Hello Dear Community,
We are a society that celebrates its heroes and heroines. Often, however, we reserve that description for people who perform a dramatic act of courage or place themselves at great risk for the sake of others.
Those actions are certainly worthy of recognition. But courage and compassion also take quieter, more sustained forms.
All around us, people are doing the patient work of tending and mending: caring for those in need, repairing what has been fractured, creating connections across difference, and drawing into the circle those who have been pushed to the margins of belonging. Some carry out this work on a global stage. Others are known only within their neighborhoods, schools, workplaces, or communities. What they share is a commitment to weaving compassion into the fabric of our common life.
Today, we are delighted to introduce Compassion Weavers, a new GCC initiative created to recognize and celebrate these ambassadors of kindness, justice, and inclusion.
Through their choices and their presence, Compassion Weavers remind us that compassion is something we practice, relationship by relationship and thread by thread, until a stronger and more caring world begins to take shape.
Who is a Compassion Weaver in Your World?
Who comes to mind when you think of compassion in action?
Perhaps it is a neighbor who makes sure no one in the community is forgotten; an educator who creates a place of belonging for every student; a spiritual leader who turns contemplation into service; or an organizer whose steady work has transformed the lives of many.
You may know this person personally, or simply admire their contribution from afar.
We invite you to tell us about them through our short nomination form. By sharing their story, you can help bring greater visibility to their work, and help their example travel further.
Nominate a person you’d like us to meet!
News You Can Use. Who Gets Credit for Caring
Does showing compassion at work make someone more likely to be seen as a leader? A new study suggests that the answer depends on who is showing compassion, what form it takes, and the setting in which it occurs. Because warmth and nurturing are stereotypically expected of women, communal compassion tends to attract more attention, and confer a greater leadership advantage, when expressed by men. The same behavior from women is more likely to be overlooked.
More assertive, problem-solving forms of compassion can enhance women’s leadership standing by challenging gender expectations. Workplace culture matters too: in fields perceived as feminine, compassionate behavior more consistently strengthens leadership perceptions across genders and types of compassion. The findings offer an important caution for organizations: encouraging compassion is not enough to ensure equitable recognition. They must also examine the biases that determine whose compassion is noticed, valued, and rewarded.
Insight & Inspiration. When Love Needs Somewhere to Go
In a moving reflection published by DailyGood, Ravinder Komaragiri recounts how he and his wife prepared to face their daughter’s first birthday after her death. Rather than hold a conventional remembrance, they decided to honor her by bringing joy to sixty children at a nearby orphanage. What began as the idea of giving each child a dress grew into five dresses apiece, along with school bags, lunch boxes, water bottles, and chocolates, all carefully prepared and labeled for each individual child.
Komaragiri describes witnessing his wife’s grief become generosity; a way for the love they still carried to find somewhere new to flow. “On June 21st, we hope to bring a little colour into the lives of those children,” he says. “And somewhere in those clouds, I hope to see my daughter too.”
With Gratitude: Dolly Parton’s Generous Light
Dolly Parton could be easy to underestimate: the rhinestones, the towering hair, the larger-than-life persona. But beneath the sparkle was an artist of extraordinary depth, and a woman who tenaciously used her success to help others flourish. From creating the Imagination Library to get books into the hands of vulnerable children to supporting education, disaster relief, and medical research, she seemed happiest when her gifts could travel beyond her and open doors for others.
This clip from the Newport Folk Festival shows her performing with the Highwomen. In her characteristic style, Dolly leads without eclipsing them, sharing the song, the space, and the joy. “If you see someone without a smile today, give 'em yours," she once advised. May her life continue to inspire grace and kindness, and remind us that our gifts achieve their true magnitude when we share them generously with others.
With Gratitude: Wendell Berry’s Grounded Hope
Wendell Berry was a man of the land: a farmer, poet, essayist, and fierce defender of the bonds that connect soil, community, and the human spirit. Someone who attended one of his readings once remarked on his “farmer’s hands,” so unlike the hands one might imagine belonging to a poet. Yet it was precisely this union that seemed to define him. Rooted for decades on his Kentucky farm, he understood poetry as he understood caring for the Earth: as a daily practice of attention, honesty, and love.
Berry was a realist about the predicament we face. He wrote about the damage caused by greed, industrial agriculture, and our estrangement from the living world. Yet he never allowed clear sight to become despair. His was a grounded, hardworking hope: faith in the possibility of repair through tending what we love. "Do unto those downstream as you would have those upstream do unto you,” he wrote. And so he lived, in word and deed. May his devotion light the way. Enjoy his wisdom in this historic interview with Bill Moyers.
Let’s Practice!
Think of someone whose care has strengthened your life or your community. Recall one specific thing they did: a gesture, habit, or commitment that made a difference.
Then let them know, if you can: send a message, make a call, or thank them in person. And if their story could inspire others, consider nominating them as a Compassion Weaver.
A Question For You
Where might you find hope in faithfully tending to what you love?
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May we grow more attentive to the threads of belonging, more generous in honoring those who weave them, and more willing to add our own. And may we heed Wendell Berry’s luminous invitation: “Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.”
With rooted hope,
Fabiana
Editor, Coming Home
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