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Slam Poetry, Soup Dinner, Films and More Drive Civility Series

February 27, 2012 — “Civility” has been getting a lot of attention lately, as we’ve seen stunning examples of both incivility and civility here and nationally.


Beginning Thursday, (MARCH 1) the Library will offer a series of programs that invite you to consider the importance of civility, compassion and community in your own life.


But this series may not be what you’d expect. It features slam poetry, a community-written poem, a movie and a soup dinner, among other things. It’s called   Building Common Ground: Discussions of Community, Civility and Compassion. Our partners in this series are the Interfaith Alliance of the Ozarks, Community Foundation of the Ozarks and the Springfield-Greene County Civility Project, which celebrates its one-year anniversary with this project.    
 

The project is made possible by support from the American Library Association and the Fetzer Institute, a national initiative to enhance the quality of life and learning within the community through library programs. 
 

We invite you to be a part of the conversation.
 

• “The Civically Engaged Reader” Book Discussion, 6:30 p.m. Thursdays, March 1, 15 and 29, Brentwood Branch. Drury University English professor Randall Fuller will lead discussions on “The Civically Engaged Reader: A Diverse Collection of Short Provocative Readings on Civic Activity.”  Call 883-1974.
 

• Charter for Compassion, 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 2, Park Central Branch, for all ages. Members of MO Poetry Slam Springfield will perform and help create the community’s own “Poem for Compassion;” watch a film on the Charter for Compassion and sign the charter (charterforcompassion.org). The 10 Tenets of Civility Photo Contest entries will be displayed.


• Community, Civility & Compassion – An Interfaith Discussion and soup dinner, 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, in the Library Center auditorium, ages 18 and older. Enjoy a free soup dinner by the Cook’s Kettle. Members of Interfaith Alliance of the Ozarks will discuss how the cultures and traditions of diverse faiths offer different approaches to address poverty, hunger, domestic violence and sexual abuse. Registration required, call 882-0714.
 

• “Forgiveness: A Time to Love and a Time to Hate,” Film and Discussion, 5 p.m. Thursday, March 8, at the Moxie, for all ages. Watch excerpts of the PBS documentary exploring a range of stories of personal betrayal to global reconciliation after genocide. The Rev. Mark Struckhoff, Council of Churches of the Ozarks, will lead a discussion about forgiveness.
 

 


PRESS CONTACTS

Vickie Hicks
Community Relations Director
vickieh@thelibrary.org
(417) 616-0564
Morgan Shannon
Copywriter
morgans@thelibrary.org
(417) 616-0566

Find this article at http://thelibrary.org/press/article.cfm?aid=1793&view=print


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