Quynn Red Mountain
Broadway Sanctuary Web of Life Animist Church
Our building on Broadway has been closed since mid-March. When the lockdown started I quickly decided to move all circles and trainings online, because the system was already set up. I asked the 15 practitioners who had been hosting circles at the Web of Life Sanctuary if they wanted to move online since gathering is not possible. Almost all said yes and are now hosting online support circles during this incredibly challenging era for humanity at large.
I started the entity that is now called Web of Life 20 years ago this year, and we began with a tent in someone’s backyard. Since then, we have been in 4 spaces in Tucson. I have always said that Web of Life is not a building...but we do love this building. The historic space held us for 20 months, but we will close it at the end of May, due to lack of testing, asymptomatic spread and the very likely resurgence of Covid-19 in the cooler months. I have gone through many emotions about it, but have told the owner that there is no way forward.
When people ask if it is because of the money, I say yes and no. It is because we cannot use the building for who knows how long…we cannot gather for who knows how long. We received 1,000 from stimulus, but that, of course, won’t go far. Our time at the Broadway sanctuary has been fantastic, and there are feelings, of course, about our decision to pack up and go, but we must go with the flow of this experience, and since all our events are now online and meeting in a building is impossible for who knows how long… this choice was what needed to happen.
However, intuitive healers need to continue to be trained. Animist Ministers need to be ordained. People need to connect and tend the traumas, anxiety, grief and uncertainty we all feel, even if only online for now. So, we connect online until this era changes. We are working on a new way to host a luminous nighttime “labyrinth” walk on the other side of this…that will be safe for our current social distanced ways. We know people are wanting to get back together, so do we, so our labyrinth walks (both distanced in person and streamed live) will be coming asap!
I am so grateful for the support that has been offered by our friends and allies in Tucson and beyond and I apologize if our decision to close our physical doors brings sadness. While I am sad, I also know that this virus is changing us as Humans, hopefully in ways that are helpful.
Why “It is what it is”?
The day after I told the owner that we could not go forward, Elisabeth and I were at the building discussing our feelings about the decision. Someone had donated a bag of clothes in March that was still sitting there, so Elisabeth started going through it. As she did, she started laughing, as she showed me this shirt. “It is what it is” is a saying that I have said over the last couple years when dealing with an issue that is not what I would prefer, but it is what is happening. Elisabeth never liked the phrase and would let me know. Now, here was the same phrase letting us know that the decision was best for this time and this place. IT IS WHAT IT IS.
Web of Life is not a building. We are the Web. We look forward to more as this new world emerges over time…we will be here to connect with you.
Stay tuned for our “Part of the Web” Giveaway and Fundraiser to happen mid May!
To see all of our online events, go to https://weboflifeanimists.com/events/ . During May all events are offered by donation. Thank you for your support.
