

Mrs. Clay co-related the Museum archives and its value of preserving history to the Casady archives, where the history of Casady is preserved from its inception in 1947 until the present.  An example, a picture of Mrs. Clay as an exchange student from Peru in the school year of 1973-74 can be found there. The Casady archives location is at the Casady Crabtree Library.

After the archives visit, Daniela ushered the group to a First Person presentation.  Due to the MLK Day Parade, our speaker was a few minutes late.  This gave Mrs. Porter the opportunity to do a quick survey of the audience about the Oklahoma Standard. Some adults were aware of the meaning and shared what they did during the month of April 2015 in honor of the 20th anniversary of remembrance.



Mrs. Clay reminded some students of Mrs. Crossno explanation of the Oklahoma standard: "A rescue NYC firefighter came with only $20 in his pocket.  At the end of his stay in Oklahoma City, the generosity of Oklahomans thankful for the work he was doing, the firefighter left with the same $20 in his pocket. "

Mrs. Porter introduced our first person speaker as the story of a survivor, geologist, Mr. Ed Eckenstein.  We will never forget his analogy of rocks and backpacks!





To end the day, turning STEM into STEAMS2 (adding the arts, service and spirituality to our day), Daniela, helped by Mrs. Kirk(Quilter) and Mrs. Clay (Zen Music), asked participants to create a quilt patch relating their personal roots and fruits of service, their experience at the museum and the survivor tree.  Participants viewed a quilt that began at MLK Day 2005 and ended in 2010 as an example, but not necessary a model.  The sample quilt resides at the Casady archives.  Mrs. Kirk motivated participants to use their personal creativity since Daniela stated that a tree was something Casady freshmen had just done as an English class reflective piece.  













Daniela stated that the finished quilt will have a home at a children place where it can inspire to recommit to the Oklahoma standard, kindness, compassion and service.  Mrs. Kirk will be our quilt making facilitator.  She will come to Casady YAC and Youth LEAD OKC meetings for that purpose.


To end the day, Mrs. Clay asked participants to leave on a post-it note what the impact of the day at the museum had been on them and the community served?  What did they learned?/ How were they changed by this experience?/ How this time at the museum could help them to make a difference in the community?



Cost of the project:
Lunch, snacks, quilt supplies, museum tickets ($12 per person), transportation, time https://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time