The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope

Airing in celebration of Pendle Hill’s 95th Anniversary Gathering, this special episode marks the conclusion of Season 6 and the final chapter of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope.
Across six seasons, The Seed has brought together Quakers, artists, activists, and seekers to explore visions of a transformed world breaking through the cracks of our broken systems. In this series finale, host Dwight Dunston is joined once again by Francisco Burgos, Executive Director of Pendle Hill, to reflect on the journey of the podcast, the enduring legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of active love, and the ways these conversations will continue to bear fruit long after the microphone is turned off.
Dwight and Francisco revisit Dr. King’s book, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? It examines what it truly means to incarnate a "strong, demanding love" in times of personal and societal crisis. Through memories from past guests—including healer John Calvi, poet Zenaida Peterson, and writer, facilitator, and leadership coach Valerie Brown—they explore how love moves from an abstract sentiment into everyday practices of solidarity, vulnerability, and justice. Francisco also shares how finding accompaniment in figures like Father Gabriel Romanell in Gaza helps us stay awake to injustice without surrendering to despair.
Dwight’s Closing Reflections: An Evergreen Garden
In his final sign-off, host Dwight Dunston leaves listeners with a heartfelt and tender meditation on the long arc of this work:
Grounded in Kingian Nonviolence: Dwight reflects on the essential balance between principles and daily practice. While the steps of nonviolence are often easier said than done, living into love becomes sustainable when anchored in spiritual practice, art, and creativity.
The Power of Community: Remaining hopeful in the face of injustice cannot be done alone. Moving in community transforms individual weariness into shared resilience and collective action.
An Evergreen Resource: Although The Seed is concluding its run, Dwight reminds us that the garden planted across these six seasons is evergreen. These episodes remain open archives—places to return whenever you need to fill your "hope cup," nourish your soul, or remind yourself of what transformative power looks like in action.
A Call to Witness: Listeners are invited to take the seeds nurtured in these conversations and plant them outward—carrying lessons of active love and justice directly into their own neighborhoods and communities.
In This Episode:
(00:27) Incarnating love beyond romantic ideals
(03:53) Dr. King’s 1967 SCLC speech: Choosing a demanding love over hate
(10:11) Redefining "cool" through faithful action and spiritual courage
(11:32) Echoes from the seasons: Reflections from John Calvi, Zenaida Peterson, and Valerie Brown
(17:01) Finding joy and presence amid crisis: The witness of Father Gabriel in Gaza
(23:09) Honoring the hands that built The Seed
(25:26) Dwight’s closing benediction and Kingian reflections
Host: Dwight Dunston
Guest: Francisco Burgos
Producer & Editor: Peterson Toscano
Early Production Support: Anna Hill, Ari Goodman, and Frances Kreimer
Theme Music: The I Rise Project by Reverend Rhetta Morgan and Bennett Kuhn, produced by Astronautical Records
Additional Music: Epidemic Sound
NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.
The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

How do we use art to dismantle colonial narratives and stay grounded in our cultural truth?
In this moving episode, host Dwight Dunston is joined by mother-daughter "artivists" Anito Gavino and Malaya Ulan. Together, they explore the intersection of family-centered practice, Filipina identity, and the power of storytelling as a tool for justice and healing.
The conversation begins with a quote from environmental activist Vandana Shiva on ecofeminism and our refusal to be divided by race or separated from nature. From there, Anito and Malaya invite us into their creative process—a "living archive" that honors their ancestors while equipping the next generation to lead with love.
About the Guests
Anito Gavino is a Filipina multidisciplinary artist, movement scholar, and cultural worker based in Philadelphia. A top 25 Dance USA awardee and Leeway Transformation Award recipient, her work focuses on the intersections between Afro-Indigenous cultures and Filipino archives.
Malaya Ulan is a 17-year-old Filipina-American "artivist" and the 2024-2025 Youth Poet Laureate of Philadelphia. A multi-dimensional poet, she merges writing with dance and film, recently delivering a TEDx talk on poetry as activism.
Together, they lead the collective Ani Malaya Works, creating theatrical pieces that encourage critical dialogue and education.
Key Themes Explored
The Burden of History: Deconstructing Rudyard Kipling’s "The White Man’s Burden" and its impact on Black and Brown bodies.
Hidden Legacies: The history of Filipino involvement in the U.S. military and the origins of police tactics like the baton (Kali/Escrima).
Love as Practice: How their relationship evolved from childhood "theater games" to a shared ministry of cultural preservation.
The Immigrant Experience: The "growing pains" of moving to new geographies and finding the "village" that sustains revolutionary work.
"I felt the change started when Malaya came. It was a spiritual connection that is just reuniting... how can I now use what I know to prepare you? This is love." — Anito Gavino
✨ Listen in for a conversation on why every act of remembering is an act of resistance.
Learn more about Ani Malaya Works: https://www.anigavino.com/

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.
The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

In this intimate mini-episode of The Seed: Conversations for Radical Hope, the roles are briefly shifted as host Dwight Dunston shares his own Quaker journey with guest John Calvi. From an antsy teenager in a Quaker high school to finding his "spiritual home" as an adult, Dwight reflects on the power of silence, memory, and the "upper room" of communal worship.
Dwight recalls the bittersweet grief of his final high school meeting for worship, a moment where he realized the profound value of "settling in" with others. "We were bodies in space, but we were also... in a different room," Dwight reflects. After years of traveling and studying poetry abroad, it was a return to Philadelphia during a time of personal loss that led him back to a meeting house, where he finally felt he had found his place.
In this episode, we discuss:
The transition from "antsy teenager" to a seeker of silent worship.
The lasting impact of Quaker education on alumni and their spiritual lives.
Dwight’s journey through grief and his eventual "spiritual homecoming" at Merion Meeting.
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How the practices of poetry and faith intertwine in Dwight's work as an artist and facilitator.
Related Resources:
Dwight Dunston’s Official Website
John Calvi’s Official Website
Merion Friends Meeting
Kingian Nonviolence Training Information
WWUH Radio: Gay Spirit Archive
Guest & Host Bios: Dwight Dunston (aka Sterling Duns) is a West Philly-based facilitator, hip-hop artist, and activist. A Level 2 Certified Kingian Nonviolence Trainer, Dwight brings creativity and care to his work in schools, festivals, and community centers to support healing and wholeness in individuals and ecosystems.
John Calvi is a Quaker healer and singer-songwriter. For over thirty years, he has offered massage and healing touch to survivors of trauma and those living with AIDS. He is the author of The Dance Between Hope and Fear.

NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.
The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
----
The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

In this mini-episode, host Dwight Dunston returns to his conversation with Quaker healer John Calvi. They explore the history of John’s seminal song, "The Ones Who Aren't Here," and the weight of carrying love across time and loss.
John shares the song's origins, written in his 20s during a time of "personal exile". Reflecting on the "fierce closet" of the early 80s, John notes, "As Pete Seeger said, you build a good building, can be used for a lot of different things over time". For John, the song became a "good building" for those seeking community during the AIDS crisis.
The episode features a 1982 recording from WWUH radio. John reflects: "Perhaps ministry is that rare, too rare, song that teaches the pain as it lifts us up towards knowing what is possible".
In this episode, we discuss:
The social origins of "The Ones Who Aren't Here".
Healing touch as Quaker ministry during the AIDS crisis.
John’s work with the late nonviolence educator William J. Kreidler.
Resources:
"The Ones Who Aren't Here" (Song): https://youtu.be/3EANcOHwLbc (1982 Recording)
John Calvi: https://johncalvi.com/
Suede (Singer - Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suede_(singer)
Meg Christian: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meg_Christian
LGBTQ Religious Archives Network (Calvi Profile): https://lgbtqreligiousarchives.org/profiles/john-calvi
William J. Kreidler (Memorial Archive): https://williamjkreidler.com/
"Nonviolence in the Classroom" (Reference to William Kreidler's work): https://biblioteca.cejamericas.org/handle/2015/4078
Guest Bio: John Calvi is a Quaker healer and songwriter who offered massage and healing touch during the AIDS crisis. A member of Putney (VT) Friends Meeting, he has had his music recorded by artists such as Meg Christian and Suede.
NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.
The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.

What does love look like when it moves beyond sentiment and becomes a force for healing, justice, and transformation?
In this Season Six finale of The Seed, we welcome John Calvi, a Quaker healer, certified massage therapist, and longtime advocate for survivors of trauma. John began offering healing touch during the AIDS crisis in 1983 and has since worked with survivors of war, torture, sexual abuse, and incarceration—always centering presence, compassion, and deep listening. He is also the founding convener of the Quaker Initiative to End Torture.
The conversation is grounded in All About Love: New Visions by bell hooks, including her insistence that “there can be no love without justice.” From there, Dwight and John explore how love is experienced somatically—in the body—and how it becomes power when it refuses domination and instead fosters dignity, accountability, and repair.
Reflecting on decades of healing work, John describes moments when the boundary between stranger and kin dissolves, when tenderness reveals both suffering and possibility at once. He speaks candidly about power—how “power over” wounds and constricts, while power rooted in love expands our capacity to remain present even in the face of immense pain.
As John puts it:
“Pain becomes suffering when it becomes all that we are. The work is to loosen the contraction of the body, of the heart, of the mind—so that pain does not take over our entire existence.”
John and Dwight discuss the wisdom of the body, Quaker worship as a deeply somatic practice, and the slow, cyclical nature of healing. John distinguishes between pain and suffering, noting how laughter, stillness, touch, and truth-telling can interrupt despair and make space for hope.
In his closing reflection, Dwight weaves together John’s stories with his own experiences of intergenerational care—of children and elders, beginnings and endings—inviting listeners to consider how love becomes real when it is practiced in tangible, embodied ways.
This episode closes Season Six with a grounded offering of wisdom: that love, when paired with justice, is not abstract. It is practiced with hands, breath, presence, and courage.
NEW Video Version available at Pendle Hill's YouTube page.
The transcript for this episode is available on https://pendlehillseed.buzzsprout.com/
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The Seed is a project of Pendle Hill, a Quaker center open to all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. We’re located in Wallingford, Pennsylvania, on the traditional territory of the Lenni-Lenape people.

Help us to grow The Seed!
Share your thoughts with us through our listener survey.

Follow us @PendleHillUSA on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to The Seed wherever you get your podcasts to get episodes in your library as they're released.  To learn more, visit pendlehill.org/podcast. 
This project is made possible by the generous support of the Thomas H. & Mary Williams Shoemaker Fund.