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| Parliament of the Worlds Religions Day 1: 1999 Parliament of the Worlds' Religions - a personal account Sue and I arrived in Capetown on Tuesday evening around 4:00. As soon as we got off the plane we found a Parliament representative just inside the door, arranging transportation and helping us on our way to the hotel where we are staying. EarthSpirit had planned a reception for all of the pagan delegates attending the Parliament, and luckily, Deborah Ann Light, EarthSpirit's representative to the Assembly of Religious and Spiritual Leaders, had made the necessary arrangements, so all we had to do was appear with our beautiful banner and greet people as they arrived. About 20 people came, including Selena Fox and Dennis Carpenter from Circle; Don Frew and Rowan Fairgrove from Covenant of the Goddess; Deborah Ann Light; Michael York from the UK; Shelly Dryden and Carol Nelson from Johannesburg; Melissa Grant, EarthSpirit's student representative to The Next Generation Project here; Erin Wells, another EarthSpirit member whose paper for The Next Generation was just accepted to be read here tomorrow; Sarah Avery and several others. We took some great photos which we will post here at a later date. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect, find out about each other's presentations and put names and faces together. International Aids Day On Wednesday, International Aids Day, the Parliament officially began with the opening of the International Memorial Aids Quilt at the Company Gardens in the middle of town. There were many speakers, including the mayor of Capetown, who spoke of the devastating crisis of AIDS in South Africa and called on the religious community to act and educate and stimulate the wealthier nations to offer resources to combat this "plague" that is afflicting third world countries so harshly. The pagan contingent gathered in a corner of shade as the enormous group began to take shape for the opening procession. We positioned ourselves between some brilliantly orange-robed Muslims and a large group of Ba'hai and headed down the road. We carried an EarthSpirit banner with the beautiful graphic of the Earth Mother surrounded by plenty that Leona Stonebridge Arthen designed for the MotherTongue t-shirt. It read: "EarthSpirit: Honoring the Earth as Sacred", and it drew lots of attention and appreciation as we walked the two mile route through the city. 
As we left the gardens, we were met with protesters who bore signs saying things like: "PWR has a secret agenda", "PWR is a plot of the Free Masons", "Why the Silence about East Timor?", "The Q'ran has a cure for AIDS, not PWR", and, my personal favorite - "Why are the Satanists here?" Most of the signs were in the same handwriting and, although there were probably 50 people holding them along the route, most of the people that we passed cheered us on and waved. We sang "Air I Am" and "We All Come From the Goddess" as we walked along. Many people asked about who we were and we passed out business cards as we could. Many, many reporters - both TV and photographic focused in on us -- I wonder where we'll turn up? The procession culminated at District Six - a beautiful site with views of both the sea and Table Mountain, once inhabited by a large multi-racial community and destroyed, razed, by the government of apartheid. There is nothing there now but a vacant lot. The Parliament has built a stage there and we entered the area through an archway hung with "peace flags" made by the children of South Africa. We then crossed a wide bridge of salt, symbolic of the tears and sacrifice of those who once lived there, and entered a circle marked with four, 15-foot, wire and fabric sculptures representing fire, water, earth and air. The opening ceremonies began with a beautiful call on a traditional wind instrument and the entrance onto the stage of four women and four children. The children were robed in elemental colors and bore wooden bowls of salt or water, it was hard to tell. The women and children moved in pairs to face the four directions. When they were in position a fifth pair came onto the stage. This woman was in safari dress and bore a torch with a flame that she spoke of as the "Flame of Hope". She went to each direction and presented the woman there with the flame. The woman then addressed the direction she faced and invoked the element associated with it. I was blown away! It was SO beautiful. Our own Deborah Ann Light was first, invoking fire in the North (we are in the southern hemisphere now). She was followed by an African woman in traditional dress addressing Water in the South, then Omi Baldwin, a Native American woman in the West, and an Indian woman in the East. The four then turned and, with their accompanying children, joined the woman with the torch in the center of the circle, lit candles from the torch, and then lit a central flame all together. 
Watching all of this with the great mountain above and the glistening sea below brought me to tears. Thousands of people standing there in the hot sun, come together for the purpose of creating peace and understanding, honoring the Earth and each other. It was terribly moving. Three original residents of District Six then addressed the group. One woman, a Muslim who was born in the area, said that she was eighty years old and that all she wanted was to die where she was born rather than in the township to which she had been relocated so many years ago. The other two men made moving statements as well. Three religious leaders then addressed the crowd: Ma Jaya, a Hindu teacher from Florida, who was elemental in bringing the AIDS quilt to Capetown; The Supreme Master Ching Hai, who spoke of the need to find peace within and act from there for the good of all; and Rabbi Herman Schaalman from Chicago, who was most eloquent in talking about the great mystery which inspires us all, which has many names and for some has no name at all. Mercifully for all of us, the ceremony was brief because it was 90 degrees and we were in the blazing sun. Several vendors sold frozen fruit pops at inflated prices around the edges of the circle, and space under the many umbrellas was in great demand. When the ceremony ended, people wound their way down the hill to the Good Hope Center where the Opening Plenary Session was to begin. It was delayed, due partially to the slow security measures being taken at the door (there was a pipe bomb explosion in Capetown a few days ago). We went into the large hall and were greeted by drummers on the stage who encouraged us to join along by clapping different rhythms in various parts of the room. It was fun and when the talking finally began, I missed the drums. Jim Kenny, the director of the Parliament, addressed us all first, and then we were welcomed by the local directors, Gordon Oliver and Afrika Msimang. The mayor of Capetown spoke as did religious leaders from the Muslim, Hindu, Jewish and Christian communities in the Capetown area. A children's choir sang the South African national anthem and the meeting concluded with information about the operation of the Parliament and what to do when, etc. (the ever-present "few announcements"). And so, we were off to a momentous beginning here. I will write more as the days go along. I feel privileged to represent EarthSpirit here and to help spread understanding of the Earth traditions among all of these good people.
Until later,
Return to the 99 Parliament Information page We invite you to go to the CPWR web site to look at all of the events planned for the week in South Africa Many thanks to the generous donors who contributed to this project and made it possible. |
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