Journey with God, Wk. 31: Transforming Broken Fragments; Repurposing a Warship

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Worship and Gathering
For worship, Kaye used a striking poem by John O'Donohue about any given day being a "eucharist of the ordinary," "transforming our broken fragments" of time into a "continuity." Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see the whole thing. The General Thanksgiving summed up our feelings. She concluded with "O Gracious Light."

Keeping with the theme of "an ordinary day," Kaye asked what our favorite days are. Monday, after a successful EFM meeting, or Tuesday after teaching yoga class... Good things in my life have often happened on Tuesdays... Any day Liam sees Grandma, and Saturdays at home with the family... Friday when no alarm clock's necessary and when the same friends have met for Mexican dinner for 30 years... Saturday mornings at the Farmers Market... TGIF... and just being home.

Yr. D, 1st yr: Michael, Mason; 2nd yr: Lanie; 3rd yr: Joyce, Susan; 4th yr, Jessica, Rita; 5th yr "Wide Angle," Kaye. Mentor: Scott. Absent: None.

Respond
Jessica sent questions out to the group by email. One concerned the "Welcome" sign outside most Episcopal Churches and a number of questions about "welcome" in the materials we engaged with. The other question concerned what it means to lead a Godly life. Years 1 and 2 met together in a breakout room (with Susan, too) for discussion of intra- and inter- mural conflict revealed in the minor prophets and the letter to the Hebrews -- the opposite of "welcome," it seems. Years 3 and 4 met in another breakout room where focus was very much on how to lead a Godly life, including the part played by singing hymns together. Hymn writer Carl Daw extolled the 1982 hymnal for "welcoming" new sources in a collection that retains traditional music and poetry over 1000 years old.

Lanie spoke from experience about the hymns in our collection that come from other traditions. She's grateful that we sing ALL the verses of the hymns, because they typically tell a story or build a complete thought that you miss if you skip to the end.

We heard that retired Archbishop Rowan Williams wrote that the essence of discipleship is not about going out to conquer, but just "following" Jesus. Scott wondered aloud what it means to "follow" Jesus when all we have of him is books and peoples' testimonies and theories. Everyone's readings came together to answer that question: Look for Jesus in others, as we promise in our baptismal covenant; find him where he always hung out, i.e. with the poor and the outcasts; being committed to growth over a lifetime. Of course, participate in worship and prayer with the rest of his body, the Church. Kaye tied this to welcome when she told of her visit to St. Philips in Texas, whose website asked any visitor, "What can we do for you to make you a better disciple?"

photos by Michael

Reflect
Michael brought us a nail from the USS Constitution, oldest continuously active ship in our national fleet. Is the nail authentic, or just an authentic copy? We focused on something Michael said early on, that the only original wood in the ship is below the keel where you can't see it; all above that has been painstakingly redone with newer materials.

We decided to imagine ourselves to be crew on a ship that's half and half original and restored. We imagined the creaking sounds, the smell of the Georgia pine, the flapping sails, and confidence in the construction: we're safe.

Where is sin in the world of this ship? It was created to kill. Its maintenance is expensive, its cannon annoying to the surrounding communities (especially when the crew shot off a barrage in a spiteful celebration of a lawsuit's failure to silence the ship).

"Redemption" this time turned out to be central to everything that followed. Yes, the ship was built to kill, but it has been repurposed to be a moving monument and a place where visitors feel connected to our past and inspired by our ideals. Susan pointed out that we automatically personify the ship, so this is a "personal" redemption.

We connected variously to boats and sailing, and could imagine this world easily. When we connected to Tradition, we hit a lode of valuable insights. Mason reminded us that the Church itself has long been compared to a ship, so that we call our central worship space the "nave" (same root as "navy"). Like the USS Constitution, our Episcopal Church has maintained the old design even while replacing so much of its old prejudices and violence. Paul himself started as a killing machine, and he retained a lot of his gung-ho personality when he shifted towards community-building. His analogy to the "body" could be applied to the crew of a ship; and becoming a Christian is also like the ship, as what people may see only looks like the same old person you were. The Cross itself was an instrument of torture, now a symbol of new life and hope.

For Monday:
Lanie leads worship. Jessica will bring "kindling" to start a TR. And Rita has already sent out the questions for week 32:

Happy Tuesday everyone!
I've chosen the first two questions from the Respond section for our discussion next week:

• If you were to take an X-ray of the world of your Engage assignment this week, what perspectives, contexts, beliefs, and behaviors would be illuminated?
• How have you experienced the inclusion or exclusion of people in your Engage assignment this year? In your journey with God? How does this impact your call to service?

Here's the poem that Kaye used for our worship:

The Inner History of a Day

No one knew the name of this day;
Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that traveled ahead,
Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.

Born quietly from deepest night,
It hid its face in light,
Demanded nothing for itself,
Opened out to offer each of us
A field of brightness that traveled ahead,
Providing in time, ground to hold our footsteps
And the light of thought to show the way.

The mind of the day draws no attention;
It dwells within the silence with elegance
To create a space for all our words,
Drawing us to listen inward and outward.

We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.

Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.

So at the end of this day, we give thanks
For being betrothed to the unknown
And for the secret work
Through which the mind of the day
And wisdom of the soul become one.

John O’Donohue (1954-2008) To Bless The Space Between Us, A Book of Blessings

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Journey with God, Wk. 30: It's Not Enough to Know

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Looking back over the whole evening, I find the theme that knowing is not enough. Knowing the facts is only part of the truth: meaning is something beyond facts.

Worship and Gathering
Mason turned words from 1 Peter into a liturgy of praise. For a GQ, he asked if the past week had been more busy or more restful? Busy - with an 8th grader preparing for high school, with a five-month-old, with a graduating college student preparing to intern at a theatre. Busy avoiding what you're supposed to do; slowing down after illness.

Yr. D, 1st yr: Michael, Mason; 2nd yr: Lanie; 3rd yr: Joyce, Susan; 4th yr, Jessica, Rita; 5th yr "Wide Angle," Kaye. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Rita sent word that she would have to miss.

Respond
We started just sharing whatever we'd wanted to ask or tell about the week's materials, and we used mutual invitation to move the discussion along.

The questions that Scott sent out before we met both had to do with holding onto positions. One was about adapting; the other was about our sense of how "facts" relate to "truth." This continued the response last week to a quotation, "I take Scripture too seriously to take it literally."

We discussed a lot, but the TR brought out a delightful illustration of how something can be "true" whether it's factual or not. For several minutes, we discussed the parable of the Prodigal Son as if it were factual, before we had to recognize that it's a made up story that involves us personally in truth that 's stronger -- more affecting, more layered with meaning, and more revealing of God's nature -- than fact.

Reflect
Rita couldn't join us, but she sent these lines to be our "kindling" for this TR:

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway,
or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.

We responded solely to the image that the words evoked in us. (We might have responded differently had we revealed that this is from a poem by the Irish firebrand William Butler Yeats.) We sidestepped poetry analysis and entered the world created by the words: it's an internal sound, a memory. Feelings are of longing, peace, melancholy, wistfulness. "Sin" or "brokenness" would be tourists on jet skis, an alligator rising from the water, the sight of pollution, the buzzing of a cellphone -- any distraction to break the spell. What could then redeem or "restore" the world when it's broken? Get distance: you may not recapture, but in reflection, you may discover a new feeling. This was a surprising and promising thought.

We connected to this set of thoughts and feelings. Susan, Mason, and Scott have all been to Brushy Mountain Tunnel on the Silver Comet Trail where the slightest sound carries hundreds of yards in a vast echo chamber. The sound of waves in a conch shell still can conjure a treasured memory, Mason said. We could identify with a happy memory that we have to remind ourselves of.

What have we been taught about this kind of melancholy reminiscence? "Snap out of it!" was one response. But we were also reminded of guided meditations. Susan related that to an Episcopal tradition, the Labyrinth (though she was immune to its charms, distracted by holes in her socks.)

We found several examples in Scripture of people who look back with longing: Adam and Eve, the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the Psalmist who couldn't bear to sing the songs of Zion by the waters of Babylon, and the Hebrews remembering the good old days in Egypt.

When we looked for insights, we had a couple of surprises. We might look back and say, "If I only knew then what I knew now," but our Scriptures tell us that KNOWING is not enough: the Prodigal Son must have known that his stash of cash couldn't last long away from the bounty of his father's land, and the Israelites were warned by the prophets before the Exile, and even after the return to Jerusalem, Joel had to remind God's people to behave: "Rend your hearts and not your garments."

The theme that emerged from our talk, "It's not enough to know something," arose also in Mason's choice for a closing prayer. "Knowing" is only one small part of a process, according to Saint Augustine:

All shall be Amen and Alleluia.
We shall rest and we shall see.
We shall see and we shall know.
We shall know and we shall love.
We shall love and we shall praise.
Behold our end, which is no end.

Let that be our collect!

Mason had more for us, from Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton (author of the beloved Father Brown mystery series). The swiftest things are the softest things. A bird is active, because a bird is soft. A stone is helpless, because a stone is hard. The stone must by its own nature go downwards, because hardness is weakness. The bird can of its nature go upwards, because fragility is force. In perfect force there is a kind of frivolity, an airiness that can maintain itself in the air.... A characteristic of the great saints is their power of levity. Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.

Mason left us with this question, to apply what we'd heard and thought: "As this day closes, what burdens can we lay down?"

For Monday:
Kaye will bring worship and a gathering question. Jessica will choose two questions from the choices given by EfM in the "response" tab. Michael brings "kindling" for a TR.

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Journey with God, Wk. 28-29: Cabbage Patch and Cathedral

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Worship and Gathering
Scott brought a worship liturgy based on poetry by Mary Oliver, who was singled out by the author of week 28's essay, Sister Elizabeth Grace. Link to Scott's Mary Oliver liturgy.

The GQ had to do with "spring cleaning." Everyone had a project to begin -- or avoid! Scrubbing the green off the deck... new plants to replace the dead ones that make the house look like the Addams Family ... boxes of books to cull... getting the house ready to show... the car... weeding... yardwork being done NOW!... Ambivalence about all the old kid stuff that will be lost now that the parents have put the childhood home up for sale...

Yr. D, 1st yr: Michael, Mason; 2nd yr: Lanie; 3rd yr: Joyce, Susan; 4th yr, Jessica, Rita; 5th yr "Wide Angle," Kaye. Mentor: Scott. Absent: Jessica. Happy Anniversary!

Respond
Kaye took the 80-question spiritual inventory quiz. She made it sound not so bad.

When we applied to ourselves Sister Elizabeth Grace's idea of "ministry" as "service," we had some pretty intense stories of serving parents with dementia and cancer. A surprising idea was that the time of cancer was actually "the best time" because it drew Mother and Daughter closer then ever. The daughter told the doctors in no uncertain terms, "My Mother is not your Science Project! Put her in hospice and stop experimenting on her!"

In breakout rooms, we heard each other discuss what we read about ecumenism in the 20th century, "Power" dressed up in flags v. "Justice" in an apron. Former Archbishop Rowan Williams answered the difficult question about prayers "unanswered" as when a child does not get better. Williams said that "God does not make choices," but is in us as we channel God's love to those who need it. The "Prophetic Way" of spirituality exemplified by well-known activists includes their habits of contemplation -- which kept them focused, and energized, when others grew bitter and burnt out.

Cologne Cathedral in progress

Reflect
Scott shared his memory of a catered gala atop the Petroleum Club, all planned and financed with sales of homemade cabbage patch dolls by a trio of 7th grade girls who carried their plan to fruition in the spring of 8th grade. That planning -- selfless, considerate, disciplined, flexible, perseverant -- became the focus of our TR.

Exploring When we imagined a time line from the story, our interest was mostly at the start, when the girls conceived their idea, long before they proved it to be workable. The world of the girls' plan was imaginative, with determination, inclusion. Sin would have been losing interest, not being supported by the adults in charge, or other "outside" obstacles (e.g., another flood in Jackson like the one in 1979).

Connections and Insights included medieval cathedrals (planned without blueprints, no credit taken) and Temple reconstruction... The Devil in the White City about Olmstead's vision for the Chicago World's Fair and his advice, "Make no SMALL plans... aim high, hope, work..." Planning ahead is not just for youth but for elders, too. You have to be resilient -- things will get in the way of the plans. There are Oz connections, naturally: the cohort of travelers aim for the Emerald City, and L. Frank Baum's dad was chief carpenter building the "White City" -- which inspired his son to imagine the "Emerald City" where inhabitants were required to wear green-tinted glasses.

Collect Great Architect of our world, we persistently undermine your plans for a Paradise: when we cooperate, inspire us to make "no little plans" but great ones to "stir the blood," and give us resilience and flexibility when our plans go awry, that we may bring beauty, surprise, and joy to the people around us.

For Monday:
Mason brings worship; Rita brings a source for our TR. We engage with materials at the "Week 30" tab.

PLANNING: We are tentatively scheduled to meet at St. James Episcopal Church, Marietta GA, on Tuesday, May 26th, 6pm. Dinner on Marietta's fashionable Church Street to follow.

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