Wrapping Up

Our farewell cake from the Mt. Eden Quakers, with the first line of a Maori song that translates roughly as “Now is the time to say farewell.”

We have written very little for a long while. This is mostly because we were focusing on preparing for the Closing Gathering of the yearly meeting’s Spiritual Nurture programme. We are half of the facilitation team for this 6-month program with Linley Gregory and Moira McLennan. And now it’s done and we are just days away from leaving New Zealand on Oct. 2. Wow, it’s been quite a year!

So this entry is about offering a summary of our latest explorations.

SPIRITUAL NURTURE PROGRAMME

The 4-day Closing Gathering of the Spiritual Nurture programme was very tender and precious. There were many openings as participants shared some of the internal and external work they have done over the past 6 months. We were blessed to share some participants spiritual autobiographies — done in varied ways, including print, photos, and fabric art. We also heard about projects Friends had begun to work on, which were as varied as preparing a workshop on Quaker decision-making, publishing a book of poetry, and finding oneself led to get involved in providing menstrual pads to homeless teenage girls.  It continues to strike me (Mike) how important a gift it is to simply hold open a safe and non-judgmental space for people to step into. It comes with an intentional prayer for the other, whoever that might be, to share their soul. On the part of the holder, there is knowing and faith that there is always more truth that can be revealed.

The Spiritual Nurture Programme class having a good laugh after the formal photo!

For this gathering, I (Mike) pulled out the Rooms of the Meetinghouse presentation and exercises. I had presented this piece in each of the 5 On Being Spiritual Nurturer programs for which I was a core teacher with the School of the Spirit Ministry. I found new life in the material, which has the intent to offer a playful metaphor for the spiritual formation of the individual within a community of Friends. I have now submitted it as a workshop for the FGC summer gathering next summer.

THE PROJECT

After the end of the gathering we relaxed by attending a live broadcast of a local current events TV show called “The Project.” In other words, we were part of the audience, clapping and cheering at all the right moments. A fun experience.

COUPLE ENRICHMENT

Three weeks before the Spiritual Nurture Programme retreat, we led a one-day Couple Enrichment workshop for 4 couples here in the Mt. Eden worship group. We adapted the Rooms of the Meetinghouse metaphor for a relationship and it worked really well. We recognized in the morning that we had not invited the couples deeply enough into the dialogue, so we opened the afternoon session with a few words inviting them to use the practice with more discipline and to see where it took them. The results were tender and rich.

The four couples who joined us for a Couple Enrichment workshop at Mt. Eden  (along with our favorite stuffed animals — the babble fish and the stuffed kiwi!)

FINAL MONTHLY MEETING AND RETREAT IN KERIKERI

Two weeks before the Spiritual Nurture Programme, we spent the weekend in KeriKeri, in the northern part of North Island, for the annual Northern Monthly Meeting residential retreat.  In addition to having our regular Monthly Business Meeting (the last one we would attend), this weekend was a time of fellowship for a Monthly Meeting that includes 6 worship groups that are as much as 3 hours away from each other. We were on the team that got to offer the Saturday program, which included some fun, artistic ways of sharing what keeps us coming to Quakers, and how we might nourish each other in different ways moving forward.

Worship sharing with sticky notes!

FAREWELLS

Last Saturday was our official Farewell at Mt. Eden. Some 40 Friends gathered for a shared meal and a short programme. We began by playing a few piano duets and then presented a slide show of approximately 20 photos/videos that offered some of the highlights of our year. It was incredibly difficult deciding what to leave out! Some of the threads that came through the slide show were 1) the importance of travelling among Friends and hearing their stories;  2) the appreciation for the times we were able to experience bits of the Maori culture;  3) how wonderful it was for us to share NZ with our children, however briefly, back in November;  4) our joy in discovering some of the natural beauty of this island;  5) our thanks for the numerous ways we were able to weave music into our lives during this year.

The evening closed with a worship sharing in which Friends lifted up their thanks to us for the many ways in which we freely offered our gifts and skills during the year. 

CHOIR FAREWELL

This week we also had our formal farewell from the Gay and Lesbian Singers (GALS), the choir that we have been singing with since January. Singing with GALS has been a weekly joy — they are an incredibly authentic, caring community and our hearts were warmed by their farewell song (sung in Maori). (Click hear to hear their song — you may need to click twice to get audio)

We are so glad that we were able to join them for part of their annual “Choir Camp” at the beginning of September. It was a lovely combination of choir rehearsals and fun and games well punctuated by laughter and smiles.

GALS Choir camp: Look carefully in row 2, just right of center, for Marsha, and far right, standing, for Mike.

WHAT’S NEXT

In the midst of all of this we have planning our trip home. It will take us 10 weeks, so there are many more adventures in store for us. Our first month will be spent in Australia. We will begin in Melbourne, visiting Marsha’s niece Bethany and exploring the Great Ocean Road. Then on to Tasmania for a week which will include worship with and a presentation to Hobart Friends, and a visit the Friends School there. The third week will find us in Adelaide attending the residential gathering of Southern Australia and Northern Territories Regional Meeting of Friends. Then up to Alice Springs and the beginning of our 10-day outback trip which will include visiting Uluru and all points up to Darwin. We intend to spend the month of November in Cambodia and Thailand. And finally we will head home via Sri Lanka and Kenya. So stayed tuned. We suspect there will be some new bird entries!