Blog - Wild Goose Festival

Jun 10

Making Peace with the Church

By Rick Meredith 2015 Contributor, 2015 Festival, Guest Post

lane_author-photo_compressed Like all good anthropologists, I started research for my new book Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe with a list of questions, not answers. Why is it so hard to belong to a local church? How do we know when we’ve found the one, and if there is no “one,” how do we make do with one that’s good enough? Can we really share flesh in Christ and not get eaten alive by one another? And when does a church go from being an imperfect one to a toxic one? Will we ever be able to make peace with a church that’s not a place of peace for all?

I am not a natural born peacemaker.

Although Erin means peace in Gaelic, I like to tell people my name is more aspirational than prophetic. At the age of five, I fought with the Catholic Church to receive my First Holy Communion two years early. At eight, as part of my parents’ divorce proceedings, I went before a Jewish arbitrator, argued, and lost my right to choose my own religion. At fourteen, I rebelled against the court orders and attended a non-demoninational church in which the Holy Spirit – and the handsome boys – set me aflame. When I married a Methodist pastor at age twenty-two, some friends worried I’d been domesticated. Four years later – and still happily married – I legally returned to my maiden name because his “just didn’t feel right.”

Making peace with the church and its people has been lifetime work for me. Despite my generation’s reputation for being a bunch of affiliation-averse, individualistically-inclined, spiritual-DIY-ers, I think many of us have struggled to make peace with the church not because we don’t care about this community of Christ-followers but because we care it’s done well – with excellence and creativity and accountability. The late poet John O’Donohue called this type of intense lover of the church the “artist.” We often think of artists as living on the edge of culture, the innovators and free thinkers, but O’Donohue described the artist this way: “He inhabits the tradition to such depth that he can feel it beat in his heart, but his tradition also makes him feel like a total stranger who can find for his longing no echo there.”

The artist makes her home not on the edge of culture but amidst her own near-constant heartbreak.

I have never been to the Wild Goose Festival before. But I suspect that among this group of faithful rebels, hearts are raw. I want to know about these hearts, the reckless hearts, the brave hearts, the skittish hearts, the open hearts. Author Parker Palmer points out that the word heart as its most ancient comes from the Latin cor and represents that hidden wholeness within each of us that holds together the intellectual, the emotional, the bodily, the imaginative, and all our ways of knowing. This heart stuff isn’t for the faint. If we want to be true peacemakers with the church and others, we must first make peace within our selves.

I don’t have answers for how exactly each one of us is called to do that. I’m hoping that’s what we can share and explore at the festival breakout session together. But I do know that each of us has a choice in how we will respond to our heartbreak. We can either let it take us out of the action in favor of a simpler life where we belong without question or question without belonging, or we can let it lead us into a more wholehearted life in which the contradictions of our faith open us to the death of illusions, the suffering of community, and the resurrection of our real selves as members of God’s household.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” – Matthew 5:9

Erin S. Lane is author of Lessons in Belonging from a Church-Going Commitment Phobe and co-editor of Talking Taboo: American Christian Women Get Frank about Faith. Confirmed Catholic, raised Charismatic, and married to a Methodist, she facilitates retreats for clergy and congregational leaders through the Center for Courage & Renewal. To find more of her writing, visit holyhellions.com.

Jun 10

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Letting Kids Fly At The Wild Goose Festival

By Rick Meredith 2015 Festival, Goose News

From beer-and-hymn sings to best selling speakers, there is plenty of fun for adults at the Wild Goose Festival, but folks often want to know what the experience will be like for their kids.

Being Creative At The Wild Goose Festival

Well, meet the curator of the kid experience at Wild Goose, Jamie Rye. He started developing the kids program when the Wild Goose Festival was just a twinkle in a handful of folks’ eyes over five years ago. He’s been growing and managing it as a programming volunteer ever since.

“In the kids tent our primary focus is around three things: belonging (community), creativity and safety,” explains Jamie. “In its simplest form we want kids to walk away feeling belonging, like they were able to uniquely express themselves, that they were safe and a part of the bigger story unfolding from God through the Goose.”

The kids program provides a two-hour session each morning and afternoon of the festival. Equipped with a secure check-in system, the program is designed by Jamie and his wife Kelly and facilitated by a team of volunteers, all of whom have received a background check.

Age appropriate activities are offered, with extra time to play in the nearby playground for children under the age of 6. But, the program is anything but a babysitting service. The kids will enjoy intentional Flock Groups, creative arts, creative storytelling and movement in music.

Jamie is emphatic that the program would not be complete without the help of his volunteers. “In all my years of doing Goose I have had incredible volunteers. These are folks that have given up vacation time, given up sleep, and suffered through the heat of the day to create an engaging, creative, intentional and safe place for kids.”

“Last year we had a hand full of volunteers who deeply loved kids and truly caught the vision for the kids space at the Goose,” Jamie continues. “The leadership team took ownership over the program and put in lots of hours not only in prep, but also on the ground. They worked so hard to welcome families. From providing supplies for the kids’ graffiti wall to running an amazingly fun creative-arts stations. The kids had fun, they were safe and they walked away from each session a little more creative, a little more valued and a little more loved.”

“Without volunteers like this the Goose kids couldn’t be what it has been over the last 5 years. I am honored to be surrounded and serve alongside such amazing people,” concludes Jamie.

He and his wife, Kelly, feel particularly drawn to Wild Goose: “Having been raised relatively-conservative evangelical we found that our progressive beliefs, ways of questioning and generous orthodoxy placed us on the outskirts of our subculture. Our lack of belonging was only amplified by the fact that I am a pastor in an evangelical denomination. The Goose brought us community, belonging and a safe place to embrace the good of our background and yet find space in a community that understood where we were coming from. I love that the Wild Goose creates the same safe space year after year for others like us.”

Jamie and Kelly Rye

Thanks to Jamie and his team, safety and creative learning are also available to children at the festival, while their parents have time to go do some exploring on their own.

This year promises another great batch of volunteers to run the kids program, says Jamie. “I am excited to watch them engage the kids and for the kids to respond with their natural expressive, wild, child-like abandon.

“Kids have the most fun at Goose, the adults should come and learn from them.”

Jun 02

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What Does It Mean To Be A Peacemaker?

By Rick Meredith 2015 Festival, Goose News

If you haven’t heard already, this year’s theme for Wild Goose is Blessed Are The Peacemakers. And, for one of our keynote speakers, that’s more than just a theory.

John Dear is a Catholic priest who has been arrested over 70 times in acts of civil disobedience against war. He spent eight months in prison for a Plowshares disarmament action and has been nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the Nobel Peace Prize.

This will be John’s fourth time at the festival; he’s only missed one festival on the east coast.
He loves meeting all the wonderful people that attend, says John. “Going gives me hope.”

This year, he is scheduled to be the morning keynote speaker. “I will reflect on Jesus as a peacemaker and the calling of any Christian to be a peacemaker,” he says.

For John, peacemaking is more than a good idea: it’s all encompassing. “We must make peace with ourselves,” he says, “and everyone we know, all creatures, the whole world. And we must join the global grassroots movement of nonviolence.”

Making peace is at the core of what it means to follow Jesus.

“It’s not enough to just sit back, say your prayers and complain,” he says. “You have to get involved in the struggle to end war, poverty, nuclear weapons, and environmental destruction and put Gospel nonviolence into action.”

It’s a challenging message, but a challenge John believes Wild Goose, on its fifth anniversary, is ready to meet.

“If American Christians are going to become mature, they must become universal. That’s how peace begins,” says John. “We must move into Saint Paul’s vision of citizens of the Kingdom of God.”

“I expect people at Wild Goose Festival to not just listen, but prepare to go home after the festival and take action. To start working to change the church. We must actively work to create peace, otherwise the church may as well close up shop.”

Are you ready to start making peace?

Jun 02

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Frank Schaeffer To Bring Newest Paintings To Wild Goose

By Rick Meredith Guest Post

To my Wild Goose Family:

Hi all. Here’s my Spring/Summer Wild Goose art show of NEW paintings. I’ll have some of these with me at Wild Goose 2015!

The theme is transcendent resurrection of the spirit. This revival of hope is open to all—atheist, believer and agnostic. I believe in beauty as the intrinsic truth. Here is my small new contribution to that truth.

My muses are my grandchildren, Amanda, Ben, Lucy, Jack and Nora. (By the way, Amanda will be with me at WG this year!) They are the lens through which death loses its sting for me. Painting is my expression of the peace I feel when I’m immersed in the lives I love best.

Detail from Daffodils, Tulips & Narcissus in a Storm

Thank you for taking the time to share these moments with me by looking at my work. I walk from my studio into the garden, pick a flower that was planted by my grandchildren (usually as a bulb the year before) and paint it. Really these are “portraits” of the moments of joy and grace I experience with the gifts of the children near and dear to me.

See you at WG!

—Frank Schaeffer

(See more of Frank’s work here.)

May 28

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More Great Speakers/Artists

By Rick Meredith 2015 Contributor, 2015 Festival

We’re pleased to present you more of the inspiring speakers/artists you can look forward to hearing from at this year’s festival. Read on to learn more about Yara Allen, Julie Clawson, Tony Kriz, Micky ScottBey Jones, Bec Cranford-Smith, Troy Bronsink, Sandhya Rani Jha and Rev. Yolanda!

Yara Allen
Yara Allen is a seasoned cultural artist and longtime activist from Rocky Mount, NC. She is considered the “Theo-Musicologist” for the Forward Together Moral Movement. She performs movement songs that connect the cultural arts movement of today to movements of the past while integrating spoken word/poetry and the visual arts. Ms. Allen is also a Moral Monday arrestee and organizer with the NC NAACP. She is currently working on a manuscript for a book of social justice poetry.

Julie Clawson
Julie Clawson is a mom, writer and former pastor who lives in Austin, TX with her two kids and two cats. Julie is a huge sci-fi/fantasy geek, wannabe foodie, theology nerd, social justice advocate and board game fan. She is the author of Everyday Justice: The Global Impact of Our Daily Choices (IVP) and The Hunger Games and the Gospel (Patheos Press).

Tony Kriz
Tony is husband to Aimee, father to three courageous and creative boys, unofficial ambassador of his beloved Portland, devoted to his neighborhood, honored by his communal household, and a friend to the religious and irreligious alike. Tony is a neighborhood theologian who leads with personal confession, asking the questions that others are not willing to ask, and orchestrating epiphanies that surprise audiences. His honest writings, including his most recent book ALOOF, are helping people live an authentic faith.

Micky ScottBey Jones
Micky ScottBey Jones is a “contemplivist” leader and organizer who hosts & facilitates conferences, trainings and online conversations, writes & speaks on a variety of topics including burnout, race & justice, theology from the margins, and curates contemplative spaces/activities. Recently named one of the “Black Christian Leaders Changing the World” in Huffington Post, Micky trains & encourages missional practitioners and faith-rooted activists through TransFORM Network as the Director of Training and Program Development.

Bec Cranford-Smith
Bec self-identifies as a Bapticostal Misfit. She has been attempting to escape southern fried religiosity her whole life, but she really likes the Jesus guy and that Kenosis stuff. She works at one of Atlanta’s largest homeless service agencies as the volunteer guru and catch-all. Her favorite part of the job revolves around challenging stereotypes of homelessness and working with large groups of young people – mostly missions students.

Troy Bronsink
Troy Bronsink leads retreats for creatives, social activists, and faith groups. He serves as Director of Outreach and Communication with Northminster Presbyterian Church. A singer-songwriter, he often speaks or plays music at camps and conferences, making the most of opportunities to build deeper collaborative relationships between creatives. His discussions of “Church as Art” grew into a discussion of “Life as Art”, which led to his book Drawn In: A Creative Process for Artists, Activists, and Jesus Followers.

Sandhya Sandhya Rani Jha
Sandhya Rani Jha serves as Director of the Oakland Peace Center, a collective of innovative non-profits working to create justice and peace in the city of Oakland and the Bay Area. Sandhya’s passion is liberation ethics as an academic field and as a lived experience in urban communities. She has published Room at the Table: Struggle for Unity and Equality in Disciples History, a book about people of color in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and co-wrote (with Ben Bohren and Paula Bishop Pochieca) And Still We Rise, a congregational study of transformation. Sandhya is an anti-racism/anti-oppression trainer with the Disciples of Christ, a regular public speaker and preacher.

Rev. Yolanda
Born in Muscle Shoals Alabama, Rev. Yolanda has been performing as a drag queen singer songwriter and Radical Faerie for over 20 years with roots in Country Gospel music with a strong spiritual foundation. Rev. Yolanda’s music ministry is “Rev Yolanda’s Old Time Gospel Hour”. S/He brings a message of Non Duality into every event by merging GLBT and Mainstream Popular Culture with Integrated Spirituality. With a soulful voice, a message of oneness, great costumes, and a wicked sense of humor, his/her shows and CDs emphasize love, beautiful melodies, interesting stories, and a bit of inspiration.

May 21

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2015 Featured Speakers

By Rick Meredith 2015 Contributor, 2015 Festival

From Ferguson to Baltimore to Pakistan, upheaval, violence and injustice are shaking the world. In the midst of this turmoil, what does it mean to be a peacemaker?

This year, Wild Goose Festival goers will heed the call and fearlessly dive into that conversation with the theme Blessed Are The Peacemakers.

Please join us in welcoming John Dear, William Barber, Alexia Salvatierra, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Brian McLaren, Frank Schaeffer and Romal Tune as our Featured Speakers at Wild Goose 2015! Read on to find out more about these powerful peacemakers, who not only talk about peace, but also practice it!

John Dear
John Dear a Catholic priest and internationally recognized voice for peace and nonviolence. He served for years as the director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the largest interfaith peace organization in the U.S. Author of The Nonviolent Life, Dear has been arrested over 75 times in acts of civil disobedience against war and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

William Barber
William Barber is North Carolina NAACP president and organizer of the Moral Mondays movement. A full-time pastor at Greenleaf Christian Church, he’s volunteered countless hours to champion social change because he believes there is no worship without commitment to justice.

Alexia Salvatierra
Alexia Salvatierra is the author (along with Dr. Peter Heltzel) of Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World and the founder of the Faith-Rooted Organizing UnNetwork. She is a Lutheran Pastor with over 35 years of experience in congregational and community ministry, and has been a national leader in the areas of working poverty and immigration, including the co-founding of the national Evangelical Immigration Table.

Brian McLaren
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and networker among innovative Christian leaders. His dozen-plus books include A New Kind of Christianity, A Generous Orthodoxy, Naked Spirituality, Why Did Jesus, Moses, the Buddha, and Mohammed Cross the Road?, and We Make the Road by Walking. He is a senior fellow with Auburn Seminary, and a board member and leader in Convergence Network and Center for Progressive Renewal.

Robyn Henderson-Espinoza
Robyn Henderson-Espinoza is a queer Latin@ who negotiates layers of agnosticism as their faith orientation. Believing that the ways of Jesus are tangible ways of enacting radical social change, Robyn strategically deploys theologies and ethics of radical difference to disrupt the hegemonic structures that reproduce multi-system oppressions. As an anti-oppression, anti-racist, Trans*gressive genderqueer, Robyn takes seriously their call as an activist theologian and ethicist to bridge together theories and practices that result in communities responding to pressing social concerns.

Frank Schaeffer
Frank Schaeffer is a New York Times bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction, including Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God. Frank is also an artist and prolific painter. The New York Times described Frank thus: “To millions of evangelical Christians, the Schaeffer name is royal, and Frank is the reluctant, wayward, traitorous prince. His crime is not financial profligacy, like some pastors’ sons, but turning his back on Christian conservatives.”

Romal Tune
Romal is the embodiment of living beyond the label. After overcoming the setbacks of his upbringing and the destructive choices of his youth, he is now a sought out communicator, community strategist, and education consultant. His platform, one of the most potent and rich stories of hope you’ll ever hear, is redemption. Since growing up in the trauma of poverty, violence, and the inner-city landscapes void of opportunity, he has triumphed to the heights of a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Howard University and Duke University School of Divinity, an ordained minister, and the author of an award-winning book entitled, God’s Graffiti: Inspiring Stories for Teens.

May 20

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Reaching Further

By Rick Meredith Guest Post

Reaching Further
by Kyle Meyaard-Schaap

Freedom. Joy. Flourishing.

These are some of the fundamental values that mark the identity of the Wild Goose Festival. The radical conviction that humans and the rest of creation were made to be in intimate, abundant relationship with each other and with their God. But it’s also the clear-eyed and gut-deep understanding that this life and this world falls short–that the intended abundant and intimate relationship always remains just out of reach. So why not gather in the forest for a few days every year and reach a little further?

That’s why World Renew is so excited to partner with Wild Goose 2015. Since its inception in 1964, World Renew has shared the conviction of Wild Goose that God envisions so much more for his creation. So much more than hunger and poverty. So much more than violence and oppression. So much more injustice and coercion. So much more than bondage, fear, and separation. That’s why, for the past 53 years, World Renew has been building relationships and walking alongside those who are in poverty. It has worked to do its own small part in bringing hope in the midst of despair, and freedom in the midst of captivity. To live in solidarity with those who are poor, that lessons might be learned from each other and a fuller vision of the kingdom might be caught.

Freedom. Joy. Flourishing.

These are some of the values that, like Wild Goose, also mark World Renew. And like Wild Goose, we too are painfully aware that this life and this world falls short–that the intended abundant and intimate relationship established at creation always remains just out of reach.

So why not gather in the forest for a few days in July and reach a little further?

Salome stands among the pines of her father’s tree farm. World Renew’s local partner organisation, the Sengerema Informal Sector Association (SISA), taught Samwel and other farmers in his area how they can obtain title deeds for their land. With the ability to prove ownership of his land, Samwel has the security to be able to invest in it, especially because it can help in getting loans. He has chosen to plant these fast-growing pine trees which will give him massive returns when they are ultimately felled, and has since invested further money in starting a small business providing advice to other farmers. Without title deeds, farmers are vulnerable to having their land taken away from them, and they have no legal recourse for compensation. They are especially wary of this, now that gold has been found in the ground in several places and mining companies are keen to start operating here.

May 15

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Behind The Scenes With The Wild Goose Programming Team

By Rick Meredith Goose News

The Wild Goose Festival does not take flight on its own. Meet the team of who put the wind beneath its wings: calling speakers, arranging schedules, and generally making sure there are plenty of things for you to do when you arrive. These folks are more than fans of Wild Goose; they are fanatics.

Focusing on spirituality, justice, art, music, youth and accessibility—this year’s programming team includes Cassie Barrett, Troy Bronsink, Whitney Brown, Jeff Clark, Carrie Craig, Micky ScottBey Jones, Holly Roach, Teresa Pasquale, Mary Wortas, and Holly Rankin Zaher.

“I love the beautiful, messy, unpredictable, open space the Goose has created,” says Micky ScottBey Jones, co-curator of the justice track this year. “There are not many spaces curated by those claiming to be Christians that are really spaces of spiritual exploration, challenge, wrestling, and healing.”

: Cassie Barrett

: Troy Bronsink

: Whitney Brown

: Jeff Clark

: Carrie Craig

: Micky ScottBey Jones

: Teresa Pasquale

: Mary Wortas

Teresa B Pasquale is co-curator for spirituality, focusing especially on healing and recovery. This will be her fourth year at the festival. For her, Wild Goose is a pilgrimage of sorts.

“For many people, myself included, it was like a finding a spiritual home.”

“For many people, myself included, it was like a finding a spiritual home,” says Teresa. “It was so richly layered and comforting in a way that didn’t exist where I came from and lived out in my daily life. I think the Goose is that safe space for many. As it grows and the community deepens, it also becomes the seedbed for amazing ideas, projects, programs, and partnerships. It truly is a sacred mountaintop and a pilgrim’s path.”

Micky Having Fun At Wild Goose

Carrie Craig, ADA coordinator for the festival, is on board to ensure that path is open to all. “I look forward to sharing the different ways we can be peacemakers this year,” says Carrie. “The timing is perfect. I am also excited about our musicians! They are going to bring diverse and creative ways to sing our prayers for peace.”

This year, Teresa is excited to hear Gungor and the Liturgists do, as she says, “what they do so well” in the Goose context.

“In terms of the spirituality tent, I am really glad we are going to delve into issues of war, peace, and conflict resolution in a deep and complex way—without simple dualistic, good-or-bad ideologies,” she says. “I am also glad we are continuing to layer in all the spaces interactive sacred practices and experiences for the festival attendees to not just see but be involved in bringing the festival alive.”

I love that my former-pastor, Marine-turned Buddhist Monk friend Bushi can lead a meditation session and my friend Holly Rankin-Zaher can facilitate a conversation on privilege with teenagers in the Youth tent and then a Beer & Hymns session starts up in the evening by the River, all in the same day!

Troy Bronsink, Director of Wild Goose Gallery, will help attendees do just that. This year, over a half-dozen art encounters will be sprinkled throughout the festival: weavers, painters, stations of the cross. This year Wild Goose will also be debuting an evening of short film. “It will be a great way to include this medium in the community we’re building through the goose,” says Troy.

Wild Goose is anything but static. It is growing and changing, from year to year and even from day to day.

As Micky points out, Wild Goose is unique. It is truly an open and safe place.

“I love that my former-pastor, Marine-turned Buddhist Monk friend Bushi can lead a meditation session and my friend Holly Rankin-Zaher can facilitate a conversation on privilege with teenagers in the Youth Tent and then a Beer & Hymns session starts up in the evening by the River, all in the same day!” she says. “It’s a beautiful embodiment of shalom in many ways. It’s not perfect. It’s still messy and requires a ton of grace, but it’s something.”

Wild Goose Programming Team

Apr 29

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2015 Featured Musical Artists!

By Rick Meredith 2015 Contributor, 2015 Festival

Apr 23

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A Soul on Fire

By Rick Meredith Guest Post

Mar 15

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Call for Wild Goose Video Volunteers

By Rick Meredith Uncategorized

As a volunteer member of Wild Goose TV, under the leadership of Rick Meredith, you can expect to become part of a creative, memorable, and enriching experience! WGTV is the Wild Goose Festival’s online channel at YouTube devoted to informing and promoting the festival. During the event there’s a “booth” where attendees can share personal stories or quick comments about anything they choose. Rick and the crew are busy continuously staffing the booth or roaming the activities to capture some moments that matter for posterity.

For example: Here’s a piece created by the WGTV volunteer team.

WGTV needs experienced camera operators/videographers, video editors, interviewers, and production assistants!

WHAT WE’RE DOING

1. “What’s Your Story?” video booth: people are invited to step in and make a brief statement to the camera.

2. Roving video crew, (a camera person and a reporter/interviewer), who can roam the campground and pickup interviews with attendees.

3. General video coverage of anything and everything – Gathering shots that convey the flavor of the festival.

All of this will be going on constantly throughout the festival.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN

Experienced camera operators/videographers with a sense of composition and the ability to operate a camera smoothly. Preferably with your own camera, but we have some equipment you may be able to use.

Interviewers, reporter-types – Outgoing, think on your feet, not afraid to approach strangers and ask them questions. You will also be approaching passersby and talking them into making a brief statement in our video booth.

Production assistants – Helping out in many capacities, no experience necessary.

Contact Rick Meredith directly at [email protected]. Please include a short description of yourself and your video experience.

Mar 09

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