Published: 8/20/2021 2:46:43 PM
GREENFIELD — The Interfaith Council of Franklin County is hosting a community event Wednesday afternoon, celebrating its theme this year: “We’re not alone.”
The event is co-sponsored by the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice.
During the story and song event, the Rev. Sarah Pirtle will share stories of Juanita and Wally Nelson’s work for nonviolence, as well as the Pocumtuck homelands — stories that appear in Pirtle’s newest book, “The Peacekeeper Necklace.”
The free event, scheduled for 1 to 2 p.m. at the community labyrinth outside the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew on Federal Street, is also a celebration of the teen group The Long Line of Women Leaders for Racial Justice, Pirtle said.
“I wrote a book based on getting to know their hearts and the things that matter to them,” she said of the young women involved in Long Line.
Pirtle said those who attend the event will receive a spiral bead — a nod to her book, which links beads to wisdom practices and qualities. The beads are provided by All About Beads on Bank Row.
Pirtle said she hopes Wednesday’s storytelling event offers people a better understanding of the “deep history of this area.”
“I want people to be able to envision this as Pocumtuck homeland — that’s really important to me — and to have this sense of the native women leaders who were working so hard to keep the web of life strong,” Pirtle said. “The colonists couldn’t make sense of the respect they found among native women.”
And that’s something she hopes to help restore through this event.
“I’m trying to restore that sense of respect for women’s leadership,” she explained.
A rain date is scheduled for Aug. 26. Attendees are asked to bring their own chairs and to wear a mask.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne