Charlene Suggs

Charlene Suggs has devoted much of the last twenty-five years envisioning and manifesting ways for people to share land, life, and vision. As founding president of the land-based community Wisteria, she is familiar with the practical considerations necessary for the establishment of a cooperative land-based venture. As former editor of Circle Network News (published by Circle Sanctuary) she has worked on a national level on behalf of Paganism, religious freedom issues, and interfaith public relations. She is currently involved in founding the "Ohio Valley Resilience Nexus", a regional effort to promote resilience and sustainable economics for southeast Ohio. Charlene is particularly fascinated by insects, nature, redesigning dysfunctional cultural and economic systems, words and the general details of life.

Caring for the Dead: Last Rites and Rights

As our community ages, many families and clergy seek a holistic body of funeral rites and practices that honor our dead and comfort the living in ways that reflect our Earth-based spirituality. As an Earth-based culture, what do we really feel about death, the inevitable topic? Join us as we undertake a frank and lively discussion on death, natural processes and current death care practices. We can empower ourselves in caring for our dead (and our finances!) by educating ourselves about our legal/consumer rights and the workings of the funeral industry. We will learn how our death choices affect the earth and share some new memorial concepts including natural burial and death midwifery. (Note: This workshop is appropriate for mature children and receptive adults but not those squeamish about decay and bodily processes - your choice, of course.)

Living the Dream: Creating Land-Based Community

While life in community is a utopian dream for many, the reality and process of forming sustainable community is not for the faint of heart! What principles guide us as we build cooperative relationships on common ground? From her experience as founding president of Wisteria, Charlene will share practical considerations for successful formation of land-based ventures: initial formation process, stewardship, legal structures, organizational theory, economics, decision-making models, and other amazing real-life stories from Wisteria, a land-based community in southern Ohio.