Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
-Mary Oliver

Photo by Seth Rockmuller

Yes, attention, astonishment – but I’ve had trouble with the “tell about it” part. My blog has languished, as I prepare for Marian’s visit, the Elderwoman series, and this month’s SWW gathering. It didn’t help that the modem died over the holiday weekend (it has been replaced). My response to being without internet access for three days is worthy of a separate post.

Photo by Seth Rockmuller

But it’s been a wonderful summer. I attended a college reunion where we wandered by kayak and canoe on the Delaware River; had bike riding adventures with cousins Mia and Keir; and visited son Ben in NYC. His new apartment is near the Chrysler building; the photo of it was taken from the roof of his building.

Yesterday I discovered a video about Star Island, where I spent a week in July/August. It shows the stark beauty and rich history of the place.

There is more, always, but it will have to wait; work beckons.

Only by placing Earth and its ecosystems – about which we now understand so much – at the centre of all our thinking can we avert ecological disaster .

Only by bringing our thinking back into balance with feeling, intuition and awareness and by grounding ourselves in a sense of the sacred in all things can we achieve a new level of consciousness.

Thus says the website of the book GreenSpirit: Path to a new Consciousness. In a couple of weeks the author, Marian Van Eyk McCain, will be speaking about this book upstairs in the Community Room at the Real Food Co-op in Chatham. (Please note that the Co-op is not open for business on Sundays.) I’m very happy that Marian will be here, and I’d like you all to meet her. She is also author of the book Elderwoman: Reap the Wisdom – Feel the Power – Embrace the Joy, which ties in with Growing Older, Growing Wiser: Becoming an Elderwoman, a seven-part series beginning in Chatham on September 14th.

Please help me spread the message about her talk at the Co-op on September 12, 2 PM. Thanks!

Here is a poster with the details:

GreenSpirit Poster

Today my friend Gail stopped by on her way traveling from West Hartford, CT to Syracuse, NY. Reconnecting with old friends is heartwarming. We told each other stories about our lives and caught up. With such a soul friend, even though time had passed, it was as though we had seen each other yesterday; the conversation was immediate, free, deep, and easy.

In our past, we shared raising and home-educating our children; we found we embraced similar spiritual interests; we were both involved in creative pursuits  involving textiles, and we’ve shared the joys and challenges of life.

Gail reminded me that, no matter the time and distance between friends, we are never far apart. For this I am grateful.

At the end of our visit, we enjoyed a Japanese meal together. All in all, it was a very satisfying day.

Marian and her husband live simply in Devon, England. She limits her air travel for environmental reasons, so we are fortunate to have her with us. Please join us on September 12th!

GreenSpirit Poster

This event is sponsored by Sanctuary Without Walls.

There were many memorable moments. One of my favorites was watching a huge flock of hundreds of birds encircling the clearing in which I was sitting ( a little freaky, in that it reminded me of the Hitchcock movie). They were silent except for the sound of their wings.

The photos show the back of the stone fireplace, where some flat surfaces provided spaces for small “altars” to be created by the women present.

On one evening, we lay on our backs near the coals of the fire and watched for meteors. There were many, but one was absolutely spectacular as it streaked across the sky, leaving a long trail which looked almost double. Later that night I took the rain-fly off my tent so I could continue to watch the stars through the night.

On the last evening, a friend and I created a “dusk walk,” a liminal experience on the paths in the woods, which were lit with candles. The experience left me with the desire to create more outdoor magical experiences for others.

I’m already dreaming about next year’s Wild Flowers event. It is sponsored each summer by the organization Wellspring Haven.

Brace yourselves; here comes the C-word and the J-word, not to mention the R-word.

Popular author Anne Rice has “quit” Christianity. On her Facebook page last week she wrote:

“Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out…I remain committed to Christ as always, but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”

And this morning in my inbox I discovered a stunning response in the form of an article in Salon magazine, from Lily Burana, who has chosen to stay and fight. She wrote:

“Religion can be freighted with heartache, disappointment, uncomfortable adjustment and the dreary slog through the vale of tears. But I believe we can fashion the pieces of a broken heart into a new shape of belief. I’d rather endure the contortions of worship than suffer the bone-dry refuge of refusal or a spiritual life half-lived.”

Here’s the link to the article.

Some time ago, with the blessing of The Center for Progressive Christianity, I created a Facebook page, wanting to spread the word about this group’s work and resources. If you are one of those, like me, hanging in there with Christianity, you may wish to check it out. This month’s articles at www.tcpc.org are about Anne Rice’s decision, people who consider themselves SBNR (spiritual but not religious), the new atheists, interfaith – innerfaith, and more.

As an infant, I was baptized in the Universalist Church (in the 1960s it merged with the Unitarian Church, to form Unitarian Universalism). Although I trained as a UU minister, I am not firmly planted in a UU church, nor am I a free-floating follower of Jesus, but rather someone with more than one spiritual home. This is distasteful (bordering on heretical) to many people calling themselves Christians, but my religious experience is not a “spiritual life half-lived;” it is expansive and broad, as well as deeply rooted. I like to think it’s the way Jesus lived, breaking bread with all kinds of people, while intimately knowing his Source. Community is important to me; if I cannot find it, I gather with others and  help it grow. And I see this happening all around me. Community ministry. Yup. That’s what I do.

Growing Older, Growing Wiser: Becoming an Elderwoman ~ For women 55 and older, on the second Tuesday of each month, September 14, 2010  –  March 8, 2011  ~ 7-9 PM

To download the registration brochure with all the details, click on the following link:

Elderwoman registration brochure

AND

Religious Harm and Healing: Reclaiming Your Authentic Spiritual Life ~ September 22, October 6  & October 20  ~  6:30 – 8:30 PM  ~   Chatham, NY

To download the registration brochure which has more information, click on the following link:

Harm & Healing Brochure Final#2 8.2010

________________________

After being away and entertaining guests, I’ve had many little details to attend to here. It feels great to make these available, at last! Check out the events site for details and other happenings.

After spending a week at a science and religion conference with more than 100 people,

IRAS on Star Island 2010

I came home to my husband’s college reunion at our home, with about twenty of his college friends, some of whom he hadn’t seen for forty years.

Photo by Art Nager

This morning I was on a radio show about the upcoming series for women Growing Older, Growing Wiser: Becoming an Elderwoman -

and now I’m planning for the annual campout of Wellspring Haven.

Photo by Sharon Lips

The weekend after that, I’ll be attending a college reunion of my own.

Reunion, Callicoon 2009

It’s been an intense summer of gathering in communities of diverse people. And it will continue into September, when I’ll be attending a Céile Dé gathering.

So much richness, and so little time to blog about it!

There is much that I wish to write about, but it will have to wait until I’m settled in and caught up.

The Evolutionary Epic: Science’s Story and Humanity’s Response, edited by Cheryl Genet, Russell Genet, Brian Swimme, Linda Palmer and Linda Gibler

Photo by Seth Rockmuller

In a couple of days I’m leaving for a science and religion conference about our energy future.

From the conference description: “Energy and climate change are typically discussed in terms of their associated science, technology, economics and politics.  However, relatively little attention has been given to fundamental religious and ethical questions surrounding the upcoming transition to renewable energy.

“Culturally, we are entering a period of monumental transition as we encounter the inevitable shift from fossil to renewable fuels.  We are depleting fossil fuels while piling up nuclear wastes, yet solar and hydrogen power remain expensive or not significantly in place.  As for any technological transition of this magnitude, ultimate success will require good ethics and religion as well as good science and technology.  Unfortunately, religious pronouncements to date have been largely dismissed owing to their feeble consideration of accompanying scientific and technological realities.  Nevertheless, religious perspectives have the advantage of highlighting ultimate values, regardless of economic and political pressures.  The time has thus come to bring together scientists, engineers, ethicists and theologians to help effect a sustainable energy future.

“The conference will engage scientific, technological, economic and political issues associated with energy conservation and renewable energies in the context of global warming, sustainability and human purpose.  The emphasis will be on (1) ethical and religious perspectives that can be used to guide future energy choices and (2) energy choices which, in turn, might challenge ethical and religious perspectives.”

In thinking about these issues, I’ve decided to do a little research via this blog.

In light of what we know (or think we know) about climate change, peak oil, and our energy future, do you have hope?  If so, where does your hope lie? Is it in the healing powers of Earth? Your own efforts toward sustainability? What gives you hope? Development of new technologies? God? Evolution?

Photo by Seth Rockmuller

Please share. If you do not want your comments published here at this blog, just let me know.  I still want to read your thoughts and ideas. Thanks!