I told this story to a friend in the campground, Gillian of Saskatchewan, who knows the ways of First Nation people through her work as an alternative educator. She said that in Saskatchewan it would be a rare occurrence to give away the smudge dish and ceremonial feather. The tribe does not offer its secrets… Read More

FIRE CIRCLE (Liturgy) AT THE LIGHTHOUSE, Part Four The Benediction: Kevin picks up his grandfather’s medicine bag from the blanket, pulls out grandfather’s ring, and rubs it between his fingers. “Am I thinking about the fight I had with my wife?” he asks. “Who am I thinking about?” “Grandfather,” says the blue-eyed woman from England. “Yis,… Read More

FIRE CIRCLE (Liturgy) AT THE LIGHTHOUSE, Part Three  The evening program at Gros Morne National Park continues.    The Sermon:   None of this ain’t nothing, right? Kevin tells the group gathered around the red blanket: “Grandfather advised me to seek spiritual direction from an elder. Afterward, I dreamed of a large bear, but I… Read More

  FIRE CIRCLE (Liturgy) AT THE LIGHTHOUSE, Part Two The Smudging Ceremony From the blanket A drum offered to the Scottish woman, “Drum like so,” says Kevin. On the blanket a shell to hold the sage leaves, a match to ignite them. Kevin bearing the shell to each of us in the circle clockwise, each… Read More

  Possibly you wonder where Chief of Operations and the Blog Editor, also known as Lew and Audrey, retreat on summer holiday: It’s to the Canadian island of Newfoundland, also known as The Rock. What follows is an account in four segments of an experience from Summer 2014.   FIRE CIRCLE AT THE LIGHTHOUSE or… Read More