SIT for Change Calls for Justice that Comes from Love
SUMMARY
The SIT for Change: 3rd Annual Sit-A-Thon is a fundraising and awareness campaign culminating in an event which showcases transformative social justice and, in particular, modalities that support the well-being, sustainability, and accountability of social change activists themselves. Those who have registered gather at the SIT for Change event where meditation, yoga, meditation, nonviolent communication, and health education will be employed in a day of working with the inner life of allies and agents of social justice.
SIT for Change gets people out from all walks of life to sit for the changes they’d like to see in their communities, by first supporting the long-term sustainability of the activists themselves, who are on the frontlines making change happen, such as advances in education, health care, rights for women, people of color, and LGBT rights. SIT for Change takes place nationwide, locally in Berkeley and virtually.
To SIT for Change, please register online at www.sitforchange.org under “Bay Area” or “Virtual.” You can pledge to sit from wherever you are. You may, if you choose, sit at the local anchor event on Saturday, September 18, 10am to 4pm. at:
The Center for Transformative Change
2584 Martin Luther King Jr. Way at Parker St.,
Berkeley, CA 94704
SOCIAL BACKGROUND
As the piercing sting of the Oscar Grant killing and subsequent struggles for justice in the East Bay generate pain, SIT for Change has this to say: “Discover the justice that comes from love.” Meant to be heard directly by activist communities, the campaign’s message from founder, Rev. angel Kyodo williams continues by posing this self-inquiry:
“What are we holding onto that it’s time to dismantle in our own hearts, so that we can create more space for real justice? Real justice is justice that arises, not out of a sense of punishment, but out of a sense of love. Real justice is justice that serves and embodies love.”
What is behind a campaign that offers such words in such times? These words come from the Movement for Transformative Social Change, which is holding SIT for Change: 3rd Annual Sit-A-Thon to raise the funds and awareness for its annual Transformative Change activities. Whereas “change” often means change in the collective state of the society in which we live, “transformative change” speaks of change in the state of being that lives within us, so that collective external changes become more effective towards social justice, for all involved:
“When the state of a person transforms from within, clearly it affects the world they live in — especially when that person is an activist. That kind of change cannot be undone by the next judicial decision, election, or stroke of lawmaking.”
To cultivate this inner transformation so that real justice, justice that comes from love, takes hold among a significant collective of leaders in the social justice movement, SIT for Change launches for its third straight year.
SIT for Change Updates
CXC (Center for Transformative Change), via SIT for Change, is working harder than ever to deliver highly relevant transformative change modalities in the social justice community. Here’s a quick look at some of our exciting news in August:
• CXC offered eight participants the Inner Justice Intensive in an effort to move social activists to deeper insight as to the nature of creating deep change. The retreat wove together intense practice periods with intensive studies on the origins and strategies of the current social change and social justice movements. Read more.
• CXC launched the summer SIT for Change campaign, starting with bringing both returning and new Change PARTNERS onboard. Change PARTNERS new in 2010 include the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (which was a community sponsor last year), Grassroots Global Justice, the Enlightened Life Sanctuary, the Foundation for the Law of Time, Earthdance, the Global Peace Foundation, and more coming online daily. Read more.
• CXC also welcomes SIT for Change’s new and returning sponsors in 2010. Divine Organics, Superfood Snacks, Zafu Sitting Cushions, Kaiser Permanente, and Healthforce Nutritionals each announced their sponsorship, joining returning sponsors Yogi Tea and BART.
• Listen for CXC Executive Director, Karen Muktayani Villanueva, and CXC Media, Technology, and Events Coordinator Michael Bedar, as they are interviewed by new media sponsor, Visionary Culture Radio with host Laura Fox, on Monday, August 16, at 7:00 p.m. PDT. Read more.
• CXC worked with accomplished, long-time Berkeley events and public relations coordinator Lisa Bullwinkel to help SIT for Change become a known entity in the community and hone its media message. The press release that co-edited is going out in the coming days. Read more.
HOW PEOPLE CAN PARTICIPATE IN SIT-FOR-CHANGE
Participants in SIT for Change simply:
1) Dedicate 108 minutes on September 18 to a practice that helps the mind sit still so that we can be accountable for our full selves, at peace, and experiencing love within.
2) Gather supporters to pledge to your SIT for Change. Businesses, individuals, and others can support you with pledges of $5 for your entire 108 minute sit, up to $5 per minute (or more), which for 108 minutes would equal $540.
3) Actually SIT for Change on September 18! SIT either at the East Bay Center for Transformative Change anchor event in Berkeley, or in your own group anywhere in the world, or all by yourself.
CONCLUSION:
Hosted by Center for Transformative Change, an organization at the crossroads of social justice and inner awareness work, the SIT for Change pledge campaign begins on August 12. It will remain open until September 18, the National Day of Transformative Social Change events of sitting meditation and yoga.
To SIT for Change, please register online at www.sitforchange.org under “Bay Area” or “Virtual.”
Pledge to sit from wherever you are.
You may, if you choose, sit at the local anchor event on Saturday, September 18, 10am to 4pm. at:
The Center for Transformative Change
2584 Martin Luther King Jr. Way at Parker St.,
Berkeley, CA 94704
The campaign for Transformative Social Change has started as of August 12. To join in and raise funds and awareness for transformative social change agents, register online now at www.sitforchange.org.
Take a Stand, SIT for Change. www.sitforchange.org
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