Winter Solstice Gathering
Artist Toni Pahr will create a beautiful mandala for our candle ceremony.
Saturday, Dec. 21, 2019, 7:30–9:30 pm
Doors open at 7:00 pm
Friends Meeting House
4312 Southeast Stark St. (map)
Tickets here. All are welcome. Suggested donation is $20, sliding up or down, it’s up to you. Proceeds support our Climate Dharma Gatherings and our Brown Bag Days.
To register more than one person, enter whatever your contribution is in the bottom field, and in the comment field, let us know how many will attend.
Children and youth who are comfortable participating in simple contemplative activities are welcome! Under age 10, free; ages 11-17, $5 suggested. Cash, check, or card can also be offered at the door.
In the space of a breath – a heartbeat – on Winter Solstice, a fine ray of light pauses on the far horizon of our imagination. Dancers and dreamers, artists and activists, workers, wanderers, lovers, loners, strangers and kin, come! On Solstice night, we’ll celebrate the spirit of belonging, connection, wonder, and mystery. We’ll offer prayers of compassion for all that’s gone by, and welcome our dreams of whatever lies ahead, in the intention to love, serve, and remember who we really are.
As the timeless dance of the galaxies unfolds, the Earth keeps circling the sun like a wandering desert dervish circling the Beloved. With poetry, candle ritual and circle dances, we’ll welcome the magic of the moment. In the words of Jalaluddin Rumi, this is our message:
Come, come, whoever you are.
Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair!
Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times.
Come yet again, come, come.
Kavita MacMillan, Dave Hoover, and Saffire Bouchelion will cast musical spells and our voices will echo our hearts. Our candles and circle dances will mirror the stars as the evening unfolds.
Music and poetry, a community candle lighting ceremony, and circle dance will transform all we are leaving behind into rich compost and sweet soil to nourish the seeds we plant in the coming year.
Join us to bow to this moment of mystery as our hearts encompass the darkness and the light. Chai and sweets will welcome you before the ceremony.
The room is carpeted and chairs are provided. If you prefer floor-sitting, feel free to bring a cushion or pad for your comfort. (Note: Beverages must be in lidded containers in the meeting hall. A water fountain is just outside the hall.)
Tickets here.
All are welcome! Suggested donation is $20, but offer any amount that is appropriate for you. All proceeds support Living Earth’s Brown Bag food program nurturing spiritual resilience and compassionate action. Please bring new or almost-new sox,hats, scarves, jackets, shawls, blankets – we’ll distribute them with our Brown Bags to help folks stay warm as winter deepens.
DIRECTIONS: (Hint: To avoid holiday decoration traffic, steer clear of Stark and Belmont between SE Chavez & 42nd Ave.) BEST PLAN: From east or west, take either E. Burnside to SE 47th or Hawthorne to SE 49th and navigate toward SE Stark. At Stark, turn west to SE 43rd, and find street parking nearby. Bike stands are in front and just to the east of the Meeting House entry.
Join us for this warm hearted evening of love, hope, and beauty! Advance tickets help us with planning, but please be assured that everyone is welcome! Donations are also accepted at the door.