A WEDDING IN THE PARK

Darius and Sakura are marrying one another. It is is 4 in the afternoon. The day is bright and warm -- perfect. Small red flags with a black line 'A' and 'heart' symbol define the wedding space in Trinity Bellwoods Park. I learn that this is an "anarchist" symbol. The 'heart' symbol has a Christian 'love' resonance for me.

Chris Bowen -- Darius' fellow performer Illogic in Test the Logic -- is the main preacher for the service.  He could be a Jesuit priest adjusting to an American secular crowd. His style is environmentally conscious Buddhist 'no-mention-of-God' indigenous spirituality blessings of earth and water.

Long strips of white cloth form a cross across the green grass. As the service unfolds, presided by a woman First Nations leader, we are told that the white strips set out the pattern of the four directions. Unlike more typical Aboriginal celebrants, she does not mention of the Creator. Theme colours for the celebration are red and black.

The couple exchange vows. I think of the Catholic theology of marriage which is anarchist friendly. In that theology the couple say the words of commitment and are therefore the ministers of the marriage. The priest is present as witness.

Sakura is a visual angel in the traditional full-length white wedding gown. She has crafted her own vows -- a recognition of the support Darius gives her and a promise of continuing support for him. Darius rhymes out his vows in hip-hop style and the crowd of friends cheer.

Anarchists resent state involvement in their lives. But a wedding licence is needed for various reasons including that of living in the same place. Sakura is from the USA and Darius is Canada born. Governments control the borders. 

After family photos, Darius and Sakura enter the white eco-friendly bicycle cab. Well over a hundred guests follow on bicycles along King, up Bathurst, across Dundas and then up Augusta to curl around to the Steelworkers Hall on Cecil Street. All the bicycles carry the anarchist flag. We move in good order and the marshalls work the procession politely through red lights along the way. People on the street smile and the crowds sitting in front of the Augusta street cafes clap in appreciation. Darius' sister Parisa is on a bicyle near mine. She is a loud voice leading the chants -- "Fall in Love, not in Line!" and "What is the Movement? The Movement is Love!"

Food at the Steelworkers Hall has been prepared by friends and family. The food is vegan and tasty. Anarchist murals cover the walls. And Cathy and I leave early -- it is now 8:30 p.m. and we have a two hour journey back to Belleville. Sunday celebrations come early.

Cathy and I debate the difference and relation between religion and spirituality on the way home. I take the position that what we experienced this afternoon is both religion and spirituality -- doctrine, ritual, organization, mission ... and personal interior response shared in community. 

Later I think of the no-God anarchist position. For the Jews God is transcendent mystery and therefore no-God when God is conceived as part of a social order. The early Christian movement was accused of undermining religion and the state when the movement refused to accept the Caesar as a divine being. A thinker I know well, Raimon Panikkar, besides explicitly religious identitities, affirmed a secular identity and wrote concerning "sacred secularity." Let us puzzle forward.

DANCE AND SONG - A 24 CARROT MEDLEY

We're on the GO project, an initiative of the United Church to give youth a sense of what mission might mean in the context of the United Church. It's early in our time, only the third day, but already we are experiencing blessings from this well-prepared program.

The first day, we visit Toronto's Daily Bread Food Bank. Our group of 6 participants and 2 leaders separate into groups of 4 and are given different tasks. One group sorts donations into boxes. The other group, the one I am with, are shown a large bin of carrots and asked to stuff the edible ones into 5 pound bags and to discard the ones that are no longer edible. We discover carrots that have grown 2 and 3 legs. They remind us of dancers. The young people take up the task with energy and with humour. We decide that we will be selecting an elite group of carrots to be allowed into a carrot dance school. By the time we have worked our way to the bottom of the bin we have discovered a full bag of prospective carrot ballerinas.

I feel the touch of the divine dancer in the good humour with which we carry forward our volunteer work. These United Church youth are intelligent and playfully serious people.

The memory of carrots carries on into our second day. Our group visits a Larche community project. During the lunch break we revise some of our best loved songs replacing key words in the songs with the word 'carrot.' We are inspired by the Larche community members who welcome all creative efforts with smiles and laughter. We learn from the good humour of the people in these social projects.