Embedded Files
June 3
June 3
From Breakdown to Belonging
From Breakdown to Belonging
June 3rd, 7- 8:30pm at the Irvington Presbyterian Church, 25 N Broadway, Irvington, NY 10533
The evening opens in conversation with Jeremy Lent, whose work explores how the stories we tell ourselves about the world have shaped the course of civilization. Drawing on history, philosophy, and ecology, he brings the metacrisis into focus while pointing toward a different possibility: an ecocivilization rooted in connection, balance, and shared flourishing.
Following the presentation, the room will shift from listening to relating. Participants will be invited into a simple, guided exchange to connect more directly with one another. We’ll then move into music, with Nick Demeris leading us in a participatory song circle that will transform the group into a shared instrument.
Discussion:
Jeremy Lent is an interdisciplinary author and systems-thinker whose work bridges history, philosophy, cognitive science, and ecology to examine how cultural worldviews shape the course of civilization. He is the author of The Patterning Instinct: A Cultural History of Humanity’s Search for Meaning, which traces the structures of human meaning-making across cultures and eras; The Web of Meaning: Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find Our Place in the Universe, which offers an integrative, life-affirming framework for rethinking humanity’s relationship with each other and the living world; and the forthcoming Ecocivilization: Making a World that Works for All, which lays out a practical and visionary case for transforming today’s extractive systems into a civilization grounded in ecological balance, justice, and mutual flourishing. Through his writing, speaking, and leadership, Lent has become a leading voice on the cultural roots of the metacrisis and the possibilities for deep transformation.
Song Circle:
Nick Demeris is a singer, composer, and facilitator who creates participatory music experiences that foster interdependence through live performance and interactive singing. Over the past fifteen years, he has developed the Human Instruments method, which explores the body as an instrument and helps people access the music that is always present.
Nick has performed at Carnegie Hall and collaborated with organizations including TEDx, UNICEF, Apple, the United Nations, and Sesame Street, and has worked with artists such as Bobby McFerrin and Quiara Alegría Hudes. His work has taken him to more than twenty countries, where he brings diverse groups together in shared musical expression.
Dance Embody Collective - sold out
Dance Embody Collective - sold out
Ecstatic Dance for Women
Ecstatic Dance for Women
Join us for a circle of connection and somatic exploration, where dance is a freeform meditation, and sober revelation
Join us for a circle of connection and somatic exploration, where dance is a freeform meditation, and sober revelation
The current season is sold out for the season. Check back for updates.
The current season is sold out for the season. Check back for updates.
Past Events
Past Events
April 25
April 25
Earth Church by Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir
Earth Church by Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir
Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir are unlike any other act: part gospel-infused performance, part political spectacle, part communal call to conscience. Led by Reverend Billy Talen, they use song, humor, theatricality, and moral clarity to challenge consumerism, ecological destruction, and the cultural forces that keep people disconnected from what matters most. Their work is bold, funny, and deeply participatory, creating the kind of charged collective experience that helps people move from passive concern to feeling, connection, and action.
Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir are unlike any other act: part gospel-infused performance, part political spectacle, part communal call to conscience. Led by Reverend Billy Talen, they use song, humor, theatricality, and moral clarity to challenge consumerism, ecological destruction, and the cultural forces that keep people disconnected from what matters most. Their work is bold, funny, and deeply participatory, creating the kind of charged collective experience that helps people move from passive concern to feeling, connection, and action.
April 17 2026
April 17 2026
Collapse and Renewal
Collapse and Renewal
Luke Kemp and Douglas Rushkoff will discuss Luke’s new book Goliath’s Curse, bringing historical perspective and cultural insight to the intertwined crises of our time. Their conversation will explore what the rise and fall of past societies can teach us about the pressures facing our own moment, while also pointing to pathways forward and the reasons for guarded hope that can still be found in this period of upheaval.
This will be followed by a brief overview from Lisa Genn, who serves on the Steering Committee for NYCD16/15 Indivisible, on concrete ways to engage in and support democratic participation, immigrant justice, and other on-the-ground community efforts. The evening will close with an embodied practice for grounding and connection led by Samantha Sweetwater.
Presbyterian Church, April 17th, 7:00–9:00 PM. Tickets required.
Luke Kemp
Luke Kemp
Douglas Rushkoff
Douglas Rushkoff
Lisa Genn
Lisa Genn
Samantha Sweetwater
Samantha Sweetwater
Bios
Bios
Luke Kemp is a Research Affiliate at Cambridge's Centre for the Study of Existential Risk and author of Goliath's Curse: The History and Future of Societal Collapse, a Sunday Times bestseller analyzing why civilizations fall — and what it means for ours.
Douglas Rushkoff is a media theorist, author, and documentarian whose work examines how digital technologies, economic systems, and cultural narratives shape human autonomy and collective life. A professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics at Queens College, CUNY, where he helped build the Laboratory for Digital Humanism, Rushkoff is widely known for probing the social consequences of technocapitalism and for helping audiences see how media, money, power, and technology reshape our relationships with one another. Through books such as Survival of the Richest, Team Human, Present Shock, and Program or Be Programmed, as well as documentaries and public scholarship, he has become one of the clearest and most provocative voices on what it means to remain fully human in a digitized age.
Learn more about Lisa Genn on our Thought Partners Page and find Samantha Sweetwater's bio below.
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