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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 travelled 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 technie 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 photoexhibit 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 siad "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 Oportunities
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 perjorative 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 exagerating 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 travelling 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, 3fold 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.
Stopped at Friday, 12/3
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