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Index of SolstiCelebrations & Other Metaphysical Events. See
also Winter
2007 and Summer 2008
2006
Winter
SolstiCelebration
7-9
pm, Tuesday December 19, 2006
Photographs by J R Compton with Comments by Amy "Moonlady" Martin
Photographs Copyright 2006 by J R Compton. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce these images without written permission. Photos are in chronological order. Email corrections or anything in the text of an email. No attachments. All corrections have been incorporated.
A falling mist finally brought wintry weather
to North Texas, but it only seemed
to make the Cathedral of Hope’s
lights burn
brighter. The light
projection of
Joy
on the John Thomas AIDS Memorial Bell
Wall
was a beacon to travelers struggling
to the event on slick, traffic-snarled
streets.
In the quiet moments before the seating
music started,
saxophonist Lee Schloss
caught up with fellow musician Lisa.
Awaiting the crowd, little red-headed Grace Rebecca explored the stone floor …
… and gazed at the proceedings.
Brother Mark Fowler waited at the front
door to accept
food pantry donations and winter clothing for the coat drive.
In the center of the narthex (aka lobby),
a tree-top angel
seems swamped by her
voluminous gold attire.
Lisa ‘s bass waits for her in the front row…
…while across the sanctuary a young
woman
waited and wrapped herself for warmth.
Jessica of Holistic
Networker, a Big Heart
Event
Sponsor, dressed for the season."
The intricacy of the church’s narthex
Christmas
tree
gold and blue finery was
spellbinding.
Feed the amphibian! The donation frog
accepted
dollars to help fund the evening
at the main event table in the narthex.
Jo Wharton of Cranes
Fly for Peace taught
attendees
how to fold origami peace cranes
for the upcoming
International
Women’s Peace Conference.
As Annie Benjamin spun musical magic up front ...
… people gathered in the beautifully decorated sanctuary …
… with a giant wreath overhead.
Tex Frossard and Dianne Griffin perused
the
eight-page program after a long work
day.
Meanwhile, in nearby Fellowship Hall, the
peanut butter and jelly
sandwich table
had a snowman to bring out the kid in us all.
A basket was filled with offerings of sweet
breads created by volunteer bakers.
Jennifer Walz of Sentient Photography readied the set and
lighting
so people can pose for digital pics with Father Winter.
Ed Townley as Father Winter, described by
one
attendee as a walking hug, has
never looked better.
A loaf of savory bread by BreadWinners waits
to
be unbagged next to a bowl of
fresh cool oranges.
Back in the kitchen, Ella St. Clair had fun slicing fruit.
Green and red bell papers slices wait to be added to cream cheese …
… while the amazing Dining Room Diva,
Julia Schloss,
added more goodies to the cookie table.
Wild woman Baba Yaga, portrayed by Valery
Guignon
roamed
the early crowd, and later on sized up people
and affixed a sticker proclaiming
them naughty or nice.
Children were fascinated by the glittery lobby tree.
A cameraman prepared his equipment to start videotaping the service.
Cathy Harmon of Grapevine
Yoga lead
the audience in
loosening up …
… then demonstrated a yoga pose to reach up …
… and then out to create a Circle of Joy.
Ending in the blessing namaste — the divine
in me recognizes the divine in you
—
as shown by Susannah Garza and her daughter Janie with David behind them.
Then we shifted to our heart, focusing on our heartbeat …
… feeling it expanding out to those around us as the common bond we share …
in a swaying, tapping, inspiring ritual
lead
by music
therapist Michael Kenny called "One Heart
One Drum"…
… linking us all.
Storyteller Peggy Helmick-Richardson totally
threw
herself into the Shinto
legend of Amateratsu …
… with Gene Helmick-Richardson sounding
wise on the ways of gods and goddesses.
People drew attentive and focused as the
darkness
wrapped around us, drawing us
closer to one another.
Ya Elbe sang "Dona
Nobis Pacem," a chant of peace in many languages,
showing that what’s
important
is to learn to live in peace.
After the Saying of Names ritual, in which
we honored those
who died during the
previous year, dancer Karen
McIntyre
moved "Across the Universe" to connect us with each other.
After our Solstice Passage of three intense
minutes in silent
darkness,
we were led into the
gentle dawn light in a rebirthing
breath
ritual
by ChiSing,
an ordained student of Thich Nhat Hanh,
allowing
ourselves to receive self forgiveness …
… and go deep within into meditation.
The morning stars had one last time to
shine
before the symbolic daybreak.
Dancers from Syrns of the Myst celebrated
the colors
of a fresh new day with a
blur of veils in pink ...
… green, purple and blue …
… and the orange of a rising Sun …
concluding on stage with the Syrns band in “Holly Holy.”
In the audience, attendees watched the stage …
… and the action on large video screens high on the wall …
… while Baba Yaga took a break without her nose.
The
Dreamsicles,
Tom Prasada-Rao and Cary Cooper, sang
with their guest percussionist who wore an unusual straw hat …
… while event creator and producer Amy Martin smiled with delight,
Singer Cary Cooper reflected back to childhood in a song.
Geoffrey Ricketts was passionate in his
performance of “I am the Walrus” on harp.
A mother and her young boy watched from the narthex …
… where the Sun and Moon dancers of
Ya Elbe
got ready to lead the final dance
procession.
Performance poet Fran Carris brought words
to life as
musician Freddie
interacted with his jazzy trumpet.
SOMOS — Charity Lankford, TP Pas, Lainey
Bernstein and Jen Wanamaker —
enjoyed the applause after singing Sweet Honey and the Rock's "We Are
One."
Lainey looked beautiful as usual against a backdrop of tree lights.
Gate elfs Suzannah Garza, daughter Janie
and friend move the Sun gate into place.
Stage wizards Rodney Steman and Rande Wagner
moved the silvery Moon gate into
place …
… and then HappyShel began
a rhythm on his drone box,
signaling Michael Kenny and friends to begin their final song.
The audience, led by Ya Elbe and Syrns
dancers,
danced through the Sun Gate …
… and the Moon Gate, refreshed
and
renewed for a new cycle of life.
In nearby Fellowship Hall, healthy fruits, nuts and grains awaited ...
... bringing a smile to a mother and child.
Before volunteers
packed them away for next year's celebration,
two little girls raced through
gates of
the sun and moon.
An attendee looked splendid in a gold wreath hat …
... and Lisa Martin playfully photographed
the photographer
as he shot one
last photo of rosy Grace Rebecca.
Photographic
prints or digital
images may be available.
