Let's meet Saturday, April 19, 2025: Fierce Love by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis

Note: This will be a joint meeting with the Lesbian Spiritual Book Group--Seattle/Eastside

What a wonderful and rich discussion we had on March 15 when we discussed The Power of the Crone by Clarissa Pinkola-Estes. Thank you so much to the 8 of us who logged onto Zoom and joined in, creating a very intimate discussion. The strength and commitment of this group makes it possible for us to connect deeply even online, and I so appreciate this remarkable group of women.

Our next meeting will be on Saturday, April 19, 2025, from 4:00-6:00 pm PDT. We will discuss Fierce Love: A Bold Path to Ferocious Courage and Rule-Breaking Kindness That Can Heal the World by Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis. The book is widely available in print and audiobook, new and used and electronically from www.amazon.com, www.alibris.com and other sellers. Please contact me if you need help locating or purchasing the book.

You are welcome whether you have read or listened to the book or not--the conversation will be rich and intimate regardless. Each time we are joined by some who have not read the book, and I think they can attest that our conversations start with the book and roam freely into the rest of our lives.

We have had a problem with uninvited disruptors. Please note that all members will be held in the waiting room and only admitted if they respond to messages or are known to us. All members must be willing to appear full face on screen throughout the meeting. If you have not RSVP'd, you will not be admitted if you are not known to the group.

About the book:
A healing antidote to our divisive culture, full of evocative storytelling, spiritual wisdom, and nine essential daily practices—by the first female, Black senior minister at the historic Collegiate Churches of New York
“Fierce Love teaches us that with spiritual faith we can transcend the darkest moments and come through stronger.”—Gabrielle Bernstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Universe Has Your Back
We are living in a world divided. Race and ethnicity, caste and color, gender and sexuality, class and education, religion and political party have all become demographic labels that reduce our differences to simplistic categories in which “we” are vehemently against “them.” But Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis’s own experience—of being the first female and first Black minister in her church’s history, of being in an interracial marriage, and of making peace with childhood abuse—illustrates that our human capacity for empathy and forgiveness is the key to reversing these ugly trends.

Inspired by the tenets of ubuntu—the Zulu philosophy that we are each impacted by the circumstances that impact those around us, and that the world won’t get better until we all get better—Fierce Love lays out the nine daily practices for breaking through tribalism and engineering the change we seek. From downsizing our emotional baggage to speaking truth to power to fueling our activism with joy, it demonstrates the power of small, morally courageous steps to heal our own lives, our posse, and our larger communities. Sharing stories that trace her personal reckoning with racism as well as the arc of her journey to an inclusive and service-driven faith, Dr. Lewis shows that kindness, compassion, and inclusive thinking are muscles that can be exercised and strengthened. With the goal of mending our inextricable human connection, Fierce Love is a manifesto for all generations: a bighearted, healing antidote to our rancorous culture.

About the author:
Rev. Dr. Jacqui Lewis is Senior Minister at Middle Collegiate Church. In her activism, preaching, speaking, writing, and teaching, Dr. Lewis advocates for racial justice, gun control, economic equity, and LGBTQIA+ rights. Dr. Lewis has been featured on the The Today Show, All In with Chris Hayes, AM Joy, The Melissa Harris Perry Show, NY1, ABC, NBC, PBS, CBS. Her writing has appeared in Harper's Bazaar, USA Today, Vox, The Huffington Post and more.

Dr. Lewis completed the six-city Together Tour with best-selling author Glennon Doyle, Seane Corn, Valarie Kaur, Jennifer Randolph, and special guest Alicia Keys. Dr. Lewis created two national television programs: Just Faith, an on-demand television program on [MSNBC.com](http://msnbc.com/), and Chapter and Verse at PBS. Her books include The Power of Stories; Ten Essential Strategies (with John Janka); Becoming Like Creoles (with Curtiss de Young, et al), and the children’s book, You Are So Wonderful! You can follow her @RevJacquiLewis

Here is the link:
Andrea Bride is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Lesbian Spiritual Book Group--Portland/Seattle
Time: Apr 19, 2025 04:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85192918569
Meeting ID: 851 9291 8569
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Find your local number: https://us06web.zoom.us/u/kcWqiwyOYO