President Susan called our meeting to order with a ring of the bell at 12:35. She began by leading us in the 4 Way Test and we were a bit better at following her lead than we were last week!
Umakanth gave the reflection challenging us to understand that every person has a story. We need to listen with an open mind and without judgement to understand them and their story. The reflection was followed by “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” accompanied by Hari Kern.
Alex Hernandez handled the microphone duties, but alas, we had no guests or visiting Rotarians present. As for health of the club, Cathy paid a visit to Sandy Draggoo on Thursday and reported that she is doing great and can’t wait to get back to Rotary.
Terry Terry introduced Sarah Wallace for our special music. Sarah was scheduled to perform at Urban Beat in the evening, so I guess we were her warmup event. She is a vocalist, who also plays the piano. She was also accompanied by two instrumentalists, whose names I wasn’t able to record, playing the violin and the soprano saxophone. Her first selection, in French, was by Gabriel Fauré. Her second selection was an original composition titled “Light the Fire Again”. This piece involved all three instruments and her beautiful voice.
President Susan reminded us of the Food Bank volunteer opportunity and announced that MSU’S President Guskiewicz will be our speaker on August 28th. Please let Cathy know if you will be bringing a guest that day so we can be sure to have the room set appropriately.
President Susan introduced Kurt Guter as our Chair of the Day. Kurt introduced Umakanth’s younger brother Murali who is the Founder of Voices of Ingham Human Library.
Murali launched Voices of Ingham last July and is holding monthly gatherings where people share their stories in small groups. The most powerful
thing you can do is understand another’s story and these gatherings are the perfect opportunity for promoting understanding.
Meetings are small groups that are compassionate and empathetic. Everyone sits close together and no one stands to talk. It is much like an everyday conversation between friends. Each person with a story to share is a Live Book. There are currently 20 Live Books available. Meetings take place in a comfortable space where anyone can share. Each speaker chooses what part of their story they want to share. Sessions operated under a one-sided contract where the speaker can make choices and has absolute control.
The Human Library Organization started in Copenhagen in the spring of 2000. There are local groups in 85 countries on 6 continents. There are 4 groups in Michigan. The goal is to remove unconscious bias.
Murali is working to get buy in from the local community. He is spreading the message and explaining the concept. He is working with senior centers and libraries. He is also looking for board members and working on filing for non-profit status.
Events are free and open to all. There is a 1st anniversary celebration taking place on Saturday, July 25th at the MSUFCU Headquarters from 9:30 – 1:30. It includes a community potluck and music, so bring a dish to pass and check it out!
Next week our speaker will be Dr. Michael Nanzer, Executive Director of Behavioral Health at UM Health – Sparrow.
The meeting was adjourned with another ring of the bell, which President Susan has declared is her favorite part of the meeting. When asked for clarification after the meeting ended, it is the ringing of the bell that is her favorite part, whether it begins or ends the meeting.
Email for Linda Lynch: linda.j.lynch@gmail.com
Dr. Michael Nanzer is the new Executive Director of Behavioral Health at UM Health-Sparrow, in partnership with Sheppard Pratt.
We have a service opportunity at the Greater Lansing Food Bank on Tuesday, September 22nd from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. located at 5600 Food Ct., Bath Township. Please let Jason Brunette know if you can help: 