Seed for world change #12

English: Tibetan endless knot Nederlands: Tibetaanse Oneindige knoop (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

#12, for October 11-14

This world is verily an outer court of the Eternal, or of Eternity, and specially whatever in Time, or any temporal things or creatures, manifesteth or remindeth us of God or Eternity; for the creatures are a guide and a path unto God and Eternity.

- Theologia Germanica, 50

Seed for a world change #11

#11, for October 7-10, 2012

Relieve people in distress as speedily as you must release a fish from a dry rill. Deliver people from danger as quickly as you must free a sparrow from a tight noose. Be compassionate to orphans and relieve widows. Respect the old and help the poor.

-Yin Chih Wen (Yinzhiwen)

It's anniversary time... Monday, Oct. 15

Birthday cake (Photo credit: anemoneprojectors (Peter O))

A reception to celebrate the founding of the Interfaith Solidarity (formerly the Interfaith Guild of Chaplains) one year ago, with a short introductory presentation outlining the history and missions of the Interfaith Solidarity. This event also will kick off our planning of the Occupy Thanksgiving PDX 2 and a series of holiday season events/outreach, so if you are interested in being part of the event this year, please come.

Those who are planning on attending are also encouraged to bring some food that does not require cooking or refrigeration (we only have a microwave and a mini-fridge) and/or non-alcoholic beverage.

This is free and open to the public.

Interfaith Solidarity is non-sectarian and non-proselytizing.

More information:
(503) 427-8269 or email via http://ur1.ca/afott

Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/353399208086093/

About us:
http://www.opdxinterfaith.co.cc/
http://www.opdxchaplains.co.cc/

Sukkot 5773 information

Sukkahs in Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Did you like our sukkah last year, and remember R. Dvorah Kolodny? Unfortunately we are not doing any special event as Interfaith Solidarity, but we encourage you to join P'nai Or for the Sukkot Hoshanah Rabbah service and potluck this Sunday, Oct. 7.

Summary: Hoshana Rabbah/Sukkot Potluck/Shemini Atzeret - (5:30 PM - 8:30 PM)

Description: 5:30 pm: Hoshana Rabbah ritual and teachings in the sukkah, with beating of willow branches. PLEASE BRING LULAVS AND WILLOW BRANCHES so everyone can join in!

6:30 pm: Potluck in the sukkah.

7:30 pm: Shemini Atzeret service with Yizkor in the sukkah, led by Rabbah D'vorah and Melissa Carpenter , with a story by Melissa. PLEASE BRING A RAINSTICK if you have one.

Location: in the sukkah!
P'nai Or of Portland
9750 SW Terwilliger Blvd
Portland, OR 97219-6531

(503) 248-4500

Transit information: Since this is Sunday there is no TriMet service.  However, Lewis & Clark College operates a free Pioneer Express shuttle bus from downtown (SW Salmon between Broadway and 6th). P'nai Or shares facilities with St. Mark Presbyterian Church, which is about a mile from the Templeton Student Center (the Pioneer Express does not stop at the Law School on weekends).

Seeds for world change #10

Note: We apologize for recent disruptions in publication schedule.

#10, for October 3-7, 2012

In order to discover the character of a people, we have only to observe what they love.
-St. Augustine of Hippo

子曰：“不患人之不己知，患不知人也。”

Zǐ yuē: “Bù huàn rén zhī bù jǐ zhī, huàn bùzhī rén yě.”

Confucius said, “The good man does not grieve that other people do not recognize his merits. His only anxiety is lest he should fail to recognize theirs.”
-Analects 论语 1.16 (Xue Er 学而)

Occupy, now what?

Occupy Detroit (Photo credit: Cocoloco Photography)

By Sarah Morrigan

I did not come across this article until last night, just as Occupy Portland is readying itself for its anniversary.  This piece was written shortly before our eviction from "our parks" by the Rev. David Alexander, the senior minister at the New Thought Center for Spiritual Living in Lake Oswego, and even now speaks very powerfully with a deep insight rooted both in history and spirituality.

Alexander writes:

I believe that the Occupy Movement arose from a consciousness that was "fed up" - tired and weary of the inequity of our world. Similar uprisings in the Middle East - the so called Arab Spring - arose from a similar place in consciousness, a desire to be heard, seen and validated as a being of significance in the world. This is a universal desire - something that we all want. We all have the need to be heard, seen and feel as if we matter to the world - that our presence makes a difference and that we live in a world where we are empowered and can direct our life with purpose. Whenever one wakes up to the awareness that they have been oppressed or suppressed the natural desire is "take control" to make one's presence known and felt. Once this occurs, the door opens to the next step - to take restorative action. But before restorative action can take place there must be a grounding in a greater awareness of who we really are. Without this grounding restorative action turns to reactionary and retaliation action. This is the difference between effective social change movements and ineffective ones. (Emphasis mine.)

Much has been said of Occupy and its alleged weaknesses, among which is the lack of coherent message or demands.  While the Occupy Movement has always been multi-issue, diversified, and decentralized, attempts at crafting any type of declaration (Remember the "Declaration of Occupy Portland"? Whatever happened to that?) have faltered.  The Occupy Movement generally suffers from the lack of awareness of who it really is -- and while powerful as a slogan, "We are the 99 percent" is too vague and only implies that this movement is against the One Percent, without ever telling the world what it is (or wants it to be known) for.

Alexander is certainly not alone in this assessment (even back in November 2011 when the headiness of Occupy was still in the air).  Andrew Ross Sorkin, a New York Times columnist, also concurs:

The problem with the movement, as many other columnists have pointed out before, was that its mission was always intentionally vague. It was deliberately leaderless. It never sought to become a political party or even a label like the Tea Party... Given the way the organization — if it can be called that — was purposely open to taking all comers, the assembly lost its sense of purpose as various intramural squabbles emerged about the group’s end game... The messages had become decidedly too mixed. ("Occupy Wall Street: A Frenzy That Fizzled", Sept. 17, 2012)

Not surprisingly, the post-eviction Occupy Portland became mostly retaliatory and reactionary.  From the "Re-Occu-Fest" to "F.T.P." marches, to various "diversity of tactics" actions, the movement diverted much of its potentials, energies and money on what only appears to be an anti-police action in reaction to the pain of Nov. 12-13, 2011 event.  To many Occupiers' credit, Portland organized a couple of coordinated actions during this time, namely, Occupy The Port in December and Shut Down The Corporation F29 (Feb. 29, 2012) Action Against ALEC, as a whole the movement dwindled and dissipated over time.

We must ask ourselves again at this point what brought the Occupy movement into existence.  It was a collective frustration with the broken, dysfunctional Institution -- political and financial -- and a profound global awareness that stretched from Tunisia to Toronto to Tokyo that the world is messed up and we the people must reclaim it to rebuild it.

Alexander further writes: "But this movement becomes grounded in a deep spiritual understanding that we are all in this together - we must make a world that works for everyone." 

At the onset of the Occupy Movement we had this awareness.  Behind the slogan "We are the 99 percent," we were once an extremely diverse community as far as ideological persuasions and socioeconomic  backgrounds were concerned (not necessarily in the area of race and ethnicity, however).  Things began to unravel when this sense of solidarity and unity began to erode and infighting and factioning took their place.

The minister asks:

The Occupy Movement must now decide which type of movement it is going to be. Phase 1, frustrations over the inequalities and inequity of our systems, has come to an end. The collective attention of a nation has been obtained. The next phase is about action. Will it be restorative action that seeks to unite us in a collective consciousness of the 100% that needs to work together to build a world that works for everyone - or will it be reactionary and retaliation action that continues to divide our world into "us (99%) and them (1%)" categories that must fight each other for supremacy and control? The answer lies entirely in what type of vision the movement collectively grounds itself in. How the Occupy Movement handles itself in this transition will be the most telling aspect of its destiny. (Emphasis mine.)

As Occupy Portland is in the middle of its 52nd week, just a few days short of its anniversary, what do you think?  We need this grounding.  Our transition from the "phase one" to wherever we are now has been haphazard at best.  Occupy Year Two is a great opportunity to revisit the Occupy visions and messages -- and find a way to move forward to rebuild and restore this broken world.

The Rev. David Alexander's original article, "Occupy Movement: Phase 2: Now What?" is at http://revdavida.blogspot.com/2011/11/occupy-movement-phase-2-now-what.html

This is not an official statement or position of the Interfaith Solidarity.  Opinions are solely of their respective authors.

Related articles

• Was Occupy Wall Street a PR Failure?
• Occupy Wall Street: a Frenzy That Fizzled
• October Interfaith Solidarity news!
• Occupy Savannah says it's alive and well but charting new courses
• False humility and passive-aggression I find in men
• A Look Back at the Rise and Fall of Occupy
• Occupy activists fight with Ben & Jerry's founder over The Illuminator
• Occupy's protest is not over. It has barely begun | Frances Fox Piven
• Ben & Jerry's Co-Founder Repossesses Occupy Wall Street 'Batmobile'
• Occupy Portland's homeless quandary

October Interfaith Solidarity news!

PORTLAND, OR - NOVEMBER 17: A protestors carries an 'Occupy' sign during a march though downtown Portland November 17, 2011. The Occupy Portland movement joined the nationwide N17 protests today, targeting downtown banks. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Mark your calendar: Monday, October 15

Due to the last-minute coordination and logistical issues, we will not be having a sukkah party after all, much to our sadness.  However, we are celebrating the first birthday of the Interfaith Solidarity on its actual anniversary, Monday, October 15, most likely in the evening.  Mark your calendar and stay tuned for the details.

Occupy Portland anniversary, October 6

This weekend is the big day of celebration for Occupy Portland's one-year history.  An all-day festival and march will be held at the Shemanski block of the South Park Blocks in downtown Portland, followed by a barbecue in the evening.

We are recruiting!

Like any other organization, Interfaith Solidarity is a dynamic and organic group.  People join and people leave, for a number of reasons.  New members are always welcome and help us stay vibrant and keep us from becoming a stagnant institution.

We are a nonsectarian, interfaith organization that works at the nexus of social justice movement and spirituality.  We support the activist communities in Oregon and Southwestern Washington through protest chaplaincy and advocacy that bring the voice of conscience and spiritual wisdom to the popular mass movements.

Anyone with an experience of working within their spiritual communities in various leadership or teaching capacities are encouraged to join as part of the chaplains' guild, and everyone is welcome to join the action team.

If you are interested, write to pdxinter***@******** (click on the link for the address).

Taproot suspended temporarily

Due to low attendance and difficulties finding the time that works the best, we are suspending the Taproot meetings until further notice.  This may, in the near future, be combined with a kind of regular Interfaith Solidarity meeting for discussions and/or coordination.  We are hoping to find an option that will work for a large number of people, both members and non-members alike.