- This event has passed.
Carrie Newcomer and Parker J. Palmer come together with pianist Gary Walters for this very special concert to encourage a new kind of political conversation—one that bridges our divides and helps restore civic community. Carrie and Parker offer a journey of mind and spirit characterized by thoughtfulness, realism, vulnerability, good humor and hope. Join a community of your neighbors from around the region for a powerful afternoon of song and spoken word that invites us to co-create “a politics worthy of the human spirit.”
Parker J. Palmer is a writer, teacher, and activist whose work speaks deeply to people in many walks of life. His nine books include A Hidden Wholeness, Let Your Life Speak, The Courage to Teach, and most recently, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley, thirteen honorary doctorates, and is founder and Senior Partner of the Center for Courage & Renewal. Carrie Newcomer is a Grammy winning songwriter, recording artist, performer, author and educator. She has sixteen national recording releases on the Concord/Rounder Records. In 2014 Available Light Records released A Permeable Life. She has been a cultural ambassador to India in 2019 & 2011, toured extensively in the USA, Europe, India, Africa, and the Middle East. Recent appearances include PBS television’s “Religion and Ethics Newsweekly” and Krista Tippett’s national award winning public radio program “On Being.” Gary Walters is a pianist, educator, arranger and recording artists. He has two nationally released recordings, Moments in Time, The Icarus Ensemble. Gary has also performed with many national recording artists and Broadway touring companies. This very special event is open to the public, with donations going to support programming, scholarships, and facilities of Prairie Oaks Institute (www.prairieoaksinstitute.org). POI is proud to host several “Courage and Renewal” retreats each year led by facilitators who have been prepared by Parker Palmer and the Center for Courage and Renewal, including “Courage to Lead,” “Courage to Teach,” and “Courage Earth” events. POI’s vision is to be a catalyst of rejuvenation for people and the planet, and our mission is to cultivate ways of living and leading that affirm the interdependence of all living things and connect self, spirit, community and earth for a resilient, renewed future. POI’s programming is focused in three areas: retreat and renewal, education and leadership development for the common good, and ecological resilience and sustainability. Located on a 20-acre farm campus in Belle Plaine, Minnesota – just 30 minutes from the Twin Cities – POI offers meeting space and overnight lodging for up to 24 guests in the farm’s two homes: Harvest House and the Farmhouse. Visitors to POI also have access to the rolling, wooded acres of the adjacent Devine family farm, including a meditation labyrinth in the prairie and The Granary, a three-season recreational enclave overlooking Robert Creek. Parker & Carrie flyer