Marion’s Comments

Our summer intern, Chris McKinless, a student at Antioch College, accompanied me to the Gathering, which was held on Willi Nolan’s farm in New Brunswick. My best moments came after I relaxed and decided to “go-with-the-flow”. It was very hard for me to adjust to the native sense of time. I like to have a rather regimented life where things happened at certain times, particularly meals. But things happened not by my sense of time and it was a big adjustment to make. My anxieties about the “success” of the Gathering disappeared after the first week and I began to appreciate all the good moments that were happening. Some of the people who came were caregivers in their own communities and needed a respite and affirmation. One youth was the primary caregiver for his disabled mother. He flourished under the ability to just be a boy again without any cares. Others came because they were suffering from damaged emotions from life events. There was a lot of healing that went on through the traditional sweat lodge to just being able to talk and receive comfort and affirmation. Learning to listen to each other and value the contribution of each took place through taking part in the making of a movie about the GLG, which will be about 15 minutes long and should be available soon. Chris helped as an assistant director to the professional, Errol Williams, and helped write the script. The young people who took part enjoyed learning about filmmaking from cameraman Brian. Watch our website for details. It was a joy to be able to help some of the participants with travel expenses, who would not have made it otherwise. One family of four for instance, coming from Wisconsin got a little help with expenses when their car broke down on the way. Thanks to generous donors who answered our appeal in June. Many thanks!

Willi’s Comments

… Staying up late not wanting the conversations to end even though I was too tired to talk any more.

… coming together after some hard personal conflict about the movie – we decided that we all agreed what we were filming about and together, stood our ground. hugs and encouragement from young and old gatherers.

… the filmmakers thanking us for inviting them!

… watching people heal, sometimes in front of our very eyes.

… Jordan discovering his talent at fixing computer hardware. … young people, olders and elders feeling so loved and nurtured, some for the first time, some not for a long time, that many actually started acting a little spoiled. … amazing meals cooked with love and enjoyed by many.

… smiling, dripping wet people so glad to swim in pure water. … people wanting to connect with each other after the gathering. (it was still August and already 2 youth had used the gathering as a reference for jobs.) … hearing that one of our youth was accepted to medical school – so much hope for the future!

… listening to people planning for next year’s gathering before we were even done this one!

… feeling successful even though 2 “official” helpers didn’t make it – we did it!

Crying as each little group made their way home.