Upcoming Events at Easton Mountain
Queer Spirit Camp 2009 a Huge Success
Thoughts from a Work-Study Program Participant
Board of Directors' Corner
Autumn in the "Garden of Easton"
Spirituality and the Arts
March of Two: A Different Kind of National Coming Out Day Recognition
Be a "Best Friend" in 2010
How You Can Help
Easton Mountain’s Mission

Upcoming Events at Easton Mountain

We've got lots of exciting programming this fall! There's Happy, Healthy, and HOT! along with The Art of Powerful Living, both taking place October 23rd through October 25th, followed by our Halloween Weekend October 30th through November 1st. If you choose, you may attend just the party on October 31st. Then we've got Altered States of Grace from November 6th through November 8th. The following weekend is Cosmic Orgasm with Joe Monkman - November 13th through November 15th. And don't forget about New Year's at Easton!

Please check out our online calendar to learn about all the workshops offered at Easton Mountain.

back to top of page

Queer Spirit Camp 2009 a Huge Success

65+ people descended upon Easton Mountain last July for the 4th annual Queer Spirit Camp. These 18-23 year old LGBT men and women arrived on a Monday, only knowing maybe one or two other people. By the following Sunday, they knew everyone as if they had known each other for years. There were lots of workshops and activities throughout the week that helped build team leadership among the group and to tackle some tough issues facing young LGBT men and women today. All in all, these young men and women went away with new skills and confidence to become great leaders in the LGBT community. A few of the participants wrote letters about their experience at Queer Spirit Camp. Here they are:

Being an NYC baby, I'm used to noise, constant chaos, having to fight for my beliefs, and fighting to be accepted. Then someone offered the chance for me to get away for seven days. I hesitated at first on saying yes because I don't like change. But reluctantly, I got into a van of 10 rowdy and loud people and we began a journey. I didn't know at the time that this journey would change me as a growing woman for a lifetime. After hours of being lost and irritated we pulled into QSC and I opened my eyes to tear jerking beauty. Things I had only seen on TV; the clean air, the quiet and calm were, surprisingly, music to my ears. I was introduced to many dierent people, some weird, some not. People I never would have spoken to in "real" life. Now we have thirty minute, in depth conversations about SpongeBob. I was offered workshops, a real bed, and real food. People who knew nothing about me were there to redirect my thoughts of a savage mentality toward something friendly and constructive. They gave me tools to use in real life. QSC became my week in heaven away from my weeks in hell. I will forever be grateful for my experience here. I hope QSC is around for a long time to be able to show other young adults who are lost like I was, a better way of thinking. I have met people who are non judgmental, who expect nothing except for you to be yourself. This I will never forget. And I just want to say thank you to Easton's directors for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime.
~Bella

I approached Queer Spirit Camp skeptically, I honestly wasn't sure what to expect, but I needed a week away. In one short week I grew more than I have in months. I ended up having the experience of my life. I'm normally a quiet person, I live inside my own head, and it's usually pretty cramped. At Queer Spirit Camp, it just felt like... all the pressure was off. I was invited out of my own world, and into a community of really cool kids (and really awesome facilitators). I learned so much, but it wasn't anything like school. I talked to people about our unique experiences and it was just amazing. No walls or barriers, everything about the environment facilitated openness and understanding. Now I'm a part of the Planning Committee and the Webmaster. I do it for two reasons: First, I love QSC, so giving my time and energy to help make next year's experience as amazing as this year's makes me feel good. Second, volunteering lets me go to Easton once every two months, and it always seems to be when I need it the most. I get to reconnect with all the amazing people, and realign my mind and body as well. QSC is like a guiding beacon in my life, it brings me to the safe harbor of Easton Mountain. I am so grateful that the program exists, because it enriches my life so much. Please support and make it possible again.
With Love,
-Matt

Now here's something you may not know - Queer Spirit Camp is entirely underwritten by Easton Mountain. Participants are only asked to pay $30 for the entire week - and that's only if they can afford it. Nobody is turned away from this event (until the beds are all full, anyway). While we are currently working on obtaining grant money to help fund this much needed programming, we don't have funding secured yet - and in this economy, there are no guarantees that we will obtain funding. Please consider making a tax deductible donation to help make next year's Queer Spirit Camp touch the lives of another 65 young, LGBT men and women. You can make a donation online using our secure online form - be sure to specify in the comments section that this is for Queer Spirit Camp. Thanks in advance for your generous donations!

back to top of page

Thoughts from a Work-Study Program Participant

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

If there is a way to give thanks to you in a way that is equal in value to what you have all given me this summer, I have not yet discovered it. In the nine weeks I have spent at Easton Mountain, gratitude has quickly evolved to become my strongest mantra and personal friend and in whatever way I might be able to, I wish to share that with you. I came to Easton Mountain after eight months of temporary cognitive and physical disability, barely unable to finish the semester and longing for a space in which I could simply rest.
The Easton Mountain community, both permanent and transient, has given me much more than that: it has given me a passion for service and a limitless number of ways in which I might indulge that passion. It has been an ineffable pleasure to serve each and every one of you this summer – invariably, each and every person that I came in contact with here has been my guru and led me to new spaces within community and within myself. You have each led me to a clearing of abundance – one that prior to this summer I did not even have the awareness to dream of.
In nine short weeks, I have come to view, appreciate, and serve Easton Mountain as my primary home and the safest place I have ever known. Ironically, in my retreat to the Mountain, my once weary soul has found a place to rest in the everyday routines of service and spiritual growth work I have adopted here. Yet again, I find myself leaving Easton Mountain a distinct feeling that I remain indebted to its infintely generous spirit; however, I also leave with knowledge of my responsibility as a valued community member and co-creator of this Sacred space and all that it contains.
It has been an honor and a privilege to serve you and it is with great pride that I take this growth and experience back to my home community. Know that you have inspired change in this world in your commitment to Easton Mountain and that that change is spreading. Namaste.

Warmly,
Ben Colburn, Work Study Summer '09
Brown University Class of 2010

back to top of page

Board of Directors Corner
by Blair Voyvodic, Board President

Easton Mountain has become a spiritual home for many people whose lives have been touched and enriched by their experience here. Founded ten years ago by John Stasio on a visionary hope and a prayer, we are now growing toward a more collectively held organization. The board was formed six years ago to establish Easton Mountain as a charitable corporation. The role of the board is to support the work on the ground through long range planning, fundraising and shouldering legal responsibility.

Snap shots of some board members: Our new treasurer, Phil Benoit, brings both delightful enthusiasm and expertise as an accountant with a prominent law firm in Manhattan where client tax matters are his specialty. Dave Nimmons brings a wealth of talent and experience having been the president of the Lesbian and Gay Community Center in New York City during the years when the center established its home on 13th street. Mike Kutter has been spearheading the groundwork for a capital campaign to secure Easton’s stability and thriving into the future. He is also heading up the Marketing committee and has developed the successful and fun New Year’s auctions.

We have a strong core of expertise and are now looking for community members to join our finance, development and marketing committees. This would be a great opportunity for anyone wanting to get more involved and is ready to take on work supporting Easton Mountain. And there is the perk of getting to know some great folks as a fringe benefit!

We need people with a positive, cooperative spirit and a commitment to Easton’s mission and success. Experience in organizational development, grant writing, events planning, marketing, finance or other aspects of non-profit organizations would be a great asset. Contact me if you want to get involved at blairvoy AT yahoo DOT ca.

back to top of page

Autumn in the "Garden of Easton"

As I get ready to mulch the garden beds for Winter it is a good time to reflect back on the last few months up there. Except for the tomato and potato blight that hit most gardens in the North East, the garden and Mother Earth were good to us! We harvested peppers, eggplant, corn, cabbage, kale, peas, pole and bush beans, pumpkin, summer and winter squash, strawberries, blueberries, turnips, carrots, kolerabi, many kinds of lettuce, swiss chard, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and many different kinds of flowers- cosmos, sunflowers, morning glory, dahlias, calendula, coneflower, nasturtiums, zinnias and marigolds.

A special thanks goes to John Ruffo for donating a statue of St. Francis, Kevin Merry for giving us a statue in the likes of Michaelangelo's David, Andre Cusson for gifting us a Hindu sacred statue, Jeff Haber for the donations of many gardening tools, our neighbors down the road for providing the garden with straw from their horse farm, Gregg Orifici who gave plants and timeless hours of work in the garden, Moss for organizing a Blessing of the Garden ceremony in August and adding artwork to the sacred dome, and to all the other residents and vounteers who gave their time and energy and who just enjoyed the garden’s nurturing energy!

May the spirit of Permaculture continue!

Peace and Light,

Leo Skye

back to top of page

Spirituality and the Arts
by Sunfire

I'm writing this having just returned from a day in The Valley of Fire - which is a state park near Las Vegas, NV. Here erosion has turned multi-colored sandstone into fabulous shapes - animals, faces, monstors. Reflecting on this, I am reminded that in both spirituality and art the outer and the inner worlds become one. The spiritual seeker brings the outer world into himself to bring about transformation. The artist brings his inner world out for all to see. John Ollom, who will be one of our facilitators during next June's arts retreat, calls his method of working "Internal Landscapes" - and he will be teaching us this powerful tool for bringing our internal world into movement art. The retreat - which includes poetry, drawing and video as well as movement art - is called "Expressing Your Inner Self."

In the first book of Hebrew scriptures, Genesis, we are told that God created man in his own image. I suspect that the writer knew that there was inside each of us an urge to create -- and this to him was evidence of our being made in the image of our creator.

My own spiritual path has included explorations of music, drawing, painting, dance, theater, video, poetry, fiction, and essays. In my work, I hope to inspire the same awe and wonder that I felt today visiting The Valley of Fire, and I hope to iinspire you to follow a sinmilar path if you so choose. To me, the essential message of Easton Mountain has always been, "Yes, you can!" -- You can be "Happy, Healthy and Hot"; you can be "Living Full Out"; and you can be "Expressing your Inner Self." Come join us in this exploration.

back to top of page

March of Two: A Different Kind of National Coming Out Day Recognition
by Bob Pileggi

It was a beautiful day for a walk. The sky was blue with occasional puffy white clouds; the sunshine warm with a slightly cool northeast autumn breeze; golden leaves falling into the grass. Thousands joined together today in Washington, DC, for a particular kind of walk. An “organized” one with a purpose. “Loosely” or “grassroots-ly” organized, some might say. But a walk with a purpose, nonetheless. To remind the President, the Congress, the nation, and perhaps a few startled DC tourists – that LGBT people are here, are human, and are equal.

My boyfriend and I went for a walk today, and it had a purpose as well. We exercised our inalienable right to enjoy a beautiful day. It was pretty much that simple. Though quickly I realized that the effects were no less powerful than thousands on the mall in DC.

We went to a park in the suburbs of Philadelphia. It’s called Norristown Farm Park – a farm-turned-park in the suburbs, if you can believe it, with lovely walking trails, streams, cornfields and an abandoned tractor or two. The sun was warm, walking next to the beautiful open fields, reaching up the hill to a picture-perfect barn and the spacious blue sky – a bird aloft, catching waves in the wind. A tear came to my eye because it was such a perfect day, and I felt so grateful to be sharing it with someone so sweet and loving.

Without thinking about it, I took his hand. And in that moment – that simple, thoughtless moment - we perhaps did as much to remind the nation that we are here, human and equal. For we were certainly not alone.

Two chatty women out for their daily speed-walk zipped by us with a hello. An older gentleman walking his dog; he didn’t really meet our eyes but said hello, nonetheless. A mom pushing a stroller, being pulled by an energetic dog on a leash and two other kids in tote, “hey guys,” she said.

My boyfriend grew up on a farm, and while he didn’t get much into the farm-like labor, he certainly did leave with his love for the apparel, or at least the fun affect. So he was wearing a woven cowboy hat, plaid shirt and jeans. (I was the “normal” one in my Gap clothes – we were in the suburbs, afterall.) I was feeling playful and as I noticed red, orange and then yellow leaves falling near us, I’d tuck them into his hat above the brim. Much more interesting, I thought. And I got to see the pretty leaves every time I looked over into his beautiful, smiling eyes. I’m guessing his internal designer was quite active and wanting to change or eliminate the leaves from his carefully chosen outfit (he is an interior designer, after all) since once in a while he’d mention them. Though he patiently played along and left them there. I guess he likes me.

A six-year-old was walking in the opposite direction with his two parents, brother and sister. He veered directly toward to us, briefly pointed and said, “You’ve got leaves in your hat.” A simple observation to which we replied, “yes, we know!” (and I quickly reassured my boyfriend that the kid was not making fun, but simply observing). In that moment I knew we had changed the world. We were out for a Sunday stroll in the park, with an autumn bonnet, just being ourselves and “minding our own business” (of fully being our affectionate selves) and now there’s a six-year-old boy who knows that he, too, could someday walk down the lane hand-in-hand with his boyfriend. And a few leaves in his bonnet. (And you’ll note, the kid made mention of the leaves, not of the two guys holding hands.)

The other kids who saw us, the speed-walkers, the older gentlemen and the others I’ve forgotten, not to mention the folks driving along the road when the trail came close…they all saw us. We were “here, human, and equal” – out enjoying the day, just like them. Sure, one of them might have thought – “oh, those queers, they’re everywhere, and I’m tired of getting used to it.” But that’s not my business.

My only business today was being myself. With someone I care about. As we went for a Sunday stroll in the park. Holding hands.

Being ourselves. Everywhere we go. Everywhere. Sitting close together at my niece’s birthday dinner with my family the other night. His arm around me at a friend’s housewarming party (with mostly heterosexual people). A few leaves in his hat when he goes to work. Or me correcting a client that when I get married it will be to a “handsome man” rather than a “lovely lady.”

Being ourselves. Everywhere. There is no greater gift to ourselves than honoring our truth. And no greater gift to the world than fully expressing the truth of who we are. It’s why we’re all here. To remember who we are and to share with the world as we do.

Sure, there are times to “protest.” But the rest of the time, “attest.” Live your life following your heart and spirit. Be yourself. More than any marches, picket signs or angry demands, this always has and will continue to open other hearts and spirits. Simply being ourselves – no editing, no downsizing.

Harvey Milk implored us, “You must come out.” So go put the leaves in your bonnet. Put a picture of you and your partner in your cubicle at work. Get the hotel room with the king-sized bed instead of the two queens (no pun intended). Just mind your business of being your true self. And the world can’t help but to eventually respect, if not love you. Self-respect has the undeniable, contagious effect of reminding us all that we can all be “here, human and equal.”

Today, my boyfriend and I spent some time holding hands in the Norristown Farm Park. Not for the cameras of national television, nor for the President or Congress. Rather for ourselves. Because, indeed, it was a beautiful day for a walk.

This article © Bob Pileggi, October 11, 2009. Reprinted with author's permission.

Bob Pileggi is an Interfaith minister who guides people to discover more of who they really are and how to live more fully. Next month, he will be leading a retreat entitled Altered States of Grace which aims to "transform and expand your aliveness and gratitude." Bob has worked for LGBT, HIV/AIDS and women’s rights local, regional and national non-profits for twelve years, and his photography has been published nationally. Bob now freelances providing spiritual counseling, coaching, meditation practice, transformational breathwork therapy, workshop and retreat facilitation, and wedding / ceremony officiation. www.bobpileggi.info

back to top of page

Be a "Best Friend" in 2010

Pay one fixed amount and come to as many Easton Mountain events as you want in 2010! Click here for more details on this offer!

back to top of page

How You Can Help

Much of the work at Easton Mountain is done by volunteers who come here to work for periods from three hours to three months. If you would like to schedule some time to come help out, please contact us.

Donations also keep our doors open. The amount we charge participants for coming to events does not cover all our costs. We rely on the generous and giving spirit of many who find Easton so near and dear to their heart to come up with the rest to cover our costs. Please consider becoming a monthly donor - we can arrange to have any amount you'd like charged automatically to a credit or debit card on the first of the month each month. Or, if monthly giving is not a choice, consider making a one-time contribution to help ensure Easton will be here for years to come to touch and heal many more lives.

As we plan out next year's calendar, we still have some weekends open in February and March, and weeklong stretches pretty much throughout the winter. If you know of an organization that might be interested in renting our space for an event or meeting, please have them contact Sheldon Hartman at 800-553-8235.

Just come to our programs! Our guests are the reason we exist! And be sure to spread the word - let others know how important Easton is to you and how much you think they'd enjoy it as well. Check back to review our calendar of events periodically over the next month or so - we'll be adding our 2010 programming over the next few weeks. Add a stay at Easton Mountain to your 2010 calendar!

back to top of page

Easton Mountain’s Mission

Easton Mountain’s mission is to sponsor, develop and present workshops and other learning activities that promote wholeness, health, and peace; and to foster the growth of spiritual community, respectful of all religious and spiritual traditions, that supports the integration and healing of all people.
back to top of page