Dear Friends,
There is a particular discipline that comes with my duel works of healing trauma and ending torture. It is a discipline of attending to the immediate particulars while keeping an eye on the far horizon. While attending to the moment of right now, I keep in mind the time to come and bridging the two with great possibilities. I listen to the story of pain in one person while hearing what can be lifted and washed. I teach yet another group about continuing American torture, careful to set a tone that a time is coming when there will be no torture. This discipline has gotten steadier within me over the last 28 years. It is as necessary as breath and water. It is a tone as well as a posture, a perspective as well as a philosophy. Hope is not some random feeling of optimism but a tool, a great torch to be carried into places without Light.
And so spring comes and I am on the road. Marshall and I were legally married in Vermont a week after our 20th wedding anniversary and the town clerk asked if I was sure about this man. Since my work began in 1982, invitations to work and gifts to live have been my growing regular schedule. This year I am honored to be an invited speaker to New York Yearly Meeting as the founding convener of The Quaker Initiative to End Torture. And to be joining others for QUIT’s 4th conference taking place September 24-26 2010 at Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, California. I continue to teach healing at Friends General Conference, Pendle Hill, and Powell House. And I’ll make several new stops as invitations and my calendar grows- updates on my website. Both works continue with great need and few changes.
I need your help this year particularly with replacing my car. My 10 year old Saab insisted on retirement and a wonderful 4 year old Saab took the challenge thanks to my honest Mennonite mechanic, Al Scott. He keeps me on the road in safe affordable winter cars. Your help with this new debt would be a wonderful support I’d be very grateful for. Your generosity will be carefully used and deeply appreciated.
Many parts make my work possible. First there is the leading and spiritual gift to release pain. Then there is you- from you come the invitations to teach and the support that make work and living possible. It’s not easy to live on gifts- suspense is more than interesting. But it’s a dance we’ve been in now for 27 years. And I am very grateful for your part and mine. Please help me to continue a life work in these times.
In the Light,
John Calvi,
April 2010