Gathering for Mother Earth To Be Held Saturday, September 22

The Gathering for Mother Earth is an annual event which brings together

those living in and around military and nuclear weapons sites throughout the

world. The Gathering is meant to raise environmental awareness about

radiation, transportation and health risks, while nurturing and encouraging

the healing of the mind, heart and spirit.

We will also be doing an "Earthprayer for World Peace" - a community

collaborative earth monuement to Peace come play in the mud !

Tewa Women United, who organized the Gathering, along with many other

non-governmental organizations, welcome all communities to bring their

families and friends to the 11th Annual Gathering for Mother Earth. The

Gathering will be held on Saturday, September 22nd, from sunrise to sunset,

at Pojoaque Ben's Gathering Grounds, on Highway 502 West in Pojoaque, New

Mexico.

Each year the Gathering has a color theme to stimulate discussion and aid in

healing. Color has long been used by cultures around the world for healing.

This year it is blue, the color for speaking the truth. The energy of blue

connects sky with water for all life on the earth.

Activities will include memorial ceremonies, healing arts, ecological safety

information, drumming circles, the annual Tsankawi Relay Run, health related

information sharing, raffle drawings every hour, solar cooking and produce,

arts and crafts, alternative energy and activities for youth. The Saturday

evening communal meal entrees will include traditional foods, such as

buffalo and salmon, as well as the three sisters, which consist of beans,

corn and squash.

This year‚s gathering will include memorial ceremonies for two elders who

have passed recently, Corbin Harney, Western Shoshone spiritual leader and

healer, and Esther Martinez, a Native language teacher and storyteller from

Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo. Elder Corbin Harney will be honored with a sunrise

service beginning at 6 am. To honor Grandmother Elder Esther Martinez a

dance will be held beginning at 10 am, followed by a give away to those in

attendance.

In the afternoon, mini-conferences on a variety of issues will take place.

Prominent national leaders will lead these discussion groups, including

generational midwifes, grandmothers and environmental activists.

Tewa Women United describes this year's Gathering as a celebration to honor

"midwifery as a cultural way of giving love and thanks to the spirit of the

allness within water. Mother Earth and her life givers need loving care to

support us on our life journeys. Now is BEYOND CRITICAL time for female

energy/wisdom to unite for eco-systemic sustenance to ignite global PEACE

and stop the violence against Mother Earth. We encourage all cultures, all

ages, schools, communities and families to bring intergenerational thinking

to this holistic event."

Make Mud Not War

The day began

with the blessing

of life in our bones

and a remembrance that

war isn‚t peace

and is a serious illness.

When brothers and

sisters forget that we

all came from Africa

together

a long long time ago,

and our colors

are a rainbow of skin

waiting to be touched

waiting to be loved

by each the other.

So come one and all

into this pile

of mud

and join with us

in making an

Earthprayer for World Peace

Playing in the mud together

is our destiny!

Robertfrancis “Mudman” Johnson

earthprayers@hotmail.com