tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post3756056459442085407..comments2024-03-01T11:18:22.535-05:00Comments on Inside Nancy's Noodle: Why Can't Churches Be More Like Contra-dances?Nancyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05894799922341495196noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-49268214423041651622020-07-21T13:38:00.436-04:002020-07-21T13:38:00.436-04:00Completely spot-on article Nancy, thank you for sh...Completely spot-on article Nancy, thank you for sharing! And yes, the church -can-, but of course for that to happen in experience we have to show up, join in and be humble enough to stumble... together... rather than all alone.<br />-Glenn-Glennhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05601620911098789234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-12810254143758226712012-05-13T00:37:18.179-04:002012-05-13T00:37:18.179-04:00Great column! I'm both a Lutheran and a contra...Great column! I'm both a Lutheran and a contra dancer, which I enjoyed when I lived in GA. Now am in CA in a doctoral program, and need to find some dancing. Thanks for the great reflection.Sherinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-80390510671625598852012-05-12T21:12:06.464-04:002012-05-12T21:12:06.464-04:00Lots of UUs and Quakers love contra dancing. Ther...Lots of UUs and Quakers love contra dancing. There <i>is</i> a connection!Diggitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16416825000872117152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-60774145060818648422012-04-30T15:14:50.927-04:002012-04-30T15:14:50.927-04:00Hi there, A fellow dancer and musician posted the ...Hi there, A fellow dancer and musician posted the link to your musing. So glad that you've found contradance. Really appreciate your perspective on it. A few years ago I read Barbara Ehrenreich's "Dancing in the Streets: A History of Collective Joy" and learned that early churches did not have pews, making dancing possible and frequent. Now, there is thought: move the pews back to open up the center space!Cherylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00105983581441540165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-83089941407349383712012-04-28T15:36:45.079-04:002012-04-28T15:36:45.079-04:00I loved your original blog. Why not have a contra...I loved your original blog. Why not have a contradance as part of your service then? There are plenty of fun dances that we callers use for weddings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-36902150683313046242012-04-26T21:51:36.980-04:002012-04-26T21:51:36.980-04:00Contra Dance gave me my life back after I was wido...Contra Dance gave me my life back after I was widowed. I highly recommend it!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-79093384870731604312012-04-26T16:50:07.538-04:002012-04-26T16:50:07.538-04:00Beth Banks here - Unitarian Universalist minister....Beth Banks here - Unitarian Universalist minister. The contra dances in our area are often on Saturday night, and going dancing is my reward for finishing the sermon earlier in the week. Yes! It is my communion, and my preparation for Sunday morning.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-59783100026369109502012-04-26T16:43:22.493-04:002012-04-26T16:43:22.493-04:00Your description of a contra-dance is right on. I&...Your description of a contra-dance is right on. I've been enjoying them for 7 or 8 years now, and met my wife at one. I turned around to spin the next neighbor as the dance progressed and that's when I saw her face. I stopped participating in church about a dozen years ago, but not for a lack of feeling connected to it's community. I just accepted that I really didn't believe all that stuff. I'd rather read science books. I did enjoy leading the choir for year once though. But I have to say that it makes me nervous to hear contra-dancing referred to as worship. I've never drawn that parallel with it and church or what church should be because dance, not just contras, is a secular activity, social and fun. Worship is about supernaturalism and a top down hierarchy of divine authority. I know, the love and all, but I think there's reasons why church is sectarian in nature and not like a dance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-21978997640541605842012-04-25T23:07:20.291-04:002012-04-25T23:07:20.291-04:00I've noticed this resemblance too, but hadn...I've noticed this resemblance too, but hadn't fleshed it out as well<br />as you do in this article. Nicely written! As one who can find no evidence for any gods (having looked into all the issues for years), I<br />enjoy contra and the contra community just as much as anyone and so I <br />find that it can replace church.Tom Schneiderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04619509212386884448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-65690291211266010902012-04-25T22:53:39.135-04:002012-04-25T22:53:39.135-04:00I don't contra dance, but I love the analogy. ...I don't contra dance, but I love the analogy. I think I'm going to have to quote you in my sermon this week. Thank you for a lovely post!Pamela Dolanhttp://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/civil-religion/pamela-dolannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-42624521593255031822012-04-25T21:43:11.920-04:002012-04-25T21:43:11.920-04:00Ever since I took up contra dancing, not two years...Ever since I took up contra dancing, not two years ago, I've been trying to spread the good word about it and wondering why I feel it's such a joyous endeavor. I have likened it, in my head, to religion...but didn't want to sell it that way. Thank you for having the courage and good sense to do that for us! I agree wholeheartedly!!Pat Duffeynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-9932538647503643422012-04-25T21:34:28.893-04:002012-04-25T21:34:28.893-04:00I knew a UU would check in here, somewhere. In the...I knew a UU would check in here, somewhere. In the mid-70's I had the pleasure of presenting a Sunday service of traditional New England music and dance, honored by the presence of several of my best contra-dancing and musician friends, at First Parish UU Church, Framingham, Mass. Many of the sentiments that Nancy, and others, here, have made, were included in my “sermon” that morning. The usual coffee hour following the service included an opportunity for all to participate within their familiar community of parishioners. The hall was hoppin', you might say, and it remains a cherished memory to this day. I've been a dance musician for over 40 years, and experienced many and varied dance occasions, including camps, weddings, festivals, children's programs, and even played outside at the MET under a full moon with perhaps near a thousand folks dancing (all I can say it was surreal). The best and dearest friends of my life have resulted from the shared spirit within this music and dance. Guess it's too late to stop now.Squeezernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-30565415168483171262012-04-25T14:56:32.937-04:002012-04-25T14:56:32.937-04:00Love it! I've been a Unitarian Universalist mi...Love it! I've been a Unitarian Universalist minister for 20 years, and in the last few I have come to realize that contra dancing is my central worship experience. You did a beautiful job articulating why.Lynn Ungarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12674803547032895797noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-8124589840485689892012-04-25T14:48:27.647-04:002012-04-25T14:48:27.647-04:00As a pastor myself, I hope the answer to your fina...As a pastor myself, I hope the answer to your final question is: they can! And so the question is "What do we do to make it so?"<br /><br />For a start I know I should give fewer sermons about accepting each other in joyful companionship, and design more services to give us an experience of acceptance and joyful companionship.Amyhttp://sermonsinstones.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-8160338674352385172012-04-25T14:32:55.063-04:002012-04-25T14:32:55.063-04:00Nancy,
Have you read Diana Butler Bass's book...Nancy,<br /><br />Have you read Diana Butler Bass's book Christianity After Religion? It asks a similar question in a very powerful and convincing way. And she proposes that churches need to put their community first, their behavior second, and their beliefs (as in trust, not the modern definition of belief) last.the fiddlin' foolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06139395792905529041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-66463303852555518942012-04-25T13:01:21.597-04:002012-04-25T13:01:21.597-04:00Thank you, Nancy. I, too, feel the joy of communi...Thank you, Nancy. I, too, feel the joy of community, acceptance of one another, and a type of ecstasy that borders on a spiritual experience!Juliet from Flint, Michigannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-502035168402950052012-04-25T12:45:41.022-04:002012-04-25T12:45:41.022-04:00Oh, I wish, I wish! I love contra dancing--loved i...Oh, I wish, I wish! I love contra dancing--loved it before ministry and still love it. My parents met dancing in the folk revival of a number of decades ago...Unfortunately ministry has taken me somewhere in the country where people don't know what to make of me and my same-sex spouse, confuse me with a guy (not that I care much), and other women won't dance with me. (I prefer to dance the "gents" role, though I will dance the "lady's" role with any guy who is willing to do the same).<br /><br />One way church IS different than a contradance is that we are more willing to at least talk about our patterns of exclusion...and sometimes even work on them. Even confront those who violate important boundaries of healthy community.<br /><br />There is a culture at contradances of being able to say no to some people one might dance with. For instance if many of the women agree (among themselves) that a particular man is creepy and hitting on them too much, saying no to him is acceptable. (otherwise saying no to someone requires an excuse like taking a break and then one has to actually take the break).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-74515813033878466472012-04-25T11:28:51.656-04:002012-04-25T11:28:51.656-04:00What a wonderful reflection. Thank you. Wish I had...What a wonderful reflection. Thank you. Wish I had seen it when you originally posted it. I used to be a regular churchgoer, but stepped away from the faith for a variety of reasons a few years ago. Is it any surprise that my involvement in contradance went up shortly after my exit from church? I've been dancing ever since, and loving it. I feel so alive there – the way that I always wanted to feel at church, but just didn't.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-9085924123256105612012-04-25T09:30:38.551-04:002012-04-25T09:30:38.551-04:00I used to dance at the GTS in NYC, and still do En...I used to dance at the GTS in NYC, and still do English country and American contra dancing. True article.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-90610848170580841462012-04-25T09:29:07.693-04:002012-04-25T09:29:07.693-04:00I remember learning at some point that the origina...I remember learning at some point that the original Aramaic word for church meant celebration. Contra dancing is seeped in celebration. I think we tend to miss that in church.Marjorienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-77966087883404503942012-04-24T21:47:06.864-04:002012-04-24T21:47:06.864-04:00Amen! Thanks for writing this. I have thought many...Amen! Thanks for writing this. I have thought many of those same thoughts.<br /><br />~a fellow church-goer and contra-dancerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7044166228612663288.post-68942628823580598082012-04-24T20:38:31.631-04:002012-04-24T20:38:31.631-04:00Nancy, I'm the wife of a retired Episcopal pri...Nancy, I'm the wife of a retired Episcopal priest who served as the library director at General Theological Seminary in New York. During our time at General, people sometimes suggested that I might go to seminary and enter the ministry; my reaction to the prospect was both instant and negative.<br /><br />While we were in New York, I discovered contra dancing and English country dancing and fell in love with both. They gave me a community I had not found at the seminary, provided me with an outlet at once physical, emotional, and spiritual, and helped me grow into a less selfish, more loving person.<br /><br />Today I am an English country dance caller, leading dances throughout the United States and abroad. I love having the opportunity to help nurture the dance community, working on ways to bring young people and families into the dance, and on ways to help our elders continue being part of the community as they age. And like you, I wonder why can't churches be more like contra dances?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17407352909598583541noreply@blogger.com