Yes To The Dangerous Opportunity Life Is
Spring is my least favorite season. I’m a bit of an outlier in this regard, it seems. I mean, what’s NOT to love about the green coming again, and the warmth beckoning? And yet, I identify with this signature first line of Emily Dickenson’s “I dreaded that first Robin, so.”
At our Gateway House Spring Equinox, we stepped through the Gate of Balance... a great forcing of growth conjures a dynamic unstoppable energy. Coursing through all of the tiny rootlets underneath in the unseen realm, building their power, this energy is a fact of life. We are Alive.
And yet, riding this wave of new growth asks for steadiness amidst the demands of how we change.
What is it that life brings Now?
Change demands we stand at thresholds of new life. A threshold, a gate, a liminal space of casting off and feeling the new sun caressing our whole beings as we choose to live our life forward.
Anxiety, a Companion
What does one do in threshold moments, how do we stand in them? What practices and knowings serve us? Especially as we encounter the companion demons that show up in these threshold spaces.
I don’t know about you; anxiety is often my companion as I stand at thresholds. I come by this honestly: it’s in my family lineage,
As it happens, this particular Spring I stand at a threshold of a long and profound phase of my life, a 16 year, circuitous journey now completing... a journey in which a life practice many of us take for granted was not available to me. A lack that deeply affected my ability to have agency in a literal sense in the world. I will once again have the ability to drive.
The backstory of this is a tale for another time. Suffice it to say, gratitude for knowledge gained and support offered is in my heart.
I share this because it’s an expression of the fertility of this moment: the potency, fear, exaltation, and gratitude all amidst the live energy of spring.
“Excited and Scared”
As I (we) manage our kaleidoscopic matrix of emotions, music is a distinct antidote for fear, a companion in threshold moments.
I offer the archetypes of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, in particular the version in Stephen Sondheim’s musical "Into the Woods."
As Little Red Riding Hood sings about her encounter with the Wolf, we can be “excited and scared!” Little Red rises to meet, to encounter the seductive and dark opportunity that the Wolf invites. She says YES, bringing as companions her insouciant curiosity, having faith in her own ability to risk what this encounter will bring. The very fact of her willingness, trusting in life’s invitation even into the darker elements it presents is the source of her agency. And she survives... not only does she survive, she reckons with defying the conventional wisdom of how to be safe. In effect, she determines to find out for herself.
That’s the opportunity of these threshold moments: as Little Red says, “And I know things now/ many valuable things/ that I hadn’t known before...isn’t it nice to know a lot / and a little bit not.”
Take a listen to her song with me:
Like the worms coming alive underground, sensing the Robin above,
Like Red Riding Hood answering YES to the dangerous opportunity that life is,
As we make companions of both excitement and fear,
We step through the Gate of Balance
Arriving in the forceful vitality of Spring.
PS I am opening up the field of synergistic opportunity for a vehicle at this moment. If any of you hear of a car (or a truck!) please connect with me.
As I have shared, Joanna Macy’s work has been a great inspiration to our Gateway House community. I was honored to have a piece about her included in the Deep Times Journal in March 2026 issue, published by the Work That Reconnects Network.
To find my contribution, Love is Stronger than Death, included in the article The Legacy of Joanna Macy, scroll down to the 2nd to last piece before the photo of Joanna and Fran Macy.
Embedded in this piece is a link to the video of our 2025 Day of the Dead Ceremony, in which we honored Joanna Macy and Jane Goodall.
https://journal.workthatreconnects.org/2026/03/05/joanna-macys-legacy/
Easter Sunday Service
Sunday, April 5th | 2 pm
Gateway House, 12 Fairview Ave, Rosendale
Celebration of Christian Mysteries
And other Earthy delights
Dear Friends-
Many of you know,
I began my ceremonial lineage
As an Episcopal priest.
On Easter I honor this occasion
By celebrating the Eucharist.
As we remember together, the enduring Power of resurrection in our lives,
Our communities & the world.
With…
• Meryn Oakwood & The Wild Christ
• The Goddess Ostara & her consort, the Easter Bunny w/ Marann Langlois & Trish Stanger
• Sermon by Kathleen Mandeville
• Music by Barely Lace, Meryn Oakwood & Elizabeth Cunningham
Please RSVP for this one
845-417-5430
or kathleen@ignivox.net
Spring Equinox Ceremony 2026
Gate of Balance
🌀Blessing of Clove Valley Farm Peas, w/ Aileah Kvashay
🌀Didgeridoo Activation
🌀Finding Balance in Uncertain Times
🌀Music: Gary Siegel, Dancing Leaf, Lisa Klotz, Annie Loney, Meryn Oakwood, David Budd
*POTLUCK🍍& Fire🔥
Performances:
🌀 Namyra Nayfield
Gateway House Sanctuary Meetings
Looking for deep community in these times?
Our Next Meeting is Thursday April 16th, 6:30pm
Gateway House is committed to holding sanctuary within ourselves, our communities and our world.
Gateway House Sanctuary Singers
The Sanctuary Singers include contributions from many Gateway House musicians and singers. We intend to continue into the future with more rehearsals, as well as sing at rallies and actions in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
The Gateway House Sanctuary Singers led songs for the New Paltz & Kingston No Kings events on March 28 :)
For more info on our Sanctuary work, click HERE
Join us. RSVP to 845-417-5430
Inquire for Signal Group access
Gateway House, 12 Fairview Ave, Rosendale
Multifaith Vigil & Witness at Proposed ICE Detention Center
I am honored to be part of the coordinating committee for an ongoing multifaith witness and protest ICE detention center in Chester, NY. This group includes multiple members of the Gateway House extended family, along with local faith leaders in Chester, and the Rural & Migrant Ministry.
If you are interested in participating, please reach out to me directly.
The way you look at things changes the things you look at.
Learn more about this work here.
Monthly In-Person Group
Saturday, April 11 | 3 – 6 PM | $50
Saturday, May 9 | 3 – 6 PM | $50
Gateway House | 12 Fairview Ave | Rosendale
Space is limited; Advance registration is now required.
Please fill out this Registration Form below.
An Invitation to the Practice of Biodanza
As explorer of the many modalities and forms of spiritual growth and healing, Biodanza is the spiritual somatic form which I have practiced consistently over the recent years. Boidanza deeply nourishes me personally, and allows me to sustain and embody the depth of my own work at The Outer Edge and Gateway House. Biodanza cross pollinates with both Constellations and Ceremony. Join us!
Wed Evenings, 7:15pm
Family Biodanza & Easter Egg Hunt Sat April 4 1pm
92 Saint Josen Road Accord, NY
You can find detailed info and the event calendar at the New World Ritual & Dance, the Hudson Valley's Biodanza center.
Early Spring Love,
Kathleen C. Mandeville, M. Div.
Community Pastor, Consultant, Facilitator, Coach
Through The Outer Edge, Kathleen offers personal and organizational coaching, employing the modalities of Systemic Constellations, ritual, pastoral guidance. Her specialities include working with healers and creatives, as they achieve the true expression of their soul’s mission. Combining heart centered intuition with hard headed strategy...'Cuz, baby you're a firework.'
Contact me at The Outer Edge Coaching to schedule an initial 30 minute consultation.
