Last week was my first week back with common art and Boston Warm; and it felt great to be back. Everyone was still buzzing over our production of Richard Berman’s play, “Fix the Damn Sidewalk”, which was a huge success. I was immensely proud of the cast and crew for putting it all together. We got lots of laughs! At the end of the play, I led a talkback/interview session with the performers to give them the space to share something about their experience. Continue reading
Musings from the Margins
Happy holidays!
I’m keeping it short and sweet this week, as this will be my last week with common cathedral until the New Year. It also happens to be common art’s premier of Richard Berman’s play, “Fix the Damn Sidewalk!” I cannot wait to see these performers give it their all. I have learned a great deal as an intern this semester, but what keeps inspiring me is the creativity and passion I witness in this community.
My experience here has only strengthened my conviction that everyone is a creative soul at heart and that creativity truly holds the power to heal. I know there is so much more to come and so much more for me to learn and witness. Until then, I plan to use my time off to rest, reflect, and eat a whole bunch of cookies.
—Mary Swabenland
Haiku
As we approach the end of the year and the end of my first semester with common cathedral, I am feeling reflective on my experience with this community and everything they have taught me. I decided for this week’s post I would challenge myself to write a collection of haikus about my experience thus far. Haiku is not my go-to poetry format, but I find it helpful when I want to condense a lot of feelings and ideas into a succinct space.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I just got back from visiting my family for the holiday and am preparing myself to step back into my “intern” role at common cathedral tomorrow. It’s about to be what I would call “crunch time” in regard to preparation for our upcoming holiday play. This is the first time I have been in the role of director/producer for something like this, and I would be lying if I said it didn’t stress me out a little. The problem is not a lack of belief in the talent and capabilities of the community members involved; in that I have no doubts. I worry about my ability to provide the needed structure and containment to allow these talented artists to be seen and for their work to reach its potential. I have to remind myself that it’s not about the product but the process and the experience. Allowing people the space to enjoy and express themselves authentically is most important. I should also enjoy and express myself authentically, which means I should probably chill out a little and turn the stress down a notch. I will take this mindset of authentic presence and enjoyment into our rehearsal tomorrow. Continue reading
The Way It Is
I tried something a little different with my embodied-poetry group at common art this week. We read a poem called “The Way It Is” by William Stafford, which features the prominent line: “There’s a thread you follow. It goes among / things that change. But it doesn’t change.” Continue reading
Bible Study
Last Friday I stayed for common cathedral’s Bible study after Boston Warm. I’ve been a bit hesitant to join Bible study because of some negative associations it brings up for me about my own religious upbringing, but lately I’ve been trying to approach it with a new perspective. I decided to look at the Bible study group as a way to not only continue to spend time with this community and practice therapeutic communication skills, but also as a sort of assessment time to learn about the spiritual perspectives and themes that community members are currently dealing with. Continue reading
Talent Show
I am feeling excited for common cathedral‘s talent show this week, although a bit nervous to see how it goes, since there are many unknowns: whether or not everyone who signed up will show up, how big the audience will be, if the tech that people need for their acts will work or malfunction, and any other number of things I can’t predict. I am trying to practice flexibility and trust myself to respond to whatever comes. Continue reading
Welcome our new Drama Therapy intern!
Mary Schwabenland
Hello! I am Mary, the new Drama Therapy intern at common cathedral / Emmanuel Church. I am a few weeks into the internship now and have really been enjoying getting to know the community members. One of my goals for this internship is to aid community members in the creation of meaningful expressive art experiences and projects. The first of which is our upcoming talent-show fundraiser, which was the idea of a long-time community member. We have about 14 sign-ups of varying talent acts, and I am very excited to see what everyone brings.
Rainbow Message
Last week I put on the plastic cover to protect our Rainbow Messages and placed it on the wall in the Parish Hall. I am deeply grateful that folks at Café Emmanuel allowed me to share my idea. I’m proud of everyone in the group. As a member of the LGBTQ community, I have witnessed how beautiful we are in our community and how much I have grown in the past eight months. Love is the power, and I know we all have it. I felt love sometimes hidden in interactions between people. I know I will still feel it even after we say goodbye. Again, I sincerely appreciate all the kindness and wisdom we have shared. I will use it to nourish my professional expertise in art therapy.
–Wanyi (pronunciation: wan-ee)
Note: Cafe Emmanuel is our weekly, well-being-luncheon-and-entertainment program for LGBTQ+ seniors and their friends. It has become a model of LGBTQ+ eldercare for the rest of the country.
Interfaith Honoring of Earth Cycles
Is it Lent or Pisces season? While it may not seem like it from the sudden dip in temperature, spring is officially around the corner. March 21st marks the spring equinox, which is both the first day of spring and the astrological new year, when old Pisces is reborn into fresh baby Aries. The equinox is also Nowruz, the Persian new year; and this year Ramadan will begin the following day. Just a couple weeks later are Passover (April 5th) and Easter (April 9th). While many religions, cosmologies, and belief systems are left out in this short list, I believe it’s safe to say that this earth-cycle period is celebrated internationally and inter-faithfully.