This is an invitation to you to journey with AwakeningSoul into the virtual world of spiritual community. Since 2011, it has been our intention to offer
Sanctuary – Sustenance – Inspiration
at all of our gatherings. In this time of uncertainty and national turmoil we know that these are needed now more than ever.
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Sanctuary -
a sacred space of hospitality where we can find rest, respite, and renewal
Sustenance -
abundant food for hungry souls; intellectual and spiritual nourishment that both challenges and nurtures
Inspiration -
deep conversation, uplifting music, evocative art, and spirit-filled worship, encouraging us to look deeply into our lives and choices, energizing us as we return to our communities
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We are designing a virtual event that we believe will have all of the components that have always made AwakeningSoul special – compelling presentations, creative worship, live spontaneous music, the opportunity for informal conversations, and both silent and facilitated reflection … all forming a container where deep soul work can be done.
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AwakeningSoul November 5-8, 2020
Virtual Event
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Jennifer Bailey
founder and executive director of The Faith Matters Network and co-founder of The People's Supper
Serene Jones
president of Union Theological Seminary
Brian McLaren
author, speaker, activist, and public theologian
and of course, live music by the
AwakeningSoul Ensemble
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All of our speakers, facilitators, and musicians are on board to be with us. Brian McLaren, Jennifer Bailey, and Serene Jones will bring insight and challenging thought as we explore
Grace, Justice, Mercy, Forgiveness, and a whole
lot of other stuff.
They each bring incredible wisdom, personal experience, and scholarship as we look toward healing the world, our country, and ourselves. Meaghan Kelly Brower will act as conversation host with our speakers taking us all to a deeper level of understanding. Brian Prior and Diana McKendree will lead workshops to help participants integrate what they are hearing and feeling. They will also offer a variety of worship opportunities. Brian will, of course, be in his emcee role, weaving all of the elements together with prayer and story.
Music is a huge part of our being together. The members of the AwakeningSoul Ensemble are all excited to be a part of AS 2020 and are already working on new material. Fran and Eric Murrell, our audio/lighting genius, are working on the technology needed to ensure that sound and video are at the quality standard that AwakeningSoul participants have come to expect. Our music offerings will include River’s sound meditation on Friday evening and a concert featuring the individual members of the ensemble on Saturday evening.
We have asked Holly Doll to paint our 2020 banners. Holly’s art is powerful and provocative. We’ve heard from many past participants that getting lost in a banner image is an integral part of being in the AS sacred container. We will be incorporating her images throughout the event.
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TECHNICAL NOTE; Streaming is a complex process. Actual “live streaming” video and audio of music still requires that the musicians be in the same location. The cool videos you may have seen with lots of folks all singing and playing together from different locations are all pre-recorded, with each artist recording their parts separately, then an editor compiles all those parts into the video that you see. At this moment, we have plans for Fran, Isabel, Chris, River (and Brian Prior) to all be in the same location with “live stream” music and video. The full Ensemble, including Lindsey (in Germany) and Charles (in Florida) will pre-record as many songs as we can so that you’ll experience the entire Ensemble making music together!
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We know that there are many offerings currently available to you on-line that are free or at a very low cost. We are unable to do that as we have no institutional backing and, more importantly, because our values are integrated into every aspect of AwakeningSoul, including business decisions. Every speaker, musician, and business entity that we do business with has been hurt desperately over the last 4 months with cancellations of conferences and shows. Our contracts with them are more than contracts – they are relationships – important relationships. We are unwilling to ask anyone to slash their fee for us so that we can offer a more attractive price tag. We hope and trust that you understand the value of what we offer and that you will partner with us as we step into this virtual world together.
The registration fee for the Thursday evening through noon on Sunday gathering is
$385
.
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NOTE: We have implemented a low-risk registration policy for this year. If you need to cancel for any reason between the time of registration and November 4th you can request a refund of all fees paid minus a $50 non-refundable deposit.
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CONSIDER: If you have a wee bit of technology anxiety and would like a chance to "test drive" the virtual world before signing up - we can make that happen. Email Ann at
annawakening@gmail.com
to schedule a virtual lesson in virtual gatherings.
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COUPLES: Do you want to attend AwakeningSoul with your spouse or partner? Are you going to attend “together” or at different ends of your home? Do you have extended family living with you? Might you encourage them to join us, too? We have no interest in policing who is or is not attending from your home. You need to decide whether to have one or more registrations for the virtual event.
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Come partner with us
as together we explore issues of grace, justice, mercy, forgiveness, and a whole lot of other stuff in November 2020 - yes, in November 2020
There will be no better place to be two days after the election than in the sacred container of AwakeningSoul!
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AN UPDATE ON FRAN:
On June 9
th
Fran got wonderful news from his oncologist. The post-chemo scans showed no evidence of tumors in any of the spots that indicated cancer in February. Amazingly wonderful prayed for news!
However, as anyone who has been on the cancer journey knows there are always bumps in the road. Fran has been battling an infection for the last 4 weeks. As of this week, things are finally looking up and Fran is once again encouraged. He is so thankful for the amazing skill of his medical team and the loving support of friends and family around the globe.
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AwakeningSoul
Is the collaborative partnership of Fran McKendree and Ann Holtz. Fran is a gifted musician based in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Ann is both a spiritual director and an independent consultant. She lives in Waynesville, NC. Together they have formed AwakeningSoul to offer spiritual events to feed hungry souls. Ann can be reached at
annawakening@gmail.com
or
865-414-8509
.
AwakeningSoul
Banner Images are used by permission ~ Rara Schlitt (c)
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