THE SEED CATALOG / P0 BOX 3411 / SARASOTA, FL 34230-3411
June, July & August 2004
Tucked away in the hills of western North Carolina
(in Bakersville) is a perfect, fully furnished vacation
home, available for rental through my friend, Mark
at 727-367-3382. (Ive been there several times
and heartily recommend it!) -- BJ
Phone (323) 466-2157 /
Fax (323) 466-2150 / email [email protected]
5515 Franklin Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90028
I first met Corita Kent in 1968. She was a quiet, pixie-like person, one of several prestigious
editorial consultants (along with James Luther Adams, etc.) who met twice yearly with the staff
of COLLOQUY, a new magazine on education in church and society, of which I was the associate
editor, with offices in Boston and Philadelphia. Our friendship was spontaneous and magical from
the very beginning. She was amused by the joy in my last name, and I was altogether taken by
her genuineness and simplicity. We conversed easily in and around the corners of this
auspicious gathering of scholars. At one break in the proceedings, as we sat next to each other,
she turned to me and whispered slyly, Wouldnt you rather be out in the park having a picnic?
When she was head of the art department at Immaculate Heart College in Hollywood and a
blossoming sensation of late 60s pop culture, my friend, then known as Sister Corita and
still in nuns attire, admitted to having slipped into movies forbidden by her church, after the
lights were dimmed. A great fan of cinema, she maintained that any film that honestly explores
life is a religious motion picture. She also said that if Jesus were around today, he would
take people to the movies instead of telling them parables.
I happened to be in Boston around 1967 when Corita took part in a massive peace celebration
at the Boston Tea Party (formerly a synagogue and at the time a rock emporium, featuring
groups like the original Fleetwood Mac). Harvey Cox was master of ceremonies on that particular
night. Judy Collins and Daniel Berrigan were on the program, as well. With her characteristic
gentleness and integrity, Corita spoke briefly about how a simple flower could awaken a child to
beauty and wonder. Then the walls all around us came alive with projected images from color
slides and movies, blended in perfectly with an eclectic soundtrack that included prayerful voices,
Beatles songs, and such. It was during her multimedia extravaganza that I determined to find a way
to create similar manifestations as new, basically non-verbal environments of secular,
contemporary worship.
-- Bill Joyner
At the New York Worlds Fair in 1964, the short film PARABLE was shown on a continuous
basis in the Protestant/Orthodox Pavilion. Non-verbal, except for a few words at the beginning,
the screenings were presented without comment. I was immediately drawn to this beautiful,
enigmatic vision of our existence and its possibilities. I am still intrigued every time I see it.
An Imagined Refrain of the Clown in PARABLE:
Riding on a mule, I followed from a distance as the great circus parade rolled along with
majestic aplomb, I thesemi-serious, white august clown, not officially a part of the show
but deeply involved, nevertheless. When the big top was hoisted, I came around to lend
a hand. A weary man was hauling heavy buckets of water up the hill for the elephants, so I
carried a few loads for him as he looked on in astonishment. I took the place of some people
who were targets of ridicule and abuse. And thus did I comport myself as Gods humble
jester in loves holy cause.
My acts were simple, transparent, and non-injurious. Some people caught on, the kids, the
laborers whose burdens were lifted by levity, the performing puppets let loose from their harness
straps. But some who were pulling the strings became infuriated when their tables were overturned.
Magus the Magician, who ran the whole show, lost it altogether when I diverted attention from his
torturous manipulation of the human marionettes. I loosened the ropes and let those poor souls
down, and that was the beginning of the end for me. I put on one of the harnesses as my bodywas
stretched out in mortal agony before God and Man.
The sideshows are closed now, the bright tents deserted. Somewhere in a horse-drawn star trailer
of old-time circus days, the soul of a man named Magus is in the process of transformation! The proud
wagons roll forth as ever in the worlds great parade; and, following along at a distance, unfailingly, the
white clown of God riding on his mule.
Adventures in Secular Spirituality
2004 Bill Joyner
The Seed
Catalog
William T. Joyner, Editor
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--Bill Joyner / P.O. Box 3411 / Sarasota, FL 34230
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