May at the Centre: Walking with One Another
May at the Centre: Walking with One Another
There is a particular quality to May at the Centre something between anticipation and arrival. The land has been quietly doing its work all spring, and this month, it started to show. It was also a month of meaningful community within the Centre and beyond it.
Walking with One Another
This month, we were humbled to welcome 90 members of the Q’ushin’tul’ Ancestors Walk to the Centre, to be nourished and to rest along their journey. Families, youth, and Elders alike gathered beside the Offerings Pond while gifts, stories, and food were shared.
Q’ushin’tul’ is a Hul’q’umi’num word meaning “walking with one another.” Led by Quw’utsun Elders, this four-day gathering on Salt Spring Island carries the intention and teachings of how to walk in Peace, Unity, Family, Healing, and Belonging. Participants journeyed from the traditional village of Xxwaq’wum in the South End to Ganges — a path held by many prayers, songs, teachings, and moments of village-strengthening connection along the way.
We are grateful to have been part of that path, even briefly.
From the Farm
Rupert and the farm crew have been marking a meaningful threshold: our first harvest of the season. The lettuce and turnip are coming in abundantly perhaps a little too abundantly, in the best possible way. If you are nearby and would like to help the farm put its bounty to good use, fresh lettuce is available for purchase. Reach out to us directly — your support means everything to the people who grew it.
The salmonberries are in their in-between moment: the flowers have bloomed and are giving way to small, forming berries. It will not be long. The lilacs have also been extraordinary this year , full and fragrant and the community made good use of them. Lilac syrup found its way into a pancake breakfast that drew people together on a slow morning and reminded everyone why this place is what it is.
From the Community
Each morning, a small group gathers for a prayer circle from 5:45 to 6:00 AM. It is quiet, it is brief, and for those who have found their way to it, it has become one of the steadying rhythms of the day. All are welcome.
From the Kitchen
The community kitchen has embarked on a project that is part culinary exploration, part collective joy: a weekly flatbread quest. Each week, a different flatbread from the Indian tradition — there are more of them than most of us knew, and each one has been its own small discovery. We are nowhere near running out of things to try.
The Learning Continues
May also marked the final week of our spring cohort’s time with us. Watching each group come in and find their footing — and then watching them leave changed — is one of the quiet privileges of being part of this place. We are grateful for everything they brought, and we look forward to welcoming the summer cohort in June.
The Centre is open. The land is generous. Come and see for yourself.
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