Check in: Monday May 16th 8:30AM to 10AM On arrival go to the registration area in Alves to pick up your room key, name tag with location assignments on the back and a folder with materials for your perusal. Carolyn Garbett and Meg Vandenberg will be there to provide assistance. Coffee and muffins will be available. The Gathering begins with Smudging at 10 - 10:15AM and the Opening Ceremony at 10:30AM all at the chapel. Brenda Bledsoe , a well known local musician, will be playing the flute to welcome you and honor sacred silence as you enter. The ceremony is in the chapel where we invite the Sacred Feminine into our Gathering and place our attention on creating the container of love and connections that will be with us throughout the Gathering. During this time you will be asked to introduce yourself and to place on the altar the item you brought from home that represents your connection to Spirit. It will remain there until the Closing Ceremony on Thursday. Morning Meditation Each morning from 8:00-8:30AM a Grandmother will lead a morning meditation. Consult your schedule for location information. Watch the bulletin board in the Dining Room for more information and possible spontaneous evening meditations. Meeting in Small Circles Each Day All Grandmothers will have been randomly selected for small groups that will meet in circle in various locations indicated on the back of your name tag on each day of the Gathering. Consult your schedule for the specific times. The topic and talking points for each day's circle are available to download and print here through this link if you like having a hard copy. The facilitators will have a copy and there will be one to share. >>Download Circle Questions You are encouraged to wear a shawl of your choosing to your small circles. In circle we tell our story, honor our own voice, soothe our souls and transform our lives. This year the Grandmothers will each speak in small circle to a series of talking points about resilience as a spiritual practice. Each day everyone will be asked to share her ideas on each aspect of the talking points, the clearest reminder of the Hopi saying: “When the Grandmothers speak, the earth will heal.” If you have attended previous Gatherings, you are already familiar with the process. To learn more about the teachings, practices, and global colleagues affiliated with the Circle Way, we encourage you to visit the immensely resourceful Circle Way website. If you will be participating in our annual Gathering or joining a small circle in your area, the Circle Way guidelines are the fundamental principles meant to guide each meeting. Many have taken this practice into personal areas for breakthrough communication and mediation between family members or co-workers. Circle Way guidelines will be available on site but you may also read and print them here idownloadA guide to the CIRCLE WAY will be included for those who may be unfamiliar. You may also review and download the circle guidelines here through our website or visit the CIRCLE WAY 's website. The Elder Ceremony This is the opportunity to honor as Wise Women Elders all the Grandmothers at the Gathering who are seventy years old and older. Elders returning to the Gathering will wear their purple shawls to this ceremony. Grandmothers new or returning to the Gathering who are now seventy years old and older (The Crones) will receive a purple shawl during this ceremony. This Croning Ritual is a rite of passage into an era of greater wisdom, increased freedom, and enhanced personal power. Experience a Drumming and Fire Circle Bring your drums, rattles, flutes, tambourines and rain-sticks to participate in amazing drumming circles. Extras are welcome. Our Creative Joy!! Tamlin Albritten, a well known Fairhope art teacher, will lead us in the creation of our beautiful rain sticks. She will bring all the supplies but feel free to bring a piece of costume jewelry, that single earring without a mate or “a little treasure” to further embellish your rain stick. The Giveaway within the Thursday Morning Small Circle The Giveaway is a time to honor Sacred Giving and Sacred Receiving by giving to someone in your small circle an item of your own that you have brought from home that has special meaning to you. Your gift will be anonymously placed in the center of your circle, and your selection of a gift will be guided by Spirit—thus the intention of Sacred Giving and Sacred Receiving is met. Details of this process is included with your SMALL CIRCLE information for Thursday. FUN Night Let's get ready for an amazing FUN NIGHT! Fun Night is a time to relax, celebrate, and have FUN. You are encouraged to bring skits, songs, poems, stories, dances or some silliness for Fun Night. Line dance practice wll be available during some of our “free time” if you like that kind of thing and we can dance together. COSTUMES ARE ENCOURAGED. Since our theme is Resilience, you might pick a characteristic or element of Resilience. For example, to represent being brave you might dress as a lion.....or possibly wear a t-shirt with a logo for being a Survivor/Thriver.......or dress as a marathon runner to represent perseverance. Another idea is to dress as a real or imaginary person, such as Wonder Woman for Strength or Mother Teresa. Maybe you might choose to dress as an elemental such as water, or fire, or air, or earth, magnifying the resilence they manifest. And for those Grandmothers who do not like to dress up – just show up as your own beautiful selves, bring your talent and laugh with us that do leap into our costumes and act all “crazy”. Email Mary Enfinger (aangelme@aol.com) in advance if you want specific music or more than 3 microphones. Also, please keep your entertainment to 3-5 minutes. Memories are made during FUN NIGHT, pictures are taken, and the willingness to enjoy each other as Sacred Beings celebrating life make Fun Night an integral part of our Gathering. The Gathering ends Thursday with Smudging at 11:15 AM and the Closing Ceremony at 11:30 at the Chapel Everyone will again wear a shawl and meet in a large circle in the chapel. There will be music, singing, and an opportunity to reflect on your experience at the Gathering. Afterward each Grandmother will retrieve her item from the altar. THE MARKETPLACE—We are looking forward to a vibrant Marketplace. As always, there is limited space available for grandmothers to sell their handcrafted items and curated natural living wares. This year we are asking that anyone who is planning to sell in the Marketplace reserve their space IN ADVANCE with Diana Keenan, the Vendors Coordinator. Contact her at 850-723-0517 or dckeen2@icloud.com. We will not be able to guarantee a space without this advance reservation, and space will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We request that you donate 20% of your sales to our scholarship fund, which provides support as needed to Grandmothers attending future Gatherings SILENT AUCTION—THIS, ALONG WITH THE VENDORS' SALES, IS THE MAJOR FUNDRAISING ACTIVITY FOR OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND which provides requested scholarship assistance to some grandmothers to attend the Gathering. You may also find just the thing you have been looking for!!! We encourage everyone to donate an item or a certificate for your future services to our silent auction. Grandmother Leslie Puckett will be available in the Dining Room at the Silent Auction Tables to help put out your items and conclude the Auction at the end of the Gathering). Contact Joan Marker (251-295-7972 or joanmarker@gmail.com) with any questions in advance of the Gathering. OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES: Healers, body workers and readers etc. planning to provide services may contact Mary Enfinger in advance (aangelme@aol.com) or during the Gathering to prepare your personal sign-up sheet for the available blocks of time and locations. BULLETIN BOARD: This will be set up in the dining hall for announcement, messages, changes to the schedule, and other spontaneous optional activities. HOSPITALITY ROOM: The conference room in Cumming Lodge serves as our hospitality room. Please bring a snack to share and feel free to gather there during free times. Keep in mind that there are grandmothers staying in the rooms there as well. THE TRANSPORTATION GOLF CART: Signs will be available in front of the Dining Hall, Chapel and Bayfront for designated pick up. A 30 minute window will be available whenever possible to allow for everyone who needs assistance to be accommodated. EARLY ARRIVAL: Reservations for Sunday night are to be made directly with Rhona at Camp Beckwith. The cost is $50. Contact Rhona @251-928-7844 or rhona@beckwithal.com THE DINING ROOM AND HOSPITALITY ROOM WILL NOT BE OPEN FOR EARLY ARRIVAL ON SUNDAY. Dinner and snacks will be on your own.