The Reverend Jennifer DeBusk Alviar
Imagine inhabiting a soul-nourishing, justice-filled world where sacred life and civic life are intimately intertwined. Welcome to my world!
I am a celebrant of joy and justice!
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I am Rev. Jennifer DeBusk Alviar, an interfaith minister who collaborates on interdisciplinary projects with museums, libraries, zoos and public gardens.
In this time of unraveling and division, why does this work matter now more than ever? Because civic spaces serve as bridge-building opportunities for joy and justice - joy in experiential education outside the classroom and justice in fostering equitable, accessible and inclusive learning spaces for all. My own lived experience from a childhood brain injury makes me keenly aware of the need for inclusive opportunities for connection and belonging. It catalyzes my current engagement with innovation and social impact as an entrepreneurial minister. |
Cultivating Joy & Justice
People are like wildflowers. When we cultivate a diverse ecosystem with rich, nourishing soil, we co-create vibrant life together. Species of all kinds grow and thrive. This is the gift of a healthy garden in its most natural state. A fertile green space to cultivate generative ideas and support diverse ways of being in the world. When we design a sacred space where all brains, bodies and learning styles are welcomed, then form follows function. It celebrates a place of accessibility, inclusion and belonging for all.
I believe that nature-based, experiential learning offers a healing balm. A sacred gift. It meets people where they are from a place of wholeness and embodiment. An asset-based approach to being human. People grounded in their own lived experiences and wisdom. A much-needed counterbalance to society’s deficit-based mindset which often leaves people feeling less than, diminished, invisible. Sensory-friendly gardens foster a safe, inclusive space where all are welcomed. A living, outdoor sanctuary to celebrate sacred and civic life through liberation, healing and wholeness.
Museums, libraries, zoos and public gardens make me feel alive. They make me feel joyful. They remind me of who I am. I am a celebrant of joy and justice!
I believe that nature-based, experiential learning offers a healing balm. A sacred gift. It meets people where they are from a place of wholeness and embodiment. An asset-based approach to being human. People grounded in their own lived experiences and wisdom. A much-needed counterbalance to society’s deficit-based mindset which often leaves people feeling less than, diminished, invisible. Sensory-friendly gardens foster a safe, inclusive space where all are welcomed. A living, outdoor sanctuary to celebrate sacred and civic life through liberation, healing and wholeness.
Museums, libraries, zoos and public gardens make me feel alive. They make me feel joyful. They remind me of who I am. I am a celebrant of joy and justice!
The Sacred Dance for Life
Hafiz’s poem, The Sacred Dance for Life, eloquently embodies a collective spirit of joy.
I sometimes forget
that I was created for Joy
My mind is too busy.
My heart is too heavy
heavy for me to remember
that I have been
called to dance
the Sacred dance for life.
I was created to smile.
To Love.
To be lifted up
and to lift others up.
O Sacred One,
untangle my feet
from all that ensnares.
Free my soul.
That we might
Dance,
and that our dancing
might be contagious.
I sometimes forget
that I was created for Joy
My mind is too busy.
My heart is too heavy
heavy for me to remember
that I have been
called to dance
the Sacred dance for life.
I was created to smile.
To Love.
To be lifted up
and to lift others up.
O Sacred One,
untangle my feet
from all that ensnares.
Free my soul.
That we might
Dance,
and that our dancing
might be contagious.
To my delight, Swedish artist Asa (Resmiranda) Larsson set this poem to music. Enjoy!