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This is the story of Covenant of the Goddess and other Pagan/Wiccan participation in the Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town, South Africa, December 1999. The EarthSpirit Community, one of the other Pagan participants has a web site at http://www.earthspirit.com/Parliament/at99parl.html The report to COG was written by Don Frew, Catherine Starr and Rowan Fairgrove, mostly in the form of daily emails. The photos were provided by Don Frew, Catherine Starr, Rowan Fairgrove and Adrienne Hirt and are used with permission. The copyright remains with the photographers, please respect it. Daily Parliament Reports:
Don begins: At the San Francisco airport, I ran into several folks
from the United Religions Initiative, all on their way to Cape Town. On board, I
found myself sitting next to Huston Smith for the 5 hour flight to Miami. In
Miami, waiting for an hour with all the others for the South African Airways
flight to Cape Town, I was informed that I was on "stand by"! Fortunately, all
worked out and I made it on board for the 15 hour flight. The plane was FULL of
folks going to the Parliament, so it became a kind of "flying interfaith
conference" -- quite a pleasant way to spend so long a flight. Catherine adds: Once I arrived at the Miami Airport, I noticed a level of excitement that grew as more people gathered for the flight to Cape Town. We were asked to keep a large area surrounding the gate open for a "special boarding." Soon, there was a group of armed security officers surrounding a very familiar face -- former President Jimmy Carter was on the same flight! After we boarded the plane, he came through the entire cabin and shook hands with everyone. I was sitting on the last row with a couple who introduced themselves to me as Mary and Bill Swing. We commensurated with each other about the smallness of the seats and how difficult it was to see the movie from the back row. Mary and I also compared crocheting techniques! Rowan adds: I left for Cape Town the day after Thanksgiving, so none of the people I traveled with from SF to Miami were visibly Parliament folks. But in Miami, Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati and about 100 of her people got on the plane. In customs at Cape Town, I visited a very nice woman named Judy Laksmi whilst we stood in line. Since there were only about 5 customs agents and about 500 people entering the country, this was quite a long visit. Eventually, I was on a shuttle heading for town. Almost no-one was at the same hotel, so I got quite a tour. Among my fellow passengers was Wylie, a volunteer who was working on the Parliament daily website and William Laufer of CatholicNet so we had an interfaith techie chat. Wylie, who with his wife had moved to Cape Town to work on the Parliament, was very welcoming and later walked for awhile with us in the procession and also lent me a camera when mine broke. He also recommended restaurants in Cape Town, but unfortunately I didn't manage to take his advice - those restaurants were very popular and booked up. Don reports: Getting off the plane, we were immediately hit by the heat. It was close to 100* for the first half of our stay in Cape Town. South African immigration was easy, but the lines were LOOOONG! Several of us were staying at the Holiday Inn Waterfront, so we grabbed a shuttle bus together. My "shuttle buddies" included Prof. Arvind Sharma (author of many books on Hinduism from SUNY) and Dr. Harold Kasimow, who had just published a book on Pope John Paul II's interfaith work. After we checked in, there was just enough time to get across town to registration before it closed, so we grabbed a cab and dashed to the Cape Technikon. The Cape Technikon was the site for most of the Parliament workshops. It is a relatively new university, built on the slopes of Table Mountain and overlooking the city and the bay. The views are lovely, but the area is desolate. This was District 6, site of an infamous forced removal of a "Coloured" community by the government under apartheid. The new university is part of an effort to reclaim the site for public benefit. Registration was in the gymnasium. I had to go through a longer process than the others because, 1) I was a member of the Parliament Assembly, which had special security considerations, and 2) I got a press pass, which required having my picture taken. By the time I was done, my "shuttle buddies" had returned to the hotel on their own. (As it turned out, my Assembly ID got me into more places than the press pass, so it was partly a waste of time.) We also all got cell-phones, the only way to keep in touch since the Parliament was spread over 5 venues across the city. Back at the hotel, there as a Pagan reception early that evening. Deborah had arranged a small conference room with buffet food where most of the Pagans attending the Parliament could meet. The crew included:
We shared contact info and cell-phone numbers, and correlated all of our programs, which Selena made into a handout that we could distribute. Rowan adds: Deborah kindly arranged a room and buffet for a Pagan reception. About 25 people came and we had a good visit and did an opening circle where we blessed our purpose. We got a group photo which will appear in Circle Network News. Wednesday, December 1st
Don reports:
Deborah and I received a very warm greeting from Bishop Bill Swing of the URI. The inclusive mood of the Parliament was already spreading through the attendees. Swing's greeting could also be attributed to the 14 hours Cathi shared with Bishop and Mrs. Swing in the last row on the plane from Miami to Cape Town. Personal contacts of all kinds can prove to be invaluable! While waiting for things to start, we bumped into Deb Kolodny! She led the Leadership Institute at the 1997 MerryMeet. Opening day was also AIDS Day and there was a ceremony involving the AIDS Quilt in the Gardens. Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
Most of the protestors were Muslims. They carried signs saying:
Funny thing... all of the signs were in the same handwriting. There must have been one very busy Muslim somewhere behind this. (Note: In addition to the protestors, there were a LOT of security people. This was partly for our benefit -- some feared that the bombing a few days before the Parliament started was a "practice run" -- and partly because Cape Town is not the safest of places. As a general rule... Any building outside of the city is fortified, often in a walled compound. Any building inside the city, but outside the city center, has bars over the doors and windows. Any building downtown (including our hotel) has armed guards. Also, any time we entered a public building, we passed through a metal detector. Athames were left in our hotel room safes.) The Pagan contingent sang and chanted as we walked -- "Air I am, Fire I am...", "We all come from the Goddess...", etc. Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
We all got on busses to go back down the hill to the Good Hope Center, Cape Town's main conference center and the only building in town large enough to hold us all. There was a LOT of "Welcome!", "This is a historic event.", "Let us pray for peace...", etc. from most of the major faith traditions, but everyone was hot and tired. The organizers must have realized this, because things ended with a marvelous Taiko drum group from Japan that really energized the group. Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
Thursday, December 2ndRowan reports: At the morning media briefing we were told about the Waters of the World which had been brought by David Ponadel. Then I went to... * Liturgy: Master Key to Every Religion
Back to Don: This morning, I made it to my first program... * The Interfaith
Work of the Prophet Muhammed
Dr. Hai spoke about the parts of the Qur'an that specifically direct Muslims to work with those of other faiths for the common good. Indeed, as the Prophet made very similar statements about this at the beginning of his teaching and at the end of his life, Dr. Hai argued, one could say that they bracket and provide context for his entire message. After the talk I spoke with Iftekhar about the Muslim protestors. He said that he had spoken at the mosque of the local protestor's on this very subject the previous night. They had agreed with Iftekhar's points, but had responded that "That part of the Qur'an doesn't apply these days." What can you do. This talk ended in time for me to get to the last half-hour of... * The United Religions: An Organization Built by People, Determination,
and the Liberty to Try
We broke up into small groups for an exercise involving creating Cooperation Circless, the basic structural unit of the URI. My group included Fr. Rod Reinhart, who is working on the creation of a global interfaith holiday, the World Sabbath. When we reconvened and described our CCs, there was an interesting moment when a man from a French group known as "Aumists" (apparently a New Age -ish group) said that his CC would work for education to correct misinformation about "cults". This went over well until he added that the CC would have to include at least a few Freemasons, "since they control the government". There was a ripple of laughter through the room until we realized he wasn't joking. Rowan and I went off to the Good Hope Center to examine the various booths set up there by different groups. Then back to the Technikon for Dierdre Arthen's ritual... * Celebrate the Spirit of the Earth with Ritual, Dance, and
Song
We gathered at the large outdoor amphitheatre, waiting for the Taiko drum group to pack up their drums -- a tough act to follow. Jim Kenney showed up and disagreed with Deirdre about the timing. As it turned out, the date and time for the ritual had been given three different ways in three different programs. Deidre was now scheduled to do three rituals instead of one. Fortunately, she was up to the task. This one involved weaving a large web out of locally spun cotton and wool, while we danced and sang. There were only nine of us, plus a few spectators, but it went well. The Parliament video people tried to film us and got a little annoyed that the large web we were making prevented them from moving through the center of our circle. "This is a ritual!", Deirdre explained. "Not a performance piece!" Rowan adds: At lunchtime I watched the Taiko drummers and then helped weave the web with Dierdre Pulgram Arthen. We attempted to weave using handspun wool and cotton from South Africa singing "Weaver, Weaver, Weaver, Weaver, We are weaving the web of life" while dodging media cameras. I used my umbrella - it was too hot to dance in the sun! Then I went and sat at our booth for 3-4 hours. Back to Don: After the ritual, I dashed off to the next program on my schedule... * Foundations of Shinto
Before the talk started, I ran into Paul Sherbow, the Shinto from the Pagan lunch at the 1998 URI Summit. I also got a chance to chat with "Michi". We had met at the 1997 Parliament planning conference in Chicago. The whole Parliament experience included this constant renewing of old friendships. This was one of the most pleasant aspects of the event. Michi's talk and slide show went very well and was well-attended by Pagans. His sect focuses on Amaterasu as the rising sun and does a lot of sunrise ritual. So many Pagans expressed interest after his talk, that Michi agreed to lead a sunrise Shinto service for us the next morning. Fortunately for us, he planned it for 9am, explaining that the sun would still be rising at that time, so it would be okay. I grabbed a cab with another person and headed back to the hotel. It turned out that the guy in the cab did interfaith work in Oakland CA, a few miles from me. I was constantly amazed by the number of people I had to travel half-way around the world to meet, but who lived practically next door. Several of us Pagans went off to the Waterfront for dinner. The Waterfront is sort of like three American malls jammed together, full of shops and restaurants. I spent most of dinner talking with Shelley, an African-American Pagan who had moved to Johannesburg. She had a long and complex story to tell about the history of Pagan organizing attempts in South Africa. Suffice to say that I think SA would benefit from a constructive relationship with CoG. Shelley, Rowan, Cathi, Sarah, and I returned to my hotel room for a "folding party". All of our Xeroxed fliers and handouts had been transported flat, so now everything had to be folded.
Friday, December 3rd
Don reports:
Rowan adds:
Tried to attend Developing Interfaith Relationships through Experiential Activities - but the presenter didn't show. I did have an interesting conversation with some folks waiting for the speaker. A retired couple from Fort Worth, TX told me they had been high school teachers and he had spent 29 years in the Marine Corps. I said I was a Wiccan Priestess affiliated with Covenant of the Goddess. I then waited somewhat apprehensively to see what the reaction would be. They said "Oh, we have Wiccas in our Interfaith Council! They're kind of quiet and we don't know them very well ourselves, but we have Wiccas." We surely have come a long way since I started doing interfaith! Having waited long enough, I went and bought an Internet card so we could use the Technicon computers and then went on the Walk Through Time, a photo exhibit starting with the big bang and then each step was so many million years. It was really very stunning. I wondered if humans would someday be remembered like cyanobacteria. They created a toxic byproduct called oxygen and a whole new kind of organism arose which could use this new chemical. The presenters were asking people who had gone through it to some to their booth and answer questions about their contribution to the future (and videotaping them). I did that the next time I was at our booth. Back to Don:
I stopped by the Millennium Institute's booth and asked them about the "Millennium Questions" -- 33 questions about the state of the world that they had sent out to the Assembly. As one of the folks who had answered them, I wondered if there were any plans to publish. The folks at the booth said "yes" and that there would be a panel about the Millennium Questions with Dr. Gerald barney and Jim Kenny tomorrow. Could I be on it? I said "yes" and they told me to prepare a 5 minute opening statement. This turned out to be a very helpful little chat, as I was the only panelist who knew the day before that I would be asked to make a statement. Later on, I went back to the Technikon to... * Calling from the Corners of the World: Dangers and
Opportunities
for Indigenous Spiritual Traditions
This was intended as a free-form discussion between indigenous traditions (including ours), but 2/3 of the folks who showed up were from other, non-indigenous traditions. The indigenous trads included Wiccans, Taoists, native Mexicans, Inuits, native Americans, and native Africans. The non-indigenous included Charles Gibbs and many of the core URI staff, as well as Nahid Angha, the Sufi president of the Interfaith Center at the Presidio. This program went VERY well! Bob did an excellent job of keeping the conversation going between the indigenous trads, while incorporating questions from the non-indigenous. I was very pleased that I was able to make some needed comments about the way in which non-mainstream groups are only allowed to participate in interfaith on the mainstream groups' terms (building off of my "Pagans in Interfaith Dialogue" talk at the 1993 Parliament). I was very glad that the URI folks were there to hear those remarks in a venue where I was supported by the other indigenous trads. At the same time, I was able to give a powerful plug for the URI's "appreciative inquiry" process as a model for a better method of interfaith interaction. It was good that the URI folks heard me be both critical and praising of their efforts. The Inuit folks were very focused on the hassles they get from animal rights groups. The Inuit are the most hunting oriented culture on Earth, deriving ALL of their sustenance from meat. "YOU try growing potatoes in an icebox!", they retorted. A professor who practices African tribal religion railed against the European colonial / economic influences that are STILL devastating their cultures. He also complained about the fact that most indigenous cultures are currently represented in interfaith work by Christian members of those cultures. Fred Lamond made a comment about the pejorative nature of the term "primitive", so often used to describe indigenous traditions. Fr. Luis Dolan, a Catholic priest, spoke up and said that he felt that the Muslims were getting the least respect at this event. Charles Gibbs, an Episcopal priest, told a heart-breaking story... He attended the conference of indigenous peoples in Rio de Janeiro a few years ago. Between sessions, he noticed a group of Brazilian natives standing apart in the hall. Hoping to improve dialogue, he approached them and tried to make friends. One woman said that she was having a hard time with the meetings. "I barely know my own language", she said to Charles, "because the Missionaries cut out my grandparents' tongues so that they could not pass it on. How can I speak in these meetings when I do not have my own voice?" Charles, his voice breaking, said that he carries the memory of this, and the truth of it for peoples are over the world, with him wherever he goes. After the session, I spoke with Nahid Angha and said that I sincerely hoped that she did not feel a lack of respect at this event. Personally, I said, one of the great joys of the interfaith process for has been learning more about and finding common ground with the Muslims. Nahid thanked me for my comments, said that Luis was exaggerating somewhat, and said that she felt very welcome. After lunch, Catherine and I met with Rowan, who had been attending the morning press briefings. As of that morning, there were 5,784 people registered for the Parliament plus 353 media and 55 staff. Total on the 2nd day ~ 6100. We went back to the Technikon to attend... * Women and Witches in Cross-Cultural Discussion
Rowan adds:
They introduced themselves - Adrienne Hirt of Labyrinth Dancing talked about her family coven; Epona Moondancer of Kin of the Shadow Horse (Jo'burg) talked about working with the South African government; Catherine Starr talked about the interplay of the moon and seasons; Selena Fox talked about earth wisdom traditions of the world coming together; Grove Harris of Reclaiming talked about training to be a good skeptic, trusting in one's own self and work in the world. She also talked about Witches honoring the sensual, primal aspects of life; Debbie Hill of Grandmother Circle of South Africa talked about integration of self and being a traveling horse healer. Grandmother Circle integrates both Sangoma and Western traditions to create ritual for the Cape Town women's community. They answered questions about thealogy, 3-fold return, South African witch burnings and why Witches are so often thought to be female in western culture. They were a diverse and interesting panel. Back to Don:
Melton just reported on the many Directories that his group is publishing. The directory for Canada is out, while the ones for the US, the UK and Ireland, Europe, and of interfaith groups should be out soon. The entry for CoG in the US Directory reads: "The Covenant of the Goddess is a national Wiccan fellowship founded in 1975 by Aidan Kelly, Alison Harlow, and others." This followed by our address and URL. I informed Melton that we would probably want to change this entry a bit, but he said that there would likely be no time before it went to print. Oh well. Rowan adds:
I was accosted in the hall by someone who had heard Selena's talk wherein she had mentioned something about the Papal apology and wanting to talk to someone locally. They accosted someone else gave me the name Peter John Pearson and his contact number at the Parliament. This is the way Interfaith works at its best! Back to Don:
Accordingly, Cathi and I went back to the Good Hope Center for the evening plenary session: * Building Bridges of Understanding and Cooperation
(Paul would later say "Well, there always has to be one dud.") The program was mostly long and tedious, with one bizarre highlight... A group called Play for Peace did a program of white and black kids doing songs and dances together. Very nice. At the end , the group leader stepped forward and said to the crowd "And now, we want to close with the Cape Town version of... the Banana Dance!" The crowd went wild! Cathi and I looked at each other... the Banana Dance? It is impossible to adequately describe the Banana Dance, especially when a crowd of several hundred all know it by heart (even the Cape Town version) and perform it in unison, but I will try... (Mimed actions corresponded with sung verses) looking up in a tree --- "See, see, see banana!"
To see the assembled Christian clergy of Cape Town performing this in unison was something I will not forget.
Saturday, December 4th
Rowan reports:
After the briefing, Don & Cathi & I got on the computer and sent a report to COG. Then I hurried over to the District Six stage for the World Peace Prayer Ceremony. We asked that peace prevail in all the nations of the Earth. There were about 20 people carrying flags. I carried in succession, Panama, Finland, Madagascar, China, Seychelles and Tanzania. It was very magical and moving. I would love to do it again. Then a woman representing Jubellenium brought out flags of the religions and we did it again. I carried the flag of the Wiccan people, which was, unaccountably, pink. Back to Don:
While sitting at the booth, a woman named Radhika came up and introduced herself. She was with a Japanese group who had a booth nearby. They specialized in "giving light", a sort of aura-cleansing and energizing. She offered to give me light, and did so while I spoke with folks coming. It was pleasant and similar to practices I had encountered with many psychic healers. Ibrahim Ozdemir came by to say hello and mentioned that he, too, would be on Barney's panel that afternoon. I mentioned that I was working on my opening statement. He knew nothing about this, was suddenly very concerned about being unprepared, and ran off to the Millennium Institute booth for more info. A couple of local black youth came up to the booth. They were very interested in Witchcraft, but professed to already know much about it as "Charmed" was one of their favorite shows on local TV. Sigh. Rowan adds:
* Definition of Religion in American Law: Ambiguous Implications
for Religious Diversity
He discussed the history of religious definition in US law. He noted that case law shows Christians and Jews are more likely to be granted free exercise than others under current law. He proposed adoption of a definition that would be both functional and sui generis. His proposed definition is by Julia M. Corbett in Religion in America, Vol. 7, 1994. "A religion is an integrated system of belief, lifestyle, ritual activities and institution by which individuals give meaning to (or find meaning in) their lives by orienting themselves to what they take to be holy, sacred or of highest value." In the questions someone said religious questions were frivolous - and gave example of symbols on public property. I said that in my religious community the questions were anything but frivolous and most often involved custody of children. Dr. Busse offered to assist Wiccans in Indiana who had such cases. He also gave me a copy of his draft of his talk. I then went to... * Psychoactive Sacraments
He wore a suit and talked in a very scientific way about ecstatic inebriation and the spirit within. Back to Don:
Critical Issues: Questions for Religions from the 1993 Parliament
Jim Kenney never made it, so Barney moderated a panel of 8 of us who had answered the Millennium Questions. The panel included:
Three Catholics, a Jew, a Witch, a Hindu, a Muslim, and a Buddhist. Summarizing our responses to the 33 Questions was no mean feat. Fortunately for me, several factors conspired to give me a significant advantage over the others: 1) Many speakers did not have English as a first language; the
Bishop had to speak through a translator.
The end result was that my statement was VERY well received. This was a high point for me, as folks came up to me for days afterward to talk to me about it. Here, as best I can reconstruct from my notes, is what I said.
When we had all made our opening statements, Barney took questions from the audience, but in a very odd manor. He asked for ALL of the questions before he let the panelists answer ANY of them. This meant that we all had to scribble notes so we would remember what questions we wanted to answer. This was exacerbated by the fact that many of the questions were angrily and accusatorily directed against the Catholics. By the time we were able to answer, the Bishop and the Father had to leave for other programs, so poor Sr. McGuire had to fend for herself. Again, there was a core URI person in the audience, Paul Andrews, the coordinator of the "72 Hours for Peace". I spent about an hour chatting with him after the panel. He commented that he had been very impressed with the Pagans at this Parliament and he had heard that many others were as well. Cathi and I rejoined Rowan and we all set off for a sunset dinner on Table Mountain again. This time, the experience was enhanced by the presence of dassies! The rock dassie is 1) the closest living relative of the elephant, 2) about the size and furriness of a large guinea pig, 3) on the top of Table Mountain in large numbers, and 4) absolutely fearless. When I squatted down to take a close photo of one, it jumped up on my leg and stared me in the eye! The dassies were quite charming and apparently a source of tourist revenue, as the gift shop was named "The Dizzy Dassie".
Don says:
The Peace Poles are four-sided poles, about 6 feet high, with "May Peace prevail on Earth!" written in four languages. Over 200,000 have been installed all over the world. The director of the Peace Pole project, Debra Moldow, led the ceremony. Other officiants included Gordon Oliver (a former Mayor of Cape Town and current local coordinator for the Parliament) and Ahmad Kathrada (a former inmate at the prison and current director of the Roebben Island Museum). There were speeches and songs from a local choir, after which we are all invited to come forward, lay hands on and bless the Peace Pole. Rowan adds:
I did my Brighid meditation. There were 17 people there, mostly non-Pagan. I shared with them my daily meditation which is based on Erynn Laurie's Circle of Stones and it was a moving and special time. They took away candles with the flame from Kildare to spread the light of healing, inspiration and transformation through the world. Later, I attended... * Play for Peace
They talked about programs for children in various countries usin the Play for Peace model of taking diverse children with teenage supervisors and teaching them games together. BTW, Truth and Reconciliation Documents are available online at http://www.truth.org.za. (Editor's Note: this website not responsive as of 11/13/05). Back to Don:
In the afternoon, Cathi, Rowan, and I took a taxi to the other side of Table Mountain to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. The gardens covered a LOT of territory -- more than we could see in an afternoon -- and blended botanical variety with open air theatres and large tracts of open lawn filled with picnicking families. A very pleasant place! We decided on a late lunch at a restaurant in the Gardens called Silver Leaf. This was quite an experience! The menu:
The service:
The prices:
The gift shop at Kirstenbosch was fantastic and we spent a bit of time there before heading back to Cape Town. On the way back, we passed a herd of wildebeast on the slopes of Table Mountain. We went to the Craft Center at the Waterfront and finished our shopping. We went back to the hotel for a quick shower and change, and then caught a taxi to the Good Hope Center for the evening's Plenary -- "Fostering Creative Engagement" -- with Nelson Mandela. Security for this was tightened all over the city. The Center was sealed off for a three block radius. We had to go all around to the other side of the city to approach the Center through the one approved street. The Center was surrounded by guards with dogs and the usual security check involving checking badges and walking through a metal detector now included searching bags and being swept with a hand-held detector. Thanks to my being in the Assembly, Cathi and I were able to sit down front in the 6th row. Good thing, as the center was jammed with thousands of people. As part of his introductions, Jim Kenney updated the registration figures -- we now numbered ~6400 registrants, with ~400 media and ~55 staff. Babatunde Olatunji drummed for a while, the Debra Moldow told about the Peace Pole ceremony that morning. Finally, Nelson Mandela took the stage to a standing ovation and cheering. He was given several awards from different peace groups, including one presented by Mahatma Gandhi's grand-daughter. The many speakers heaped praise upon Mandela to an extent that I found uncomfortable -- I almost expected them to start burning incense to him. When Mandela himself finally spoke, he was very quiet, self-effacing, charming, and funny. He said that he had canceled a planned trip to the US to be here, because he felt that he owed a special debt to the world religious community and it was more important for him to be HERE. He talked about the role of religious groups in South Africa and all over the world in the struggle against apartheid. He was very moving and inspiring, and I could understand the adulation that they heaped upon him. (Aside... Many people had spoken to us about the transition from apartheid to liberation, saying that South Africa could easily have gone the way of Yugoslavia -- devolving into bloody vengeance and reparations. Everyone credited Mandela with saving the country from that fate.) The evening ended with more Taiko drumming.
Don reports:
(Note: From this point on, the three of us were in Assembly meetings for most of each day, sequestered from the rest of the conference. Also, for me the Assembly was the highlight of the Parliament, so I may go on a bit. Fair warning, but I think it's important stuff, not just for CoG, but for the world.) Session 1: Religious and Spiritual Perspectives on the Call 5 hours Each of us was given a table assignment at one of about 35 tables. The seating appeared to be somewhat random, though some selection had ensured diversity at each table. My table (#19) included folks from the US, the UK, Brazil, and Reunion Island. There was a welcoming speech by Dr. Howard Sulkin, Chairman of the Board of CPWR, opening prayers by a Xhosa praise-singer, and introductory explanations by Jim Kenney and Dirk Fica. Jim and Dirk explained that the Global Ethic, adopted at the 1993 Parliament, had included 4 universal Directives:
These in turn led to 4 Affirmations:
Which demanded 4 Commitments to a Culture of:
These Commitments had led, in the intervening years, to the drafting of a 50-page document called "A Call to Our Guiding Institutions", copies of which had been sent to all of us and were also on our tables (and at http://www.cpwr.org/calldoc.html). There had been several conferences to work on concept and wording. (There is a report on the 1997 conference on the CoG website.) You may remember how surprised we all were when we first encountered the Global Ethic in 1993. The GE stated postions about the sacredness of life and the interconnectedness of all things that we as Pagans had long taken as fundamental. The Call is no different. Part of the opening of The Call states: "Visions of the world-as-it-might-be have always found expression through religious and spiritual traditions. These traditions embody human aspirations: for meaning and purpose in life; for respect and mutuality between diverse peoples, cultures, and religions; for justice and peace; for the alleviation of suffering; and for harmony with the Earth. In the practice of these traditions, their respective communities have gained a glimpse and a taste of the world as it might be. In the long historical struggle to realize their respective visions, however, religious and spiritual communities have sometimes adopted divisive, unjust, inhumane, and Earth-denying attitudes and practices. Sadly, this phenomenon has been most clearly manifested in interreligious relations. All too often, these relations have been marred by intolerance, oppression, and even violence, dramatically undermining efforts to build a better world. Yet, today there is a broad and deep movement toward openness, goodwill, and warm-hearted and loving engagement among religious and spiritual communities around the world. Sustained encounters between people of different religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions have heightened the momentum toward actualizing our many visions of a better world, as well as stronger possibilities for establishing ethical common ground. New awareness of shared ethical principles opens the way into a new era of creative engagement-where we find and implement new modes of outreach, cooperation, and constructive common action, not only among the world's religions but among all of the world's guiding institutions." [ ... ] "This document reflects the collective wisdom of the many thoughtful persons from within each of the guiding institutions who have participated in its drafting-leaders, scholars, workers, teachers, executives, interpreters, activists, ethicists, and others. We are deeply indebted to the hundreds of women and men from around the world, young and old, of diverse religious, cultural, and professional backgrounds, who have participated over the past three years in the shaping of this Call. Guided by a vision of the world as it might be, with deep concern for the well-being of the Earth, its people, and all life, the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions respectfully calls upon the world's guiding institutions to reassess and redefine their roles in order to assure a just, peaceful, and sustainable future. We invite these institutions to join with each other in a process of creative engagement to address the critical issues that face the world. We seek common cause with those who strive for justice, peace, and sustainability. We seek to join with those whose lives embody the process of creative engagement. We do this with the knowledge that the future of the whole community of life on Earth depends on the realization of a collaborative, coherent, and moral vision of a better world." Whew! Hans Kung then spoke of the need for a document like The Call. Our task for this session was to discuss The Call in general: What we liked or didn't like. Which sections spoke most powerfully to each of us. We were then each asked to write down which "Guiding Institution" we were most interested in engaging. The Call identifies 8 Guiding Institutions:
This info was collected from each table. Before we broke for lunch, we were each invited to endorse The Call by signing a copy at our table. As far as I could tell, everyone signed. Lunch was provided by the local Sikh community at a banquet in the Good Hope Center. Marcus Braybrooke gave the blessing. Unfortunately, I am allergic to Indian food and so went in search of a booth selling food. Session 2: Engaging the Guiding Institutions 4 hours Before this session started, Dr. Barney gave a presentation of Threshold 21, a new software package that models economic and political development. The software is available for online use at Threshold21.com The second session opened with teenage Zulu dancers in various stages of native undress, in sharp contrast to a room full of suits. The dancers were wonderful, and gave no evidence of having traveled over 30 hours by bus to get to Cape Town to give their first ever performance outside their tribal lands. Dr. Syed Salman Madvi gave the opening blessing. Over lunch, the staff had read our comments from the first session and reassigned us all to new tables based on our preferred Guiding Institution. Mine was Education. This time my fellows at my table were from the US, the UK, South Africa, and Kenya, and included Bob Walter. Our task in Session 2 was to discuss and write answers to 3 questions: 1) What are the most appropriate and effective ways for religion and spirituality to engage with this Guiding Institution? 2) What wisdom, resources, perspectives, strategies, and skills must religious and spiritual communities bring to bear in the process of creative engagement? 3) How can the value of creative engagement with religious and spiritual communities and the relevance of their concerns most effectively be demonstrated to the Guiding Institution? Our time for working on each of these questions was carefully monitored and controlled to keep us moving along. At one point, while writing our answers to question 3, Bob and I found ourselves humming the music from Final Jeopardy. The Americans all laughed, leaving the others puzzled. Before this session ended, we heard a presentation from the Next Generation, including Erin, a young American Pagan woman. Each young person stated their personal commitment to loacl/global change, beginning with their faith tradition. Erin started, "I am a Pagan..." As a group, the Next Generation asked the Assembly members to mobilize in support of Jubilee 2000, the global forgiveness of the debt of the poorest nations. At the end, we were each asked to fill out a preference card, stating our Guiding Institution and the "Critical Issue" we would like to address in Session 3. We were given a list of 7 Critical Issues with which the Guiding Institutions should engage:
I picked Education and Relations. Rabbi Herman Sharma gave a closing blessing. (December 6th outside the Assembly...) Rowan adds:
Then I attended... * Enhancing Trust and Vitality within and among Faith Communities
Appreciative Inquiry is a technique for communicating with an appreciation for what each person brings to the discussion. One begins by asking people to share what they love best about their faith, their peak religious experiences and their dearest values. I really think an Appreciative Inquiry workshop at Grand Council would be a great gift to our community. Sue, Cathi & I sat at the booth. We got a little more traffic now that the Assembly is meeting in the same building. Then I headed back to the Technicon where my next choice, Patriarchy Religions and Goddess Cultures: Time for a Truth Commission by Ms. Annelise DeWet, was a no-show and I wound up in... * I Know What I Think You Mean, You Know What You Think I Mean
- But What Do We Mean and How Do We Know?
We opened with an interesting exercise where we wrote down lists of terms related to a universal experiences like sex or education (very few groups tried sex). In groups of about 7 or 8 only about 4 people will have even one word that matches. With people having such different personal conceptions, how can communication be less distorted and people find rapport. Unfortunately, her answers were all rooted in NLP about which I know little and it quickly got too jargon-laden to hold my interest. I went to the media center and checked e-mail and then headed back and met Dierdre and Sue in the bar, where we were joined by Don and Cathi, then Deborah and Jeri. We touched base and shared our experiences and then Don, Cathi & and headed out to dinner. Back to Don:
Rowan reports:
Then I headed over to City Hall and saw the end of a strange South African play about liberation, how bad moderization has been for black people and AIDS. I couldn't find it in the program, so I have no idea who it was or what it was called. Then I watched the beginning of a one woman show called Kali's Follies but it turned out to be very Christian and apocalyptic and I left. That set the tone for a fairly unproductive day. Back to Don:
I took a shuttle to the Good Hope Center to drop off the brochures at the booth, then another to the Technikon to get extra copies of the Parliament Programs, The Call, etc. for Grand Council 2000. Back to the hotel to change, then back to the Good Hope Center for... Session 3: Addressing the Critical Issues
This time, we were greeted by a group of women dancers, daubed with yellow pigments and singing in rich undertones. They were of the Nyoko tribe of the Eastern Cape. After the performance, Dr. Sulkin tried to settle the crowd and start the meeting, to little effect. He leaned over to me and said, "Help me! It's anarchy!" "It's not anarchy", I said, "It's a grass-roots movement!" The truth of this caused more than a few laughs at my table. Dr. Barney opened the session with an overview of his Threshold 2000 report. His talk was summed up with a single graph, projected onto a screen. The graph showed how more and more of the world's wealth was, over time, being concentrated in a smaller and smaller percentage of the world's population. Dr. Barney said that the traditional Western way to address this economic disparity has been to say, "Well, we just have to raise the standard of living of those poor masses!" Barney pointed out that this would entail a five-fold increase in resource use -- "Wherever you now see a factory", he said, "Imagine five more. Clearly, this is undesirable and impossible." In other words, Barney reported, the only just course was for that very wealthy small percent to accept a lower standard of living. Good luck selling this idea! One suggestion that Barney made was to replace income tax with an equal consumption tax based of resources used and waste produced by the item consumed. Hillel Schwartz, of CPWR, described this session's task: Having been reassigned to tables based on our preferred Guiding Institution and Critical Issue, we would now brainstorm ideas for concrete projects that would help that Institution engage with that Critical Issue. Hillel gave several examples off the top of his head. Hillel then offered the following principles to guide our tables through the brainstorming:
Jim Kenney handed out a grid that cross referenced the Critical Issues with the Guiding Institutions to point out sections of The Call that would relate to our projects, e.g. my table, interested in Education and Relations, should pay special attention to sections 7 & 8 of the Call to Education. Jim then made a statement that, for me, was the key to the whole event and raised the possibility of this Parliament being a world-changing moment... Jim said that by the end the 4th session, this group would have developed over 100 projects. The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions and the Millennium Institute were, right then, committing their energy and resources to advancing these projects. They would coordinate them, link them where they have common cause, seek out funding for them, and report on them on an ongoing basis. I could feel a ripple throughout the room. With this group of individuals brainstorming the projects, with this opportunity for networking with each other and with the participant observers, and with the commitment of the CPWR and MI, the likelihood of these projects coming to fruition was dramatically increased. This, I believe, is what the lasting legacy of this Parliament will be. We now look back on the 1993 Parliament as the beginning of a world-wide interfaith movement, leading both to grass-roots movements all over the world and to global efforts like the United Religions Initiative. I predict that we will look back on the 1999 Parliament as the beginning of a world-wide interfaith SERVICE movement, when the religions of the world started to come together for the betterment of humanity and of the planet as a whole. We all turned to the task at hand with new energy and interest. The discussion at my table was chaired by Peter Lawrence, the Chairperson of the North American Interfaith Network. The table included folks from the UK, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, India, and the US. (I noted with some satisfaction that each table had a number of URI brochures with the logo that includes a pentacle.) My project, the Lost & Endangered Religions Project (LERP), actually started as an idea at the 1999 URI summit. This idea grew out of a personal experience... In 1997, I was traveling in Eastern Turkey and had the opportunity to spend an evening with a village of Yezidi, a religious minority in Turkey somewhat akin to Gnostics. In the course of learning about their religious traditions from the village elders, I asked about scriptures or religious texts. They told me that they had HAD such texts, but that they had been lost four generations before. As it turned out, a Western comparative religionist had collected these texts in the 1800's and I had copies back home. Upon my return, I was able to make copies and give these sacred texts back to the Yezidi community. This got me wondering? How often have Western academics entered marginal cultures, collected their songs, stories, etc., returned home, written their dissertation, and left the collected data to sit in an archive somewhere? How often has the collected traditional material subsequently died out or been lost in the community from which it was collected. Working on a case by case, community by community basis, the LERP could track down such traditional material, make copies, and return these "lost" traditions to their cultures. A simple act, yet one of inestimable value to the cultures and communities concerned. Too often, in recent years, such communities and academic institutions have struggled over possession of artifacts. The institutions have been understandably reluctant to part with tangible items. But information is different... Tapes of songs... Films of ceremonies... Transcripts of stories? These things can be copied at little cost and at no loss to the archiving institutions. Perceived as giving rather than taking, the image of the institutions would be improved in the communities they wish to study. (If you are interested in more info about the LERP, please contact me at LostRelig@aol.com.) We discussed our project ideas with the others at our table, offering insight and helpful suggestions, then we wrote them up and handed them in to the Parliament staff. At the end of this session, we were all herded outside for a group photo. Afterward, I wandered upstairs to our booth. I was informed that some Cape Town Pagans hand finally appeared and had an invitation for tonight. There would be a drumming performance and Pagan soiree at a club downtown starting at 9:30pm! When that ended, we were all invited to go to a secret ritual site on a mountain top somewhere near Cape Town. The approach to the ritual site would involve a long crawl through a tunnel, but this would be incorporated into a "rebirthing" ceremony. With all due respect to the Cape Town Pagans... Yeah. Right. While some of us planned to go to the club, none of us could imagine staying up that late before the last day of the Parliament (which started for the Assembly at 9am), nor had any of us brought clothing suitable for a long crawl in the dark through a rebirthing tunnel. I called the coordinator of this ritual and thanked her, but explained why we really couldn't do this on such short notice. She was disappointed, but understanding. Instead, many of us went off to the Waterfront for dinner. On the way, Cathi and I passed a shop that billed itself as "Purveyors of Fine Biltong". We stopped to find out what "biltong" was, only to discover beef jerky... and kudu jerky, and springbok jerky, etc. Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
Don reports: Session 4: Projects of Hope and Service
This time, Arlo Guthrie was performing "Blowin' in the Wind" as we arrived. Once again, the staff had read all 300 of our reports and reshuffled our table assignments so we would be seated with folks whose projects overlapped our own in subject, area, or concern. My table included:
Jim introduced the session; Guru Ma gave a blessing. Three individuals described three sample "Gifts of Service", as our projects were now being called: 1) Creating Community Vision / US
2) Henry Martin Institute / India
3) Viva Rio! / Brazil
After this, the members of the Next Generation each told of their own personal commitments for change. One young man said that he would collect all of the pens being handed out, used, and left on our meeting tables and distribute them to impoverished schools in rural South Africa. Dirk Fica then invited all of us to participate in a sunset interfaith service that night on Table Mountain at 6:30pm. We then broke up into smaller groups to discuss our Gifts of Service. Personally, I gained some very helpful insights for the LERP. One of the most important was to pay special attention to women's culture in attempting to restore lost religious traditions, as women's culture is often more endangered and more often ignored by researchers. The folks in my group also suggested that the LERP host an international conference around the issue of lost and endangered religious traditions. There was nowhere near enough time for this conversation before we had to stop. We were all looking to the front of the room, applauding the efforts of the PWR staff when there was a sudden hush and everyone looked to the back. I turned around and the Dalai Lama was standing right behind me. He was slowly making his way into the room, surrounded by security and eager, well-wishers. I hoped to shake his hand, but the man to my right was apparently and old friend of His Holiness. When they shook hands, the Dalai Lama wouldn't let go. They got into a sort of tug-of-war, with the Dalai Lama giggling the whole time. By the time he finally let go, he was whisked along by his people. Someone, I am sure it was Ma, started singing "We shall overcome..." with lyrics modified to fit Tibet, and we all joined in. (Background note: The Dalai Lama was very notably snubbed the day before by the President of South Africa, who didn't want to offend their Chinese trade partners. This was something of a scandal in the local press.) Shortly after this, we adjourned for a luncheon in honor of the Dalai Lama hosted by Nomaindia Mfeketo, the Mayor of Cape Town. Once again, we were serenaded and entertained by local tribal musicians and dancers. Once again, the food was Indian and I had to bow out. The Mayor gave a very moving speech, thanking us for coming to Cape Town and describing the positive effect we had had on her city. Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
In something resembling a magical ritual, the Commitment Forms were then collected while we all chanted "Activate the Call! Live the Call!" and presented to the Dalai Lama. There was definitely a power-raising going on here. His Holiness then gave a short, pleasant talk about the importance of personal commitment and action for global change. As a group, we all left for the Good Hope Center for the closing plenary, leaving the Dalai Lama to meet with the Next Generation. I managed to get a seat in the 6th row at tye Good Hope Center. The place was jammed because the Dalai Lama was going to address the crowd. As part of the closing ceremonies, 40 dignitaries (including our own Deborah Ann Light!) representing the world's faiths were seated up on the stage. The Dalai Lama arrived and gave essential the same speech he had given to the Assembly. He was followed by His Eminence Buti Thlagale, the new Archbishop of Blomfontein, who gave a rather uninspiring address on "The Role of Religion in the African Renaissance". It might have been a good speech, but I had the distinct impression that someone else had written it and the Archbishop was reading it for the first time. He was followed by the Deputy President of South Africa, whose name I did not catch. Unfortunately, the last two speakers were long-winded and uninteresting, making the closing ceremonies rather anti-climactic. Luckily, Cathi and I has decided to go up to table Mountain for the Interfaith Service. Rowan adds:
Back to Don:
We were warned that we were the last two trams going up, as the wind was rising (they added ballast to our trams to stabilize them). We were also warned to stay close to the upper tram station, as we may have to be taken off the mountain in a hurry. Under such auspicious warnings, we made the ascent. On top, the wind was near gale force. One had to shout to be heard, and those of us with flowing robes had them blowing out horizontal to the ground behind us. Michi looked over at me and said I looked like Kate Winslet on the prow of the Titanic. I grabbed him by the waist and spun him into the wind. He stuck out his arms and we struck a very silly pose for Cathi's camera. Michi made us promise that we would not send copies to Japan ;-) The documentarian finally got us herded together, with the dying light correctly positioned, and we all shouted our prayers and blessings. Once again, Ma started singing "We shall overcome...". We all joined in as I swayed arm in arm with Arlo. With luck, this will all be on PBS this summer. The whole thing was rather ridiculous and chaotic, which made it a lot of fun. We finished in time to observe the sunset, the wind whipping around us while Michi chanted a hymn to Amaterasu. THIS was the kind of closing I needed -- immersed in Nature in all Her wildness and glory, observing together with those with several faiths.
Don says:
Our new friend Maartin (from the trip to Roebben Island) had arranged a tour of the Cape for Cathi and I. At the last minute, Selena Fox and Denis Carpenter joined us. So we and a few others climbed into a minivan at 8:30am and headed off. The tour lasted all day. The southern Cape is a game park, although it is not fenced in, and is full of amazing wildlife. We saw ostriches, bonteboks, a baboon troupe, and a penguin colony. We took a boat out to a seal colony, and hiked to Cape Point to see the Indian Ocean to our left and the Atlantic to our right. All in all, a day very well spent, but rather tiring, especially as we got back just in time to grab our bags and head to the airport for the 20 hour flight home. From the moment we left the hotel, the trip back was a nightmare, but I will spare you the details. Suffice to say that it served it's purpose -- at the beginning of it, we didn't want to leave Africa; by the end of it, we were VERY glad to be home. Final thoughts and observations...*** I liked Cape Town much more than I expected to. It is a beautiful city. Its setting by the bay with the mountain in the background, its active nightlife at the waterfront, all are reminiscent of San Francisco. I felt quite at home there. And the people are the friendliest I have ever encountered anywhere! Every single South African I met was friendly, helpful, glad I was there, interested in where I came from, and hoped I liked their city. I definitely want to go back. (Several folks attending the Parliament joked about moving to Cape Town.) *** I never expected South Africa to be as far beyond apartheid as it is. The Mayor of Cape Town is black, as are the President and Deputy President of the country. Everywhere I went I saw mixed groups walking and chatting together. On a social level, it was hard to believe that they had lived under apartheid only a few years ago. *** That being said, the economic legacy of apartheid was evident everywhere. The law may have changed to say that everyone is equal, but they all entered that new equality with the same economic inequity they had under apartheid. As a general rule: Manual laborers are black. Service people are colored. Management
is white.
*** Such inequity leads to crime, and crime in South Africa is very violent. We were told that we were about as likely to get a purse snatched in Cape Town as in New York, but that in New York the snatcher would probably run, whereas in Cape Town the snatcher would probably kill you. *** We found out that there was some local opposition to having Witches attend the Parliament. Some of this was expressed in the local newspaper article posted to AIR. We also found out that the Chicago CPWR apparently explained in no uncertain terms that we should not and could not be excluded! Whatever happened, the result was that I have never encountered a community more accepting of Craft in my life! Imagine... In eight days I only had to explain what "Wicca" is twice! Even the cab drivers knew what it was! "Oh, that goddess stuff, right? That's great!" *** I never saw a cat in Cape Town. We were told that cats were considered to be "evil sendings" and so were unpopular. *** The next Parliament will be in 2004. So far, the cities that have requested to host it are: Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Edmonton, Montreal, Barcelona, Edinburgh, and Berlin. *** We budgeted $10,000 for CoG's participation at the Parliament. We spent $7,818.45 This means we came in $2181.55 UNDER budget! Anyway, if you have made it this far, I think it has been apparent in the report that:
Once again, I want to thank the Covenant for your ongoing support for interfaith work. More and more of us are doing the work -- CoG's visibility and reputation continue to grow in the interfaith community. We'll have photos at MerryMeet and will look into putting some on the website. Thanks again and blessed be,
Daily Parliament Reports:
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