Wild Goose 2013

Shiree, Brody, and I went to the Wild Goose Festival last week and while it was different than last year (I went to the one out in Covalis, OR last year) it definitely had it high points.

Highs:

1. Nadia Bolz-Weber's "Screw the platitudes just say the truth."  Just plain awesome.  Particularly awesome was listening to her read her "lamentation" in the wake of the Trayvon Martin verdict.
2. Listening to Frank Schaeffer and Richard Cizik reflect on (and in a nutshell turn away from) their past as leaders in the "religious right."  They both had such a gracious and humble view of their pasts and a hopeful vision for the future.
3. Rev. Dr. William Barber's fiery and passionate admonition to preach the Word to the powerful which he has been doing for the past year plus as the leader of the "Moral Monday" protests in North Carolina.  I don't know what it would've been like to hear Dr. Martin Luther King speak, but it feels likely that Dr. Barber is carrying that torch.  Inspiring.
4. Hearing Dr. Vincent Harding, a close friend of Dr. Martin Luther King and participant in the original civil rights movement, talk about issues facing our country today.
5. Listening to Krista Tippet interview Brian McLaren (and others actually)
6. Being surrounded by some really high caliber thinkers, artists, musicians, theologians, activists, and organizations.  Some other people whose name I have not previously dropped but whom I walked past in the woods, said hello to, or were otherwise just present with... Phyllis Tickle, Phillip Yancey, Speech...
7. The "ephemeral art" installation in the Imaginarium with works by Ted Lyddon-Hatten, Cyndi Gusler, and others.
8. Hearing awesome new (and old) music from The Collection, Run River North, John Francis, Adam Crossley, Stuart Davis, Phil Madeira, and The Indigo Girls
9. Being almost TOTALLY disconnected from the rest of the world.  No cell signal, and only a weak WiFi access point over half a mile a way that we ended up checking a couple of times.

Lows:

1. It rained a LOT.  We're still drying out.
2. For whatever reason, it felt harder to meet people and really connect than the one out in Oregon (my guess is that being being stretched out across almost a mile of woodland made it easier to be an individual or a small group... In Oregon we were all in a big fair ground field so you didn't really have much choice but to have lots of neighbors).
3. The Beer and Hymns was more beer than hymns (the musician leading it wasn't familiar with the hymns).  Now, I love beer, but there was something special that happened when you had a raucous group of folks belting out Amazing Grace, This is My Father's World, A Mighty Fortress is our God, etc. while lifting a mug.  That didn't happen (as much) this year.
4. Having to haul nearly half a ton of stuff (not kidding... we packed for car camping... two coolers, kitchen stuff, a folding table, etc. etc. etc.) almost half a mile to the car.  We wanted to leave early on Sunday but couldn't get our car into the site until later...  So Shiree and I each made about 6 half-a-mile trips to haul all of that gear.  Let me say that that itself was a spiritual exercise for many reasons.

Overall it was totally worth it.  See photos on Smugmug, videos on YouTube, audio for Dr. Barber and Nadia Bolz-Weber.