Brigid was here. There are many ways I can tell.
I can tell because the days are so much longer, so quickly.
I can tell because the sun comes up earlier.
I can tell because I hear different birdsongs now.
I can tell because the sun is in different places throughout the day now than it was at Winter Solstice. When the cats lounge in the sun in our south-facing main room, they sometimes sit on the floor now, instead of always on the table. When I'm working at my computer, the sun hits different places in my office than it did six weeks ago. At Meeting for Worship, the places where one should sit if one does or does not want sun in one's eyes, or on the back of one's head, has shifted.
The sun is higher in the sky, and that seems to be changing every day. This is dramatically noticeable.
I can tell because when I'm working at my computer and I need to turn on the office lights, it's later in the day.
I can tell from the different things that happened at our Brigid-inspired potluck dinner party a few weeks ago: creativity, community, fun, fast friendship between a child who expected to be bored and a normally-aloof cat, lots of laughter, some silliness, learning to make Brigid's crosses (there was some swearing, a true feeling of accomplishment, and some just plain fun involved), delightful food (a beetroot and sheeps'-milk feta torte, sheeps'-milk being traditional for Imbolc/Brigid; chili with Boston brown bread (aka cornbread with corn and rye flours); salad; apple pie and apple crumble and stewed apples; lots of chocolate...).
Brigid was here.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Accessibility, Handwork, and Ministry in Meeting for Worship
This article first appeared in the January, 2012 issue of Friends Journal. - sm
Accessibility, Handwork, and Ministry in Meeting for Worship
Staśa Morgan-Appel
In the summer of 2000, I was in a car accident with multiple impacts. I walked away from it, but for months afterward, I couldn’t sit still for more than 20 minutes because of the pain. This was a problem in many areas of my life—work, home, volunteering, meeting for worship.
At the time, I was part of a large meeting which met in a large meetinghouse, and I could usually find a seat on the end of a bench, toward the back of the room. I could lie down on the floor when I needed to; I could get up and go into the back entry way, which we rarely used, and pace when I needed to, then come hover in the doorway to listen to any vocal ministry that was offered. The people in my meeting knew about the accident and seemed to understand the reasons for my odd behavior. It didn’t seem to bother anyone, at least. And as I healed, I was able to sit through more and more of worship again, eventually the full hour.
A few years later, I sustained a severe ankle injury. I was in constant pain: I couldn’t sit, stand, lie down, or walk without pain. Again, this affected every area of my life, and again, I found it very hard to settle into meeting for worship. Pacing in the back of the room wasn’t an option this time. For the first six months after the injury, my ankle was usually taped, so I could shift and wiggle easily in my seat when the pain became too great or too distracting. My usual seat-mate, my spouse, was sympathetic, although I’m sure it did not help the quality of her worship any.
But after six months, when the pain continued, my doctor placed my ankle and leg in a series of casts and braces—too big to make wiggling possible without loud thumps against the benches or being quite noticeable visually. The Worship and Ministry committee, on which my wife was serving, had asked its members to sit on the facing benches even when they didn’t have care of meeting. My squirming would now be even more obvious. I tried sitting on the floor in front of the first facing bench, where my wiggling was less noisy, but I felt that it was still very visible and distracting.
Worst of all for me was the loss of worship. I was not able to take part in communal worship because meeting had become an exercise in endurance through pain, not one of worship and not one of community. There are practices that are about reaching spiritual communion through physical discomfort or even pain, and I have experience in some of them. But meeting for worship is not, and should not be, such an experience.
What to do? There were many options. None of them was worship.
That fall, my F/friend Russell died. I have an active crochet ministry, and I had a very clear leading to make a comfort wrap or throw for his devastated husband. I worked on it mostly during meeting for worship with attention to business, announcements at the rise of meeting, committee meetings, and the like.
One day during meeting for worship when I was in a lot of pain and just couldn’t settle, I took my bag, went to the back corner of the room, and, hidden from view, sat on the floor, crocheting his throw while holding him in the Light, in worship.
It worked. I was able to settle into, and remain in, worship with my meeting.
The handwork distracted me from the pain. Unlike reading, it did not require the intellectual portion of my brain, and so I was able to stay in worship as I’m unable to do always when reading. Because it was ministry, the handwork was enhanced by my being in worship and by my being in worship with my spiritual community. Most of all, handwork was a spiritual tool that made meeting for worship accessible to me in spite of my disability. It was an accessibility aid and a spiritual tool.
Years passed and I didn’t think much about it. My spouse and I had both undertaken mid-life career changes, and we moved several times for her to go to graduate school and to work in temporary positions. We were part of several other meetings.
I became a member of a meeting that was open to diverse ways of making worship accessible to those having difficulty with mobility, neuro-atypicality, vision, hearing, and mental illness. In our meeting, we often balance behavior in meeting for worship that helps some people center but distracts others. As we participated in several meetings, I discovered that some of these ways of making worship accessible irritated me hugely...until I knew why they were being done.
This bothers me: Why should my knowing make a difference? Why would I assume that someone is being irritating on purpose, that someone is not participating fully? Why wouldn’t I assume that what they are doing—whatever it is: reading, handwork, writing, quiet play with hand-puppets, Sudoku—allows them to be fully present in meeting for worship? And yet, once I know the story (someone is neuro-atypical; someone is a young person who prefers meeting for worship to First-day school; someone is in chronic pain; someone just had news of a loved one in the ICU), my irritation vanishes. It makes sense and it ceases to be a problem for me. This difference in my own attitudes bothers me.
A few years ago (we had moved again and were sojourning in a different meeting), I started experiencing a very unpleasant flare-up of a chronic neurological condition. One of the treatments made it likely that I would become fairly sleepy, unless I had direct sensory stimulation. To my horror, I found myself regularly falling asleep in meeting for worship.
I’m told occasional napping during meeting can be very worshipful, and I have often joked about hosting “meeting for worship with attention to napping.” But my chemically-and neurologically-induced experience was definitely not worshipful. It was awful.
So I was experiencing the loss of worship itself and of worship in community—yet again, at a time when I very much needed it. I didn’t want to read. I didn’t want to get up and leave meeting when I started to fall asleep. And I didn’t want to sleep in meeting. I wanted to worship—in community. On top of that, the meetinghouse where we were sojourning was quite small, and anyone doing any of those things, reading, leaving, sleeping, would be very obvious.
Finally, I thought about trying handwork again. People were used to seeing me crochet in meeting for worship with attention to business. We had a ramp for those who used wheelchairs, and we were engaged in discussions about other kinds of accessibility. People might understand. I explained the situation to the Ministry and Counsel committee and received a great deal of support.
Again, handwork helped me stay present in worship in community. It worked as both an accessibility device and a spiritual tool. Without handwork, worship would have been literally inaccessible to me. I would have had to leave the room; I would not have been able to be in meeting for worship.
This may be a novel idea: things we don’t usually consider to be acceptable behavior in meeting for worship can be spiritual tools that are accessibility aids. This idea also gives us the beginnings of some new ways to answer the question: how do we make our meetings more accessible to people with different kinds of disabilities and accessibility needs?
Here are some things I have learned to ask myself (and for others to ask themselves) when another person is doing something that irritates us in meeting for worship:
Staśa Morgan-Appel is a member of University Friends Meeting in Seattle, Wash., attending Central Edinburgh Quaker Meeting in Scotland. She has a letter of introduction and religious service from University Friends Meeting, with a ministry focusing on spiritual nurture with individuals and groups. She is a middling but avid crocheter and blogs at http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com.
Accessibility, Handwork, and Ministry in Meeting for Worship
Staśa Morgan-Appel
In the summer of 2000, I was in a car accident with multiple impacts. I walked away from it, but for months afterward, I couldn’t sit still for more than 20 minutes because of the pain. This was a problem in many areas of my life—work, home, volunteering, meeting for worship.
At the time, I was part of a large meeting which met in a large meetinghouse, and I could usually find a seat on the end of a bench, toward the back of the room. I could lie down on the floor when I needed to; I could get up and go into the back entry way, which we rarely used, and pace when I needed to, then come hover in the doorway to listen to any vocal ministry that was offered. The people in my meeting knew about the accident and seemed to understand the reasons for my odd behavior. It didn’t seem to bother anyone, at least. And as I healed, I was able to sit through more and more of worship again, eventually the full hour.
A few years later, I sustained a severe ankle injury. I was in constant pain: I couldn’t sit, stand, lie down, or walk without pain. Again, this affected every area of my life, and again, I found it very hard to settle into meeting for worship. Pacing in the back of the room wasn’t an option this time. For the first six months after the injury, my ankle was usually taped, so I could shift and wiggle easily in my seat when the pain became too great or too distracting. My usual seat-mate, my spouse, was sympathetic, although I’m sure it did not help the quality of her worship any.
But after six months, when the pain continued, my doctor placed my ankle and leg in a series of casts and braces—too big to make wiggling possible without loud thumps against the benches or being quite noticeable visually. The Worship and Ministry committee, on which my wife was serving, had asked its members to sit on the facing benches even when they didn’t have care of meeting. My squirming would now be even more obvious. I tried sitting on the floor in front of the first facing bench, where my wiggling was less noisy, but I felt that it was still very visible and distracting.
Worst of all for me was the loss of worship. I was not able to take part in communal worship because meeting had become an exercise in endurance through pain, not one of worship and not one of community. There are practices that are about reaching spiritual communion through physical discomfort or even pain, and I have experience in some of them. But meeting for worship is not, and should not be, such an experience.
What to do? There were many options. None of them was worship.
That fall, my F/friend Russell died. I have an active crochet ministry, and I had a very clear leading to make a comfort wrap or throw for his devastated husband. I worked on it mostly during meeting for worship with attention to business, announcements at the rise of meeting, committee meetings, and the like.
One day during meeting for worship when I was in a lot of pain and just couldn’t settle, I took my bag, went to the back corner of the room, and, hidden from view, sat on the floor, crocheting his throw while holding him in the Light, in worship.
It worked. I was able to settle into, and remain in, worship with my meeting.
The handwork distracted me from the pain. Unlike reading, it did not require the intellectual portion of my brain, and so I was able to stay in worship as I’m unable to do always when reading. Because it was ministry, the handwork was enhanced by my being in worship and by my being in worship with my spiritual community. Most of all, handwork was a spiritual tool that made meeting for worship accessible to me in spite of my disability. It was an accessibility aid and a spiritual tool.
Years passed and I didn’t think much about it. My spouse and I had both undertaken mid-life career changes, and we moved several times for her to go to graduate school and to work in temporary positions. We were part of several other meetings.
I became a member of a meeting that was open to diverse ways of making worship accessible to those having difficulty with mobility, neuro-atypicality, vision, hearing, and mental illness. In our meeting, we often balance behavior in meeting for worship that helps some people center but distracts others. As we participated in several meetings, I discovered that some of these ways of making worship accessible irritated me hugely...until I knew why they were being done.
This bothers me: Why should my knowing make a difference? Why would I assume that someone is being irritating on purpose, that someone is not participating fully? Why wouldn’t I assume that what they are doing—whatever it is: reading, handwork, writing, quiet play with hand-puppets, Sudoku—allows them to be fully present in meeting for worship? And yet, once I know the story (someone is neuro-atypical; someone is a young person who prefers meeting for worship to First-day school; someone is in chronic pain; someone just had news of a loved one in the ICU), my irritation vanishes. It makes sense and it ceases to be a problem for me. This difference in my own attitudes bothers me.
A few years ago (we had moved again and were sojourning in a different meeting), I started experiencing a very unpleasant flare-up of a chronic neurological condition. One of the treatments made it likely that I would become fairly sleepy, unless I had direct sensory stimulation. To my horror, I found myself regularly falling asleep in meeting for worship.
I’m told occasional napping during meeting can be very worshipful, and I have often joked about hosting “meeting for worship with attention to napping.” But my chemically-and neurologically-induced experience was definitely not worshipful. It was awful.
So I was experiencing the loss of worship itself and of worship in community—yet again, at a time when I very much needed it. I didn’t want to read. I didn’t want to get up and leave meeting when I started to fall asleep. And I didn’t want to sleep in meeting. I wanted to worship—in community. On top of that, the meetinghouse where we were sojourning was quite small, and anyone doing any of those things, reading, leaving, sleeping, would be very obvious.
Finally, I thought about trying handwork again. People were used to seeing me crochet in meeting for worship with attention to business. We had a ramp for those who used wheelchairs, and we were engaged in discussions about other kinds of accessibility. People might understand. I explained the situation to the Ministry and Counsel committee and received a great deal of support.
Again, handwork helped me stay present in worship in community. It worked as both an accessibility device and a spiritual tool. Without handwork, worship would have been literally inaccessible to me. I would have had to leave the room; I would not have been able to be in meeting for worship.
This may be a novel idea: things we don’t usually consider to be acceptable behavior in meeting for worship can be spiritual tools that are accessibility aids. This idea also gives us the beginnings of some new ways to answer the question: how do we make our meetings more accessible to people with different kinds of disabilities and accessibility needs?
Here are some things I have learned to ask myself (and for others to ask themselves) when another person is doing something that irritates us in meeting for worship:
- Could there be a good reason that the person is doing this?
- Could that reason have something to do with accessibility and a hidden disability?
- Could what he/she is doing actually be a form of ministry?
Staśa Morgan-Appel is a member of University Friends Meeting in Seattle, Wash., attending Central Edinburgh Quaker Meeting in Scotland. She has a letter of introduction and religious service from University Friends Meeting, with a ministry focusing on spiritual nurture with individuals and groups. She is a middling but avid crocheter and blogs at http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com.
© 2012 Friends Publishing Corporation. Reprinted with permission. To subscribe: www.friendsjournal.org
Friday, February 10, 2012
Two wonderful videos from UUI's Winter Solstice Celebration
Ever wonder what those Winter Solstice Celebrations based on A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual that I'm always talking about are like?
Well, I can give you a little window into part of one of them: here are two videos from the 2011 Winter Solstice Celebration at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis!
The first video includes parts of "Imani," by Rachael A. K. Hazen, and "We've Got the Power," a traditional song from South Africa:
The second video includes the grounding and centering from the Narration, co-written by Julie Forest Middleton and Stasa Morgan-Appel:
Excerpted from a presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual, (c) 2002 Julie Forest Middleton and Stasa Morgan-Appel. For more information, click here.
Enjoy!
Well, I can give you a little window into part of one of them: here are two videos from the 2011 Winter Solstice Celebration at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis!
The first video includes parts of "Imani," by Rachael A. K. Hazen, and "We've Got the Power," a traditional song from South Africa:
The second video includes the grounding and centering from the Narration, co-written by Julie Forest Middleton and Stasa Morgan-Appel:
Excerpted from a presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual, (c) 2002 Julie Forest Middleton and Stasa Morgan-Appel. For more information, click here.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
In the velvet darkness, II: the rest of the weekend
The third weekend of December -- the velvet night of the darkest time of the year -- was for me filled with light, laughter, absurdity, and magic.
The magic of Winter Solstice
That Saturday night was my first Winter Solstice Celebration in Edinburgh, which I posted about here.
When it was over, and we had finished cleaning up, we caught a cab home.
And such a cab ride it was.
Through the worm-hole
We lugged our bags and baggage to the taxi stand across the street, climbed into the first taxi, and entered a worm-hole.
There was a stocking hung up behind us. There were a neon tree and an electric wreath on the divider in front of us.
As we got underway, the cabbie told us "There's a treat for you in the stocking, if you've been good." I did not have the courage to reach in there, but Co-Conspirator did, and found good chocolate candy, which she generously shared.
The cabbie, having heard my American accent when we gave the address, asked where I was from; I said the US, he asked where, I explained, yada, yada. Conversation ensued about how America has given the world some of the best music and musicians and recording artists, like Luther Vandross, you know, and...
Would we like to hear him (the cabbie) sing? It's something he learned from one of the greatest American artists...
Sure!, we chorus. (It's only a short cab ride, and we're punchy anyway.)
He puts on a karaoke CD (truly!), and starts singing Barry Manilow's "I Made It Through the Rain."
!!!!!
I'm in the middle, wedged between Co-Conspirator and Beloved Wife. Co-Conspirator is clutching my shoulder; Beloved Wife is carefully not looking at or touching either of us (well, except for being wedged tightly together).
This guy can actually sing, and sing well. And he's clearly practiced and has good breath control. (He even timed it well with the speed bumps!)
And here is where our accounts diverge.
I think we're having a meaningful experience. Sure, it's schmaltz! But there's something really lovely and wonderful about it for all that. Right?
Noooo. Beloved Wife and Co-Conspirator are having a completely different experience of the schmaltz.
(Or maybe it's treacle for them -- ? That could be why.)
So we get back to the flat, get everything inside, and --
Collapse into gales of laughter.
None of us can quite believe it all, and we all think it's the most surreal thing ever.
Co-Conspirator (who has a degree in a relevant field) decides it was a worm-hole. There is just no other explanation.
I decide we must have gone through New York City on our way from St. John's back to our side of town, because really, where else would this happen? Edinburgh??
Eventually we have cups of her amazing peppermint tea and eat lots of dark chocolate digestive biscuits before she returns to her own nearby flat. But we keep bursting into giggles.
The 80s are back
The next day, Beloved Wife and I went grocery shopping.
There's a Clarks shoe store in the same shopping center as our nearest grocery store, and we had a little bit of time and I needed boots, so we decided to duck in. Plus, they were having a big sale.
I tried on some of what I needed, with Beloved Wife urging me away from plain weather-proof boots in hiking-boot styles, and towards trendy/dressy weather-proof boots.
"You know, it didn't occur to me that I could get dressy winter boots. No wonder I wasn't excited about those. These are much nicer."
"No, no, you definitely need stylish boots."
(I feel like somehow, over the years, our shoe conversations have flipped 180 degrees. I think I definitely used to be the one with dressier shoes (and boots). Now she is. (Maybe it's the influence of Dr. Isis -- ?))
They didn't have what I decided I wanted in my size, but I tried on some similar things.
And then Beloved Wife found these lovely black leather zip-up slightly-slouch ankle boots with a buckle and chain on sale for £30. They would fit a hole in my wardrobe, but were not what I had gone into the store to buy, and therefore I couldn't buy them, right? But they were so cute. And Beloved Wife thought they looked fabulous (actually, she used a different word). And they had them in my size, and they fit. (I have hard-to-fit feet.) And they were on sale. And they were sensible, comfortable, walkable, and sexy.
And they were giving me flashbacks to my adolescence.
I tried them on and walked over to the mirror. "I feel like I'm back in high school. Only I'm finally trendy!"
The second (older) salesclerk looked at me and said, "Wow. All you need are leg warmers!"
At which point I -- yes, it's true -- I pulled up my jeans legs and pulled down my leg warmers.
At which point she, Beloved Wife, and I collapsed into gales of laughter.
The salesclerk who was helping us returned from the back with another boot in another size. "What?" I showed her. "Oh, that's cute!" she said, smiling and nodding.
Clearly of a generation which could not understand why it was hilarious rather than "cute."
I looked at the other salesclerk and asked, "Have you seen 'Flashdance'?" She nodded. I solemnly intoned, "I promise I no longer own any ripped sweatshirts." She giggled.
I did buy the boots. And they are totally awesome. And quite comfortable.
And you can't even tell they're 80s boots if I'm wearing them inside my jeans.
Feuerzangenbowle
Monday night, I went to a small work party/get-together with Beloved Wife, her work group, and some of their assorted family members. In general, I enjoy her colleagues and their collective (and sometimes slightly warped) sense of humor.
Our host had said in the email invitation, that because they were missing pieces from the set, there would "probably be no flaming tongs"... but it turned out we were treated to the German tradition of Feuerzangenbowle, or flaming punch, after all. Here's a link to a video, but it does not completely capture the magic (in the spiritual sense or the geek or chemistry senses) of blue flaming rum and sugar dropping down into the punch bowl and running around til burned.
So we had light in the darkness, good-natured teasing, conversation, company, friendship, and lots of laughter on Monday, as well.
And then Beloved Wife and I had a few quiet days to ourselves before spending the rest of the holidays with family.
Blessings
I hope your holidays were similarly blessed with magic, laughter, good companionship, friendship, family, love, chocolate, fire, unexpected blessings... and schmaltz.
(Just in case, here's a little extra schmaltz for you. I'm sorry he doesn't have a Scottish accent like our cab driver.)
The magic of Winter Solstice
That Saturday night was my first Winter Solstice Celebration in Edinburgh, which I posted about here.
When it was over, and we had finished cleaning up, we caught a cab home.
And such a cab ride it was.
Through the worm-hole
We lugged our bags and baggage to the taxi stand across the street, climbed into the first taxi, and entered a worm-hole.
There was a stocking hung up behind us. There were a neon tree and an electric wreath on the divider in front of us.
As we got underway, the cabbie told us "There's a treat for you in the stocking, if you've been good." I did not have the courage to reach in there, but Co-Conspirator did, and found good chocolate candy, which she generously shared.
The cabbie, having heard my American accent when we gave the address, asked where I was from; I said the US, he asked where, I explained, yada, yada. Conversation ensued about how America has given the world some of the best music and musicians and recording artists, like Luther Vandross, you know, and...
Would we like to hear him (the cabbie) sing? It's something he learned from one of the greatest American artists...
Sure!, we chorus. (It's only a short cab ride, and we're punchy anyway.)
He puts on a karaoke CD (truly!), and starts singing Barry Manilow's "I Made It Through the Rain."
!!!!!
I'm in the middle, wedged between Co-Conspirator and Beloved Wife. Co-Conspirator is clutching my shoulder; Beloved Wife is carefully not looking at or touching either of us (well, except for being wedged tightly together).
This guy can actually sing, and sing well. And he's clearly practiced and has good breath control. (He even timed it well with the speed bumps!)
And here is where our accounts diverge.
I think we're having a meaningful experience. Sure, it's schmaltz! But there's something really lovely and wonderful about it for all that. Right?
Noooo. Beloved Wife and Co-Conspirator are having a completely different experience of the schmaltz.
(Or maybe it's treacle for them -- ? That could be why.)
So we get back to the flat, get everything inside, and --
Collapse into gales of laughter.
None of us can quite believe it all, and we all think it's the most surreal thing ever.
Co-Conspirator (who has a degree in a relevant field) decides it was a worm-hole. There is just no other explanation.
I decide we must have gone through New York City on our way from St. John's back to our side of town, because really, where else would this happen? Edinburgh??
Eventually we have cups of her amazing peppermint tea and eat lots of dark chocolate digestive biscuits before she returns to her own nearby flat. But we keep bursting into giggles.
The 80s are back
The next day, Beloved Wife and I went grocery shopping.
There's a Clarks shoe store in the same shopping center as our nearest grocery store, and we had a little bit of time and I needed boots, so we decided to duck in. Plus, they were having a big sale.
I tried on some of what I needed, with Beloved Wife urging me away from plain weather-proof boots in hiking-boot styles, and towards trendy/dressy weather-proof boots.
"You know, it didn't occur to me that I could get dressy winter boots. No wonder I wasn't excited about those. These are much nicer."
"No, no, you definitely need stylish boots."
(I feel like somehow, over the years, our shoe conversations have flipped 180 degrees. I think I definitely used to be the one with dressier shoes (and boots). Now she is. (Maybe it's the influence of Dr. Isis -- ?))
They didn't have what I decided I wanted in my size, but I tried on some similar things.
And then Beloved Wife found these lovely black leather zip-up slightly-slouch ankle boots with a buckle and chain on sale for £30. They would fit a hole in my wardrobe, but were not what I had gone into the store to buy, and therefore I couldn't buy them, right? But they were so cute. And Beloved Wife thought they looked fabulous (actually, she used a different word). And they had them in my size, and they fit. (I have hard-to-fit feet.) And they were on sale. And they were sensible, comfortable, walkable, and sexy.
And they were giving me flashbacks to my adolescence.
I tried them on and walked over to the mirror. "I feel like I'm back in high school. Only I'm finally trendy!"
The second (older) salesclerk looked at me and said, "Wow. All you need are leg warmers!"
At which point I -- yes, it's true -- I pulled up my jeans legs and pulled down my leg warmers.
At which point she, Beloved Wife, and I collapsed into gales of laughter.
The salesclerk who was helping us returned from the back with another boot in another size. "What?" I showed her. "Oh, that's cute!" she said, smiling and nodding.
Clearly of a generation which could not understand why it was hilarious rather than "cute."
I looked at the other salesclerk and asked, "Have you seen 'Flashdance'?" She nodded. I solemnly intoned, "I promise I no longer own any ripped sweatshirts." She giggled.
I did buy the boots. And they are totally awesome. And quite comfortable.
And you can't even tell they're 80s boots if I'm wearing them inside my jeans.
Feuerzangenbowle
Monday night, I went to a small work party/get-together with Beloved Wife, her work group, and some of their assorted family members. In general, I enjoy her colleagues and their collective (and sometimes slightly warped) sense of humor.
Our host had said in the email invitation, that because they were missing pieces from the set, there would "probably be no flaming tongs"... but it turned out we were treated to the German tradition of Feuerzangenbowle, or flaming punch, after all. Here's a link to a video, but it does not completely capture the magic (in the spiritual sense or the geek or chemistry senses) of blue flaming rum and sugar dropping down into the punch bowl and running around til burned.
So we had light in the darkness, good-natured teasing, conversation, company, friendship, and lots of laughter on Monday, as well.
And then Beloved Wife and I had a few quiet days to ourselves before spending the rest of the holidays with family.
Blessings
I hope your holidays were similarly blessed with magic, laughter, good companionship, friendship, family, love, chocolate, fire, unexpected blessings... and schmaltz.
(Just in case, here's a little extra schmaltz for you. I'm sorry he doesn't have a Scottish accent like our cab driver.)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Poetry for Brigid: "Contradance" by Judith Laura
Please check out this wonderful poem by Judith Laura! There's also a great video following, from the weekly contra in Glen Echo, near DC, with the amazing Cis Hinkle calling and music by the fabulous Moving Violations. (I have danced to Cis' calling, and she rocks.)
Many of you may find Judith Laura's name familiar from her poem "Hear Our Great Mother," used with permission as the invocation to the Goddess in the Winter Solstice Celebration / A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual ("Hear our Great Mother, robed in midnight, around Whose head shine all the...").
Enjoy!
Many of you may find Judith Laura's name familiar from her poem "Hear Our Great Mother," used with permission as the invocation to the Goddess in the Winter Solstice Celebration / A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual ("Hear our Great Mother, robed in midnight, around Whose head shine all the...").
Enjoy!
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
In the velvet darkness I: The magic of Winter Solstice
The third weekend of December -- the velvet night of the darkest time of the year -- was for me filled with light, laughter, absurdity, and magic.
The magic of Winter Solstice
That Saturday night was my first Winter Solstice Celebration in Edinburgh. As as I do pretty much every year -- even when I also do something else for Solstice, and even when I work with it by myself -- I worked with A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual. I did a community Celebration, as I often do. And this year, it was completely different from any other year, as is often the case.
I was not working with a choir this year, instead depending on... whomever was led to show up. In the past when this has been the case, I've at least known ahead of time who was coming. Not so this year. I taught two music workshops ahead of time, both of which were lovely, but had small attendance, and then spent an evening singing with my Co-Conspirator, the F/friend who was my co-planner/publicity helper, going over music. (Heh heh heh heh. She subsequently turned up on my doorstep compulsively singing "Imani" and "We've Got the Power." *happy cackle*)
It turned out we would have four singers as anchors, including me. Hmmmm.
Other volunteers are also needed to make this happen: one Narrator, four Readers, some candle volunteers, a greeter, people to set up and break down...
The week before, I had met with the person who'd agreed to be Narrator, someone from my Meeting here. I was really looking forward to hearing her narrate; she has a beautiful reading voice, she was convinced this was going to be lovely, and she was looking forward to seeing it in reality. Co-Conspirator and Beloved Wife had agreed to be Readers #1 and #3 and to help with set-up, and Beloved Wife had agreed to be the welcome person/staff the door. We still needed Readers #2 and #4 as well as candle volunteers, and were going to ask people as they arrived.
We felt pretty confident this would work.
I had no idea who would show up. I'd sent announcements to both the closest Quaker Meetings and to several local Pagan groups, had posted fliers in the businesses closest to the Hall we'd rented as well as several other crunchy-granola businesses and my library, had emailed friends, and had posted to Facebook and Witchvox, etc. -- all the usual.
It was a big experiment, and I had layer of "Eeek!" in there somewhere, but mostly I felt a kind of flexible, happy expectation: I didn't know what would happen, but it was going to be neat to find out.
The night before the Celebration, the Narrator called: she had a terrible cold and barely had any voice.
Beloved Wife had narrated before, and agreed to be Narrator instead of Reader #3.
Now I needed three Readers.
Looking at my to-do/still-need list on Saturday morning, I was somehow delighted and inclined to laugh. I was slightly stressed, and yet convinced it would be fine. Yes, we really would create this together.
And we did.
It was magical.
And it was one of the most drama-free Winter Solstice Celebrations I've ever had. (From the start of planning through to sorting everything out in the end.)
People sang. Starting with "Round and Round." They even sang in parts, they sang together, and they sang with confidence.
People read.
People helped with candles.
People took ownership of their experience.
People passed the Light, nourished it, sheltered it from drafts, encouraged it when it faltered, until the room was aglow.
People helped collect our candles and make sure they were safe while we moved around.
With Co-Conspirator's wordless encouragement, people took up percussion shakers during "This Little Light" and "Imani" so that I wasn't alone on my drum.
People sang. People moved their bodies. People sang in harmony.
They smiled.
They re-grounded.
They built community.
Folks stuck around for a little while after, talking, being together. And then they helped clean up -- my blurred impression is the only things that were left for us to do were the things that only we could do.
The Celebration started at 7:05, and we were out of the Hall by 9:15.
And then, we caught a cab home.
That Saturday night was my first Winter Solstice Celebration in Edinburgh. As as I do pretty much every year -- even when I also do something else for Solstice, and even when I work with it by myself -- I worked with A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual. I did a community Celebration, as I often do. And this year, it was completely different from any other year, as is often the case.
I was not working with a choir this year, instead depending on... whomever was led to show up. In the past when this has been the case, I've at least known ahead of time who was coming. Not so this year. I taught two music workshops ahead of time, both of which were lovely, but had small attendance, and then spent an evening singing with my Co-Conspirator, the F/friend who was my co-planner/publicity helper, going over music. (Heh heh heh heh. She subsequently turned up on my doorstep compulsively singing "Imani" and "We've Got the Power." *happy cackle*)
It turned out we would have four singers as anchors, including me. Hmmmm.
Other volunteers are also needed to make this happen: one Narrator, four Readers, some candle volunteers, a greeter, people to set up and break down...
The week before, I had met with the person who'd agreed to be Narrator, someone from my Meeting here. I was really looking forward to hearing her narrate; she has a beautiful reading voice, she was convinced this was going to be lovely, and she was looking forward to seeing it in reality. Co-Conspirator and Beloved Wife had agreed to be Readers #1 and #3 and to help with set-up, and Beloved Wife had agreed to be the welcome person/staff the door. We still needed Readers #2 and #4 as well as candle volunteers, and were going to ask people as they arrived.
We felt pretty confident this would work.
I had no idea who would show up. I'd sent announcements to both the closest Quaker Meetings and to several local Pagan groups, had posted fliers in the businesses closest to the Hall we'd rented as well as several other crunchy-granola businesses and my library, had emailed friends, and had posted to Facebook and Witchvox, etc. -- all the usual.
It was a big experiment, and I had layer of "Eeek!" in there somewhere, but mostly I felt a kind of flexible, happy expectation: I didn't know what would happen, but it was going to be neat to find out.
The night before the Celebration, the Narrator called: she had a terrible cold and barely had any voice.
Beloved Wife had narrated before, and agreed to be Narrator instead of Reader #3.
Now I needed three Readers.
Looking at my to-do/still-need list on Saturday morning, I was somehow delighted and inclined to laugh. I was slightly stressed, and yet convinced it would be fine. Yes, we really would create this together.
And we did.
It was magical.
And it was one of the most drama-free Winter Solstice Celebrations I've ever had. (From the start of planning through to sorting everything out in the end.)
People sang. Starting with "Round and Round." They even sang in parts, they sang together, and they sang with confidence.
People read.
People helped with candles.
People took ownership of their experience.
People passed the Light, nourished it, sheltered it from drafts, encouraged it when it faltered, until the room was aglow.
People helped collect our candles and make sure they were safe while we moved around.
With Co-Conspirator's wordless encouragement, people took up percussion shakers during "This Little Light" and "Imani" so that I wasn't alone on my drum.
People sang. People moved their bodies. People sang in harmony.
They smiled.
They re-grounded.
They built community.
Folks stuck around for a little while after, talking, being together. And then they helped clean up -- my blurred impression is the only things that were left for us to do were the things that only we could do.
The Celebration started at 7:05, and we were out of the Hall by 9:15.
And then, we caught a cab home.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Annual Brigid Poetry Festival, 7th Year!
Or, as Anne says: "Got poetry? Let the wild rumpus begin!"
From Anne Hill at the Blog o' Gnosis:
This is the 7th year of the Annual Brigid Poetry Festival.
You can post to the communal Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BrigidPoetryFest), or at Hill's blog (http://gnosiscafe.com/gcblog/2012/01/25/brigid-poetry-festival-year-seven/).
Enjoy!
From Anne Hill at the Blog o' Gnosis:
It is that time of year again, when bloggers around the world post a favorite poem in honor of Brigid, the Irish goddess and patron saint of smithcraft, poetry, and healing. Brigid’s feast day is February 1st, so between now and then is the perfect time to publish a poem to celebrate.
This is the 7th year of the Annual Brigid Poetry Festival.
You can post to the communal Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/BrigidPoetryFest), or at Hill's blog (http://gnosiscafe.com/gcblog/2012/01/25/brigid-poetry-festival-year-seven/).
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Favorite Pagan parenting resources?
Are you a Pagan parent, or someone who teaches Pagan young people, or teaches non-Pagan young people about Paganism/s?
What are some of your favorite resources? (Books, websites, magazines?)
I'm asking because I not-infrequently receive requests about this, and I'd like to point parents, especially, at resources that have worked for other Pagan parents and adults working with kids.
And I want to know what works for you.
Thanks!
(If you've already answered in another forum, you don't need to answer again here, but feel free to.)
What are some of your favorite resources? (Books, websites, magazines?)
I'm asking because I not-infrequently receive requests about this, and I'd like to point parents, especially, at resources that have worked for other Pagan parents and adults working with kids.
And I want to know what works for you.
Thanks!
(If you've already answered in another forum, you don't need to answer again here, but feel free to.)
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Light's return / Meeting for Worship
The windows of the Meetingroom where I now attend face south. In Meeting for Worship this First Day, the angle of the Sun was just enough different from the last time I was there, in December, to be noticeable.
I've been noticing this difference in the angle of the Sun in daily life recently, too, and that sunrise and sunset times are now noticeably different, too. It's nearly a month since Winter Solstice, the Sun is higher in the sky, and the Sun rises earlier and sets later.
On Saturday, in Area Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, we stopped at around ten past four to admire the spectacular sunset out the southwest-facing windows.
And on Sunday, in Sun-drenched Meeting for Worship, the original gospel version of Charlie Murphy's "Light is Returning" kept running through my head:
After some more silent worship (both inner and outer), Sally Rogers' "Circle of the Sun" came to me and stayed for a while:
...perhaps because I've been thinking and writing quite a bit lately on the circle of life and community, and some of my worship was centered on both community and isolation, there in the Sun-drenched Meetingroom.
There was some vocal ministry that spoke to me deeply; it sprang from from Advices and Queries 18:
I don't know if the vocal minister would have considered their ministry to be about diversity or individual differences within the Meeting community, but it's one of the ways their ministry spoke to me, resonated with me, and left me with more to worship about and think about. All good things.
Two other Friends gave vocal ministry about the importance of community during times of hardship -- again, speaking to me very deeply.
Most of Sunday's vocal ministry did me much good.
(I could even tell at the time!)
Blessed be.
I've been noticing this difference in the angle of the Sun in daily life recently, too, and that sunrise and sunset times are now noticeably different, too. It's nearly a month since Winter Solstice, the Sun is higher in the sky, and the Sun rises earlier and sets later.
On Saturday, in Area Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, we stopped at around ten past four to admire the spectacular sunset out the southwest-facing windows.
And on Sunday, in Sun-drenched Meeting for Worship, the original gospel version of Charlie Murphy's "Light is Returning" kept running through my head:
After some more silent worship (both inner and outer), Sally Rogers' "Circle of the Sun" came to me and stayed for a while:
...perhaps because I've been thinking and writing quite a bit lately on the circle of life and community, and some of my worship was centered on both community and isolation, there in the Sun-drenched Meetingroom.
There was some vocal ministry that spoke to me deeply; it sprang from from Advices and Queries 18:
How can we make the meeting a community in which each person is accepted and nurtured, and strangers are welcome? Seek to know one another in the things which are eternal, bear the burden of each other's failings and pray for one another. As we enter with tender sympathy into the joys and sorrows of each other's lives, ready to give help and to receive it, our meeting can be a channel for God's love and forgiveness.
I don't know if the vocal minister would have considered their ministry to be about diversity or individual differences within the Meeting community, but it's one of the ways their ministry spoke to me, resonated with me, and left me with more to worship about and think about. All good things.
Two other Friends gave vocal ministry about the importance of community during times of hardship -- again, speaking to me very deeply.
Most of Sunday's vocal ministry did me much good.
(I could even tell at the time!)
Blessed be.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Cookies are not enough, but they're a good place to start
Back in October, a Girl Scout troop leader in CO refused to admit a transgender girl into her troop. The Girl Scouts of Colorado said the troop leader was unaware of Girl Scout policy, and issued this statement:
(Click here and here for details.)
GSCO supposedly eventually admitted her. It's not clear to me if they did.
Fast forward to last week:
Girl Scout Cookie Time is right around the corner, and a video calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies went viral on the web and hit the news. In addition, a lot of people were suddenly talking about several GS troops that had withdrawn from Girl Scouts of the USA and formed their own troops or joined other scouting organizations. Both the call for the boycott and the withdrawals are over this issue -- not the issue that a troop leader had been transphobic, but the issue that there might be transgender girls in the GSUSA.
Now there's a counter-movement to buy lots more Girl Scout cookies than usual.
So you may well have heard about the Great Girl Scout Boycott/Buycott/Girlcott. It's all over teh interwebs. There are Facebook events, news stories, blog posts, email discussions, Facebook discussions, you name it.
Suddenly, lots more people than usual want to buy Girl Scout cookies, in support of an organization that supports transgender youth.
People want to buy cookies.
It's an easy thing to do that makes us feel better, and it helps us feel like we've made a statement. I know the idea feels to me like thumbing my nose at the video-maker, the transphobic troop leader, and the breakaway troops. And it supports Girl Scout programs financially.
But -- is buying cookies really taking action to support transgender youth?
The girl in CO supposedly was admitted to her troop. The troop leader had previously said some pretty transphobic things. Has the troop leader's attitude changed? If this girl was admitted, what kind of experience is she having now? Is it a positive one? A negative one? Somewhere in between? Is she safe?
If you're involved in Girl Scouts, are transgender girls in your area certain they're welcome in your troop? How do they know they're welcome at all, much less that they'll be safe, referred to by the proper pronouns, etc?
Are transgender girls truly welcome in your troop? That's the official word -- how true is it in the hearts of the people in your local organization?
Is transgender girls aren't welcome, or if they don't know that they are, is that something you want to change?
How does buying, or selling, cookies help bring transgender girls into Girl Scouting? (There are ways it might -- what are those ways?)
If nothing else, the Great Cookie Kerfuffle is helping us have a conversation about all this.
Cookies are not enough.
But they are a good place to start.
Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout.
(Click here and here for details.)
GSCO supposedly eventually admitted her. It's not clear to me if they did.
Fast forward to last week:
Girl Scout Cookie Time is right around the corner, and a video calling for a boycott of Girl Scout cookies went viral on the web and hit the news. In addition, a lot of people were suddenly talking about several GS troops that had withdrawn from Girl Scouts of the USA and formed their own troops or joined other scouting organizations. Both the call for the boycott and the withdrawals are over this issue -- not the issue that a troop leader had been transphobic, but the issue that there might be transgender girls in the GSUSA.
Now there's a counter-movement to buy lots more Girl Scout cookies than usual.
So you may well have heard about the Great Girl Scout Boycott/Buycott/Girlcott. It's all over teh interwebs. There are Facebook events, news stories, blog posts, email discussions, Facebook discussions, you name it.
Suddenly, lots more people than usual want to buy Girl Scout cookies, in support of an organization that supports transgender youth.
People want to buy cookies.
It's an easy thing to do that makes us feel better, and it helps us feel like we've made a statement. I know the idea feels to me like thumbing my nose at the video-maker, the transphobic troop leader, and the breakaway troops. And it supports Girl Scout programs financially.
But -- is buying cookies really taking action to support transgender youth?
- Is buying (or selling) Girl Scout cookies really the best way to support transgender girls?
- The best way to make sure transgender girls have access to Girl Scouts?
- The best way to make sure they have safe experiences in Girl Scouts?
The girl in CO supposedly was admitted to her troop. The troop leader had previously said some pretty transphobic things. Has the troop leader's attitude changed? If this girl was admitted, what kind of experience is she having now? Is it a positive one? A negative one? Somewhere in between? Is she safe?
If you're involved in Girl Scouts, are transgender girls in your area certain they're welcome in your troop? How do they know they're welcome at all, much less that they'll be safe, referred to by the proper pronouns, etc?
Are transgender girls truly welcome in your troop? That's the official word -- how true is it in the hearts of the people in your local organization?
Is transgender girls aren't welcome, or if they don't know that they are, is that something you want to change?
How does buying, or selling, cookies help bring transgender girls into Girl Scouting? (There are ways it might -- what are those ways?)
- How does it help them have positive experiences there?
- How does it help cisgender adults to whom this is new territory adapt and deal with their discomfort?
- How does it help cisgender girls know what behavior is appropriate, or whose lead to follow?
If nothing else, the Great Cookie Kerfuffle is helping us have a conversation about all this.
Cookies are not enough.
But they are a good place to start.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
My little brag/an article in Friends Journal
I have an article published in the January 2012 issue of Friends Journal! It's about some of the reasons people do "unacceptable" things in Meeting for Worship, and how those reasons relate to accessibility and ministry.
The piece appears on page 13 of the print edition (how appropriate!) and is titled, "Accessibility, Handwork, and Ministry in Meeting for Worship."
(The January issue is not yet up on the Friends Journal website.)
The piece appears on page 13 of the print edition (how appropriate!) and is titled, "Accessibility, Handwork, and Ministry in Meeting for Worship."
(The January issue is not yet up on the Friends Journal website.)
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
I didn't speak up, and my conscience is ruffled
I didn't speak up.
And now I have that same feeling I do when I was led to speak in Meeting for Worship, or Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, but didn't. Or when someone has insulted me, or someone else in my hearing, based on religion, gender, class, or something similar, and I didn't speak up.
My conscience is ruffled, like the surface of a body of water is ruffled when it is disturbed. This uneasy feeling won't leave me. I am not at peace.
I was at General Meeting for Scotland. As I mentioned earlier, Meeting for Business opened with this quote from Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice:
This spoke to me deeply, and spoke to my condition. (It also reminded me of this post.)
General Meeting for Scotland "acts on behalf of Britain Yearly Meeting in such procedures as may be required by the Scottish parliament and Scottish legal affairs." A big Scottish governmental item right now is the Scottish Government's Consultation on same-sex marriage. And so one of the items on our agenda was the General Meeting's response to the this consultation. (For more information about the consultation on same-sex marriage, click here.)
Friends involved with the working group for the response presented the draft of "A general statement to accompany the response submitted on behalf of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), General Meeting of Scotland."
Beloved Wife and I found this a deeply moving document. It speaks not only of equality, but also of religious liberty, of conscience, and of not imposing our discernment on other religious faiths.
However, there was one part of it which made my heart pound in a different way. The very first sentence begins:
"Quakers are a non-hierarchical and Christian body..."
I was not in unity with this statement.
And I didn't speak up.
...Why didn't I speak up?
I know that there is a sizable minority of Friends in Britain who are most definitely not Christian. I am honestly not certain yet if Britain Yearly Meeting or Friends in Britain consider themselves a Christian body or not. Looking later, I find the Quakers in Britain website states, "The Quaker way has its roots in Christianity and finds inspiration in the Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus" (which can be interpreted as Christian, or as Christian-rooted but not by definition Christian); Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice Introduction begins, "This book of faith & practice constitutes the Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain" (which sounds explicitly Christian to me).
I am even less certain how Friends in Scotland see themselves. There's quite a bit of theaological diversity among Friends I've met here, with a lot less fuss about it than in most parts of the States I've lived or traveled in. A lot of Pagan Friends have come out to me since I've arrived here. Even more people have told me about other Friends they know who are Pagan, some of whom are in the broom closet, some of whom are out. A lot of Friends seem very Pagan-friendly without worrying about whether other people will think they're Pagan, which I find tremendously refreshing. A few Buddhist Friends have also come out to me. So do Scottish Friends see themselves as primarily Christian, with some non-Christian members? Do they see themselves as rooted in or springing from Christianity, but with a membership which is diverse in theaology, and that diversity essential to the body? (A third way?)
The Quakers in Scotland website states, "Quakerism is a non-credal religion, with Christian roots, whose worship is based on silence and listening to the spirit."
(It doesn't say, "...listening to the Inward Christ," which would be clearly Christian, or even, "...listening to God.")
My experience of Quakerism and of Friends in the US and the UK is that Quakerism is not Christian. I know too many non-Christian Friends: Pagan Friends, Non-Theist Friends, Jewish Friends, Buddhist Friends, not-sure-how-to-label-themselves or not-willing-to-label-themselves Friends, who are not Christian. I know too many Quaker bodies which do not identify as Christian, though they acknowledge their Christian heritage. The Monthly Meeting and Yearly Meeting in the US where I still have my membership are theaologically diverse, and while in both bodies we acknowledge our Christian roots, we do not identify as Christian. My Monthly Meeting at one point was clearly led not to renew our membership in an interfaith organization which was restricted to Christian organizations; even though most of our Meeting's members are Christian, many are not, and we felt in good conscience we could not allow ourselves to be identified by others as a Christian church.
The lived, experiential truth of real-life Friends is that Quakerism is not limited to Christianity.
Therefore, it's not accurate to say Quakers are Christian, or that as a body we are Christian.
Yes, it may be perfectly accurate to say a particular body of Friends is Christian. If that body is in unity about such a statement.
But that body cannot speak for all Friends, and cannot speak categorically for Friends.
Whether Quakerism is majority Christian is completely beside the point.
Quakerism is majority straight, white, middle-class, cisgender, and (temporarily) able-bodied, but we would never say, categorically, things like:
...and so forth.
I, sitting there in that room, a Friend in Scotland to whom that document applied, am not Christian. And I was not in unity with that statement, "Quakers are a non-hierarchical and Christian body..." (Not any more than I would have been in unity with any of those other statements above.)
So: why didn't I speak up?
I had several options in that moment. I could have asked a clarifying question. I could have stood aside, not blocking, acknowledging that this was still rightly-ordered for the body even though I was not in unity with it. If I truly felt that saying "Quakers are a... Christian body" is not true and is a violation of the testimony of integrity for us as a body, that this was doing violence to non-Christian Friends and to all Friends in Scotland General Meeting, I could have gone further, but I would have had to have been very, very clearly led. (Which I was not; what I was, was deeply uncomfortable.)
I felt deeply uncertain if, in our diversity, Scottish Friends are in unity about being a Christian body.
So: why didn't I ask?
I could have found out very easily. I could have stood up to be recognized by the Clerk, and asked that question: "I know Friends in Scotland are theaologically very diverse and that we have a substantial number of non-Christian members. Are Friends in Scotland in unity that we are a Christian body?"
When I put myself back in that room, with my pounding heart and that sinking feeling in my stomach, why didn't I ask, why didn't I speak up?
...I was afraid.
That's really what it was. I was scared.
I am so very conscious of being new here, even though I'm a member and even though, well, I'm here; I'm not going anywhere.
I'm so very conscious of being an American, though I'm trying to get over this so I can just listen to the guidance of the Goddess and be who She grows me being.
I'm so very conscious of being an out Pagan Friend, with an out ministry to other Pagan (and non-Pagan) Friends. I feel exposed. Back out there dancing on that limb by myself again.
I'd already asked a question that morning, which I felt was misunderstood and taken in a direction I hadn't meant at all.
There are other areas of my life where I feel criticized for "talking too much."
Most of all, I guess I was afraid of that cascade of things that can happen, that does happen all too often, when I stick my head up as a minority.
Ugh!
Even though the issue we were already talking about was one of justice for a minority among us -- what's more (!), one of which I'm a member, and pretty obviously, too, sitting there holding hands with my wife, who'd also given vocal ministry as a member of a same-sex couple.
I didn't want to go there. I didn't want those things to start happening. I didn't want to feel more alone. I didn't want stand up, expose myself as a further minority within my community, and risk things like being more isolated, having my concerns not heeded or simply not seen, being put down or dismissed because I'm a minority and therefore less/not important/because I'm not Christian and therefore less/not important, being told yet again that of course Quakerism is Christian even if not all Quakers are Christian, or that reality and the truth are too complicated for us to present to outsiders/too complicated for this document/not relevant to this issue...
...As if integrity and the truth are ever too complicated or irrelevant to our testimony and witness in the world and to each other.
And I kept hoping that lovely thing that sometimes happens in worship or worship for business would happen -- you know, where someone else says or brings up something, and then you don't have to. Every other thing I was at all uncomfortable about in the draft, someone else brought up. I really hoped someone else could be in the spotlight on this one and I would be off the hook.
It didn't happen.
I decided to let it go, to trust the working group, to wait and see what I could find later about the supposed Christianity of Friends in Scotland.
My discomfort hasn't gone away, despite my determination to trust the working group and Meeting for Business. And now I am acutely uncomfortable. My peace of mind is all rumpled.
The week after General Meeting, a quote attributed to me started making its way around one particular corner of the internet. It comes from an on-line conversation where I was describing my interpretation of part our discernment in Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) about our changing our name. I protested it being attributed to me -- I was interpreting, and quoting! -- but I got stuck with it.
"Our fears and other people's prejudices can not determine how we live our witness in the world and among Friends."
I am so busted.
So. What am I going to do about my disquiet?
I don't know yet. Clearly, I need to do something.
In the meantime, I am listening for the Goddess to help me discern what.
And sitting in my discomfort.
And writing about it here.
I find I am feeling all sorts of reluctance to hit the "publish post" button. I don't think I'm any more eager to post this post than I was to stand up in Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business.
But I very clearly need to.
And now I have that same feeling I do when I was led to speak in Meeting for Worship, or Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business, but didn't. Or when someone has insulted me, or someone else in my hearing, based on religion, gender, class, or something similar, and I didn't speak up.
My conscience is ruffled, like the surface of a body of water is ruffled when it is disturbed. This uneasy feeling won't leave me. I am not at peace.
I was at General Meeting for Scotland. As I mentioned earlier, Meeting for Business opened with this quote from Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice:
I have been greatly exercised for some time by the image we like to present of ourselves (albeit with beating of breasts) as a white, middle-class, well-educated group of heterosexual people, preferably in stable marriages with children that behave in socially acceptable ways. I do feel that this is a myth. The danger of such myths is that we exclude many potential Quakers who feel they cannot/do not live up to the image or who feel that such a group is not one with which they wish to be associated. Sadly, many of us within the Society who do not fit in feel marginalised and second-class.
Another effect is that many problems faced by a large proportion of people are seen as separate: people who are poor, facing oppression, living in poor housing, experiencing prejudice are the 'others'. This enables us to be very caring but distant (and sometimes patronising) and also makes it difficult to be conscious of prejudice behind some of the normally accepted assumptions of our society/Society, such as that people who are unemployed are a different group from those who have employment; that poor people are poor ... because they are not as bright or as able as the rest of us or because their limited homes did not give them the opportunities that a good Quaker home would have done; that children living in single-parent families are automatically deprived by that very fact.
Until we as a Religious Society begin to question our assumptions, until we look at the prejudices, often very deeply hidden, within our own Society, how are we going to be able to confront the inequalities within the wider society? We are very good at feeling bad about injustice, we put a lot of energy into sticking-plaster activity (which obviously has to be done), but we are not having any effect in challenging the causes of inequality and oppression. I do sometimes wonder if this is because we are not able to do this within and among ourselves.
Susan Rooke-Matthews, 1993
This spoke to me deeply, and spoke to my condition. (It also reminded me of this post.)
General Meeting for Scotland "acts on behalf of Britain Yearly Meeting in such procedures as may be required by the Scottish parliament and Scottish legal affairs." A big Scottish governmental item right now is the Scottish Government's Consultation on same-sex marriage. And so one of the items on our agenda was the General Meeting's response to the this consultation. (For more information about the consultation on same-sex marriage, click here.)
Friends involved with the working group for the response presented the draft of "A general statement to accompany the response submitted on behalf of The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), General Meeting of Scotland."
Beloved Wife and I found this a deeply moving document. It speaks not only of equality, but also of religious liberty, of conscience, and of not imposing our discernment on other religious faiths.
However, there was one part of it which made my heart pound in a different way. The very first sentence begins:
"Quakers are a non-hierarchical and Christian body..."
I was not in unity with this statement.
And I didn't speak up.
...Why didn't I speak up?
I know that there is a sizable minority of Friends in Britain who are most definitely not Christian. I am honestly not certain yet if Britain Yearly Meeting or Friends in Britain consider themselves a Christian body or not. Looking later, I find the Quakers in Britain website states, "The Quaker way has its roots in Christianity and finds inspiration in the Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus" (which can be interpreted as Christian, or as Christian-rooted but not by definition Christian); Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice Introduction begins, "This book of faith & practice constitutes the Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain" (which sounds explicitly Christian to me).
I am even less certain how Friends in Scotland see themselves. There's quite a bit of theaological diversity among Friends I've met here, with a lot less fuss about it than in most parts of the States I've lived or traveled in. A lot of Pagan Friends have come out to me since I've arrived here. Even more people have told me about other Friends they know who are Pagan, some of whom are in the broom closet, some of whom are out. A lot of Friends seem very Pagan-friendly without worrying about whether other people will think they're Pagan, which I find tremendously refreshing. A few Buddhist Friends have also come out to me. So do Scottish Friends see themselves as primarily Christian, with some non-Christian members? Do they see themselves as rooted in or springing from Christianity, but with a membership which is diverse in theaology, and that diversity essential to the body? (A third way?)
The Quakers in Scotland website states, "Quakerism is a non-credal religion, with Christian roots, whose worship is based on silence and listening to the spirit."
(It doesn't say, "...listening to the Inward Christ," which would be clearly Christian, or even, "...listening to God.")
My experience of Quakerism and of Friends in the US and the UK is that Quakerism is not Christian. I know too many non-Christian Friends: Pagan Friends, Non-Theist Friends, Jewish Friends, Buddhist Friends, not-sure-how-to-label-themselves or not-willing-to-label-themselves Friends, who are not Christian. I know too many Quaker bodies which do not identify as Christian, though they acknowledge their Christian heritage. The Monthly Meeting and Yearly Meeting in the US where I still have my membership are theaologically diverse, and while in both bodies we acknowledge our Christian roots, we do not identify as Christian. My Monthly Meeting at one point was clearly led not to renew our membership in an interfaith organization which was restricted to Christian organizations; even though most of our Meeting's members are Christian, many are not, and we felt in good conscience we could not allow ourselves to be identified by others as a Christian church.
The lived, experiential truth of real-life Friends is that Quakerism is not limited to Christianity.
Therefore, it's not accurate to say Quakers are Christian, or that as a body we are Christian.
Yes, it may be perfectly accurate to say a particular body of Friends is Christian. If that body is in unity about such a statement.
But that body cannot speak for all Friends, and cannot speak categorically for Friends.
Whether Quakerism is majority Christian is completely beside the point.
Quakerism is majority straight, white, middle-class, cisgender, and (temporarily) able-bodied, but we would never say, categorically, things like:
- "Quakers are a non-hierarchical body and white body..." (or, "Quakers are a non-hierarchical body of people of European descent...")
- "Quakers are a non-hierarchical and heterosexual body..."
...and so forth.
I, sitting there in that room, a Friend in Scotland to whom that document applied, am not Christian. And I was not in unity with that statement, "Quakers are a non-hierarchical and Christian body..." (Not any more than I would have been in unity with any of those other statements above.)
So: why didn't I speak up?
I had several options in that moment. I could have asked a clarifying question. I could have stood aside, not blocking, acknowledging that this was still rightly-ordered for the body even though I was not in unity with it. If I truly felt that saying "Quakers are a... Christian body" is not true and is a violation of the testimony of integrity for us as a body, that this was doing violence to non-Christian Friends and to all Friends in Scotland General Meeting, I could have gone further, but I would have had to have been very, very clearly led. (Which I was not; what I was, was deeply uncomfortable.)
I felt deeply uncertain if, in our diversity, Scottish Friends are in unity about being a Christian body.
So: why didn't I ask?
I could have found out very easily. I could have stood up to be recognized by the Clerk, and asked that question: "I know Friends in Scotland are theaologically very diverse and that we have a substantial number of non-Christian members. Are Friends in Scotland in unity that we are a Christian body?"
When I put myself back in that room, with my pounding heart and that sinking feeling in my stomach, why didn't I ask, why didn't I speak up?
...I was afraid.
That's really what it was. I was scared.
I am so very conscious of being new here, even though I'm a member and even though, well, I'm here; I'm not going anywhere.
I'm so very conscious of being an American, though I'm trying to get over this so I can just listen to the guidance of the Goddess and be who She grows me being.
I'm so very conscious of being an out Pagan Friend, with an out ministry to other Pagan (and non-Pagan) Friends. I feel exposed. Back out there dancing on that limb by myself again.
I'd already asked a question that morning, which I felt was misunderstood and taken in a direction I hadn't meant at all.
There are other areas of my life where I feel criticized for "talking too much."
Most of all, I guess I was afraid of that cascade of things that can happen, that does happen all too often, when I stick my head up as a minority.
Ugh!
Even though the issue we were already talking about was one of justice for a minority among us -- what's more (!), one of which I'm a member, and pretty obviously, too, sitting there holding hands with my wife, who'd also given vocal ministry as a member of a same-sex couple.
I didn't want to go there. I didn't want those things to start happening. I didn't want to feel more alone. I didn't want stand up, expose myself as a further minority within my community, and risk things like being more isolated, having my concerns not heeded or simply not seen, being put down or dismissed because I'm a minority and therefore less/not important/because I'm not Christian and therefore less/not important, being told yet again that of course Quakerism is Christian even if not all Quakers are Christian, or that reality and the truth are too complicated for us to present to outsiders/too complicated for this document/not relevant to this issue...
...As if integrity and the truth are ever too complicated or irrelevant to our testimony and witness in the world and to each other.
And I kept hoping that lovely thing that sometimes happens in worship or worship for business would happen -- you know, where someone else says or brings up something, and then you don't have to. Every other thing I was at all uncomfortable about in the draft, someone else brought up. I really hoped someone else could be in the spotlight on this one and I would be off the hook.
It didn't happen.
I decided to let it go, to trust the working group, to wait and see what I could find later about the supposed Christianity of Friends in Scotland.
My discomfort hasn't gone away, despite my determination to trust the working group and Meeting for Business. And now I am acutely uncomfortable. My peace of mind is all rumpled.
The week after General Meeting, a quote attributed to me started making its way around one particular corner of the internet. It comes from an on-line conversation where I was describing my interpretation of part our discernment in Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns (FLGBTQC) about our changing our name. I protested it being attributed to me -- I was interpreting, and quoting! -- but I got stuck with it.
"Our fears and other people's prejudices can not determine how we live our witness in the world and among Friends."
I am so busted.
So. What am I going to do about my disquiet?
I don't know yet. Clearly, I need to do something.
In the meantime, I am listening for the Goddess to help me discern what.
And sitting in my discomfort.
And writing about it here.
I find I am feeling all sorts of reluctance to hit the "publish post" button. I don't think I'm any more eager to post this post than I was to stand up in Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business.
But I very clearly need to.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Winter Solstice 2011
bread and roses spiritual nurture
presents
The 2011
Winter Solstice Celebration
Celebrate the Darkness and the Light
with Songs and Stories
Saturday, 17th December, 7:00-8:45 pm
doors open 6:45 pm
celebration 7:00-8:45 pm; social time following
St. John's Church Halll
Princes Street & Lothian Road
presents
The 2011
Winter Solstice Celebration
Celebrate the Darkness and the Light
with Songs and Stories
Saturday, 17th December, 7:00-8:45 pm
doors open 6:45 pm
celebration 7:00-8:45 pm; social time following
St. John's Church Halll
Princes Street & Lothian Road
- Songs, stories, candle-lighting, silent meditation, singing, and more
- Suitable for children and adults; children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian
- Sliding-scale donation requested to cover the costs of hall hire and supplies; all are welcome regardless of ability to make a donation. (Any proceeds after expenses will be donated to a charity.)
- For disability accessibility reasons, please do not wear perfume/essential oils or other personal care products with fragrance
or click here for the Facebook event page
A presentation of A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual
by Julie Forest Middleton & Stasa Morgan-Appel.
for locations of other such Winter Solstice Celebrations,
see http://tinyurl.com/bandrsn and click on "Winter Solstice Celebrations" (or click here)
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Quote of the day
Without the context of a political movement, it has never been possible to advance the study of psychological trauma. The fate of this field of knowledge depends on the fate of the same political movement that has inspired and sustained it over the last century. In the late nineteenth century the goal of that movement was the establishment of secular democracy. In the early twentieth century its goal was the abolition of war. In the late twentieth century its goal was the liberation of women. All of these goals remain. All are, in the end, inseparably connected.
-- Judith Lewis Herman, M.D., in Trauma and Recovery
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Thinking about forgiveness and reconciliation
For a handful of reasons, I have been thinking again about forgiveness, reconciliation, and healthy limits. And about responsibility and justice, as well.
My dear f/Friend Peterson Toscano wrote this insightful piece recently:
"Some Thoughts on Forgiveness"
http://petersontoscano.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/some-thoughts-on-forgiveness/
What Peterson wrote resonated with me, and intertwined with some other things that have been simmering quietly in the cauldron, or are newly on the front burner for me: work I read a a few years ago by Laura Davis on reconciliation; an abusive person in my extended family who's expressed interest in reconciliation through the family grapevine; Bruce Birchard's plenary speech at FGC Gathering this summer; a formerly close friend who has apologized multiple times for how messed up things are between us; someone in another part of my family who wishes for reconciliation between people who are in conflict; an abusive former family member who is stalking me.
Peterson wrote:
A real apology is not a "get out of hot water free/make someone be no longer angry at me" card. It's an interactive process. It has costs.
This is where forgiveness, reconciliation, and restorative justice can come together.
Forgiveness and reconciliation are related, but are not the same thing. And they do not always take place together -- one may happen without the other.
I am reminded of the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous, the original being the ones with which I am most familiar.
A "searching and fearless moral inventory" comes pretty early on in working the steps (step 4), with the support of a Higher (or Deeper) Power and, preferably, also of one's sponsor in step 5. Then there are several steps after the moral inventory before the word "amends" even appears. In addition, there's a full inward step concerning amends (step 8), before outward, direct amends can be considered (step 9). What's more, in step 9, our main concerns are not only "direct amends," but avoiding harm -- to the people we had previously harmed, or to anyone else. If making amends to them would harm them or others, we find different ways to make amends; we still make them.
There's no guarantee of forgiveness from the wronged person. However, in working the steps honestly and with an open heart, there is a real possibility of self-forgiveness, and, if one is a theist, of forgiveness from a Higher/Deeper Power. (It's a little more complicated than that if one is a non-theist, but something analogous is still possible.)
We don't work the steps so that other people will think better of us: we work them to save our lives.
As Peterson says, "...peace does not come about by overlooking wrongs. It requires action" -- and that action may liberate the wrongdoer as well as the wronged. The person a perpetrator may help might be themselves.
Peterson's article, and the Twelve Steps, show potential forgiveness, potential reconciliation, and restorative justice as messy, complicated, genuine processes. Not superficial ones. And both Peterson's article and the Twelve Steps show responsibility-taking and amends-making as necessary -- even if forgiveness and reconciliation are not forthcoming.
Peterson writes:
In general in society now, there is less pressure for women and girls to reconcile with abusive former romantic partners -- former husbands, spouses, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, partners, significant others -- and that's a good thing. But that pressure does still exist. When that pressure occurs, it's also now more likely to be seen as dangerous, and that's a good thing.
However, there is still tremendous pressure for adults, teens, and children to reconcile with other (non-romantic partner) family members who have been violent and abusive towards them.
And when someone is pressured to reconcile with an abusive other family member, it is less likely to be perceived as dangerous. This is a problem.
Other abusive family members, current or former, are just as dangerous as abusive romantic partners and abusive former romantic partners. When other people fail to see the danger, the danger increases.
We seem to be able to see an abusive, violent former husband/significant other as dangerous. We seem to have a harder time seeing other family members as dangerous. But someone is no less dangerous for having been any other kind of relative -- someone's parent, uncle/aunt, sibling, cousin, in-law, grandparent, etc. We need to be able to see that, too. Our failure to recognize this increases the danger level.
We need to support survivors in keeping themselves safe. We need to honor their boundaries. We also need to help keep other people in our families and families-of-choice safe from known abusers.
Peterson Toscano, Laura Davis, Bruce Birchard, John Calvi, and Friends Peace Teams (in Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities) all talk about circumstances under which reconciliation is possible, even when the most unthinkable violence has been perpetrated.
It does not happen through forced forgiveness. It does not happen through forced reconciliation. It does not happen through pressuring the people involved because it makes the rest of us so uncomfortable to see division among us -- whether within a family, or within a spiritual or religious group, or a political group, a minority group, etc. Quakers, families, LBGTQ rights groups, anti-racist groups, Pagans, it does not matter.
Most of all, reconciliation does not happen by blaming the people who are honest about violence perpetrated on them, or by pressuring them to accept further violence to their boundaries by forced "forgiving and forgetting."
Survivors are in no way required to forgive or reconcile.
Reconciliation may happen when people who perpetrate violence and abuse are able to take responsibility for their actions.
But whether or not forgiveness or reconciliation are possible, it is still incumbent on those who perpetrate violence and abuse to take responsibility for what they have done.
And that's really what so much of this comes down to.
Can you acknowledge what you've done? Can you see what it's done to someone else? Can you, if appropriate, make amends?
What can you do to bring about justice?
My dear f/Friend Peterson Toscano wrote this insightful piece recently:
"Some Thoughts on Forgiveness"
http://petersontoscano.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/some-thoughts-on-forgiveness/
What Peterson wrote resonated with me, and intertwined with some other things that have been simmering quietly in the cauldron, or are newly on the front burner for me: work I read a a few years ago by Laura Davis on reconciliation; an abusive person in my extended family who's expressed interest in reconciliation through the family grapevine; Bruce Birchard's plenary speech at FGC Gathering this summer; a formerly close friend who has apologized multiple times for how messed up things are between us; someone in another part of my family who wishes for reconciliation between people who are in conflict; an abusive former family member who is stalking me.
Peterson wrote:
It is most effective if the offender communicates regret over their actions, can articulate what they have done, and actually requests forgiveness. My forgiveness does not mean I can (or should) trust the person again immediately or ever. Forgiveness does not give me permission to overlook reality.Peterson also mentions the concept of restorative justice.
A real apology is not a "get out of hot water free/make someone be no longer angry at me" card. It's an interactive process. It has costs.
This is where forgiveness, reconciliation, and restorative justice can come together.
Forgiveness and reconciliation are related, but are not the same thing. And they do not always take place together -- one may happen without the other.
Immediate forgiveness and absolution distracts from the necessary cathartic process for both the offender and those harmed... While many of us rejoice in happy endings and prefer to skip over the conflict to the resolution, usually its the complicated, messy process that results in a satisfying ending.
I am reminded of the original Twelve Steps of Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous, the original being the ones with which I am most familiar.
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol (our addiction)—that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics (addicts), and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
A "searching and fearless moral inventory" comes pretty early on in working the steps (step 4), with the support of a Higher (or Deeper) Power and, preferably, also of one's sponsor in step 5. Then there are several steps after the moral inventory before the word "amends" even appears. In addition, there's a full inward step concerning amends (step 8), before outward, direct amends can be considered (step 9). What's more, in step 9, our main concerns are not only "direct amends," but avoiding harm -- to the people we had previously harmed, or to anyone else. If making amends to them would harm them or others, we find different ways to make amends; we still make them.
There's no guarantee of forgiveness from the wronged person. However, in working the steps honestly and with an open heart, there is a real possibility of self-forgiveness, and, if one is a theist, of forgiveness from a Higher/Deeper Power. (It's a little more complicated than that if one is a non-theist, but something analogous is still possible.)
We don't work the steps so that other people will think better of us: we work them to save our lives.
As Peterson says, "...peace does not come about by overlooking wrongs. It requires action" -- and that action may liberate the wrongdoer as well as the wronged. The person a perpetrator may help might be themselves.
Peterson's article, and the Twelve Steps, show potential forgiveness, potential reconciliation, and restorative justice as messy, complicated, genuine processes. Not superficial ones. And both Peterson's article and the Twelve Steps show responsibility-taking and amends-making as necessary -- even if forgiveness and reconciliation are not forthcoming.
Peterson writes:
If a family member has abused others and then repents, it is complex and difficult work to bring that person back into family life and gatherings. Not impossible, but I believe we must not overlook history or the gravity of offenses committed.
In general in society now, there is less pressure for women and girls to reconcile with abusive former romantic partners -- former husbands, spouses, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, partners, significant others -- and that's a good thing. But that pressure does still exist. When that pressure occurs, it's also now more likely to be seen as dangerous, and that's a good thing.
However, there is still tremendous pressure for adults, teens, and children to reconcile with other (non-romantic partner) family members who have been violent and abusive towards them.
And when someone is pressured to reconcile with an abusive other family member, it is less likely to be perceived as dangerous. This is a problem.
Other abusive family members, current or former, are just as dangerous as abusive romantic partners and abusive former romantic partners. When other people fail to see the danger, the danger increases.
We seem to be able to see an abusive, violent former husband/significant other as dangerous. We seem to have a harder time seeing other family members as dangerous. But someone is no less dangerous for having been any other kind of relative -- someone's parent, uncle/aunt, sibling, cousin, in-law, grandparent, etc. We need to be able to see that, too. Our failure to recognize this increases the danger level.
We need to support survivors in keeping themselves safe. We need to honor their boundaries. We also need to help keep other people in our families and families-of-choice safe from known abusers.
Peterson Toscano, Laura Davis, Bruce Birchard, John Calvi, and Friends Peace Teams (in Healing and Rebuilding Our Communities) all talk about circumstances under which reconciliation is possible, even when the most unthinkable violence has been perpetrated.
It does not happen through forced forgiveness. It does not happen through forced reconciliation. It does not happen through pressuring the people involved because it makes the rest of us so uncomfortable to see division among us -- whether within a family, or within a spiritual or religious group, or a political group, a minority group, etc. Quakers, families, LBGTQ rights groups, anti-racist groups, Pagans, it does not matter.
Most of all, reconciliation does not happen by blaming the people who are honest about violence perpetrated on them, or by pressuring them to accept further violence to their boundaries by forced "forgiving and forgetting."
Survivors are in no way required to forgive or reconcile.
Reconciliation may happen when people who perpetrate violence and abuse are able to take responsibility for their actions.
But whether or not forgiveness or reconciliation are possible, it is still incumbent on those who perpetrate violence and abuse to take responsibility for what they have done.
And that's really what so much of this comes down to.
Can you acknowledge what you've done? Can you see what it's done to someone else? Can you, if appropriate, make amends?
What can you do to bring about justice?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Faith and Practice quote from Residential General Meeting
I attended my first Residential General Meeting for Scotland this weekend. Our morning business session opened with this quote (23.46) from Britain Yearly Meeting's Faith and Practice. It spoke deeply to me and to my condition:
I have been greatly exercised for some time by the image we like to present of ourselves (albeit with beating of breasts) as a white, middle-class, well-educated group of heterosexual people, preferably in stable marriages with children that behave in socially acceptable ways. I do feel that this is a myth. The danger of such myths is that we exclude many potential Quakers who feel they cannot/do not live up to the image or who feel that such a group is not one with which they wish to be associated. Sadly, many of us within the Society who do not fit in feel marginalised and second-class.
Another effect is that many problems faced by a large proportion of people are seen as separate: people who are poor, facing oppression, living in poor housing, experiencing prejudice are the 'others'. This enables us to be very caring but distant (and sometimes patronising) and also makes it difficult to be conscious of prejudice behind some of the normally accepted assumptions of our society/Society, such as that people who are unemployed are a different group from those who have employment; that poor people are poor ... because they are not as bright or as able as the rest of us or because their limited homes did not give them the opportunities that a good Quaker home would have done; that children living in single-parent families are automatically deprived by that very fact.
Until we as a Religious Society begin to question our assumptions, until we look at the prejudices, often very deeply hidden, within our own Society, how are we going to be able to confront the inequalities within the wider society? We are very good at feeling bad about injustice, we put a lot of energy into sticking-plaster activity (which obviously has to be done), but we are not having any effect in challenging the causes of inequality and oppression. I do sometimes wonder if this is because we are not able to do this within and among ourselves.
Susan Rooke-Matthews, 1993
Monday, October 31, 2011
Samhain 2011
Who are you thinking of tonight? Who are you remembering? Who are your beloved dead whom you honor? Who are your not-so-beloved dead you wish to let go? Who are those who have gone before? Who are the babies born this last year whom you welcome?
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
A new National Coming Out Day conversation?
Two years ago, I posted this article about the National Coming Out Day conversation I'd had:
"Not the National Coming Out Day conversation I expected"
What really blew my mind, in that on-line conversation two years ago, was how the person involved just plain didn't believe me, and kept insisting I was wrong about my experience -- the taxes I pay that they don't, my legal situation, etc.
How do you think the conversation might be different today, in 2011, instead of 2009?
What's changed over the last two years in allies' consciousness about the reality of daily life as a lesbian, bi woman, gay man, bi man, transgender woman, transgender man, genderqueer person, queer woman, queer man, queer person?
Allies, what's changed for you over the last two years?
LGBTQ folks, what changes have you noticed in allies' support?
"Not the National Coming Out Day conversation I expected"
What really blew my mind, in that on-line conversation two years ago, was how the person involved just plain didn't believe me, and kept insisting I was wrong about my experience -- the taxes I pay that they don't, my legal situation, etc.
How do you think the conversation might be different today, in 2011, instead of 2009?
What's changed over the last two years in allies' consciousness about the reality of daily life as a lesbian, bi woman, gay man, bi man, transgender woman, transgender man, genderqueer person, queer woman, queer man, queer person?
Allies, what's changed for you over the last two years?
LGBTQ folks, what changes have you noticed in allies' support?
Friday, October 7, 2011
Recommended article: Selina Rifkin, Cauldron to Kitchen, "Pagan Kosher: Eating Local"
The second in Rifkin's Pagan Kosher series.
Pagan Kosher: Eating Local
http://selinarifkin.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/pagan-kosher-eating-local
And so much more. Lots of food for thought (pardon the pun) in this one.
Pagan Kosher: Eating Local
http://selinarifkin.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/pagan-kosher-eating-local
For Pagans, the place where we live provides for our shelter, and perhaps our spiritual needs. But when we connect with our local food-shed, we have far more opportunities to revel in our sense of place. We honor relationship, not just with the land but with those who grow the food. The sacred web of community is built from such connections..
And so much more. Lots of food for thought (pardon the pun) in this one.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Email subscription bug
I believe I have tracked down and resolved the email subscription bug. If you tried to subscribe before and had difficulty, try it now. Thanks!
Friday, September 30, 2011
The 1 in 3 Campaign
1in3Campaign.org: Deb from Advocates for Youth on Vimeo.
Did you know that 1 in 3 women in the US has had an abortion?
Think of nine of your female friends, especially if you're a woman. How likely are you to know which three among them has had an abortion? Perhaps not very, because of how we've stigmatized abortion in the US.
The 1 in 3 Campaign (http://1in3campaign.org/) is working to counteract that stigmatization, bring women together, and ensure access to basic health care.
"I had an abortion..."
The 1 in 3 campaign is a grassroots movement to start a new conversation about abortion — telling our stories, on our own terms. Together, we can end the stigma women face each and every day and assure access to basic health care. As we tell our stories and support our family and friends as they come forward with theirs, we begin build a culture of compassion, empathy, and support. No one should be made to feel ashamed or alone. It's time for us to come out in support of each other and in support of access to legal and safe abortion care in our communities.
Share the 1 in 3 Campaign videos — or your own story — with three other people. And click here to find out how you can bring the campaign to your campus or your community.
It's time to start the conversation.
I think a lot of women who've grown up post-Roe v. Wade -- which is a great number of us in our reproductive years -- have forgotten the stories some of us grew up on of what it was like pre-Roe. This is one of them, one which has stayed with the teller for more than 40 years, and is a potent reminder of why we need access to safe and legal abortion.
Restricting access to safe, legal abortions doesn't stop abortions; it just increases abortions like this one, which involved ingesting turpentine:
1in3Campaign.org: Deborah from Advocates for Youth on Vimeo.
Making abortion illegal does not make abortion go away. It just makes it more dangerous.
What's in season at my local farmers' market
I was thinking about one of the queries in my recent post about Fall Equinox, What local foods are coming into season now where I live?
And so I found myself taking notes as I walked around my local farmers' market on Saturday.
I do realize there's some difference between "what's available" and "what's in season." :) Here's what was available:
Produce:
Meat:
I'm realizing that when I think "in season," I think mostly about produce, because that's the rhythm I'm most familiar with -- from vegetable gardening as a kid in the Mid-Atlantic, from farms and orchards in Michigan when I lived there, from family friends with farms when I was growing up and farm stands most of my life.
I have some head-knowledge about that rhythm when it comes to meat, but I don't have it in my body the same way I do with fruits and veg. I know a little about the rhythm of salmon from our time in the Pacific NW of the US, a little about the rhythm of chicken from the farm where we used to buy chickens in NJ; I'm just starting to learn about fish here.
(And from my childhood, I'm still very confused when people eat crabs any time other than high summer. Or when uncooked crabs are any color but blue. *grin*)
And so I found myself taking notes as I walked around my local farmers' market on Saturday.
I do realize there's some difference between "what's available" and "what's in season." :) Here's what was available:
Produce:
- raspberries, blueberries, strawberries
- tomatoes (greenhouse-grown)
- damson plums
- cucumbers
- neeps (turnips)
- greens (including curly purple kale!)
- beetroot (beets)
- apples
- pears
- pumpkins and other squash
- other root vegetables
- leeks
- potatoes
Meat:
- chicken, duck, turkey
- beef, including local beef burgers hot off the grill
- buffalo
- pork, including local barbecue sandwiches
- fish (salmon smoked and fresh, haddock, cod, and more) (including smoked salmon sandwiches)
- eggs
- cheeses
- soup
- baked goods
- hot oatmeal, ready-to-eat; oatmeal bars, oats, oatmeal, oatmeal ready-mix
- chocolate
- chocolate gelato (!)
- flowers
- potted herbs
- bread
- jams and chutneys
- soaps
- hummus
- other spreads
- border tablet (think butter and brown sugar, the consistency of solid fudge you get down the ocean (MD), down the shore (NJ), or in St. Ignace (MI)
I'm realizing that when I think "in season," I think mostly about produce, because that's the rhythm I'm most familiar with -- from vegetable gardening as a kid in the Mid-Atlantic, from farms and orchards in Michigan when I lived there, from family friends with farms when I was growing up and farm stands most of my life.
I have some head-knowledge about that rhythm when it comes to meat, but I don't have it in my body the same way I do with fruits and veg. I know a little about the rhythm of salmon from our time in the Pacific NW of the US, a little about the rhythm of chicken from the farm where we used to buy chickens in NJ; I'm just starting to learn about fish here.
(And from my childhood, I'm still very confused when people eat crabs any time other than high summer. Or when uncooked crabs are any color but blue. *grin*)
Friday, September 23, 2011
Fall Equinox
We go down as She goes down
We follow Her underground
Hail to Inanna
Who dies to become whole
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
The veils drop by on our way
As we pass through the gates
With Inanna as our guide
We find truth in deepest night
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
We go down as She goes down
We follow Her underground
Hail to Inanna
Who dies to become whole
And deep calls to deep (deep calls to deep)
Deep calls to deep (deep calls to deep)
And deep calls to deep (deep calls to deep)
Deep calls to deep
We follow Her underground
Hail to Inanna
Who dies to become whole
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
The veils drop by on our way
As we pass through the gates
With Inanna as our guide
We find truth in deepest night
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
And deep calls to deep
Deep calls to deep
We go down as She goes down
We follow Her underground
Hail to Inanna
Who dies to become whole
And deep calls to deep (deep calls to deep)
Deep calls to deep (deep calls to deep)
And deep calls to deep (deep calls to deep)
Deep calls to deep
-- "Inanna," Suzanne Sterling;
recorded on Reclaiming's "Second Chants"
Fall Equinox
Fall Equinox. Mabon. The second harvest and the Witches' Thanksgiving. Inanna's descent. Day and night in balance. The beginning of the darker half of the year.
Queries
Ground and center, or settle into worship.
Breathe, and ask yourself:
- As I look around me, what changes have I noticed in nature since the beginning of August? (Take a moment before going on the next query.)
- What local foods are coming into season now where I live? (Take a moment before going on the next query.)
- As I take stock in my life right now, what do I find I am thankful for, in this moment?
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Looking for Pagan groups for participant observation project for Cherry Hill Seminary
I am trying to help two colleagues of mine at Cherry Hill Seminary find Pagan groups for a project of theirs in their graduate-level Contemporary Global Paganisms class.
(Click here for description of course.)
They would, of course, be willing to put any group(s) in touch with the professor supervising the research.
They are looking for groups in western Arkansas/eastern Oklahoma and in Portland, Oregon.
To meet the criteria for the project, they need groups that are specifically Pagan, and probably not eclectic (because the project needs to be with a group in a Pagan tradition not the researcher's own, and both are part of eclectic traditions).
If you have any leads, please feel free to leave me a comment or to send me an email at the address listed on my "About" page.
Thanks so much for your help!
(Click here for description of course.)
They would, of course, be willing to put any group(s) in touch with the professor supervising the research.
They are looking for groups in western Arkansas/eastern Oklahoma and in Portland, Oregon.
To meet the criteria for the project, they need groups that are specifically Pagan, and probably not eclectic (because the project needs to be with a group in a Pagan tradition not the researcher's own, and both are part of eclectic traditions).
If you have any leads, please feel free to leave me a comment or to send me an email at the address listed on my "About" page.
Thanks so much for your help!
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Recommended article: Respect - an antidote to violence
I've written before about how the prevention of violence is rooted in recognizing and honoring the humanity in other people. Lucy Duncan has a piece over at the American Friends Service Committee blog which very much resonates with my experience in peace witness and humanitarian work, the research I did as an undergrad, and further research in the field of both political violence and other forms of violence.
Lucy Duncan, "Respect - an antidote to violence"
http://www.afsc.org/friends/respect-antidote-violence
Read more...
Lucy Duncan, "Respect - an antidote to violence"
http://www.afsc.org/friends/respect-antidote-violence
Dr. Joy DeGruy did an extensive study a few years ago focused on the impact of experiences of respect or disrespect for which she developed the African American Male Youth Respect Scale... She found that “the respect that African American youth feel promotes psychological wellness and social identity; conversely, a lack of respect compromises their identities and is viewed as a threat to safety” and that there was a strong correlation between experiences of being disrespected and later acts of violence. Dr. DeGruy defines respect as ‘to regard twice, to give a second look.’
Read more...
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Recommended article: BBC News, A Point of View: Can Religion Tell Us More Than Science?
BBC News, A Point of View: Can Religion Tell Us More Than Science?
Too many atheists miss the point of religion, it's about how we live and not what we believe, writes John Gray.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14944470
Too many atheists miss the point of religion, it's about how we live and not what we believe, writes John Gray.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14944470
I don't belong to any religion, but the idea that religion is a relic of primitive thinking strikes me as itself incredibly primitive.
In most religions - polytheism, Hinduism and Buddhism, Daoism and Shinto, many strands of Judaism and some Christian and Muslim traditions - belief has never been particularly important. Practice - ritual, meditation, a way of life - is what counts. What practitioners believe is secondary, if it matters at all.
The idea that religions are essentially creeds, lists of propositions that you have to accept, doesn't come from religion. It's an inheritance from Greek philosophy, which shaped much of western Christianity and led to practitioners trying to defend their way of life as an expression of what they believe.
This is where Frazer and the new atheists today come in. When they attack religion they are assuming that religion is what this western tradition says it is - a body of beliefs that needs to be given a rational justification.
...Evangelical atheists who want to convert the world to unbelief are copying religion at its dogmatic worst. They think human life would be vastly improved if only everyone believed as they do, when a little history shows that trying to get everyone to believe the same thing is a recipe for unending conflict.
We'd all be better off if we stopped believing in belief. Not everyone needs a religion. But if you do, you shouldn't be bothered about finding arguments for joining or practising one. Just go into the church, synagogue, mosque or temple and take it from there.
What we believe doesn't in the end matter very much. What matters is how we live.
Advices and Queries from Worship today
At Central Edinburgh Meeting, where I now attend, at the end of Meeting for Worship, we have notices/announcements, a reading from Britain Yearly Meeting Advices and Queries, and then a few moments of worship before going downstairs for coffee/tea/fellowship and simple lunch.
Today's advice and query, #27, has particular resonance for our family, and I thought I would share it. (Click here for a link to hear it read aloud.)
Hmmmm......
Today's advice and query, #27, has particular resonance for our family, and I thought I would share it. (Click here for a link to hear it read aloud.)
Live adventurously. When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the fullest opportunity for the use of your gifts in the service of God and the community? Let your life speak. When decisions have to be made, are you ready to join with others in seeking clearness, asking for God's guidance and offering counsel to one another?
Hmmmm......
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Test post for subscription feeds
As I wrote earlier, there have been some glitches with some of the subscription feeds since I updated the template. Here's a test post to see if folks this post matches what folks are getting in their subscription feeds...
Friday, September 9, 2011
More on bedside and healing singing
In a recent post, I had mentioned both Threshold Choirs and that there are other groups that do bedside singing and different kinds of healing music ministry and outreach. Some of the ones I know are Unitarian Universalist groups, some are Quaker groups (such as Nightingales in Northern Yearly Meeting), and I'm sure there are plenty of others I don't know about yet.
When I attended the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network Conference in 2009, I went to a number of wonderful workshops. One of them was facilitated by Kellie Walker, of Valley Unitarian Univeralist Congregation in Chandler, AZ, about HeartSongs, a music ministry program which focuses on healing. I left with inspiration to take back to my vocal ensemble at home and to Quaker Meeting for Worship for Healing.
My notes from that workshop are currently on a boat somewhere between the US and the UK, but earlier this week, new developments in Walker's program were spotlighted on the UUMN blog:
Heart-to-HeartSongs: Music Ministry Thrives in Chandler, AZ
http://singingforourlives.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/heart-to-heartsongs-music-ministry-thrives-in-chandler-arizona/
There are all sorts of neat things that have come about in the last two years in this work.
For more information about the program and about the Voices Lifted Singers -- including recommendations for how to start your own group -- see:
Heart-to-HeartSongs: Voices Lifted Music Ministry
http://hearttoheartsongs.wordpress.com/
Enjoy reading, and do make sure to check out some of the videos from the Voices Lifted Singers. They're wonderful.
When I attended the Unitarian Universalist Musicians Network Conference in 2009, I went to a number of wonderful workshops. One of them was facilitated by Kellie Walker, of Valley Unitarian Univeralist Congregation in Chandler, AZ, about HeartSongs, a music ministry program which focuses on healing. I left with inspiration to take back to my vocal ensemble at home and to Quaker Meeting for Worship for Healing.
My notes from that workshop are currently on a boat somewhere between the US and the UK, but earlier this week, new developments in Walker's program were spotlighted on the UUMN blog:
Heart-to-HeartSongs: Music Ministry Thrives in Chandler, AZ
http://singingforourlives.wordpress.com/2011/09/06/heart-to-heartsongs-music-ministry-thrives-in-chandler-arizona/
There are all sorts of neat things that have come about in the last two years in this work.
For more information about the program and about the Voices Lifted Singers -- including recommendations for how to start your own group -- see:
Heart-to-HeartSongs: Voices Lifted Music Ministry
http://hearttoheartsongs.wordpress.com/
Enjoy reading, and do make sure to check out some of the videos from the Voices Lifted Singers. They're wonderful.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Thinking again about inconsolable grief, and company along the way
I have been thinking again about inconsolable grief. About how some deaths make sense, some deaths we can eventually make sense out of, and some we don't necessarily ever make sense of. We live with them as the edges wear to somewhat less sharpness.
Beloved Wife and I are going through a death in our family that doesn't make sense.
It has a narrative which either of us can tell you. That narrative, in its own strange way, makes sense to me through the lens of my training, education, and experience. I can explain any number of things to you about it. But it doesn't make sense to my gut, nor, I think, to hers, or to anyone's in our family.
That's part of the difference between explanation and lived experience.
I'm reminded of how I feel tongue-tied when people want me to explain Paganism or Witchcraft or Quakerism to them in a way that makes these things make sense to them, that helps them understand them. I can explain, but I can't give them the experience, and the experience is, after all, what is central in these experiential mystical traditions/religions/spiritualities.
Or when people I work with one-on-one or in groups want me to explain trauma recovery, the process of grieving, the process of re-connecting with their sense of That-Which-Is-Sacred, or other kinds of healing.
But in those situations, there's something different. It's more personal. And the person asking is usually also asking for hope: Tell me I can do this. Tell me this is possible for me.
(Yes. Yes, it is. No, you will not be alone.)
Life is like that. The explanations, the words on paper or the screen, are reflections of the reality. They can hint, but they can't convey the fullness, the reality, of experience.
And as I wrote earlier, these aren't things we can fix for each other, or do for each other. But these are things we can accompany each other during. And that's important.
My gut refuses any sense of this death, at the same time my brain can't help seeing the patterns that are there, and the vast gaps where there are none.
And so here I am, again, faced with an inconsolable grief, one that is both my own and where I have care for others affected by it.
I've written about inconsolable grief before, about what's helpful and what's not. (I also very much appreciated the gentle and loving conversation in the comments on that piece from people about what they'd found helpful, and not helpful, and why, in their own grief.)
I very much appreciate your holding us, and our family, in the Light, or doing whatever your own personal practice is when you hold someone in your spiritual care. I appreciate your being gentle with me while I'm still in shock. I appreciate your not trying to fix the unfixable, and most of all, just being with, being present, being company during the process.
Beloved Wife and I are going through a death in our family that doesn't make sense.
It has a narrative which either of us can tell you. That narrative, in its own strange way, makes sense to me through the lens of my training, education, and experience. I can explain any number of things to you about it. But it doesn't make sense to my gut, nor, I think, to hers, or to anyone's in our family.
That's part of the difference between explanation and lived experience.
I'm reminded of how I feel tongue-tied when people want me to explain Paganism or Witchcraft or Quakerism to them in a way that makes these things make sense to them, that helps them understand them. I can explain, but I can't give them the experience, and the experience is, after all, what is central in these experiential mystical traditions/religions/spiritualities.
Or when people I work with one-on-one or in groups want me to explain trauma recovery, the process of grieving, the process of re-connecting with their sense of That-Which-Is-Sacred, or other kinds of healing.
But in those situations, there's something different. It's more personal. And the person asking is usually also asking for hope: Tell me I can do this. Tell me this is possible for me.
(Yes. Yes, it is. No, you will not be alone.)
Life is like that. The explanations, the words on paper or the screen, are reflections of the reality. They can hint, but they can't convey the fullness, the reality, of experience.
And as I wrote earlier, these aren't things we can fix for each other, or do for each other. But these are things we can accompany each other during. And that's important.
My gut refuses any sense of this death, at the same time my brain can't help seeing the patterns that are there, and the vast gaps where there are none.
And so here I am, again, faced with an inconsolable grief, one that is both my own and where I have care for others affected by it.
I've written about inconsolable grief before, about what's helpful and what's not. (I also very much appreciated the gentle and loving conversation in the comments on that piece from people about what they'd found helpful, and not helpful, and why, in their own grief.)
I very much appreciate your holding us, and our family, in the Light, or doing whatever your own personal practice is when you hold someone in your spiritual care. I appreciate your being gentle with me while I'm still in shock. I appreciate your not trying to fix the unfixable, and most of all, just being with, being present, being company during the process.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Northern Spirit Radio's Song of the Soul: Singing the Goddess
At FGC Gathering this summer, Mark Helpsmeet of Northern Spirit Radio interviewed me for the program Song of the Soul. Three members of my Gathering workshop, Singing the Goddess -- Denise Madland, Peggy Bright, and Sandy Moon -- joined me.
Click here for more information and to listen to the interview:
Singing the Goddess: Stasa Morgan-Appel
The whole interview, including singing, is about an hour.
Songs we performed:
Notes:
Links to a lot of the different things we talked about (and some links I failed to mention, but add now):
Some of my favorite songbooks (more to be added!):
Friends General Conference ("FGC is more than Gathering!"):
FGC Gathering:
Winter Solstice Celebrations and A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual book and CD:
The Pagan Pride Project:
Threshold Choirs:
Melanie DeMore:
Betsy Rose:
Pagan festivals, get-togethers, gatherings, etc. Please note that I do not endorse any of these, or have experience with any of these, except for local Pagan Pride Day celebrations, unless noted with an asterisk.
Cherry Hill Seminary:
Unitarian Universalist Musicans Network (UUMN):
Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS):
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA):
Quaker Pagan and Pagan Quaker resources:
Quakers!! Where?
I hope you enjoy!
p.s. Blogger allows only a certain amount of room for labels, and so I was unable to include labels for all the orgs I provided links for.
 |
| Northern Spirit Radio |
Click here for more information and to listen to the interview:
Singing the Goddess: Stasa Morgan-Appel
The whole interview, including singing, is about an hour.
Songs we performed:
- "We Are a Circle," by Rick Hamouris*
- "Tallis Canon"/"Full Moon Canon," by Thomas Tallis (1567) and Stasa Morgan-Appel
- "The River," by Diana Hildebrand-Hull
- "Sending You Light," by Melanie DeMore
- "Imani," by Rachael A. K. Hazen*
- "Meditation on Breathing," by Sarah Dan Jones
Notes:
- This interview took place on Friday afternoon. I had horrible voice strain by the end of the week, and you can definitely hear that, both in my speaking voice and in my singing voice.
- We had no rehearsal time, and we'd sung each song together once or twice during the course of the week. I'm really grateful to Denise, Peggy, and Sandy for their courage and willingness to sing with me under these circumstances!
- The song I'm talking about at the very beginning of the interview, from my workshop in 2009, is Juliet Spitzer's "Shadow/Light," recorded by SheWho on their album "The Earth Will Turn Over."
- Here is the Pagan Pride Project's set of definitions of "What Is a Pagan?":
A Pagan or NeoPagan is someone who self-identifies as a Pagan, and whose spiritual or religious practice or belief fits into one or more of the following categories:
- Honoring, revering, or worshipping a Deity or Deities found in pre-Christian, classical, aboriginal, or tribal mythology; and/or
- Practicing religion or spirituality based upon shamanism, shamanic, or magickal practices; and/or
- Creating new religion based on past Pagan religions and/or futuristic views of society, community, and/or ecology;
- Focusing religious or spiritual attention primarily on the Divine Feminine; and/or
- Practicing religion that focuses on earth based spirituality.
Links to a lot of the different things we talked about (and some links I failed to mention, but add now):
Some of my favorite songbooks (more to be added!):
- http://stasa.net/resources/musical-resources#TOC-Songbooks
- http://stasa.net/resources/musical-resources#TOC-Songbooks1
Friends General Conference ("FGC is more than Gathering!"):
FGC Gathering:
Winter Solstice Celebrations and A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual book and CD:
- on my website: http://stasa.net/winter-solstice
- at Emerald Earth Publishing: http://emeraldearth.net/winter__solstice.htm
The Pagan Pride Project:
Threshold Choirs:
- http://www.thresholdchoir.org/ (Please note, there are restrictions as to who may join certain Threshold Choirs)
- The Eau Claire Threshold Singers' Song of the Soul interview: http://www.northernspiritradio.org/index.asp?command=ShowInfo&ID=557980107113
Melanie DeMore:
Betsy Rose:
Pagan festivals, get-togethers, gatherings, etc. Please note that I do not endorse any of these, or have experience with any of these, except for local Pagan Pride Day celebrations, unless noted with an asterisk.
- Witchvox (The Witches' Voice), to find groups, festivals, etc, near you: http://witchvox.org/
- The Pagan Newswire Collective, for coverage of all sorts of festivals: http://pagannewswirecollective.com/
- Pagan Pride Day locations world-wide (in the fall of the year): http://paganpride.org/where/where.html
- Reclaiming Witchcamps: http://www.witchcamp.org/
- Pagan Spirit Gathering: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/psg/
- Pantheacon: http://pantheacon.com/wordpress/
- Free Spirit Gathering: http://www.freespiritgathering.org/
- Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS): http://www.cuups.org/
- Our Lady of the Earth and Sky (OLOTEAS)*, a non-denominational Pagan church in the Puget Sound area of Washington: http://www.oloteas.org/
- Winter Solstice Celebrations (based on A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual), http://stasa.net/winter-solstice
Cherry Hill Seminary:
Unitarian Universalist Musicans Network (UUMN):
Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS):
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA):
Quaker Pagan and Pagan Quaker resources:
Quakers!! Where?
- To find a Meeting near you in the US or Canada: http://www.quakerfinder.org/
- To find a Meeting near you in Britain: http://www.quaker.org.uk/
I hope you enjoy!
p.s. Blogger allows only a certain amount of room for labels, and so I was unable to include labels for all the orgs I provided links for.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Updating my blog
I am updating my blog's template, etc. Please be patient while it's under construction. Thanks!
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