On-line Winter Solstice Singing starts in early October!

[image: candles in the dark]

On-line Winter Solstice Singing starts in early October!  

Sign up here: 
https://forms.gle/pi7i1GephusuArJh8  

Starting on the first Sunday in October, I'll be hosting on-line song-learning sessions / rehearsals for an on-line Winter Solstice Celebration (a presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual).

There will be regular sessions from October to December that build on each other, leading up to the Celebration on 18th December.

You are invited to participate in the Winter Solstice Celebration whether you sing or not -- but if you'd like to learn the songs in advance, including harmonies, please sign up!

You also do not need to commit to the Celebration to come learn songs. Maybe you just want to come learn songs and sing! (You can also decide later.)

We will meet once a week. If needed or preferred, I will record rehearsals for those who can't join us live and for anyone who wants to go back over the rehearsal during the week; these will be shared privately. There will also be a variety of learning resources available between sessions for your work on your own.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of experience singing or ability to read music. There are easier pieces and more challenging pieces -- a little something for everyone.

 == Song-learning sessions ==

...will run on Sundays from 3rd October through 12th December, each week building on the week before.

We'll cover the sing-along songs, of course, including harmonies, but also the "performance" songs as well. (If you'd like more information on the specific songs, please go to https://bit.ly/WinterSolsticeCelebrations and click on "Songs.")

* Song-learning sessions will run from 7-9 pm Edinburgh/UK time, and are open to anyone, regardless of geographic location.

* You can check what time that is for you here:https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html.

* You don't need a copy of the book or CD in order to participate, although they're helpful to have.  More on that below.  

== Schedule: ==

* Song-learning sessions/rehearsals Sundays, 3rd October - 5th December, 7-9 pm Edinburgh/UK time; not sure yet about 28th November

* Complete read-through and sing-through, Sunday, 12th December, 7-9 pm UK time

* Winter Solstice Celebration, Saturday, 18th December, 7-9 pm Edinburgh/UK time

== Copies of the book and CD ==

You do not need to own a copy of this in advance, but the book contains all the sheet music, and the CD contains full recordings of all 15 pieces, as well as teaching tracks for 8 (as well as the text for the full Celebration), so it's very, very useful.

If you live in Europe and would like a copy for £14 + postage, you can get one from me.

If you live in the US and want a copy, the person to contact is my co-author Julie Forest Middleton; I can put you in touch.

== How do I know without knowing more about the music itself? ==

The songs are a mix of rounds, well-known songs, spirituals, feminist spirituality chants and Pagan chants, and a couple of choral pieces.

There's detailed information about every song at https://bit.ly/WinterSolsticeCelebrations; click on "Songs."

I'm looking forward to singing with people from a wide range of places in the Northern Hemisphere!

== Open to people of all genders ==

Both the choir and the Celebration are open to people of all genders. Transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, and agender people are explicitly welcome.

* The music I have is written mostly in treble clef and is labeled for sopranos and altos, but I've worked with tenors and basses in addition for several years, and these pieces adapt well for lower voices as well.  I teach "Line 1," "Line 2," "Line 3," etc.

* Anyone can sing any part that works for their voice on any song. You might sing one line for one piece, and a different line on another. You can also choose to sing the same line on all the songs if that's what works for you. We have lots of flexibility.

If you have any other questions, please let me know.

If you'd like to sign up for the song-learning sessions, please click here:
https://forms.gle/pi7i1GephusuArJh8  

Please share widely!

cover of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual book

 

Upcoming events: Winter Solstice Celebration; Winter Solstice singing

I am excited to share a few bits of news!

• Winter Solstice Celebration (on-line): Save the date!
• Winter Solstice Singing (on-line song-learning sessions)

Winter Solstice Celebration (on-line): Save the date!  

This year I am hosting a presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual on-line again.  

Saturday, December 18th

11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern / 7 pm UT / 8 pm Central Europe

Presented by Stasa Morgan-Appel (bread and roses spiritual nurture) and friends

Live Narration, Readings, and Song-Leading; pre-recorded music; available in real-time only

Pre-registration required to obtain links

 

If you're already on the email list, you'll receive email updates (indeed, you should have received one already); if you'd like to receive updates, you should go to the website for more information and the link: https://bit.ly/WinterSolsticeCelebrations

Winter Solstice Singing (on-line song-learning sessions)

If there's enough interest, I will host on-line song-learning sessions again this year, starting in late September.

• Sessions will be on Sunday evenings from 7-9 British Time.  (You can check what time that usually is for you here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html)
• If enough people are interested but can't attend live, I will make arrangements for video recordings to be available.
• Other song-learning resources will available outside live sessions (sheet music, audio teaching tracks, audio recordings).  
• Each week will build on the week before.
• To sign up or register your interest, please fill out this form:
  https://forms.gle/pi7i1GephusuArJh8  

These sessions are explicitly welcoming of all women and all other gender minorities, especially transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, and questioning people.

Websites

Just a reminder that the websites are: 

• bread and roses spiritual nurture: https://bit.ly/StasaMA
• Winter Solstice Celebrations: https://bit.ly/WinterSolsticeCelebrations

2020 Winter Solstice Celebration On-Line

 

You're invited to
the 24th Annual

Winter Solstice Celebration

A Celebration of the Darkness and the Light
with Songs and Stories

-------

Saturday, 19th December, 2020
On-line
7-9 pm GMT

Europe: 7-9 pm UK; 8-10 pm Central European Time
North America: 2-4 pm Eastern Time; 11 am-1 pm Pacific Time
Everywhere: Click here to confirm time in your location

-------

A time of quiet reflection in the midst of the hectic festive season

Songs, stories, candle-lighting, silent meditation, singing, and more

All ages welcome

-------

Registration required

To register, please click here

Sign Up for 2020 Winter Solstice Singing

 

I am going to be hosting a Winter Solstice Celebration (A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual) on-line, on Saturday, 19th December.  

From September through December, I am hosting on-line song-learning sessions / rehearsals for those who would like to learn the songs ahead of time, to sing along during the Celebration.  

Everyone is welcome, regardless of experience singing or ability to read music. There are easier pieces and more challenging pieces -- a little something for everyone.

You do not need to attend these in order to come to the Celebration; likewise, you do not need to come to the Celebration if you come to these.  You are welcome at either and both!

Song-learning sessions will run from Sunday, 6th September through Sunday, 13th December, each week building on the week before.  

We'll cover the sing-along songs, of course, including harmonies, but also the "performance" songs as well. (If you'd like more information on the specific songs, please click here.) 

• Song-learning sessions will run from 6-8 pm UK time, and are open to anyone, regardless of geographic location.  
  

• You can check what time that is for you here: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html.   
  

• If you miss a session or the time generally doesn't work for you, there will be rehearsal recordings available.   
  

• You don't need a copy of the book or CD in order to participate, although they're helpful to have.

 

Schedule: 

• Song-learning sessions/rehearsals Sundays, 6th September - 6th December (no session 29th November), 6-8 pm UK time
  

• Complete read-through and sing-through, Sunday, 13th December, 6-8 pm UK time
  
  

• Winter Solstice Celebration, Saturday, 19th December, 7-9 pm UK time 

 

Copies of the book and CD

You do not need to own a copy of this in advance, but the book contains all the sheet music, and the CD contains full recordings of all 15 pieces, as well as teaching tracks for 8 (as well as the full Celebration), so it's very, very useful.

If you live in Europe and would like a copy for £14 + postage, you can get one from me.

If you live in the US and want a copy, the person to contact is my co-author Julie Forest Middleton; I can put you in touch.

 

How do I know without knowing more about the music itself?

The songs are a mix of rounds, well-known songs, spirituals, feminist spirituality chants and Pagan chants, and a couple of choral pieces.

There's detailed information about every song at tinyurl.com/wintersolsticesinging/for-singers.

I'm looking forward to singing with people from a wide range of places in the Northern Hemisphere!

 

Open to people of all genders

Both the choir and the Celebration are open to people of all genders. Transgender, non-binary, agender, and genderqueer people are explicitly welcome.

• The music I have is written mostly in treble clef and is labeled for sopranos and altos, but I've worked with tenors and basses over the last several years, and these pieces adapt well for lower voices as well.

• Anyone can sing any part on any song that works for their voice. You might sing a part labelled one way for one piece, and a part labelled a different way on another. You can also choose to sing all one voice part if that's what works for you. We have lots of flexibility.

 

If you have any other questions, please let me know. 

If you'd like to sign up for the song-learning sessions, please click here:
https://forms.gle/ds2yV9eLfkLFa2ot7

On-line choir starting soon

Hello, all! 

Starting in August, I am hosting on-line song-learning sessions for an on-line Winter Solstice Celebration (a presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual).

There will be:

* two taster sessions in August;

* regular sessions from September to December that build on each other, leading up to the Celebration on 20th December.

You are invited to participate in the Winter Solstice Celebration whether you sing or not -- but if you'd like to learn the songs in advance, including harmonies, please sign up!

You also do not need to commit to the Celebration to come learn songs. Maybe you just want to come learn songs and sing! (You can also decide later.)

We will meet once a week. I hope to record rehearsals for those who can't join us live and for anyone who wants to go back over the rehearsal during the week; these will be shared privately. There will also be a variety of learning resources available between sessions for your work on your own.

Everyone is welcome, regardless of experience singing or ability to read music. There are easier pieces and more challenging pieces -- a little something for everyone.

== Dates ==

Taster sessions:

Sundays, 9th & 16th August

6-8 pm BST

(7 pm Central European, 1 pm EDT, 10 am PDT)

Regular rehearsals:

Sundays, 6th September-13th December

6-8 pm British Time

(7 pm Central European, 1 pm Eastern North America, 10 am Pacific North America)

Winter Solstice Celebration:

A presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual

Sunday 20th December

6-8 pm UT/GMT

(7 pm Central European, 1 pm EST, 10 am PST)

== To sign up ==

Message me on Facebook, or email me if you have my email address.

== Copies of the book and CD ==

You do not need to own a copy of this in advance, but the book contains all the sheet music, and the CD contains full recordings of all 15 pieces, as well as teaching tracks for 8 (as well as the full Celebration), so it's very, very useful.

If you live in Europe and want a copy for £14 + postage, you can get one from me.

If you live in the US and want a copy, the person to contact is my co-author Julie Forest Middleton; I can put you in touch.

== How do I know without knowing more about the music itself? ==

The songs are a mix of rounds, well-known songs, spirituals, feminist spirituality chants and Pagan chants, and a couple of choral pieces.

There's detailed information about every song at tinyurl.com/wintersolsticesinging/for-singers. 

I'm looking forward to singing with people from a wide range of places in the Northern Hemisphere! 

== Open to people of all genders ==

EDITED TO ADD, because this has come up a bit with people who don't know me personally, and I'd neglected to say it explicitly: 

Both the choir and the Celebration are open to people of all genders.  Transgender, non-binary, and genderqueer people are explicitly welcome.  

* The music I have is written mostly in treble clef and is labeled for sopranos and altos, but I've worked with tenors and basses over the last several years, and these pieces adapt well for lower voices as well. 

* Anyone can sing any part on any song that works for their voice.  You might sing a part labelled one way for one piece, and a part labelled a different way on another.  You can also choose to sing all one voice part if that's what works for you.  We have lots of flexibility.

Beltane during stay-at-home

Happy Beltane! 

When we gather in person for Beltane, we often weave ribbons around a May Pole as we weave intentions into our lives, and bless each other's creativity and pay specific attention to what we're experiencing with our senses, this sensuous time of year. 

Some queries for reflection this stay-at-home Beltane:

• What are you weaving into your life? 
• What are you doing here, now, today, that nurtures your senses?  

 [photo by Mike Goren (hi, Mike!), from Bryn Mawr College May Day 2005.  A stone building framed by trees in the background, with three white May Poles on green grass; to the left, the farthest has light blue ribbons, the middle one green ribbons, and the nearest, to the right, has red ribbons (you can see ribbons from the dark blue one to the right, but not the May Pole itself.)  There are many smiling people, mostly women, mostly but not all wearing white and many wearing matching sashes, holding ribbons to the May Poles and dancing around them, as well as spectators watching.]

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Maypoles.jpg
Album here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/celebdu/albums/306062

Winter Solstice and A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual on The VUU!

On Winter Solstice -- at the moment of the Solstice, too! -- I had the pleasure and privilege of spending an hour in the on-line living room of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Larger Fellowship, as a guest on The VUU. It was a lovely experience -- gift after gift during that hour.

Many thanks to everyone involved for our lovely conversation and experiential celebration of the Solstice, and especially to Lori Stone Sirtosky and Rina Jurceka, for much more than I can put into words in this space.

And just a reminder -- you don't have to have a group to do A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual.  You can do it by yourself in your living room, or with a small group of friends, or with 20 people in a friend's living room.   

Blessed Solstice and Happy 2018!

----------------

Watch the video on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iuGDm9Yr-c

Watch the video here:




Listen to the podcast/audio:

• https://www.questformeaning.org/vuu-latest/202-solstice-celebrating-dark/#comment-7378

Download podcast here:

• https://media.blubrry.com/clfvuu_latest/s/www.questformeaning.org/podcasts/vuu/latest/vuu202.mp3

More on A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual:

• tinyurl.com/WinterSolsticeSinging

A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual on Facebook:

• https://www.facebook.com/WinterSolsticeSingingRitual/

Erica Baron's wonderful Yule story, which she read on the program:

• http://www.patheos.com/blogs/naturespath/2016/12/yule-story/

Making Ripples at FGC Gathering!

Photo from Flickr user gettheshot75

Hello, folks!

I wanted to let you know that I'm helping with the group creation of what looks to be a fabulous, experiential plenary at FGC Gathering this year, "Making Ripples," under the fabulous creative direction of Vonn New.

Currently I'm up to my eyebrows in collaborative labyrinth design.  *happy creative hum*

If you're in reach of Niagara University in NY state on Wednesday, 5 July, from 7:00-8:45 pm, you are invited!

Making Ripples:

Come listen, play, sing, move, dance, and make a joyful noise as we lift up the creative spirit of Friends young and old to perform an original spontaeous composition that reminds us that beauty, joy, peace, and love are the true antidotes to our turbulent times. Join us as we move into an evening of collaborative improvisation for all ages led by Vonn New and her team and, as we're led, by all of us!

https://www.fgcquaker.org/events/making-ripples

 Call for volunteers:

Call for Volunteer Helpers & Collaborators

Contact: Vonn New, select "Making Ripples Wednesday Plenary" on the Gathering Contact Form.

Making Ripples, the program for the Wednesday evening plenary is a fully participatory evening of music, dance, reflection and community.  As Friends, we did away with the laity to lift up the ministry of all, during this program, we will eliminate the audience.

Folks who are into visual art, labyrinths, musical improvisation, herding cats, eldering, singing, dancing, helping make experiences accessible to all, and generally being helpful are all needed to pull this off. Please contact Vonn New if you want to help. (Select "Making Ripples Wednesday Plenary" on the Gathering Contact Form.)

Bellwethers - lead by example, assist in directing participants, deploying instruments and props during the event and attend a practice session beforehand, engage in fun artsy exercises in the weeks leading up to Gathering.

Manager - help coordinate the other teams, assist with problem-solving before, during, and after the event, stomp out procrastination.

Accessibility Team - advise me on how to best make the event accessible to everyone, help make that happen.

Set Up/Tear Down Team - set up chairs, props, and more before and after the event

Instrumental Musicians - participate in musical improvisation during the event and attend a practice session beforehand

Singers - participate in improvisation during the event and attend a practice session beforehand.

Dancers & Creative Movement Team - perform improvised dance as led, assist in creating and leading participant movement, attend a practice session beforehand

Visual Artists - assist in making performance space beautiful, help create beautiful instruction cards, assist in hosting participatory public art to make cards and props beforehand, help with costuming and other aesthetic ideas

Textile Artists - assist in making performance space beautiful, help create dance props, costuming ideas

Elders - provide spiritual grounding during the event, hold our preparations in the Light, provide accompaniment to this ministry

https://www.fgcquaker.org/connect/gathering/programs-and-events/evening-programs/making-ripples-volunteering

The contact form is here:
https://www.fgcquaker.org/connect/gathering/gatheringcontact

--------------

p.s  How could I leave these bits out???

Come join our Facebook group!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/644929179037375/

See the master plan here, with everything there is to know so far about what will happen Wednesday night:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RkkdqZdCywjiGKlut1q1LjICSXzX9mzYnSsralHDLF4/edit

Queries for Samhain

A blessed Samhain and New Year to you. 

Who are the ancestors you're honoring, physical and spiritual?
Who are the dead you are remembering?
What losses and endings are you marking?

Who are the new babies you are welcoming?
What people and new beginnings have been born in your life this year?

(c) Laura Treadway photography.  Used with permission.  http://lauratreadway.com/

Brigid, Candlemas, Imbolc

A good Brigid / Candlemas / Imbolc to you!

Brigid is the triple Goddess of smithcraft, healing, and poetry. What are some ways creativity, healing, or both are weaving themselves through your life?

What are some concrete things you might do to them in?

Save the date for FLGBTQC Mid-Winter Gathering 2016!

[image: vintage postcard displaying "Greetings from Texas, the Lone Star State"

with a cowboy hat hanging on the T and E]

​Spread the news! We're going big in 2016 with a fabulous Mid-Winter Gathering in central Texas! 

Our hosts this year are the Friends from South Central Yearly Meeting, who send the following minute from their annual sessions held in April of 2015: "South Central Yearly Meeting joyously invites Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns to hold its next Midwinter Gathering in our region. We look forward to supporting you spiritually and emotionally, and offering whatever logistical support we can."

The dates are January 15 to 18, 2016. Plan to arrive for dinner on the 15th. 

The location is at URJ Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, TX. (The closest major city is Waco, TX.) Check out Greene's website here: http://greene.urjcamps.org

The best airports will be Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin. Waco is a small regional airport, but there are deals to be had that could route y'all to Waco. We are hoping to have shuttles from both the Dallas/Fort Worth airport and the Austin airport, thanks to support from SCYM Friends. 

The theme is coming soon, but it will be fitting of this fabulous, expansive, wonderful location as well as the yearning of our community. With a theme announcement will also come a keynote speaker announcement! A call for workshops will also come quite soon! Huzzah! 

Questions, concerns, love, bubbles, and/or the location of a large stuffed unicorn should be sent to flgbtqcmidwinter at gmail dot com.

Feel free to share this little announcement with anyone that you think would be an awesome addition to our Gathering!

Katrina, 10 Years Later -- part I

Hurricane Katrina satellite view, 28 August 2005*

The ten-year anniversaries of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma have been much on my mind lately.

In August, 2005, our family had just moved to the Midwest.  I'd grown up in hurricane country and had lived most of my life in majority-minority cities.  I spent the days before Katrina's landfalls tracking the storm on weather websites and anxiously listening to the news.

I spent the days after Katrina hit, like so many people, getting more and more angry, desperately wanting to Do Something.

Hurricane Rita, satellite view, 5 September 2005*

I spent Hurricane Rita in Montgomery, Alabama, stranded with hundreds of other disaster relief volunteers in a big box store converted to volunteer staff shelter.  We were incredibly frustrated at being stuck there instead of being out in the field, and given how impossible things already were for Katrina survivors, we were worried about how much worse they were getting.

When it was safe enough to travel -- still lots of wind and rain, but lower winds and fewer tornadoes -- I was assigned to go to a newly-opened service center in Jackson, Mississippi as a family services caseworker.  There, my volunteer colleagues and I worked with thousands of hurricane survivors every day -- for weeks.  Many of the people we saw had been displaced twice -- they'd lost everything and been forced to move to another part of the country, then they lost what replacements they'd been able to scramble and were forced to move again.

One of the things I remember most about that time is the incredible people I met and worked with, over and over and over.  The other volunteers.  The survivors.  The National Guard service members, local law enforcement, firefighters, and paramedics.  The people who offered their workplace for our volunteer staff shelter, and tried to make it as homey as possible.

The way people pulled together to pull together.

--------------------------

It is vitally important to lift up recognition of the structurally racist nature of emergency planning and response by local and federal officials in the Gulf Coast region before, during, and after hurricane season 2005.   Yes, natural disasters generally affect people who are poor, people with disabilities, and people of color harder than they affect non-disabled middle-class white people.  But with Katrina especially, that disproportionate impact was so. much. greater.  It was, and still is, very hard not to see that as almost deliberate -- as the logical consequence of a long, long series of racist decisions and choices.

Black lives matter, dammit.  

Other people, especially people of color, have written about this much better than I can, and I encourage you to seek out what they have to say. Especially about the roots and the long-term effects of that racist decision-making. 

--------------------------

I know I have more to write about that time, but none of it is quite here yet.  In the meantime, while that's brewing, here are two excerpts from other things I've written in the past: 

At the five-year anniversary: 

Five years ago, we had just moved to the Midwest, and I was listening to the news coverage after Hurricane Katrina and getting angrier and angrier.

Well, that had happened after September 11th, too; and then, the Red Cross had desperately needed help, too.  So I'd taken my three community service days from work and answered phones at the SE PA Red Cross.  It wasn't glamorous, but it freed up trained people to go out in the field and deal with local disasters like house fires.  And it gave me something constructive to do.  Which was better than listening to people bitch all day at work about how we should, in fact, bomb Afghanistan back into the Stone Age.

So when I was getting pissed off after Katrina, I called the local Red Cross in Michigan, thinking I'd answer phones again. 

They asked me to go to the Gulf Coast and do Family Services / Client Services.  Case management.

And I did.

And it was an amazing experience.

I didn't have time to write much about it, and when I got back home, I left almost immediately for a family funeral; but I did write some.  And I also wrote a little in my article for Friends Journal. 

Excerpt from my Friends Journal article, "The Peace Testimony and Armed Forces Emergency Services":

As a Friend, I first got involved with the Red Cross through Disaster Services just after September 11, 2001. Like so many of us, I had a deep need to do something – something to help, and something that expressed the Peace Testimony. What I did was answer phones, all day, every day. It wasn’t glamorous, but it was needed, and it freed up experienced, trained volunteers to go out in the field.

After Hurricane Katrina, I again found myself raging at the news, and again felt that need to do something. So I thought I’d go answer phones again. But because I have experience as a pastoral counselor and case manager and the need was so great, the local Chapter asked me to go to the Gulf Coast instead.

Five weeks after the disaster, at just one service center, in just one town, my fellow volunteers and I saw and spoke with thousands of people every day. None of us could “fix” anything for them. True, we could help them apply for financial assistance. True, we could try to connect them with services. But we couldn’t repair their lives.

Mostly, what we could do was just be there with them.

It turned out our simple presence meant much more than financial assistance to many people.

“You came from where? To be here with us?”

“But you’re not getting paid?!”

“What about your family?”

“Thank you for coming down here.”

“I haven’t told anybody what happened, and it’s been more than a month.”

“We thought nobody cared about us.”

I already knew what a difference it made for me to have someone simply be with me when I was going through hard times. In Mississippi, I learned yet again that bearing witness is sacred work.

--------------------------

Hurricane Wilma, satellite view, 19 October 2005*

*

Hurricane Katrina, 28 August 2005.  By Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC (http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=7938) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Hurricane Rita, 5 September 2005.  By Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC (http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=7957) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Hurricane Wilma, 19 October 2005.  By NOAA Satellite and Information Service [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Beltane on Calton Hill with Beltane Fire Society

Note: This is my write-up from 2013.  - sm

I'm a Pagan and I live in Edinburgh: the big question many people are asking me is, "Did you go to Beltane Fire Society??" 

Yes, I did.  Beloved Wife insisted, of all things; I likely would have done the introvert hermit thing, otherwise.  (Big public ritual performance, eek!)  Instead, we went together, and had a blast. 

Yes, it was fabulous, amazing spectacle.  It wasn't the kind of focused ritual work or spiritual work that I would like to be my only celebration of the holiday, but I had a tremendous amount of fun, it was exhilarating, and I'm glad we went.  It was very well-run and well-organized.  We could tell the crowd was a mix of tourists (of both kinds -- spiritual and geographic) and people for whom this was serious business, and everyone was pretty respectful.

(With a few drunken, or just plain thoughtless, exceptions, but I only had to stifle the urge twice to stifle people I found obnoxious.  "This ought to be free.  It's on Calton Hill, so it ought to be free."  (*eyeroll*  Tickets were £8.50 at the door, and much less in advance; and even at the door, that was cheap for how much it costs to put this on, between security, pyrotechnics, police, etc...)  "Yeah, I went through a period where I was into witchcraft and all that, and my girlfriends and I even had this coven, but it's not like it's real religion or anything..."  (I'll spare you the rest of that overheard conversation.))

We didn't get to see a lot of detail, so for that, I'll refer you to BFS' Flickr stream: http://www.flickr.com/photos/beltanefiresociety/.

But, yes, wow, the organization, the attention to detail, the thought that went into everything, the drama, the pageantry, the costuming, the use of massed drumming, torches, fire, pyrotechnics... 

Heh heh heh heh.  Big public dramatic ritual/ritual drama, all right. 

It occurs to me: some of my Cherry Hill colleagues are writing analytical critiques of Burning Man and such from Pagan/ritual theory/ritual studies/theaological perspectives.  I'd love to see such analyses of any of BFS' big public presentations.

Quakers Uniting in Publications (QUIP) 2015 Conference

After being part of Quakers Uniting in Publications (QUIP) for many years, I finally got to go to a QUIP conference! 

The location travels -- under the current schedule, the annual conference rotates between the US East Coast, Midwest, West/Pacific Northwest, and the UK.  So it comes to the UK every four years.  (The last year we lived in the US, the conference was in the UK.  Since then, it's been in the US.  Ah, timing.  And money.) 

This year, the conference was back at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham, England, and this year, things came together so that I was finally able to go.  

There were Friends there from the US, the UK, Germany, and Russia, with a wide range of involvement in different kinds of publications and parts of the publication process.  QUIP also includes Friends from a wide range of traditions within Quakerism. 

For me, it was an extra treat to be at Woodbrooke with a truly international group of Friends. 

Workshops, talks, and plenaries ranged from not-quite-my-cup-of-tea, to interesting, to fascinating.  Social media and internet work played a big part in many of the sessions.  Some sessions had interactive pieces built in, from going on-line, to breaking into small groups, to looking at blog posts pinned up on the walls.  In one workshop exercise, we'd worked on hypothetical book projects in small groups, and the presentations back to the main group had us all in stitches, we were laughing so hard. 

It was lovely to see old friends and meet new ones.  It was really good to have the chance to catch up in person with people I already know, and to get to know other people a bit.  It was also helpful being in a group where enough of us were introverts that nobody blinked when people disappeared for naps or quite solitary time. 

And being immersed in a publications-centered environment was very helpful.  I'm definitely feeling more creativity and inspiration flowing regarding not just my own writing, but creative work in general -- and especially where they intersect and interact.  I'm definitely more in touch again with the connections between printed words, books, social media, community, and Doing Things individually and together in the in-person world.  It'll be interesting to see what comes of it, projects-wise, for me...

A number of Friends who were there posted to Facebook and to Twitter over the weekend. 

For a much better sense of what took place, along with lots of wonderful pictures of people and scenery -- it was very definitely spring in Birmingham, and lovely! -- try these links:

* On Twitter at #QUIP2015
* On Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/QuakerQuip?fref=ts

Enjoy!

Happy Eostara!

Happy March Equinox! Happy Eostara in the northern hemisphere!

• What are the sunrise and sunset times where you are? 
• How many hours of daylight are there today in your locale?

There are lots of places to look this information up, from the US Naval Observatory (http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/index.php) to TimeAndDate.Com (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/sunrise.html), and more. 

• What spiritual lessons or reminders does Spring Equinox bring you?  

Other recent astronomical events: 

There was also a solar eclipse today, visible in much of Europe, northern Africa, and northern Asia.  We had brilliant sun mixed with scudding clouds here, but I did get some really cool views using a colander and a piece of white paper taped up to the side of the house.  That was pretty neat! 

Earlier this week, much of the UK saw some gorgeous auroras.  My city was fogged in, so I didn't get to see any, but there are some fabulous pictures at the AuroraWatch UK Flickr pool: https://www.flickr.com/groups/aurorawatch. 

I hope this Equinox brings either Spring or the promise of Spring to all of you in the Northern Hemisphere who have had unusual amounts of cold, snow, or both this winter, and to anyone who is just. ready. for. Spring. 

Happy Eostara! 

On Worship and Mutual Care

Readings from a recent meeting of my Local Meeting's Es&Os (Elders & Overseers).  This was fairly deep with us, and so I thought I'd share:

Worship

The heart of the life of the Religious Society of Friends is the Meeting for Worship. It calls for us to offer ourselves, body, mind, and soul for the doing of God’s will.

Worship is the adoring response of the heart and mind to the influence of the Spirit of God. It stands neither in forms nor in the formal disuse of forms; it may be with or without words, but it must be in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). We recognize the value of silence, not as an end, but as a means toward the attainment of the end, which is communication with God, and fellowship with one another.

In all our Meetings for Worship, we gather in a spirit of prayerful obedience to God, with a willingness to give as well as to receive. In speech or in silence, each person contributes to the Meeting. Worshiping God together, we strengthen one another, and our bodies and minds are refreshed in the Life of the Spirit. Our daily lives are linked with the Meeting for Worship, the Meeting for Worship with our daily lives.

Friends are encouraged to give adequate time for study, meditation and prayer, and other ways of preparing for worship, and to arrive at Meeting promptly with an open and expectant spirit. During the Meeting for Worship, some people may feel moved to speak, to share an insight, to pray, to praise. When we feel led to speak, we should do so, clearly and simply. When another speaks, we should listen with an open spirit, seeking the thought behind the words and holding the speaker in love. After a message has been given, Friends should have time to ponder its meaning and to search themselves before another speaks.

How do we prepare our hearts and minds for worship?

Do we meet in expectant waiting for the promptings of the Divine Spirit? Is there a living silence in which we are drawn together by the power of God in our midst? Is this inspiration carried over into our daily living?

Is the vocal ministry exercised under the leading of the Holy Spirit without prearrangement, and in the simplicity and sincerity of truth? As we listen, or as we speak, are we guided by the Inward Light and sensitive to one another’s needs? Are we careful not to speak at undue length or beyond our light?

...

Mutual Care

Our need for love and care, and our response to this need in others, make up a rich part of our lives. In an exchange truly grounded in love, each of us is both giver and receiver, ready to help and accept help. Neither pride nor fear keeps us from the unconditional love and care of God manifested through others. Let neither comfort nor self-centeredness blind us to need of others.

We listen to one another with openness of heart and in good faith, aware that greater wisdom than our own is required to meet our human needs. We lift up our hearts to the Source of all wisdom and power.

Are we charitable with each other? How careful are we of the reputation of others? Do we avoid hurtful criticism and gossip?

Do we practice the art of listening to one another, even beyond words?
 
How well are we able to love each other unconditionally?

Are we sensitive to each other’s personal needs and difficulties and do we assist in useful ways?

~ from Faith and Practice of North Pacific Yearly Meeting, Chapter 6, Advices and Queries, 1993 edition

------------

I recently started a term on Overseers, the pastoral care and counsel group, of my Local Meeting, appointed by Area Meeting. 

I am deeply uncomfortable with the term 'overseer,' because of its association with chattel slavery.   I'm willing to be referred to as a member of Oversight, but I am not comfortable being referred to as an overseer.  And I'd much prefer if we were called something more in line with what we actually are, such as Care & Counsel.  

Local Meeting 'Es&Os' (Elders and Overseers) had one of our regular meetings this week.  Our convener asked me beforehand to bring a reading to share.  Usually these are from Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker Faith and Practice, but sometimes from other Quaker texts or something different altogether.  I spent part of my afternoon beforehand delightfully buried in several different books.  I ended up finding much more than I was looking for in North Pacific Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice, which remains one of my all-time favourite Faith and Practice books, for many reasons. 

What I have above is what I ended up reading.  

A love note from your Recording Clerk

This is an email I recently sent to the list-serv for Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC): 

It's been a little over a year since Nominating Committee approached me and asked if I'd be willing to consider serving as FLGBTQC Recording Clerk.

To say I was surprised is putting it mildly.  Recording clerking is really, truly, absolutely Ministry That Would Not Have Occurred to Me.

Taking minutes by hand is painful for me.  I didn't have a laptop until very recently.  I am a terrible minute-taker in secular meetings.  I had never been remotely interested in being a recording clerk, and had in fact actively avoided recording for committee meetings.  It never occurred to me that I might have skills which are good for a recording clerk to have, or that I could be good as a recording clerk.

What changed?

Well, when I carefully asked F/friends on Nominating if there were any particular reasons they'd thought of me (I'm sure my dubiousness was thinly cloaked), I got a lot of really good answers.  The kind which sounded to me like Friends were listening to Spirit, and also like they know me pretty well, and were putting what they know of me together with things I hadn't thought of and the needs of the community.  (Go, Nominating.  This is a form of eldering: helping people recognize gifts of the Spirit they haven't recognized in themselves, and asking that those gifts be used in the service of the Spirit and the community.)

In Britain Yearly Meeting, Presiding Clerks record.  If I wasn't willing to learn to record, that meant I was cutting myself off from the possibility of serving as clerk of my Local Meeting or Area Meeting.  It meant I was deciding for Spirit ahead of time that I would never do this work.  That struck me as a Bad Idea.  

But the big thing that decided me was you, collectively.  Was this community.  I realized that if I was going to learn to be a Recording Clerk, I couldn't think of a better place to do it.  I have have been part of the Meeting holding newly-fledged co-clerks as they found their wings.  I knew you would hold me, as you / we always hold the clerking team, and that even if it wasn't particularly graceful, there would still be grace.  Lots of grace.

I began to feel really grateful for this opportunity, and excited about learning a whole new skill.

After I went on the clerks' training course at Woodbrooke, I knew I had what I needed, except for the experience of actually doing it.  And I was pretty sure I could be a good-enough recording clerk while you helped me become a better recording clerk.

The really good news is that it turns out I truly enjoy recording clerking.  Who knew?  And I really enjoyed being part of Quaker process in this particular way, a way I never have before, during our Meetings for Worship with Attention to Business last summer.

I love Quaker process.  I have always especially loved Quaker process in the FLGBTQC community.  Being able to come to our Meetings for Worship with Attention to Business has helped sustain me during some periods which were particularly dry when it came to spiritual community.

I also love nurturing Quaker process, and I love that this service is another way I can help do that within FLGBTQC.

Right now, many of us are getting ready for Mid-Winter Gathering and for our Meetings for Worship with Attention to Business there.

So, I ask that you continue to hold me, and the entire clerking team, in the Light and in love, in that same way I knew deep down I could count on you to do while I learned I could do something I had never done before.

With love,
Stasa

p.s.  Thank you.

Winter Solstice 2014

I have just update the list of communities presenting A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual this year, including:

• Edinburgh, Scotland; 
• Costa Mesa, CA; 
• Indianapolis, IN; 
• Louisville, KY (new this year! w00t!); 
• Pomona/Galloway, NJ; 
• Dallas, TX;
• and hopefully Hamilton, NJ, Gettysburg, PA, Clemson, SC, Spokane, WA, and Madison, WI. (I'm still waiting to hear back from some folks.)

Details at
TinyURL.com/WinterSolsticeSinging/Participating-Communities

If your community is presenting this and you're not listed, please get in touch!

Thank you again to SheWho

Way back in 2002, SheWho feminist women's vocal ensemble recorded the CD for "A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual" for me and my co-author. It was a one-off for them -- not part of their musical life long-term -- but it took a lot of their time and energy. That CD has certainly been part of my life long-term, and as I'm doing a lot of intensive teaching of this music right now, I find myself again grateful for all the time and work those eight women put into our project. There are of course things I'd do differently, mostly thanks to what I learned by doing this CD, but the CD has definitely stood the test of time as a fabulous resource for people learning this music. Thank you again, Karen Escovitz (Otter), Amanda Albright, Anne Cummings, Debra D'Alessandro, Gili Ronen, Hilary Barrett, and Juliet Spitzer.

For more information about SheWho -- or to order their fabulous independent CD, "The Earth Will Turn Over" -- please see:

• http://www.facebook.com/shewhomusic
• http://shewho.org/ 

Samhain blessings in music

"Hecate, Cerridwen," Reclaiming and Friends:

Hecate, Cerridwen

Dark Mother, take us in

Hecate, Cerridwen

Let us be reborn

"Breaths," Sweet Honey in the Rock:

Those who have died have never, never left

The dead are not under the earth...

Those who have died have never, never left

The dead have a pact with the living

 "We Are," Sweet Honey in the Rock:

We are our grandmothers' prayers

We are our grandfathers' dreamings

We are the breath of the ancestors

We are the spirit of god