LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Spirit |
by Tom Bohache |
Spirit Connection
Poet and essayist Audre Lorde knew what it meant to fight oppression on multiple fronts because of a multi-faceted identity: She was black, an out lesbian pre-Stonewall, in an interracial relationship, a feminist, a single mother, and an immigrant from the Caribbean. Her life was a balancing act and a tightrope walk, but she never stopped searching for her authentic self. She was openly critical of black men for their blindness to their own sexism and treatment of black women; she confronted white women for their lack of concern for the special problems black women face; and she held up a mirror in front of black and white women alike to show them how often they shut out lesbians from the women's movement and failed to fight for their rights out of fear that they themselves would be labeled lesbian in a heteronormative world. The quintessential spark that informed all of these parts of Lorde's lifeand something all of us, of whatever color, gender, or orientation, can appreciateis her passion and her commitment to Spirit. She searched for Spirit in both the Christian and Afro-Caribbean indigenous traditions, but most importantly she found Spirit inside of her and named it "the erotic" from which comes true power. This is power we can access whenever we choose, independent of who holds economic or political power in our lives. This is power that emanates from the core of our being. The erotic is sexual, but it is more than sexual: It is the SpiritConnection that leads us into relationships with ourselves, others, and the Divine. It is not the "unaffected" or "disinterested" love of Pauline Christianity or the remote send-a-check sentimentality of liberal Protestantism. It is an in-your-face, from-the-heart and from-the-gut connection with those who affect our lives through their spirit; it is an interchange of passion that comes from within and informs all our interactions. Lorde, recalling what rationing was like during World War II, noted that when she purchased margarine, it was a colorless lump that had a small yellow capsule for coloring that she kneaded and spread through the lump, coloring it inside and out. She compared this coloring to the erotic in all of our livesit penetrates, colors, and flavors every part of us and affects how we see and are seen. I believe that for too long traditional religion has kept us estranged from the erotic as sacred power that all of us have. We have been taught that eroticism is strictly sexual, that it is divorced from the rest of our lives, when in actuality it is the wellspring from which flow forth Spirit and Passion and True Love. I believe that the spiritual eroticism of the GLBTQ community, in particular, has been perverted by the heteropatriarchal script that says we are obsessed with sex, that gay men are promiscuous disease carriers, and that lesbian women are sexless and frigid. I believe that we, like Audre Lorde, can access our authentic selves if we go within and pull out the erotic from where it has been banished. To that end, I have created "SpiritConnection," a weekly experiential/educational/spiritual evening of discussion and interactive multimedia sharing. It will take place every Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the Camp Rehoboth Community Center and is open to the entire community, but especially those who yearn to reconnect all of the parts of their authentic selvesphysical, emotional, mental, spiritual. Join us for these upcoming topics: Feb. 14 Mindfulness: A Christian-Buddhist Dialogue Part 1 Feb. 21 Do Spirituality and the Erotic Mix? Part 1 Feb. 28 Do Spirituality and the Erotic Mix? Part 2 Mar. 7 Who Is God for You? Mar. 14 Mindfulness: A Christian-Buddhist Dialogue Part 2 Mar. 21 Homoeroticism in the World Religions Part 1 Mar. 28 Homoeroticism in the World Religions Part 2 Apr. 4 Homoeroticism in the World Religions Part 3 Apr. 11 Developing the Leader Inside You Part 1 Apr. 18 Body Prayer / Soul Poetry Apr. 25 Music and Meditation May 2 Why Be Spiritual? What's Sin Got to Do with It? May 9 Developing the Leader Inside You Part 2 The Rev. Tom Bohache is pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Rehoboth and is a doctoral candidate at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts; his book Queer As Christ will be published this year by SCM Press in London, UK. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 16, No. 1 February 10, 2006 |