Cinema Divina – Begin Again
With M Freeman (a free hybrid event in person and via Zoom)

A gathering for personal reset, spiritual guidance and insight after the recent election results.

I grew up in a working-class Catholic home, raised by devoted democrats from North Dakota. My folks, if they were alive now, would be heartbroken over America. To deal with my own heartbreak and fear, one thing I’m turning to is a cinematic treatment of the shared wisdom of an unlikely pair of thinkers: St. Benedict and Gertrude Stein. I’m wild about St. Benedict’s idea of starting over and I love Gertrude Stein’s idea of beginning again and again. Part mystical, part practical, thoroughly inspiring, their ideas mix like a divine tonic for my despair.
To reckon with U.S. election results with heart-centered resolve to begin again, that calls to me. To engage ever more deeply with the people and communities I love by beginning again the work of social justice, that calls to me. And to face an authorized culture of violence, beginning again the pursuit of peace – that calls to
me.
This session offers a cinematic communal meditation with kindred spirits to begin again a life in pursuit of peace, love, kindness, and justice. I’ll guide participants through a contemplative screening process with my Cinema Divina film, Begin Again. Participants will be invited into reverent silences, reflective writing,
sharing, and spacious listening. All are welcome — beginners and long-time contemplative practitioners.
– by M Freeman