Honouring my Ancestors
and Teachers

I’ve been lucky to study with many wise elders, and I’m grateful for their insights and teachings.

I honour my teachers and their lineages, and hope that I can build on what I’ve been given, to create something of value for those who come after me.

By Aarti Patel

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Dear Sarah. Your work touches my heart. My question is about MAID, and more specifically about what happens to consciousness when it is administered. In other deaths I understand that dying is an organic process where the body knows what to do and where conscious slowly leaves the body from the root chakra to the…

By Gabrielle Lacasse

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

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By Aarti Patel

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

testing new question

By Aarti Patel

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

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My Teachers: Betsy Bergstrom

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Betsy’s no-nonsense approach to the relationship between the worlds keeps her grounded in this reality and the others.

My Teachers: Deena Metzger

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Deena is a wise woman in every traditional and modern sense of the word. She’s one of the many healers and leaders who inspire me as they revive the ancient practice of community elderhood.

My Teachers: Stephen Jenkinson

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Stephen articulates the deep wisdom and healing power of grief and the need to learn the skills of grieving, both for our own sakes, and for the sake of the the world.

My Teachers: Joanna Macy

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Joanna’s embrace of deep time, in which past, present and future all exist together offers an important healing framework that reaches beyond the individualism and linear views of Western consciousness.

Honouring my Teachers: Ed Tick

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Ed understands the power of ritual and the need for the whole community to come back into balance when there has been an injury to any of its members.

Honouring my Teachers: Starhawk

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Self-described witch, Starhawk has reclaimed and evolved the European pagan tradition using rituals, goddess teachings, and mythology.

My Teachers: Michael Harner

By Sarah Kerr

Posted in Honouring My Teachers

Michael’s understanding of the role of sound and ritual to shift consciousness and connect with the healing powers of the cosmos shapes most of the work I do.

What is remembered lives.

I include my ancestors here, because I come from an ancestor-forgetting culture, and this forgetting is one of the sources of our death-phobia. As we restore our relationship to our dead, we begin to restore our relationship to death.

When I remember that I am one point in a long lineage, I feel gratitude for those who came before me, and pray that I will be a good ancestor to those who come after me.

James William “Bill” Kerr

b. Jan 24 1936 in Coleman AB.
d. April 5 2017 in Nelson BC.
m. Sheila Alice Smith, Feb 21 1965 in Calgary AB.
Ruby Kerr

Ruby Kerr
2009-2015
Kathleen “Kay” Isobel (Hanson) Kerr

b. November 18 1919 in Saskatchewan.
m. Jack Kerr.
d. September 13 2015 in Blairmore, AB.
Simba Kerr

1997 – 2012
Cody Kerr

1996 – 2008
Zora (McNab) Smith

b. June 7 1909 in Waldo, BC.
d. July 24 2000 in Calgary, AB.
m. Walter Smith, Sept 6 1936, Toronto, ON.
Jim and Florence (May) Kerr

Florence Elaine (May): b. June 7 1908 in Lille, AB. d. August 1998 in Blairmore, AB.
James Runciman: b. Feb 7 1905 in Bienfait, Rupert’s Land, NWT (now Sask) d. Aug 17th 1990 in Blairmore, AB.
m. August 10th 1931 in Medicine Hat, Alberta
Heidi Kerr

1972 – 1990
Alb and Ida (McIntyre) May

Ida Jane: b. Nov 29 1886 in Middleville, Lanark, ON. d. Nov 29 1971 in Medicine Hat, AB.
Albert Daniel: b. Feb 13, 1886 in McDonald’s Corners, ON. d. Sept 21 1961 in Medicine Hat. m. June 19 1907 in Lanark ON.
Sarah and Walter Smith

Walter T., b. 1875, Ireland. d. 1961, Calgary, AB.
Sarah E., b. 1876, Ireland. d 1960, Calgary AB.
Charles and Alice (Johnson) McNab

Alice Maude: b. Sept 1972 in Fredricton, NB. d. Dec 30 1937 in Waldo, BC.
Charles Duncan: b. July 9 1863, ON. d. 1960 in Calgary, AB.
m. Aug 27 1902 in Nelson, BC.
Sarah Ann (Smith) McIntyre

b. Feb 23 1857 in Smith Falls, ON.
d. April 7 1939 in AB.
m. Alexander McIntyre Dec 18 1881 in Lanark, ON.
photo: Foremost, Alberta 1902
John and Annie (Runciman) Kerr

Annie Thomson: b. Dec 1873 in Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Scotland. d. Aug 15 1932 in Passburg, AB.
John: b. Dec 1873 in Damellington, Ayrshire, Scotland. d. 1939 in Passburg, AB.
m. 1903, Scotland.
Walter Alexander Smith

b. June 30 1909 in Belfast, Ireland.
d. 1984 in Calgary AB. m. Zora McNab, Sept 6 1936 in Toronto, ON.
Alexander Clyde McIntyre

b. Dec 14 1849 in Hopetown, Lanark, ON.
d. Aug 22 1930 in Bellvue, AB.
m. Sarah Ann Smith, Dec 18, 1881 in Lanark, ON.
photo: Bassano AB, 1925
Dan and Agnes (Duncan) May

Agnes: b. Jan 4 1861 in Dalhousie, Lanark, Ontario. d. April 29 1934 in Vancouver, BC. Daniel Robert: b. 1859 in Lanark, Ontario. d. Nov 15 1925 in Vancouver BC. m. April 19 1978 in Lanark, ON.
Margaret (Turnbull) Kerr

b. June 15 1854 in Laurieston, Stirlingshire, Scotland.
d. Feb 4 1920 in Scotland.
m. William Kerr in Scotland.
William Smith

b. Oct 20 1832 in Lanark Village, Lanark, ON.
d. Nov 11 1915 in Lanark Village, Lanark, ON.
m. Hannah Walker, Jan 29th, 1885
Alec McIntyre

b. Oct 20 1832 in Lanark Village, Lanark, ON.
d. Nov 11 1915 in Lanark Village, Lanark, ON.
m. Hannah Walker, Jan 29th, 1885.
William Kerr

b. 1847 in Muirkirk, Aryshire, Scotland.
d. Sept 21 1903 in Scotland.
m. Margaret Turnbull in Scotland.
Jennie (Hubert) Johnson

b. 1845 in St Johns, NB.
d. Nov 9th 1902.
photo taken on her 90th birthday