Category: Cahoots 2022

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Throwing Hands For Good Discussions

with Peter Haresnape

Do you struggle to be heard in a meeting? Have you noticed that sometimes you can’t remember the outcome of a debate? We need good tools to have good discussions leading to good outcomes – come and develop some skills and tools to express yourself, hear others, and arrive at consensus together! We’ll practice some hand signals that help us communicate in another dimension and use some different methods to make decisions.

about the facilitator

Peter Haresnape is a co-founder of the Cahoots festival. He serves Toronto United Mennonite church as a pastor and is studying theology at Conrad Grebel University College. He learned a lot of group discussion practices in anarchist circles in the UK and is excited to practice them in Turtle Island.

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Engaging Settlers in Solidarity Action with Indigenous Land Defenders

with Layla Staats + Skyler Williams + Erik Lankin + Scott Morton Ninomiya (moderator)

This conversation led by Indigenous Land Defenders involved in the 1492 Landback Lane movement will explore the possibilities for engaging Settlers in this work. We will hear how Settlers can act effectively in solidarity with Indigenous Land Defenders responding to colonial violence from the systems funded with Settler taxes. Includes a moderated Q&A. This session is designed to engage and equip Settlers for action. Participants are welcome to sign up for a subsequent training session on direct action delivered by Christian Peacemaker Teams.

about the facilitators

Layla Staats is a Haudenosaunee Land Defender who has supported a variety of Indigenous sovereignty movements. Skyler Williams is a Haudenosaunee Land Defender who has served as a spokesperson for 1492 Landback Lane. Erik Lankin is a settler ally who has supported the Landback movement and worked to communicate with and recruit other settlers. Scott Morton Ninomiya is a settler working with Mennonite Central Committee on matters of Indigenous solidarity.

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2022 Covid Safety – we are all pivot experts – final

Our Covid Safety plan is based on our best knowledge. Please be gracious with one another as we work together for the safety and comfort of all.

Rapid Tests – Everyone attending the festival will take a rapid test. In the unfortunate event of a positive test you will not be able to participate. Therefore, you may wish to take a test before you leave for the festival – take a picture of the test so that we can confirm it upon your arrival.

If people need to leave the site, they will re-test before returning – you can get a spare test by asking at registration.

Masking – when you are sharing an inside space as part of a group – for example, in a workshop or morning gathering, we ask people aged 12+ to wear a mask. This will allow for comfortable sharing of the space. Children 5+ years old in those spaces are also recommended to wear masks.
Exceptions – you do not need to wear a mask in your own sleeping space and the dining room. People using microphones to lead a gathering or time of worship may choose not to wear a mask.

If you’re unable to wear a mask, please email us before the festival

Please be attentive to the needs and comfort levels of others – practice good consent and communication when taking off your mask! Please listen to the directions of workshop facilitators around additional precautions they may wish to take.

Vaccinations – We encourage everyone who is able and eligible to get vaccinated. Following provincial guidelines, we (and our host camp) are not asking for proof of vaccination. You may voluntarily disclose your status upon registration.

Arrivals – tell us when you plan to arrive, and how you are getting here, to help us know who is on site. As soon as you arrive you must register and complete a rapid test (or show proof of a negative test)

Sanitization – Disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer will be made available in various spaces throughout the camp. Speakers can use disinfectant wipes in the worship and gathering space to clean the equipment between microphone usage.

This information is listed in the Welcome Package emailed to all participants, and on the cahootsfest.ca website.

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Take a SACRED Pause

(All ages. Younger children may need an older accompanier.)

with Shannon Neufeldt

Cahoots is all about taking a pause from our everyday lives to rejuvenate and retool, rest and relate. This workshop invites you to deepen that focus by reconnecting with the Earth. We’ll begin in a collected fashion to learn from Indigenous wisdom together. We’ll then disperse across the camp to engage in a personal (or family/partnered) SACRED Pause. This simple practice uses the words Sense, Appreciate, Connect, Respect, Express, Delight (SACRED) to guide us in remembering or discovering how to be in relationship with creation – a relationship of love and respect. Some guiding questions will be provided to assist you in connecting with Mother Earth. A closing circle will be offered for those who wish. If you like to write or draw as you reflect, bring a journal and pen but this is not necessary. Everyone should be prepared to be outside. Suitable for all ages and abilities. This workshop is based on a resource by the same name put out by For the Love of Creation.

about the facilitator

Shannon loves creation and is simply offering the type of workshop she wants to participate in. Shannon is on staff at KAIROS Canada, a social justice organization with roots in eight Christian denominations, and is privileged to convene the Local Engagement group of For the Love of Creation which seeks to engage people of faith across the country in coming together to make a meaningful contribution to climate sustainability. Shannon and her family have attend Cahoots a number of times and always appreciate the people, the energy, the good ideas and the fun.

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Radical Generosity – Giving and the Church

(12+)

with Elliot Gunn

We need to talk about how our money and our faith interact – because when we don’t, we risk inheriting oppressive attitudes towards both! We’ll begin with a whirlwind tour through the history of tithing as a part of Christian discipleship. We’ll look at creative ways to talk about money and build church communities around biblical principles like jubilee and koinonia. You’ll be asked to consider the role that your personal finances play in forming communities of radical generosity and embodied grace.

about the facilitator

Elliot runs Faith & Big Ideas, a Bible study group through the Student Christian Movement Canada & First Lutheran Toronto, that provides intensive peer-led conversations that focus on existentially overwhelming questions in our spiritual journeys. He loves engaging with big questions and messy ideas through conversation grounded in Christ. He works in tech and enjoys nerding out about all things money.

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Climate Grief

(13+)

with Anna Bigland-Pritchard

Participants can expect to create a container to uncover inner resources for coping with climate grief, and more safely explore our feelings about the climate crisis. Participants can expect an expressive arts approach, which can include movement, music, visual art, and writing. No experience with those mediums is necessary to participate.

about the facilitator

Deeply resourced by studies in expressive arts therapy, as well as extensive classical music and community leadership training, Anna uses a mindful, earth-centred practice of art-making to help others to feel supported through the joys and challenges of life. Anna believes art must be activism, true self-care and community-care are an act of bold resistance, and that the expressive arts are a tool for both self-care and social change.

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Take To The Streets

with Rachelle Friesen + Julie Brown

DESCRIPTION TO COME

about the facilitators

Rachelle (she/her) trained with Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) in 2017. Since then she has been the Canada Coordinator for CPT which has allowed her to do accompaniment work in Iraqi Kurdistan and at the US Mexico Border. She is also the coordinator for the Turtle Island Solidarity Network that focuses on Indigenous solidarity. Prior to working with CPT, Rachelle spent 5 years in Palestine doing peace work. Rachelle has a passion and background in nonviolent direct action, decolonization, and local peacemaking. Julie trained with CPT in 2015 and spent four years on the CPT Iraqi Kurdistan field team before taking a position as CPT’s Outreach Coordinator.

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Ritual and Community Building

(All ages welcome, but participants should know that mature content and language will be used.)

with Kimmothy Cole

The creation and engagement of shared culture invites us into community. In environments where folx assemble from various backgrounds, the formation of shared culture can be a key to unlock a sense of shared vision. Ritual is one way to co-create a shared identity based on the specific needs and preferences of community participants. Ritual and Community Building begins with conversation and Kimmothy sharing about the structure and tools of ritual. Participants will then utilize this information and their own knowledge and aesthetic preferences to practice inventing new rituals for their daily practice or community space. Participation in ritual building is encouraged, but observers are welcome.

about the facilitator

Kimmothy Cole (they/them) is an educator, collaborator, performer, designer and ritual artist. Their work is oriented around small-impact, ripple-effect methods of sharing that include healing practices, space creation and equipping members of their community to (re)discover their capacity to be the authors of the changes they wish to see. Their work grows from experiences with devised theatre, songwriting, herbalism, LARP (live action role playing), faith-based community practices, choreography, immersive performance and community organizing. They are currently serving as the Coordinator for Communitas, a community initiative and sacred collective based out of Austin, TX. Their ritual, instructional and performance work has been featured at festivals, venues and domestic spaces across the US.

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Love Tenderly Olympics

(All ages)

with Tim O’Connor + Elle Crevits + Shannon Neufeldt

An annual classic at Camp Micah, the Love Tenderly Olympics come to Cahoots for the first time ever. Bring your competitive edge, but remember, this is a team event! All your skill, creativity, and cooperation will be required to complete each activity TOGETHER! People of all ages and abilities are welcome. The more diversity, the more creative the teams will be challenged to be! Can you build a human pyramid or get your whole team over the river of piranhas without “losing a limb”? Brought to you by Camp Micah staff and youthful camp alumni.

about the facilitators

Tim has been playing the Love Tenderly Olympics for 15+ years. As a recently retired high-school teacher – the kind that is everyone’s favourite teacher – he knows how to get people motivated…and make people laugh. He may say it with a straight face-but look out for the twist! Elle started in these Olympics at the tender age of 15. After several years as a competitor, she has now logged more years as a coach and judge. She says, “I am a whole-hearted, down-to-earth, and compassionate teacher at heart. I am a life-long learner that believes we can only do what we believe we can. In my spare time you can find me in the kitchen, whipping up the next batch of delicious, or around the dinner table using food as tool to build community and connection. Shannon is the relative newcomer to the Love Tenderly Olympics team with just 3 years of practice, but Shannon and her family are also experienced Cahoots participants. A professional social justice activist, Shannon is committed to building community and passing on a passion for justice. Years as a camp counsellor solidified her appreciation for this type of team building cooperative games.

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