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Following up on my earlier "bomb"
by Shelley Hahn 05 Aug '25

05 Aug '25

It’s been a few weeks since I dropped a bomb on one of the threads here. It wasn’t my intention to just go silent. Immediately after my post my attention was snatched by a flooded basement, two sick pets, and the need for some changes in my Mom’s care. (All is fine on all fronts now.) After that there had been so much rich conversation and dialogue that I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of responding in an articulate and meaningful way; I got paralyzed. Karen Snyder broke through my paralysis when she contacted me last week to talk about a witness I gave in 1983 (I was 22) about Celebration 10, a Student House reunion/gathering. After talking with Karen I decided I just need to write SOMETHING, even if I don’t have all my thoughts and feelings sorted out. I have no illusions that I can tell my whole story in one piece of writing. (Marsha spent months writing her reflections; I think David Marshall spent 20ish (?) years writing “Iron Boy.”) Today, my only intention is to write from my heart, to tell some pieces of my experience, my truth. Bear with me if I ramble a bit; if I let my inner critic get too involved, I’ll never post anything. 😊 So … in no particular order: ~ Starting with the bomb I dropped a few weeks back … I was sexually molested by the first prior in the house I was assigned to when I was in 7th grade. I think that person left the Order not too long after that, and I am almost certain he has died by now. I pushed that experience and the memories down for many years and finally faced them when I was in my late 20s. Therapy and conversations with the people closest to me helped me process, heal and move forward. Even so, as with any powerful life experience, the experience shapes one, becomes part of one’s fiber, woven in. The experience does not define me. It also cannot un-happen. ~ I live with an interesting paradox at my center. Unlike many of my 2nd Generation peers, I have never wished I had a different life than I had growing up. I have many very fond memories from my life in the Order, which started when I was 3 years old. I have always been grateful for the many gifts that came with that life: community; a big extended family with scores of extra brothers and sisters and lifelong friendships; a global perspective; a trained intellect; a profound understanding of and care about the injustices in the world. There are many others. At the same time, there is just as much that makes me sad and angry. I could start right there—emotions. The Order was intellectually brilliant … and largely devoid of heart and compassion. Love is not just a structural approach; it is also a human emotion (and I’m not just talking about romantic love). >From my perspective, emotion wasn’t just ignored it was considered weak, wrong, unhelpful … put down and squelched. What a loss for all of us. And to return to one of the central pieces of recent discussion … in my opinion, separating families and not TRULY caring for children and youth was a HUGE mistake. I’ve always felt my parents’ love and I’ve always loved them powerfully, and when my father died I was devastated to realize how few actual memories I had of time with him before my parents moved to Bloomington when I was 43 and he was 73. Would there have been hard times and “bad” memories if we’d been together all those years? Of course! That doesn't change that I was denied years of connection with my parents. How sad that at some point the decision was made to take “family” out of “family order.” There’s a lot more I could say about good and bad, pro and con, but it’s more than I am up to at the moment. Perhaps the main point I want to make is that acknowledging mistakes doesn’t mean there was no good, no value. I am a product of all of it. ~ Back to my appreciation of our community: I have ALWAYS been so grateful for my Order family. I have wonderful memories of SO many of you! I remember the Marshalls and Hahns all going out for dinner in our VW beetle (yes, there were 10 of us!) one family night. The Barleys took me in as family and cared for me exquisitely for three months when I was in 4th grade when my parents first went to England. The Wainwrights and Baileys were my family in Santa Monica, the Averys and Bonnells (before Clare was even a Bonnell 😊) in England. Alfrieda Wilkins was my guardian when I was in high school and did a stellar job in a difficult role—big sister, friend, mentor. Martha Laird was assigned to oversee our youth cluster at Kemper when I was 16 or 17 and we all adored her (she got off easy with a fairly responsible bunch 😊). Bob Rafos was my surrogate dad when I was 18 and largely lost. Seeing so many of your faces and hearing your words during my father’s Zoom memorial service was the greatest gift I could have received at that painful time. I could go on and on. I am SO GRATEFUL for this bunch of human beings. Get ready for the emotion: I have real love for so many of you. This is my truth just as much as the truth that I was molested as a child. ~ And I have to address this separately: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my 2nd Generation family. I have a weekly breakfast with Tamara McClelland and Jane St. John. Yesterday as we walked to our favorite haunt, Jane said, “WE are the greatest gift we got from the Order.” “We” meaning all of us who grew up in the Order, in all of the different iterations and phases, with all the attendant joys and pains. She is right. The love and connection we share with one another is big and intense and powerful. Three weeks ago my husband and I drove to Chicago for a get together with Mark & Cari (Boivin) Jewell, Pat (Boivin) and Tom Price, David Allan and his wife, Susan, Chris Boivin, and Sharon Rafos. Chris & I realized we hadn’t seen each other in 35 years. It didn’t matter. From the instant that we all greeted each other it was as if not a week had passed. We support each other. We get each other. We celebrate each other. We listen to each other. Our reunions are fantastic. Big love. And I want to say as carefully and gently as I can: a big part of why we are so tight is that we get each other’s pain. Many of my peers say we came out as well as we did in spite of the Order, not because of it. Speaking for myself, I believe it’s a mix. But I think I can guarantee that none of us feel that the ends justify the means when it comes to the mistakes that were made with regard to how we were raised. That’s about as much as I have energy for right now. I mentioned that Karen Snyder contacted me about a witness I did in 1983. Wow! Karen asked for my permission to share that piece from the archives. On reflection, I don’t want to share that without also taking time to do a re-write from my 64-year-old perspective. Perhaps you’ll be seeing that in the not-too-distant future. A number of you reached out to me after my very short post a few weeks back. Please forgive me for not responding to you individually sooner. I do intend to get back to each of you soon, now that my heart and mind have settled a bit. Thanks to everyone for being out there. Thank you for “listening.” Thank you for being part of an important dialogue With love and respect, Shelley Hahn

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Reflecting
by mary hampton 31 Jul '25

31 Jul '25

A Year August 1 I will be 76 years old, I reflect on this turning. In June we had a different vacation. We took a Viking river cruise on the RiverElba. WE started with two days inPrague, then 5 days on the river and 2 days in Berlin. It was a more pampered way than we havetravelled with tours every day, excellent meals and drinks included. I wondered if I would have had the endurancefor a longer cruise. We followed thiswith 10 days in England. Highlightedmore touring by train, staying with Stuart’s sister, Brenda and visiting Hisbrother Malcolm. I also met andimmediately bonded with Quaker, Bill M – we are both penpals of Joseph on TexasDeath Row. One of my favorite actions in England is to visit themultiple small thrift shops. (Everycharity from Air Ambulances to P.E.T.A. seems to have one in every local HighStreet.) After shopping in some on ourday train trips and having a longer wander in Watford High Street I observed mypurchases: assorted Knick knacks forgifts, 3 blue handkerchiefs, a blue dress, blue blouse and blue, printskirt. I do not do this consciously. I have worn them all since I got home. One young woman at Meeting affirms “Blue isgood on you.” Without my asking. I just read Iron Boy by David Marshall. So did Stuart. When I talked to our daughter Lis, so didshe. I remember many years ago beingasked if I grew up in the Order. “Yes,but I was 20 when I came.” A world of difference in being 20 and decidingand 6 and told this is where we live. Thank you, David. In February the State of Texas executed my friend of 16years, Richard Tabler. When we weretravelling, I learned of the death of Martha (SKY) Dempster. Martha was my college roommate, invited me toRSI, and was my bridesmaid. It has beenten years since we talked; a loss. Ialso lost Donna S, a dance instructor here in Austin. Then 130+ died in floods between the TexasHill Country and Travis County where live. In the midst of life, you know. My year has been given to activity familiarwith the exceptions being the last two months. Being Quaker, Religious Society of Friends. My shorthand definition “Go cheerfullythrough the earth responding to that of God in everyone.” Some of that translates into direct care; Iam currently clerk of Care and Counsel, our local pastoral care committee. Death Row and other prison visits areimportant to me. I dance. This one of my communities meets twice a week for choreographedplay, I continue to keep an art journal—nowon Volume 6. We are lucky enough tolive an hour or less from our children, Elisabeth and Christopher and from ourgrandchildren. LIFE IS GOOD.

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Re: [Oe List ...] Following up on my earlier "bomb"
by zbarley＠earthlink.net 25 Jul '25

25 Jul '25

Isabel It is so good having your voice from Australia be part of our cloud of witnesses. I feel so desperate at times being surrounded by voices that want to deny life to many people while accusing others of a denial that is only a way of obscuring their real intent. I won't live to see the horrible damage to this country repaired. Some say the damage to the climate and possibly world war will make it irreparable. Stay with us. We need your love, concern, and strong presence. Zoe Sent using myEarthLink On Fri Jul 25 04:28:15 MDT 2025 Isobel and Jim via OE wrote: Dear friends, I would like to add my profound sadness in reading of the painful accounts of some of our second generation correspondents on this list serve. Thank you all for sharing your stories and for opening up and continuing this conversation again. I know that the 2000 Denver Reunion began a process- and now I am so grateful we can reflect again and in depth. My son Peter, now aged almost 63, read Iron Boy in one go. He was absorbed and at the end said ‘ though it was very tough, there are things that happened that I learnt which were good and I had experiences which were very different to others and have helped me.’ He really says ‘Thank you David,’ and he remembers Teresa very well. We journey on, and we keep being open to the future and its possibilities. With my love from down here in Australia.🌠 🙏xoxo⭐️ Isobel Isobel Bishop Mob. 0412 129 425 (tel:0412129425) > > On 25 Jul 2025, at 6:56 am, Ed Feldmanis via OE < > > > oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net (mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net) > > > wrote: > > > I just simply want to tell you thank you for your courage. > > On Thu, Jul 24, 2025, 2:55 PM Mary Combs via OE < > > > > > oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net (mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net) > > > wrote: > > Thank you, Shelley, for your sharing and willingness to be vulnerable in expression of your truth. My heart goes out to you for your courage and for that suffering. I have only just joined this list and am so grateful to see this kind of healing interaction taking place. The OE was life changing for me and my family, before, during and after. My dad and mom, Braxton & Marge Combs, were students of Joseph Matthews at SMU/Perkins in Dallas and he visited us many times in California where they moved for their ministry. We were in 5th City in the summer of ‘67, lived in Religious House in San Francisco in the early 70’s, my parents lived in the Paris House while I was in (the first?) Student House in ‘73-74. We left and my parents went back to work in the local church in California. Talk about culture shock! Later, to try to make some sense of it, I attended Academy in Chicago and did a paper on the progress in 5th City for college. My husband attended Academy in Belgium in ‘83. More recently, I was (luckily- thanks Julianne!) found on FB and joined that group list in time to join the 2G reunion in Bloomington. I just got David’s book and am enjoying starting to read it. Connecting with all of you feels like opening a special gift I didn’t realize I needed. So many rich memories! So much to process. > > What I know for sure is this: Our OE founders and leaders and our parent’s who joined created a vision for the future that was(is) so profound and radical and, just the fact they did so, that’s still super hopeful for me, especially considering where our world is now. It is still relevant and worthy of celebrating, but the deep sharing and healing from within that must also continue. The story is still being written! > > Big Love to all, > > Mary Combs > > Aptos, CA > > > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > > On Jul 23, 2025, at 10:41 AM, Shelley Hahn via OE < > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net (mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net) > > > > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > It’s been a few weeks since I dropped a bomb on one of the threads here. It wasn’t my intention to just go silent. Immediately after my post my attention was snatched by a flooded basement, two sick pets, and the need for some changes in my Mom’s care. (All is fine on all fronts now.) After that there had been so much rich conversation and dialogue that I felt overwhelmed at the prospect of responding in an articulate and meaningful way; I got paralyzed. Karen Snyder broke through my paralysis when she contacted me last week to talk about a witness I gave in 1983 (I was 22) about Celebration 10, a Student House reunion/gathering. After talking with Karen I decided I just need to write SOMETHING, even if I don’t have all my thoughts and feelings sorted out. I have no illusions that I can tell my whole story in one piece of writing. (Marsha spent months writing her reflections; I think David Marshall spent 20ish (?) years writing “Iron Boy.”) Today, my only intention is to write from my heart, to tell some pieces of my experience, my truth. Bear with me if I ramble a bit; if I let my inner critic get too involved, I’ll never post anything. 😊 So … in no particular order: > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~ Starting with the bomb I dropped a few weeks back … I was sexually molested by the first prior in the house I was assigned to when I was in 7th grade. I think that person left the Order not too long after that, and I am almost certain he has died by now. I pushed that experience and the memories down for many years and finally faced them when I was in my late 20s. Therapy and conversations with the people closest to me helped me process, heal and move forward. Even so, as with any powerful life experience, the experience shapes one, becomes part of one’s fiber, woven in. The experience does not define me. It also cannot un-happen. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~ I live with an interesting paradox at my center. Unlike many of my 2nd Generation peers, I have never wished I had a different life than I had growing up. I have many very fond memories from my life in the Order, which started when I was 3 years old. I have always been grateful for the many gifts that came with that life: community; a big extended family with scores of extra brothers and sisters and lifelong friendships; a global perspective; a trained intellect; a profound understanding of and care about the injustices in the world. There are many others. At the same time, there is just as much that makes me sad and angry. I could start right there—emotions. The Order was intellectually brilliant … and largely devoid of heart and compassion. Love is not just a structural approach; it is also a human emotion (and I’m not just talking about romantic love). From my perspective, emotion wasn’t just ignored it was considered weak, wrong, unhelpful … put down and squelched. What a loss for all of us. And to return to one of the central pieces of recent discussion … in my opinion, separating families and not TRULY caring for children and youth was a HUGE mistake. I’ve always felt my parents’ love and I’ve always loved them powerfully, and when my father died I was devastated to realize how few actual memories I had of time with him before my parents moved to Bloomington when I was 43 and he was 73. Would there have been hard times and “bad” memories if we’d been together all those years? Of course! That doesn't change that I was denied years of connection with my parents. How sad that at some point the decision was made to take “family” out of “family order.” There’s a lot more I could say about good and bad, pro and con, but it’s more than I am up to at the moment. Perhaps the main point I want to make is that acknowledging mistakes doesn’t mean there was no good, no value. I am a product of all of it. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~ Back to my appreciation of our community: I have ALWAYS been so grateful for my Order family. I have wonderful memories of SO many of you! I remember the Marshalls and Hahns all going out for dinner in our VW beetle (yes, there were 10 of us!) one family night. The Barleys took me in as family and cared for me exquisitely for three months when I was in 4th grade when my parents first went to England. The Wainwrights and Baileys were my family in Santa Monica, the Averys and Bonnells (before Clare was even a Bonnell 😊) in England. Alfrieda Wilkins was my guardian when I was in high school and did a stellar job in a difficult role—big sister, friend, mentor. Martha Laird was assigned to oversee our youth cluster at Kemper when I was 16 or 17 and we all adored her (she got off easy with a fairly responsible bunch 😊). Bob Rafos was my surrogate dad when I was 18 and largely lost. Seeing so many of your faces and hearing your words during my father’s Zoom memorial service was the greatest gift I could have received at that painful time. I could go on and on. I am SO GRATEFUL for this bunch of human beings. Get ready for the emotion: I have real love for so many of you. This is my truth just as much as the truth that I was molested as a child. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > ~ And I have to address this separately: I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my 2nd Generation family. I have a weekly breakfast with Tamara McClelland and Jane St. John. Yesterday as we walked to our favorite haunt, Jane said, “WE are the greatest gift we got from the Order.” “We” meaning all of us who grew up in the Order, in all of the different iterations and phases, with all the attendant joys and pains. She is right. The love and connection we share with one another is big and intense and powerful. Three weeks ago my husband and I drove to Chicago for a get together with Mark & Cari (Boivin) Jewell, Pat (Boivin) and Tom Price, David Allan and his wife, Susan, Chris Boivin, and Sharon Rafos. Chris & I realized we hadn’t seen each other in 35 years. It didn’t matter. From the instant that we all greeted each other it was as if not a week had passed. We support each other. We get each other. We celebrate each other. We listen to each other. Our reunions are fantastic. Big love. And I want to say as carefully and gently as I can: a big part of why we are so tight is that we get each other’s pain. Many of my peers say we came out as well as we did in spite of the Order, not because of it. Speaking for myself, I believe it’s a mix. But I think I can guarantee that none of us feel that the ends justify the means when it comes to the mistakes that were made with regard to how we were raised. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > That’s about as much as I have energy for right now. I mentioned that Karen Snyder contacted me about a witness I did in 1983. Wow! Karen asked for my permission to share that piece from the archives. On reflection, I don’t want to share that without also taking time to do a re-write from my 64-year-old perspective. Perhaps you’ll be seeing that in the not-too-distant future. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > A number of you reached out to me after my very short post a few weeks back. Please forgive me for not responding to you individually sooner. I do intend to get back to each of you soon, now that my heart and mind have settled a bit. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks to everyone for being out there. Thank you for “listening.” Thank you for being part of an important dialogue > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > With love and respect, > > > > > > > > > Shelley Hahn > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > OE mailing list > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net (mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > OE mailing list > > > > > > > > > > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net (mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net) > > > > > > > > > > > > > > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net > > > > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > > > > > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net (mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net) > > > > > > > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net > >

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Re: [Oe List ...] Our conversation reminds me of
by jonzondo＠juno.com 24 Jul '25

24 Jul '25

Jon Elizondo here.My abuse in my Order time came mainly from older boys. both in religious houses and at camps.Two of the older boys had the heart to apologize to me in person at a reunion.It was amazing. It allowed me to let go of so much. As for adults, caregivers...two sets of guardian parents did their best to actually pay attention to me and were not abusive. To them I am so grateful. Other caregivers were verbally abusive or neglectful. (neglect is something most of us experienced, I believe).None of them ever came forward to speak to me... although one of them expressed apology to one of my same age peers... they never picked up the phone or wrote a letter.At this point in my life, I'm an elder myself. I don't feel the need to be spoken to... but some of my peers may still have a request. Something that would aid them on their emotional/spiritual journey.So, IF you are aware... IF you are willing to speak,... your authentic apology may still have meaning.... even all these years later. Responsibility is the ability to respond. It is a beginning. It is a door. We are all connected.Jon Mark Elizondo ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Ken Fisher via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: Randy Williams <randycw1938(a)gmail.com> Cc: Ken Fisher <kenfisher1942(a)gmail.com>, "O:E Lists" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, Michael May <michael(a)interiormythos.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Our conversation reminds me of Date: Sat, 19 Jul 2025 18:43:10 -0400 Hey Randy, Got to go on record. Before that time, and in retrospect, I saw childhood sexual abuse in the churches, in my church, and in the Scouting movement in Canada, of which I was a leader. It is in our Western patriarchal culture. I also witnessed spousal abuse in and out of the O:E. Among others, I confess to being unwilling to ‘out’ the abusers. I came close.. While being angry, I could not find ‘an ear’. Only a decade ago, my oldest shared his sense that he had been abused in Bombay, at less than three. He is a phenomenal parent, raising two Inuit boys and one of their own. At the Denver reunion in 2000, those gathered made a deeply heartfelt apology. Other institutions did that under legal duress. We were naive, and yet we were different. And… there are E.G. staff members who have never apologized. While there is no excuse, I do declare (Joe Pierce) that the 'all-is-good' is inherent in the O:E. Donald is a pedophile. Are you going to block all of America? Ken On Jul 19, 2025, at 5:10 PM, Randy Williams <randycw1938(a)gmail.com> wrote: It’s a travesty.Randy Williams

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David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today
by David Marshall 22 Jul '25

22 Jul '25

Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC Grace & Peace, David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net

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Fwd: Message to attendees of A Celebration of Linda Alton's Life!
by Richard Alton 22 Jul '25

22 Jul '25

[image: Eventbrite] This was sent to you by Celebration Planning Committee Dear friends and family, We’re so grateful you’ll be joining us to celebrate the extraordinary life of Linda Alton this Saturday, July 26, from 10:00am to 1:00pm. Here are a few final details to help you feel prepared and welcomed: Location: First Unitarian Society of Minneapolis 900 Mt. Curve Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55408 Doors open at 9:30am. The program will begin promptly at 10:00am. YouTube Live Stream: For those joining virtually, you can begin tuning in as early as 9:30am CST to enjoy a beautiful slideshow, music and facilitated conversation. The program will begin at 10:00am CST. Here’s the link to join us: firstunitarian.org/live Program & Gathering: We’ll begin upstairs with a celebration of Linda’s life, followed by a gathering downstairs with light refreshments. There will be time to connect, share stories, and contribute to memory books honoring Linda’s legacy. What to Bring (if you’d like): - A photo, memory, or message for the memory books. - A flower for the communal bouquet, if you feel inspired. - There will be a chance to speak briefly at the gathering - bring prepared comments if you so wish. We look forward to being together in love, reflection, and community as we honor Linda’s remarkable life. If you have questions please reach out to Christina Alton directly at teensflo(a)gmail.com <teensflo(a)gmail.com,> or at 510-499-1378. Warmly, The Planning Committee A Celebration of Linda Alton's Life! <https://clicks.eventbrite.com/f/a/sQouNKfyMYOTazqd-g8z6w~~/AAQxARA~/lsXDs3W…> Saturday, July 26, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM (CDT) 900 Mt Curve Ave 900 Mount Curve Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403 View Order <https://clicks.eventbrite.com/f/a/ndjPVyc_ypbcuZo9AiihNQ~~/AAQxARA~/BSys83J…> Organized by Celebration Planning Committee <https://clicks.eventbrite.com/f/a/FhxVSGRTVC5eqCOKRDqsTQ~~/AAQxARA~/oQ0wETm…> Questions about the event? Contact the organizer <https://clicks.eventbrite.com/f/a/eZxbG2dRqJd2jEcsLE_PRQ~~/AAQxARA~/gqXjCD_…> This email was sent to richard.alton(a)gmail.com Sent using Eventbrite Copyright © 2025 Eventbrite. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy <https://clicks.eventbrite.com/f/a/ezNq-9_8IGyBHKPLArq1sQ~~/AAQxARA~/jyGz7H4…> -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Creation Care T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?

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Fwd: In Honor of Joanna Macy, 1929-2025
by Diann McCabe 21 Jul '25

21 Jul '25

Another tribute to Macy ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Meditations in an Emergency <meditations-in-an-emergency(a)ghost.io> Date: Mon, Jul 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM Subject: In Honor of Joanna Macy, 1929-2025 To: <diann.mccabe(a)gmail.com> I write while staying in one of the great forests of British Columbia, a forest in which the inextricability of life from death is gorgeously evident. Several kinds of fern spring from this soil, some taller than me, birds move among the branches, many kinds of berries abound. It is lavish, almost hectic with life, and with the inextricability of life and death. Magnificent fallen trees turn back into soil as younger trees reach downward to twine around their ancestors' trunks and upward toward [image: Meditations in an Emergency] <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/72eab4a3?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> Meditations in an Emergency <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/18998f28?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> In Honor of Joanna Macy, 1929-2025 <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/2bbc9be7?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> By Rebecca Solnit • 21 Jul 2025 View in browser <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/a133d421?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> View in browser <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/7127e633?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> I write while staying in one of the great forests of British Columbia, a forest in which the inextricability of life from death is gorgeously evident. Several kinds of fern spring from this soil, some taller than me, birds move among the branches, many kinds of berries abound. It is lavish, almost hectic with life, and with the inextricability of life and death. Magnificent fallen trees turn back into soil as younger trees reach downward to twine around their ancestors' trunks and upward toward the sky. The roots growing around and gripping these decaying logs look like veins and tentacles and fingers clutching and reaching toward an anchor in the soil. Some of the mature cedars and conifers stand on mounds that must be fully decayed trees or rather once were trees and are further along in the process of becoming soil. Often a great tree that's fallen over still has at its base a tall shield that is its roots still clinging to rounded stones and soil, and from this the trunk stretches across the earth. These trees from which trees grow are known as nurse logs <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/dff02f4a?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…>. Two trees reaching into the soil from atop a fallen giant, British Columbia. It was a good place to be when I heard of the death of Joanna Macy on July 19 at the age of 96. I had met her only a few times, but I knew her work, knew she was beloved by many I know, and important for many tens or hundreds of thousands more. Because 96 is a long life for a member of our species, if not for a tree, because I know she had a rich and full life, I am sad for all those who are grieving and will miss her, sad because every death is a reminder of my own and everyone's mortality, sad that I didn't spend more time with her, but not sad as if her life was in some sense incomplete or cut short. She died, by all reports, surrounded by those who loved her best and was lovingly cared for, and she lived about as fully as anyone can. Macy once wrote, "It is good to realize that falling apart is not such a bad thing. Indeed, it is as essential to transformation as the cracking of outgrown shells. Anxieties and doubts can be healthy and creative, not only for the person, but for the society, because they permit new and original approaches to reality." She was talking about falling apart emotionally, letting the grief and despair and fear come through, not in order to drown in them but to let them flow and keep moving and maybe to not let them paralyze and let you or me or us, not to prevent us from doing the work that addresses what those emotions respond to. But in those lines, she could also have been talking about forests, in which things are forever falling apart and working together. I think of what a forest without death would be, imagine trees that grew endlessly and never died, never gave their nutrients back to the soil and the next generations so wholly, never fell to create openings in the canopy younger trees could reach toward. Macy also spoke of our civilization as falling apart, and in doing so making room for new versions of who and what we can and must be to cease destroying the planet: "But what's amazing now for us, why you can be glad, is that it is falling apart. It is encountering the limits itself, and some of them have to do with climate as well, of course." I was in British Columbia, on this forested island, for a women's climate retreat, and nothing could make me feel better about the future than meeting the brilliant young women from Mexico, Columbia, the Philippines, the US, and Canada committed to this work. A hollowed stump with mosses and young huckleberry bushes growing from what remains of a once-massive tree. If you don't know Joanna Macy, she was many things: a translator of Rilke, a Buddhist and scholar of Buddhism whose dissertation was on alignments between Buddhist thought and systems theory, an antinuclear and an environmental activist, a teacher and trainer whose creative and deeply interactive workshops helped many people face grief and fear in the face of environmental and then climate catastrophe and keep going, the author of seventeen books, and the mother of three children. I visited her at her home late last year, and she was joyful, funny, brilliant, warm, living with a wall of scholarly books and a sunny deck looking over a shared garden. When I was younger, I was taught what an artist or writer was supposed to aspire to was immortality, the kind that Dante and Li Po and Shakespeare have, so that in centuries to come memory of your name and attention to your creations continue. Later in life, I realized that there was an entirely different thing to aspire to, an entirely different kind of creative success: to be so much part of your own time, of the present that is making the future, that rather than remaining what people think about, you become in some way how people think, how they value, what they prioritize. You stop being what's in front of their eyes and become part of what is behind their eyes, how they see the world, how they live, act, what they aspire to, what they hold close, what they resist. You you become a nurse log on which new life can grow as you compost into the soil we call culture. And maybe this is the mindset of moist places, of an ecology of vivid decay and regeneration rather than of the arid places, where death dessicates and the mummies, skeletons, ruins, Dead Sea Scrolls, last for centuries or millennia. Macy was raised as a Christian, had a loss of faith, and found another kind when she worked with Tibetan refugees in India in the 1960s. I believe she contributed hugely to the richness of the soil in which many people grounded their work as climate activists or engaged Buddhists. Or rather I know she did. A tree atop a stump, ferns, mosses, and small plants all around it. In 2010, in an interview with Krista Tippet, Macy described being a young woman in Germany in the 1950s, a young woman who had become fluent in the language and was becoming a translator: "And one day, I walked into a bookstore on Adalbertstrasse near the university, and there on a table was this little cloth-bound book in rag paper. It was exquisite. It was *Das Stunden-Buch*, *The Book of Hours*. I picked it up, and the poem that it opened to was the second poem of the first part, “Ich lebe mein Leben in wachsenden Ringen,” “I live my life in widening circles” — and that something immediately rearranged in the furniture of my mind. Here it is in a translation I believe she made with Anita Barrows: : *I live my life in widening circles * *that reach out across the world. * *I may not complete this last one * *but I give myself to it. * *I have been circling around God, that primordial tower. * *I’ve been circling for thousands of years * *and I still don’t know: Am I a falcon, * *a storm, or a great song?* She told Tippet of the encounter with the poem: "I identified completely with it, and I saw — it was just eight lines in that poem — that it could redefine that I was on a spiritual path, that because I wasn’t on the linear road, up the ladder, up Jacob’s ladder to get closer to God, that God had been there all the time, and I was orbiting around him, and that it had been happening, actually, for thousands of years." The woman that was Joanna Macy is gone. And still here as books, teachings, in students, friends, and through broad influence even beyond those who know her and her work. She's a tree that's fallen; she's a tree that trees have grown out of; she's now part of the past, but also she fed and nourished and loved and guided a possible future, a hopeful and demanding future, demanding in that we would have to change ourselves and our society to make it. It's almost strange to think about her integrity, her compassion, her generosity at a time when the news is full of stories about cruel and corrupt men and the wreckage they've strewn all around them, but she's a reminder that their opposite is also present in the world and even in the nation; the same society produced them both. Joanna Macy is gone. Joanna Macy is with us in a thousand ways and even if she fades from the conversation about who we are and what we can do about our relationship with the planet, she will be underneath the effort of countless others, feeding and anchoring their work. There's a Jewish response when hearing of a death: "May their memory be a blessing." With Macy there is no need to wish it be so; we know her life was a long blessing as out of love for the earth and tenderness toward what impairs our care for it, she toiled, studied, created, translated from other languages into English but also translated from inchoate emotions like fear and grief to clarity and action, translated the riches of Tibetan Buddhism into what she believed might be useful to us in the Western world, and what might make us useful to the survival of the natural world. Berries of many kinds are ripening in this forest on the shores of an inland sea; I eat blackberries, both Himalayan and native, red huckleberries of a kind new to me, a couple of salmonberries whose drupelets look like golden-red fish eggs, see again and again the trunks of cedars curving before rising, like the prow of ships sailing through the deep time of these forests, see the roots that reach for darkness, the trunks and branches that reach for light, see this place in the gentle weather of summer, see the great trunks of trees that washed ashore in the storms of winter, see ravens, an owl, robins, eagles, buzzards, seagulls. I see love in the signs of how people have cared for and protected and walked these woods. I see deep time in the old trees and the cycle of life. Macy said to Tippet in that 2010 interview, "But actually, we’re made for that. There’s a song that wants to sing itself through us, and we’ve just got to be available. Maybe the song that is to be sung through us is the most beautiful requiem for an irreplaceable planet or maybe it’s a song of joyous rebirth as we create a new culture that doesn’t destroy its world." She invited us to sing both songs or maybe to know they're the same song, to sing the requiem for a dying world that could welcome what remains possible. She is present, she is gone beyond, she has become a falcon, a storm, a great song. *p.s. Joanna recently recorded a series of conversations with her young friend Jessica Serrante, which you can listen to here: * *https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-are-the-great-turning/id1740825892* <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/46d3f63c?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> *Her conversation with Krista Tippett in 2010 is here (and can also be found there as a transcript): * *https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/on-being-with-krista-tippett/id150892556?i=1000436480200* <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/3ffd1919?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> [image: Comment] Comment <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/r/a108294d?m=8f94996a-96a2-4017-bf…> Meditations in an Emergency © 2025 – Unsubscribe <https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/unsubscribe/?uuid=8f94996a-96a2-40…> [image: Powered by Ghost] <https://ghost.org/?via=pbg-newsletter&ref=meditationsinanemergency.com>

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Fwd: Email to be shared out today with all our communities about RSVP'ing
by Richard Alton 21 Jul '25

21 Jul '25

Dear friends and loved ones, Linda’s Celebration of Life is just a few days away—this Thursday July 26th at 10am CDT—and we truly hope you’ll be able to join us in honoring her incredible spirit. If you plan to attend (either in person or via YouTube Live), this is a gentle reminder to please RSVP using the link below. This will be our final message to the full invite list; all day-of details will be shared only with those who’ve RSVP’d. Here’s the RSVP link, <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-celebration-of-linda-altons-life-tickets-141…> in case you haven’t had a chance yet: https://CelebrationofLife-LindaAlton.eventbrite.com We can’t wait to gather with all of you to celebrate her beautiful life. With love, Planning Committee -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Creation Care T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?

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Fw: [Matthew Fox, Daily Meditations] 7/21/2025: Joanna Macy: A Note of Gratitude
by Ellie Stock 21 Jul '25

21 Jul '25

More on Joanna Macy from Matthew Fox.Ellieelliestock(a)aol.com ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox <team(a)dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org>Sent: Monday, July 21, 2025 at 03:30:35 AM EDTSubject: [Daily Meditations] 7/21/2025: Joanna Macy: A Note of Gratitude | | | | The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox | | | | | | | | | | Watch for Matthew Fox'svideo meditation — now appearing every Monday! | | | | | | Joanna Macy: A Note of Gratitude By Matthew Fox 7/21/2025 | | | | | | | | Agreat soul passed away 3:35 PM Saturday afternoon. It was my privilege to call Joanna Macy a friend and co-worker. | | I owe her much. She first introduced me to Thich Nhat Hanh by inviting me to attend a talk he gave to a large gathering in Berkeley. Years later, she assisted in bringing him, along with 40 of his nuns and monks, to speak at our University of Creation Spirituality. She helped introduce me to the gifts ofBuddhism and we often taught together (sometimes on the Buddha Nature and the Cosmic Christ), or led retreats together whether at UCS in Oakland or in Munich, Germany or in Findhorn, Scotland. There | | | Joanna Macy (1929-2025) in 2006. Photo by Dreamfish. Wikimedia Commons. | | we conducted aretreat during Easter Week that included a very poignant Stations of the Cross on Good Friday. We and the participants created the Stations on the sand dunes with wind howling around us. She also joined our faculty in a week-long creation spirituality conference in Australia. One of her talks is published in the book, Creation Spirituality & The Dreamtime.* | | | | Book Cover of Creation Spirituality & The Dreamtime. | I came up with the termdeep ecumenism from what she taught me about deep ecology. We shared the deepest of values regarding peace and justice, saving the earth, animal rights, women’s rights—in short, creation spirituality. I wrote about her the morning she died (in the DM we will publish Tuesday) about an intervention of hers at a conference on the Future of Mother Earth that was sponsored by the Sierra Club. I remember the first time I visited her in her home | | near the rose garden in Berkeley. There were notes on her porch addressed to the wasps who had made themselves at home there. She was begging them to go away and how she did not want to destroy their nests. She was incarnating her Buddhist lessons to respect all beings. I do not recall if her pleas were answered or not. I met Daniel Ellsberg at a dinner at Joanna’s home. She, like Wisdom, was a friend of prophets. Joanna was a spiritual giant. The real thing. Her 90th birthday party was an event etched on my memory forever. So full of life and promise, so many caring people in attendance, and not at all directed to thepast. Her ritual, The Council of All Beings, that she and John Seed created in memory of the species going extinct was real, deeply moving and participatory. | | Her family invited me to her bedside a week ago to give her a blessing along with folk singer Jennifer Berezan, a graduate of our ICCS master’s program, who was among her favorite artists. Jennifer sang her song, “Praises.” We extended our blessings when she was asleep and she woke up at the precise moment that I ended my prayer and her first words were, “Thank you.” | | | | | | | | | “Praises” by Jennifer Berezan. Video by jenniferberezan. | | Her family urged us to give our blessings again after she was conscious. During Jennifer’s song, Joanna danced with her arms almost directing the music. With a big smile on her face, she repeated that it was her favorite song. She called me to herself for a big hug. In my blessing I asked thatthe Buddha and Dalai Lamas of the past and Jesus and Hildegard, Francis of Assisi and Meister Eckhart, greet her in their light. When I mentioned Hildegard, she almost jumped up and shouted—in response, I was moved to add, “Hildegard, a lion.” Both Joanna and Hildegard were lionesses for the truth and for Mother Earth. Bothwere warriors and prophets with lion hearts. | | | | Book cover of Thinking Like a Mountain. From Joanna Macy’s website. | Joanna combined a fierce commitment to systems theory and science, plus Buddhist practices and teachings and gifted writings and ideas thattouched thousands of people of all spiritual traditions. Who cannot be awakened by a book titled Thinking Like A Mountain? She urged all to resist despair and I often cite her teaching that “when your heart breaks, the whole | | universe can pour through.” She urged us to put our energy into gratitude, face hurt head on, and remain creative and fight the good fight. Thank you, Joanna. Thank you for your praises for the world and your hard work on behalf of Mother Earth. For the genuine support you lent your friends,family and co-workers from a deep and passionate heart that was both Buddha-like and Christ-like. | | | | | | * See Catherine Hammond, ed., Creation Spirituality & The Dreamtime: Matthew Fox, Joanna Macy, Veronica Brady, Kevin Treston, Elizabeth Cain, Eddie Kneebone (Newtown NSW2024: Millennium Books), 1991. See Matthew Fox,Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest, pp. 2f., 157, 160, 352. And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth. And Rev. Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo, The Lotus & The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity. And Fox, One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faith Traditions. And Fox, Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality. Banner Image: The dunes on the beach at Findhorn, Scotland. Photo by valenta. Wikimedia Commons. | | | | | | A Heartfelt Request for a DM Team Member Dear Friends, As many times as we have invited your action, today we ask in a very personal way. A key member of the DM team, Drake Moore — a young husband and father, gifted web wizard, musician, and generous soul — is | | | | | battling an aggressive Stage 4 cancer, which has wiped out his family’s income and buried them in medical expenses. We ask your prayers, and if you are willing, we invite you to contribute to the GoFundMe Drake's friends have set up to help him and his family make it through this difficult time. Anything you can contribute will be enormously appreciated - thank you! --The DM Team | | | | | | Queries for Contemplation How has Joanna Macy affected your life andspiritual journey directly or indirectly? | | | | | | | | | To view today's video, please click the image. You will be taken to today's post on the DailyMeditations with Matthew Foxwebsite, where you can see the meditation in a larger version and also view and post your Comments. In the sharing that follows, a kind of community is developing around the DM. If you can't reach today's post on the website directly, click HERE. If you can't reach Matthew's video on the website, try hisVimeo channel HERE. | | | | | | Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialogue, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. | | | | | | Recommended Reading | | Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition) Matthew Fox’s stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment. “The unfolding story of this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.” —Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self | | | | | Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in SouthAmerican Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator. “A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spiritualityand Practice. “I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang. | | | | | The Lotus & The Rose: A Conversation Between Tibetan Buddhism & Mystical Christianity How can we move away from “us vs. them” thinking as our surroundings feel more divided andpolarized than ever? Co-authors Matthew Fox and Lama Tsomo discuss how Tibetan Buddhism and Mystical Christianity answer this question from unique points of view, with many commonalities and practical tools to break down the barriers between us. “The Lotus and the Rose is an extraordinary example of what can happen when spiritual leaders from different traditions open up and speak from the heart.” — PaulChaffee, The Interfaith Observer. | | | | | One River, Many Wells: Wisdom Springing from Global Faiths Matthew Fox calls on all the world traditions for their wisdom and their inspiration in a work that is far morethan a list of theological position papers but a new way to pray—to meditate in a global spiritual context on the wisdom all our traditions share. Fox chooses 18 themes that are foundational to any spirituality and demonstrates how all the world spiritual traditions offer wisdom about each.“Reading One River, Many Wells is like entering the rich silence of a masterfully directed retreat. As you read this text, you reflect, you pray, you embrace Divinity. Truly no words can fullyexpress my respect and awe for this magnificent contribution to contemporary spirituality.” –Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit | | | | | Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Matthew Fox lays out a whole new direction for Christianity—a direction that is in fact very ancient and very grounded inJewish thinking (the fact that Jesus was a Jew is often neglected by Christian theology): the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality, the Vias Positiva, Negativa, Creativa and Transformativa in an extended and deeply developed way. “Original Blessing makes available to the Christian world and to the human community a radical cure for all dark and derogatory views of the natural world wherever these mayhave originated.” –Thomas Berry, author, The Dream of the Earth; The Great Work; co-author, The Universe Story | | | | | | | | | | | | UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar HERE | | | | | | | | | | Join Matthew Fox in a new 6-month program of mystical wisdom for a new world. In this 6-month immersion program with Matthew, you’ll explore what it means to be a modern mystic and prophet, integrating this sacred knowledge into your life through the authentic teachings of Jesus and other wisdom keepers. This journey births what Matthew calls Christianity 2.0 — based not on dogma, but on a spirituality that recovers the sacred sense of original goodness. By Application only - apply HERE Register for a free information session HERE | | | | | | | | | | | | | Matthew Fox offers an online lecture and Q&A to the Association of Pittsburg Priests on “Pere Chenu: Father ofLiberation Theology, Creation Spirituality, and Much of Vatican II”. Wednesday, August 6, 4:00pm – 5:30pm PT. Register HERE. | | | | Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book, Hildegard of Bingen’s Book of Divine Works with Letters and Songs, in an online Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat. Thursday, August 21, 4:00pm-5:30pm PT. Register HERE. | | | | MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT. Join Zoom Meeting HERE, Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org | | | | | | Creation Spirituality Conversations | | | GMU President Dr. Gerald Grudzen, along with Father Augustine Pamplany, Dean of the GMU Religion and Science graduate degree program, hosts the Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox for a presentation on "Creation Spirituality and Science," July 11,2025. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | View this post, video, and more on our website | | | | | | Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox is made possible through the generosity of donors. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation. Thank you! | | | | | | Inspired by this post? 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(More) news of Joanna's passing ... with a message from her colleague, Anne
by Ellie Stock 21 Jul '25

21 Jul '25

Dear Friends,Below is an email from Maureen Wild, Sisters of Earth, who forwards news of Joanna Macy's death and memorial service from Joanna's dear friend and colleague, Anne Symens-Bucher, also including a link to the song "When I Go." Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Maureen Wild <mawild(a)telus.net>To: Maureen Wild <mawild(a)telus.net>Sent: Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 02:25:53 PM EDTSubject: news of Joanna's passing ... with a message from her colleague, Anne Dear Sisters of Earth, This is just to let you know that Joanna Macy died at her home yesterday, Jul 19th, transitioning with gentle peace with her last breath, surrounded by the love of her family and dear friend and colleague of many years, Anne. Thank you for remembering her these many days of hospice care, united with so many in our global family holding vigil for her. Her assistant, Anne Symens-Bucher (who spoke livestream to SoE at our 2018 Conference in Cinci when Joanna wasn't able) writes this today. Also, so you're all aware, the family is planning for a public memorial for Saturday, Oct 4th, to be held at a venue TBA in the Berkeley or Oakland area. Maureen ------------- from Anne: Sunday, July 20, 2025 Dear Ones, Joanna's wish was to have a home wake. This is how we used to do it of course. And Joanna was all about reclaiming rituals and practices that helped us reconnect to understanding ourselves as part of the living body of Earth. In death, we return to this body from which we came. Joanna wanted us to see the beauty in death. She wanted to show us how to embrace death, as Francis of Assisi did, as a Sister. She wasn't afraid to die and she showed us that there is nothing to fear. In her dying process, and now in her death, she continues to be our teacher. Joanna wanted a home wake so that people could have the opportunity to sit with her body in the sacred container of the home she loved. Joanna believed in the brilliance of self-organizing systems, and so do I, and I know you do as well! So here we go with an event we have been waiting to plan, without knowing when it would be or how many people would want to attend! The ritual will be mostly in silence. There will be people to act as guides and you will know what to do. When you arrive, there will be an instruction part! Joanna's home (2812 Cherry Street in Berkeley) will be open on Sunday from 2pm to 8pm and again on Monday from 1pm to 8pm. We encourage you to carpool or take public transportation. Parking is limited. We think it might be helpful to have an idea of how many people will be coming to the wake. Please let us know roughly when you are coming by filling out this form. (here is the form URL incase the link doesn't work: https://forms.gle/GDq27hnZtAKhWVmw9 ) Below is from my heart to yours. I am writing this just after Joanna died. It is very quiet and peaceful here now. After Joanna took her last breath, I listened to Dave Carter’s When I Go. He sings: "I will fly like the falcon when I go." For a time I mostly sat in Joanna’s living room, staying as balanced as I could in what still feels like a state of suspension. I am watching myself as if from some other place. I wonder, am I in shock? Do I realize what has just happened? I want to stay in this moment for a while longer. I hear through the open windows the sound of people on the street. They don’t know what has just happened, and neither do you as I sit here thinking of how very soon, you will know too. We have been on a journey together these last six weeks. We knew how it would end. We had no idea it would be so epic, so majestic. Joanna was recently referred to in an email from Anna in Germany as the “great lady of deep ecology.” The Great Lady of Deep Ecology has left us.

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