The 4th Annual Flaring Forth Celebration, organized and hosted by Thomas Spiritbringer, was held November 9, 2020. The previous three celebrations were held at Holy Names University in Oakland, California, but this year it was held online due to the pandemic. The virtual format created an opportunity to gather with people from around the world. We celebrated three anniversaries: Thomas Berry’s birth anniversary in 1914, The Universe Story publication in 1992, and The Universe Story Calendar launch in 2017.
The event featured John Grim and Brian Thomas Swimme, both of whom shared stories of their times with Thomas Berry. John offered memories of his relationship with Thomas during the “Golden Year” of 1977-1978 when he lived with Thomas at the Riverdale Center for Religious Research while doing his doctoral work on comparative shamanisms and healing practices. Brian spoke of the process of writing The Universe Story with Thomas during 1982-1992.
Thomas Spiritbringer and I were moderators for the event, and we also shared some musical offerings. Thomas sang a couple songs, and I played a few songs on my flute.
You can watch the video recording of the event below.
You can view and download a copy of the 2021 Universe Story Calendar created by Thomas Spiritbringer here, and you can read the companion book here.
