Let The Circle Be Unbroken

It is Sunday evening and I am just capping off a huge weekend. On Friday and Saturday, I attended the Sacred Circles conference celebrating women’s spirituality. Held at National Cathedral, the event included an incredible array of workshops and speakers focused on the central theme of “love in action”. This conference was truly a blessing from start to finish. I first heard about it on Kiamsha Leeke’s blog and immediately went to the website. Initially, I was discouraged because of the program cost (close to $300), but I applied for a scholarship and was ecstatic when I received an email from the program staff saying that I had been awarded one.

On Friday morning, I arrived in the midst of confusion and long lines. Many of us had pre-registered, but had not received any materials in the mail (snail or email) to let us know which workshops we were signed up for, etc. When I finally received my name badge ,which had the class codes for the workshops I was supposed to attend, I found that I did not have any of my choices for classes. Then, due to bad directions, I ended up being 30 minutes late to my first session. I say all this not to sound ungrateful, but to illustrate how God works. It turned out that every workshop I wound up with was exactly what I needed.

The first “Inspiration from the Soul” was taught by singer/songwriter, Beth Nielsen Chapman, who has penned many of her own songs as well as hits for Faith Hill and Willie Nelson. When I actually found her class, I scanned the room and wondered if I was in the right place. Although I think country songs are beautifully written, I am not much of a fan. As I walked in, she was talking about the country music industry and I briefly considered leaving and trying to sit in on a class more suited to me. But then, she talked candidly about her husband (of 16 years) death and how she used her music to deal with her grief and I was intrigued (I still find it difficult to write about my father’s death). She sang “Sand and Water” and my eyes filled with tears. The lyrics have a depth that I have not heard in some time. “Solid stone is just sand and water, baby/with a million years gone by”. Those may not be the exact lyrics, and I doubt that merely describing it will do her justice, so please google her. Better yet, if I can find some footage on YouTube, I will attempt to attach it to this message. She would talk about the creative process and then sing a song and talk more about the process and sing some more and I sat on the steps (there were no more chairs) with my pen in one hand and wiping my eyes with the other. Everything that came out of her mouth was literally and figuratively music to my ears. Looking at the notes I jotted down, I still have not processed everything she said (“Grief hollows us out to hold more joy”). But I definitely was inspired to pick up songwriting again. Yes, I write songs. I have written songs since I was in junior high. At one point my best friend and I thought that we would write songs for the likes of Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans. I am not sure when I placed songwriting in the “pipedream” category - probably when I gave up trying to learn how to read music. Color me astonished when a fellow poet who also hears melodies when she writes but cannot read music sang one of her poems with Beth accompanying her on the piano. The result was a song manifested right before our eyes.



That night we heard from Karen Armstrong, who fascinates me even though I still have not been about to get through “A History of God”. She was the keynote speaker and talked about compassion, at one point citing Confucius saying “Look into your own heart and see what brings you pain. Adamantly refuse to inflict that pain on anyone else”. She also spoke about the Global Charter for Compassion that she has been working on. Learn more about it (as I will) at www.charterforcompassion.org.

We also heard from Sakena Yacobi whose quiet strength deeply resonated with me. Her story of getting her education in America and returning to help her people in Afghanistan, particularly the women and children was incredibly inspiring. All the work she has done against the odds she attributes to her faith in God. Even as she had guns trained on her, she prayed for the right answer and not only walked away from danger, but was able to empower those who had been a threat.

The next day, I began by walking the labyrinth and half-meditating as Elizabeth Lesser spoke about emotional intelligence and the power of women. She instructed us to put our hands over our hearts and pat them like babies and realize that our hearts are going to ultimately save the world. Clearly, I was taking in so much food for thought that I did not really get sad about not having a “boo” (as Rev. John Kinney put it today in chapel) for Valentine’s Day.

During my second session “Spiritual Art Journaling”, with Salima Raoui (Moroccan artist and fiber designer), I was invited to take a 5 minute walk in Bishop’s Garden and then meditate on love before launching into a collage project. Beyond, the actual art I made, what I took away from this session was the message Salima gave during our meditation. She had us each visualize a person who had awakened love in our hearts, whether this person was with us or not. She asked us to say the person’s name in our heart and to see him/her. I did and pain filled my chest. She encouraged us to not remember the loss, but the memory of love awakened - what it felt like to be with the person. Hearing his laughter in my head, I smiled to myself and the hurt seemed to fade. “Feel gratitude for this person and your experience. For even if they are gone, the love will always be there”, she said. It made perfect sense and I felt perfect peace.

My last session, “Beijing Circles: A Social Justice Resource for Circles” was lead by Kim Robey, program officer for women’s ministries and leadership development at the Episcopal Church Center in New York was challenging. To run one of these circles is to confront (in conversation and prayer) the nightmares that are taking place in women’s lives across the globe. Sitting in a circle, as a group, we took turns reading aloud from a list of statistics regarding poverty, illiteracy, female genital mutilation, gender based violence, unwanted pregnancies, trafficking, slavery and so on. I felt deflated, exhausted and overwhelmed at the staggering numbers - at the realities that cannot be sugarcoated or ignored. At the end of the circle, as is custom, many of the participants left a sentiment, prayer or intention for going forward. I did not say mine, but right now, it is clarity of how God wants me to be of service in bettering the lives of women and girls - which I already feel called to do.

One way of answering the call has been my work with The Saartjie Project. After church today, I headed over to rehearsal for our next shows which will be on Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st at the Capital Hill Arts Workshop. After Sacred Circles, I was exhausted, but it was important to connect with my own “sacred circle”. The women of Saartjie are all so ridiculously amazing and talented. It is definitely one of the safest spaces, artistically or otherwise, that I have ever been in. One day, when I have not already loaded the page with information, I will speak to the synchronicity that lead to my involvement in this productive/collective and the work that we do. All I will say right now is that it is something that I am profoundly grateful for and proud of. As tired as I am, every rehearsal energizes me - perhaps because I am convinced (and constantly being shown) that this thing is so much bigger that any of us involved.

I am so blessed, just praying (and requesting prayer) that I will receive guidance on how to put love in action using the unique gifts and resources that have been bestowed upon me.

So much still on my mind that I really need to download….

Later.

Love and Light,


Nia