Check-in: How are you feeling? Is there anything that you bring to group tonight that is influencing your thinking?

Councils by Marge Piercy

We must sit down

and reason together

We must sit down:

men standing want to hold forth.

They rain down upon faces lifted.

We must sit down on the floor

on the earth

on stones and mats and blankets.

There must be no front to the speaking

no platform, no rostrum,

no stage or table.

We will not crane

to see who is speaking.

Perhaps we should sit in the dark.

In the dark we could utter our feelings.

In the dark we could propose

and describe and suggest.

In the dark we could not see who speaks

and only the words

would say what they say.

No one would speak more than twice.

No one would speak less than once.

Thus saying what we feel and what we want,

what we fear for ourselves and each other

into the dark, perhaps we could begin

to begin to listen.

Perhaps we should talk in groups

the size of new families,

not more, never more than twenty.

Perhaps we should start by speaking softly.

The women must learn to dare to speak,

The men must learn to bother to listen.

The women must learn to say I think this is so.

The men must learn to stop dancing solos on the ceiling.

After each speaks, she or he

will say a ritual phrase.

It is not I who speaks but the wind.

Wind blows through me

Long after me, is the wind.

Group Expectations from last fall:

1. attend regularly
2. notify a member of the group if you must miss a session
3. arrive on time, close on time
4. be clear with each other about the quality of each member’s participation
5. Respect the Talking Stick-one person speaking at a time, no interruptions, comments, questions etc. during check-in and first round of sharing on topic
6. Make I statements whenever possible
7. Use Active Listening
8. Respect confidentiality of shared information
9. Avoid giving advice

• May ask clarifying questions during 2^nd round
• Speaker may ask for advice to be shared later

12. Participate in group decisions concerning format, shared meal, discussion topics, service activities
13. Participate in service activities planned by the group

Do we want to continue to meet over the summer?

Do we want to take new people into our group now or wait until the fall?

Closing Words unknown source

It is a blessing to be.

It is a blessing to be here.

It is a blessing to be here, now.

It is a blessing to be here now, together.

May it be so again.