Something I'm sharing with the Friendly Philosophers this week / July 17th, 2023
"My people are not threatened by silence. They are completely at home in it. They have lived for thousands of years with Nature’s quietness. My people today recognise and experience in this quietness the great Life-Giving Spirit, the Father of us all. It is easy for me to experience God’s presence. When I am out hunting, when I am in the bush, among the trees, on a hill or by a billabong; these are the times w...
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Monthly News from Gib / July 1st, 2023
Common Ground Outreach and the Friendly Philosophers ~ July 1st, 2023
The world’s burning. According to Jessie Thompson and my wife Mi there are over 500 wildfires burning (half are out of control) in Canada. The air is hard to breathe. Looking around the neighborhood of South Minneapolis the trees and houses a block away are shrouded like the Twilight Zone.
How much should we focus on this stuff? Is strength to endure really born from understanding… eyes wide open?
Yeah… if w...
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Monthly news from Gib / June, 2023
Common Ground Outreach and the Friendly Philosophers / June 1st, 2023
A friend in life and on Facebook today posted this image and this caption…
“What if our religion was each other? If our practice was our life? What if the temple was the Earth? If forests were our church? If holy water - the rivers, lakes, and oceans? What if meditation was our relationships? If the Teacher was life? If wisdom was knowledge? If love was the center of our being?”
Injustice, violence, environmental and so...
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We all shine on
Everyone experiences dark times at some point in their life. This is something we, as sentient beings,have in common. As human beings, no matter what our political affiliation or what our ideology may be,suffering is as much a part of our lives as breathing is necessary for continued survival. But no matter how bad things may appear to be, there is always a ray of light carrying with it the promise of a better day that often accompanies hope.
Michael was the epitome of hope. No matter how bad...
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Reaching Out
The world is threatened. CGO believes the solutions to the threats are born in the human heart. While everyone doesn’t share the same theology, all believe love is the greatest, transcendent force for positive change. By channeling that power to our world and it’s inhabitants, new paradigms are created that can provide answers to the biggest challenges. CGO’s outreach is part of a global movement to rebuild our economies and governments on a foundation of respect for life and the rights of all.
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Mission Possible
Common Ground Outreach (CGO) was founded in 2014 as an outgrowth of a lifetime of experience looking for answers to life’s most meaningful questions. Founded by Gib Pellet, lifelong soul seeker and social justice advocate, he and a committed group of volunteers search for meaning and justice and have multiple points of entry into conversations taking place everywhere in society. Having begun as one person’s mission, CGO is now a large network of people, in different cities, offering resources, o...
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Thoughts from the “Friendly Philosophers”
May 6th, 2016
Last night we welcomed more new members and the conversations were great. One member courageously shared his journey in remaking himself philosophically and got great feedback and engagement from the other folks, all who were pretty awed by the effectiveness of our group in bringing the questions of existence and meaning to the table. It feels like a great honor to think this humble idea of gathering to talk and to allow great minds and hearts to connect, can result in a sharing...
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CGO Update / February 21st
CGO Update / February 21st, 2016
Today I ran into an old friend at the Y after 3 miles of agony on the track… Father Bill Teska, an Episcopal Priest of my vintage who is somewhat of a legend in the Twin Cities. Bill’s been involved in so many projects he’s lost count (his middle name is outreach). We talked for a minute about a brilliant friend who worked with us on a project to reclaim an historic church in downtown Minneapolis and convert it into a home for community projects. Turns out the...
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Friendly Philosophers
South Minneapolis Tuesdays at 7 p.m
As part of Common Ground’s commitment to fostering dialogue, CGO established the Friendly Philosophers group - a weekly discussion where the interworkings of faith, ethics, and science are explored. People from numerous disciplines and schools of thought - teachers, writers, artists, scientists, ministers and secularists- discuss the human situation and the condition of the earth and its myriad life forms. By providing space to table our various pers...
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CGO this week
Today I talked with Terry Schultz, one of our new Board members. Why is hope such a hot topic? What’s so attractive about building an alliance of hope?But there it is. When we think about some of the current themes in ministry – hope cuts through the noise like a searchlight in a crowded, foggy harbor. Hope that comes from Love / love that’s greater than any one of us yet which finds its best expression in individual souls.
The Creator’s love is transforming / it can save the planet and a...
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