As part of our ongoing effort to financially support brothers who would like to attend our gatherings, the Scholarship Committee organizes annual silent auctions to benefit GSV’s scholarship fund.
Japanese Tea Set Donated by Jim Best, Fall 2013
Please consider donating an item for the Fall 2014 Silent Auction that a brother might enjoy taking home with him at the end of the Fall Conference. To donate:
Bring your item with you to The Mountain (or coordinate delivery with someone attending the conference).
When you arrive at The Mountain, please bring your donation to the Silent Auction display area. The Silent Auction will likely be displayed in the basement of the Tree House, and you can ask for more information when you check in at registration.
Community-led workshops are one feature returning to this year’s conference that we haven’t seen in a while. Our workshops will be facilitated by extremely capable and knowledgeable brothers and each workshop will be offered twice so you can attend more than one. I know that these men will make your time in the workshop worthwhile.
In addition to our community-led workshops, John Stasio will be offering a workshop for the entire gathering that will further explore his keynote address on Community.
Scott Dillard, 2014 Fall Conference Convener
Dennis Van Avery
Beginning Again…Reflections of Life on the Edge
Dennis Van Avery
The gift of a tragedy is that it can take you to a space in your life where you have never been before; a place to begin again. Our “tragic” experiences remain our own: a loss of Self, a life with HIV, a loss of dear love, growing old, an addiction, or leaving the world of work.
In this workshop, we will focus on our own journeys during a guided process. Using silence and sharing in a mutually supportive manner, we will reflect on: : awareness, blame, courage, help, humility, the losses, the cracks, and the Openings.
Beyond Gay Marriage:
Alternate Forms of Family Life for Gay Men
Pat Boyle
Pat Boyle
How do you say family for gay men? The institution of heterosexual marriage has a long history grounded in property rights for the male and submission/assent by the female party. The roots of this institution go back several millennia. Although modern western ideas of marriage have moved more toward the partnership concept and greater equality, there are serious hangovers in many areas both legally and in traditions. In many US religions, there is still a clause about “obey and until death do us part.” It is usually the female who is the party with less power. Since most gay men are raised by heterosexual couples or single parents, much of the unconscious as well as conscious thinking about marriage is based on the dominant cultural norms. Although a strong case can be made that heterosexual marriage has been a failing institution for at least 100 years, many gay men are now basing their committed relationships on that model. The push for legal gay marriage can be seen as acculturating a minority group into the dominant culture. However, for many, if not most, gay men, the current heterosexual model of marriage and family does not seem appropriate, functional, or even desirable. Fortunately, there are other evolving models, some of which have been around for a while in quiet ways. This workshop will examine alternate ways of conceiving of gay family, including partnering, open relationships, polyamorous lifestyles, communal families, and ways of developing a chosen family. Really, it is all about getting and giving the love that we need.
From Plague to PrEP: The Evolution of HIV Within Our Community
Bob Strain & David Salyer
David Salyer & Bob Strain
Condoms, safer sex, Rock Hudson, ACT UP, drug cocktails, undetectable viral loads and barebacking…. HIV has been part of our consciousness since those first cases of AIDS were identified in 1981. How well have we navigated fear, stigmatization, and overwhelming loss? Is HIV the elephant in the room at GSV? Do people living with HIV feel invisible here?
If you’re ready to share ideas, opinions, and experiences about life with the virus, then join us for a guided conversation about all this and more—including slut shaming and the revolutionary emergence of PrEP, the pre-exposure prophylaxis pill that blocks the transmission of HIV.
The session is open to anyone, infected or affected by HIV.
For the past six months, I’ve been contemplating last fall’s introspective question, “Who am I?” and, looking forward to September, considering the outward question, “Who are we?” To help us explore this question, I’ve been working with the theme of Community and have invited keynote John Stasio of Easton Mountain to speak about his own experiences of how men participate in spiritually healthy community.
As this year’s convener, I want to invite you all to come and share, play, and grow with us; we’ve been preparing space for you at this year’s Fall Conference.
About the Conference
There will be a number of familiar aspects at the conference I think you’ll enjoy. One feature I’m particularly excited about is the return of workshops. I’ve asked a number of men to offer workshops relevant to the community that have been a part of our talk over the last year. Some of our topics include: HIV/AIDS and how it continues to affect our community, the creation of alternate forms of family, and how tragedy can be seen as a “gift” in our lives.
In addition to the workshops, we will continue our tradition of small group meetings, an evening dance, and a talent show. I’ve also done my best to leave free time each day for men to explore the mountain, rest on the porch with friends, and offer spontaneous workshops, experiences, and events.
Most of all, I want you to know that what makes the Fall Conference so special is you. What do you bring to this community? What would you like to share? What has this community meant to you and what has it given to you? These questions will guide our journey during our time together in September.
I look forward to greeting each of you as you arrive at The Mountain.
John Stasio will keynote GSV’s 25th anniversary Fall Conference. Entitled The Call to Community; waking up in the company of others, John’s keynote will explore who we are in community by sharing his own journey and his beliefs about the universal desire and need all people have for community.
John will also examine the construct of “gay community” and outline the skills we each need to develop to maturely participate in and generate community.
As part of our time together, John will help develop this idea with discussion points for what makes a psychologically and spiritually healthy community – both in general, and specifically for queer folk.
About John
John Stasio is the founder of Easton Mountain. His vision for social justice, interfaith spirituality and the potential of a spiritual community of gay men began at a young age and motivated him to begin Easton Mountain. In 1989 he founded Brothers Together, Inc. to promote community, spiritual growth, healing and transformation among men who love men. Prior to establishing Easton Mountain in 2000, John worked as a body-centered therapist and workshop facilitator. John was a member of the Jesuit Urban Center’s Urban Ministry team where he provided spiritual direction and bodywork to people living with HIV/AIDS. He is a former seminarian and member of the Catholic Worker Community. John’s undergraduate studies at Boston College focused on Philosophy and Theology and their application to contemporary social challenges. He received the Lisle Fellowship in 1987 to study non-violent social change at the Gandhi Peace Foundation in New Delhi India and then stayed on in India to work with Mother Theresa’s sisters at the home for the dying in Calcutta. While in India he met Dom Bede Griffiths with whom he had a powerful connection and remains committed to promoting interfaith dialogue. Additionally he seeks to apply the principals of Spiritual/Global Psychology, studied at the Concord Institute under the direction of Tom Yeomans, to his work for social change, in his own life and in his work with others. He splits his time between sharing a home with his partner and a golden retriever in Albany and retreating to his cabin in the woods of Easton Mountain.
Scout Archetype Glyph from Andrew Ramer’s Two Flutes Playing
We hope you are having a wonderful summer, even as we all begin to look forward to our time together in the fall! Just recently, the Council met with John Ballew to continue the work begun at the Visioning Retreat in March. Our June Council meeting in Atlanta provided the first opportunity for us to consider in depth what we heard from the men at the Visioning Retreat and the recommendations outlined in John Ballew’s Visioning summary. As a result, we’re creating a plan we’re calling The Path Forward. This plan will help us all to take the next step towards even more participatory leadership.
To give you an idea of how we envision The Path Forward unfolding, here are a few actions begun at the June meeting:
In response to a request for more diverse leadership drawn from the general community, we are delighted to welcome several brothers into new leadership roles: Luis Alvarez as the 2015 Spring Retreat convener to serve a two-year term; Steven Wilson as a Walks Between Elder to serve a three-year term; and Wendell Johnson as a member with special skills (fundraising) to serve a two-year term.
We’re making a conscious effort to include more open space in our conference program for brothers to share their interests and gifts.
We’re creating a new, more inclusive welcoming statement to be read at the beginning of each gathering.
We hope The Path Forward will support all of us in bringing our planning process into even greater alignment with the spirit of service, brotherhood, love, and encouragement which fills our gatherings. We’ll talk more about The Path Forward in the coming months and hope you’ll join us for further discussion at the Fall Conference, September 18-21.
As always, your voice is welcome – share your ideas, thoughts, and encouragement at [email protected].
