Hallowmas & Heads Up!
October 27, 2006
SAVE the DATES
Upcoming Transmissions: Wed Nov 1 & 15; Wed Dec 6 & 20
If you’ve never been and would like to come or
would like to plan a ritual or bring food/drink
or if you’d just simply like to come –
please email epiphany.ny@gmail.com
regarding OCT 25th
Well, Transmission last night was pretty good, although only about half of us where there. I’ve got a few points of self-criticism regarding the ritual:
1) Both the ritual and the music were designed for a group of about ten people. A group of five has a very different dynamic. For all of my polemic against leader-centered worship, I spent way too much energy trying to make the ritual into what I had in my head rather than letting it unfold as it was.
2) I need to figure out a way to move smoothly from one part of the ritual to another without breaking the mood. It was way too easy for conversations to break out at cusp points during the ritual, which means that I was doing something wrong. Maybe the meal and the ritual should be separate events?
for NOVEMBER
In any case, it was decided that in November Transmission will be on the 1st and 15th, with a possible Brooklyn Transmission happening on the 8th. On the 15th, Paul will lead us in something and on the 1st, Bowie and I will prepare something based on All Saint’s Day.
The last two Transmissions have both followed a “people sitting around a table talking” model and I think I’d like to break out of that a little. Perhaps we could set up a few stations around the room with pictures of saints (Francis, Gandhi, Bono, Granddad, etc) along with an activity (written prayers/reflections, candles, leaving an item of remembrance from someone who’s died, etc). Or maybe we could each take those items of remembrance and share stories with each other of important people in our life who aren’t around anymore.
I want to use music again and I’m a particularly fond of “What Wondrous Love is This” - I think it highlights the whole life/death cycle which is prevalent on this feast day. We’ve been pretty low-tech so far, and in some ways that’s been because I’ve been shying away from the stuff I’m pretty good at because I don’t want to be too flashy, but that might be a mistake. Perhaps I could write some ambient music for the meditation which would bridge smoothly into a backing track for the hymn.
Thoughts?
Day of the Dead candle
Originally uploaded by haruspex.