Keeping our Oars in the Water:
Gathering to bear witness to experiences
and stories of vulnerability and resilience
When a small boat meets turbulent water, the best way to maintain balance and stay upright is to keep your oar in the water. It will become your stabilizing rudder, enabling you to maintain course and steer your vulnerable craft towards safety. We are each like that small boat.
HSA hopes that sharing our experiences, stories and ideas might be another stabilizing oar in the water for each of us. Please join us. Admission is free, although donations are appreciated.
OARS in the Water
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
7:00pm-8:30pm EST
Hosted by Laura Simms & Nancy Wang
Theme: For Angela:
Joy, grief and dying. a compassionate conversation
Sparked by the sudden and unexpected passing of beloved storyteller Angela Lloyd, join HSA as we navigate a community conversation about death, loss, and how we uniquely deal with grief.
OARS in the Water is a facilitated Zoom gathering that meets on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 7 pm Eastern Time. The Healing Story Alliance’s OARS in the Water offers a community listening space in which to share the experiences and stories that have emerged in turbulent times. OARS co-hosts facilitate the evening and provide participants with a warm welcome and a meaningful theme, which we hope will be healing, supportive and inspiring.
Format: A typical 90-minute meeting consists of a 20-minute, theme-based opening, followed by 20 minutes in breakout rooms, and then we reassemble for a whole group conversation. Admission is free, although donations are deeply appreciated and help support our programming. Your tax deductible donation can be made here:
https://square.link/u/d9xbGN2I
WE HAVE A NEW ZOOM LINK FOR OARS!
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81580670118?pwd=kluogEmpqp8COl7mWvvDl673CCozLS.1
About our Hosts for January 22nd
Laura Simms is an internationally acclaimed storyteller, writer, teacher and humanitarian. She combines traditional stories with personal narrative.
She is artistic Director of the Hans Christian Andersen Storytelling Center in NYC and served as a Senior Research Fellow for Rutgers University Peace Center under the auspices of UNESCO. She is a founding member of the Healing Story Alliance and serves on their programming committee. Laura saved a zoo in Romania, and won the Sesame Street SUNNY DAYS AWARD for work with children worldwide. She received the Hasbro September 11 Grant designing a manual and training for storytelling for children in crisis. Laura has worked in post conflict and climate disasters with International Medical Corps, and Mercy Corps, Inc. She is a certified dharma art teacher and a senior meditation instructor in mindfulness awareness practice. She has five books and many recordings. Recently Laura was story advisor for the Fetzer Foundation Sacred Story Project. She continues to work with The Constellation. www.laurasimms.com
Nancy Wang’s artist career started in 1972 in modern dance, choreography and teaching under mentor Gloria Unti of the SF Performing Arts Workshop, who taught her to create work that is meaningful and reflective of the burning issues of our time. In 1981, she met her husband Robert Kikychi-Yngojo and together introduced to Northern California the So. Filipino tradition of Kulintang bronze gong ensemble music and dances with a schoo and performance company: Kalilang Kulintang. In 1987, as Eth-Noh-Tec, they began telling Asian folktales and inspiring Asian American contemporary stories weaving stylized movement, gesture and the spoken word, and now have a repertoire of 200+ story performances being archived. Her concert length multi-media story-play ‘Red Altar’ has inspired her novel of the same name.
Nancy is also a retired Psychotherapist after a private practice of almost 50 years.
2025 OARS Meeting Hosts & Dates
Jan. 8 Elisa Pearmain, Lani Peterson, Heather Forest, Jo Radner, Jim Brule, Sara deBeer, Galen Brandt, Laura Simms, Noa Baum, Karianna Rosenberg, Joe Doolittle, Mike Seliger, and Penny Post (Tech: Elisa)
Jan. 22: Laura Simms & Nancy Wang (Tech: Heather)
2024 OARS Meeting Hosts & Dates
Jan. 10 Heather Forest & Lani Peterson (Tech: Elisa)
Jan. 24: Karianna Rosenberg & Kristin Pedemonti (Tech Elisa)
Feb. 14: Joe Doolittle & Elisa Pearmain (Tech: Heather)
Feb. 28: Sara deBeer & Anabelle Castano (Tech: Karianna )
March 13: Bob Kanegis & Liz Mangual (Tech: Elisa)
March 27: Jim Brule & Laura Simms (Tech: Noa)
April 10: Kristin Pedemonti & Robin Reichert (Tech Joe)
April 24: Heather Forest & Noa Baum (Tech: Elisa)
May 8: Elisa Pearmain & Joel Ying (Tech: Jim)
May 22: Lani Peterson & Jim Brule (Tech: Heather)
June 12: Sara deBeer & Renee Emanuel (Tech: Heather)
June 26: Penny Post & Carol Ribner (Tech: Jim)
July 10: Sara deBeer & Sonia Bareja (Tech: Elisa)
July 24: Karianna Rosenberg & Erin Johnston (Tech: Heather)
August 14: Heather Forest & Laura Packer (Tech: Lani)
August 28: Lani Peterson & Christine Carlton (Tech: Heather)
September 11: Elisa Pearmain & Yvonne Young (Tech: Jim)
September 25: Sara deBeer & Jim Brule (Tech: Heather)
October 9: Joe Doolittle & Claire Nolan (Tech: Heather)
October 23: Mike Seliger & Michael D. McCarty (Tech: Elisa))
November 13: Jim Brule & Hears Crow (Tech: Elisa)
November 27 Heather Forest & Megan Wells (Tech: Elisa)
December 11 Penny Post & Galen Brandt (Tech: –)
2023 OARS Meeting Hosts & Dates
Jan. 11: Galen Brandt & Jackson Gillman (Tech: Lani)
Jan. 25: Heather Forest & Lani Peterson (Tech: Joe)
Feb. 8: Sara deBeer & Donna Marie Kuczynski (Tech: Karianna)
Feb. 22: Lani Peterson & Linda Levinson (Tech: Elisa)
March 8: Elisa Pearmain & Faye Mogenson (Tech: Heather)
March 22: Penny Post & Joe Doolittle(Tech: Karianna)
April 12: Mike Seliger, Michael D. McCarty & Joe Doolittle (Tech: Elisa)
April 26: Heather Forest & Galen Brandt (Tech: Lani)
May 10: Bob Kanegis & Liz Mangual (Tech: Noa)
May 24: Sara deBeer & Donna Marie Kuczynski (Tech: Elisa)
June 14: Elisa Pearmain & Ai-Lin Chuah (Tech: Heather)
June 28: Jim Brule and Linda Schuyler Ford (Tech: Lani)
July 12: Noa Baum & Regi Carpenter (Tech: Heather)
July 26: Heather Forest & Sara deBeer (Tech: Karianna)
August 9: Karianna Rosenberg & Lani Peterson (Tech: Heather)
August 23: Elisa Pearmain & Diane Rooks (Tech: Joe)
September 13: Laura Simms & Sally Pomme Clayton (Tech: Heather)
September 27: Sara deBeer & Donna Marie Kuczynski ( Tech: Elisa & Noa )
October 11: Heather Forest & Lani Peterson (Tech Elisa & Galen)
October 25: Penny Post & Angela Lloyd (Tech: Heather)
Nov 8: Linda Levinson & Karen DeMauro (Tech: Joe)
November 22: Galen Brandt & Elisa Pearmain (Tech: Heather)
December 13: Sara deBeer & Ai-Lin Chuah (Tech: Heather)
December 27: Mike Seliger & Barbara Aliprantis (Tech: Heather)
2022 OARS Meeting Hosts and Dates
January 12th: Sara deBeer & Ruth Anne Faust
January 26th Kristin Pedemonti & Sarah O’Brien
February 9th Lani Peterson and Jyoti Pande
February 23rd Mike Seliger and Liz Nichols
March 2nd, Laura Simms and Lani Peterson offer a special holding space for Ukraine
March 9th Karianna Rosenberg and Jan Mullen
March 23rd Joe Doolittle & Phyllis Blackstone
April 13: Heather Forest & Lani Peterson
April 27: Elisa Pearmain and Nyanna Tobin (Tech: Heather)
May 11: Sara deBeer and Hearscrow (Tech: Elisa)
May 25: Wally Scott and Radhieka Al Hakawati (Tech: Joe)
June 8: Galen Brandt and Jackson Gillman (Tech: Heather)
June 22: Heather Forest and Noa Baum (Tech: Elisa)
July 13: Karianna Rosenberg and Penny Post (Tech: Lani)
July 27: ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING (Tech: Heather)
August 10: Joe Doolittle and Ai-Lin (Tech: Elisa)
August 24: Sara deBeer and Jyoti Pande (Tech: Lani)
September 14: Heather Forest and Megan Wells (Tech: Lani )
September 28: Lani Peterson and Karen DeMauro (Tech: Elisa)
October 12: Elisa Pearmain and Erin Johnson (Tech: Joe)
October 26: Mike Seliger & Regina Ress (Tech: Heather)
Nov 9th: Joe Doolittle & Penny Post (Tech: Elisa)
Nov 23: Elisa Pearmain & Usha Venkatraman (Kristin)
Dec. 14: Heather Forest & Jim Brule (Tech: Elisa)
Dec. 28: Laura Simms & Donna Jacobs (Heather)
2021 OARS Meeting Dates & Hosts:
September 22 : Hosted by Heather Forest & Lani Peterson
October 13: Hosted by Sara deBeer & Jean Hale
October 27: Hosted by Joe Doolittle & Mike Seliger
November 10: Elisa Pearmain & Laura Simms
November 24th: Heather Forest & Karianna Rosenberg
December 8th: Wally Scott and Carol McCormick
December 22nd: Kristin Pedemonti & Galen Brandt