When the Creating Community Pathways met on Sunday, April 26 at Anny Eastwood�s to finalize plans for our second Town Hall Gathering on Saturday June 6, little did we know that yet another fire would challenge us in a very personal as well as communal way. Kai Openshaw lost her home, Madelyn Swed�s home suffered major damage, and Anny Eastwood and Sue Ford were evacuated. Rudi Lion found her home standing while others on her street had turned to ash. Through the five day ordeal (at the time of this writing), email messages of support, compassion, offers for places to �hang out,� and hope passed back and forth. Beyond our committee, messages for needed mental health workers for Red Cross were sent out. There were most likely other SB-CAMFT members who were evacuated, and sadly who lost their homes.

If you were a victim of the fires and have need, please contact any of us via the e-tree or personally. Crisis brings our family, friends and smaller communities together in a way that helps us plow through all the feelings of loss that arise, and how to return to some kind of normalcy. They also remind us of our blessings and interdependence on each other, which of course is at the heart of CCP.

Coincidental to the Jesusita Fire, the theme chosen for our June 6th gathering is �Exploring Nature and Human Nature: Continuing the Conversation for Our Times.� It will be held at the Santa Barbara City College Graduation Courtyard, East Campus from 10:00am- 1:00pm. For those who wish to remain longer, you are invited to bring food to share for a potluck. We are meeting outdoors so please dress accordingly.

In addition to a featured group of panelists, there will be breakout groups for everyone to share their voice, make connections with kindred spirits, plan projects, and find ways to take action. We hope to have new interest groups such as a Garden Group, Backpack Therapists (Taking therapy into the community), and Creative Process through the Arts. We are excited to grow the dream of our talented membership taking a vital role in helping ourselves and community find creative ways, as Gandhi said, to �Be the change you want to see in the world.�

Please RSVP to Kathleen Barry at her email address kathleen@being-well. com ASAP if you plan to attend.

FYI: there are poems going up in some empty store windows. I have one at 915 State St. about the Tea Fire along with a photograph by Nel Campbell. I stumbled on it accidentally on the second day of the fire just as the wind picked up and shot a large black and red cloud of smoke into the sky.