By Lindy Gifford,
It was 2018. We came together in Toronto. The four of us. The 8,300 of us. For the Parliament of World Religions.
I traveled from Maine, my two sisters traveled from Washington, DC and Vermont, my cousin traveled from England. Half of the fun was all four of us being together in an Airbnb in an amazing city. The other half was pealing off to different workshops and plenaries. One sister and I climbed aboard a bus and toured three different places of worship in the city. My cousin, a practicing Anglican, explored her Jewish roots. My other sister especially loved the Red Tent, where women (and a few men) danced, sang, wrote, spoke, and made art between the crimson folds of fabric. I went to every session at which I could listen to the words of Native women. We came back together every day for Langar, and a bountiful vegetarian lunch, generously provided by the Sikh community.
That was then. Starting this Saturday, October 16, the Parliament meets again—this time virtually. This is now.
When we heard that the next Parliament would be virtual my sisters and cousin and I were all disappointed. If we can’t meet in person then what’s the point? Wait a minute. The four of us have been coming together online every other week for over a year now. We laugh and sulk. We wish we could travel to be together again, but these virtual circles are so much better than nothing. It occurred to me that they are the virtual replacement for our family gathering in Toronto. So why can’t the virtual Parliament replace the other half of that amazing week?
So, I signed up for the virtual Parliament. How amazing will that be, to listen to the likes of the Dalai Lama, Dr. Jane Goodall, Rev. William Barber… in my own living room. And to “go to” workshops and breakout sessions on Buddhism, Black Liberation, and Racial Justice; a New Paradigm of Life; Blooming out of the Rough… offered by presenters and panels from all over the world and every faith tradition.
The image this Reflectionary starts with is from the 2021 Parliament Convening Visual Statement. This is now. Post turning point.
The statement goes on:
Our common lived experience will never be as it was before.
The consequences of Climate Change and COVID — like most of the crises in the Anthropocene—fall most heavily on those least responsible for what has happened.
This is the reality of the Anthropocene. We have become a force of geological proportions.
But something else is changing in 2021—we are."
That’s the point. That’s what the workshops and plenary sessions of the Parliament are about now. Ways we can change to meet the enormous challenges that face us. And that is so much better than nothing.
At this writing, the Visual Statement is still a work in progress and the Parliament has asked that we participate in its formation. To access the interactive Visual Statement.
To register for the Parliament.
Lindy Gifford (the tall one) is an artist, photographer, graphic designer, creative coach, and writer, ordained an interfaith chaplain in 2015 by the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine (ChIME). A life-long Unitarian Universalist, she is rooted in daily interaction with and connection to the Earth and Creation, as well as the Christian and pre-Christian heritage of her ancestors. She is the author of the Doodle-ography Journal. Her spirit-based practice as a creative coach and publishing consultant is Manifest Identity. Lindy lives on and learns from the Damariscotta River where she and her husband Steve raised two shining daughters.