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Hi there. Welcome! Watch the Intro Video.

What's Your Calling, Intro Video

Hi there. Welcome! Watch the Intro Video.

Whats Your Calling ,
41 Comments
Posted Date :September 26, 2010 | Length: 2:50

Welcome to Whats Your Calling? Whats Your Calling? explores religious and secular notions of calling through sharing the stories of what people feel most passionate about doing with their lives and why. Adding new videos each week, were looking at all of the stuff that makes us human: our values, our passions, our doubts and hopes. Profiling individuals from diverse backgrounds – professional snowboarders, jazz musicians, tug boat captains, academics, improvisers, Muay Thai fighters, religious leaders, social workers, environmental activists, toy inventors – Whats Your Calling? shares what people have been called to do with their lives and how they hope to change the world. Camera & Interviews by Danny Alpert, Erin Williams, and Ian Kibbe Editing by Carol Martori

Themes

Service

Sacrifice

Overcoming Obstacles

Loss

Inspiration

Health

Failure

Doubt

Community

Art

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What is Kosher slaughter?

Andy & Avi, Kosher Ritual Slaughter

What if your calling involves a violent but necessary act?

Andy & Avi , Kosher Ritual Slaughter
6 Comments
Posted Date :October 07, 2010 | Length: 5:27

Andy Kastner and Avi Rosenfeld, travel to upstate New York to learn shechita, the ritual slaughter of animals, also known as Kosher ritual slaughter. (New Rochelle, New York) Directed by Yoni Brook Editing by Matt Lauterbach Executive Produced by Danny Alpert

Themes

Seminary

Education

Judaism

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How much of ourselves do we give up to help others?

Rachel Durchslag, Ending Sexual Exploitation

How much of ourselves do we give up to help others?

Rachel Durchslag , Founder & Director, CAASE (Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation)
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Posted Date :September 27, 2010 | Length: 3:20

Rachel Durchslag, Executive Director and Founder of the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE), talks about the balance between helping others and helping yourself. CAASE is committed to building a global community free from sexual exploitation and believes that all forms of sexual exploitation, including sexual assault and the commercial sex trade are detrimental to a healthy society and undermine the dignity of all people. CAASE directly addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or tacitly support sexually exploitive acts against all people. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview by Erin Williams Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Themes

Doubt

Balance

Service

Sacrifice

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How violin virtuoso, Rachel Barton Pine, found her calling

Rachel Barton Pine, Concert Violinist

What was the moment in which you found your calling?

Rachel Barton Pine , Concert Violinist
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Posted Date :September 27, 2010 | Length: 2:19

Rachel Barton Pine talks about the moment she discovered she wanted to be a concert violinist and how small acts can change the course of a persons life. Rachel grew up in a financially struggling household and by age 14, she was helping her family pay for rent, groceries, and utilities. Home schooling gave her time to devote 8 hours a day to practice. She mad her earliest appearances with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at age 10 and 15. The youngest person, at 17, Rachel was the first American to win a gold medal at the prestigious 1992 J.S. Bach International Competition in Leipzig. She has been awarded Best Classical Entertainer three times at the Chicago Music Awards and has been named a Chicagoan of the Year by both The Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine. (Chicago, Illinois) Interview by Erin Williams Camera by Ian Kibbe Edited by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Erin Williams

Themes

Art

Music

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Aloha from the Midwest!

Wendy Takeguchi, Hula Instructor

What knowledge would you like to pass on?

Wendy Takeguchi , Founder, Hana Hou Hula Productions
3 Comments
Posted Date :March 24, 2011 | Length: 4:57

Wendy Takeguchi was born and raised in Aiea, Hawaii and has been dancing hula for over 25 years. In 2009, she relocated to the Chicago area and started the Hana Hou Hula Productions in Naperville, Illinois, which is a company dedicated to sharing authentic Hawaiian culture, education, and the Aloha spirit through classes and performances. Wendys young hula career includes winning Keiki Hula Competitions, entertaining for hotels and cruise ships in Waikiki, performing for the United Nations and President George Bush, being highlighted as the ProBowl Half Time Show, and traveling around the world to dance the hula and share the Hawaiian culture. (Naperville, Illinois) Interview by Jessica Tevaga Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Jessica Tevaga

Themes

Family

Education

Discipline

Community

Art

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Martin E. Marty: What's a calling?

Martin E. Marty, Scholar of Religion

What rituals reaffirm your calling?

Martin E. Marty , Scholar of Religion
2 Comments
Posted Date :February 08, 2011 | Length: 3:50

Martin E. Marty is one of the foremost authorities on religion and society. He is the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago, where he taught for over 35 years. He received a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1956, served as a Lutheran pastor from 1952 to 1962 in the suburbs of Chicago, and is the former President of the American Catholic Historical Association. Upon Professor Martys retirement in 1998, the Divinity School at the University of Chicago renamed its Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion, which Marty founded back in 1979, The Martin Marty Center. Marty is the author of over fifty books, including Righteous Empire , winner of the National Book Award, the three volume, Modern American Religion, and The One and the Many: Americas Search for the Common Good. Interview & Camera by Ian Kibbe Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Danny Alpert & Rachel Pikelny

Themes

Inspiration

Faith

Education

Community

Christianity

Tradition

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Go to college, or take over the family farm?

Donn Teske, Farmer

What do you hope to leave for the next generation?

Donn Teske , Farmer
1 Comments
Posted Date :May 26, 2011 | Length: 4:23

Donn Teske is a farmer in Kansas. His story is profiled in Whats The Matter With Kansas? , a film by Laura Cohen & Joe Winston. In his Whats Your Calling? interview, Donn, who was born in Kansas in a town of 97 people, talks about family, legacy, home and his decision to take over the family farm instead of going to college. Interview & Camera by Joe Winston Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Joe Winston

Themes

Identity

Home

Family

Environment

Education

Discipline

Community

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Turning a lens on nonviolence in Israel-Palestine

Ronit Avni, Filmmaker, Human Rights Advocate

What do you do when your backyard is burning?

Ronit Avni , Filmmaker, Human Rights Advocate
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Posted Date :February 16, 2011 | Length: 5:46

Ronit Avni is an awardwinning filmmaker, human rights advocate and media strategist with an expertise in IsraeliPalestinian conflict resolution efforts. Ronit is the Founder and Executive Director of Just Vision, a nonprofit organization that researches, documents and creates media about Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders in nonviolence and peace building. Ronit previously worked for WITNESS and has trained NGOs from Honduras to Gambia to produce videos as a tool for public education and grassroots mobilizing, as a deterrent to further abuse, and as evidence before courts and tribunals. Ronit is currently a Young Global Leader, sponsored by the World Economic Forum, a Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a United Nations Global Expert through the Alliance of Civilizations. Camera & Interview by Kasey Kirby Editing by Matt Lauterbach Produced by Rachel Pikelny & Erin Williams

Themes

Identity

Inspiration

Interfaith

Islam

Judaism

Overcoming Obstacles