Another joyful Jubilee! celebration
Another enlivening and evocative celebration at Jubilee! Community this Sunday morning. And as always, the opportunity for profound connection with lot of folks. Some highlights from Minister of Ritual Howard Hanger, others who made the magic possible as well as YouTube versions of some of the songs we sang. May peace be with all of y’all! Oh, yeah!
From Howard’s meditation on risky business
“There’s no such thing as security in this life, sweetheart; and the sooner you accept that fact, the better off you’ll be. The person who strives for security will never be free. The person who believes that she’s found security will never reach paradise. What she mistakes for security is purgatory. You know what purgatory is, Gwendolyn? It’s the waiting room, it’s the lobby. Not only does she have the wrong libretto, she’s stuck in the lobby where she can’t see the show.” –Tom Robbins, Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas
“A good talking to” by Donna Glee Williams and Tebbe Davis
What should you care about, NOW? Is it really the car you drive, with all the bells and whistles? Keeping the grass mowed and the edges trimmed? The latest hand-bags, sensible pumps, hair, nails, wide-screen, cellphone? Toys, toys, and more toys?
[ . . . ]
But you need to hear the message from people you love, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers and your best friends. They have to remind you of what matters, and you have got to hear the lesson . . . or else.
Wo-Ya-Ya
we are going, heaven knows where we are going,
we’ll know we’re there
we will get there, heaven knows how we will get there,
we know we will
Stand by me
When the storms of life are raging, stand by me
What a Wonderful World
Ripple
“What is to give light must endure burning.” –Victor Frankl
Forgiving our fathers
On this Fathers’ Day . . .
On this Fathers’ Day, what if we decided to finally forgive our fathers
For being too soft or too hard
For always being there or rarely being present
For holding us too close or never holding us at all
For smothering us with love or withholding it as reproval
For wearing their feelings on their sleeve or expressing only anger
For being generous in their criticism but meager in their praise
For the perpetual safety net or ample rope to hang ourselves
For telling us what to do yet not sharing how to be
For saying “You can be anything,” or “You can’t make a living doing that”
What if, on this Fathers’ Day, we finally release these and any other real or imagined transgressions
And honor our fathers for the blessings they provided and for loving us the very best way they knew how
Written today in honor of my father, Mack Mulkey, who passed from his mortal form in 1996. Read a piece I wrote about him by clicking here.
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The video below is from the final scene in the movie Smoke Signals as adapted from a poem by Dick Lourie, the poem that inspired my poem (above).
Forgiving our Fathers
How do we forgive our fathers?
Maybe in a dream.
Do we forgive our fathers for leaving us too often, or forever, when we were little?
Maybe for scaring us with unexpected rage, or making us nervous because there never seemed to be any rage there at all?
Do we forgive our fathers for marrying, or not marrying, our mothers?
Or divorcing, or not divorcing, our mothers?
And shall we forgive them for their excesses of warmth or coldness?
Shall we forgive them for pushing, or leaning?
For shutting doors or speaking through walls?
For never speaking, or never being silent?
Do we forgive our fathers in our age, or in theirs?
Or in their deaths, saying it to them or not saying it.
If we forgive our fathers, what is left?
“This love will carry” by Dougie MacLean
A beautiful, heartfelt song by Dougie MacLean that Shonnie and I heard last night on WCQS, our local NPR station. Lyrics below the video.
THIS LOVE WILL CARRY by Dougie MacLean
It’s a thin line that leads us and keeps a man from shame
And dark clouds quickly gather along the way he came
There’s fear out on the mountain and death out on the plain
There’s heartbreak and heart-ache in the shadow of the flame
This love will carry. This love will carry me
I know this love will carry me
The strongest web will tangle, the sweetest bloom will fall
And somewhere in the distance we try and catch it all
Success lasts for a moment and failure’s always near
And you look down at your blistered hands as turns another year
This love will carry. This love will carry me
I know this love will carry me
These days are golden, they must not waste away
Our time is like that flower and soon it will decay
And though by storms we’re weakened, uncertainty is sure
And like the coming of the dawn it’s ours for evermore
This love will carry. This love will carry me
I know this love will carry me
Sign petition calling for a stronger energy bill
From MoveOn.org
Strengthen the clean energy bill
Powerful oil and coal interests have had a stranglehold on our energy policy, demanding loopholes, bailouts, and giveaways from taxpayers. They’ve won concessions in the energy bill to preserve their profits and weaken the bill’s ability to deliver on the full promise of clean energy jobs.
But now, progressives are coming together to push back. MoveOn has joined with groups across the progressive movement, from the Sierra Club to ACORN to Oxfam to Rock the Vote, to tell Congress to stand strong against the special interests that seek to weaken the clean energy bill at every turn.
We can strengthen and improve this bill, if progressive leaders in Congress will join our fight. Can you sign MoveOn’s petition to Congress?
A compiled petition with your individual comment will be presented to your Representative.
Sign the petition now by clicking here.
Cecil Bothwell for Asheville City Council
I strongly support Cecil Bothwell in his campaign for the Asheville City Council. Below is a letter to the editor on his behalf that appeared in today’s Asheville Citizen-Times:
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I am writing in support of Cecil Bothwell for Asheville City Council.
While working with Cecil on various community projects, I have come to deeply value his unwavering honesty and integrity. 
Furthermore I have witnessed his ability to draw diverse groups together to successfully accomplish the task at hand. Among other reasons I endorse Cecil’s candidacy are:
Cecil is courageous. As an investigative reporter, he risked exposing the criminal behavior of Bobby Medford while Medford was still sheriff of Buncombe County.
Cecil is his own man. He is not beholden to any special interest group nor will he accept contributions from them.
Cecil is an action-oriented leader. He will energetically and effectively lead in tackling critical issues rather than hiring more consultants for further studies.
Cecil believes in grassroots democracy. He will be a true public servant for all Ashevillians, regarding us as fellow citizens whose ongoing participation in the political process is vital.
Many of us have spoken out regarding the kind of community we want for ourselves and our children, and frequently our pleas have fallen on deaf ears. Let’s elect Cecil Bothwell and work hand-in-hand with him to create an Asheville that works for all of us.
Check out Cecil’s campaign website at http://cecilbothwell.wordpress.com
Attend campaign rally Friday, June 12, 5:30-8:00 p.m. at the Grey Eagle
Free and open to the public! Former Mayor Leni Sitnick will talk about Asheville’s future. Music by Chuck Brodsky, Left of Center and Anne Lalley and Joe Ebel. Surprise guest from Australia-David LaMotte via Skype. Heavy hors d’ouvres provided by the campaign and served up by the Twin Cousins. Dessert from Short Street Cakes.
