Name: The Art of Chanting Weekend
Start: 2025-02-28T15:00:00-08:00
End: 2025-03-02T13:00:00-08:00
Location: 2371 Arbot Road, Nanaimo, BC, Canada, British Columbia V9R 6S9

The Art of Chanting Weekend
With Rabbi Laura Duhan-Kaplan, Charles Kaplan, Seemi Ghazi, Pandit Tejomaya, Deborah van der Goes, David Bodaly, Gary Paterson, “Voodoo” Dave McGrath and Leah Hokanson
February 28 - March 2, 2025
Co-Presented by Bethlehem Centre and Sound, Belonging & Wholeness
Do you enjoy the spirit-lifting and soul-nourishing experience of chanting in the community? Are you curious about how different faith traditions worship through song and chant?
We are thrilled to invite you to the Art of Chanting Weekend! This is an opportunity to join together in community and sing chants from many faith traditions. The weekend will open with Snuneymuxw Elder and Knowledge Keeper, David Bodaly, offering a welcome and land acknowledgement, followed by ecumenical Christian Taizé chanting taught by Deborah van der Goes. On Saturday we will explore Jewish chanting taught by Laura and Charles Kaplan, Islamic chanting taught by Seemi Ghazi, Hindu chanting taught by Pandit Tejomaya, and Contemporary Ecstatic Chanting taught by Leah Hokanson and Voodoo Dave McGrath. Our Sunday morning Community Celebration will include all of the weekends presenters.
Since time immemorial humans have gathered in spiritual communities to sing and chant together. Community singing and chanting is, in essence, community building—opening us to our sense of shared humanity, and to Spirit, Source, and the Divine (whatever language you choose) through voicing a common purpose and intention together.
Weekend Residential and Commuter options are available. We hope you will join us!
Drop-in options
As a part of the weekend, there will also be two gatherings that are open to the wider community:
Saturday evening we will experience together: Contemporary Ecstatic Chanting with Leah Hokanson and Voodoo Dave McGrath,
Sunday morning the weekend’s activities will culminate in a: Chanting Celebration that includes most of the Art of Chanting weekend’s chant leaders facilitated by Rev. Gary Paterson.