Rooting in the Sacred: Ritual, Community & the Waters of Life

Join us on Sunday, June 4th for Rooting in the Sacred: Ritual, Community & the Waters of Life with celebrated author, ritualist & spiritual teacher Yeye Luisah Teish, beloved musicians, vocalists & songwriters Honey of the Heart, and soul-stirring voices from the Wildchoir.

We live in a dominant culture that has uprooted its connection to the sacred. What role can ritual and earth-based spirituality play in restoring relationship to our ancestors, each other, the places we live and the more-than-human realms? How can we root our lives in a spiritual interconnectedness and reweave a sense of the sacred back into the heart of our culture? Join us as we gather to experience the power of community, music, song, ritual and the waters of life.

IN-PERSON & VIRTUAL: Oakland & Bay area folks...join us in person and bring a friend. For folks in other locations, be part of the power & magic by joining us live online.

RITUAL INVITATION: For those joining in person, we invite you to bring a drum or small instrument to contribute to the collective ritual we'll be engaging in. For virtual participants, you will receive specific instructions for how you can create your own ritual space and engage in our ritual process from where you are.

WHAT: This event is part of Thrive's Beloved Community Journey, a series of learning, practice and action to create a world where we all belong and thrive. Our theme for June is on "Honoring the Sacred."

WHEN: June 4, 2023 from 4pm - 6pm PT / 7pm - 9pm ET (arrive on time!)

WHERE: Humanist Hall - 390 27th St, Oakland, CA 94612

Or virtually on Zoom (link shared when you register)

COST / DONATION: A $5 - $20 contribution is suggested, and you can also contribute more to support the work of Thrive by making a donation. (If you are signed up for the Beloved Community Journey, this event is included and you do not need to sign up here unless you are wanting to make a donation.)

INVITE A FRIEND: Feel free to invite your family and friends, and invite folks on Facebook here.

VOLUNTEERS for In-Person: We are seeking volunteers to help with the set-up and break-down of this event. If you are available to arrive early or stay late, please let us know at: [email protected]

Children: Little ones are welcome to attend. We will not be offering childcare during this event but there will be a space with art supplies and games where they can hang toward the back of the event room.

We look forward to gathering!

In partnership,

the Thrive team

(A video recording of this event will be shared with everyone that registers.)

Accessibility: This venue is wheel chair accessible. Closed captioning will be offered for our virtual participants. Please contact [email protected] with additional accessibility needs and questions. Thank you!

Health & Covid Policy for our In-Person Participants

As we transition back to in-person community events (while maintaining the option for virtual participation), we recognize that there is a wide range of risk tolerance levels and that the current health and Covid-19 context is continuing to change.

To support the health & safety of our entire community, we will be engaging in the following practices:

• For the time being, we are requiring that masks be worn while indoors, regardless of vaccination status, by people aged 2 and older.
• For our guest speakers, performers, and hosts, who will have their masks off at times, we will require that they have a negative rapid Covid test prior to the event.
• For anyone experiencing symptoms that could be associated with Covid or another sickness, they should not attend in person and can join us virtually.

We continue to monitor the local, state and national health recommendations as we move forward. Masks and hand sanitizer will be available at our Welcome Table.

Thank you for your understanding and partnership. Clarifying questions can be sent to: [email protected]

Guest Speaker: Yeye Luisah Teish is an American author of African and African-diaspora spiritual cultures. She is an affluent ritualist, keynote speaker, and spiritual advisor on a global scale. Primarily known for Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals, a women’s spirituality classic published in 1985 by Harper & Row Publishers. This book has been translated into German, Spanish, and Dutch. As of 2021, the work can be purchased on Audible.com narrated in her own voice.

She has contributed to 40 anthologies, most notably Spiritual Guidance Across Religions: A Sourcebook for Spiritual Directors and Other Professionals Providing Counsel to People of Differing Faith Traditions. And, magazines such as Ms., Essence, Sage Woman, and the Yoga Journal have provided further accessibility to her poetry, and essays. Her articles and artworks appear in Coreopsis: Journal of Myth and Theater, and the Cascadia Subduction Zone Journal of Speculative Fiction.

As an Oshun priestess (Yoruba Goddess of Love and Sensuality), Yeye continues to officiate over spiritual retreats, rituals, and workshops that span over forty years since her introduction into the Ifa spiritual practice.

Her most recent book is A Calabash of Cowries: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times. Learn more at: http://www.yeyeluisahteish.com

Guest Artist: Honey of the Heart is an ambrosial mix of musical interpretations influenced by folk, soul, roots and world/flamenco styles. Built upon a repertoire of uplifting original material, they join together with other phenomenal musicians to create an organic state of symbiosis. Many of their songs come forth like ancient incantations, casting angelic spells on all in their path. Honey of the Heart weaves soaring harmonies and hypnotic polyrhythms into an alchemical semblance of groove intended for dancing, rejoicing and blissful recalibration. Internationally acclaimed touring musician Justin Ancheta is a guitarist, vocalist, multi instrumentalist, joined forces with Maren Metke, who is a vocalist, songwriter and instrumentalist performing across the US and India. Both strong composers & performers, they tour as a duo as well as full band.

Honey of the heart is coming off their spring Northwest 2023 tour with Brightside Blue. They are celebrating their third album release in the past couple years featuring the two bands' collaboration at the Center for the Arts in Grass Valley, California. The band was just featured at the Port Angeles, Washington Juan de Fuca Festival. They have performed with the likes of Taj Mahal and Rising Appalachia, featured multiple times at the California world music festival, as well as international tours supporting the creation of worldschooling and family villages internationally. Their live shows emote a sweet nectar of sounds that can bring people to personal revelation, community awareness, and uplift the power of joy in our hearts.

Learn more at: https://honeyoftheheart.com

Wildchoir (formerly known as Thrive Choir) is a diverse group of vocalists, artists, activists, educators, healers, and community organizers who join together in big harmony. They celebrate the confluence of their many cultures & identities, including African-American, Latinx, Asian-American, Native American, Middle-Eastern, immigrant, Jewish, & queer. Their music illuminates the joy, pain, and beauty of what it means to be human in this time of systemic transformation.

They have performed with nationally-acclaimed artists for social change including Rising Appalachia, Climbing Poetree & MaMuse. They also frequently share the stage with progressive heroes of our time, such as Bernie Sanders, Ericka Huggins, Joanna Macy, and Fania Davis. Their music has inspired thousands at marches, conferences and festivals across California, most recently at Bioneers, Lightning in a Bottle, Institute for Noetic Sciences, the North America Permaculture Convergence, the Women's March, and the Rise for Climate March.

Learn more at: https://www.wildchoir.org

THRIVE is a community, network and movement building Beloved Community for these times. We bring people together at the intersections of meaning, belonging, music, the arts and social change. Started in Oakland, CA as Thrive East Bay, we have also grown into the Thrive Network as we work to build a world of love and belonging where everyone thrives.

We are guided by the following core principles:

THRIVING LIVES - We support each other in overcoming personal challenges and injustice, and creating lives filled with purpose, joy, and creative expression.

LOVE IN ACTION - We let love guide us toward compassion, gratitude, empathy, and community among diverse groups of people.

SHARED LEARNING & PRACTICE - We seek to expand our critical awareness and evidenced-based understanding of the world, and to grow together through shared inquiry and transformative practices.

SYSTEMIC CHANGE - We unite to build equitable systems where we can flourish as individuals, as communities, and as a planet.

Learn more at: https://www.thrivenetwork.org

Donate to support the work of Thrive at: https://www.thrivenetwork.org/donate

(Image by Alixa Garcia)

ABOUT the BELOVED COMMUNITY JOURNEY

This event is part of Thrive's , a series of learning, practice and taking action to create a world where we all belong and thrive. Learn more and sign up to participate in the full series of events online at:

Host or Publisher Thrive East Bay