The Stone House

this is early spring at The Stone House...

2010-04-01T06:57:00.000-07:00

seedlings emerging in the greenhouse

collards and kale coming up!

getting ready for Passover

45 friends join together for the Seder

Noah and Joe, our fearless Seder leaders, prepare!

Ilana checks out the props for the 10 plagues while Gary looks on

The Stone House Annual Report

2009-12-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all,

check out our 2009 annual report to get a sense of all the amazing things that have happened here over the past year.

download the pdf by clicking here.

new videos- Albino Garcia and La Plazita

2009-11-16T17:53:00.000-08:00

La Plazita from stone circles at The Stone House on Vimeo.

check out more videos in our resource toolbox!

Come to Our Second Anniversary!!!

2009-09-07T06:19:00.000-07:00

DINNER with FRIENDS
Thursday Sept 24
6:30 pm

This special evening for Friends of The Stone House will include ceremony, a look back at the year and a time to offer words of encouragement, advice and wisdom for the year ahead. And of course, an amazingly scrumptious meal in true Stone House fashion.

Friends are those who have made a five-year pledge of financial support to The Stone House. They - YOU - are the bedrock of our ability to stay alive and well in weird economic times. Not yet a Friend and been meaning to become one? You can become one today, just click here.

A DAY of CONVERSATION and PRACTICE
Friday Sept 25
9:30 am - 4:00 pm
Join us for a day of conversation and practice as we explore three vital and interconnected topics. Each conversation will be initiated by dynamic individuals who will act as "starters." The day will include a light lunch.

1. the future of organizing:
Erin Byrd, Civic Engagement Coordinator, NC Blueprint
Mandy Carter, Organizer, Social, Racial and LesGayBiTrans Justice
Dani Martinez-Moore, NC Justice Center
John Parker, Executive Director, Good Work and stone circles Board member

2. the future of food
Santos Flores, Coordinator, DIG program, SEEDS Community Garden
Tessa Eliza Thraves, Community-based Food Systems Coordinator, Center for Environmental Farming Systems

3. the future of giving:
Darryl Lester, co-founder, Community Investment Network
Frank Phoenix, Board co-chair, Triangle Community Foundation
M. Zulayka Santiago, co-manager of North Carolina Peoples' Coalition and stone circles Board member

A NIGHT of CELEBRATION
Saturday Sept 26
starting at 6 pm
Join us for an evening of music, celebration and ceremony. We'll feature a range of entertainment; please bring a dish for a potluck supper.

To RSVP for any or all events, please email Tricia@stonecircles.org

2009-08-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

Deep Change Gathering Slideshow from stone circles at The Stone House on Vimeo.

The Deep Change Gathering in June of '09 brought together social justice leaders from across the country who are bringing transformative practices into their work for change.

Sponsored by the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation and created by the Movement Strategy Center, stone circles, and the Rockwood Leadership Institute, the gathering gave practitioners an opportunity to learn, explore, and connect around new strategies for transforming ourselves and our world.

These images were taken by Willie Davis and the musical accompaniment is from Baby Cowboy- a local up-and-coming Asheville, NC based band.

Willie Davis-
http://www.williedavis.com/

Baby Cowboy-
http://www.myspace.com/babycowboymusic

2009-08-05T13:55:00.001-07:00

Sasquash! from jesse maceo vega-frey on Vimeo.

Created by the youth from the 2009 Ground UP! program at The Stone House- "Sasquash: what happens when good squash goes bad" brings home the dangers of pesticide on innocent farmers, consumers and bystanders!

2009-08-05T13:54:00.001-07:00

Slammin Jammin 'Matahs from jesse maceo vega-frey on Vimeo.

Another production from the Ground Up! youth program at The Stone House, "Slammin Jammin' 'Matahs" walks us through the pleasures of growing, cooking and eating your own food.

Ground Up!

2009-08-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

~~~Fullness~~~~
by Tahz Walker

Within the long hot days,
And the cool
Dips into night

Sanctified and naïve brush strokes
And the remembrance of summer

In its wildness and wonder

In the saltiness of work with the earth
And laughter at the shared hands
And shared sweat

Fly' s that light our way as the sun sinks
Down

Squawks as the star rises

Meeting I meet you in a mid day slumber

Big sky opening big arms
For circles connecting

As we live with the summers past
And await their return

Last week at the Stone House we hosted 7 youth from the Durham Inner City Gardeners (DIG) for a weeklong intensive program about food, food systems, identity and expression called Ground Up! The Ground Up! program consisted of practical farm trainings, healthy cooking, workshops about mass media and food systems, music and photography journaling.

Ground Up! is a leadership and community building program whose intention is to not only provide practical farm skills for youth interested in food and agriculture but to also provide support to youth interested in building relationships and creating change within the food system.

During the week youth had opportunities to play, cook and create fellowship with each other around questions like: How far does food travel and where does it come from? Does media play a role in how we are shaped as consumers? And, how do celebration, ceremony and intention play a part in how we interact with the food we cook and eat?

We had an amazing time together and look forward to bringing the program back next summer!

Lunch with Henry Louis Gates

2009-07-22T15:30:00.001-07:00

posted by Claudia Horwitz, July 21, 2009

I know Henry Louis Gates did not deserve the abuse and assumptions that greeted him on his doorstep. I know that Gates’ work will only be strengthened by this “regrettable” incident.” And I know Gates showed the Cambridge cop his ID during his arrest and harassment this week. I know because he showed it to me once, over 15 years ago, without my even asking.

I had arrived in Harvard Square one late morning, early for an interview with the Echoing Green Foundation. I’d flown up from North Carolina that day and I was hungry, so I do what hungry people used to do in Harvard Square – saddled up to the counter at the Tasty Diner. The Tasty defined hole-in-the-wall; it was the size of a postage stamp, with only one short counter that held less than 10 seats. And it was comfort food at its best, perfect for pre-interview jitters.

Shortly after I settled in on my seat, I was joined by a slight, distinguished-looking man, not exactly what some might expect at the Tasty if you didn’t know the Tasty. He looked familiar but I couldn’t place him. We started chatting and he was convinced that he knew what I was going to order. I thought it was a bold statement and happily bet him a dollar that he wouldn’t guess. I was on the honor system. I took another moment to peruse the menu above the stove and confirmed to my lunch companion that I’d made my decision.

“BLT,” he said with confidence. I almost got whiplash as I turned to face him. How did he know? I never order BLTs but today, in fact, that’s precisely what I’d decided to have. I told him as much. And sighed.

“I owe you a dollar,” I said.

“No,” he replied. “I want you to give that dollar to someone who really needs it.” I promised him I would.

We continued talking. Eyeing my suitcase, he asked me what I was doing in town and I told him about the interview, which led to more questions about my activism, my aspirations for the future, and finally my family and their support of my path. At that stage I wasn’t convinced that my parents really saw the value of what I was doing with my life. My new friend assured me they would come around and that I needed to keep nurturing the relationship.

Finally, it was my turn. “So, do you work over there at the big “H?” I asked, referring to Harvard University. He said that he did. I asked him if he was a professor and he said yes, again. I asked him what he taught and he told me. I got curious. I figured I should know this guy, so I asked him his name.

And he told me, “Henry Louis Gates.”

“You’re not Skip Gates,” I said, using his nickname. I was serious – he looked way too young for the image in my head – and he was quite amused. Rather than argue, he reached into his pants, pulled out his wallet and promptly showed me his Harvard ID. I just shook my head in shame while he threw his head back with laughter. I wanted to buy him lunch as an apology but he wouldn’t hear of it.

It's this moment - and a million more like it - that defines the measure of a man. But what is it that defines the soul of a nation? That's a whole other question.

2009-07-22T15:30:00.000-07:00

Transformational Leadership Awards

2009-07-09T19:04:00.000-07:00

Jesse and I were awarded one of six "Transformational Leadership Awards" by the Seasons Fund for Social Transformation. The Seasons Fund chose to honor six leadership teams who are defining this emerging field of social transformation and developing new models of leadership itself. Each team received $30,000.

We are excited to share this honor with 5 other groups, some of whom are long-time friends and collaborators:

*Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice

*Forest Ethics

*Generative Somatics

Social Justice Leadership

*Make the Road New York

*Rockwood Leadership Institute

It was real good to connect with our friends Akaya Windwood and Robert Gass from Rockwood

And Mike Edwards, long-time friend and supporter of stone circles from his previous post at the Ford Foundation and my mom (even longer-time friend...!)

first market

2009-05-08T15:53:00.000-07:00

For the first time today, we harvested and sold produce from the garden. $130 worth of arugala, mustard green mix, kale, radishes, spring onions, and eggs.. Very exciting.

Tahz and new stone circles' staff, Cristina Chapman, wash lettuce...

...and we are open for bizness!

A happy customer.

March SOUL Sanctuary

2009-04-27T19:27:00.000-07:00

The March SOUL Sanctuary group enjoyed a tremendous connection - lots of laughter and time for quiet, great food and a lot of good rest.

From the left:
Jasmine Tyler, Drug Policy Alliance, Washington DC; Denise Perry, Power U, Miami FL; Angela Agnew, DC Jail Advocacy Project Washington DC; Bekah Resnick, SEEDS, Durham NC; Alison Larmee, Cape Fear Community Acupuncture, Wilmington NC; and Mitzi Viola, Habitat for Humanity, Durham NC

Angie enjoys a quiet moment on Sunday morning.

nature awareness

2009-04-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

Maeve Gavin from the Wilderness Awareness School joined us to lead a daylong workshop on Nature Awareness and Survival Skills. She began the day by making fire with no match. And then taught us all how to do it...with one match...

the faces of spring

2009-04-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

Students from Alice Brooke White's UNITAS class at UNC-Chapel Hill came for an afternoon visit to The Stone House. They did some quiet reflection on values...

Took a solo walk on the land...

And tasted some early gifts from the garden...

welcoming Highlander!

2009-03-24T13:22:00.000-07:00

Earlier in March we were excited to be able to welcome folks from the Highlander Research and Education Center in Tennessee, and the Threads program which brings together grassroots organizers from across the Southeast. It was a real treat for us because we've been so inspired by the work of Highlander, both historically and currently, and we continue to draw on their amazing example. The Threads folks were in town doing a site visit to the Beloved Community Center and other organizing efforts in Greensboro.

Here's the awesome Elandria Williams, from Highlander's Education Team, who gave us some great ideas about a pilot youth program we're starting to dream up for later this summer:

And the list of what sustains us, from a Sunday morning session on "Sustainability and Organizing" facilitated by Claudia Horwitz.

the old ways

2009-03-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

Our weekly newspaper, The Independent, did a feature story on the hog killing that happened out here on the land in mid-December. Indy photographer Derek Anderson, took some powerful photos and the piece he wrote, "Meat the old-fashioned way: Bridging generations and communities with links in the food chain" is real beautiful too.

Independent Weekly: All Recent Stories - http://www.indyweek.com/

story in the Greensboro News & Record

2009-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

Today's edition of the Greensboro News & Record featured a wonderful article about The Stone House.

Activists find renewal at rural retreat

Sunday, January 25

By Tina Firesheets
Staff Writer

Pavithra Kathanadhi of Mount Kisco, N.Y., participates in a group meditation.

MEBANE - The Stone House is neither made of stone, nor is it merely a house.

It is a gathering place. A sanctuary. A place for solitude when it's needed.

Visitors go for a walk. Read. Or just sit, eyes closed, in silence.

This 70-acre tract of land in Orange County is a refuge for those working to make their communities more just, peaceful, and cohesive. They work to combat and raise awareness about the environment or economic, racial or social injustices where they live.

Some of them work for nonprofit organizations that serve immigrants, the poor or homeless, the elderly or youth. They work long hours, for little pay. Some of them are volunteers who work just as tirelessly without pay.

Burnout comes with this work.

READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE...

And many thanks to reporter Tina Firesheets for her wonderful work!!!

MLK Day

2009-01-25T06:34:00.000-08:00

We took some time out to make cards for our neighbors with one of our favorite quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.

And delivered them up and down Nicks Road.

winter wonderland on Inauguration Day at The Stone House

2009-01-25T06:22:00.000-08:00

Frances is excited...is it the hot chocolate..or the promise of a new era in American life...

2009-01-25T06:12:00.001-08:00

winter days in Mebane

2009-01-11T19:46:00.000-08:00

Fall Times...

2008-12-05T11:00:00.000-08:00

This fall...

The CROP MOB came and banged out a whole new garden for us!

The pigs got some hay to keep them warm at night...

The Magic of African Rhythm came by for a workshop and performance for the Soul Cafe

The October Being Change Retreat was a sucess...

We took care of business.

Jesse and Michele McdDonald led a 10-day silent meditation retreat.

Local ensemble, The Sacrificial Poets, led a workshop and performance.

And Donna Bell had a wedding here!

Board member extraordinaire Omisade Burney_Scott and her partner Mike had a baby shower!! (and later, a beautiful baby)

We started work on Tahz' new digs

Michelle and Claudia had a moment...

our first anniversary celebration!!

2008-10-27T11:52:00.001-07:00

We had an awesome celebration, starting off with good (comfort) food - chili, mac and cheese, chicken pot pie and good greens from the garden.

Cynthia and John reuniting to share some Stone House love...

Tamara dove into the "Poet Tree" project devised by Evangeline...the poems, written in picture frames, will hang from a tree on the land.

Zulayka donned her stilts and (backed by Tahz, Jesse and Claudia on drums) led a procession back to the pavilion where we called the four directions.

Everyone was given offerings from the land (prepared by Margie and Mike) - people took home apples, cedar bundles, stones and goldenrod.

People wrote blessings for The Stone House and tied them up with our newly-harvested corn.

Come Celebrate Our First Anniversary!!!

2008-09-04T05:42:00.001-07:00

Soul Sanctuary

2008-08-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

The Stone House held its first SOUL Sanctuary program in late July. and by all accounts it was a major success. SOUL Sanctuary is a five-day monthly refuge program for organizers and activists and it's offered at no charge. We welcome up to six people each month for:
~rest, fellowship & community
~regular opportunities for meditation and yoga
~time in the garden, art studio, and on the land
~home-cooked, locally grown food

Here’s some personal testimony from Anike Robinson, a public school teacher from Washington, DC:

I did not come here quietly. I talked all the way from DC to North Carolina. I talked first in the first circle and the teacher in me wanted to fill the silence if only with my voice. But I listened. I felt the presence of those around me and it felt like home but better, more socially aware. The novice artist in me has been dormant but there was a room waiting, the smell of paint baiting me and so I had to honor the time and space. Although I cannot take Stone House with me I have decided to leave something behind me: “Come closer, if only to see me,” said Stone House. I have seen It, heard It, felt It, and this nameless IT is like the Tao, a well that will never run dry.

our new practice space

2008-08-05T11:43:00.000-07:00

After many months of stripping, cleaning, cutting new windows, painting, laying floor and much more, our new practice space is finally finished!

Before...

During...

After...

Come join us.

an abundant harvest

2008-07-07T14:01:00.000-07:00

We've been harvesting abundance from the garden and learning to preserve it. Last week we canned 60 jars of plum jam with fruit from our tree...

picked a TON of kale and chard, blanched it and froze it...

made a boatload of pesto from the basil...

and pickled a whole lotta cucumbers!

Meinrad Craighead comes to Mebane!

2008-06-06T10:32:00.001-07:00

We were thrilled to host a morning conversation with artist and mystic, Meinrad Craighead. The event was organized by the Resource Center for Women and Ministry in the South, the organization that has been creating a documentary about Meinrad's life and art. For more on this amazing project, see www.MeinradProject.org

Claudia welcomes Meinrad to The Stone House. Over 40 people came to hear Meinrad speak about her life journey.

Meinrad invited everyone to bring a sacred object and we created an altar in the center of the circle.

Meinrad offers a closing prayer...
...and shares a few quiet moments with Zak the dog.

wildflower walk

2008-06-06T10:23:00.000-07:00

Gary Phillips, local naturalist, activist and favorite person of many in the Triangle, came to The Stone House in April to lead a wildflower walk. Gary gave a great overview of how we can think about eco-systems and then we walked the perimeter of the land, identifying numerous flowers and trees as we went.

Gary points out the coral honeysuckle which bloom along the road near the chicken coop.

Being Change: the way of the activist

2008-04-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

After holding our retreat, "Being Change: The Way of the Activist" at other centers across the country, we held our first one at The Stone House. 12 amazing people, ages 30-68, came from as close as Durham, as far as Berkeley CA, from Brooklyn, West Virginia and DC. We spent gorgeous spring days in sitting meditation, yoga, discussion, art, storytelling and more.

Sau and Michelle put their heads together...

Collage-making to express our prophetic visions for the world.

La Sarmiento considers her work.

Ric and Corey connect on the last day of the retreat.

Laughing meditation, our closing ritual...

highlights from the Soul Cafe

2008-04-07T05:17:00.000-07:00

In late March, The Stone House hosted its first Soul Cafe, an afternoon for local musicians, poets, storytellers, artists and community members. Oragnized by outreach coordinator, Solita Denard, the Soul Cafe attracted folks from as far as the mountains and as close as Mebane to share some of their amazing talent. We were joined by very special guests, "Rising Appalachia" and their sounds of folk, world roots music, and hip hop. Their music and spirit lifted The Stone House right outta the ground... If you do one thing today, you should go to their website, www.RisingAppalachia.com and CHECK THEM OUT!!!

Leah on banjo, John on bass, Tahz on drums

Chloe on banjo and there's Tep in the back left on drums.

From our own backyard (!) Mebanesville shared their soulful sounds of local music with a global sensibility. We're excited to make these new friends. You can find out more on their website, www.Mebanesville.com

Phyllis Wiley, from Durham, shared a heart-stopping piece from her book, "Soul Grasping Poetry." Check out the power.

Ruth King, visiting NC from her home in Berkeley, got everyone on their feet as accompaniment to her words on rage and healing. There is more about Ruth's work, her book and workshops on "Healing Rage" on her website: www.HealingRage.com

Glen Kearn from Mebane shares his powerful song-writing and playing.

Solita enjoys a much-deserved break!

first sights of Spring

2008-04-07T05:08:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right - first signs... sights... smells of Spring at The Stone House. So much is blooming all around us - purple, pink, white, yellow and lots and lots of GREEN. This is one of our first pear blossoms above.

Lots starting to poke through the soil in the garden as well.

The greenhouse is finished.

And lots of small, new life forms are making their home in it.

preparing for Spring

2008-02-26T19:15:00.000-08:00

Over 30 folks joined together this past weekend to work on the land, including members of "Cakalak Thunder," a radical drum corps based in Greensboro; new friends from the local Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation; and friends from Durham.

Rose and Vivette finish painting new trim for the windows in our new practice space.

Moving mulch from the truck...

... to the garden.

Will paints our tools blue...

While Rachel paints the walls green.

By lunch, the morning's work was coming to an end but the music was just beginning. Cakalak played their incredible rhythms, inspired by Brazilian samba and collectively created as music of resistance. Check out more about this unique and potent group on their website.

Community Feast for MLK Day

2008-02-26T18:42:00.001-08:00

For the past five years, Gita and Edd Gulati-Partee have gathered people for a Community Feast in honor of the Martin Luther King holiday. (Those are Gita's proud parents in the foreground!) It's a unique gathering; everyone brings a dish to share from their cultural background and the entire group shares some about this history with each other. After many years of hosting the event in Durham, we were thrilled when Gita and Edd chose to have it this year at The Stone House.

Next time you come by, check out the fabulous "I Have a Dream" banner on the wall, made lovingly by hand with Edd and still hanging on our wall. The banner displays this quote from King's "Beyond Vietnam - A Time to Break Silence" speech on April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New York:

We must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. A nation can flounder as readily in the face of moral and spiritual bankruptcy as it can through financial bankruptcy.

Lovely host Gita shares a moment with Q Gaynor, friend and awesome building and maintenance person at The Stone House.

winter wonder land

2008-02-26T18:30:00.000-08:00

winter begins

2007-12-10T10:14:00.000-08:00

photo by willie davis

Well, with the thermometer at a toasty 77 degrees- it doesn't exactly feel like December [at least to the Yankees among us] but we at the Stone House have prepared ourselves for the colder months anyhow.

At the end of November, a bunch of friends- new and old- came by to help out with our volunteer work weekend. We had a blast time painting cabins, caulking windows, clearing forest brush and gathering firewood -among other tasks- all the while, keeping warm, eating good food and having fun. For those of you who missed out- Don't Worry!- we'll be having monthly work weekends beginning next season.

Then, just a couple weeks ago, North Carolina Public Allies held a day-long retreat at the Stone House. Public Allies is an awesome program designed to help strengthen communities, nonprofits and civic participation by advancing new leadership. By all accounts, they had a great time and were able to settle right into the space and make it their home for the day. Margie had fun leading them through a morning workshop that had them talking, walking, reflecting and doing some art!

Open House at The Stone House

2007-11-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

On a gorgeous late October Saturday, we had our first Open House at The Stone House. Sixty folks came for a self-guided tour of the land and buildings, to carve a pumpkin or make a prayer flag, and eat some delicious chili. There were kites to fly in the pasture and meditation cushions in the pavilion. People came from near and far to see what we were up to, inquire about bringing a group, tour the space, and hang out. Good times, good times.

Solita welcomes our neighbor Verena back to the land.

Jesse and cousin Joanne dig into some pumpkin carving and get caught up on family news.

Deva and Emi show off their pumpkins.

Communion in the trees - a conversation between first-time visitors Usha Gulati (far left) and Beverley Francis (far right), and long-time Stone House supporters Gita Gulati-Partee and Omisade Burney-Scott.

Margie prepares for our first big crowd!

We loved welcoming back our friends from the Human Kindness Foundation. From the left: Claudia, Kevin Desert (who still lives with us here on the land, with his wife Lizzie and son Ryan; we'd be kinda lost with out them!), Sita and Bo Lozoff, Catherine Miller and Jesse.

Nicole takes a well-deserved break from her awesome efforts coordinating the event. (And only two weeks into her time with us.... bravo....!! )

Armand Lenchek (real estate agent extraordinare and blues musician to boot!) and Jerry Hull reunite at The Stone House.

Pumpkin Sangha...

wisdom and compassion at The Stone House

2007-10-25T12:35:00.001-07:00

On Sunday the 21st of October, Michele McDonald- a longtime meditation practitioner and teacher, came to The Stone House to teach a daylong retreat entitled "Compassion as Vehicle for Liberation."

Our first public event at The Stone House brought in 25 wonderful beings to the land- eager to spend the day in silence and contemplation. They arrived just in time to break in our new meditation cushions and explored each and every corner of The Stone House.

It was great to see people doing walking meditation in the open fields and under the pine groves and eating lunch in silence under the warm sun. A refreshing fall breeze would pass through the meditation hall every so often and help keep people awake after lunch!

A number of folks stuck around for a potluck dinner and a beautiful sunset. At the end of the night we watched a slide show that Michele put together on monastic life in Burma. It was a chance for people to learn more about the country and how they can help foster democracy and support humanitarian work going on there now.

Check the stone circles' website to find out more about our work to purchase and distribute video equipment in Burma. The military regime is trying very hard to prevent images and news content of the situation from leaving the country. One of the best ways we have to supporting the effort of the Burmese people is to make sure the lines of communication to the outside world stay open and up-to-date.

A Feast of Thanks

2007-10-25T12:34:00.002-07:00

On Saturday, October 20th, Claudia and Jesse prepared a meal for all our friends in the area who helped make the move to The Stone House a success. The first of what we hope will be an annual "feast of thanks" to appreciate those who have given so much.
Of course, we had a wonderful time with our peeps- eating, drinking and being merry. We fed ourselves on local harvest-season goodies like stuffed squash and cranberry sauce. Claudia pulled off a great sweet potato pie and we ended the night full of food and good vibes.

At the end of the evening, we roamed down to the pond for a little ceremony to bless the land and ask for rain. We all connected with the goodness in our own ways- some frolicking in the water, others contemplating the starry night on good dry land!

our first group arrives at The Stone House

2007-10-25T12:34:00.001-07:00

On October 10th we had our first group come for an overnight!

It was great to welcome the facilitators for Making Money Making Change who met for two days to prepare for their roles at their annual conference in Whitakers, NC. Many thanks to conference organizer Tanya Diaz, the good folks at Resource Generation, and RG board member (and Friend of The Stone House!) Chad Jones for making this possible.In addition to meeting new friends, it's always good to see folks we've known and loved for a while, like Omisade Burney-Scott, stone circles Board Chair, and Chad Jones, above - both are Friends of The Stone House!

We spent the week before the event scrambling to get the place ready. New sheets, new mattresses, new lamps, new silverware, glasses, couches, and shower curtains awaited our first guests. We made sure the hot water heaters and toilets and wells were all in great working condition. The event was a complete success and we got great feedback on The Stone House. We made it through with only one glitch- we forgot to turn the hot water on in the lower cabin! Yikes, well, they say cold showers are good for ya!

moving in...

2007-10-25T12:10:00.000-07:00

stone circles staff spent the end of September and early October moving in to our new digs in Mebane! Here Margie and Solita contemplate our new reality, surrounded by boxes in the new office on the land.

Jesse and Claudia spent their free time [!] moving into their new cabins at either end of the property- cleaning, painting, and settling down. Friends, family, god children - anyone we could find, really- helped us with painting, packing, unpacking, and more.

stone circles at the United States Social Forum

2007-08-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

Written by Jesse Vega-Frey

Sometime in the fall of 2006, a ragtag group of radical seekers, soul rebels, healer-practitioners, and mystic-rabblerousers from across the country started getting on the phone to talk about how their piece of social justice work was going to represented a the United States Social Forum coming to Atlanta in June 2007.

Buddhists, Yoruba practitioners, Jews, Indigenous medicine people, sound-healers, Christians, and yogis - many of whom had never met– came together from a spectrum of racial backgrounds, geographic roots, and activists worlds because they knew something good was cooking.

Woking closely with Cara Page from Deeper Waters and Kindred, we had no idea what the outcome would be. And though we used a lot of different language to talk about it, we were sure about two things:

• that the work of liberation has inner dimensions which are rarely attended to in mainstream activist culture,
• and that the USSF was the perfect place to demonstrate their value and power to a broad range of social change agents.

From my perspective, our work together offered something unique, powerful and much needed to the community of activists and folks doing the hard, heart-work of change... There’s little else I can imagine being more thrilled and content about offering to people as a sacred space for centering and healing.
-Oren Sofer, Buddhist Peace Fellowship

We soon we decided to create a Healing and Spiritual Practice Space in the context of the USSF that would be available to all Forum participants during the week of the event. We pulled an awesome planning group together, including Egypt Brown; Ari Shapiro, Shash Yazhi, Jesus Solorio, at Spirit in Motion; Oren from the Buddhist Peace Fellowship; Esmeralda Simmons, Tulani Kinard, Jodi Lasseter, and others. We developed guiding principles for our collective vision and collaboration:

• We believe the work of revolution, liberation and transformation is integrally connected to art, creativity, nature, prayer, ceremony, ritual and healing.

• We are supporting each other as we build this work, developing both programming and a network of spiritual activists, artists, healers and practitioners.

• We place great value on sharing community, traditions and practices from many different paths and we realize the potential risks involved in creating this kind of cross-cultural, multi-traditional context. We commit that least 50% of practitioners and healers will be people of color.

• We remain conscious of how spiritual and healing practices – particularly from indigenous traditions and peoples – can and have been misappropriated. We have great respect for the roots of all traditions and ask that people embody this respect in their offerings.

five days at the Forum

We don't just want this kind of work, we need it. That deep resting, openness and connection is critical for creating change. Change is not created through hate, change and transformation are created through cracking open and seeing in a different way. And to do that there needs to be safe places for that coming together and opening to occur.
- Briana -

(photo from USSF website)

While nearly 10,000 people buzzed around downtown Atlanta for the 5 days of the US Social Forum, several hundred of them found a quiet place of rest and reflection in the space on the corner of Piedmont and Ralph McGill.

Housed in the bottom floor of the AIDS Survival Project, the Healing and Spiritual Practice Space was held by a team of practitioner volunteers whose confidence that healing and spiritual practice are essential to the work of social justice energized their commitment to creating a space at the Forum for this piece of the work.

Throughout the four days that the space took shape, activists, organizers, agitators and practitioners came to find refuge in the space in a variety of ways. Perhaps you were one of the several hundred participants of the USSF who stopped by the space during your adventures in Atlanta. Maybe you came to get a massage, to learn how to meditate or dropped in for a yoga class. Maybe you just needed a place to close your eyes, gather your energy, snag an apple and a bottle of water, and head back out to the hot Atlanta sun. Whether you participated in a wellness workshop, sound healing, or ceremony, spent some time praying, got an acupuncture or energy treatment or took a nap, you probably left refreshed, relaxed and renewed- ready to get back to the myriad other tasks at hand. Over three hundred people participated in the varied workshops, ceremonies, and body and energy work. Many came into the space exhausted and war-torn, and left rested, energized and clear minded.

From posters and programming to ceremony and altars, everyone brought tremendous energy and grace, and the collective vibe was felt by folks whoencountered the space in its various aspects. Twenty-five healing practitioners from Atlanta and across the US came to offer their hands through community acupuncture, reiki and massage. Together we created a refuge and place of deep learning for USSF participants, and also inherently created a space that explored multi-cultural and cross-traditional, spiritually grounded work.

In addition to the indoor space, several outdoor altar spaces were created by the group, lead by Egypt, Cara, Omisade Burney-Scott and others. An Ancestor Altar and a Memorial Altar were set up in Renaissance Park to invite attendees to acknowledge the work and struggles of those gone before us. An Abundance Altar was created in the Art Lab at the Task Force for the Homeless. Our hope was to invite the use encourage the use of sacred space throughout the forum.

It was great to have people come together in a peaceful, loving, spiritual gathering, something I feel that embodied what the whole forum was about. Also I was glad to finally learn Qi Gong, something I had wanted to do for years. May we have the likes at every such event.

-Brian Tate

Our hope is that this work and particular piece of programming was recognized by the broader group of attendees and by the USSF organizers in particular so that in the future, spaces and practices that attend to the inner needs of activists and organizers will be acknowledged and supported in the future. It is our sincere belief that this kind of work not only sustains those working for change but also transforms the work that we are doing in the world as our actions begin to embody the peace, justice and freedom that we so powerfully seek in the world around us.

kindred spirits: a visit to the Highlander Center

2007-05-26T12:15:00.000-07:00

Recently, I spent four days at the Highlander Center for Research and Education in New Market, TN. Highlander has such an incredible history of supporting movement-building and organizing in the South; there is no way to do it justice here. You can read a lot more about the decades of strengthening labor organizing, civil rights work, fighting environmental degredation in Appalachia, creative youth work, protecting immigrant rights and much, much more in the history section of their website.

This visit to Highlander was a gift in every way. It is inspiring to walk the land of an institution that has been holding down a powerful place of transformation for 3/4 of a century. An organization that continues to reinvent and update their mission and approach as times and conditions shift. A space where people have access to the lessons of the past and the possibilities of a different future. A place that is strongly rooted in the realities of the South and clear about where it fits in the global landscape.

a view from the Hill

Highlander's storied rocking chairs

Highlander will be celebrating their 75th Anniversary this August 31-Sept 2 - a weekend not to be missed for anyone interested in social justice and cultural work in the South. The coordinator, Anasa Troutman, is one of the more spirited and organized people I've met in a long while. And the weekend is shaping up to be a fantastic blend of head and heart, sound and strategy. Really - what better is there to celebrate labor day???

After I got an invitation to facilitate a workshop at Highlander for Guilford College alumni doing social change work, I arrived early to learn more about the work Highlander is doing now and how they continue to convene a range of programs and groups creating a better world.

I got to see old friends like Pam McMichael (far right in the photo), one of my favorite people. Pam is the Executive Director and has dedicated her life to building coalitions across race, class, gender and sexual identity in the South. She introduced me to some very good folks like Charlie Biggs (far left) who is organizing Highlander's capital campaign and managing the website, and Johnny Bailey (in the middle) who has been tending to the land and buildings at Highlander for over 25 years!

I also got to spend some time with long-time Durham activist Manju Rajendran, who is now working at Highlander, co-coordinating their youth organizing and leadership work. Manju has spent much of her life in Durham organizing against war and oppression and organizing for the rights of young people, people of color, people living in poverty - and all with her deep conviction that another world is possible. Durham's loss is Highlander's gain.

One of the highlights of the weekend retreat for the Guilford College folks was the evening w

e spent with Guy and Candie Carawn. Guy and Candie have been at Highlander off and on (mostly on) since 1960 and they are a big part of the history of civil rights movement songs. They adapted "We Shall Overcome" from a gospel song and introduced it to movement organizers in the 1960's. You can learn more about their lives working in Applachia and the Sea Islands on their website; their daughter Heather also made a beautiful film about them - "The Telling Takes Me Home."

first fruits

2007-04-30T08:44:00.000-07:00

Spring has arrived in North Carolina and everything is blooming. The earth. The branches. The Stone House, too. We've been spending the past few weeks reaching out to friends and colleagues to help us plan our fundraising strategy, make a pledge, read the case statement, walk the land, and offer ideas.

Marjanne, Geneva, and Ameka taste the first strawberries of the season during their first visit to The Stone House land.

Many, many thanks to all of you out there who are working to bring this vision to life:

*Our incredibly hard-working board - Omisade Burney-Scott, Marian Urquilla, David Sawyer, Polly Weiss, John Parker and Zulayka Santiago. (Omi, John and Z - below - on their first trip to the land... hard at work in the kitchen!)
*Margot and Ellis Horwitz for being our first major individual donors!!!

*Our institutional funders for considering longer-term commitments toward our programs.

*Kindred spirits at the New Dharma Center for Urban Peace in Oakland, CA who are working to buy their own building! Check them out and particularly if you live on the west coast, see what you can do to help.

*Bert Armstrong and Tom Maguire from the Philanthropic Advisory Group who are helping us craft a solid fundraising strategy.

Isabela Basombrio-Hoban who just sent us blessing strings from H.H. Dalai Lama, which she received on her recent trip to Dharamsala, India.

*Leigh Morgan, a long-time friend and colleague now living in the Bay Area, who helped to develop the Ripples training many years back. Leigh heard about The Stone House and immediately put her bonus check in the mail!

And so many more...

Fruit trees coming to life in the orchard.

There's a lot of inspiring work happening in the North Carolina activist community right now as well. The speakout/rally at this past Saturday's National Day of Truthtelling: Creating a World Without Sexual Violence was one of the more important things to happen in Durham in a long time. Survivors spoke out. Activists spoke out. Allies spoke out. I was reminded again that another world IS possible and that statistics and stories need to be shared.

And tomorrow (Tuesday, May 1) is the statewide Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. It starts with a lobby day at the state legislature and culminates with a rally at the state capitol building at 5:00 pm.

finding your way around...

2007-04-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

Our good friend, Ellen O'Grady, drew this awesome map of The Stone House. In a couple of weeks, Ellen will return to Palestine to work with the Tel Rumeida Project in Hebron. If you click on the map, you can see it on a bigger scale!

A community kitchen

2007-03-19T12:05:00.000-07:00

The community kitchen feeds 35-40 people. It is a beautiful, sunny inviting space, likely to be a heart of The Stone House.

The good, green earth

2007-03-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

The land at The Stone House will help to ground those who come and the work we do together. In addition to hard woods, there is about 45 acres of undeveloped pasture. We plan to use at least some portion of this for organic farming; we're also investigating various conservation options. There's also a cultivated vegetable garden and a small orchard with appl, fig, peach, and pear trees, and a 2-acre pond for swimming.

A place for spiritual life and strategic action

2007-03-19T11:39:00.000-07:00

The land has six cabins like this one, for folks on retreat, program participants, or staff. They are all passive solar and hand-crafted by Bo Lozoff and friends from the Human Kindness Foundation. HKF does amazing work with prisoners around the country and they have been living and working in this place for over 15 years.

And this is the main meditation/practice space.
It holds 30-40 people comfortably.

Welcome to The Stone House

2007-03-02T16:52:00.000-08:00

The sky above from Mebane, North Carolina...

Here is where we at stone circles and many of our friends will be creating The Stone House: A Center for Spiritual Life and Strategic Action. This blog will keep folks posted on our progress and our journey. To find out more about stone circles and our work to sustain activists and strengthen the work for social justice, please check out our website.