click on the seminar titles to listen or download mp3. Video will be available shortly.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 16
Noon
Intro and welcome—Jay Beck
Griot Ancestral Lineage Litany—Blew
Opening Ceremony with Altar, Fire lighting ritual, acknowledgment of the
elements and the four directions and invocation of the Holy Spirit — led by
Ched and worship band
opening prayer by Liz Mcallister
12:30-2:30pm
The Ecological Endgame of Industrial Civilization as a Crisis of/for Faith —
Ched Myers
Nothing in the conversation about Anarcho-Primitivism and Christianity makes
sense unless and until we face squarely not only our culture of Domination, but
the specter of environmental collapse that haunts our history. The ideology of
Progress has been an article of faith in modernity, deeply shaping North
American Christianity (both conservative and liberal) for the last three
centuries. How might we “monkeywrench” this bankrupt paradigm, and how might
old biblical stories help us reimagine faith, culture and politics?
Regathering — Charity
3:05-4:30pm
“A Woman’s Faith Journey into Anarcho-Primitivism — Miranda Duschack
No language!? No gardening or menstrual pads!?! How does anyone embrace the
liberating and brilliant truth of anarcho-primitivism? This address is one
woman’s story of radical discipleship. Miranda will discuss her emotional and
intellectual journey to the merging of Christianity and AP into practice. A
report of the Women’s Circle at Plow Creek will also be given; Miranda was an
originator and co-organizer of this important 3 day event. Women have a place
in this Movement; learn how we define our role within radical community.
Regathering — Tim Reardon
4:50-6:15pm
How deep down the rabbit hole do you want to go? The Gospel of Social
Darwinism and the Biblical Account of Origins — Ched Myers
This talk will summarize and contrast the Enlightenment narrative of
“civilization as ascent” and the Genesis Creation/Fall tale of “civilization as
decline.” What are the implications of this divergence for Christian thought
and practice, and what are the touch points with emerging “primitivist”
perspectives?
6:15-6:50pm: Q&A (talk back)
7:00-8:00pm: Dinner
Regathering — Seth Martin
8:00-9:15pm
Camden Labyrinth prayer walk led by Andrea Ferich
9:15-11:00pm
Informal acoustic songshare, fellowship, closing ceremony including communion
at bread oven fire pit in Eve’s Garden in Camden.
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 17
9:00 am: Opening ceremony (relighting the fire, litany, gathering song)
9:15-10:45am
Naming God as Mother, Rediscovering the Divine Feminine — Andrea Ferich
Certainly there is a correlation between feminine god imagery and sustainable
living. Throughout history when women are confined to the household or treated
as property with no feminine goddess in that society, the earth becomes tamed,
destroyed, and commodified. The indigenous wisdom of our ancestors holds two
principles in common; feminine deities and the care for all Creation as
brothers and sisters. The age of nomadism and pastoralists gave rise to
patriarchy and the domination of women. This age laid the foundation for the
monotheistic faiths and the perpetuation of patriarchy, vilifying indigenous
wisdom and goddess imagery. Through an eco-feminist lens we will explore the
feminine side of God through the Bible as naming God as Mother and the great
liberation of all of Creation that labors and waits in eager expectation to be
revealed. Please bring your wisdom to share.
Regathering — Aimee Wilson
11:05am-12:35pm
Native Tradition and Neo-colonialism — Jenn LeBlanc
This presentation will be a general overview of the historical effects of
colonialism on traditional knowledge and how this has laid the foundation for
neocolonial exploitation. It is Jenn’s understanding that neo-colonialism
continues to pervade the relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.
By way of the overview, obvious examples of colonialism will be pointed out to
the audience; moreover, less obvious examples of neo-colonialism, even
unconscious utilization of traditional knowledge without permission, will be
brought to the fore. As a result of colonial and neo-colonial behaviors,
indigenous peoples have had to struggle for the reclamation of their
traditional knowledge and life ways. Part of this presentation will be a
discussion of the ways in which the North American Institute of Indigenous
Theological Studies and iEmergence (iE) and the World
Christian Gathering of Indigenous Peoples are attempts at this
reclamation for indigenous people globally.
12:35-1:35pm: Lunch
Regathering — Powwow worship led by
psalters and theillalogical spoon
Jim Perkinson
Lily Mendoza
In this talk Jim Perkinson will examine Jesus’ time in the wilderness—using it
to push the idea that return to the land is through the history it carries on
its back. That is to say, going feral requires coming to grips with who has
been there before us and what happened to them: indigenous experience and/or
disappearance as a requisite engagement for responsible “re-wilding.” Jesus
returned to the land and “heard” history. He had to get clear on how his people
came to be in that geography historically, at whose expense, and figure out his
response to the deepest moments of gifting and wounding that history encoded.
Then Lily Mendoza would share some of her experience in struggling to recover
from colonial history by working to retrieve/reinvent some of the indigenous
practices and orientation co-opted or shattered in the colonial project.
Regathering — Lesser Beggars
3:25–4:00pm
“Rewilding Panel”
A panel presentation of folks who have been learning practical skills and
“rewilding” including:
Regathering — Jon Felton
4:20–5:20pm
Resistance is Fertile-Following the Path of Primal Parenting — Charity and
Joel Cimarron
In our hyper-civilized, pathologically adolescent society, how do we go about
raising the next generation of resisters? Drawing on the wisdom of indigenous
cultures and affirming our own ‘primitive’ instincts, primal parenting offers
the possibility to rewild our own domesticated selves and, in turn, become the
parents that the children in our lives need us to be. We’ll be tracing the
steps that have taken us down this particular path of resistance, offering
resources and ideas to help others on their own journey.
5:20-5:40pm
Q&A with Charity and Joel
5:40-6:40pm: Dinner
Regathering — Lesser Beggars
6:40-8:00pm
Attend to the Wildflowers and Birds!” Primitive Jesus — Ched Myers
The New Testament reasserts the prophetic tradition, clear-eyed about the Fall
and fiercely hopeful about a reinhabitory Eschaton. We’ll reflect on Luke
12:13-34’s teaching about earth cosmology and Sabbath Economics. Then we’ll
consider Paul’s intriguing notion ofChrist as the “eschatological ‘adam” in Rom
5:12-19.
8:00-8:40pm: Q&A (talk back)
9:00-11:00pm
All Out apocalyptic mystic feral exorcistic worship release to the God of
Liberation — psalters and theillalogical spoon
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SUNDAY, OCTOBER 18
9:00am: opening ceremony —psalters and theillalogicalspoon
9:15-11:00am
It’s a Long Way Back: Concerns about Presumption, Privilege and Political
Marginalization among Putative Primitivists — Ched Myers
A Christian hermeneutic in conversation with anarcho-primitivism contains far
more questions than answers. Paradigm shifts don’t happen in a generation, and
there are lots of contradictions in the practices of primitivism. Nor can we
afford to ignore the lessons of past social movements of resistance and renewal
as we struggle to re-vision what it means to be a feral church.
11:00-11:45 am
Closing Meditation: “There we saw the Nephilim—and we seemed like grasshoppers
to them…” (Num 13:32f) — Ched Myers
Industrial civilization is a Goliath, and we are armed only with the slingshot
of David. Resistance is not futile and renewal is not a pipedream—but we must
be in it for the long haul. Anarchist and Primitivist Christians are also
called to a discipleship of the Cross, which is about improvisational
creativity, revolutionary patience and longsuffering grace in the face of long
odds.
11:45-Noon: Closing Ceremony — led
by Ched and worship team
Three-Day
Conference SeriesGathering Around the Unhewn Stone
Biblical Explorations of Nature, Civilization, and Feral Faith
Keynote
Speaker: Ched Myers
-activist theologian and author of Binding the Strongman,
Say to this Mountain, and The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics
Dates:
October 16, 17, 18 2009
(opens Friday at noon, ends Sunday at 1pm)
Location:
Circle of Hope
2007 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125
Contact: Jay Beck
(734) 717-0771
Description: The conference will focus on Biblical themes of Sabbath/hunter-gatherer economics, rewilding and resistance with a focus on re-reading our biblical origin stories that will shed light and give hope to our current economic and environmental crisis. There will also be panel discussions and presentations on topics such as primal parenting, practical rewilding, musical presentations by Theillalogical Spoon and Psalters, and a report from a women’s anarcho-primitivism and Christianity conference held this spring.
Cost: It is free to attend this event. Donations are needed but not mandatory.Accommodations: Those coming from out of town are welcome to sleep in the building. Please bring your own sleeping ware if you plan to do so.