By Charity Joy

On June 12, 2021, we had our first in person event since world shut down in March of 2020. offering Roadmap to Re-entry After COVID-19. This was followed by our Tantra Puja of Reconnection on June 19, 2021. The joy and oxytocin flowed as many of us rejoiced, feeling hopeful that this pandemic was in its dying breath. In the following two weeks we had a Bachata latin dance outing, Two Massage-a-Trois events for Empowered Pleasure and Sex Positive Portland, and the debut of Polyamory: The Musical!. On July 25, we discovered that one member, unbeknownst to her, came to an event positive for COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, and one other participant contracted the virus. Happily, both had mild cases and I was extremely grateful for the love and support offered to the two members. 

We all realized with bitter disappointment that the pandemic was not over, and we were not as safe as we believed ourselves to be. I myself felt grief and demoralization bordering on hopelessness. The sweet taste of reconnection was certain to be halted again. CCM along with trusted friends and lovers including medical professionals had hours of conversations about the risk/reward of continuing our in-person events. Were we willing to provide a space for touch, pleasure and connection when we could not guarantee the safety of our members? 

The results of our discussions and your input as a community led us to a decision. The risks of continued isolation outweighed the risks of COVID-19, yet we still felt responsible for making this environment as safe as possible. In addition to requiring full vaccination, we added a requirement for testing within 24 hours prior to each touch event. This felt daunting to us. Members stepped up to the plate helping us to acquire sufficient tests so that we could offer them at the door. Jacob Metcalf offered to administer tests at the Leo Party. Eugene Yeboah donated a large number of tests. We played on.

I am happy to report that since July 31, our first touch event after the Delta surge, we have had 10 events with 250 participants and no additional reported outbreaks. But more than that, I have seen a true community emerge that is stronger and more beautiful than I could have imagined. 

I want to give special thanks to our mentors, volunteers, and those of you that hang around after events quietly helping clean up and make the Tree House orderly again. It has been wonderful hearing sounds of pleasure, delight, connection, and depth in our home. I see moments of expansion, insight, support, and transcendence. We will keep playing on as long as we are able. We know that connection, touch, and pleasure are critical to remaining in our humanity and changing our world for the better. 

We have invited Mojo Mustapha to formally become our Diversity Advisor to ensure that our events are safe and welcoming for all, especially those with marginalized identities. Mojo will be offering his Intersecting Identity Play on a monthly basis to provide all members with the tools to explore our internal biases and have the language and skills needed to engage with others different from ourselves. He will provide tools for how to address inappropriate or offensive words and behaviors, and also provide a template for how to respond gracefully and openly to being confronted. All new members are being asked to participate in Mojo’s workshop prior to becoming Level 3 (E3). Those who have previously taken SexPositive Portland’s intersectionality workshop will not be required to take Intersecting Identity Play, although we encourage all to do so. Mojo has an approach that I believe all, especially the most privileged among us, will find refreshing and provide us with common language and behavior to evolve beyond our fragility and see one another in the truest sense of the word. 

We are growing! New members are joining, and this means that we will be working towards offering our Orientation and Boundaries Course more often. We are looking for volunteers interested in facilitating this course. Please let us know if you are interested in doing so!