Vision
“The resistance is not primarily a clash of arms …
The resistance is in the drums, not in the spears; it is in the music,
in the rhythms lived by communities whose myths and ways
continue to nurture and sustain them.” -John Moore
A training center for the development of resistance and reconciliation through spirituality, cross-cultural communication and the arts.
-or-
(the 8 T’s)
Training and Teaching Trans-global Traditions of Timeless Truths to Topple the Towers!
The Name “Croatan”
We were taught in elementary school about the first English settlement in the “new world” -what became known as the lost colony. Many blamed the loss of the colony on attacks by the natives or a lack of ability to survive in the new surroundings. But the colonists had supplies and provisions and had started to build a fort. A few years later, Sir Walter Raleigh returned from England and found it abandoned. Not destroyed or anyone killed. Everything was just left behind.
The first settlements in Roanoke failed; the colonists disappeared, leaving behind them only the cryptic message “Gone To Croatan.” Later reports of “grey-eyed Indians” were dismissed as legend. What really happened, the textbook implied, was that the Indians massacred the defenseless settlers. However, “Croatan” was not some Eldorado; it was the name of a neighboring tribe of friendly Indians. Apparently the people simply moved back from the coast into the Great Dismal Swamp and were absorbed into the tribe.
So, the very first colony in the New World chose to renounce its contract with (Dee/Raleigh/Empire) and chose to go over to the Wild Men with Caliban. They dropped out. They became “Indians,” “went native,” opted for chaos and the traditional lifeways of relationship and sustainability over the appalling miseries of serfing for the plutocrats and intellectuals of London. As America came into being where once there had been “Turtle Island,” Croatan remained embedded in its collective psyche. Out beyond the frontier, the state of Nature (i.e. no State) still prevailed and within the consciousness of the settlers, the option of wildness always lurked- the temptation to give up on slave work for the rulers. Such things as fort building, taxes, all the burdens of civilization, and instead “go to Croatan” in some way or another.
So, we hope to call on this namesake-
•To develop a space in the midst of the city that can retrain our thoughts and actions towards how we create and how we listen and learn
•To hear the wisdom of the traditional ways, especially when they resonate with the same call Christ gives us in the Gospel
•To birth new artists skilled and trained to prophetically lead us toward justice and peace
•To create a space where we can stop and listen and learn from the wisdom of the ancient paths so that we may turn from our destructive ways and be transformed.
Jer. 6:16
This is what the LORD says:
“Stand at the crossroads and look;
ask for the ancient paths,
ask where the good way is, and walk in it,
and you will find rest for your souls.
But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
WHY DRUMMING?
•Drumming breaks through barriers of age, gender, cultural, language, and
race. It brings people together who otherwise would not congregate.
•It creates a way of listening to what other cultures have to say.
•Stimulates and awakens all the senses – ideal for energizing everybody
•Increases awareness of others – participants learn to positively listen and
respond to each other
•Enhances focus, clarity of thinking and receptiveness to outside influences
•Each individual that takes part in a drumming class feels the power and
benefit of being part of a group
•The result is immediate – every participant experiences the positive and
inspiring effect instantly, this builds confidence and team cohesiveness
•Drumming groups are inspirational, fun, highly motivating, stress relieving,
and educational