MPP110 | Stephen Jenkinson | The Disorganized Religion of the Non-Aligned

How did things get so f*cked up? Like a true elder, Stephen hears my troubled plea and hangs with me as we traverse great swathes of time and geography, tracking the catholic project to convert the world to Christianity that began with Paul the Apostle, through to Columbus opening the door for colonization of the so-called New World by the Puritans, up to the modern era of residential schools, globalization, AI and the revival of Christian conservatism. It's not an easy ride. Over the course of our conversation the range of emotions and responses is as broad as the story of How We Got Here. Grief, sorrow, bewilderment, joy and praise all make an appearance.  By the end, I'm mentally and emotionally spent and confess, "I can't take any more!" Stephen laughs and says, "I'm not sure I can take any more either." As Stephen says repeatedly, there are no answers, no way to fix things. But perhaps by wondering How We Got Here, we start to get a glimpse of How Things Could Be Otherwise and along the way, uncover a few hints on how to proceed like an ancestor worthy of being claimed.  +++ GUEST BIO Culture activist, worker, author Stephen Jenkinson teaches internationally and is the creator and principal instructor of the Orphan Wisdom School, co-founded the school with his wife Nathalie Roy in 2010, convening semi-annually in Deacon, Ontario, and in northern Europe.  He has Master’s degrees from Harvard University (Theology) and the University of Toronto (Social Work).  Apprenticed to a master storyteller when a young man, he has worked extensively with dying people and their families, is former programme director in a major Canadian hospital, former assistant professor in a prominent Canadian medical school.  He is also a sculptor, traditional canoe builder whose house won a Governor General’s Award for architecture.  Since co-founding the Nights of Grief and Mystery project with singer/ songwriter Gregory Hoskins in 2015, he has toured this musical/ tent show revival/ storytelling/ ceremony of a show across North America, U.K. and Europe and Australia and New Zealand. They released their Nights of Grief & Mystery album in 2017 and at the end of 2020, they released two new records; Dark Roads and Rough Gods.  He is the author of A Generation’s Worth: Spirit Work While the Crisis Reigns (2021), Come of Age: The Case for Elderhood in a Time of Trouble (2018), the award-winning Die Wise: A Manifesto for Sanity and Soul (2015), Homecoming: The Haiku Sessions (a live teaching from 2013), How it All Could Be: A workbook for dying people and those who love them (2009), Angel and Executioner: Grief and the Love of Life – (a live teaching from 2009), and Money and The Soul’s Desires: A Meditation (2002). He was a contributing author to Palliative Care – Core Skills and Clinical Competencies (2007).  Stephen Jenkinson is also the subject of the feature length documentary film Griefwalker (National Film Board of Canada, 2008, dir. Tim Wilson), a portrait of his work with dying people, and Lost Nation Road, a shorter documentary on the crafting of the Nights of Grief and Mystery tours (2019).  Website: http://orphanwisdom.com