Are You Listening with your Heart?

This marks the my second week at my parish placement. I have felt warmly welcomed by the people of St. Andrews, and I greatly appreciate their kind smiles, friendly hugs, and genuine conversations. Something beautiful happened for me this past week, and I want to share. During Catechesis of the Good Shepherd training on Saturday I heard the parable of the good Shepherd. A few lines include,“He knows each sheep by name” and “When he calls the sheep they follow him.” During the response time a few of the questions were, “What does it mean when someone knows your name?” “How does it feel when someone calls your name?” As a group we decided that when someone knows your name it means you are in relationship, and when someone calls your name it can be reassuring. I was reminded of a quote by Jess C. Scott when asked to define love, “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.”

Although I enjoyed our conversation it didn't hit home until Sunday morning. I had met some wonderful women at a Daughters of the King meeting this past Thursday evening. The meeting was inclusive, and full of love. One of the women from the meeting happened to be a chalice bearer on Sunday. As I drank from the cup I expected to hear the usual words coming from her mouth, but she surprised me with a new ending. She looked at me and said, “The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation, Reagan.” Everything was the same, but suddenly everything was different, all at the same time. Hearing her say my name validated our relationship, not only my relationship with her, but with God. I think we are called to be like the good shepherd to one another, and that we should remember that small acts, even something as small as saying someone's name, can mean being Christ to each other.

During middle school choir we used to sing a song about the Good Shepherd. I'm afraid I don't remember the exact title, writer, or composer. If you recognize it let me know. It goes something like this:

Do you hear your shepherd calling?
Are you listening with your heart?
Do you hear your shepherd's voice?
Feel the peace his words impart?
Are you listening?
And as the world barks its orders, that are easiest to hear,
Do you ever stop and listen to your shepherd standing near?
Are you listening?

"And the Table Will be Wide..."

The Resurrection house interns have already been in Omaha two weeks. During this time we have spent many hours getting to know one another. Conversation topics have included baking, coffee, family dynamics, scripture readings, and which road will get us back to the house from our current location. Through sharing our past experiences, as well as taking part in new experiences together, we are well on our way to forming a close knit community. Fr. Jason mentioned we all seem to be on the same introvert scale. We laughed when we heard this, because we definitely agree. We talked about how we can all be in the same room, reading, and not talking to each other, and afterwards it feels like we've had a good bonding experience. We also do some actual socializing, which has primarily taken place while cooking and eating together. There is a reflection that was written by Jan Richardson for World Communion Sunday, which I have been thinking about quite a bit this week. It not only speaks to the literal Eucharist, but also to community:

And the table will be wide. And the welcome will be wide. And the arms will open wide to gather us in. And our hearts will open wide to receive. And we will come as children who trust there is enough. And we will come unhindered and free. And our aching will be met with bread. And our sorrow will be met with wine. And we will open our hands to the feast without shame. And we will turn toward each other without fear. And we will give up our appetite for despair. And we will taste and know of delight. And we will become bread for a hungering world. And we will become drink for those who thirst. And the blessed will become the blessing. And everywhere will be the feast.

I like many parts of this blessing, but this week I was focussed on the line, "And everywhere will be the feast." As part of our spiritual formation we will turn in reflections each week to Fr. Jason, and we will strive to answer the question, "Where is God in all this?" We will of course have specific instances and experiences which we can draw from to anwser this question, but it's also quite wonderful to reflect on the omnipresence of God. That through our struggles as well as our successes, God was, is, and will be present. In the baptism lesson from Godly play, we wonder aloud during the time when we light a candle for each person in the circle from the Christ candle, "Look how the light where all the light is coming from is not getting any smaller. I wonder how so much light can come from just one light?" How amazing it is that with open hearts this light can be manifest in the world around us, particularly in each other as we continue grow in community together.

Here we go!

This past week we attended a four day long retreat at Trinity Cathedral, in order to discuss our intentional community life, our spiritual lives, both past and present, and our Summer reading list (The Jazz of Preaching by Kirk Byron Jones, New Monasticism by Jonathon Wilson-Hartgrove, and Unexpected Gifts by Christopher L Heuertz). We also had the opportunity to meet with our spiritual companion Fr. Phil, to begin the conversation of discernment.

The retreat ended with a noon-day Eucharist and commissioning service led by the Dean of the cathedral. At the commissioning the other interns and I learned which parish and non-profit we would be working for. It was a beautiful service. During the breaking of the bread the Dean said words I hadn't heard before, "These are the gifts of God for the people of God. Behold what you are, become what you see." The words struck me with a sense of wonder, they were simple, but held such deep truth. There we stood, before the alter with our peers and mentors, both asking and affirming that we would become gifts of God to the world. I'm quite excited to start this journey!

Here is some information on where I will be working:

My parish placement is at St Andrews Episcopal Church, with Fr. John Schaefer. Here is a link to their website, check it out: http://www.standrewsomaha.org/ They are an active parish, with a Saturday evening service, and three Sunday morning services. There are many, many ways for individuals to get involved in the parish, both within the church, and within the community. I will most likely be leading an adult bible study on Sunday mornings, and will post more details on my daily tasks as I learn them.

For my non-profit I will be a shared intern between to organizations, Building Bright Futures and Midlands Mentoring Partnership. Building Bright Futures is a non-profit which strives to improve the life long education of children by networking community resources. Here are a few pictures from their page:

Midlands Mentoring Partnership is actually a partner with Building Bright Futures. Some of their goals include promoting awareness of the necessity of youth mentoring, serving underserved communities, and connecting mentoring resources in the area.

I will spend Tuesdays and Wednesdays working at St Andrews, plus any other fun activities I get to be a part of during the week. I will also be present on Sunday mornings for worship, especially on the Sundays I'm preaching ;) . Thursdays and Fridays are my non-profit days, and Mondays are reserved for spiritual formation. We begin in our parishes this weekend, and our non-profits next week.

Here are a few really neat things I've gotten to be a part of since moving to Omaha:

Table Grace. We had lunch with the Resurrection House Director and the Bishop at a restaurant called Table Grace. Table Grace is located in Downtown Omaha, and believes that everyone deserves a well prepared, delicious meal regardless of economic status. Everyday they offer gourmet salad, soup, and pizza to "anyone that walks in the door." There is a donation box, and patrons also have the opportunity to serve in the café if they desire.

The Zoo. We went to the zoo, which was amazing. I'll post pictures eventually...

Blue Grass Eucharist. The interns and I attended a Blue Grass Eucharist at All Saints Episcopal Church. It was a lot of fun. There was a full blue grass band, and hymns included Will the Circle Be Unbroken, I'll Fly Away, and How Great Thou Art. After the service we were able to meet and chat with parishioners over a BBQ dinner.

Lauritzen Gardens Concert. Tonight we will attend a concert hosted by both St Andrews and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The performers are Billy McGuigan and Jimmy Weber, country artists from the area. Should be fun!

The beginning

I don't have my computer with me, I'm writing this with my phone. I can't spell check, so please forgive the mispellings and grammar flaws. It has been a busy four days in Omaha! Before I dive into what's happened so far, here is a little more information on my program. Resurrection house is a program through the Episcopal Service Corps (which started here in Omaha.) My program emphasizes discernment for young adults, particularly ordained ministry, but not excluding lay ministry. I am here with two other individuals, and for the next 9 months we will be living in intentional community. We each have our own bedroom, but we share a bathroom, dining room, living room, kitchen, and food allowance. Aside from our own community we will each be assigned a parish, and non profit to work with. We will also receive spiritual direction/mentoring, this will be both through an assigned spiritual companion, as well as from many clergy members here in Omaha. Ok, here is what I've been up to: I arrived Saturday afternoon, along with the other two interns. We quickly picked our rooms in the Resurrection house, and began unpacking. That night we went to dinner at the house of the director of the program. He, his wife, and their three yr old twins were great hosts. On Sunday the other interns and I were invited to attend Church of the Resurrection, the church we live next door to. It was a beautiful service, filled with many smiling faces, and happy greetings. I closed my eyes during the nicene creed (as i almost always do), and it was a strange, but marvelous sensation. As i began saying and hearing the comfortable words of the creed, i heard warm voices ive never heard before. These were new voices, full of mystery. I smiled thinking of my congregation back home, and confregations across the country, and across the world, standing together saying the words of our church, our home. I smiled because, on this particular sunday, hearing new voices meant hearing new family members. Knowing I have parts of me to share with them, and they have parts of themselves to share with me. I found hope in the voices I heard, and it reaffirmed a peace I feel knowing I'm in the right place. After the service we ate lunch with the congregants, which is a usual weekly happening. Sunday mornings at COR consist of an hour of Christian formation, followed by Eucharist, and conclude with a meal for all to share. It's a wonderful community, and I felt warmly received. On Labor Day we attended a BBQ at the home of two COR parishioners. We were well fed, and met many more lovely people. We were even invited to take home fresh tomatoes, beets, okra, corn, zucchini, and yellow squash from the garden. Tonight we hosted a dinner for the Bishop, a priest from each of the churches we will be working in, and their spouses. Before dinner the Bishop performed a house blessing, which the interns and I prepared the liturgy for beforehand. Once everyone arrived, we began the blessing, and walked through the house together, blessing each room. As a fun side story, I was thrilled that the bishop used an asperger throughout the house. This is a tool used to sprinkle holy water. In my mycology classes in college I learned that a monk discovered a genus of mold, which he named aspergillus (which includes thousands of species) because a microscopic view of the mold reminded him of an asperger. Now I've seen both aspergillus and an asperger, for which it was named. After the blessing we ate dinner, which was amazing. We made lasagna, with homemade noodles and sauce, a veggie lasagna with the zucchini we picked from the garden, homemade bread, and watermelon-feta salad. One of the interns is amazing in the kitchen, and was definitely the leader of our courageous kitchen endeavor. the interns and I had the chance to introduce ourselves to the priests we will be working with, as well as hear a little bit about each of their churches. After we said our goodbyes the interns and I celebrated with a glass of wine. We were very pleased with how our dinner turned out, but even more so, there was a sense of joy and peace that seemed to fill each one of us. It was almost like an endorphin rush, we were ecstatic, and loved getting to talk with everyone. This is going to be a great year.