All photos by Penelope Salinger (thanks!)
From Kate Munger
To my mind (and heart) this was the most challenging and the most rewarding Gathering to date. Here are a few links to sites, songs, recipes and wisdom that were important during our time together.
1. Stephanie Sugars was our guest on Tuesday night in the Chapel. Here is her blog entry about that experience (https://www.mylifeline.org/StephanieSugars/):
"Dearest holders of the threshold,
"Great gratitude for each and all of you. I receive your generous gifts of song and presence. I recognize you as sisters holding sacred space. I remember last night when we enacted archetypal rites.
"As a volunteer hospital chaplain, I met patients at the threshold and listened from my heart. Last night, I, the patient, transformed my heart, my whole being, into an ear-heart to hear the songs of your hearts pour into and through me. Love and light, pure beauty, grace and peace filled me. Beyond that, together in the that sacred space, I felt the spiritual world open and attentive—renewed, reconnected, received in/through/by us.
"Your music was a rainbow sound bridge. And like Iris, goddess of the rainbow, you carried messages from heaven into my cupped and listening heart-being.
"Great gratitude sisters of the threshold. You clearly and confidently hold the crossing. Your songs, your unique voices are earthly expressions of heavenly love. My heart listening receives you.
"Many blessings for your work. May your heart songs continue to bridge earth and heaven. May your listeners' heart-ears hear you. May you recognize, offer, and receive gifts of/ from the spiritual world.
"My love listening to your love singing,
Stephanie"
2. Kay Caldwell read Kay Ryan's poem "We're Building the Ship as We Sail It" at the Annual Meeting.
3. Music and Memory…www.musicandmemory.org/
The clips from the movie about music enlivening dementia patients are getting lots of viewers on YouTube. The movie is premiering tomorrow (Wednesday, April 18th) in NYC. While iPods are at the heart of this project, all their research, all the film clips, all the wisdom serves to enrich us all.
4. Penelope Salinger's New Song, "I Let the River (Carry Me Home)"
I Let the River (Carry Me Home) [PDF]
5. Kathy Allen's First Song, "Release, Surrender, Trust"
Release, Surrender, Trust
I now release, I now surrender,
I trust my holy self to be the presence of love.
6. Jane Chaudhuri's Song "I Will Hold You in Love"
I Will Hold You in Love
7. Boiled Orange Cake Recipe [PDF]
8. "Sharing Sighs" (A Centering Practice) from Robin Rose (Seattle Threshold Singers)—Going around the circle, each singer sighs and the rest of the group sighs the same sigh. A great way to center before singing at a bedside.
9. "Maybe Threshold Choir women start to dream together…"
10. Two Good Questions:
"Who needs to know I love them? Who needs to hear I'm sorry?"
And some follow up items (4/24/12):
11. Diana Shapiro's email address is HERE.
12. Kristin Masters' free-write prompts:
- Junk- whatever is on your mind
- Let a phrase from a threshold song come to mind—that phrase is your prompt
- Something that happened in your (early) life that led you to involvement in threshold choir
13. Annie Garretson's recording, "Soundscape at Bishop's Ranch"
Soundscape at Bishop's Ranch
14. Penelope Salinger offers this video of the song "Ocean Breath" from the National Gathering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV5LUrzvOCs
15. …and this video of the song "May Peace Be with You" from the National Gathering:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgQiBfdjuNc
