“When I first came to Long Dance, I was in terrible shape.  I had gone through a bitter divorce, was struggling with addiction and felt really defeated and alone in the world. Being welcomed by everyone, seeing all the sisters and brothers come together and participating in such an amazing ceremony showed me another way.  It inspired me, and made it possible to pick up the pieces of my life and put me back together again.” 

We hear from many sisters and brothers about how much ceremony means to them and how it improves their lives.  We have helped people to heal ~ from the brink of suicide, from childhood abuse, from divorce and losses, many times over.  You may not realize how much your smile, your hug and your sincere prayers help others who come to join us at Full Moon, at Sweat Lodge, at Pipe Ceremony, at Long Dance ~ but you really do help, and it's a beautiful thing.

And now Circles of Empowerment is at an important crossroads.  We are having growing pains!  We have accomplished so much this past year:  we have expanded our Board of Directors which holds regular monthly meetings, our fund raising has improved and we are in the black financially and have re-organized the way we do business to be more transparent, we have added PayPal and are moving into online registration for Long Dance, we have offered a new ceremony and outreached Brothers and families as never before, and we have established a much better foundation as a non-profit organization.  But we need a bigger, better space and are looking for a permanent home.

We need a bigger, better space and we are looking for a permanent home to shelter us.  We can reach out to bigger donors and outside sources of funding for help but in order to do so, we have to show that we really do have a community we represent.  We need a membership base. We need YOU.  Please join us as an official member of the Circles of Empowerment. 

Members are not required to do anything other than say “Yes I am a member!”  Of course we want to hear from you and value your input as well.  We are happy to bring any concerns you have to broader discussion and are looking at sponsoring community forums to help with all the struggles we all face in daily life.  We would like to ask for your help as a volunteer too ~ we have a number of juicy opportunities to grow, shape and contribute to Circles.  Finally, your financial support is critical to our success. We suggest a monthly donation of $10, $25 or even a $100 to help us as we build our financial base for a stronger, better organization.  (You can also help support us through a purchase from our Recommended Reading list!)

We will use these contributions to strengthen our community and to keep the lights on and the fires stoked.  We fund scholarships, host traveling Elders to share their wisdom with us,  and continue our teachings of taking care of the Earth Mother and all our relations in a good way.  With your help as a member, we keep our promises to the next seven generations to teach them the traditional ways.  At Spirit Dance the Children's Council asked us to “Leave it better than you found it.” Join with us as we do our best to honor this sincere prayer.

Contact us:         

Circles of Empowerment
P.O. Box 76
Arroyo Grande, CA 93421
phone/fax (805) 481-0892

Email:  info@churchofempowerment.org

                                                           Skywalker, Hawk Morning Star, and Star


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