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Note: This month's lunch meeting is on the 4th Thursday of the month and at a new location.
Spirit at Work presents
 Thursday, Sept 22, 2011
12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
Spirit and Disability:
Finding a calm
centre after “catastrophe”
with Bonnie Sherr Klein,
Disability Rights Activist and Director
of Award-winning National Film Board Documentaries
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In times of peace and crisis, how do we identify
who we are, both to ourselves and to others?
Twenty-four years ago, at the age of 47 and at the height of her professional life, Bonnie Sherr Klein survived a "catastrophic" brainstem stroke which left her with significant disabilities. She also lost a large part of her identity, which had been her work as a documentary filmmaker and feminist activist.
Over the years, Bonnie slowly learned to define herself through the art of "being" rather than "doing", although (as she points out), everything conspires against maintaining this state of consciousness and serenity. She now sees the world more in terms of Oneness rather than the dichotomies (e.g. male-female) or divisions (Jew-non-Jew) that previously defined her life.
Join Bonnie as she describes her painful and fulfilling process of self-discovery and rediscovery, seeking to redefine more and more her "work" in the world as something aligned with her sense of spirituality. She’ll also reveal how, as she became an Elder, she grew aware of the parallels between disability and aging, and the losses and gains involved with both. Finally, Bonnie will share ways that she has found to stay conscious of her spiritual or right-brain self amidst the chatter of everyday work life.
click here to RSVP -or- phone: 604-685-6560
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Date: Thursday, Sept 22, 2011 -- 12:00 - 1:30 pm
Change in
Location: Suite 700 - 1090 West Georgia Street, at Thurlow, Vancouver
(Diagonally across from the Terasen Centre)
Cost: Without lunch: $10
With lunch: non-members - $20; members - $15
Lunch: Catered sandwiches, salad, tea and coffee
(RSVP requested for food)
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About Bonnie Sherr Klein:
After surviving a brainstem stroke in 1987, Bonnie Sherr Klein wrote the book Slow Dance: A Story of Stroke, Love, and Disability (Vintage Canada 1997) and co-founded the Vancouver organization KickstART Festivals of Disability Arts and Culture in 1998. In 2006, she directed and appeared in the 71-minute National Film Board (NFB) documentary SHAMELESS: The Art of Disability. The movie introduces, with humour and intimacy, the art and activism of five individuals across Canada who create and present their own images of their disabilities.
Bonnie has directed award-winning documentary films in the NFB’s Challenge for Change Programme and was a key member of the Film Board’s Studio D, where she directed many feminist films including SPEAKING OUR PEACE: A Film about Women, Peace, and Power (1985), and the infamous NOT A LOVE STORY: A Film about Pornography (1981). Today, Bonnie continues to write and speak about feminism and disability rights.
click here to RSVP -or- phone: 604-685-6560
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