EarthChurch understands ‘Church’ as a space that offers a sacred moment of reflection. In a world of militarised capitalism and hyperconsumption, alienation from self, community and nature has become the norm. This event invites attendees to reclaim worship as resistance, and experience the ‘third space’ that has been lost to many.
This event is split into three sessions that focus on the ‘holy trinity’ of connection: connection to self, others, and nature. The day will begin with a tea meditation accompanied by poetry and the cello, a nourishing vegetarian communal lunch (optional), and close with a collective altar building accompanied by the yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer.
EarthChurch seeks to support moving past the trauma so commonly held in relation to religion, and reconnect instead to the divinity inherent to the natural world as a practice of resisting extractivism and depletion. Together, we hope to build capacity for the collective strength needed to continue the fight for liberation through re-nourishment, communal healing, joy and celebration.
This is a not-for-profit event in partnership with Abney Park Trust, created by Joycelyn Longdon, Marie-Therese Png and Imogen Malpas.
Event Schedule:
10:00 - 12:00: Opening Ritual (Morning)
Session Intention: Connecting to the internal
With poetry opening As We Grieve by Marie-Therese Png (& Dan Gorelick on cello)
This session will lead attendees through a tea meditation led by facilitator Hannah Yu-Pearson of HUI 慧, potentially accompanied by Dan Gorelick on the cello. Hannah uses ritualised tea as a way to embody the Chinese character for wisdom 慧 (huì) - heart-centred, in practice and receptive. These are quiet, resourceful spaces where tea meditation, breath and movement as ritual are used as vehicles back to our own centres.
12:30 - 14:00: Communal Feasting (Lunch)
Session Intention: Connecting to community
Here, food will be served buffet style (provided by the organisers for a small additional fee). The food will be prepared by Alli (aka EarthTenders) providing a spread of salads, breads, pastas and juices, served on compostable plates with bamboo cutlery. Throughout the lunch, attendees will be given the opportunity to share their favourite pieces of poetry, writing, songs, items etc that relate to the living world as well as to be guided into conversation with each other through prompt cards. Please email info@abneypark.org with any additional dietary requirements, the meal will be nut free.
14:30 - 16:00: Earth Listening (Afternoon)
Session Intention: Connecting to nature
Facilitated by Mantawoman playing the Yangqin, a Chinese hammered dulcimer, and the EarthChurch team, attendees will be taken outside to sit in a loose meditation or practise of noticing with the trees that surround the church. After the listening portion, we will then invite attendees to gather sticks, leaves, pebbles–anything that catches their eye–and place them together as a shrine accompanied by notes articulating personal commitments to climate action, prayers, or intentions written on pieces of paper. All materials will be appropriately recycled or returned to nature. In the case of adverse weather, this session can be facilitated ins
Artists: Bios
Hannah Yu-Pearson. Hannah is a practitioner-researcher and facilitator for community and ecological health. She works with food and tea as medicine and traditional Chinese healing practices. Hannah formed 慧Hui - an exploration of food, tea and gathering as medicine, guided by the principles of traditional Chinese medicines. Through her practice, Hannah offers ritualised tea as a way to embody the Chinese character for wisdom 慧.
Mantawoman 漫她我梦. Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as "courageous, passionate, truth-seeking" – is an artist and singer-songwriter from San Francisco. She rose to prominence as one of the world's most active and inventive yangqin players. The yangqin is a percussive string instrument from China that has 144 steel strings, which the player strikes with bamboo mallets. Effortlessly integrating traditional Chinese techniques with modern influences, Mantawoman's songs and soundscapes explore her love, authenticity, and transcendence. Her psychedelic, genre-fluid performances transport listeners to another dimension. Mantawoman invites us into the seascape of the soul, inspiring us to reconnect with the magic within ourselves and reflect on our own voyages of transformation.
Dan Gorelick is a creative technologist, musician, and organizer living in Brooklyn and the Bay Area. He is a lifelong cello player and graduated from Boston University with a degree in computer engineering. Exploring the relationship between music and technology, Dan creates audiovisual performances, blending his classical cello experience with the practice of live-coding: creating music with code. He also teaches workshops about live-coding and speaks about the creative possibilities of technology. He is a co-founder of the Bay Area live audio-visual performance collective AV Club. He has performed, organized, and taught workshops in Brooklyn, San Francisco, Berlin, Mexico City, and Utrecht.