FULL SERVICE POET

Active Hope: A Workshop Exploring The Work That Reconnects

Oct 1, 2026 10am-2pm, Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst

It is with warm hearts that we invite you to join us for a workshop exploring Joanna Macy’s “Work that Reconnects,” offered for our Plum Village sanghas in the Happy Valley.  

The “Work That Reconnects” invites us to connect more deeply with self, world, and Earth, and our part in the healing of our world. Deep ecology is the experiential wisdom of our interconnection with earth and the world, and a set of group exercises to help us face our anger, fear, emptiness, and deep sadness about the state of the world, and to discern our role in systems change.

Rooted in Joanna Macy’s Work That Reconnects, as well as the dharma teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh and Lama Rod Owens, the workshop follows the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects—beginning by grounding in gratitude (and drawing on practices of mudhita), and then honoring our heartache for the world (and drawing on practices of karuna), seeing with new/ancient eyes, and finally seeing what steps are ours to take next. We plumb these depths to reclaim and nurture the love, courage, and clarity underneath the difficult feelings. This inspiring work renews us and helps prevent burnout, allowing us to move back into the world refreshed in our roles as environmental and social justice advocates and healers.

The “Work That Reconnects” invites us to connect more deeply with self, world, and Earth, and our parts in the healing of our world. Deep ecology is the experiential wisdom of our interconnection with earth and the world, and a set of group exercises to help us face our anger, fear, emptiness, and deep sadness about the state of the world, and to discern our role in systems change.

Details:

• Please register in advance for this event here. We require a minimum of six participants to run the workshop.
• We offer this workshop freely for dana. Dana is the paramita of generosity, one of the six practices that can bring us across the river of suffering to the other shore. In the Buddhist tradition, we give from the heart to our teachers, in a spirit of generosity. Feel free to donate as much or as little as you are called to give to our facilitators.

Dr. Caitlin Elsaesser is a social worker, professor, dancer, meditation teacher, and facilitator with over 20 years of experience nurturing containers that allow healthy expression of grief and supporting individuals to express their highest potential. She is a member of the Hopping Tree Sangha, and is the joyful creator and facilitator of an engaged mindfulness program for social workers based on Joanna Macy’s Work that Reconnects.

Karina Lutz was an environmental lobbyist and organizer. After studying with Joanna Macy she became a deep ecology facilitator, and edited the poetry for Deep Times: A Journal of the Work That Reconnects for almost ten years.  She studied grief as a hospice volunteer and as a graduate student in Holistic Studies. She is also a published poet.