Sallie Tisdale
Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series will host author Sallie Tisdale who will present, Questioning Charity: The Real Impact of Giving– Sunday, May 12, 2013, 2:00 pm at the Orcas Center.
Stimulate your mind this Mother’s Day with award-winning author Sallie Tisdale who will talk about the challenges and successes of international aid work, and recount her experiences volunteering in a village in Uganda. The ripple effects of charity are often overlooked but are part of an important and growing international discussion by major philanthropic organizations.
“I hope that my lecture will encourage people not to have simplistic or unconsidered ideas about charity of any kind, but help people to reflect on the complexities of our interrelationships,” she said.
Tisdale is a writer drawn to a wide variety of topics and perspectives. She is a regular contributor to Harper’s Magazine, and last July her article The One In Front of Me – A Consideration of Charity caught the attention of the Crossroads Committee. Her essays have appeared in The New Yorker and the Antioch Review as well.
Tisdale is the author of seven books including Women of the Way: Discovering 2,500 Years of Buddhist Wisdom. She is also a senior lay teacher at Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland, Oregon, and a palliative care and hospice nurse.
Her philosophy is that happiness is deeply entwined with generosity.
“Doing charity as I have in Uganda has embodied old questions about our responsibility to each other, what it means to be wealthy or poor, the nature of altruism and selfishness, the encounter with fear, and many other things,” said Tisdale. “It’s forced me to think in a new way about happiness.”
Our Orcas Island community has a long history of volunteerism, so please come with your questions for the Q & A session. Then join us for the reception following the presentation for continued lively discussion.
Tickets are $10 and available at Darvill’s Bookstore, online, or at the door. Some complimentary tickets are available in advance at the Senior Center.
Orcas Crossroads Lecture Series is supported by our Crossroads Associates Circle, the Daniel and Margaret Carper Foundation, and individual contributors. Find more information at the Orcas Crossroads website
