This morning on the way to work, I was marveling at the beauty of the morning. It was one of those rare fall days that was dark and gray to the North, but to the South-East, the clouds were broken up and sparse; the sun, not quite up yet was casting the most beautiful salmon/pink cast to the back and underside of the clouds, with the purple/gray of the front of the clouds in clear contrast with the pale blue of the sky behind them.
The amazing colors of the sky created this wonderful glow that had the red berries of the Mountain Ash standing out against the deep gold of the leaves remaining on the trees. It was in the midst of this reverie that I began to do some serious contemplation and thoughts about the people that I have been called to minister to.
There is a common misperception among many people that residents of nursing homes are non-productive, that they have no life and that they are just there waiting to die. One of the greatest joys I have at my job are those rare moments when I have time to sit and be present with those people that are often considered outcasts by much of our society.
Through the years that I have been working with the residents here in Seward, I have seen so many demonstrations of care and concern residents have shown for staff and for each other that I am often overwhelmed and brought to tears by the depth of the human soul.
One of the most incredible things that I have seen through the years is the response of our elders when I am saying Mass. Most of the elders that come to the weekly Eucharist’s are not Episcopalian. They are primarily Roman Catholics or Russian Orthodox, but since they do not have the option of attending the Eucharistic celebration in their own tradition they join us.
It is not the religion that in important to these residents, it is the ritual and the relationship that is important. Even after all these years I am surprised when I see a resident that is typically non-participatory say the Our Father with the rest of the group. I am reduced to tears when I see a non-verbal resident follow my hand movements as I celebrate that most intimate and sacred thing that a priest can do. I am humbled when the elders thank me for providing this very important part of their lives for them.
I think that the sunrise this morning was a reminder to me that God is bigger than the limitations that we place on the name of God. A reminder that God is, that God works in ways and places that we as humans can not begin to imagine, and that God calls each and every one of us into communion with each other, regardless of our religious affiliations.
Next time I see a sunrise like this, I will remember these holy people that I have been called to minister too, and I will be grateful for the many lessons that the elders have taught me, and I will once again be humbled.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Community Life
I was chatting with a friend today about the brotherhood, and I sent him the link. After I had pulled it up I spent some time going through it and looking at the pictures and reading the brothers profiles and just immersing myself in “community”.
This is not an unusual occurrence for me; I do this probably at least once a month or so. This little act of “virtual” reality is like opening a scrap book or looking at an old high school album, it takes me back to conversations and moments that linger in my memory and just need a bit of coaxing to come out and be relived.
Part of my thought processes today were about the time that we spend together but that is not centered around liturgy, prayer or business. Those times sitting on the porch in small groups, those walks with a brother to catch up on the last few months, or that riotly boisterous time that we spend in the break room in the evenings. Many of our conversations are serious and very deep and complex. Other conversations are light and airy, while others are full of laughter and would be seen as sacrilegious and scandalous, but I find it comforting, because it is honest and it is who we are.
One of the dishonors that has happened through the years is that religious have been mentally kept behind the grills that used to keep them from the public. Religious as a whole were lost as individuals and only seen as a faceless mass in a particular habit. When nuns became people and climbed trees and road motor scooters, we (as people) were shocked that they had (not only legs), but personalities. Of the hundreds and thousands of men and women religious, we really only know a few as individuals.
One thing that you can be sure of that religious life is made up of people from all walks of life, of all sorts of personalities, and all temperaments. There is no magic wand that changes us into the exact replica of another when we make our vows… and thank God for that. Religious life is the fullest expression of who we are and who we want to become. It is the all embracing of our love of God, our ideologies, our short comings, our sense of sacred, our love of the macabre and sometimes even a bit of twisted humor.
It is in these conversations that we have with each other that help us to bond. It these moments, where we really begin to know and understand the men that we are walking through life with. Those moments are really as much or more about community than sitting in choir and singing. These few precious moments are when we are alive, as individuals, as friends, as brothers.
One of the things I like best about our community is that we are who we are; we are sometimes irreverent, sometimes sacrilegious, some times boisterous, sometimes funny, sometimes sad and always gregarious. But at the same time, we are devoted, we are loyal, we are prayerful, we are meditative, we are servants, we are holy, we live completely into our baptismal covenant. Religious life is not about habits or how long we sit in choir, it is about integrating ourselves, warts and all (so to speak) into a community life where we together embraces each others foibles and graces and grow into Gods grace and together find ways to support our brothers in their lives and ministries.
So, I will just keep going to our website, looking at the pictures and immersing myself in the community men that I have laughed with, cried with, walked, with prayed with, celebrated with, been frustrated and angry with, and when I do, I know that I will be surrounded by those I love and those that love me.
This is not an unusual occurrence for me; I do this probably at least once a month or so. This little act of “virtual” reality is like opening a scrap book or looking at an old high school album, it takes me back to conversations and moments that linger in my memory and just need a bit of coaxing to come out and be relived.
Part of my thought processes today were about the time that we spend together but that is not centered around liturgy, prayer or business. Those times sitting on the porch in small groups, those walks with a brother to catch up on the last few months, or that riotly boisterous time that we spend in the break room in the evenings. Many of our conversations are serious and very deep and complex. Other conversations are light and airy, while others are full of laughter and would be seen as sacrilegious and scandalous, but I find it comforting, because it is honest and it is who we are.
One of the dishonors that has happened through the years is that religious have been mentally kept behind the grills that used to keep them from the public. Religious as a whole were lost as individuals and only seen as a faceless mass in a particular habit. When nuns became people and climbed trees and road motor scooters, we (as people) were shocked that they had (not only legs), but personalities. Of the hundreds and thousands of men and women religious, we really only know a few as individuals.
One thing that you can be sure of that religious life is made up of people from all walks of life, of all sorts of personalities, and all temperaments. There is no magic wand that changes us into the exact replica of another when we make our vows… and thank God for that. Religious life is the fullest expression of who we are and who we want to become. It is the all embracing of our love of God, our ideologies, our short comings, our sense of sacred, our love of the macabre and sometimes even a bit of twisted humor.
It is in these conversations that we have with each other that help us to bond. It these moments, where we really begin to know and understand the men that we are walking through life with. Those moments are really as much or more about community than sitting in choir and singing. These few precious moments are when we are alive, as individuals, as friends, as brothers.
One of the things I like best about our community is that we are who we are; we are sometimes irreverent, sometimes sacrilegious, some times boisterous, sometimes funny, sometimes sad and always gregarious. But at the same time, we are devoted, we are loyal, we are prayerful, we are meditative, we are servants, we are holy, we live completely into our baptismal covenant. Religious life is not about habits or how long we sit in choir, it is about integrating ourselves, warts and all (so to speak) into a community life where we together embraces each others foibles and graces and grow into Gods grace and together find ways to support our brothers in their lives and ministries.
So, I will just keep going to our website, looking at the pictures and immersing myself in the community men that I have laughed with, cried with, walked, with prayed with, celebrated with, been frustrated and angry with, and when I do, I know that I will be surrounded by those I love and those that love me.
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