2021 Wednesday Archives

November 2021

Wednesday, November 17,  2021, 7 p.m.  FIRE TIME: POETRY AND SONG CIRCLE
Most of November is under the astrological sign of Scorpio, and the ruling planet of Scorpio is Mars, the red planet, and the god of War in Greek and Roman mythology. We could link the colour of Mars to the red in fire. In England, November 5 continues to be celebrated as bonfire night. November is generally a damp and moist month that tells us that fall is turning into winter, so it is no surprise that a fire to warm the body is particularly attractive to people or many cultures and places during this month.  And the need for inner fire is equally important. November is a good month to find or rekindle one’s passion, whatever the object of that passion might be. So let this be the month to bring poems or songs about passion, desire, or fire viewed in all kinds of ways. Or, as usual, you can bring offerings on a different theme, or come to listen.
Facilitators: Chris Bullock and Hendrik de Pagter. Zoom host: Barry Hunt
This session will start at 7 p.m. and will be exclusively on Zoom; the link is below
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83844028291?pwd=YmdrS1B2cGYwMXlmSkJmN2EvRHNFdz09
— o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o–

Wednesday, November 24, 2021, 7 p.m.: LIFE TRANSITIONS, LIFE STORIES: 3. CREATING A NEW DIRECTION

Sometimes the clouds part as if they grow weary of blocking the light. There is inspiration and clarity. There is courage and confidence to take that first step and with it, momentum, as if you are being pulled forward, as if your soul and purpose have your hand and are dragging you, willing you forward and with each step there is a growing lightness, an inner joy and a knowing that each step is firm and true and that this is what you are meant to do, this is the way forward.
In this third and last session on Life Transitions: Life Stories we will look at ‘Creating a New Direction’ and we invite you to share your breakthrough experiences.  How did it come about, what changed, what opened, was there inspiration and guidance, what was that ‘butterfly emerging’ moment, or was it so natural and inevitable that you really didn’t notice? Again, we will look at the role of the stories we tell ourselves (and sometimes others) in this stage of life transition.
Join us at 7 p.m. on Zoom to share and celebrate these breakthrough moments!
Here is the Zoom link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89795729440?pwd=K1EzQ3NlTGtyMmZzVkovUk9uRWZWQT09

October 2021

Wednesday, October 13^th, 2021. 6:30 pm MEDITATION WITH MICHELLE GINTING:
Michelle states:
My intention for this meeting is to help raise the conscious awareness, and provide a spiritually safe space for like-minded souls to connect and meditate.

6:30-7PM: Meet and brief.
7-7:30PM: Group meditation.
7:30-8PM: Share our meditation experience.

Remind yourself of the power of the thoughts you give your attention to. They become your beliefs and they go on to define your life and how you experience it.
We can always choose to create new patterns to create a new reality.
All is One. All is well. With love and light.

Connect with me on Facebook or contact me at ginting.michelle@gmail.com

Wednesday, October 20, 7 p.m. CHILDREN/ANCESTORS: POETRY AND SONG CIRCLE
This October is bookended by orange: Orange Shirt/ Every Child Matters Day at the beginning and the orange of pumpkins and Hallowe’en at the end. Of course, Hallowe’en isn’t just a children’s day for getting candy; in the Celtic and other aboriginal traditions, it initiates the period when the worlds of the living and the dead come closest to each other and the veil between them thins. So, the harvest you bring to the Circle this month could a poem or a song about children and/or the inner child. Or it could be a poem or a song about ancestors, or those who have died, passed over, walked the rainbow bridge. Or, maybe this month you bring a contribution on something entirely different, or just come to listen.
Facilitators: Chris Bullock and Hendrik de Pagter. Zoom host: Barry Hunt

This meeting is exclusively on Zoom at 7 p.m.         Here’s the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85130772055?pwd=TzlBS1kwd1Mvd0xrMy9CMWFrMlZ1QT09
___________________________oooooooo_________________________

Wednesday, October 27^th, 2021, 7 p.m. LIFE TRANSITIONS, LIFE STORIES: 2. THE “MESSY MIDDLE”

Life transitions happen when we change the direction of our lives in some way, and these transitions are usually inspired by a life disruption, some event which prevents us from continuing just as we have been. Life disruptions may be small (discovering a new interest) or large (the death of a partner or of a long-held dream) ; they may be voluntary (we leave a bad marriage or start a new business), or involuntary (our partner suddenly decides to leave, or we get laid off). But to respond to a disruption in a way that is eventually creative and renewing in always voluntary and requires awareness, courage and skillful action. It also requires awareness of our life stories—the stories we tell others and ourselves about who we are and where we are going– and consciousness of the ways limiting stories will need to change.

Last month we explored “The Struggle to Start.” This month we’ll explore the second phase in the life transition process: the “Messy Middle.”  The messy middle is that in-between place where we struggle to leave some key aspects of our present life and try to make out the new direction we need to go in. Leaving the old involves the difficult process of letting go of some –or many– features of life as we have lived it. It also involves letting go of the stories we have told to explain ourselves during the time we are now trying to put behind us.

In this session we will use presentation and dialogue to explore the difficulties and methods of letting go, and also how to find the essential skill of holding the “in between” so that the new has a space to enter. As mentioned in the last session, we as a culture are also in an “in between”place in our evolution, where many features of how we live have lived and explained ourselves by story and mythology are proving to be destructive to the web of life. So this task of holding the “in between” and intuiting the sparks of the new and a new story has a larger dimension which will be also fascinating and important to explore.

Facilitation: Barry Hunt and Chris Bullock. Zoom host: Barry Hunt.

This meeting is exclusively on Zoom at 7 p.m.         Here’s the link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83001219610?pwd=U0lIU3FhSE1ab3p0TU9OKzRES1NxZz09

September 2021

***Wednesday, September 22^nd, 2021. HARVEST, BALANCE, NEWNESS: POETRY AND SONG CIRCLE, 7 p.m.

This poetry and song circle takes place on the night of the equinox, the point where dark and light, day and night are equal again. In traditional agricultural societies, September is the month of harvest. In psychological and spiritual terms, we can reflect on what has been gathered in the more outward times of summer as the more inward times of fall and winter approach. The biblical comment that “whatsoever thou hast sown, the same shalt thou also reap” is relevant here. September in the Jewish tradition contains this element of consideration for what is past, but for a different purpose, the arrival at Rosh Hashanah, the New Year.

If any of these themes—balance, harvest, newness– inspire you, you are welcome to bring in a poem or song –yours or someone else’s—on one of these topics. But, as always, you are also welcome to bring in something on a different topic, or just to come to listen and be nourished.

Facilitators: Hendrik de Pagter and Chris Bullock. Zoom host: Barry Hunt. Coordinator: Chris Bullock

This session is exclusively on Zoom at 7.00 p.m..

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85420136329?pwd=RnhLYi9ENjJZRW1wbFFDZEpqeGs4Zz09

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Wednesday, September 29^th, 2021, 7 p.m. LIFE TRANSITIONS, LIFE STORIES: 1. THE STRUGGLE TO START

Life transitions happen when we change the direction of our lives in some way, and these transitions are usually inspired by a life disruption, some event which prevents us from continuing just as we have been. Life disruptions may be small (discovering a new interest) or large (the death of a partner or of a long-held dream) ; they may be voluntary (we leave a bad marriage or start a new business), or involuntary (our partner suddenly decides to leave, or we get laid off). But to respond to a disruption in a way that is eventually creative and renewing in always voluntary and requires awareness, courage and skillful action. It also requires awareness of our life stories—the stories we tell others and ourselves about who we are and where we are going– and consciousness of the ways limiting stories will need to change.

It is useful to see life transitions are having three phases: “The Struggle to Start,”“The Messy Middle,” and “Creating a New Direction,” and we will have a session on each of these phases. Each session will involve a short presentation, and then dialogue, as attendees explore life transitions and life stories both old and new in their lives.

We will begin on Sept 29, with “The Struggle to Start.” This phase is the battlefield between old and new, between the difficulty of change and the difficulty of staying the same. Our old direction is often anchored by an old story—like “I’m the kind of person who can only do this…”—and we will dialogue on the connection between limiting stories and the way we handle change at the outset.

Facilitation: Barry Hunt and Chris Bullock. Zoom host: Barry Hunt.

This session will be exclusively on Zoom.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83517586859?pwd=VFEwWDBDVlN1dlYwUmxYbzkrL1ZBQT09

July 2021

APPRECIATION OF THE POETRY AND SONG CIRCLE’S “ TUESDAY FOR TREES” EVENT.
Recently the Poetry and Song Circle received a small package from Jane Welton intended as a thank you for the April 20 event of readings, songs and visuals that the Circle sponsored. Her note reads as follows:
Please accept this small token of appreciation from the Forestry Subcommittee of GVAT’s Climate ART for your support of the Tuesdays for Trees campaign. Your event was original, enjoyable and inspiring. Thank you to the Circle for doing your bit to make forestry in BC more sustainable.     Yours sincerely, Jane Welton.
The package contained badges, a bumper sticker and several beautiful forest cards and envelopes from the Ancient Forest alliance.  I have thanked Jane on behalf of the Circle, and my suggestion to the Poetry and Song Circle will be that we put these items in the Church book and music sale later this summer.
Chris Bullock

POETRY AND SONG CIRCLE WILL BE TAKING A BREAK TILL SEPTEMBER. See you then!

June 2021

May 2021

Wednesday, May 5: BELTANE AND THE CELEBRATION OF WONDER (7.30 pm on ZOOM)

The Celtic Festival of Beltane is a Fire Festival. The word ‘Beltane’ originates from the Celtic God ‘Bel’, meaning ‘the bright one’ and the Gaelic word ‘teine’ meaning fire. Together they make ‘Bright Fire’, or ‘Goodly Fire’ and traditionally bonfires were lit to honour the Sun and encourage the support of Bel and the Sun’s light to nurture the emerging future harvest and protect the community.

The time of this Festival is the time when the Earth energies are strongest and most active. All of life is bursting with potent fertility. This is how children see the world – a place of wonder. Many spiritual practices talk about seeing the world through the eyes of a child.

In this session, through meditation, presentation and dialogue, we will look at how Beltane is traditionally celebrated and the relevance it has for us in our lives today. In particular, we will look at how we can learn from children about seeing the world as a place of awe and wonder, and we will learn seven ways to culture this sense in our lives.

Facilitator and Zoom host: Barry Hunt. Coordinator for IE: Chris Bullock

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89345142933?pwd=dWxiTEFvVG1tcTQ4aGplZ3AySnh5QT09

Meeting ID: 893 4514 2933

Passcode: 080433

You can also join by calling 778-907-2071 –check your phone plan for long distance charges—and then entering the Zoom Meeting ID number and passcode number above.

April 2021

Tuesday, APRIL 20, 2021, 7 p.m. TUESDAY FOR TREES: POEMS, SONGS, READINGS AND ARTWORK EVENT, 

The Poetry and Song circle at the Church of Truth invites you to be part of this event celebrating the major role that trees play in our lives by poems, songs, readings, photographs, paintings, and other artwork. There are only a few slots for presenters left, but there will be several opportunities during the evening for audience members to dialogue with presenters

The evening will be on Zoom, and will run from 7-8.30 p.m on Tuesday, April 20. To get further information, and/or to register for the event and eventually receive the Zoom link, please contact  chrisbullock@shaw.ca .  Zoom host is Barry Hunt.

This event is held in support of the Tuesday for Trees campaign developed by the Climate Action Research team in the activist coalition Greater Victoria Acting Together (GVAT).  GVAT’s “ask” to government is to end logging of at risk productive old growth , to support sustainable forestry, and to  provide a green new deal for individuals and communities who need to transition from unsustainable practices, all in accordance with UNDRIP and in an anti-racist manner. A speaker from the Climate ART will conclude the event.  The Church of Truth (COT), a member organization of GVAT, aims to be a “community of conscious living” supporting all spiritual paths. This Tuesday for Trees event is part of Earth Week.

TUESDAY FOR TREES (April 20, 7 p.m.-8.30 p.m.): PROGRAM
The program for this event, sponsored by the COT poetry and song circle, is now finalized. There is still space for people to register and receive the Zoom link by emailing chrisbullock@shaw.ca We’d love to have your support!

Chris Bullock— Host group Welcome and Format
Jane Welton— introduces GVAT’s Climate ART.

Frances Litman— “Wildsong” (includes visuals)
Rhona McAdam –“Woods”
Daniela Elza–“Inhabition” plus two student poems.
John Taylor- “Cedar Tree” (song)
            AUDIENCE DIALOGUE—5 minutes

Carol Redl “The Last Tree”
Pat Miller –“Emily Carr’s take on Clearcutting the Forest” (reading and 2 paintings)
Hendrik de Pagter “The Logs are Bound”
Dancing Wolf—“Natural Majesty” (Poemography)
AUDIENCE DIALOGUE – 5 minutes

Cathy MacLean—“Across the Gravel Road”
John Mackenzie—“Spring Melt” (painting)
Barry Hunt-“Listen”
Pauline Le Bel –“The Agreement”
AUDIENCE DIALOGUE— 5 minutes

May Partridge—“Trees Watch us” (includes visual)
Edward Butterworth—“Landscape of the Heart” (Photograph/ Memoir)
Chris Bullock “In Praise of Garry Oaks”
Kay Stewart—Reading from John Fowles’s The Tree
           AUDIENCE DIALOGUE—5 minutes
Jane Welton, “Tuesday for Trees: Call to Action”
AUDIENCE  QUESTIONS
Frances Litman,  “Mountain Road Forest” (Ballet video and Call to Action)

March 2021

Wednesday, March 24, 2021  Ostara and the Blessing of Love. (7.30  pm on ZOOM)

The day will come when, after harnessing space, winds, the tide and gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, [humanity] will have discovered fire.—Teilhard de Chardin

We celebrate the vital life energy of Love at the time of the Spring Equinox and the Celtic Festival of Ostara, the origins of Easter.  When we look at Nature at this time of year we see all matter of life emerging, revealing all that it can be, singing a song for the world to hear. Hildegard of Bingen described this vibrancy as Viriditas or ‘greening’.

In this online exploration (possibly involving an audiovisual dimension) we will look at how Ostara is traditionally celebrated. We will also look at the relevance that this vital life energy of Love – the fundamental theme of Ostara – has in our lives and relationships.

Facilitator and Zoom host: Barry Hunt. Coordinators: Chris Bullock, Catherine Kinsella.

This session is exclusively on Zoom. Join Zoom Meeting by clicking on:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86245631871?pwd=WG5DMFRtN2M4dEJ0ZUZCY0RQaHZaZz09

Meeting ID: 862 4563 1871
Passcode: 298994
You can also join by calling the following number
778-907-2071 (check your phone plan for long distance charges)
and then entering the Zoom ID # and Password above.

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 The Changing Winds of March: Poetry and Song Circle.

An old saying about March, referring to the strong winds associated with this month, is that “it comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb,” though sometimes this order was reversed. A way of interpreting this expression is to see March as the month of changes, often with the accompanying chaos that change brings with it, as least temporarily. It’s the month of Easter and the resurrection. It’s the month of the Ides of March, the date on which Julius Caesar’s assassination threw the Roman Empire into chaos.
In the circle, presenters and audience interact in an intimate and safe setting. Bring a poem or song—either your own or someone else’s—or simply come to listen. Your offerings may be inspired by something about this theme of change and/or chaos, but, as usual, the theme is offered as an invitation, not an essential requirement.

Facilitators: Hendrik de Pagter, Chris Bullock, Terence Stone. Zoom host: Barry Hunt. Coordinator: Chris Bullock
This session is exclusively on Zoom at 7.30 p.m.. Zoom link:

Topic: Poetry & Song Circle
Time: Mar 17, 2021 07:30 PM Vancouver

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87184872284?pwd=Qm5EQ0R2bzFmUkIxMzB2OFJCWEtCZz09

Meeting ID: 871 8487 2284
Passcode: 526306

You can also join by calling the following number
778-907-2071 (check your phone plan for long distance charges)
and then entering the Zoom ID # and Password above.

February 2021

Wednesday, February 17, 2021 The Many Varieties of Love: Poetry and Song Circle. (7.30 on ZOOM)

Three days after Valentine’s Day, it still seems appropriate to reflect on the wide variety of meanings and kinds of experience covered by this four-letter word. Love gained, love lost. Forbidden loves, respectable loves. Love as illusion, love as the deepest reality. Leonard Cohen, The Sound of Music. Love of intimate others, love of relations, love of animals, love of ladybirds, love of children, love of mountains, love of shoes newly polished.  In the circle, presenters and audience interact in an intimate and safe setting. Bring a poem or song—either your own or someone else’s—or simply come to listen. As usual, the theme is offered as an invitation, not an essential requirement.

Facilitators: Hendrik de Pagter, Chris Bullock, Terence Stone. Zoom host: Barry Hunt. Coordinator: Chris Bullock

This session is exclusively on Zoom. Zoom link:

Topic: The Many Varieties of Love: Poetry and Song Circle. (On ZOOM)
Time: Feb 17, 2021 07:30 PM Vancouver

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83141833650?pwd=NjNBa1hLblVZL3pTVTdSdmxWLzF3dz09

Meeting ID: 831 4183 3650
Passcode: 339333

*Wednesday, February 3 at 7.30pm:  IMBOLC AND THE BLESSING OF COMPASSION

This session takes place close to the time of the Celtic Spring Festival of Imbolc. The Festival of Imbolc is celebrated at the midpoint between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox,  as the days are getting longer and Mother Earth is waking from her slumber. This time can be seen as a time of letting go of what no longer serves us and opening to the gifts of Spring. In the course of this session,  we will look at how we can let go of our inner clutter,  and, in letting go, begin to see our true nature revealing itself. In his Daily Meditation, Your True Self is Love, Richard Rohr writes: “The True Self does not teach us Compassion as much as it is Compassion.”

This is an exclusively ZOOM meeting beginning at 7.30; Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81353222318?pwd=QU5sMVE5SzlOV1ZzdTN2MmVDQ2p3QT09
Meeting ID: 813 5322 2318          Passcode: 482618

Email barrymhunt@gmail.com for any link problems or further information.

Facilitator and Zoom host: Barry Hunt. Coordinator: Chris Bullock

January 2021