by Emily Provance, Friend in Residence“I was trying to make a vase,” the woman said, “but the clay wanted to be a creampitcher. It had a lip around it, no matter what I did. So now I have a cream pitcher. Andit’s beautiful.” The next night, well after dark, I found myself in the ceramics […]
from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence In the weekly Quaker House brown bag discussion, our speaker, Callid Keefe-Perry, talked about the similarities between Quaker worship and improvisational comedy theory. In one of those moments of perfect synchronicity, Callid’s internet connection dropped out repeatedly, leaving the rest of us to slide in and out of improvisational […]
from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence In front of Quaker House, there are two trees. One has green leaves, and the other has red. I don’t know enough about horticulture to explain this. There’s also a squirrel—I call her Friend Squirrel—who delights in leaping between them. Sometimes, when I’m working on the balcony, she comes […]
Week Three: Trust from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence The official theme of the week was “Trust, Society, and Democracy.” I heard a lot about society and a lot about democracy but very, very little about trust. The only explicit addressing of this topic was the week’s first speaker, Richard Edelman. He established the Edelman […]
from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence Space architecture. Science Fiction. Digital religion. Genetic engineering. Every speaker we heard this week agreed on one thing about the future: whatever it’ll be, we’re all in it together, and that is not necessarily a good thing. The week’s theme was set up surprisingly well by Ted Chiang, who […]
Week One: Integrity from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence Certain types of communication can cross a lot of boundaries. For example, The Glenn Miller Orchestra, which came to Chautauqua Thursday night. Everybody turned out, from infants to elderly, and everybody danced in their seats. In fact, one woman, who looked about eighty-five, refused to sit […]
(Emily is our Season long Friend in Residence — and is seeing Chautauqua for the first time. Here are some of her impressions (Ed.) from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence One thing I notice right away is the amount of space that drivers leave for pedestrians. I’m used to places where a car will swish […]
Reflections of a Fifth Generation Chautauquan (and Quaker House Committee member) Submitted by Shari Castle I am a 5th generation Chautauquan. There are so many reasons why I come back year after year. But you may never have been here. So Why Should You Come? The Programming You get the arts, education, religion, and recreation […]
by Deb First Member Quaker House Steering Committee Forty-five years ago, I planned to attend Meeting for Worship for the second time. My usual procedures for going anywhere- simplest (have something to eat. Write the directions) to adaptive (was it snowing? Did I need an umbrella?) were this time accompanied by an unfamiliar sensation – […]
The past few months The past few months have been a mix of discovery, experimentation, thoughtful organization and amazement. This is not unlike my own spiritual journey and perhaps yours? Quakers found ourselves homeless on the grounds of Chautauqua…then receiving the promise of a house of our own at Chautauqua – a handsome 1911, gabled […]