That's mostly what I came to Missouri for -- my father's stories. He just turned 96. This man can remember an amazing amount of information about his life and the community he has lived in all this time. He talks non-stop in a rambling way, moving between generations and subjects.
Yesterday we spent about two hours together, digital recorder running so that I can capture his voice. My job was to ask prompting questions, and then listen. His was to talk. At about noon I suggested that we take a break until after dinner (lunch is dinner on the farm). He said, "Well... no, you want to talk some more?" which really meant, 'you want to listen some more?' With that he lay back down on his day bed and waited for me to ask the next question.
His stories come to life in the telling, and so does he. Another resurrection.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Monday, May 26, 2008
Homecoming
There's a tradition in the little country church where I grew up. Every Memorial Day weekend former members and pastors are invited to bring their families back to McCroskie Creek Baptist Church for a reunion. The day includes the usual Sunday school and morning worship followed by a huge carry-in dinner and an afternoon service that begins with a memorial to the members of the church who are now deceased, with special recognition for those who have served in the United States military. This year Shirley (about 10 years my junior) led the memorial. She broadened the time of remembering to include living heroes in the church as well, naming their service in the church as having changed the lives of all of us who grew up in the congregation. She said this was a place full of people who always accepted us and welcomed us back no matter how badly we messed up.
Cora Lou said something similar before singing her solo during the worship service. She is more than a decade my senior. She said that this little church not only shaped and grounded her -- it is because of this church that her children, the next generation, who grew up far away, became the people they are. McCroskie Creek created a foundation for people generations removed.
Dixie said that the love and support that this congregation gives to her mother, Marg, who struggles with the effects of cancer and Alzheimers is what sustains her. Even on the days that Marg seems not to recognize her daughter as she thanks her for coming by, she remembers and talks about the church.
My great-neice Lily was baptized yesterday. Tommy (in his mid-70s) remembers when he baby-sat me! Susie tells me she is now retired, substitute teaching sometimes and tending her consignment booth at an antique store. Pat and Holly, whose band included guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and great vocal harmony, were amazed to see my grown daughters and their children (they led music for church camp when my kids were young).
I spent the day in a dizzying time warp, a baby when I became part of that church, a grandmother when I returned. A welcoming community... that's what a church at its best can be... a spiritual home.
Cora Lou said something similar before singing her solo during the worship service. She is more than a decade my senior. She said that this little church not only shaped and grounded her -- it is because of this church that her children, the next generation, who grew up far away, became the people they are. McCroskie Creek created a foundation for people generations removed.
Dixie said that the love and support that this congregation gives to her mother, Marg, who struggles with the effects of cancer and Alzheimers is what sustains her. Even on the days that Marg seems not to recognize her daughter as she thanks her for coming by, she remembers and talks about the church.
My great-neice Lily was baptized yesterday. Tommy (in his mid-70s) remembers when he baby-sat me! Susie tells me she is now retired, substitute teaching sometimes and tending her consignment booth at an antique store. Pat and Holly, whose band included guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass and great vocal harmony, were amazed to see my grown daughters and their children (they led music for church camp when my kids were young).
I spent the day in a dizzying time warp, a baby when I became part of that church, a grandmother when I returned. A welcoming community... that's what a church at its best can be... a spiritual home.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Day one of the journey...
My bags are packed, food and drinks prepared so I won't have to stop except when the car gets hungry. It's going to be fun logging the mpg this little hybrid gets on her way to and from Missouri. I'll get a few hours of sleep this evening, and then in the wee hours of the morning I'll be heading out across the country.
I hope to find some time for just-for-fun reading in the next few weeks. To that end, I'm taking along a couple of books by Diana Gabaldon, a Phoenix author -- great adventure, mythical, a little racey. I am NOT taking along any lectionary resources... just a Bible. I also tucked in a copy of Homer's "The Odyssey." Not exactly light reading, but I thought it might be an appropriate book for a trip such as this -- an exploration without a tight schedule, a meandering kind of journey.
A few years ago when Jim Sterling was serving on the committee that helped plan my ordination service, he gifted me with the following reflection called "The Journey." In Greek mythology, the island of Ithaca is a symbol of ultimate destination, toward which Odysseus makes his way through complicated and perilous adventure.
"When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction
.............
ports seen for the first time...
.............
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.
Have Ithaka always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But do not in the least hurry the journey.
Better that it should last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.
Ithaka gave you the splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out...
Be sure to write to us here at the blog when you set out for your Ithaca, and let us all know where the journey takes you.
See you in August.
I hope to find some time for just-for-fun reading in the next few weeks. To that end, I'm taking along a couple of books by Diana Gabaldon, a Phoenix author -- great adventure, mythical, a little racey. I am NOT taking along any lectionary resources... just a Bible. I also tucked in a copy of Homer's "The Odyssey." Not exactly light reading, but I thought it might be an appropriate book for a trip such as this -- an exploration without a tight schedule, a meandering kind of journey.
A few years ago when Jim Sterling was serving on the committee that helped plan my ordination service, he gifted me with the following reflection called "The Journey." In Greek mythology, the island of Ithaca is a symbol of ultimate destination, toward which Odysseus makes his way through complicated and perilous adventure.
"When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction
.............
ports seen for the first time...
.............
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.
Have Ithaka always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But do not in the least hurry the journey.
Better that it should last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.
Ithaka gave you the splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out...
Be sure to write to us here at the blog when you set out for your Ithaca, and let us all know where the journey takes you.
See you in August.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Hiking Mt. Whitney
As Linda mentioned..I will be backpacking to the top of Mt. Whitney, located in Lone Pine, CA on June 6-8, 2008; It is the highest peak in the lower 48 states...topping out at 14,497. I will be tackling this adventure with a friend of mine-Melissa. She and I will be going on a guided tour with Sierra Mountaineering International-I believe including the guides there will be 8 of us. I have day hiked around AZ and NM--but never anything quite like this...we'll be carrying 20-40lbs on our back, we will be using crampons and ice axe (for the snowy conditions)..we will be wearing harnesses, ropes, etc as we make our final ascent to the top via the Mountaineers Route. Their are many ways to get to the top--this just happens to be one of the more "difficult" routes...We've been training for the last couple of months now--and feel very much prepared for what lies ahead..Day one we hike to UpperBoy scout lake (11,000)-and put up camp...Day 2 we "chute" the summit and then back down to camp for the night...Day 3-we pack up camp and head back to Whitney portal (8,000) in time for a nice lunch or dinner I suspect...it will be amazing--and my prayer is a safe and exciting trip-to the top...and then of course safe travels back "home"...Your thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated!!!!
Wherever you go, there you are!
God, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. --Psalm 90:1-2
This is the day our sabbatical officially begins. I say "our" because we have all been commissioned to lay down some of our busy-ness this summer and learn to rest... be renewed.
For me, this first day is a transitional day -- still a few tasks to finish before I can leave. So it's a busy day; not yet a restful day. Someone asked me yesterday if I'm excited yet. I've been excited for a while. Right now I'm just a little anxious, and expect that will dissipate when I've tied up these loose ends, packed the car and headed out.
It's too full a day to think creatively. So for today I'll post an excerpt from one of my favorite worship resources, a three-volume series called Imaging the Word from United Church Press in Cleveland, OH. This is from Volume 3, p. 54. There is a quote from Douglas Meeks ("Love and the Hope for a Just Society," in Burnham, McCoy, and Meeks, Love: The Foundation in the Theology of Jurgen Moltmann and Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988, 44, 45.)
"We have all had at least fleetingly, an experience of home. Home is where no one ever forgets your name. Home is where no matter what you have done, you will be confronted, forgiven,and accepted. Home is where there is always a place for you at the table.... The heart of justice is participation in God's economy or God's household."
Some of us have more of a longing for home than a memory of home. Some of us have heard of it, read what others had to say about it, but haven't yet found the place where there is such grace that regardless of what we've done, we will be "forgiven and accepted." Maybe the "confronted" part was all you ever got. So if you're still looking for home today, I'm thinking of you especially. I'm praying that you'll find a place that feels like home.
This is the day our sabbatical officially begins. I say "our" because we have all been commissioned to lay down some of our busy-ness this summer and learn to rest... be renewed.
For me, this first day is a transitional day -- still a few tasks to finish before I can leave. So it's a busy day; not yet a restful day. Someone asked me yesterday if I'm excited yet. I've been excited for a while. Right now I'm just a little anxious, and expect that will dissipate when I've tied up these loose ends, packed the car and headed out.
It's too full a day to think creatively. So for today I'll post an excerpt from one of my favorite worship resources, a three-volume series called Imaging the Word from United Church Press in Cleveland, OH. This is from Volume 3, p. 54. There is a quote from Douglas Meeks ("Love and the Hope for a Just Society," in Burnham, McCoy, and Meeks, Love: The Foundation in the Theology of Jurgen Moltmann and Elizabeth Moltmann-Wendel, San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988, 44, 45.)
"We have all had at least fleetingly, an experience of home. Home is where no one ever forgets your name. Home is where no matter what you have done, you will be confronted, forgiven,and accepted. Home is where there is always a place for you at the table.... The heart of justice is participation in God's economy or God's household."
Some of us have more of a longing for home than a memory of home. Some of us have heard of it, read what others had to say about it, but haven't yet found the place where there is such grace that regardless of what we've done, we will be "forgiven and accepted." Maybe the "confronted" part was all you ever got. So if you're still looking for home today, I'm thinking of you especially. I'm praying that you'll find a place that feels like home.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
So glad you dropped in!
Hi, Andi & Amy! What fun to read your posts! Keep it up. Can't wait to read about everyone's adventures this summer!
Andi, the Rocky Point sun shows on your face! What a great adventure on the beach. Congratulations!
Amy, the description you sent me of your upcoming backpacking trip is amazing. You really must post a report when you're back -- in fact, tell the story now! You must be very excited to have your sister moving here -- to be close to those babies! Love to you & Trish -- I miss you -- see you in the fall!
L
Andi, the Rocky Point sun shows on your face! What a great adventure on the beach. Congratulations!
Amy, the description you sent me of your upcoming backpacking trip is amazing. You really must post a report when you're back -- in fact, tell the story now! You must be very excited to have your sister moving here -- to be close to those babies! Love to you & Trish -- I miss you -- see you in the fall!
L
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
New to this...
I've just been invited to this blog--and have never been blogging before..so here goes. Andi-your trip to rocky point sounds wonderful--a girl after my own heart--the beach, a triathalon, and bonding with the girls--how awesome is that..! Being born and raised in KC myself, I can relate to alot of the stories of Linda...I think the dinner "table" is a very special place--it always was for our family as well..As far as "going home....coming home"...as you all know-Trish and I haven't been to church in well over a year now. We think of Chalice often...we drive by your home daily...we feel a connection to the congregation..we love you all...and I know that we consider Chalice our "home"..(that we don't visit very often...:) However, my sister and her family are moving here at the end of the month..I know that they will be looking for a church family...and I am certainly going to recommend Chalice...and of course--being the good aunt(s) we are, we too would join them...so--I guess in a sense, we'll be coming home as well....
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