Dear Brother Musicians,
We are seeking a cellist who will be attending the Fall Conference to assist in playing “Reverie” for piano and cello, composed by Ron Lambe, one of GSV’s founders. We hope to perform this as a way of memorializing Ron at the conference. If you are interested, please contact David Berger by email [email protected] or phone 614-579-2324.
Dearest Brothers and Siblings,
Almost two years has passed since our tribe gathered in the ways that we had become accustomed for over three decades. In the meantime, we adapted as our kind has always had to do. We did our best to hold virtual space for each other; we were led by gifted conveners who worked boldly and tirelessly to create spaces for us to continue the journey of bringing our sexual and spiritual selves into conversation with each other during a time when many of us were otherwise isolated from our kind. The time has come for us to come together again. We will reconvene in-person this fall at The Mountain, September 23-26.
Breathe with me.
This fall will be a mix of old and new, a sort of homecoming to a place we’ve always known was ever-present in our bodies, even when we knew the physical realm could not maintain or sustain our tribe. Our focus will be on that which has been a through line of every GSV gathering, yet never officially named in our gatherings’ titles: Energy. And while I’m sure this gathering will be different from any other gathering, in some of the ways that every gathering is different, much of what we know as GSV will be reawakened with the energies of every brother and sibling who came before us. With hope and intention, we will rekindle and rejuvenate GSV with the energies of every brother and sibling who we have yet to meet.
How might we intentionally—spiritually—(re)direct our energies to create the worlds and realities we have always needed, yet may have never known the deep-seated necessity of such worlds beyond our own?
This fall will be a bridge of past-present-future in ways that only gay and queer bodies know. We will focus our energies on coming home to ourselves and each other, while continuing the work of creating worlds for ourselves and each other in spaces and places not designed for us and our communities. We will honor our pasts—and all the messiness that comes with our pasts—to free up our energies from tiresome drudges that only hold back our progress as gay and queer energetic entities moving through multiple planes of existence. And we will do so in ways that are both familiar and uncomfortable, affirming and challenging, reconciling and forgiving.
Cami Delgado, the 2019 Thirtieth Anniversary Fall Conference convener, ended his first conference announcement letter with a Margaret Mead quote that I have always adored: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” We have been changing worlds since the moment we began radiating energy. When we come together, again, with purpose and intention, we will foster a space necessary for us all to do the work we have always been doing: building queer worlds. I cannot begin to express how excited I am to gather with you, again, from the welcoming rituals in the afternoon of September 23 to the closing heart circle from 11 a.m.–1 p.m. on Sunday, September 26.
To do this, though, we must also continue to be mindful of and diligent against external forces that make gathering difficult. We will need all of us working together to create and sustain the safest conference that we can possibly manage. And so, for the safety of all, please read and understand The Council’s messaging on gathering during what we hope will be the late-stage of this current global pandemic. We will be gathering in a limited capacity based on what The Mountain can sustain at this moment in time, so register early. Consider reaching out to brothers and siblings with whom you can room comfortably and safely. And as noted elsewhere, vaccinations will be required to attend the fall conference. Please get vaccinated early if you plan to attend.
If you are attending and are interested in sharing your gifts with our community, please feel welcome to reach out to me at [email protected]. If the conference theme calls to you, I look forward to chatting with you about a workshop you might host. Our brothers and siblings have been asking for some more hands-on activities (of course they have been!), and so I especially welcome workshops that give our brothers something to do with their hands…
Financial assistance, in the form of scholarships, is available. The financial assistance application submission deadline is September 9. Our hope is that anyone who resonates with our mission and community, and who has a desire to attend, can join us at our gatherings. To that end, we offer financial assistance through the Raven Wolfdancer Financial Assistance Fund. Please go to the
Financial Assistance page on the Gay Spirit Visions website for more information about financial assistance (scholarships) and for a link to the GSV financial assistance application form. Remember, the financial assistance application submission deadline is September 9.
My hope is that we can hold space for each other as we have always done. And my sincerest hope is that many of us will be able to hold each other, once again, in ways that elevate our energies, both individually and collectively.
Registration is now open, brothers and siblings. With love and virtual hugs!
Blessed be,
Bumblebee (Greg Hummel)
GSV 2021 Fall Conference Convener
Dearest Siblings,
Registration will open in mid-July for the 2021 Gay Spirit Visions Fall Conference (23-26 September). This will be an in-person event at The Mountain, assuming there are no major new threats from COVID-19 variants or other related COVID-19 issues that change the national situation.
While this decision may seem like a slam dunk to many of you, it has taken a good deal of discussion within the GSV Council and with The Mountain to try to provide the safest and healthiest experience for everyone. Thank you to the over 150 of you who responded to our recent COVID Safety Survey. Those insights and concerns were also considered as we made our decision.
Before registration opens, please carefully review the following guidelines and protocols so you understand what measures The Mountain and GSV are taking for your health, safety, and peace of mind.
• Vaccination will be required to attend. Details on providing proof of vaccination are being worked out now.
• The Mountain currently requires temperature checks during guest check-in.
• GSV will require a signed General Liability Waiver and a COVID-19 Liability Waiver.
• The Mountain requires masks and urges social distancing in all public areas (the office and gift shop, dining hall).
• Masks in GSV meeting spaces are optional.
• Hand sanitizer will be available in various areas throughout the campus.
• You will have the opportunity to indicate visually (name tag, wrist band, etc.) your personal level of comfort with closer than 6-feet proximity with others. As always, you must take personal responsibility for your own well-being.
• The Mountain is limiting the size of gatherings; GSV will have space for 70 participants. You are encouraged to identify a roommate (or roommates) to coordinate registration together if that is a criterion for your comfort and safety. Think about this before registration opens. You will have the ability to register for a single room with limited availability on a first come, first served basis. There is an additional $150.00 cost for single occupancy rooms. The number of single occupancy room reservations directly impacts the number of participants able to attend.
GSV reserves the right to modify these protocols based on shifting situations regarding COVID-19 variants, vaccine efficacy, or other factors that contribute to the safety and health of GSV participants and do not conflict with The Mountain’s protocols related to these issues.
Our Fall Conference convener, Greg Hummel (Bumblebee), will be sending out the first Fall Conference announcement and invitation to register by mid-July. The event will be 23-26 September. Save the dates!
Yours in service and joyful anticipation,
The Council of Trusted Elders of Gay Spirit Visions, Inc.
Greetings dear GSV Brothers and Siblings,
We need your help! We are all eager to re-connect face-to-face at The Mountain. With this in mind, the GSV Council is working diligently and with a sense of urgency to decide if we can safely hold an in-person 2021 Fall Conference. The GSV Council needs your input to help with the decision-making process. Please take approximately 4 minutes to answer a few questions in the linked survey below. We need your response by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on June 20, 2021.
Survey Link: GSV Covid-19 Survey
In loving light,
Your GSV Council
Dear Siblings,
Instead of sending out a “last call for the conference,” I wanted to write you a personal note. I have a question for you.
Why come to one more Zoom conference, when everything in you wants to rush out into the world and be together with people you love?
Thirty years of experience as a breathworker, trauma therapist, and spiritual healer have taught me:
integration is everything —
And integration absolutely requires a few moments of catching our breaths together, harvesting our learning, healing our wounds, and setting a new course together.
And this is a chance to do exactly that.
It’s like the time at the end of a breath session, when the music quiets and you rest from the hard work of catharsis, journeying, and visioning … and let everything you’ve experienced soak into your bones and crystalize into a few clear insights to guide your life as you rise.
We’ve created the GSV Virtual Spring Retreat to do just this. I’ve asked some of the most seasoned teachers, facilitators, and mischief-makers in our community to come together, to share their own stories of hope and reconnection, and support you in reflecting on your own. People who’ve done the hard work of integrating their own journeys and the even harder work of helping others, do the same.
We’ve all been through it this year. Many of us ache to “get back to normal.” The funny thing is, though, we don’t “get back to normal” after traumatic experiences — we either heal and grow, harvesting our own discoveries and changing the course of our lives — or we stay braced against the powerful changes inside ourselves and around us.
There is extraordinary power in our community. I hope you’ll join us in harnessing and celebrating it.
And I think it’s gonna be a helluva lot of fun.
Come, come, whoever you are! Wanderer, worshiper, lover of men,
Whatever your race, class, culture or color,
serostatus or sexual wounds,
whatever you struggle with, heart, mind, body or soul …
whether you’re gay, bi, questioning, queer, or transgender,
single or partnered, poly or simply perplexed;
religious or atheist, spiritual, awestruck,
addicted, recovering, or reaching for heaven on earth,
outrageous or quiet, flamboyant or shy, prophetic or peaceful,
elder or newbie or somewhere between …
we welcome your sorrows, we welcome your joys,
we welcome your hunger, we welcome your gifts
we welcome your stories and questions and yearnings …
we welcome you home.
Registration closes on Wednesday, May 5
See you in Zoomland! Oh, and bring a rock.
Hunter Flournoy
GSV Spring Convener
PS: The opinions expressed above are solely the conclusions of the convener, arising from his own rather unusual if somewhat extensive experience, and should not be taken to represent the opinions of the larger community of GSV, the GSV Council, its membership, humanity, or the galactic federation of planets … 😂
