Sunstone this year left me delighted, exhausted and emotionally raw. I bled three panel presentations out of myself, slept an average of 4 fitful hours each night and met wonderful, wonderful people and then had to leave them a short time later with no clue when we’ll meet again. I worried about Jana until she barely and painfully made it. Finally, we dropped off two of my best friends (GameBoy and CatGirl) for two weeks with grandma.
That said, I feel revitalized. My creative and spiritual batteries are restored. I feel inspired by the incredible people, new friends and old, with whom I had a chance to mingle. I’ve regained my energy and enthusiasm for supporting the feminist cause in the LDS context and for ministering to the struggling agnostics and atheists in church settings. Even my commitment to Quakerism was strengthened by a chat I had with Susan Skoor, Apostle in the Community of Christ. When I mentioned the similarities between the two religions, she said that they were inspired to become a peace church, following the examples of the Quakers, Mennonites, and the Brethren (i.e., the Historic Peace Churches).
To top it all off, Jana continues to heal quickly, though the weekend certainly took its toll. Her leg may be a bit stressed, but the whole person is certainly in a better state for having participated.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Matt Thurston // Aug 11, 2008 at 11:48 am
John, really enjoyed your presentation on the Should I Stay or Should I Go session. Seeking input from your children and weaving their articulate thoughts into your presentation was inspired. It would be interesting to revisit this topic from time to time over the years as your kids continue to grow up and evolve. I think many Liberal Mormons, myself included, need to see good examples of children raised outside of the church (who used to be in the church). I still think there is a lot of fear about raising kids outside of the church. More than that though, I think the problem is lack of alternative paradigms. For many Mormons, the LDS parenting paradigm is the only one they know. Maybe 7-8 years in the future, we can get the entire Remy family on a Sunstone panel to revisit the topic.
Enjoyed seeing you and Jana at SS. We didn’t get to talk much, but since we can always get together in SoCal, it was nice to spend time with others we only get to see once a year.
2 John // Aug 12, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Thanks a lot, Matt. It almost seemed unfair not to include the kids’ voices in this.
I think the “not knowing any other paradigm” applies to far more than parenting. Mormons live in a very secure, strongly-defined space–past those bounds there is a lot of fear and many unknowns.
3 G // Aug 13, 2008 at 10:21 am
I really wish I had attended that panel where you shared your children’s experiences.
It was such a vast vast pleasure to met you and jana and catgirl, an honor I will never forget.
I hope to keep up the acquaintance!
4 Kiskilili // Aug 13, 2008 at 11:08 am
I had so much fun hanging out with you! I hope you and Jana are there next year. (And I hope I’m there next year!)
5 Ayla // Aug 13, 2008 at 3:41 pm
it was great to meet you!
6 Elise // Aug 27, 2008 at 3:30 pm
So incredibly sad I missed it. I was actually planning to drive up for a few days and see my parents at the same time, and unfortunately ended up at a funeral that weekend instead. I’m looking forward to listening to the recordings and hoping I’ll get a chance to see Mr. W again in person sometime - I was very sad to hear this would be his last symposia although his new endeavors seem exciting.
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