UPCOMING EVENTS AT SOUL DESIRES:

Join us on July 23rd and again on August 1st for a lovely pair of book signings!

Chris Heuertz, author of Simple Spirituality: Learning to See God in a Broken World and International Director of Word Made Flesh, will read from his new book and sign copies on Wednesday, July 23rd -- twice!-- once from 12-2 p.m. and again from 4-7 p.m..

Praise for Chris: "Even in the most tumultuous and confusing eras, when Christianity is in danger of being infected by the culture of crusades and markets, there are always little voices crying out in the wilderness, ‘Another world is possible!’ Chris Heuertz is one of those little prophets." - from the foreword by Shane Claiborne

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rhythm & Fire: Experiencing the Holy in Community and Solitude, written by Jerry P. Haas and Cynthia Langston Kirk, has recently been released. We are honored to have them coming from Nashville and Tucson to share about their book and sign copies. This event will take place from 2 to 5 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, August 3rd.

Cynthia is a retreat leader, poet, and United Methodist                                                                                            pastor, based in Tucson, Arizona.

                                Jerry, who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, directs The Academy for                     Spiritual Formation, related to the United Methodist Church.

They will also be conducting a morning retreat on Saturday, August 2nd,                                                            at First United Methodist Church in Omaha (7020 Cass Street).

PAST EVENTS:

-Jerry Leggett performed with the Peace Bubble outside the shop on September 29th, 2007, in a "Sing Out for Peace at Noon" event. For more information about the Peace Bubble, check out their website.

- We welcomed Felicia, a coffee farmer from the Dominican Republic, at the shop on Thursday, June 7th, 2007. She shared the story of her coffee farm, her coffee-growing practices, how our U.S. Farm Bill might affect her, how Fair Trade movements might help her, and how you can help! She drew quite a crowd!

- Tuesday, April 3, 2007, we hosted author Mike Palecek for a reading from his new book, The American Dream, which chronicles the misadventures of Michael M. in a satirical novel about the worst aspects of our times. Mike Palecek, a former federal prisoner of peace, has lived many lives, as a small-town newspaper reporter, editor, publisher, and the Iowa Democratic Party nominee for Congress, Fifth District, in 2000, before turning to novel-writing. Palecek has written six other novels, including Joe's Coffee Revolution and Looking for Bigfoot, as well as a work of nonfiction, entitled Prophets Without Honor. Howard Zinn has said of him, "Mike Palecek writes with passion, wit, and always with a profound social conscience."

- On November 24, 2006, the day traditionally known as "Black Friday," or the day after Thanksgiving when many retailers offer big sales, Soul Desires chose instead to provide the community with another choice. We hosted a day of events we called "Spending Sabbath: Mindful Commerce," inspired by a similar activist movement across the country called "Buy Nothing Day." Our events included screenings of the movies Rivers & Tides, by Andy Goldsworthy, and Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices, by Robert Greenwald, both of which were well attended, as was the final event, a roundtable discussion entitled "Antiglobalization: Prolonging the Inevitable or Promoting a Better Life?" featuring Tom Rudloff, owner of Antiquarium used books; Mark Richardson, pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Crete; and Jeanne Schuler of Creighton University Philosophy Department. A short event in the afternoon, called "Unplug the Christmas Machine," gave participants different gift ideas for the holiday season, with poetry exercises led by Sarah McKinstry-Brown Mason. The day of events was held together by  continuous offering of soups and hospitality. We are grateful to all who participated or stopped in to see what we were up to, and we hope that we inspire you that may be reading about our goings on. We wish you luck in your endeavors consuming thoughtfully or reducing your consumption altogether.

- On November 4, 2006, we had a mid-day treat, "Sharing Stories of the Catholic Worker Movement." The event featured a presentation about Dorothy Day and the Omaha Catholic Worker House as well as a reception (and a booksigning!) with Rosalie Riegle, author of Dorothy Day: Portraits of Those Who Knew Her, out on Orbis Books, and Jerry Ebner, founder of the Omaha Catholic Worker House. Rosalie is currently working on her third oral history, with a working title of Doin' Time: Nonviolent Resisters Speak Out for Peace. For more information about the Catholic Worker Movement and regional endeavors, check out these links: The Catholic Worker Movement, The Omaha Catholic Worker House, and The Des Moines Catholic Worker Community. Thanks to all who attended the lovely event!

- We hosted a particularly pleasant pair of poetry readings on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The readings featured beloved local poets Matt Mason and Greg Kosmicki. Greg Kosmicki read from his new book, Some Hero Of The Past, out on Word Press, and Matt Mason read from his new book, Things We Don't Know We Don't Know, out on Backwaters Press. We appreciate all who came to hear their words.

- Thanks to all who came in celebration of our seventh anniversary on July 2nd, 2006. Special thanks to Matt Mason and Bruce Phillips for sharing with us their art and soul with music and poetry.

- On April 20th, 2006, we gathered in celebration of Earth Day for a screening of The Future Of Food, a film that explores issues surrounding genetically modified foods and the diverse ways that they affect our world. After the film's conclusion, the lights came on and we held an engaging post-film discussion that brought together friends, neighbors, local farmers, and community gardeners. Many blessings and thanks to all who attended the film screening and participated in the post-film discussion! We are fortunate to have such a strong local agricultural community in Nebraska. Please visit these links to find out how you can tap into locally grown food:

Nebraska Food Cooperative
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society
ShadowBrook Farm
Omaha Farmers' Market
Buy Fresh, Buy Local Nebraska
LocalHarvest
Slow Food
Seed Savers Exchange

Kevin Loth of ShadowBrook Farm spoke about his experiences farming
organically and about the new Nebraska Food Cooperative during the post-film discussion.

Click on the photo to view more pictures of the event!