Jannet Ann Nordemann Living Compassion in Community

Jannet Ann Nordemann and Rev. Ric Matthews will be speaking at the Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at SFU Woodward's on April 12 at 7:00 pm, doors - 6:30 pm. Tickets: $10 ($5 seniors and students) plus service charge, available at VancouverTix.com or by phone at 604-629-8849. For more information on the event, visit the event listing.

Jannet Ann Nordemann sees the community as a microcosm of the world. If we can each focus on making our community a better place to live, the rest of the world will follow suit.

And on April 12, she’s coming to Vancouver to share how we can all become a “string of compassionate communities in a global world”.  Nordemann will join Rev. Ric Matthews at SFU Woodward’s for Living Compassion in Community and she will share successes from London, Ontario – Canada’s first “compassionate city” – that can inform what we do in our local communities.

This event will be of interest to people of all walks of life – students, educators, parents, community workers, business people, faith communities, and many others.

Nordemann, a self-proclaimed “compassionista” and student of several of the world faith and spiritual traditions for over 30 years, was inspired to share the Charter For Compassion after hearing Karen Armstrong at the presentation of her 2008 TED Prize.

Out of this inspiration came “Canadians for Compassion”. The DLC spoke with Nordemann to find out a little more about this organization and how we can live compassion in our communities.

“It’s a network designed to unite Canadians across all ten provinces and three territories to promote compassion and to adopt the Charter for Compassion,” says Nordemann.

Through Canadians for Compassion, Nordemann has not only invited each province and territory to affirm the Charter, but she has also begun a national campaign to collect 100,000 signatures asking the Canadian government to declare Canada a compassionate nation.

While Nordemann was inspired by the work of Armstrong, she wants everyone to know that you don’t need to write an internationally acclaimed compassionate manifesto or tour the world spreading compassion to make a difference.

“Every little thing matters,” she says. “Whether it’s because you see someone making a living off the street or if you see a neighbour going through a tough time who needs someone to care for them. It all matters.”

Nordemann believes that adopting the principles of the Charter for Compassion into everyday community life can lead not only to a richer community, but a richer world as well.

“The more we can actively help the community, the more we can improve the world.”

Don't forget to Share Your Voice! Let us know how YOU would begin to create a more compassionate community.