A Renaming Ritual
May 30, 2009
I recently had the pleasure of attending a renaming ritual for a friend of mine, a transman who has only recently begun the process of switching gender identities (formerly Joy, currently James). Anyone who’s watched a friend grow into a transgender identity knows how difficult it is to switch to a new set of pronouns, a new name, etc, and even the most supportive of friends find long-held habits hard to break.
So, since ritual is probably the best tool in existence for creating transformation in a community, we decided that we needed to have a “renaming ritual” for him, officially giving the support of the community to him and adopting his new name and gender. (Note it’s likely to be confusing, but I’ll refer to Joy/James as “she” before the ritual and “he” after the ritual, since that’s the way in which the ritual was constructed.)
Like most Transmissions, this one was held in the home of friends with lots of home cooked food, but everyone in attendance had been instructed to come wearing clothes of the other gender. (As someone who is not into gender-bending myself, I found this part to be incredibly uncomfortable, which was probably the point.) We spend the first hour or so just hanging out, eating for, playing music, and enjoying each other’s company.
Over the course of this hour, each of us would take a turn putting a braid into Joy’s hair (she had hair down to her waist or so). Then, once her entire head was put into braids, we gathered everyone together and each one of us cut off the braid we had made and had the opportunity to say something privately to her, before her transformation. We were also given the choice of keeping the braid or donating it to locks of love. Once her hair had been shorn, all of us, including her, took of the clothes we’d come in and put on clothes of our “appropriate,” gender – it’s amazing how much more comfortable I was after I was allowed to wear boy clothes which, again, was probably the point.
At this point, Joy no longer dressed or looked like a girl, and hostess of the event introduced him to the crowd as James. It felt quite similar to the moment after a baptism when the preacher holds up a child and introduces him or her to the congregation, or at a wedding reception when the couple is introduced to the crowd as unit for the first time. We each had the opportunity to go to James, shake hands, and say whatever we wished, and the party continued.
This was not a Transmission event, but it felt very Transmission-ish in that was a home-brewed ritual focused on efficacy and built around a community. By the end of the ritual, I found it very easy to refer to this person I’d known for almost a decade by a new name, and he felt affirmed and supported in his journey. I spent much of the time thinking, “Wow, I wish I were still in Seminary so I could write a paper about this!”
It also led me to think about the fact that there are many important transitions in life for which we don’t have liturgies. At The Crossing, an emergent community in Boston, they recently laid hands on a community member about to undergo gender reassignment surgery, and she described it as one of the most moving worship experiences she’d had. Perhaps Transmission should make a project of collecting liturgies which will never be printed in a prayer book…
Transmission Elevator Pitch
May 16, 2009
So as I’ve been going around pitching my book, a lot of people are asking me about Transmission, the community which I love so much and which gets a lot of mention in the book. This has forced me to learn to explain what Transmission is a very short amount of time, to both Christian and secular audiences, and it’s surprisingly difficult!
This is what I’ve come up with:
Transmission is an emergent house church made up mostly of New Yorkers in their twenties and thirties. It attracts both the “churched,” many of whom have gone to seminary and now work for churches, as well as those who are attracted to Christian spirituality but do not feel fed (or comfortable) in traditional churches. Transmission is very interested in the relationship between worship and community, as well as the relationship between innovation and tradition, seeking to craft new ritual and liturgical exploration while remaining in continuity with the larger Christian tradition.
What do you think? Is this accurate? I’d love your feedback on it!
Soapy, Frothy, Ash Wednesday
February 23, 2009
This Wednesday, we’re celebrating the first day of lent by taking a bunch of ashes and…. making them into soap! Ha, that’s not what you were expecting me to say, was it?
In any case, in the grand tradition of Fight Club, we’ll be making soap as a penitential act (although we’ll be using goatsmilk, honey, and palm oil rather than animal fat). We’ll be providing burnables (paper, palm leaves, etc), but you’re welcome to bring things of your own that might having meaning to you – just be sure that anything you bring to burn is free from chemicals, plastic, etc. Through the course of the evening, we’ll turn our confessions, transgressions, and deconstructions into a cleansing, frothy, ritual bar which we can use for the next forty days. Seriously, it’s hard to find time in our busy days for prayer and meditation, and shower time seems as good a time as any.
Also, remember that we’re trying a move to Friday nights after this month, so the next Transmission after his will be March 6th. Finally, we’re on for an Easter Vigil retreat on Holy Saturday, so put April 11 on your calendars, all day and all night.
See you soon!
Gene Robinson’s Inaugural Invocation
January 21, 2009
Here’s a copy of the Rt Reverend Gene Robinson’s opening prayer which kicked off the inauguration festivities.¬† Sadly, it wasn’t broadcast – HBO, for whatever reason, felt that it wasn’t worth putting on TV.¬† I think HBO is wrong, so I’m putting it here.¬† Enjoy!
The Gold Star, though, goes to Joe Lowery, who did get broadcast but is worth watching a second time:
Unwind this Wedneday
January 20, 2009
This Wednesday we’ll be meeting in a sacred space to spend an hour in silent meditation and worship to clear our heads after the holidays. If an hour sounds like an awfully long time to “do nothing,” fear not! We will have mandalas and icons, iPods and mantras, space for sitting, laying down, walking around, yoga, or dance. Options for everyone to be silent and worship together. Afterward we will break our silence as we break bread (and other good food).
We’ll be meeting in various spaces at Union Theological Seminary at 120th St & Broadway. When you get to Union, give Isaac a call at 917.306.2442 to find out where we are.
Sitting Vigil in a Dying Church
January 6, 2009
So in Boston, the Catholic church has had to close a lot of its parishes, selling them off to raise money.¬† Four of those churches, however, have decided that they don’t want to go gently into the good night, and have been sitting vigil in the church buildings around the clock, prevening the diocese from locking the doors.¬† They’re putting on their own clergy-less worship service, and apparently the feeling of community has grown tremendously.
Personally, I’m a realist about church life – keeping a building open costs a lot of money, and building mainteance isn’t always the most Jesus-like way for a church to use its resources.¬† I don’t think that churches dying is a tragedy as long as new churches are planted.¬† Cells in our body die all the time and are replaced with new ones, and it’s a natural part of the life cycle.¬† That said, I think that these vigils are an amazing testament to the bottom-up nature of the Body of Christ.¬† Just like a mustard bush, the Church of God springs up like a weed in places that the gardner doesn’t always want it to, and it can be really, really hard to get rid of.
My prayers are with both those holding vigil and the diocesan leaders, and I’ll be watching how this develops with interest.
You can read more about it here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/06/us/06vigil.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&em
Eighth Day of Christmas! This Wednesday! 8pm!
December 28, 2008
Hello, Transmissioners!
Until the 1970s, it was called the Feast of the Circumcision of Our Lord.¬† After that, it was called the Feast of the Holy Name.¬† Most people today just call it New Year’s Eve.¬† Whatever you want to call it, we’re celebrating it this Wednesday!¬† Between 8pm and 9pm, we’ll do a short ritual based on the Eighth Day of Christmas and the Bris of Christ, and from 9pm onwards we’ll just be partying – drinks, games, music, you name it.¬† If you have a friend you’ve been meaning to invite to Transmission, this would be a great week to do it!¬† All are welcome.
Liturgical Chaos
December 18, 2008
On the train ride home from Transmission last night, we somehow got into a discussion of the various denominational backgrounds of our members, especially the Episcopalians and the Baptists.¬† Well, this morning, our friend Emily Scott posted a piece on that very topic, and it’s well worth reading.
http://www.episcopalcafe.com/daily/liturgy/holy_chaos_or_what_episcopalia.php
An Advent Ritual From Home
December 15, 2008
Here’s a ritual that Bowie led us in last Wednesday.¬† It’s loosely based on a Lessons and Carols service, and involves distributing the verses of Veni, Veni Emmanuel around texts and meditations.¬† Copy it down and do it with your community, or just do it here!
Sing:
O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Silence…
Sing:
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Watch:Blessed by Juli Allen and Jon Birch
Share Stories About Waiting
Sing:
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Waiting for the Miracle, by Leonard Cohen:
[audio: waitingforthemiracle.mp3]
light candles while listening.
Sing:
O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Postlude: Waiting in Vain by Bob Marley (performed by Annie Lenox):
[audio: waitinginvain]
Network of Ministry Innovators
October 25, 2008
Well, I’m back from an invigorating week in New Orleans, picking brains and sharing stories with other intrepid church mavericks from around the country.¬† Transmission even got a nice mention in Episcopal Life:
“Trying to lead a new community can be confusing,” said Isaac Everett, of the Diocese of New York. “So finding others is really invaluable.”
Everett is co-founder of Transmission, an emerging liturgical community in New York City.
It’s great that they gave us link, although I wish that I came off as a little less clueless.¬† Oh, well, you can never control what the press will right about you and, in all honesty, I can be more than a little clueless at times.
In any case, I have all kinds of ideas I want to share with the group, and I think we’re overdue for a “future of Transmission” talk, anyway, so maybe we can discuss on Wednesday.¬† Bowie was at the conference, too, so I’m sure she’ll have lots to contribute.
Now I’m off to the Congregational Church of New Canaan to perform in a bibliodrama in which Cain’s wife takes Eve to weekend spa getaway in order to figure out why Cain is tormented with nightmares.¬† No, I’m not making this up…