Convocation Schedule And Some Thoughts On “Drama” And Racism

I’ve already had con drama this year. I admit I was a little surprised. A friend of mine asked me to speak up in a Facebook thread about a white man running a Voodou ritual. I also brought up the fact that none of the featured speakers for this year’s con were people of color, and asked the individual in question what they were doing to lift up the voices of people of color. While I think some good conversation had, the whole thing was a bit of a horrible mess. A lot of feelings were hurt and some white fragility came up to the spotlight. I’m hoping maybe someone from the MEC board, which organizes Convocation, will think about trying to get more diverse featured speakers. As a white lady, it’s weird to be a person speaking up and asking questions about racial issues. I’m certainly no expert on the topic, but I’ve come to realize that dismantling white privilege is a task we all ought to be working on.

So racial tensions and careful dialoging were my prequel to Convo. Moving on, I’m looking forward to seeing some old friends, meeting some new people, and generally getting some work done. I’ve got two workshops I’m putting on: one on gesture and movement in ritual, and one that’s a talisman making workshop for kids. I’m happy to see that Convo is putting consent on the menu, and I’d encourage everyone to go to at least one consent workshop, especially if they’ve never gone. It’s an incredibly useful tool to have in your interpersonal toolkit. The Druid Suite will also be putting on some informal workshops on consent throughout the weekend, so if you can’t make one of the official ones, please come on by.

Here’s my idealized schedule of what I’d totally go to if I didn’t have to deal with chronic pain, chemical sensitivities, and whatever odd emergencies might crop up in my little convocation clan.

Friday, February 22

9:30am
Melissa Hill (which means I’m definitely going to this one!)
Including Gesture and Movement in Ritual
I was asked to present on this topic at the last Convocation in discussions on Sunday. I’m so glad they accepted the offering. I’m looking forward to sharing all I’ve learned, and I’m sure I will pick up a trick or two from those who attend as well.

1:00pm
Druids Discuss Consent and Hospitality, Druid Suite room 524
Last year the Druids ran consent workshops out of our suite and we’re doing it again this year. Come on by for spirited and openhearted conversation on the topic.

2:00pm
Melissa Hill
Talisman Making for Kids
Bring your kids! I hear the presenter is great!

2:00pm
Dame Wilburn
The Cultural Miseducation of the Pagan Community
If I wasn’t going to be teaching kids how to make talismans I would absolutely be going to this.

4:00pm
Jade Rose
Hold The Bowl a ritual for Sigyn
I’m excited for this one, since I too have used the bowl motif as an offering and magical working for Sigyn and I’d love to see how She gets interpreted and presented in this ritual.

5:50pm
Druid Fellowship in the Druid Suite, Room 524

11:00pm
Dame Wilburn
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Ritual
I’ve heard nothing but wonderful things about everything that Dame has ever done, and have never made it to one of her rituals. I am determined to go to this.

Saturday, February 23

9:30am
Pat Camarena-Rose Barbary
Tarot Intensive: The 4 Suits
I’ve been reading tarot for years, and so would enjoy this, but I will especially enjoy it since Pat was one of the people who spoke on the Facebook thread about inclusion and mentioned that she was a PoC as well.

11:30am
EliSheva Nesher
Seeing for the Tribes-A Ritual
One year at Convocation I pretty much did nothing but go to every workshop that EliSheva presented and her work was incredibly empowering and healing for me. So much of what she talks about is community, and so much of my work is rooted in community. I’d love to see her present a ritual.

1:00pm
Druid Fellowship in the Druid Suite, Room 524
Druid are great hosts, and we always enjoy meeting new people at Con.

2:00pm
Magdalena Knight
Consent Counts
Consent is a topic near and dear to my heart. I’m thrilled to see that con has more than one Consent offering this year. I hope that means they will redesign their policies and procedures in order to align with consent best practices soon.

4:00pm
Witchdoctor Utu and Baba Teddy (Ted Jauw)
VooDoo, HooDoo, Conjure, Rootwork and You
I’m really excited about this, and would try to go to more offerings if I could. I’ve seen a lot of people vouch for his work, so I’m quite curious. I wanted to make it to the Harriet Tubman ritual last year, but being a spoonie is real.

5:30pm
Druids Discuss Consent and Hospitality, Druid Suite room 524
This is our second Consent offering in the suite, if you’ve missed the first, please come on by.