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Speaking Inquiries for Shane

Shane tries to keep a healthy rhythm for speaking and travel, held in sync with the rest of community life and activities here at The Simple Way and Potter Street Community. Because he so highly values his time in the neighborhood, Shane has a group of friends that help him carefully discern speaking engagements so that he is a good steward of his time. If you are interested in having Shane speak, please check out this form, complete it and send it by email to: mdelong@eastern.edu. We will consider this initial inquiry and get back to you in 3-4 weeks.

Please include:

Thanks!!!

(Shane generally plans 6-12 months in advance for speaking engagements.)

 

Speaking Details

Honorarium: Shane has no set fee for speaking, but rather asks the hosting group to suggest an honorarium (payable as a donation to The Simple Way) they think is appropriate. Because he is passionate about money not being the only determining factor for where he speaks, Shane often speaks for groups with little money to offer (or who take a freewill offering for The Simple Way). On the other hand, because he so highly values his time in the neighborhood, Shane seeks to be a wise and careful steward of his time away.

Travel: Shane requests travel for two. We have found great wisdom in the Gospel mandate to travel in pairs -- for accompaniment, accountability, and shared leadership. When within 3 driving hours, car rental or Greyhound is a good option.

Creation Care: Being mindful of the impact that our hyper-mobile pace and fuel use have on Creation, and of the fragility of the current patterns of consumption that have led to wars over natural resources and the degradation of God’s earth, Shane has a commitment to offset the ecological impact of his travel. There are two ways a group hosting Shane to speak can participate: either have a group of folks fast (go without) oil for a day the week Shane visits (a good guideline would be, at least one person go without fuel one day for every 100 miles Shane travels) -- this may mean something as simple as carpooling or biking to work or as imaginative as converting your car to run off used veggie oil (awip.us) –OR- (less exciting) you can add an additional $100 to the honorarium and Shane will donate that to a group dedicated to erasing the footprint his travel has on the environment. For more information on this, check out demotorize.org.

Lodging: Homes, not hotels. Shane does not like to stay in hotels. In the Spirit of the early Church's houses of hospitality, we request to stay in the home of someone in the community or congregation. Dorms are also fine.

Food: Not picky -- Shane prefers a vegetarian diet, and likes to have meals in people's homes, or prefers choosing small family-owned restaurants over corporate chains when possible.

Discussions: After a large group event, Shane often has "Talkback Sessions" with people who are interested, inviting questions and response to a message. Shane is very relational, and enjoys having group dialogues whenever possible – these can be incorporated into the large gathering (i.e. with an open mic) or can be scheduled as a separate post-session event.

Logistical Needs: We request a table setup to display photographs and literature. Copies will be made available. Depending on the event, we may also bring merchandise such as handmade buttons, t-shirts, or books and DVD sets, which will be available at a suggested donation.

For speaking, Shane requests a music stand or small podium (or just something to put papers on!), and prefers a handheld microphone.

Video/Audio: Shane usually uses video clips in presentations (VHS/DVD), and occasionally uses Audio (CD) clips. This can be worked out prior to the event.

Publicity: Shane has a biographical brief available to help with program material (usually included with this letter). Feel free to edit this appropriately for your context. Photos are also available upon request and are usually included here as well.

Contact info: Don't hesitate to call if you have questions or need anything further. This was just put together to help with details that usually come up initially. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact the office who handles Shane’s engagements by mail or by phone (610) 341-1735, or Fax (610) 341-4372. Or email Melissa Delong at mdelong@eastern.edu

Melissa handles speaking requests only, all other letters can be mailed to The Simple Way PO Box 14751 Philadelphia, PA 19134. Letters or donations to the community can be addressed to “The Simple Way community”, and personal letters for Shane can be to his attention at the PO Box. Shane reads all his mail, and responds to as many letters as he is able (granted it usually takes him several months).