A Note from Carla

I’ve just returned from the Wild Goose Festival, an eclectic mix of Music, Art, Spirituality and Justice…and people!
This is my fifth year attending this Festival in Hot Springs, NC where this year 4000 people gathered…quite a few more than the couple of hundred the first couple of years. It is a gathering of folks who are seeking a spirituality based on a broader view of Christianity than many have experienced. As the word has gotten out that this event is a safe space to explore a more progressive understanding of the faith, those who have felt alienated from a more dogmatic interpretation of the Gospel have found a home. This year there seemed to be a stronger emphasis on the message of Jesus. Not that Jesus was not present in previous years’ conversations. However, with the hijacking of the Christian faith by Evangelical Christianity which seems to gain more press and has become the “truth”, perhaps more have decided that we cannot that allow the words of Bible which point to the how we should live, continue to besmirch the radical justice spoken in the words and actions of Jesus. No longer silent was the norm.
Needless to say, there was much conversation about the state of affairs of our country and its leadership which seems hell-bent on destroying democracy as we know it and doing so in the name of Christianity, ignoring the message of God’s love and care for all, especially the marginalized—the poor, the alien, the widows, the children, people of color, persons of differing sexual identity and orientation and those whom they love and are loved in return.
Many, like I, came to the event, needing words of encouragement, inspiration, and in general relief from the news, which every day brings news of yet another another unfathomable breach of civility, compassion and moral compass. We were encouraged to tell it like it is, boldly, and to speak up to confront and critique openly to change the narratives that others may be expounding as Gospel Truth; to resist the temptation to lose hope, and rather join into a resistance which offers beauty, truth and love openly…to find a place either real or visualize a place, words, or space within which serves as an altar to which we come for the nourishment of our souls and spirit in this hard work of seeking and practicing justice and love.
All speakers offered the antidote of solidarity to grief and hopelessness–solidarity with each other, and those who are in most need of justice, reminding us we are “stewards of hope”.…and by being with each other in community, each of us adds to the synergy which adds spiritual strength to enable us to persevere, resist, and act.
One of the speakers spoke passionately about his struggle to pray for his enemies, even using the word hate, and to love those whom God loves, even if…….and encouraged us to do the same.
The Wild Goose is the Celtic Symbol of the Holy Spirit, and as “divine goslings” as one speaker called us, and in these times, we are those who must go where the Wild Goose goes with prayer, resistance, and action in solidarity for the Common Good. May it be so…..And may be we like the Geese who travel long distances, made possible by the flock only by sharing leadership and the burdens and joys on the journey.
Peace and Blessings to each of you.

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