2021-22 Compassionate Communities – Time in our life

The Pear Tree Fund and Kinda Education, through the umbrella of Compassionate Communities, ran a year long project inviting people to Kaliwoods and the Pear Tree Centre to talk and walk around the ideas of love, life and end of life. ‘Time in our Life’ plants a seed to nurture a compassionate community in Halesworth and surrounding area.

The Pear Tree supports cradle to grave, local community well being, the edges of well being, including death and dying, that are often not addressed by the main stream systems. Kinda Education promotes kindness through nature connection also cradle to grave, specialising in children with Kinda Forest school.

This project embraces death and dying, aptly starting at Samhain, the time to recall on our ancestors, when the veil between life and the death thin. We open up a conversation often hidden under a table cloth, of something we all experience, the end of our brief lives. A reflection of our own life path, celebrating connection with nature, the natural cycles and systems in the Wood Wild Web, or inside where the Pear Tree grows.

We are grateful for funding and support from Compassionate Communities and Suffolk County Council through Annette Dunning – without this support we could not engage with this project and all those who have been on the journey with us.

We met once a month, either in the wood or the Pear Tree.

October 31st 2021 – October 31st 2022

Philip Carr Gomm on Samhain
October 2021 – We started at Samhain 2021 – here is the story of our Gathering. Our special thanks to Phillip and Stephanie Carr Gomm who came up from Sussex to lead the ceremony. Here is Phillip’s reflection on the day in his regular ‘Tea with a Druid’ slot. Samhain the story.
Solstice December 2021, in Kaliwoods, with fire and frienship. Our gathering. The story of solstice is here and the science is here.
Spring (imbolc) – Sunday February 13th at The Pear Tree
It’s Spring, Saint Brigid’s day, the time the earth begins to warm up, snowdrops break through, the wheel turns, we’re coming out of our winter hibernation. It is the time to begin the talking, writing, drawing, time to turn our mind.

Equinox – Sunday 20th March Gathering to share the music which has shaped our lives during our special Desert Island Discs event. Compassionate conversations, to talk openly about love, life, and end of life and begin or contribute to a ‘This is your Life’ book
Beltane – Saturday 30 April gathering to dance around the Maypole. Talking of aspirations, regrets and hopes. Jumping over fire, leaving behind the regret and jumping forward to the hope
Socratic Dialogue Saturday May 28th at the Pear Tree.
An an invitation to explore the question why do we find it so difficult to talk about death and dying? Using the socratic method.
SUMMER SOLSTICE A mid summer strategy meeting under the hornbeams on the longest day. .
JULY – Quirky Questions, An opportunity to ask ANY question to our local experts, Lucy Coote and Beverley Bulmer and Deidre Luff.
AUGUST 28th – Invitation to the Funeral of the Fire Pixie in Kaliwoods.
September 25th EQUINOX at the Pear Tree with photo booth
October 30th 2022 (Sunday) SAMHAIN – the rounding of the year, honouring our ancestor

How to get here
What we’re cooking up in the year
Who we are
Resources
Music
What next?

Here is what we wove at our first event, October 2021.