By the grace of the gods, through the hands and hearts of so many community members Covenant of the River hosted its inaugural festival this past weekend! Untamed started as a desire to make sacred space available to more folx, to share in the beauty of a Covenant of the River style circle and let me tell you… our team of volunteers delivered!
The opening ritual featured a rewrite of a classic Queen song that I hope to hear for years to come. Flying your freak flag while respecting the boundaries of others and bringing your camp chair to activities will become Untamed culture because of the seeds we planted this year. The staff kids who stepped up to discuss gender identity and the importance of inclusion were equally affirming of our church’s work and inspiring for future projects. Every time that I saw someone reach out in need, they were met with support and grace. Untamed, as I have said before, may have been a small festival this year but it was mighty good for every human spirit/heart that joined us in the mountains.
Covenant of the River is a mixed bag of humans from so many different walks of life that it is often hard to understand how it works- how it has worked for going on fifteen years. There is no single tradition or pantheon or even high holiday schedule that fits each member. Each person who has come through the yellow door at the River Hall has their own way of tapping into spirit, gaining guidance from the divine and manifesting their best selves. While our central pulling thread is an exploration of Pagan faiths, how to learn or which way to go with our knowledge often looks very different for individuals. What we do have in common are the values of decency, self-care and proper protective equipment. We know that the minimum expectation at Covenant of the River is that you will be a gracious human being who takes the best care of themselves that you can and when you show up for the work, you will have the right gear. Most of our members also know that the community will back you up if you aren’t able to check off those boxes before you show up. Someone will share food. Someone will remind you to go slow since you didn’t get enough sleep. Someone will remind you to step back a minute when tempers or sharp tongues flare. And that is how it works: each one of us doing as we are able, when we are willing.
For me, the cleanup after Untamed will probably take another week. There is still a fair bit of paperwork and pulling together of the details for next year. I am still running the dishwasher and washing machine more than normal. I still have much ‘catching up’ to do since I took a week in the mountains. Oh but the felicity of finally hosting the Inaugural Untamed! The bliss in my soul from working and honoring alongside fellow Pagans will certainly last well into the next session of hard work for our community.
May the gods and good spirits continue to guide and protect us as we move forward. May gratitude and grace fill our spirits so that the building of safe, sacred space can continue through Covenant of the River.
Blessings!
Jean Loomis
