WIJ

It has been awhile since I wrote, so it is difficult to know how to compile this blog. I guess it will have to be about things that stood out over the last couple of weeks.

After my last blog, I feel that I should tell mostly about the Women’s Interfaith Journey Workshop and Conference. This week-long event brought together groups of women from 4 different experiential and exposure journeys which took place over the last 9 years through HMI. The first emphasized inter-religious relationships, comprising of women from various faith traditions in both India and Canada. The group spent 3 weeks in each of these two countries, interacting and learning about religious traditions in various communities as well as within their own group. There were three other similar journeys in the years to follow…women from South Africa and Sri Lanka explored issues of national conflict in each place… women from Kenya and India looked at racial, tribal and caste concerns…and women from various tribes in the Northeast part of India gave attention to the internal conflict among differing ethnic groups in India.

The event last week began with a reunion time of the various journey participants. They spent their time reflecting on and processing the transformation of their own lives through their experiences. Most of them are involved in organizations which address concerns of women or issues of conflict, so they took some time to discuss how their journey has influenced their work and roles as leaders. They also updated themselves regarding the changes which have occurred in the various countries visited since their time there.

The second phase of the week was a small workshop on the role of women related to power, within conflict, and in peace building. Because one of the primary goals of the overall program was to more publicly recognize the important roles women play in their communities (especially during times of conflict), the need to document their rich experiences was emphasized. I was asked to lead a group of students in the process of documentation for this phase of the week. Although I helped to type most everything that was said during the two day workshop, some of the dynamics of the workshop planning and procedures were more interesting to me than the content of what was discussed.

When it came time for the workshop to begin, the facilitator came to me with a dilemma. Her agreement with the participants was that only women would be involved in this phase of the workshop, but the group of students we asked to document the proceedings included 3 men. The problem was resolved by having the workshop participants take a vote on whether the men could be present in the room as observers and help write down what was being said. Although it was almost unanimous that the men could attend, I still had a difficult time with the situation.

I discovered how strongly I believe that all must be treated equally despite gender, and I insist that segregating men and women on such topics does a disservice to all. I tried to understand the need to create a safe space for women to discuss sensitive topics without the influence of men in the room, as well as the desire to ensure that the insights and perspectives came from a female only perspective. However, I found myself disappointed that women seemed to be exerting power over men in this situation in a way that I would not have accepted in the reverse. Although the men in the student group were accepting of the situation without any complaint, I still feel a bit unsettled about it all – even now.

However, the last phase of the event was a conference consisting of about 70 people (men and women) which attempted to move forward on discovering how women face conflict situations, how to empower women’s leadership, and practical steps we each can take in our own communities to work towards peace with the influence and recognition of women as an important contributing part of the process. With 15 countries represented and such a wide range of expertise, personalities, and interests, the campus was truly a fascinating place to be!

I have discovered that HMI is a little like Holden Village in some ways. The size of the community is similar to that of the winter community I enjoyed in 1995-96. Also, there are always people coming and going for various amounts of time, so we are constantly having to welcome and say goodbye at the same time. Last week we said goodbye to 3 interns who have been with us for a month. Since this is about the same amount of time I have been here, it felt a bit like core community members leaving us. And in a very ‘Holden-like’ way, we had send offs that were creative and meaningful. In addition to these fine folks departing, I also welcomed and said goodbye to my friend, Sunitha Mortha. Sunitha was the first one to encourage my interest in India and Hyderabad. She is from Hyderabad and we worked together at Youth Encounter ‘back in the day’. She came here at this time for the Women’s Interfaith Journey conference and also had some time with her family.

Last but not least, I took a bit of a vacation this past weekend (again, just like at Holden, an ‘out’ is encouraged after about a month of intensive community life). I headed down to Bangalore and spent time with some of my friends from United Theological College. I decided to limit myself to seeing only a few people for this first visit so I would be able to get some quality time rather than a broad superficial hello to an overwhelming number of people on campus. It was a good visit and probably more needed than I realized.

Yesterday we had a short lecture on Rumi – a Sufi mystic, poet, and scholar from the 13th century. It was rather inspiring although it was brief. One of the stories shared was this: There was a group of residents at a mental institution who were planning to escape the place. They sent out one of the ‘brighter’ residents to explore how it would work to get over the fence. After his investigation of the institution’s grounds, he returned and sadly informed the rest of them that they would be unable to escape because ‘there is no fence’.

The concept of ‘accessibility of divinity’ in India is truly something I have been pondering. In many Eastern religious traditions, personal spiritual enlightenment and the God within is emphasized. In meditation, the ‘goal’ is often becoming one with the spiritual world. How often we put up our own barriers which keep us from experiencing God – or we simply limit ourselves by imaginary walls when God is actually very present and even within us.

Until next time,
Sara