1  

The Transformational Arts Project Presents

The Council of Al l Beings Performance Ritual

Co-Sponsored by

George: Center for Community and Rite of Passage Journeys

April 20, 2013 Seattle, Washington

 

                                                   

  2  

The Council of Al l Beings Performance Ritual George: Center for Community

Apri l 20, 2013  PRELUDE WELCOME AND INVOCATION

Cal l ing of the Directions “Gratitude Song” by Laurence Cole

HONORING OUR PAIN FOR THE WORLD: The People’s Responses are printed in bold.

A Prayer of Sorrow: “We Have Forgotten Who We Are,” by John Seed

We have forgotten who we are We have forgotten who we are We have alienated ourselves from the unfolding of the cosmos We have become estranged from the movements of the earth We have turned our backs on the cycles of life.

People: We have forgotten who we are.

We have sought only our own security We have exploited simply for our own ends We have distorted our knowledge We have abused our power.

People: We have forgotten who we are.

Now the land is barren And the waters are poisoned And the air is polluted.

People: We have forgotten who we are.

Now the forests are dying And the creatures are disappearing And the humans are despairing.

People: We have forgotten who we are.

We ask forgiveness We ask for the gift of remembering We ask for the strength to change.

  3  

Bui lding a Cairn of Mourning and Tol l ing of Names of Endangered and Threatened Species in Washington and the Puget Sound Region Species of Concern listed by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife include those species listed as State Endangered, State Threatened, State Sensitive, or State Candidate, as well as species listed or proposed for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service.

During the reading of the names, you are invited to come forward to our wall of remembering

to place a rock in the bowl of water in honor of whatever loss you especially grieve.

“We have forgotten who we are . . . but now we are beginning to remember.” SEEING WITH NEW EYES: REMEMBERING

Grandmother’s Song Circle Song adapted by Therese Charvet and Lorraine Bayes Universe Walk

Candles are lit to mark each significant event of the universe walk; Some members of the audience will be asked to come forward and hold a candle;

the light will continue to be spread until the candle of each person in the audience is lit, passing from person to person the light from the great bursting forth.

As the story of the universe is read, the following phrase is repeated:

Narrator: And so on it goes People: May it ever be so

Yoruba Creation Myth

SEEING WITH NEW EYES: THE COUNCIL OF ALL BEINGS

“Voyage of the Celestial Animals” Poem by Carol Blackbird Edson Council of Al l Beings

Truth Mandala

Visitat ion from Future Response of Beings: Traditional Native American "Cherokee Morning Song"

& Wing Prayer Blessing

  4  

CELEBRATION AND GOING FORTH

Closing of the Directions

F lower Mandala “Al l My Relations” by Brooke Medicine Eagle

Drumming and Celebration

Everyone is invited to join us in creating a Celebratory Mandala, singing, dancing and celebrating a new way of being Earth Community together.

“May Our Give Away Be Sacred” by Lorraine Bayes

THE BEINGS

Molly Brown (Co-Producer, Co-Director, Master Art ist, Creation Team Member, Voice of the Future) Molly Brown creates visionary art through painting, writing and ritual design. She designed and co-produced with Randy Morris A Requiem for the Species in 2008 and A Celebration of the Tree of Life in the Time of the Great Turning at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in 2010. Presently she serves as Artist in Residence for George: Center for Community and Rite of Passage Journeys and is co-creator with Maggie Yowell of the Transformational Arts Project. Maggie Yowell (Co-Producer, Co-Director, Creation Team Member, Drama Therapist/ Celebrant of Wonder) Maggie Yowell, a former environmental compliance attorney with particular expertise in air quality and waste management issues, now offers drama therapy and mental health counseling at George: Center for Community and The Center at St. Andrew’s. She co-founded the Transformational Arts Project at George with Molly Brown. She partnered to create The Council of All Beings as her Master’s project at Antioch University, with the desire to use the creative arts to transform community grief into a creative healing ritual. Maggie’s passion is the intersection between creativity, spirituality and psychology, and she likes to consider herself a Tender of Sacred Story and a Celebrant of Wonder.

Lorraine Bayes (Song Carrier, Medicine Drum and Ceremonial Art ist, Grandmother Dolphin) Lorraine Bayes, Cherokee singer, drummer and medicine woman, has participated in many of the 13 Grandmother Council Fires and educational convenings over the last six years, ranging from Alaska, Washington DC, South Dakota, Oregon Coast, Montana, Arizona and Brazil. She is a long time early childhood teacher and parent educator through holistic music and co-founding director of the national award winning family performing arts company, Tickle Tune Typhoon. A singer, songwriter, performer and recording artist, Lorraine also serves as a healing guide and ceremonial song carrier and drummer, honoring cultural and spiritual unity. Tere Carranza (Tol l ing of Names, Cedar Tree) Tere Carranza is co-director and co-facilitator of Sacred Groves - a 10-acre wild-woods retreat she and her partner, Therese Charvet, tend on Bainbridge Island. She was minding her own business when one day, 9 years ago, she slipped down the rabbit hole, emerged at Sacred Groves and realized she was finally 'Home'. Currently she is working on her Master's Degree of Listening offered by the Cedar Trees and distinguished faculty of Indigenous Beings who teach at the Groves. She hopes to graduate within this lifetime. Carol Blackbird Edson (Creation Team Member, Poet and Narrator for Voyage, Bird) Carol Blackbird Edson is a paper cutting artist and poet who enjoys writing and performing poetry in Seattle. As Artistic Director of Zodiac Poetry Masque Theater, she has been stirring up magical play and creating events with puppetry on mythic themes since 1995. Her poem, The Voyage of the Celestial Animals was inspired by a dream of Spirit Animals gathering in council on an island. Her Sky Bear paper cut was cut from a map of the northern stars and was made into a puppet for the Council by Molly Brown.

  5  

Zan Edson (Future Being Makeup Art ist) Zan Edson is a local Seattle painter, sculptor and bodypainter. Her themes include trees, animals, deities and transformations. You can see her work on her website artbyzan.com Jeremy Franklin (Wolf) Jeremy Franklin honors his ancestors by serving as a mental health counselor to Native Americans living in Snohomish County. A lover of nature, he supports the welfare of Wolves and other endangered species of the American West through the NRDC. Jeremy honors the Dream of the Earth, and does this through his work as a ceremonial leader and shamanic practitioner. Corinna Frenzl (Mycelium) Corinna Frenzl is excited to be a part of the Council of All Beings. She has been active in a variety of local community groups for several years working towards the Great Turning and recently started to get her feet wet in the world of community ritual. She is passionate about herbalism and the Wise Woman Tradition and has fallen in love with the world of fungi. Stef Frenzl (Flutes, Ocean Drum, Orca) Stef Frenzl strives to walk the mystical path with practical feet to support the healing of our world. For the past 15 years, he has been active in all three elements of the Great Turning: holding actions, creating new forms, and shifts in consciousness. He is honored to share his music and soul in this Council of All Beings. Cedar Hyde (Ritual ist, Creation Team Member, Spotted Owl) Cedar Hyde is a nurse, energy worker and world traveller. She trained with the Four Winds Society and practices the medicine traditions of the Quechua people of the Andes. Cedar is passionate about preserving wild places and insuring the survival of indigenous cultures. Kathryn Lowry (Coyote) Holly Luedke (Future Being Dancer) Saving the planet has been in the heart and life purpose of Holly Luedke as long she can remember. She grew up in Livermore, CA, and at the age of 13 learned that nuclear weapons development was occurring in her hometown at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. She began to canvas her neighborhood to spread awareness about the destruction of nuclear weapons and toxins on people and the planet. Later Holly received a BA in Sociology and a BA in Art with a Contemporary Art emphasis and used art as her medium to raise awareness of social injustices and encourage a better way. She now owns her own holistic skincare business in Seattle where she helps individuals achieve natural health and wellness. Holly sees this individual shift toward natural wellness as a means to an ends for healing the planet and society as a whole. L inda McFadden (White Stag) Linda McFadden has been walking the road of social change for sometime and saw this project as a way to blend her love of the earth with social awareness. Sarah McFadden (Universe Walk Pi lgr im, Bear Puppet, Raven) Sarah McFadden is an 11 year-old creative spirit who enjoys all things imaginative. Randy Morris (Grandfather Bear) Randy Morris, Ph.D., is a faculty member at Antioch University Seattle where he coordinates the Spiritual Studies program. He served for five years as President of the Board of Rite of Passage Journeys, and dedicates all of his work to the Dream of the Earth that is seeking expression at this pivotal historical moment, the time of the Great Turning. Nan Nalder (Salmon) Nan Nalder loves painting and serving to raise awareness of environmental and social justice issues. Nan's "love affair" with fish began as part of her many years experience enjoying fishing with her dad; she learned to tie fishing flies and sold them to raise money to pay for art supplies. Nan was confronted with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis [JRA] at a very early age and when she could not attend school, she spent hours learning to paint. She has exhibited for many years - her first commissioned work was at age 15. Following a 14-year practice in architecture, Nan pursued a Masters degree in Marine Studies and Natural Resource Economics and spent several years with federal agencies drafting energy & environmental policy regulations. She continues to work as an environmental consultant, primarily in Alaska. In 2006 Nan designed and painted a set of vestments for Saint Mark's Cathedral depicting: the five species of salmon, the icon of the Pacific Northwest and a reminder of the mystery of life; cedar, water, and sunlight; the life cycle of the salmon presents an image to Nan of faith and the resurrection. Through her work in Alaska, she acquired Native Alaskan ceremonial items, including what she is wearing this evening. Christy Nordstrom (Creation Team Member, Water Bearer, Water) Tiller of soil. Sower of seeds of change. Nurturer of innovation. In awe of creation.

  6  

Mark Stanton (Tol l ing of Names) Being drawn to Native American spirituality, Mark Stanton has been an active member of a sweat lodge community for over twenty years. He honors all his Relations and our Spirit guides by being part of this production. Terry Steig (Narrator for Universe Walk) Terry Steig is a Director of The Center at St Andrew's, a pastoral counselor locally and an Episcopal priest. Terry celebrates that the gathering of the Council of All Beings promotes healing for the sacred universe. Peter Str imer (Storytel ler of Yoruba Creation Myth) Peter Strimer is rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and interim vicar of GEORGE. He has traveled to Africa twice and spent extended time with in the Yoruba region of Nigeria and shares their creation myth in the Council of All Beings. He helped organize the Requiem for the Species and the Celebration of the Tree of Life in the Time of the Great Turning.

RESOURCES For information about The Transformational Arts Project at George: Center for Community or to comment on The Council of All Beings,

please email Molly Brown at mollybee@clearwire.net and Maggie Yowell at maggie.yowell@gmail.com Bayes, Lorraine. "Rainbow Songs ~ Rainbow Prayers " CD (available for sale after the performance ritual). JoannaMacy.net JohnSeed.net Macy, Joanna and Young Brown, Molly. Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World (New Society Publishers,

1998). Theory and methods of the group work Joanna Macy and her colleagues pioneered. Meade, Michael. Why the World Doesn’t End. Seed, John, Macy, Joanna, et al. Thinking Like a Mountain: Towards A Council of All Beings (New Catalyst Books, 2007). With poems,

artwork, meditations, and essays, this collection provides inspiration and instructions for leading deep ecology work. Species of Concern listed by the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (include those species listed as State

Endangered, State Threatened, State Sensitive, or State Candidate, as well as species listed or proposed for listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service). http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/All/

"The Council of All Beings" at www.rainforestinfo.org.au/deep-eco/coab.htm TheRightsofNature.org

United Nations Environmental Sabbath Service: prayers of sorrow, healing and gratitude. From “Only One Earth,” a United Nations Environment Programme publication for “Environmental Sabbath/Earth Rest Day,” June 1990; UN Environment Programme, DC2-803 United Nations, New York, NY 10017. http://www.environment.gov.ab.ca/edu/eweek/2012/pubs/UN-Environmental-Sabbath-Service.pdf

Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth. From World People’s Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother

Earth, Cochabamba, Bolivia, 22 April – Earth Day 2010. http://www.rightsofmotherearth.com/declaration/

WorkthatReconnects.org