This morning I caught William's tweet about The Earth Harp Collective's livestream performance in TX at the Lake Pointe church. Being the proud owner of "Holidays" which William self-released this time last year I tuned in to see the live performance of some of its tracks.. The album includes songs that were recorded in the studio that was designed into the home that replaced the one he had lost in a fire two years earlier. The studio's construction is such as to accommodate the harp and to replicate as close as possible in a recording the live experience of The Earth Harp. This album shows that that effort was very successful but it is also great to see the Earth Harp and all the other instruments and voices with the holiday decorations around it.
I found this morning's performance ironic, prophetic and a huge opportunity. Lake Pointe is a non-denominational, evangelical congregation...fundamentalist Christians. Definitely not the people one would find on The Playa in August covered in skins and feathers, sending their praise and prayers to the Universe heavenward in the giant bonfire that is the immolation of The Temple. In fact, I think it's a safe bet that most of the people that attend this church and others like it would cross the street to avoid contact with the members of The Tribe and go home and say all manner of awful things about these dirty hippie, tree huggers. And yet, this day those dirty hippies brought probably the truest, most glorious version of "the message" into their midst.
First and foremost my love of The Tribe and my gratitude to them for being invited into its fold is that we believe in a global community. We believe that the New Era that we ushered in on the Solstice last year will culminate in the breaking down of all barriers. No more will we use the words racist, biggot, homophobe. There will be no terms that separate us from one another. The lamb shall lie down with the lion and we will live in perfect peace. We will know agape, unconditional love. We are open to all religious options. We recognize and respect the great prophets, the mighty people of the gods. We know the names given to the divine mother and father spirits and honor them all. We appreciate the merits of the life and words attributed to the man known as Jesus of Nazareth.
So it is that The Tribe came humbly into this gathering of those who claim to follow this Jesus and with them they brought His message of deep, peace. They delivered spiritual healing with instrument and voice. William, a human imbued with knowledge of the angels, brought that otherworldly instrument into this space so that humans could experience the actual sounds of Heaven. Rafe came with that voice that rises over the din and delivers this glorious prayer in Jesus' own native language. They came with the spirit of family-both nuclear and extended. Sarah and William took their love for one another and pushed it into the strings of the Harp.
I'm sure that all the members of The Earth Harp Collective were well aware that the people they were sharing this with, in other circumstances, would not associate with them, would call them heathens, unbelievers. However, the agape love they live compels them to share the greater message. To help fill in the blanks left in the theology. The Tribe truly loves mankind. It is not that we are "better than you"...we want to add our parts of the machine to this. We want you to "live life abundantly". We want to help break your hearts and spirits open, to throw open the gates and let the real joy, love and peace enter in. This was your Jesus' message. It can be so much more.
Thank you William, Sarah, Rafe, and all the other musicians who share their talents so unselfishly. I have to say that I was terribly sad to find the words I feared seeing in the chat screen running alongside the video feed. I pray often that "Christian" would live Jesus' teaching about not judging. I wish they would open their spirits and see that we are all part of this family, we just have different ways of connecting with the Divine, worshiping, praising and honoring the Great Being(s) that created The Universe. Interesting that it was a "fundie preacher" that once taught me that we all have a tiny sliver of this great Universal pie and the point for us each to share it to create the complete story. Last year when I did my Good Friday labyrinth meditation, I saw this all as a giant machine and we are each a gear, a cog, a chain, a key...it will take every one of us to run smoothly...to create peace. Don't take the joy out of this holy season of The Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, Yule...this season when we come together to find the strength to get through coldest part of the year, to celebrate having survived to the longest night and moving toward more hours of daylight even though it is a time that food is at its scarcest and weather its fiercest in the Northern Hemisphere. All these holy days have elements of coming together, sharing a meal, gifting, decorating and bringing a light into a dark place. I hope that those people who have accepted the twisted message of The Christ, have a vision of what my friends brought to them and shared with hearts filled with love and one day start to break down the walls and learn to live in real peace with ALL people.
You can purchase "Holidays" here:
ttp://williamcloseholidays.bandcamp.com/album/holidays
http://www.amazon.com/Holidays-William-Close-Earth-Collective/dp/B00ALBNO1K
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/williamcloseandtheearthh2
and on iTtunes
Learn more about William Close and The Earth Harp:
http://williamandtheearthharp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/WilliamAndTheEarthHarp
