ACPE's weekly digest to keep you connected, better informed, and well-resourced for the week ahead.
April 3, 2017
monday briefing header
Trace Informal
ACPE's Monday Briefing is a weekly digest from ACPE Executive Director Trace Haythorn. 
 
Each week you will receive related articles and updates on ACPE transitions. Also included are helpful links to keep you connected, better informed, and well-resourced for the week ahead.
Just in case you hadn't noticed...
...it's April. How did that happen?!?
ACPE Board Update
The ACPE Board met last week via Zoom. Highlights will come next week, but let me summarize by saying we have an incredible group of volunteers dedicating an enormous amount of time because of their love for this organization. While members may have very different ideas, there is a deep well of love and commitment to this organization, and for that I am truly grateful.
National Conference
As of this writing we are over 450 people coming to Minneapolis! Let me be subtle: IF YOU HAVE NOT MADE YOUR RESERVATION, DO IT NOW!!! Here's a link to registration and the hotel. 
A Poem for Reflection
Amidst the bombast of our age, I am often drawn to the wisdom of Anne Hillman. Here's a poem that says so much in a time such as this:
"We Look With Uncertainty" by Anne Hillman
 
We look with uncertainty
beyond the old choices for
clear-cut answers
to a softer, more permeable aliveness
which is every moment
at the brink of death;
for something new is being born in us
if we but let it.
We stand at a new doorway,
awaiting that which comes...
daring to be human creatures,
vulnerable to the beauty of existence.
Learning to love.
Something extra
I'm always moved and pained by the number of us who engage in this work who have family members that struggle with addiction. (The comments are very striking as well.) This is one story that may be helpful as a discussion starter with a group: Addiction is a disease. We should treat it like one. 
This Week on the Calendar
Wednesday, April 5
*Ramanavami - Hinduism
A celebration in honor of the birth of Rama, the seventh incarnation of the god Vishnu. Hindus read the Ramayana, a Hindu epic, and religious dances called Ramalila are performed to depict scenes from his life.

*Qingming - Chinese traditional
Often called Tomb Sweeping Day, it is a day to honor one's ancestors and visit their grave sites, as well as to welcome the coming of the spring season.

Thursday, April 6
*Anniversary of the Church's Founding - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Saturday, April 8
*Lazarus Saturday - Christianity (Eastern churches)
A commemoration of Jesus' miracle of raising his friend Lazarus from the dead, celebrated on the eve before Palm Sunday.

*Jal á l - Bah á ' í
The beginning of the second month in the Bah á'í calendar, "Jalá l" means "glory."
Sunday, April 9
*Palm Sunday - Christianity (Western and Eastern churches)
The remembrance of Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem, when crowds spread palm fronds on the ground as Jesus rode into the city. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week.

*Mahavira-jayanti - Jainism
Celebrating the birthday of Lord Mahavir (Great Hero), the 24th Tirthankara (and last of this time cycle). Jains remember their most important prophet by decorating their temples with flags, with prayers and fasting, and by making offerings of rice, fruit, milk, and other items.

*Shrimad Rajchandra Dehvilay - Jainism
This festival marks the day of the emancipation (death) of Shrimad Rajchandra, a prominent Jain philosopher, in 1901 C.E. He was an influential spiritual guide for Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi.
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