It is time again to Celebrate!
What are we Celebrating?
We are Celebrating Our Universal Story. As civilizations rise and fall, the remnants of the cultures they leave behind are in the form of stories & art. The power of story is real. Stories preserve community and family culture. They can also help us renew our connection with our Creator and our identity in this world. Stories are what keep us connected in our churches, families & communities. No matter where we come from, we all share a Universal story of Creation & the Creator.
The Pilgrim's Course Tutorial (Online Retreat) class offered on HouseoftheBook.org, shares an introduction to the Hebraic Principles of Creation. This circle-pattern teaches us our Original Culture and the Universal Story. This class offers mathematical and symbolic pattern recognition skills in the Old Testament, but as we come to see that circle-pattern in the scriptures, we come to see ourselves in this story like we never have before. We also come to see our connection to each other and our need for gathering and celebrating!
We are meeting this Fall at the "Rosh Hashanah" (Head of the Year) 2023 to Celebrate in The Hebrew Way. That includes the holistic nurturing of singing, dancing, whole foods and our like-minded connection!
We also desire to continue our Original culture with every effort and resist any efforts to "cancel culture". We must know why it is so important for us to be doing these simple yet essential things, like singing! We are Celebrating through Song to help encourage and transfer our story! Music and singing is a powerful gift from God to carry our story on through the ages.
We are Celebrating Song.
Did you know that a culture of singing is what freed the entire nation of Estonia? After Stalin took over the Baltic States in 1939/1940, the people lost their freedom to celebrate their cultural singing festivals. After 50 years, they began overcoming their fears and gathering to sing their cultural songs. This gave them more and more courage to stand against their oppressors and grew to a point where they stood, hand-in-hand, in 1991, against the tanks, singing. The world saw this on the news and it was the first time we in the West understood what had been happening those 50 years after WWII. Singing is powerful!! Through a simple song, we can learn a powerful message. For this Celebration, we have prepared an original Beatitude song. Shelley Schneider and Emily Erickson have been working to compose it and I am so excited to sing it with all joining us!
We are Celebrating Joyful Movement.
Did you ever notice that each culture around the world includes dance as a part of their festivals? Have you ever wondered why? Did you know movement is a strong need of the body and even helps us release negative emotions to Christ? Think about it. Running is great to do when we have to let-off steam. Walking may help us think. Yoga and breathing helps us to calm the chatter in our minds. There are many studies and research showing the benefits of movement. Now, did you also know the Jewish culture enjoys a dance at their wedding feasts? This tradition goes back anciently, and I believe has something to do with the word feast, which means, to gather in a circle and dance!
I invite you to gather in a circle and dance with us! The specific joyful movement (above) and dancing we will be enjoying is a form of a Hebraic circle-dance which we've inherited from our Ephraimite culture.
We are Celebrating Our Connection.
One of my purposes in gathering is to help "relieve society." This vision leads all I endeavor to do through the Foundation Builder Guide organization. Our Vision of Celebrations comes from Original families who gathered each year to Celebrate by telling our Universal story of Creation and how Adam & Eve came to be. Over the years this tradition can be seen as families gathered in large-scale Celebrations working and learning together. In each they are telling their community stories and the most powerful story: Their Creation Stories. This includes their dances and singing and the words that give them strength and power. They utilize beautiful colors, material like fabrics, paper and paints and they also use the tools of the technology they had. We know it is time to restore this way of lifting the wounded, poor and hungry among us. As we join together with this vision in mind, we can unify our purpose and connection as women and families!
At this Fall time of year, we are Celebrating the "Head of the Year" in preparation for the most Holy Days ahead.
Where ever you are, consider celebrating in simple ways with your family or community. Prepare to release and receive the Great High Priest. Read more on a blog post here.
If you are in Utah, we are gathering:
When: September 15th 2023
Where: American Fork, Utah
Time: 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm MST
Register: You can register ahead of time on HouseoftheBook.org HERE.
Read More:
- Fall Holy Day: The Symbolism of the Cry of the Shofar
- Fall Holy Days: Cry of the Shofar, A Cry to Heaven
- Example Videos of us dancing America's Cultural Dance: Heel-Toe Polka Part 1 & Part 2, Lucky Seven Part 1 & Part 2
- Example Videos of us dancing: a fun Basket dance Part 1 & Part 2
- Example Video of us dancing a simple version of the Jewish Dance Hava Nagila
- Learn more about the movement we started of Family Celebrations, on HouseoftheBook.org