tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49708665378673780202024-03-05T00:44:45.814-08:00Practicing PerfectionPeriodically Profound Ponderings on Being HumanSuzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-30293357846177113322022-06-24T20:51:00.000-07:002022-06-24T20:51:13.156-07:00On Losing a Friend<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">This is a blog that has been wanting to be written for a while now. I'm not sure that it's appropriate as "pastoral blog," as it is about a personal quandry in which I have found myself. Yet, it addresses an issue that I think may be faced by many of those who follow Brigid in the Desert as well as any other Interspiritual, Pagan, Christopagan, or even Progressive Christian individual. It's about the nature of friendship and the struggle when someone we consider a friend judges us and finds us wanting.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">As you may have guessed, I think I've lost a friend. This is a person I met in my "mundane" life; that is, outside of the religious path I have been following. There is no "outside" of my spiritual life. My spirituality is all that I am and is reflected in most everthing I do, especially my writing. Those who have been close to me or who have followed along as Brigid in the Desert has been developing know I have struggled a bit with my religious identity. They know that I spent a long time attempting to balance my perception of the expectation of others in regard to religion with the spiritual reality that resonates within me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Those who have been with me all along know I am a follower of the teachings of Jesus.They know I am also one who honors the Divine Feminine. They know I am a Panentheist, that I believe that God is in everything. They know I am also a Polytheist in that I believe that all concepts of deity are culturally derived and represent God in ways that meet the needs of the people. They know that I am a practitioner of magick, that I believe that prayers and spells are both forms of energy work. They know I am also a bit of a Jungian, finding the various personifications of God to be useful archetypes of the various aspects of the human psyche. I'm not a psychologist by any means, nor am I an academic theologian or a philosopher. I am a believer in a greater force that pulls us towards our better selves. In that, I can be considered a process theologian. I believe that the stories of the gods and goddessess of all peoples tell a piece of the Truth. They reveal the relationship that the people in a given culture has had with God, with one another, and with the others they have encountered throughout history. This includes the stories in the Hebrew Bible. This includes the stories of Jesus in the Gospels. This includes the stories written as letters and included in the Christian New Testament. This also includes the letters, codexes, and scrolls that are not included in the Bible. Yes, it also includes the tales handed down through <i>The</i> <i>Mabinogion</i> of the Welsh people and the stories written down as the <i>Prose Edda</i> by the Christian writer Snorri Sturluson and the <i>Poetic Edda</i> of the <i>Codex Regius</i>, written down by an Icelandic Christian priest. In fact, it includes the many tales of many peoples, from the Sumerian/Mesopotamian <i>Gilgamesh </i>to the Sanskrit <i>Vedas</i> to the Native American tales of Grandmother Spider and Coyote. It includes the tales and teachings of Buddha. I believe that human history is the unfolding revelation of the relationship of humanity to one another and to an ineffable yet somehow relational God.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Those who have been close to me understand that this is my spiritual identity. I am a priest in an interspiritual denomination of Christianity because my spiritual identity fits with the religious identity of this denomination. Since finding the UAIC and being ordained, I have not hidden my spirituality. In fact, I have reached out to others who find themselves no longer fitting into the boxes they have been trying to squeeze into, spiritually speaking. I've written poetry and prose inspired by my spiritual experiences, my walk in the Craft, and my connection to various deities across a mythological spectrum. I have shared some of this work at public readings, where many people have an opportunity to hear what I have to say. Yet, this friend of mine must have misunderstood me. We met for tea and a good chin wag many a time, and we discussed God and Jesus. I knew that my friend believed differently than I, yet I was able to connect with them and felt that they had with me as well. When I published my <a href="https://amzn.to/39ThvAa" target="_blank">collection of short stories about individuals healed by Jesus</a>, this friend encouraged me and ordered copies. Perhaps I should have realized that we hadn't understood each other as well as I thought.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">A few months ago my friend asked to be added to the<i> <a href="https://bit.ly/3yjpCPT" target="_blank">Brigid's Arrow</a></i><a href="https://bit.ly/3yjpCPT" target="_blank"> newsletter</a> mailing list, so I added them. For those who aren't on the list, I will just say that the newsletter deals with various topics appropriate to the time of year from different cultural and religious perspectives. For example, an issue in the spring may have a story about Easter and the resurrection of Jesus, a story about Eostara, and a story about the traditions of springtime in various cultures. I try to write the articles in a manner that includes those who believe, for instance, in a literal physical resurrection and those who believe that it is a metaphor for spiritual rebirth. A winter issue will deal with both Christmas and Yule, the winter solstice. You get the drift, I'm sure.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">One day I received a message from my friend telling me that they no longer read the newsletter and that they were concerned for my soul. I haven't heard anything else from them. I have not responded, either. I don't know exactly what to say. It is my heartfelt belief that the state of my soul is a concern between myself and God. I took the person off the mailing list, of course. I'm not trying to be contrary. I think there could have been conversation around the issues that bothered them. In fact, that is the point of the newsletter, of the meetings, and of the discussion page on Facebook. I am not a teacher, I'm a facilitator. I think we all grow more with exploration and discussion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Much time has passed since I received that message. The friend is still my "friend" on my personal Facebook. Sometimes, I see their posts and "like" or "love" them, but I never comment. I can't help but wonder if they were ever really a friend. Or, perhaps it is I who have fallen short, for perhaps I was not as honest as I thought. If I had been, they would have know me better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Have you ever found yourself pondering your friendships? What does it mean, to be a friend?</span></p>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-59617881190474435682021-08-18T12:58:00.003-07:002021-08-18T16:49:23.232-07:00The World is a Mess<p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">he world is a mess right now. Honestly, we know it’s always a mess, but you know, there are some times that are messier than others. To start off, the planet and life itself is in danger from climate change and pollution. We’ve been warned about this since at least the 1970’s, and while some places have made great strides in lowering various types of pollution, other places have only gotten worse. In the midst of an ongoing pandemic, US troops just pulled out of Afghanistan and the Taliban made short work of taking over. Families of US soldiers killed over the past 20 years of war in Afghanistan are left wondering if they lost their loved ones “for nothing,” and some soldiers wonder about their time and losses in that arena. Afghan citizens who thought they could have their country back are thrust into terror. We are reminded by our president that our purpose over there was never to build a nation, but to protect our own country and our allies from terrorism. We can’t stay there forever. I don’t know all the details, nor do I know what is the right thing to do for our leadership and that of our allies on the world stage. All I know how to do is pray for those who are affected by this in any way, and hope against all hopes we don’t get into something like this again.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b>D</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">uring this upheaval, the tiny country of Haiti has been hit by a huge earthquake even as they are still reeling from a series of hurricanes over the past years. They have never truly recovered from a devastating earthquake in 2010, their president was assassinated last month, they face ever growing economic challenges, and there’s a tropical storm called Grace bearing down upon them. Haiti can’t seem to catch a break. Again, there is little I can do to help. I know that the US has many nonprofit assistance organizations that help with disasters such as this. All I know how to do is pray, give whatever I can, and share information about those organizations. You will find links to some good places where you can donate to help Haiti and other locations suffering from disaster, drought, and hunger at the end of this post.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">H</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">ere in the United States, families are still torn apart over politics and the politicization of public health. If my social media timeline and news preferences are at all correct, this is the same in some other western countries as well. Children are returning to in-person school, pulled left and right by the issue of masking. Parents are arguing for and against, using real and “fake” science to support their stance, while pundits label them as “left” or “right” based on their opinions about wearing masks or taking vaccines.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b>W</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">hile I’m not sure that these times are unique, I am sure that with everything happening in the world around us, many are surviving in high anxiety mode. It is not healthy for body, mind, or spirit to live in survival mode on a continuous basis, yet this is where many find themselves even when they have access to all they need to live. This is a result of having access to a 24/7 window to the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">here are some who choose to detach from the news and even social media. This can be helpful, if one can pull it off. However, many more of us really don’t have that option unless we wish to completely change our way of life. For many, it is easier to attempt to limit exposure to this traumatic window. Livelihoods that require use of social media or keeping a finger on the pulse of current events make it impossible to cut off access completely. For many other folks, social media is a lifeline – a connection to other people that they may not have “in real life.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b>W</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">herever we stand on the various issues and however we are affected by the relentless stream of information, many of us want to make a difference but don’t know what we can do about any of it. Those who have time, energy, and strength to gather together in order to amplify their voices and those of others will do so. Some have the fortitude to voice their beliefs on social media, taking care to choose words wisely and support their opinions with back up. Others voice their opinions with little or no evidence and a plethora of name calling and expletives. These latter are a cause for stress and despair for many, such as myself. So, what can we do? How can we lower our stress levels without leaving the virtual world? Further, how can we help that world and the world outside our doors become better?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">he reality is that most of us will not be doing any big and wondrous thing in our lifetimes. We will not end up in the history books for either the good things or the bad things we do. Nevertheless, we do have the ability to make a difference. It is possible to make a difference both for our own peace of mind, and in the chaotic world around us.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b>I</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"> think probably one of the first and simplest things we can do is to choose wisely what issues we take on, and how we do so. This means consciously allowing others to work on what matters most to them, even if we disagree with them. It means keeping ourselves informed on the issues we care about most, and withholding our uneducated opinions on other topics. It means taking a break, turning off the media, and spending time by ourselves or with our families, focusing on something totally unrelated to the issues. I’m not saying this is easy, it’s not. Yet it is crucial for our peace of mind, for our mental and physical health, that we don’t allow ourselves to be constantly overwhelmed with world events. Spending time in contemplation, meditation, exercise, being in nature, reading, or even mindlessly watching a feel-good movie or television show can help us stay centered as we navigate this chaotic world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;"><b>T</b></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">here are times when we cannot help but be moved by the plight of others, and we may find ourselves reassessing our priorities when faced with new challenges. This is, I believe, a healthy exercise on a somewhat regular basis. If we become too mired in our own interests for too long, we may miss something important that we can do something about. So, while I am saying we should winnow out the many issues that tear apart our hearts and our minds to find what we can logically and practically focus on, I think we should continue to be aware of whatever else is going on. The trick is to be able to “scroll past” the things that cause us undue stress when we know this is the case, to “stop by” to educate ourselves about new issues, and “move on” to what we ourselves can do something about, even if we can only do a little bit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">T</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">he reality is that most of us can “only do a little bit.” Following is a list of ways we can do our little bit to address some of the issues we are hearing about today.</span></span></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Cleaning Up the Earth</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.epa.gov/cleanups/cleanups-what-you-can-do">The EPA </a>has some ideas on how individuals and groups can work toward a cleaner environment, as does <a href="http://NOAA.">NOAA.</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Helping Refugees</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">NPR published <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/08/17/1028483700/help-afghanistan-refugees">an article today</a> with some excellent suggestions for helping refugees from war-torn Afghanistan.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">The <a href="https://www.rescue.org/how-to-help">International Rescue Committee</a> helps individuals and families who are taking refuge in the US from all over the world. You can donate at their site, find out how to volunteer, as well as learn how else you might be of help.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>UMCOR</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://umcmission.org/">United Methodist Committee on Relief </a>is administered through allocations from all United Methodist Churches based on membership, which allows for all donated funds to be distributed 100% to those for whom the donation is earmarked. These are two major projects. Explore the website to find other ways you can help financially around the world.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">Haiti Earthquake Relief and relief for other world disasters:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://umcmission.org/advance-project/982450/">UMCOR International Relief</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">U.S. Disaster Relief:<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span><a href="https://umcmission.org/advance-project/901670/">UMCOR US Relief</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>You Give Goods</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://yougivegoods.com/">This website</a> allows you to donate to various causes, or even to set up your own event to collect food or other items for those in need.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>GoFundMe Charity</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">There used to be a great fundraising site called Crowdrise, where one could raise money for charity. <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/c/charity-fundraising">This site was bought out by GoFundMe </a>in 2017 and has recently reopened.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>GoFundMe</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You can peruse <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/">the regular GoFundMe</a> site to find individuals and families in need. Many of these people are facing unexpected financial challenges, and can use a little bit of help from a lot of people. This is a great way to do a little bit that can be a big help.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Helping Veterans</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.military.com/veterans-day/ways-to-give-back-to-veterans.html">Military.com </a>has a good list of sites you can check out if you’d like to help and support US Veterans.</span> </p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You can also reach out to your local VFW, American Legion, DAV, or other veteran’s organization to see what their specific needs may be.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Helping Educators</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.donorschoose.org/">Donors Choose</a> is a great site to help teachers in your area or around the US get the funding they need for projects they have identified as important.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.unicef.org/education">UNICEF</a> works toward improving education for children around the world. You can read about how they help, and become a donor if you wish.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.childfund.org/ecommerce/catalog.aspx">ChildFund </a>is a nonprofit that helps children in poverty-stricken countries. You can donate, volunteer, purchase goods to help various localities, or sponsor a child.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><b>Become a Mentor, Peer Support, or other Helper</b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;">You can earn a living or volunteer through organizations to provide one on one assistance to individuals in need. Check out a few of these options, and further search for ways you can connect with mentees or jobs in your area.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.samhsa.gov/brss-tacs/recovery-support-tools/peers">SAMHSA Peer Support</a></span></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><p style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://mentoringher.com/"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mentoring </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: large;">Women</span></a></p></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://mankindproject.org/men-helping-men/">Mentoring Men</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://youth.gov/youth-topics/mentoring">Mentoring Youth</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.mentoring.org/take-action/find-a-mentor/">How to Find a Mentor</a></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://www.freshstartwomen.org/our-services/support-services/mentoring">Fresh Start Women (Arizona)</a></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">W</span></b><span style="font-size: medium;">hatever you do, whether it be simply stepping away from the window for awhile or choosing an issue or two to take on, do it sincerely. Surely, even these will help us to have new eyes to see the events of the world the next time we look out the window.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YVMojbF3HxSI6s3zwr5HcPqaqzfEuKjc8E_mlEe4d1UtoTv0psxnK-hHRxmuKmmt8zk7kd6OmQ7AK-aB2GmtiZnYm7arhMQylJixk9-5CvjBvMU4FKZHYZsIY-MxFNU2hTMzPyVhfCs/s1199/window-and-light-1235001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1199" data-original-width="803" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YVMojbF3HxSI6s3zwr5HcPqaqzfEuKjc8E_mlEe4d1UtoTv0psxnK-hHRxmuKmmt8zk7kd6OmQ7AK-aB2GmtiZnYm7arhMQylJixk9-5CvjBvMU4FKZHYZsIY-MxFNU2hTMzPyVhfCs/w429-h640/window-and-light-1235001.jpg" width="429" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: trebuchet;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span><p></p><div><br /></div>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-62380396895133825482019-08-31T01:32:00.001-07:002019-08-31T01:39:48.451-07:00Reflection on Blodeuwedd<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvnSxIREfLj3AGzenQSFb9k-Vcvjkscb85gsxCEKP7pj8eTiz3UxKdswPGai_ekbQ2wi_u2uQBlli8nlF8fOUBJcpEUsdTtaVQJBFKfdYWLiKHoROgw6XNrrqko-ma3jlVm9nWXS_m3Q/s1600/Blodeuwedd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="768" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLvnSxIREfLj3AGzenQSFb9k-Vcvjkscb85gsxCEKP7pj8eTiz3UxKdswPGai_ekbQ2wi_u2uQBlli8nlF8fOUBJcpEUsdTtaVQJBFKfdYWLiKHoROgw6XNrrqko-ma3jlVm9nWXS_m3Q/s400/Blodeuwedd.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i><b>Blodeuwedd </b>- mixed media painting. Oil pastels,<br />acrylic, watercolor pencil on canvas board<br />by Suzy, 2019</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>T</b>he Welsh have a small collection of traditional stories that are gathered into a text known as <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mabinogion/dp/0140443223/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=the+mabinogion&qid=1567240556&s=books&sr=1-6" target="_blank">The Mabinogion</a></i>. <i>The Mabinogion</i> consists of eleven tales, known as <i>The Four Branches of the Mabinogi</i>, that were handed down in bardic tradition and first collected into a written text in the 12th and 13th centuries. The initial text was written in Middle Welsh. This text has been translated into English from the Welsh a number of times. The first person to translate the myths from <i>The Mabinogion</i> into English was William Owen Pughe, who published a few of the stories in 1795, 1821, and 1829. However, the first to translate <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mabinogion-Four-Branches-Mabinogi-Annotated-ebook/dp/B071KSFKBH/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=the+mabinogion&qid=1567240649&s=books&sr=1-7" target="_blank">all eleven stories</a> was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Charlotte_Guest" target="_blank">Lady Charlotte Guest</a>, who published them in both English and Welsh in the mid 19th century. These tales have influenced many writers of fantasy, including J.R.R. Tolkien. Evangeline Walton wrote a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=evangeline+walton+mabinogion&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss_2" target="_blank">four part series of novels</a> based entirely on <i>The Mabinogion</i>. These books, while not initially written in the order of <i>The Four Branches</i>, should be read in the order of the original tales. The last book, <i>The Island of the Mighty</i>, is Walton’s retelling of <i>The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi</i>, and it is in this book that I came to be touched by the story of Blodeuwedd. It is her tale I wish to explore with you today.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b> L</b>et me give you an overview of Blodeuwedd’s story. Her part in the myth is short, yet I feel that she is much more important than many realize. You see, Blodeuwedd is part of the story of Llew Llaw Gyffes, a magician and warrior destined to be king of Gwynedd. In order to understand Blodeuwedd, you must understand Llew. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b> I</b>t all begins when Gwydion, who is the nephew of Math, Magician and King of Gwynedd and a powerful magician himself, tricks his sister Arianrhod into trying out to become the new Footholder for Math. It is said that Math would die if he did not keep his feet in the lap of a virgin when he was not at war. Arianrhod is forced to undergo a magical test for virginity. However, she is not a virgin, and during the test she gives birth to a boy who is quickly named Dylan by Math and sent to the ocean to take on the attributes of a sea creature. Embarrassed at being found out, Arianrhod runs to the door. As she runs, something drops from her, which Gwydion picks up and stores away in a chest in his room. After many months, Gwydion hears cries from the chest. Opening it, he finds a robust baby boy. He raises the boy and trains him in magic. This is the second son of Arianrhod, incubated by his uncle Gwydion, to be raised as his son. In fact, there are some scholars who surmise that perhaps Gwydion himself is the father of his sister’s sons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>A</b>fter a few years, Gwydion takes the boy to Arianrhod. She is angry and embarrassed, and as a result, she curses the boy, saying that he will have no name unless she names him, and she does not intend to name him. Gwydion is the Trickster in Welsh mythology, and he soon tricks her into giving him a name: Llew Llaw Gyffes, meaning “the fair-haired one with the skillful hand.” As soon as she realizes she has named the boy, she curses him again, stating that he will never receive weapons unless they are given to him by herself, which of course, she does not intend to do. Again, Gwydion tricks Arianrhod into arming her son. Again, she is infuriated when she realizes she has been tricked again, and curses Llew that he will never have a human wife. This is where our story begins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b> L</b>lew is a strong, powerful warrior and a magician, but he is lonely. Gwydion goes to his uncle Math, and the two of them make a beautiful woman out of flowers and name her Blodeuwedd, which means “flower-faced”. They present this lovely woman to Llew to be his wife. It seems they are happy together, but there is little depth to their relationship. Llew decides he needs to visit Gwydion and Math, leaving Blodeuwedd behind.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>N</b>ow, Blodeuwedd sees a passing man and his hunting party, and she is curious. Inviting them in for the night, she plays hostess to the man, Gronw Pebr. They fall in love and begin an affair. After awhile, the two conspire to murder Llew. However, because Llew is magical, he can only be killed in a very specific way: he can’t be killed in the the day or night, inside or outside, not riding or walking, neither clothed nor naked, and not by any weapon made legally. Blodeuwedd gets him to reveal the only way he can be killed, which is only at dusk while he is wrapped in a net, standing with one foot on a bath and one on a goat, near a riverbank with a spear that was forged over the span of a year only during certain hours. With this information, Blodeuwedd and Gronw attempt to kill Llew.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>T</b>hough the spear strikes Llew, he is instantly transformed into an eagle and escapes to hide in the trees, bleeding. Gwydion hears of what has transpired, and seeks high and low until he finds Llew, turning him back into a man. Once Gwydion and Math have nursed Llew back to good health, they gather the forces of Gwynedd and take back Llew’s lands from Gronw and Blodeuwedd. Blodeuwedd tries to run, but Gwydion turns her into an owl as punishment. Eventually, Llew kills Gronw.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>S</b>o here we are, with Blodeuwedd, the unfaithful wife, having been punished for her infidelity and her part in the attempted murder of her husband. She is the owl who must fly at night, and according to the story, is hated by all other birds. Yet, is this all there is to this story? That Blodeuwedd was shallow, unfaithful, and murderous? I don’t think so. I think there is more to the story.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b> C</b>onsider Blodeuwedd, created by two men for the use of another. Taking flowers of oak and broom and meadowsweet, they magically created a beautiful woman with absolutely no thought of this woman’s autonomy; not even an idea that she might become a creature with her own desires, her own dreams, her own expectations of life. Indeed, at first she is quite innocent of her own existence; she is naught but the wife of Llew Llaw Gyffes, and as long as he stays with her, reflecting her own beauty back to her, she is satisfied. She knows nothing else. She has seen nothing more. She is content to exist solely for the pleasure of her husband. Then, he leaves her alone for a long stretch. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>W</b>ith Llew away, what is Blodeuwedd to do? She is no mere flowery housewife with tasks to be done; she is the Lady of the Manor, with servants to care for her every need – but one. She has not been raised a human woman to understand the value of friendships with the ladies in her household. She has not been taught the arts of needlecraft, painting, or music, or any other time consuming craft that high born women of her times would know. All she knows is that she feels, perhaps, a kinship with the flowers and the love, as she understands it, of her husband.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b> F</b>or Llew’s part, he has not been given the opportunity to learn what love is, for he has been denied all the normal interactions of a growing young man of his culture. Gwydion raised Llew for Gwydion’s purposes, in which all that mattered was his ability as a warrior, a magician, and a would-be king. It is certain, I believe, that Gwydion cared little for matters of the heart. He went to Math for help creating a wife for Llew because having been cursed, Llew feared he would always be alone. That fear of loneliness and of never having someone to love would overshadow Llew’s abilities unless Gwydion figured out a way to provide Llew with the wife he would not have had otherwise. Blodeuwedd seemed to be the best they could do.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b> T</b>his couple, he without knowledge of normal human interaction, and she without knowledge of anything but beauty, was brought together into a life in which neither was likely to provide all that the other needed. Certainly, Blodeuwedd had no idea what she needed – until she met Gronw. Now, here was a man who saw her only as a woman. He met her and fell in love with her, not with what she represented. Perhaps he spoke to her as if she might have an idea of her own. Perhaps he asked her what she might prefer, whereas her husband likely took it for granted that she would always belong to him, and do whatever he wanted to do, since she was literally made for him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>W</b>hen I first read about Blodeuwedd, I was disappointed in her for cheating on Llew. He was the tragic protagonist and she was the heinous trollop who betrayed her husband and helped her lover to attempt to murder him. However, as I thought about it, I found myself feeling sad for her. I began to see her as a character with few options. Her life was simply handed to her as is; without information and without choices. Who might she have become, if they had provided her with more than the fragility of flowers?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>I</b>s there a cautionary tale in Blodeuwedd’s story? I think there is. I consider the error I made in reading her as a two-dimensional character, all flowers and fornication, and I realize that sometimes I make this error in real life. How often do I get to know a person only on the surface and think I understand what they are all about? How often do I judge an individual on their actions today without any knowledge of what led up to whatever it is I’ve observed? How many times do I approach others without giving thought to their basic humanity?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>A</b>s an owl, Blodeuwedd has become much more than a girl made of flowers; she is a symbol of death and rebirth. In her visage of an owl, she is wisdom, magick, and initiation. For the Welsh, the owl's cry can be a harbinger of death, and has been called the corpse-bird. Arianrhod herself, who is the Welsh Goddess of fertility and fate, has been known to shape-shift into an owl that she might better be able to see deep into the human subconscious. Blodeuwedd as an owl is a reminder that things are not always as simple as they seem. She reminds me that it’s useful to look at situations and interpersonal challenges with my spiritual eyes, for with wisdom and intuition I may be able to see what is right rather than simply what is easy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: medium;"> <b>Y</b>ou can hear a beautiful song about <i><a href="https://youtu.be/kQwkekR1ORE" target="_blank">Blodeuwedd the Owl</a></i> by Damh the Bard, if you’d like. You can also watch a movie called <a href="https://youtu.be/b3uWKqZsksM" target="_blank"><i>Y Mabinogi </i>AKA<i> Otherworld</i></a> that loosely tells four of the tales from the Mabinogion, including the tale of Bloeuwedd, wrapped around the stories of three modern Welsh teens.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-16609728939757384662018-11-05T10:17:00.000-08:002018-11-05T10:17:51.464-08:00Birthing Hope<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal96XPvUXG0dW5E22ieelzFTwTt0TUPw50e2xnh_oKOFt-XRMz7WCBc7aNjafOwaVAbUs1en6ttUmOijqeto6sfZE6Tm9DhXw-UR0x4whS1NjRd0BjbTRLZdJqbVAK73Ow6mfBZcTgPk/s1600/me+pastor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjal96XPvUXG0dW5E22ieelzFTwTt0TUPw50e2xnh_oKOFt-XRMz7WCBc7aNjafOwaVAbUs1en6ttUmOijqeto6sfZE6Tm9DhXw-UR0x4whS1NjRd0BjbTRLZdJqbVAK73Ow6mfBZcTgPk/s320/me+pastor.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">A</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">s a bi-vocational priest, it sometimes seems like opportunities to
act in the "official" capacity are few and far between. Yet, when
those opportunities arise, there is a joy that bubbles up inside me that cannot
be described other than to say, I feel blessed. The month of October brought me
two weddings this year, both of which took place outdoors. One was held in the
White Mountains on a rainy day in the woods; the other, just a week later, took
place at the foot of the Superstition Mountains in the center of a labyrinth.
While one of these weddings was completely secular, the other included
references to the Divine; yet both couples held<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/115926718/handfasting-ribbons?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=handfasting%20ribbon&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> Handfasting
Ribbons</span></a> and bound one another to promises. Both ceremonies were
glorious. Both couples look forward to long, happy relationships. I am thrilled
to have been a part of their big days.</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> am preparing to print out a brochure with descriptions and
pricing for services I provide in the capacity of priest. It's a little
discomfiting, to think of these things from a business perspective. I am a
person who deals in human compassion, empathy, and love. You really cannot put
a price tag on these things. However, one must also make a living, and our time
and effort are worth something. The "day job" provides income and
insurance, but being in a social services position is not particularly
financially lucrative. It's taken me a long time to bring myself to being able
to set a cost to the ministerial services I provide. Now that I've done it,
I've procrastinated on printing it out. By rights, it should have been
delivered to the local wedding venues and other places before this
"snowbird" season in the Southwest began last month. This is how I
sabotage myself, isn't it. One of a million ways...</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">B</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">rigid in the Desert hosted an in-person gathering every month for
the first 2/3 of this year. When there were two or more of us sitting together
at a table in discussion, it was awesome. Unfortunately, we are a small group
of individuals with a variety of challenges. Toward the end of summer, some of
our physical challenges made it difficult to meet in person. Instead, we have
been chatting on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BrigidInTheDesert/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Facebook
page</span></a> and in the Facebook group, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/466375843455130/?source_id=199900283492512" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Brigid in
the Desert Discussions</span></a>. We have talked about everything from pain
and spiritual experience to our interactions with those who have crossed beyond
the veil from this world into the next. We are a diverse, fun, and hopeful
group. Feel free to join us!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">N</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">ow it's November. The Wheel of the Year has taken us past Samhain
and the beginning of new life after the death of summer. We head into a time of
deliberate thanksgiving, at least here in the United States, as well as a
conversation around the meaning of that "First Thanksgiving" and our
relationships with the Indigenous people of this land. There is much to wrestle
with.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">T</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">he nights are darkening earlier and we notice a chill in the air,
even here in the Sonoran Desert. In the mountains and across the northern parts
of the globe, the scent of ice and snow reinvigorates our senses and reminds us
of cozy childhood evenings and Yuletide dreams. No matter our religious or
spiritual heritage, there are memories of gifts and light and new hope that is
born at the end of the calendar year. The Wheel turns. We grow older. Sometimes
we forget the power of that innocent hope. At this time of year, we can be
reminded of it; it can be reborn in us, if we let it.</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">I</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;">f there is anything Americans -- and many others around the world
-- can use right now, it's a newborn hope. Let's let it be born in us!</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<b><i><span style="color: black; font-family: "verdana" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 18.0pt;">Let us birth a new hope.</span></i></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-81354669233551566422018-01-19T23:12:00.005-08:002018-01-19T23:36:14.377-08:00Across the Divide of Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">T</b><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">here's something about the arbitrary divide between old and new years that gets people all riled up about making changes in their lives. For years, it was a regular practice to come up with resolutions about how one planned to improve one's life over the coming year. In the past decade or so, however, it seems that this practice is falling by the wayside. Instead, people are choosing new ways of envisioning the year ahead.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I</b>'ve seen some people posting on social media that they are choosing a word to represent their goals for the new year. In fact, only a couple of years ago, I did this and wrote about it on this blog, <a href="http://suzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2016/03/new-years-resolutions-lenten-promises.html" target="_blank">here</a>. This year, I've been seeing posts from friends who simply list a few goals for the year. Rather than "resolutions," these are quantifiable goals with specific timelines or generalized ideas that encompass the vision of the person making them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>T</b>his year I decided to do two different things. At the request of a friend, I decided to join a small accountability group where we check in regarding our current life goals. With this group, I formulated a small list of quantifiable goals. These include being more intentional about making St. Brigid in the Desert UAIC an active, functional spiritual community, which I have identified as a "Church Without Walls," or "Church Without a Home;" having one St. Brigid event per month which is free and open to the public; and keeping up with the blogs and the newsletter on a regular basis.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>O</b>n the other side of my list is being more consistent with my writing. Just having this much delineated gave these goals substance. They aren't just "something I want to do." They are something I WILL do. Pastoring a church is a real job, whether one is paid for pastoring or whether one is a bi-vocational pastor, as I am. In fact, these "nonpaid" priestly duties are more important than weddings and other rites of passage that I might be paid for, because these are the foundation of the church, the real purpose for its existence. The gatherings and social media content are where the real work of ministry gets done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I</b>'ve long been a fan of vision boards. Now, these are simply poster board with magazine pictures cut out and glued onto them in a sort of collage. What makes it a "vision" board is the intent behind the creation. My early vision boards were usually pictures of things I wanted to obtain or attain in the near future. This year, I chose to create a vision board specifically for what I wanted my 2018 to be like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>A</b>s the Spiritual Director for St. Brigid in the Desert UAIC, I thought that a Mini-Vision Board Workshop would be the perfect event to kick off the new year. Not only would it provide an excellent fellowship gathering, but it would also provide an opportunity for those who attend to work on their personal goals for the year. This was where I could pull together the dreams I have for my personal spiritual work. The gathering was a success. I enjoyed providing a short guided meditation to bring everyone to their vision board. Around the table, conversation helped build friendships and imagination brought together some beautiful collages. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>A</b>s for myself, I haven't quite finished the board. I created an eye and spirit pleasing board with quite a bit of white space. I think of it as "breathing room." It's appropriate, for the vision I am revealing on my board is that of a peaceful, uncluttered spirit. I have some busy-goals for my ministry and an active day job. The vision board goals are intended to offset this "busy-ness."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBeB38JNU5P3Wa8pH-0c6cEU6__hiikvmX-gCGoV7gpVlp6wPsLmqfxCTAyt2fT9SR1YZGZMq0j4NwjFJUW7ts6kPNxFnX2bgUvreTQYwRDfVP_RQSXNLs2K42fMPIaGl3Fvx4phOSos/s1600/vision+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1268" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQBeB38JNU5P3Wa8pH-0c6cEU6__hiikvmX-gCGoV7gpVlp6wPsLmqfxCTAyt2fT9SR1YZGZMq0j4NwjFJUW7ts6kPNxFnX2bgUvreTQYwRDfVP_RQSXNLs2K42fMPIaGl3Fvx4phOSos/s400/vision+%25281%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>B</b>alance.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>I</b>n the end, I guess I chose a word for the year, after all!</span></div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-6722228533476519902016-03-19T19:05:00.002-07:002016-03-19T20:27:04.320-07:00New Year's Resolutions, Lenten Promises: Pathways into New Life<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Two</span> and a half months into the New Year, we’ve gotten rather used to 2016. I’m no longer writing “2015” on documents out of habit; it’s been long enough. The habit has changed. We’re long enough into the New Year that the new behaviors we promised ourselves at the turn of the year should be ingrained in us. They should be – but are they? Those of us who practice Lent may be in the midst of new behaviors promised at Ash Wednesday. Now is a good time to review our New Year’s Resolutions, if we made them. How are we doing?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Personally, I decided this year that New Year’s Resolutions as traditionally practiced were not useful to me. For me, they have been unreasonable promises to make sweeping changes in behavior or high, unattainable expectations for living conditions. So, instead of making promises to myself that I could not keep, I spent some time at the end of 2015 pondering what I needed most in my life. From there, I sought one word that I could focus on this year. I sought a word that would encompass everything that I felt I needed to accomplish in 2015 in my physical as well as my spiritual life. By December 31, the word I came up with was “Organization.” I thought if I could clean out my closets, literally as well as figuratively, throughout this next year, life would improve.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Organization. It was a good choice. It covered everything I had thought of that I needed to work on. It’s a good, solid word. It’s a utilitarian word that describes rearrangement and cleaning out. Yes, it was good, I decided, and I began the year with this word as my focus: Organization.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Then came the final meeting of my <i>Simple Abundance</i> group. We had meeting been almost monthly throughout 2015 to discuss our readings in the classic devotional by Sarah Ban Breathnacht. As a group, we had been learning to apply spirituality to our daily lives through the readings and our discussions. We were unable to meet at the end of 2015, so we met on the first weekend in 2016 to wrap up our discussions and to discover our intentions for the new year. Obviously, I intended to share my thoughts about Organization. It had, in fact, been our<i> Simple Abundance</i> reading and discussion that had led to my choice of this focus word for the year. By the time we came to our sharing about the coming year, though, something changed.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />You see, after we talked about the readings and how we had been affected by them over the year, we spent some time in meditation. Our leaders asked us to think about a word or a phrase that would encompass our goals for the coming year. Of course, I had done this. I knew my word. Organization.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Our gatherings took place at a beautiful place in Apache Junction, Arizona called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Sacred-Space-For-Retreat-At-the-Superstition-Mountains-250621441788243/" target="_blank">Sacred Space for Retreat</a>. The property includes a large stone labyrinth. We were sent to the labyrinth for a silent meditative walk. The labyrinth walk is one of my favorite contemplative practices. In fact, I have a small labyrinth of my own at home. The one at Sacred Space is much larger and provides the opportunity for a longer, deeper walk with God.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb8dBoB1odYANo401VOl6cHtTinlv2QSCKZ3h9bKnkH8e8R0RLHzVKPmChczK7sJZZu7FrjbdUSDL8tw-ASGzsF3rgj3sB3vHUL9t-tw2_wavMvT7_-P2WpHJ00DTlUiJDamR4Zv7_rY/s1600/IMG_20160109_125742060_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtb8dBoB1odYANo401VOl6cHtTinlv2QSCKZ3h9bKnkH8e8R0RLHzVKPmChczK7sJZZu7FrjbdUSDL8tw-ASGzsF3rgj3sB3vHUL9t-tw2_wavMvT7_-P2WpHJ00DTlUiJDamR4Zv7_rY/s400/IMG_20160109_125742060_HDR.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />As I walked that day, focusing at first on my word, “Organization,” I began to let go of thought, focusing only on my breath and my steps. As I neared the center, I began to feel cleansed. I looked at the ground for a moment as I walked and I noticed a geode. I came to the center, where I stood facing the eastern mountains. I took three deep belly breaths, and stood in silence. I could hear the soft crunching of the feet of those who walked before and after me. I heard the birds that flew above and the rustling of leaves on the mesquite that grow in this desert environment. I felt the caress of the soft breeze upon my face, upon my uplifted hands.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Then, I heard clearly in my mind a new word: Purity.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />As I walked out of the labyrinth, I pondered this word. In today’s world, the word “purity” can have connotations that feel contrived or self-righteous. The first meaning of this word that came to me was about the idea of moral purity, which seems to me a rather subjective connotation. Among the evangelical crowd, there is a push for sexual purity that leads to purity contracts, purity balls, purity rings; all promises to remain “pure” until marriage. A second, more negative connotation of the word “purity” is related to the idea of racial purity and the atrocities of ethnic cleansing. However, to be pure is also to be free of harmful substances; it is to be clean, as in purity of water or air; it is to have a perfect quality, as in the purity of sound, music, voice.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Thinking about this word as I walked out of the labyrinth, I wondered how it could apply to me or to my life. I am a messy human being. I am disorganized, often scattered, and always overscheduled. In other words, I am a human being immersed in twenty-first century life. What has “purity” to do with me?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I thought of the geode. On one side, the geode is a rather ugly, bumpy, dirty rock. On the other, the stone is white and almost translucent in its beauty. One can imagine that beneath that lovely, smooth, shiny surface, there could be some glorious crystal.</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0RD_X94WNc67xw2SNmv-efapO8a5SHpmj6X3OHpa80kHU3KYAUNypw1mcnrVm67ii472NIUnQTm34rF9lnkOk4vc2dp1bBQ2ZAQtGS7BrlOrKAXmiiMIqBQUrRtvJlowRVEdMTvSH-I/s1600/IMG_20160109_125653233.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo0RD_X94WNc67xw2SNmv-efapO8a5SHpmj6X3OHpa80kHU3KYAUNypw1mcnrVm67ii472NIUnQTm34rF9lnkOk4vc2dp1bBQ2ZAQtGS7BrlOrKAXmiiMIqBQUrRtvJlowRVEdMTvSH-I/s320/IMG_20160109_125653233.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Many years ago I read a science fiction novel that I will never forget. The book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Swan-Song-Robert-McCammon/dp/0671741039" target="_blank">Swan Song, by Robert R. McCammon</a>, describes the world after a nuclear detonation. The radiation spurs an evolution among the people that begins with the growth of what they call “Job’s Mask,” which covers their faces. The masks are ugly, hard, and often debilitating crusts. Some of the people develop gifts as well, such as visions and the ability to make things grow. Eventually, the Job’s Masks fall off, revealing the true nature of the individuals inside. Some who had been considered ugly, bad, or unwanted before the war are revealed to be truly beautiful on the inside.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76ClM9F1wXNn5A-TM-1iglytayD4pV-PTXWtZs2bw8Jt0S5hZ_J34PFg9Y5pAcb3hHFtWk9ityN0GJIqnYnphft89XJ8ehoG4LFxXZOpAzgCEpTm6r_h6REn6VFEgAEDUonyHmYbAAcQ/s1600/IMG_20160109_125642671.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj76ClM9F1wXNn5A-TM-1iglytayD4pV-PTXWtZs2bw8Jt0S5hZ_J34PFg9Y5pAcb3hHFtWk9ityN0GJIqnYnphft89XJ8ehoG4LFxXZOpAzgCEpTm6r_h6REn6VFEgAEDUonyHmYbAAcQ/s320/IMG_20160109_125642671.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />As I pondered the geode, I thought of this book, and I thought of what both the rock and the book revealed to me about purity. Purity is not always visible. Alchemical purity is the absolute perfection of a substance. As a person, is purity truly possible? As a Wesleyan, I have to say that yes, it is. After all, Purity is Perfection. Perfection is possible. It is not something to declare; it is something to seek. It is not something to take pride in; it is something to be revealed. If Purity is cleanliness and the absence of harmful substances, then “Organization” is an activity to be used as a tool toward Purity, toward Perfection.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8g3VMOFKZ_PKRBIsVXBzxFRED3jUizi4UuQdLJYKtYzPDMoxH9ztKl-xaoSCD7XxED1FjnihY558oBhovxYcczcckWQLUyeUdOVdbzFOotFb4MUxHSahS0khKnovCeByJVkVOGjZWFU/s1600/Palm_Sunday.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD8g3VMOFKZ_PKRBIsVXBzxFRED3jUizi4UuQdLJYKtYzPDMoxH9ztKl-xaoSCD7XxED1FjnihY558oBhovxYcczcckWQLUyeUdOVdbzFOotFb4MUxHSahS0khKnovCeByJVkVOGjZWFU/s320/Palm_Sunday.png" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As we near the final week of Lent, we commemorate the clownish street theatre of Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem on an ass, with palms waving and strewn on the ground before his feet. We remember the final week the twelve Apostles and the many Disciples would have with the friend and teacher they knew as Jesus, the night they shared a final meal, and the night He would be betrayed and denied. This week, we near the end of our 40 days of self-denial and contemplation. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />On Easter morning, we remember the stone rolled away to reveal an empty tomb and Jesus transformed into the glorious, divine Christ. We will also be rolling aside our Lenten promises. When we do, what will we reveal? Will we be new people, set with our faces toward resurrected lives in Christ?</span></span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizx_IrUm5Hp45QWCMSS5nhn2CCTPcXrOLAizteGZ6uC5iGXXk5_FcRUxt3NV6RNURw-t1k9HJt3h8vVCVJ-3jjGHwbjJkORRAaGlmjtnKt1vXWS5-Of8Ln6rdX_zJ8c5MNvuHxJrxyBxs/s1600/IMG_20160109_115949307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizx_IrUm5Hp45QWCMSS5nhn2CCTPcXrOLAizteGZ6uC5iGXXk5_FcRUxt3NV6RNURw-t1k9HJt3h8vVCVJ-3jjGHwbjJkORRAaGlmjtnKt1vXWS5-Of8Ln6rdX_zJ8c5MNvuHxJrxyBxs/s320/IMG_20160109_115949307.jpg" width="180" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />It is my prayer that on Easter morning I will set aside my simplistic denial of a worldly thing and continue the formidable task of organizing my cluttered life, revealing beneath its ugly, bumpy reality the hidden path toward purity. It’s only one new beginning of many new beginnings winding through my life. Yet, each new beginning is an opportunity to set aside the ugliness of self-absorption to reveal the deeper beauty found in self knowledge.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />My path toward Purity begins with Organization.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There’s an app for that.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I call it prayer, followed by action.</span></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-22784576497509563592015-12-02T15:37:00.003-08:002015-12-04T03:01:00.601-08:00“Oh, Grow Up!” The Real Difference Between a Man-Child or Woman-Child and a “Grown-Up”<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hat is it that differentiates the man-child or woman-child from the grown man or woman? Is it how they behave or how they dress? Is it what they do for a living or what kind of car they drive? I have been pondering this question as I enter into a time of my life where I finally realize I’ve not known what it really meant to be a “grown-up.” I ponder it as I watch my children grow from teenagers into young adults.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>here are a lot of woman/man-children in the world. Perhaps there always have been; certainly it seems that it’s the result of human nature. We are a selfish, self-centered lot. We seek to serve ourselves first, often to the detriment of those around us. When we are children, this behavior is expected. Some of the first words we speak as children are “no” “mine” or “me,” until we begin to be aware of others around us. We are taught to share, yet we continue to first serve ourselves.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><span style="font-size: large;">A</span>s we mature, we come to recognize the needs and desires of others. That’s where we begin the process of becoming men and women. It’s also about the time we are in complete control of our response to outside influences. Yet, it becomes continuously more difficult to do. Advertising comes at us full-force, telling us what we are supposed to look like, what we’re supposed to do, and how we are supposed to live. We seek to become what we believe society expects of us.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">O</span>ur influences come from the advertising, our upbringing, and our peers. Some of us get caught up in the outer means of reflecting who we are, and we expect others to do the same. We think that as we grow up we need to give up certain behaviors, certain fashions, certain hobbies and take on new, often more expensive ones. At the same time, we forget that there are more important indicators of maturity.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>t is not the games we play, the clothes we wear, or the company we keep that make us “grown-up.” It’s the way we respond to the world. It’s how we take responsibility for ourselves and our own decisions. It’s how we share with others when others are in need.<br />In her book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003U2TWQ8/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?ie=UTF8&btkr=1" target="_blank"><i>One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are</i></a>, Ann Voskamp points out that we have “response” “abilities.” We need to use our abilities to respond to life appropriately. We need to do things like pick up after ourselves, acknowledge the help we get from others (and accept that help gracefully), be respectful of others and their way of looking at the world, and we need to be responsible for those who count on us. That includes being responsible for ourselves. As men and women, we are to use our “abilities” for appropriate “response” to what happens in our lives.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>eople who reach a certain age might think that they’re men or women simply because they have celebrated a magic numbered birthday. They might do “grown-up” things like a regular job, go out for dancing and drinks, read books, or watch “adult” television (as opposed to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_animated_television_series" target="_blank">animated television</a>). They might eschew <a href="http://www.pokemon.com/us/" target="_blank">Pokémon</a> or <a href="http://www.dccomics.com/characters/batman" target="_blank">Batman</a> and the like as “childish.” These life activities have nothing to do with their status as men/women-children.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">M</span>an-children and woman-children expect others to take care of everything for them. When things go wrong, it’s always someone else’s fault. They seek self-satisfaction in all they do, without regard for the feelings of those who are affected by their behavior. When someone responds to their behavior negatively, they throw tantrums or whine that nobody understands them, the world is out to get them, and by golly, they’re going to do (or buy) something fun to make themselves feel better. Even when they know that something they do affects others <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">negatively, the<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">y continue the behavi<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">or because it makes them feel better.</span></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">G</span>rown women and men might be into watching things like <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0" target="_blank">Dr. Who</a>, reading <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy" target="_blank">fantasy</a> books by authors like <a href="http://www.neilgaiman.com/" target="_blank">Neil Gaiman</a>, and playing games like <a href="https://www.dragonage.com/en_US/home" target="_blank">Dragon Age</a>. They might enjoy going to the <a href="http://www.royalfaires.com/" target="_blank">Renaissance Festival</a> or <a href="http://comic-con.org/" target="_blank">Comic-Con</a>. They might even like spending time of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>. They also pick up and wash their dirty dishes. They love, take care of, and support their children, if they have any. They interact with others with respect, even if the other disagrees with them about…well, anything. They say “please” and “thank you” and they do their best to be the best kind of person they can think of. They <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">try to<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> curtail negative behavior<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">because they don't want the people they love to be hurt<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> by what they do.</span></span></span></span></span> They use their “response-abilities” to respond appropriately to what happens in their lives.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>’m doing my best to be a woman instead of a woman-child. It takes some doing. It’s easier to feel sorry for myself and wait for others to give me what I need, even when I am able to do for myself. Lots of people do it. I give thanks every day that I am empowered by the feeling I get from doing for myself, so I can be available to do for others who are unable to do for themselves. I know a lot of man-children and woman-children. For them, I hope that one day soon they become aware of their situation, and learn to stand on their own two feet. When they do, may they reach out to others and find the power of giving.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>hough men and women do for themselves, they don’t do it all alone. They just do their part. When everyone does their own part, the world is a much easier place to navigate.</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58LDvWm5snseTymK75pCw_sd7kqR-M-cotfEFskLxOpmL91AGBCghGRhilQI5xh5lDZU5oN16FSCbjemSXNeUb-Xz2m2I4C6aqSCTXy3yhAwXEVJw2_OapHDvqBbMcEOlShgpDnq2PW0/s1600/silly+grown+ups.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh58LDvWm5snseTymK75pCw_sd7kqR-M-cotfEFskLxOpmL91AGBCghGRhilQI5xh5lDZU5oN16FSCbjemSXNeUb-Xz2m2I4C6aqSCTXy3yhAwXEVJw2_OapHDvqBbMcEOlShgpDnq2PW0/s400/silly+grown+ups.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Being a full grown adult doesn't mean you don't get to have fun.<br />You just have to take care of the business too!</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-74744023483383334302015-11-04T14:32:00.002-08:002015-11-04T14:58:54.677-08:00The Redemption of Food<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:DoNotShowRevisions/>
<w:DoNotPrintRevisions/>
<w:DoNotShowMarkup/>
<w:DoNotShowComments/>
<w:DoNotShowInsertionsAndDeletions/>
<w:DoNotShowPropertyChanges/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">F</span>ood.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>t seems like we obsess over food. I know I do. For all of
my adult life, I have been in a love/hate relationship with food. I love to
cook. I hate being overweight. I went on diets. I didn’t have time to cook
properly, so I bought packaged foods. When I was on food stamps, the first day they came in my kids and I shared a giant meal of steaks and baked potatoes. My children went in and out of dietary
phases with me throughout their childhood years. I went in and out of dietary
phases as I felt more comfortable or less comfortable with my life. When I felt out of control of my finances, for some reason I would spend money at the grocery store and cook one of those giant steak-and-baked-potato meals. Attempting to become a better person, I tried to act on small convictions: vegetarian,
vegan, pescatarian. I tried to treat my physical ailments with food choices: sugar free, gluten
free, soda free.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">M</span>ore recently, in an effort (successful, I might add) to lose weight
and become healthier and stronger, I went on an almost solid-food-free diet. Two
shakes or smoothies*, a couple of “smart” snacks and one actual meal a day –
small portions only – along with some heavy duty boot camp style exercise
brought me to a manageable weight. I feel good about how my clothes fit. I don’t
want to gain back my weight, but I’ve also decided I don’t want to avoid great
food anymore.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>here has been a lot of talk around diet and the way we use
food to connect with one another. Much of this talk has been negative – like using
food as a vehicle to social interaction is a bad thing.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>t isn’t.</span><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4s71Dol-3kMf_OzBK7WIhDDmfDE23t3ijvOwZMUT0l6-PnIxnncIM2-zOb2Ca1cYdalME0Xrna2KzunwFAS9rcCl67inno9luhYZCuwfTCkL5AMJP7VH856yjbfje5ewIC-00RcT0Ccc/s1600/thanksgiving+friends.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4s71Dol-3kMf_OzBK7WIhDDmfDE23t3ijvOwZMUT0l6-PnIxnncIM2-zOb2Ca1cYdalME0Xrna2KzunwFAS9rcCl67inno9luhYZCuwfTCkL5AMJP7VH856yjbfje5ewIC-00RcT0Ccc/s200/thanksgiving+friends.jpg" width="200" /></a></i></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Friends Gather To Enjoy<br />Good Food & Good Fun</span></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>n fact, breaking bread together is one of the oldest ways
of connecting with one another. It is a means of communication, of conveying love, and of supporting
and nurturing one another. In one of the most famous bread breaking events in
history, Jesus, son of Mary, fed over 5,000 people on a hillside. He broke
unwritten rules of law by breaking grain to feed his disciples on the Sabbath.
He shared meals and drink with the people others loved to hate – tax collectors,
sinners, resident aliens, people in other cultures, women, prostitutes. According to some, Jesus "<a href="https://markrglanville.wordpress.com/2012/07/20/jesus-ate-his-way-through-the-gospels-eaten-with-a-tax-collector-recently/" target="_blank">ate his way through the Gospels</a>." There’s
the wedding where he made the water into the best wine, the gathering of
disciples where Martha flitted about, the dinner in the house of a Pharisee,
and the feast at the home of a descriptively short tax collector who climbed a
tree just to see Jesus. Finally, Jesus joined with his closest friends, the
Apostles, and probably a few more disciples and family to celebrate the
Passover meal one last time. When sharing that meal, Jesus literally broke the
bread to share it with his followers. In doing so, he invited them to remember
him every time they ate. “Whenever you do this,” he said, “remember me.”</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>n his teachings, Jesus told his disciples that “When I was
hungry, you fed me. When I was thirsty, you gave me drink. Whenever you feed
the least of these, you are feeding me.” “When two or more are gathered, there
I will be also.” Whenever we gather with others to share a meal, we are
gathered with Jesus. We need not be in a religious setting; the Christ is with
us always. When we break bread together, we invited the best of who we are to
connect with the best of who our companions are. We meet as equals, sharing the
same food and drink, sitting at the same table. It doesn’t matter if we believe
the same things. What matters is that we are sharing a good meal, good
conversation, and laughter.</span><br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKg8soCcA7Y5x3TdQWcnAQ3oBybAC28AeLwixlMqJ2-nihrFygP6eueMXM3v3dGASEejJD1PzPL5EnTxRbHTJFOVKGKdyQzixyx6bqLc7S_59lvJ4cua4ic_pCr0gphpnTFSPjOTHlh0/s1600/stove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfKg8soCcA7Y5x3TdQWcnAQ3oBybAC28AeLwixlMqJ2-nihrFygP6eueMXM3v3dGASEejJD1PzPL5EnTxRbHTJFOVKGKdyQzixyx6bqLc7S_59lvJ4cua4ic_pCr0gphpnTFSPjOTHlh0/s200/stove.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Photo from https://www.pinterest.com/<br />100acrefriends/old-cook-stoves/</i></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>n a not so distant past, the kitchen was the heart of the
home. Spirit flowed around the stove, where those who cooked kept a soup pot
bubbling and the family gathered to review their days and make plans for future
times. Friends were invited to cocktail parties, dances, bonfires, and
barbeques. As good food filled the stomach, good Spirit filled the soul.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">R</span>ecently, as I sat with a close friend over an excellent
meal at a wonderful <a href="https://www.facebook.com/PhoeniciaCafe/" target="_blank">Middle Eastern café</a> next to the local mosque, it occurred to me that too much time has
been wasted on worrying about food. Too much of <i>my</i> time was wasted on weighing
the bites and assessing the calories. My friend and I began to discuss the idea
that perhaps if we simply lived our lives, finding the places where happiness
touches our hearts, and sharing those times with others, the calorie content of
the food we ate would no longer matter. What if we simply enjoyed our meals,
punctuated with forks raised to illustrate points, <i>stopped</i> eating when the holes
in our stomachs were filled, and continued the conversation over a good cup of
tea? Would we find ourselves sated by the combination of food and friendship?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">W</span>hat if I had a smoothie for lunch not because it’s part of
a “nutrition plan,” but because it’s delicious and I feel good about it? Believe me, I can make pretty good <a href="http://suzyjacobsoncherryexperiments.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">smoothies from scratch</a>! I think that letting
go of the obsession with food comes with a side effect, at least for me. Once I
begin to let go of the need to control food to the point of obsession, it
becomes less likely that I will crave the “bad” foods and the giant servings.
If I eat good, real food, I no longer crave unnecessary foods. If I enjoy good
meals with good friends and relatives, I will so look forward to those times
together that I will no longer find the need for the shallower sustenance of
unnecessary snacks.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZfDZpRooXK-J2N-gZDm7qkCYynaQQpvxmDbr48c15IJwPjaII-u2MMJLM_g8JIvjnrKNTcGAmStAISyje9BWu-yG1eMGrGcXI009bJgSxtFbIfiKiwndIqU2fLhDYAecbBfU4lUQ_Q8/s1600/reagans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZfDZpRooXK-J2N-gZDm7qkCYynaQQpvxmDbr48c15IJwPjaII-u2MMJLM_g8JIvjnrKNTcGAmStAISyje9BWu-yG1eMGrGcXI009bJgSxtFbIfiKiwndIqU2fLhDYAecbBfU4lUQ_Q8/s200/reagans.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Reagan Family at Dinner<br />Image from biggerthanyourhead.ne</span>t</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>here is a television show I like to watch sometimes, called "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1595859/" target="_blank">Blue Bloods</a>." It's about a family of New York City police officers and
attorneys whose jobs often intersect with one another. My favorite part
of this show is the ending, in which the family gathers together with
all generations at the dinner table. They begin with prayer that we in
my family call "grace;" that is, a thanksgiving for family, the food we
eat, and those who prepared that meal. In my family, this grace is an
invitation for the Grace of God to be with us, for the Christ, Lord
Jesus, to join us at the meal. The family on this show, the Reagans, are
people whose integrity and strength are worthy of emulation. The
culmination of their trials and troubles around the breaking of bread is
a beautiful symbol of something that is passing away in our culture. It
is sad to lose this tradition of family, friends, and food. Perhaps, it is a tradition worthy of resurrection.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I </span><span style="font-size: small;">look forward to many excellent meals in the future; not
just food, but exquisite moments, shared with good people. Bon appetite! </span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjY1MNvQQzYX6s_VPhFN6SeIQ4GqZ7R2aNiXve7B9pnnu_3HXWe_0SToyw1BRtt9HYrkSrY4_o3Zju7N-wOaLX7ANSsm4Kuqdq_gKnFYTSlzQhabPhIzBYz7pGJvfeub9HG03neNPHEa4/s1600/Thanksgiving_grace_1942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjY1MNvQQzYX6s_VPhFN6SeIQ4GqZ7R2aNiXve7B9pnnu_3HXWe_0SToyw1BRtt9HYrkSrY4_o3Zju7N-wOaLX7ANSsm4Kuqdq_gKnFYTSlzQhabPhIzBYz7pGJvfeub9HG03neNPHEa4/s320/Thanksgiving_grace_1942.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Image from www.anthropologyinpractice.com</span></i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*I used <a href="http://www.herbalife.com/" target="_blank">Herbalife</a> products to kick off that weight loss. If you're interested, contact my sister Jane Rogers at </span></i><span class="gI"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">janerogers6444@gmail.com</span></i></span></span></div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-34464922158742328282015-10-22T17:20:00.001-07:002015-11-03T16:29:56.654-08:00Playlist to Freedom<span style="font-size: small;">It's <a href="http://www.nrcdv.org/dvam/DVAM-history" target="_blank">Domestic Violence Awareness Month</a>. It might seem unnecessary to have a month dedicated to something like this, but the reality is that there is more to Domestic Violence (DV) than the obvious physical abuse suffered by married women. DV includes emotional abuse, psychological abuse, gaslighting, verbal abuse, and control. DV is perpetrated by husbands against wives, wives against husbands, girlfriends against boyfriends, adult children against parents, and parents against children. It occurs in heterosexual relationships and it occurs in same sex relationships. In fact, any regular emotional relationship that can be thought of can be touched by abuse.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">I'm not here to give you statistics, but you can get them at the <a href="http://www.ncadv.org/learn/statistics" target="_blank">National Coalition Against Domestic Violence </a>website. Today, I want to share something with you. If you know me in person, you are likely to know already that I am a survivor of DV. I met and married my abuser when I was in the Air Force. We were married for eight years, during which I suffered treatment I had never known could happen between people who professed to love one another. That's why a month like this month is so important. It is possible for a person to come out of such a loving and supportive childhood that they are unaware that DV exists. I am sure there are many others who, like me, were innocent until their partner broke them down. I had no idea I was being broken until he threw the first punch. I wrote a little bit about my story in my first book, <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Ashes-Suzanne-Jacobson-Cherry/dp/1482774836" target="_blank">Phoenix from the Ashes</a></i>. It took years to write the book. The first chapters were slammed out on a manual typewriter, keys flying off with the heavy strikes of anger. The anger was at him, for putting me through what he did, but it was also at myself for allowing myself to fall victim to him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">As a poet, I had always wanted to perform my works rather than just read them off the paper at public readings. My memory isn't equal to such a task, nor am I as dramatically developed as I'd like! Still, one day a few years ago, I finally got up the courage and the insistence to speak a piece about my experience in DV and the power I have claimed as I moved from victim to survivor. I was slated to speak at a workshop on Domestic Violence for pastors and other church people, and I decided that would be a good time to perform the piece. I rolled it out at a local open reading for practice, and I videotaped myself doing the poem, which I called <i><a href="https://youtu.be/q0kKgEQ3KQE" target="_blank">Regret</a></i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">It was art that saved me. Poetry and music became my refuge. The poetry was my own, and through writing I found myself, the self that had disappeared over the years. The music...well, it was the 1980's and MTV was playing videos. The music encouraged me. It gave me power. Today, I want to share a playlist with you. This is a list of the songs that gave me the power to leave. They opened the door for me to step out into a new world. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Eurythmics - <a href="https://youtu.be/Uhpu2N4rQZM" target="_blank">Would I Like to You?</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Til Tuesday - <a href="https://youtu.be/uejh-bHa4To" target="_blank">Voices Carry</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Pat Benatar - <a href="https://youtu.be/x5kisPBwZOM" target="_blank">Hit Me With Your Best Shot</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Cyndi Lauper - <a href="https://youtu.be/PIb6AZdTr-A" target="_blank">Girls Just Wanna Have Fun</a></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Madonna - <a href="https://youtu.be/AyAOLk9D-ao" target="_blank">Into The Groove</a></span><br />
Rolling Stones - <a href="https://youtu.be/YOMTnLHDWRA" target="_blank">It's Only Rock-n-Roll</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">There were many more, but this handful of songs are the foundation of the strength that took me out the door. The road was not an easy one, but these songs inspired me to reclaim
my life. Perhaps they can inspire someone else. Maybe, they can inspire
you.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-14392201349265708912015-10-14T11:33:00.001-07:002015-10-14T11:34:35.211-07:00Live. Move. Be.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbTiutqjHZFKpJ42HK7SiWC35NVFKp1Z5XidBarhJe7uQkHV0U-7Nj3ZGF2Es9z5fIyv6anXVEEyQtMOOLwMTGcIp38cQj9Bt3-UdQj_ph33GVw40rfEPQCinZuEZPMUxIQVZO5cdyCw/s1600/Journal+Entry+Meme.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCbTiutqjHZFKpJ42HK7SiWC35NVFKp1Z5XidBarhJe7uQkHV0U-7Nj3ZGF2Es9z5fIyv6anXVEEyQtMOOLwMTGcIp38cQj9Bt3-UdQj_ph33GVw40rfEPQCinZuEZPMUxIQVZO5cdyCw/s400/Journal+Entry+Meme.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-89559391081574460362015-09-19T13:43:00.004-07:002015-09-19T13:45:08.312-07:00A "Christian, and..."<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A few days ago, I saw one of those video posts from <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/" target="_blank">Buzzfeed</a>. This one had a handful of people who said <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedVideo/videos/1816363428504531/" target="_blank">"I'm a Christian, but I'm not..</a>." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Generally, the idea is that even though these people claim that they ARE Christians, they are NOT any of the things the media tends to present Christianity to be: hateful, judgmental, etc.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Yet, it seems to me that it comes across as judgmental against other Christians.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Not long ago, I was a "Christian But," too. The problem is that I began to realize two things. First, that by differentiating myself from those "other" Christians - the stereotypical "anti-everything-fun" Christians, I was busy judging instead of being the person I was proclaiming myself to be.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This hit home with the Buzzfeed video. Upon reflection, I realized that I am no longer a "Christian But." Here's what I posted to my Facebook page as soon as it hit me:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think I'm growing out of my "I'm a Christian, but..." phase. I hereby take my stand to reclaim the title "Christian." I am a Christian. I try my best to be the best follower of Jesus that I can be. Spirituality is so much deeper than the title we claim, and so much more satisfying than tossing about epithets and platitudes.</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If I've grown out of being a "Christian But," I'm growing into a new phase - I'm a "Christian AND..."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think everyone should be able to marry the person they love.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I think there are many ways of coming to God.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe that God loves everyone.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe that Jesus invites everyone to the table.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe there are many ways to follow Christ</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe there are many ways of being spiritual</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND...</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I dance in the moonlight, lift up a mug of mead, hail the Folk (ALL the Folk!), pour libation to the ancestors, Meditate, practice Yoga, and pray every day with the help of my ancestral mothers</span></span><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe that Jesus the man was the perfect revelation of the lives we are created to live while on this earth</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe that Jesus the Christ is the living reminder that there is more beyond this world that we cannot understand</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe that Holy Spirit is the inspiration and the muse for all faith, hope, and love that manifests in this world</span></span></li>
</ul>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm a Christian AND</span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I believe that God is the <a href="https://processandfaith.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/what-is-process-theology.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Process</i></a> through which all things come into Being;</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">God Is</span></span></b></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">One ultimate Truth,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">sought by all people</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">in some way and found</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">through the spirituality</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">of individuals and of cultures;</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the revelation of scientific discoveries;</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the beauty of the rising and setting sun,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the depth of the forests,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the rushing of the rivers,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the grandest colors of the canyons,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and the wondrous detail</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">of the tiniest living thing;</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and most of all,</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">God is found </span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">through the tenderness of touch,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the gaze of desire,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the wistful smile,</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the communion of humanity</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">in the moment we see</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the light of love reflected</span></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">in the faces one another.</span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">No, I am longer a "Christian, But..."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">From this day forward, I am "Christian, and..."
</span></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-12456643097724810552015-05-05T17:11:00.000-07:002015-06-11T16:39:08.900-07:00Contemplation on Crosses<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: x-small;">[An earlier version of the following was first posted in a course called <a href="https://courses.edx.org/courses/HamiltonX/RELST005.5x/1T2015/info" target="_blank">Spirituality and Sensuality: Sacred Objects in Religious Life</a>, which I took from <a href="https://www.hamilton.edu/index.cfm" target="_blank">Hamilton College</a> through <a href="https://www.edx.org/" target="_blank">Edx</a>. The professor was S. Brent Plate, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/History-Religion-51-Objects-Spiritual/dp/0807033111/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430866552&sr=8-1&keywords=s.+brent+plate" target="_blank"><i>A History of Religion in 5 1/2 Objects</i>: <i>Bringing the Spiritual to Its Senses</i></a>]</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: large;">W<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">hen I was assigned the task of seeking out crosses for a class project, I chose to avoid taking a photo of a cross with obvious religious
connotations. So, I took a walk around my yard where I found a number of examples. The one I like best was the fence post pictured below. The fence is built of a mixture of
old lumber and tree branches to give it a sort of rustic look. The post is a
tree branch, juxtaposed against the weathered two by fours of the fence itself.
Along the fence grows a grape vine that we planted a couple of years ago.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pPDEhO7vufVz8nez3eNOBIi-dmmf_kWSf9L5gVdzxy4616LVG9gnLnkt8p8iQcaewnUvaxFvLm_Uy58e0RCeV-xGIFNa7qZyrjWSjGAB1lb34xH4TCEE0WqPk7zruCm4Kr7MoeIgqn8/s1600/grape+cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pPDEhO7vufVz8nez3eNOBIi-dmmf_kWSf9L5gVdzxy4616LVG9gnLnkt8p8iQcaewnUvaxFvLm_Uy58e0RCeV-xGIFNa7qZyrjWSjGAB1lb34xH4TCEE0WqPk7zruCm4Kr7MoeIgqn8/s400/grape+cross.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In South America, there are a number of "pecked" cross petroglyphs
situated in an apparently deliberate pattern. These are called
"pecked" because they have been hand-pecked or carved into stone. The
crosses themselves are of equal length lines that cross in the middle. The axis
of each cross points toward important centers of the pre-conquest Mesoamerican
culture of the area. The crosses represent the quadripartite (quartered)
division of the universe of the Mayan people. According to Anthony F. Aveni and
Horst Hartung in their paper "<a href="http://www.iai.spk-berlin.de/fileadmin/dokumentenbibliothek/Indiana/Indiana_6/IND_06_Aveni__Hartung.pdf" target="_blank">The Cross Petroglyph: An Ancient Mesoamerican Astronomical and Calendrical Symbol</a>,"
these crosses served both religious and scientific purposes. Most of these
crosses are carved into rock outside, with very few inside buildings or on
floors. Many of the crosses are sort of superimposed over circles, thought to
represent the cosmos, with the lines possibly being directional. More information on these artifacts can be found in the M. Nicholas Caretta and Achim Lelgemann paper entitled "<a href="https://www.unm.edu/~dap/nwm/Caretta-Lelgmann-2011.pdf" target="_blank">Cross Circles: A Case of Northern Mexico</a>."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My fence and the Mayan pecked crosses could not be more
different. Mine is temporary in the scheme of things, while the pecked crosses have
been around for a very long time. My fence will be decomposed and the grape
vines long gone before the Mayan crosses disappear.<br /><br />The pecked crosses served
the high purpose of understanding the universe, through both science and
religious ceremony. The Mayan people, like most tribal peoples, did not have a
separate idea of these things; rather, all of existence was inextricably woven
together. We built our fence to keep our Pomeranians in the yard, though it has
since become the grape trellis.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">When we decided to use the combination of old
wood and tree branches, we were thinking about aesthetics. We like the old
"farmhouse" look on our little quarter acre of desert oasis. So, I
think of the fence and the grape vine as something lovely that makes me happy.
Yet, here it is: a cross upon which grapes will grow. I find an interesting
symbolism in this. Jesus described himself as the vine. Wine represents
communion with him and with others who follow him. The new green leaves of the
grape vine and the tiny flowers that adorn it (though they can't be seen on the
picture) represent new life, as does the story of his resurrection after dying
upon a cross.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Why the cross as a sacred symbol? Not because Jesus died on
one - so did many thousands of others. In Christianity, it is not the cross itself that give believers hope; rather it is the emptiness of that cross that gives hope. The sacredness of the cross is not
unique to Christianity. Crosses have been sacred to religions across the ages including ancient Egyptian, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Norse traditions.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I have a theory about the universal archetype of the
cross. It's pretty simple and possibly crazy, but here goes:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>A cross is a
horizontal line crossed by a perpendicular line. The horizontal line represents
our lives here on earth - let us say, our path. The perpendicular line is the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_mundi" target="_blank">axis mundi</a> that Mircea Eliade wrote about in his classic text </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Profane-Nature-Religion/dp/015679201X" target="_blank">The Sacred and The Profane<i>:</i> The Nature of Religion</a><i> - the center of the sacred and the path to higher
consciousness/heaven/God/Goddess/whatever. We go along our path until something
happens to us that awakens us to the possibility of a higher state of being. It
calls us to sacrifice something. It could be painful, devastating loss, even death, or
it could simply be something challenging; whatever it is, we must give something up in order to grow.
That's the point at which sacrifice occurs, if we so choose.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">If we choose the way of sacrifice, we may go on in
our lives, walking the horizontal path, but our lives will never be the same.
We will be compelled to continue to seek the sacred, the high path, the center of our world.
This cannot be taken literally. This cannot be grasped and held on to. It is a
deep, usually subconscious awareness. We seek directions to the divine (or
higher consciousness, higher knowledge - it can be called many things). The
cross is, perhaps, the simplest map to finding it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">(c) April 2015 </span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-16417278463718012952015-02-11T14:09:00.003-08:002015-02-11T14:10:24.409-08:00Deeper Things<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Since we began meeting weekly, we’ve been a small handful; well, usually less than a handful, if I’m to be fully honest. We are a sincere handful, though! In fact, it is a joy to be able to speak so intimately with those who attend, and I find that including some discussion within my weekly message gives it unexpected life. It’s no wonder Jesus preferred to have his little band of friends and family sit with him to learn about the deeper things. And that is what I believe he taught. Deeper things. Metaphysical truths. How to become a more spiritual person. How to discover, through that spirituality, ways to bring God’s Love into the world. How to be Love in the midst of oppression, anger, fear, and hate. Indeed, how to be a Spiritual Warrior. For, I do think that Jesus was a Spiritual Warrior.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />For the past few weeks, we have been discussing ways to become Spiritual Warriors using Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as recorded in chapter 5 of the New Testament book of Matthew. Specifically, we have been centering on the list of blessing we call the “Beatitudes.” I call them the “Be Attitudes.” You see, one way that I find to interpret this list is as a list of attributes of a Spiritual Warrior. So far we’ve dealt with <a href="http://revsuzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2015/01/becoming-spiritual-warrior-2-st-brigid.html" target="_blank">“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.,”</a> <a href="http://revsuzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2015/02/becoming-spiritual-warrior-3-st-brigid.html" target="_blank">‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted..”</a> and“ <a href="http://revsuzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2015/02/becoming-spiritual-warrior-4-st-brigid.html" target="_blank">‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”</a> If you’re interested in what we had to say, just click on the links.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />This coming Sunday, February 15, we will be talking about “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” We’ll consider: what is righteousness? Who are those who hunger, who thirst for this?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />Feel free to join us at <a href="http://www.mesaaz.gov/parksrec/parks/pdf/RedMountainSiteMap.pdf" target="_blank">Red Mountain Park</a> in East Mesa. We meet at or near the Owl Ramada at 4:00 p.m. If you can’t make it Sunday, our discussion group meets on the first Monday of the month at the <a href="http://www.macayo.com/menu/search.php" target="_blank">Macayo’s </a>on Baseline and Dobson in Mesa at 6:30 p.m. Our next meeting will be on March 2. We’ll be discussing ideas and thoughts about belief in things greater than ourselves. How do you perceive the universe and the place of humans in that universe?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />Blessings to all!</span></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-57878626055453657282015-01-21T12:30:00.000-08:002015-02-08T07:56:16.593-08:00Lighting Brigid's Fire<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">St. Brigid in the Desert has started meeting as a church again. We're meeting weekly - which is an unexpected turn of events, really. It was in some ways a difficult decision, yet in another way it was the simplest decision of all. It took a long time to decide what to do. I knew the time was coming to light a little bit of <a href="http://www.goddessgift.com/goddess-myths/celtic-goddess-brigid.htm" target="_blank">Brigid's fire</a>, but in my overwhelmingly busy life, I couldn't see where I was being Called to go with it.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then, I started that whole journaling thing back up, an experience I wrote about in my <a href="http://suzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2014/12/friends-in-thin-places-looking-for.html" target="_blank">last blog</a>. I was poised to graduate from my unit of Certified Pastoral Education, and I began to allow myself a little more time opening to Spirit. Answers to my questions about what I needed to do next began to flow into my mind and settle into my heart.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">First, find a place to meet for a discussion group once a month. We'll be starting an open discussion on various topics at <a href="http://www.macayo.com/menu/search.php" target="_blank">Macayo's</a> in Mesa on Monday, February 9 at 6:30 p.m. The first thing we'll be discussing is whether or not we believe in "God," and if so, what we believe. There is no requirement to believe in anything - just a willingness to discuss our thoughts about things beyond our perception and to accept the thoughts of others.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Second, I knew St. Brigid needed to become more of a church than it has been in a long time. It weighed heavily on my heart, yet after I decided upon the place and date for our first discussion group, I knew what to do for the worship service. We met this past Sunday at <a href="http://www.mesaaz.gov/parksrec/Parks/RedMountain.aspx" target="_blank">Red Mountain Park</a> in Mesa. We will meet there every Sunday at 4:00 p.m. until we discover a better place. I found a nice spot at or near the Owl Ramada that is first come, first served. If we can meet under the ramada, we will do so. This past Sunday, I set up my table nearby and a handful of us met around it. We spent a little bit of time reviewing the history of St. Brigid in the Desert and the Universal Anglican Church. We prayed, I gave a message, and we shared Communion. The entire service can be read at my sermon site, <a href="http://revsuzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sermons from an Inter-Spiritual Priestess</a>. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Last week's message was about becoming <a href="http://revsuzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2015/01/becoming-spiritual-warriors-st-brigid.html" target="_blank">Spiritual Warriors</a>. One of the tools for doing so, I said, was to think for ourselves. It occurs to me that if only we thought for ourselves as we come into conversations with others, it might be easier to be ourselves all the time. Wouldn't it be easier to avoid hypocrisy if we worked toward being who we are and what we are called to be, instead of trying to be what someone else tells us we're supposed to be? This doesn't require that we drop everything we've been taught - it simply requires that we think about what we've been taught and how it applies in this great big wonderful pluralistic world we live in.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Right?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm such a <a href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/heretic" target="_blank">heretic</a>.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In honor of St. Brigid, here's a beautiful song to light a fire of inspiration, played by the 1999 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE400mgOCS1FfFruuOc01Fg" target="_blank">Hopkins Junior High String Orchestra</a> of Fremont, California.</span></i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/vp9NafTI-qs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-31903883158953836872014-11-26T15:45:00.001-08:002014-11-26T20:58:43.015-08:00So it’s Thanksgiving!<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When I was a child, this holiday meant coloring pictures of pilgrims and
“Indians.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It meant singing <a href="http://youtu.be/rkQS681AotU" target="_blank"><i>Over the River and Through the Wood</i>s</a>* at the top of my lungs with 25 other children. We heard stories of settlers,
Native Americans, and a hard, cold winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We were taught that the <a href="http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/thanksgiving.htm" target="_blank">First Thanksgiving</a> was a celebration of survival
in rough conditions, shared between aboriginal peoples and the first
Euro-Americans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We know now that this is
a candy-coated fairy tale, and the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-schiffman/the-thanksgiving-truth_b_1105181.html" target="_blank">true story</a> is not as beautiful as the common
table I envisioned when I was a little girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As the true history reveals itself, the arrival of Thanksgiving becomes
a time to challenge the status quo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
many, this day is a reminder of the cultural genocide that started with the
arrival of that first group of European settlers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For others, it is a time to put on blinders
and pretend the lovely little fairy tale is an accurate description of
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between these extremes,
Thanksgiving happens.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As time passed, Thanksgiving became a day to celebrate
family and our closest friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
many, it’s a time to celebrate football and food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For others, it’s a way to open the door on a
new season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what Thanksgiving
has come to mean to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a time for
family to gather, large or small, to break bread together and enjoy one another's
company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoy waking up early,
preparing the meal and watching the traditional <a href="http://www.nyctourist.com/macys_history1.htm" target="_blank">Thanksgiving Day Parade</a> on
television.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Santa passes on the
screen, the secular “<a href="http://suzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2014/11/christmas-cozy.html" target="_blank">Christmas Season</a>” is official for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like to watch <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It’s a Wonderful Life</i></a>, the original <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039628/" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Miracle on 34<sup>th</sup> Street</i></a>, or the George C. Scott version
of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087056/?ref_=nv_sr_3" target="_blank"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Christmas Carol</i></a>.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once into the season, I enjoy saturating myself with holiday
music, watching the cartoon specials I grew up with or watched with my children
as they grew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One year, I introduced them to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123179/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol</a> </i>(which I watched from the time I was about 4), and we have watched it ever since.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These
past few years, I have sometimes watched these shows alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The love that I feel and the energy that is released when I watch them makes
the time worthwhile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanksgiving is the
beginning of a season that fills me – and thousands of others – with joy.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I support those who choose to make this day a time of
remembrance for ancestors lost to cultural and real genocide; to blankets
infused with smallpox, forced movement across the country, and being corralled into
reservations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not blind to the
history of this day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not ignore the
truth, and will always acknowledge and educate whenever I have the opportunity.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the other hand, I wish to declare this day as something
new and separate from its history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
wish to declare this day a day of thankfulness for our own good things and the
good things we can find in our history and in our current times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not wish to deny the happenings of our
times; the racism, the sexism, the ageism, the hatred, the fear, and the frustrations
that are so clearly evident in current events. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not insist that we forget the dead children
of <a href="http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/us/ferguson-shooting-protests" target="_blank">Ferguson</a>, of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/24/us/boy-12-dies-after-being-shot-by-cleveland-police-officer.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Cleveland</a>, of <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/americans-have-witnessed-more-100-mass-shootings-2009" target="_blank">America</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
do not insist that we ignore the terrors of soldiers and civilians in the
<a href="http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-americas-new-war-middle-east/" target="_blank">Middle-East</a>, or of <a href="http://www.veteransandptsd.com/PTSD-statistics.html" target="_blank">veterans</a> shattered and lost in the system, or <a href="http://www.va.gov/homeless/" target="_blank">existing in the streets</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not ask that we turn
our backs on those who need, who hunger, or who mourn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I simply ask that in all the darkness, we
look for the light; for there <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i>
light.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is Light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
look for it and find it in the relationships I have with my family and my friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I find that Light I want to share
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I cannot march, I cannot give money,
I cannot pull individuals, cities, or societies out of their darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I can do is turn on my own light, and
with that find the great Light that I can share with others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can share it in my writing, in my actions,
in the way that I interact with others I touch along my path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet I cannot share it if I do not find
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To find it, I need the nourishment
of family, friends, and the coming season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>My body, my mind, my heart, and my soul are fed by the rituals of my
life.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanksgiving is one of these rituals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Allow me this, and I will have the strength
to shine the Light and to share the burdens of darkness with those who carry
it.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Thanksgiving!</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDCHrznMb6c6jbAClnFr8Ax9Tr9clvbE6qTB2W1V8zO3sGaX-dXGBhfrtV-R8dpZ5td0m4lBjQ4Kso0PDKX241vj0ewybnR-x4eEZZ1BnG2WlmJ2SCCNFtyExWqcgqKj_aha296Oa6sw/s1600/thanksgiving+greeting+card+old.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDCHrznMb6c6jbAClnFr8Ax9Tr9clvbE6qTB2W1V8zO3sGaX-dXGBhfrtV-R8dpZ5td0m4lBjQ4Kso0PDKX241vj0ewybnR-x4eEZZ1BnG2WlmJ2SCCNFtyExWqcgqKj_aha296Oa6sw/s1600/thanksgiving+greeting+card+old.jpg" height="640" width="392" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">*For an excellent history of this song, actually a poem called "A Boy's Thanksgiving Day" and its impressive author, <a href="http://youtu.be/nk-IaIvsSdY" target="_blank">Lydia Maria Child</a>, just click on her name! </span></span></div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-21965170861731591932014-10-14T10:35:00.001-07:002014-10-14T10:35:19.028-07:00The Buddhist Christian: Failing to Control that Which Will Not Be Controll...<a href="http://buddhist-christian.blogspot.com/2014/10/failing-to-control-that-which-will-not.html?spref=bl">The Buddhist Christian: Failing to Control that Which Will Not Be Controll...</a>: It seems I have a passion for dating myself with media and entertainment references lately, but I cannot help myself and so it continues. ...Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-47371414729749529582014-09-26T17:56:00.001-07:002014-11-22T14:54:09.342-08:00The Deepest Place<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve found it. That
place. You know, that place <a href="http://www.frederickbuechner.com/" target="_blank">Frederick Buechner </a>calls “<span class="st">the place where your deep gladness and the </span><i>world's</i><span class="st"> deep hunger </span><i>meet</i><span class="st">.” My place.
It’s been there all along, and I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to
find it.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">A few weeks ago I started my first unit of Clinical Pastoral
Education. CPE is a combination of
classroom learning and discussion and hands-on experience as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaplain" target="_blank">Chaplain </a>Intern
in a hospital setting. On one of my
early regular shifts, I knew. I only had
a couple of hours to work, so I went to one of my assigned floors to introduce
myself and see a couple of patients. Mine
are the baby floors. Labor and Delivery,
Ante-Partum, and Couplet Care, where the mommies and babies go before they
leave the hospital. Of course, when I’m
On Call, I am all over the hospital.
This day, though, with as little time as I had, I was on my own floors.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">That night, I found myself praying for a baby, born too
soon, and her mourning parents. I had
hardly left the room when I was paged by the On Call Chaplain to provide a
viewing of someone who had passed away for a loved one. One would think a night like that would send
a newcomer reeling, but instead I found myself rejuvenated, knowing I had been
given the chance to be with someone in their deepest hour of need.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Since that night, I’ve rejoiced with birth parents and
adoptive parents, prayed with adult children who have lost their parents, and
sat with people recovering from surgery, others preparing for surgery, and yet
others who would be out of the emergency room before the night was through.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">No matter what kind of day or night I have at the hospital,
I know that I will bring peace to at least one person. I give something, yet I take away so much
more.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The day I walked down the hall in the hospital, holding on
to my bright pink folder, and realized that I had come to the crux of my
spirituality, the trajectory of my life changed. The trajectory of my ministry became
clear. The clarity of this vision brings
a change to the mission of <a href="http://stbrigidinthedesert.homestead.com/" target="_blank">St. Brigid in the Desert</a>.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I will be spending some time in prayer as I discern where
St. Brigid will be heading. Certainly, I
will continue to offer Spiritual Direction and Life Celebration services. How I will approach this from the standpoint
of the church will reveal itself in time.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’d like to share with you a poem I wrote from my
experiences in chaplaincy so far. It is
as yet untitled.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve seen the pallid</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Face of death</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Eyes mere shadowed</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Memories of dreams;</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once imagined thought</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of what might have been</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve heard the screams</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of midlife child</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Unprepared for loss</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of reconciliation, door</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Closed for half a life</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Will never open now</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I’ve held the hand</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Of childless mother</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Once-filled womb now empty,</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And arms aching to hold, and</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tears shed for the</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Life that might have been</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">I, who lend my ear, my hand</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">My heart, pray</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Spirit brings peace</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When even I cannot</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Feel Her Presence</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In other rooms, beyond</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Newborns cry</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">And mothers shed</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Tears of joy and fear</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">For the fragile life</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Placed in their hands</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">New Hope</span></span></i></div>
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span></i>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">In the midst of sorrow</span></span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">© 18 September 2014</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
</span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Blessings to all of you as we enter into a new season.</span></span></div>
<br />
<br />Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-50888242108135083152014-08-26T16:44:00.000-07:002014-08-26T16:48:29.818-07:00Into Autumn<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">As the Wheel of the Year turns, so do the Wheels of our lives. The western world has lost many of the celebrations of special
milestones in our lives. Beyond birthdays, there are the times when we
reach a new phase in our life on earth. Each new phase brings the culmination of experiences, learning, and impact that we have on others and others on us. As we grow older, we gain insights and wisdom that can be of great value, not only only to ourselves, but also to others.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On September 13, I will be facilitating a <i>Sophia Ceremony</i>. This ritual and liturgy will center on one beautiful woman's attainment of an age of wisdom. In Wiccan traditions, this ceremony might be called a "Croning." This is a celebration of the value of a woman as she embraces the attainment of the status of Elder. It is a reflection on her spiritual path and growth; a recognition of what she has to offer the Universe during the next phase of her life. This private event is by invitation, hosted, organized, and planned by the individual to be honored with my guidance and assistance.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">On the tail of this special ceremony comes the Second Harvest at Autumn Equinox. The Wiccan name for this spoke on the Wheel is Mabon, named after a legendary Welsh character, Mabon ap Modron. Some call this the Harvest Home. It is a time of thanksgiving for and the sharing of the gifts of the earth given for our sustenance through the coming winter. According to some sources, ancient Autumn Equinox celebrations were replaced by the celebration of Michaelmas, the feast day of the Archangel Michael, which is traditionally on September 29.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">St. Brigid in the Desert will acknowledge the Mabon/Michaelmas holy days on Saturday, September 20th this year. Time and place will be announced once schedules have been synchronized. Watch for announcements here, on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StBrigidInTheDesert?ref=hl" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, and on the <a href="http://stbrigidinthedesert.homestead.com/" target="_blank">website</a>!</span></span></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SFitlWhi8DM0FAJXviA8qG7tuhBoOn2yi8DWYATk2KDIvxTAX226_xbvEVLtuQKrxl1d6_es0UfW5VktPMTlIAE5SUgoeTc2MVOvMK1SEmCI4Zw82HU9cY88tEmGfNO3ZzgIC2JrXI0/s1600/Sophia+Bruneel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0SFitlWhi8DM0FAJXviA8qG7tuhBoOn2yi8DWYATk2KDIvxTAX226_xbvEVLtuQKrxl1d6_es0UfW5VktPMTlIAE5SUgoeTc2MVOvMK1SEmCI4Zw82HU9cY88tEmGfNO3ZzgIC2JrXI0/s1600/Sophia+Bruneel.jpg" height="400" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dragonkin</i> by <a href="http://www.bywalterbruneel.com/" target="_blank">Walter Bruneel </a>- This piece speaks of Sophia to me.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-8688591616444075232014-08-18T16:25:00.001-07:002014-08-18T16:25:17.089-07:00The Buddhist Christian: Reconciling Laughter and Pain - the Legacy of Robi...<a href="http://buddhist-christian.blogspot.com/2014/08/reconciling-laughter-and-pain-legacy-of.html?spref=bl">The Buddhist Christian: Reconciling Laughter and Pain - the Legacy of Robi...</a>: The loss of Robin Williams to apparent suicide seems to have triggered a massive episode of cognitive dissonance in America. Those who eithe...Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-52276154252123419712014-08-03T19:15:00.000-07:002014-08-03T19:20:00.420-07:00Bread for Lammas<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Bread baked for Lammas. Sadly, I admit to cheating. It was a Martha White package of a kind of coffee cake drop biscuits. Tasted good, though. Some crumbs given to the ancestors and the Old Ones. An offering of grain back to the earth. I hope next year to bake real bread. No corn dollies this year, either. Still, as I crumble bread beneath the tree, I say a prayer for all that there will be good harvests in all the areas of your lives this year!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xmLoVn-r0RITBruf-fLxZ4Gjj9DEsFqjyE932O5jmdNHDPzPcp0xzBHzBPDAyeWmOQUNlAoIvigbVFbECpalEUbbQLDo6WBKPi8fwTuIHfXBSk_lpgyyi1GGzkcVpcsUiVtAm5XCD9A/s1600/0803140637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0xmLoVn-r0RITBruf-fLxZ4Gjj9DEsFqjyE932O5jmdNHDPzPcp0xzBHzBPDAyeWmOQUNlAoIvigbVFbECpalEUbbQLDo6WBKPi8fwTuIHfXBSk_lpgyyi1GGzkcVpcsUiVtAm5XCD9A/s1600/0803140637.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-42283240002388257092014-08-01T09:12:00.001-07:002014-08-02T20:22:05.073-07:00Blessed Lammas!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Being Inter-Spiritual has the benefit of many celebrations. This weekend is one of them. Smile, the Wheel is turning! The River of God is flowing!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Blessed Lammas! Lammas is a festival celebrating the first fruits of harvest, the fruits of our labours, and seeing the desires that we had at the start of the year unfold. It's a time for bread-making and corn-dollies. This time brings memories of making corn-dollies with my children and friends during our Wiccan days, wrapping corn husks for bodies, tying knots, and smoothing soft corn-silk hair. Thinking of the things we hoped for at the last Samhain, the beginning of the cycle, and reinforced at the calendar New Year, we fashioned corn-people made of our dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Lammas is an early Christian festival, "lammas" means loaf mass and represented the first loaves baked from that years crop. These were taken to church and laid on the altar. For Pagans, this day might also be called Lughnasadh, and be commemorated as a feast day for the God Lugh, sacrificed when the grain ripened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Goddesses celebrated around this time include Demeter and Ceres. Trees associated with Lammas are Hazel and Gorse and herbs are Sage and Meadowsweet. Colors associated with lammas are golds, yellows and orange for the God and red for the Goddess as mother. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">From website <a href="http://www.thewhitegoddess.co.uk/the_wheel_of_the_year/lammas.asp" target="_blank">The White Goddess</a>)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">There are a few saints who have feast days around this time as well. In the Antiochian Orthodox tradition, August 5th is the feast day of <a href="http://www.antiochian.org/node/19290" target="_blank">St. Nonna, the mother of Gregory the Theologian</a>. She is remembered as a model wife and mother, yet also as a strong woman who lived a life for God and for others without neglecting her other obligations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Due to schedules and the like, we are not having a gathering this weekend; however, there may be bread-making shenanigans before the end of the weekend. Anyone connected to St. Brigid in the Desert is encouraged to bake away, and share your offerings here!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;">St. Brigid is an Inter-Spiritual House Church without walls! Anyone who feels a connection to what we are doing here is a part of the virtual St. Brigid in the Desert. Baking bread? Celebrating the gathering of the grains? Brewing beer? Share photos! Blessed Be, my friends!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Mn-v3rbipDij5qpTRR2Kwz7_Jk2o56whjxzDZVRBdOjO0HB1-dIsRWuACWLJmHnqz3PwAOZjTdVh0I0YEYedzqGvWMG46p7CrtlIyiuRZFQf4jGwABFOctivAhYw7565drfFacZ_B1E/s1600/2012+46+Corn+Dolly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Mn-v3rbipDij5qpTRR2Kwz7_Jk2o56whjxzDZVRBdOjO0HB1-dIsRWuACWLJmHnqz3PwAOZjTdVh0I0YEYedzqGvWMG46p7CrtlIyiuRZFQf4jGwABFOctivAhYw7565drfFacZ_B1E/s1600/2012+46+Corn+Dolly.jpg" height="400" width="317" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from: <b><a href="http://witchfire02.blogspot.com/2012/08/lammas-and-corn-moon.html" target="_blank">Book of Mirrors</a></b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-3044925032965845912014-06-29T23:10:00.000-07:002014-06-29T23:11:41.607-07:00Celebrating Summer Solstice & St. John the Baptist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeU_ks5FK_5Lxjptn8d2riurNfCCWAaI8EfX0dJW2pds8W6WmM6jrr7-Wa1nTN2xJp4X7dRrIMzgUzV-VIH3iH81TX8dJJzFkLRW2xLfBEYrx83dhEC2JLvSFa7D3ZEJtFkofRZCicz8/s1600/0622141411.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMeU_ks5FK_5Lxjptn8d2riurNfCCWAaI8EfX0dJW2pds8W6WmM6jrr7-Wa1nTN2xJp4X7dRrIMzgUzV-VIH3iH81TX8dJJzFkLRW2xLfBEYrx83dhEC2JLvSFa7D3ZEJtFkofRZCicz8/s1600/0622141411.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It was a hot day in the desert when our small group gathered to celebrate the turn of the season from “spring” to “summer.” The day after the astronomical solstice, we came together to celebrate the first day of summer and to honor St. John the Baptist, whose Feast Day is on June 24th. For the first time, we went into the city of Phoenix to meet at a park that was about half way between the park we usually gather at and Betsy, whose birthday we would be celebrating.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some call the Summer Solstice “<a href="http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/lithathesummersolstice/a/AllAboutLitha.htm" target="_blank">Litha</a>,” which is the Celtic name for it. After June 21st, the sun begins to turn away, taking with it a promise for a great harvest when Autumn arrives. Just as John the Baptist promised the arrival of the Savior, so Summer Solstice promises the arrival of sustenance. Summer is a gestational time, when we become quieter and more contemplative as we stay in our air conditioned places considering the purpose of our lives.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://archive.azcentral.com/thingstodo/venues/Los_Olivos_Park_897293606676" target="_blank">Los Olivos Park</a> had once been the preferred festival grounds for events by PAN (Pagan Arizona Network). A grove of olive trees stands on the park grounds. The grove makes it the perfect place for many groups to gather. Now, however, there is also a Frisbee court set out across the park, with poles and chains to catch the flying saucer situated nearby. We shared the park with Frisbee throwers, who walked by us chatting, glancing at the altar. At one end of the park, people played catch with their dogs while at the other end children played on the playground. There we were, at the center, calling upon the Ancestors and the Angels for protection and partnership.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">After the worship and prayers, there was feasting and laughter. Some of those who we have seen at St. Brigid events were not there. They were missed, though we had a couple of “new” faces. If you would like to read the liturgy for this service, you will find it posted on Pastor Suzy’s <a href="http://revsuzyjacobsoncherry.blogspot.com/2014/06/summer-solsticest-john-baptist-inter.html" target="_blank">sermon website</a>. More pictures can be seen on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/StBrigidInTheDesert?ref=hl" target="_blank">St. Brigid in the Desert Facebook page</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">St. Brigid in the Desert is a small house parish of the Universal Anglican Church. We regularly gather at the turn of the seasons, eight times per year, as well as for special occasions. Everyone is welcome to St. Brigid events. Please visit our <a href="http://stbrigidinthedesert.homestead.com/" target="_blank">website</a> for more information.</span><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-67326738022627596892014-05-16T17:33:00.002-07:002014-05-16T21:42:04.465-07:00OMG: Social Media Sites are Places to Be Social!<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">Recently, a Facebook friend commented “OMG” on my Facebook status. This friend is a person I know in “real life,” so I can say that he is an intellectual; a well traveled college professor and one of the authors of “<a href="http://johnpaddison.wix.com/paddisonpublishing" target="_blank">The Brothers Keepers</a>.” He doesn’t comment often, nor does he post often. In fact, his last actual post was a full month before he posted an uncharacteristic “OMG” on my status. The status I wrote was this: “Sweeping and straightening out this office in between playing on the computer. I've got a blog bubbling in my head. Dinner will be easy tonight - nuthin' but chili mac. Tomorrow, I get to have lunch with my friend. I'm looking forward to it.” His “OMG” was unlike anything I would expect from him, so I was compelled to go to his page to see if there was a clue to why he would respond like that. Following the link to his page, I came across a discussion on about the purpose of social networks. His last post was simple: “Ross article entitled "<a href="http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/88033123/social-media-narcissistic-meaning-construction" target="_blank">Social Media: Narcissistic Meaning Construction</a>" . . . Postito ergo sum.” (I believe the intent of the Latin phrase was “I post, therefore I am,” although I believe it actually translates to something like, “I change, therefore I am.” Both are true, methinks). Someone else posted a link to a psychological study called “<a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21280967" target="_blank">A two-process view of Facebook use and relatedness need-satisfaction: disconnection drives use, and connection rewards it</a>.”</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">I went to Google to look up these articles. I found the abstracts to both easily, and have linked to them here. Just click on the titles to read them. The abstract for the Ross article wraps up by stating that “According to the author though the social networking website Facebook provides learning experiences, it is more of a personal scrapbook as people keep posting their photographs and the final outcome of using Facebook is sensory pleasure due to gossip, <i>which doesn't improve one's quality of life</i>.” (Italics mine). My post above falls right into this particular theory, I suppose. Who really cares what I’m doing in a particular moment? Does anyone else really want to see photos of my family at various times of our lives? Yet, who is to say that “sensory pleasure due to gossip” doesn’t improve someone’s quality of life?</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">The second abstract asks the question, “Does using Facebook help people to meet their relatedness needs?” Somehow, I don’t think they needed a study to answer it. Of course it does. That is the whole point of SOCIAL networking, isn’t it? Of course, I’m not an expert. I do, however, have my own ideas about this.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">Sure, there is a sensory pleasure inherent in sharing our lives with others and having them respond to our contributions. Human beings are social creatures; we need to connect with one another. In a status on his Facebook page, Dr. Paddison asks, “Does anyone else think that Facebook is really a forum for one to affirm one's existence in the Transcendental?” My answer is yes, it is. We need our existence to be verified, both in this world and in the one we cannot see. There is nothing wrong with seeking this verification in the virtual world. In fact, for many of us, this is the only place we can find the connection to others that we seek on a personal level.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">In the past, people found this connection in the material world much more often than we do today. Since the industrial revolution human beings have been more and more disconnected from one another. This disconnect was further implemented by the invention of the automobile. The sense of freedom that motorized transportation has brought is coupled with the ability to move further away from the nuclear family and childhood friendships. Non-agricultural industry, while bringing larger groups of people together, had the effect of breaking down the sense of community that was once prevalent. I believe these two developments have worked together to create a common sense of aloneness in individuals.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">In the past, people found community in common needs and the pursuits of daily survival. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barn_raising" target="_blank">Barn raisings</a>,<a href="http://lacrossetribune.com/news/local/larry-olson-community-threshing-was-a-thrilling-time/article_ff515e9e-904b-11de-b8ca-001cc4c03286.html" target="_blank"> threshing bees</a>, <a href="http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-quilting-bee.htm" target="_blank">quilting bees</a>, church suppers – all of these were reasons for the community to gather socially in a more agriculturally oriented United States. In the towns, while men gathered at barber shops and pubs, women often met with their neighbors to have coffee and conversation while watching over small children. This is not to say that there wasn’t the occasional loner, hermit, misfit, or other individual who found themselves disconnected from the society that thrived around them. There have always been individuals and families who lived far from civilization. Sometimes, the social gatherings occurred only annually, looked forward to for months in advance. Yet, even this anticipation created a connection to those with whom one would meet during these events.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">We don’t work together in the way families once did. Farm families of the past worked the land together, they ate together, they gathered with their community together. In the past, children walked to school together, played together, worked together to create events like holiday plays, graduation recitations, and annual picnics.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">In a more ancient past for most of us and a more recent past for Native Americans and other indigenous peoples, entire communities gathered regularly for hunting and gathering, worship, healing, cooking, and eating.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">I don’t reflect on these things to idolize the past nor to denigrate the present. My purpose is to point out that because, for the most part, we no longer do these things, social media meets a need that is no longer met in the way it once was. After the industrial revolution, before labor unions made their mark and labor laws were passed, those who worked long hours in factories were likely the first to suffer from the kind of disconnect that I think many of us experience today. We are separated from those we love for many long hours in transit and at work. We cannot make the same kind of connections with co-workers today that we would have made with the neighbors with whom we planted crops and shared meals on a regular basis. The work environment is too competitive, too impersonal, for us to allow ourselves true friendship and community. Those of us who have let our guard down in that arena have often suffered for it, finding those we trust to be competitors in a game we didn’t know we were playing.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">Children may walk to school together, play together on the playground, and sit in class and learn together, but for many, after-school playtime is a thing of the past. It is partially the fault of the fascination with all things electronic. However, I believe it is also a result of a disconnection from our neighbors and the distrust parents have for strangers. Too many bad things have happened to children. We don’t know the people who live around us. How can we allow our children to go out, explore life, and connect with others without our supervision – something we no longer have time for?</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">We are disconnected in the physical world. Though we may be connected on a spiritual or <a href="http://youtu.be/XGK84Poeynk" target="_blank">quantum</a> level, we don’t know each other in the material world. We become lonely in the midst of the crowd. We seek companionship, friendship, community. We seek approval on a personal level. Some still find it in their churches or other places of worship. Some find it in the traditional places, like common interest clubs or, if they are lucky, in workplaces or schools where trust and interdependence is encouraged. However, many do not find it in any of these places. So, they seek it elsewhere, and they find it in social media.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">Is social media like Facebook a place for scrapbooking and gossip? Of course it is. These are the kinds of conversations people once had at the barber shop and the beauty parlor. Sharing personal and family events at annual festivals and church suppers were once commonplace. In ancient times, sitting around the fire discussing the day’s hunt and the development of the children must have been integral ways of connecting. As users of social media, does “disconnection drive use, and connection reward it,” as the authors of the psychological study referenced above state? Of course it does.</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">I didn’t need a study to tell me this, did you?</span></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;">Is there something wrong with that?</span></span>
</span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mCeUILbbcwn48lWpit6PStTqN5N6FGgWIe4mQ7nf4Yk9O9BWnVXU-VK9oWLwT-cr0ZBN92naJijbEqY0NqrxSfHGEqdTkPaBo9isZoYr4aHA8qYBzdaM05dzabD8Ce_sEpIJYv_c-sM/s1600/the-quilting-bee+by+grandma+moses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: large;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_mCeUILbbcwn48lWpit6PStTqN5N6FGgWIe4mQ7nf4Yk9O9BWnVXU-VK9oWLwT-cr0ZBN92naJijbEqY0NqrxSfHGEqdTkPaBo9isZoYr4aHA8qYBzdaM05dzabD8Ce_sEpIJYv_c-sM/s1600/the-quilting-bee+by+grandma+moses.jpg" height="287" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large; font-weight: normal; line-height: 24px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">"The Quilting Bee" by<a href="http://www.gseart.com/Artists-Gallery/Moses-Anna-Mary-Robertson-Grandma/Moses-Anna-Mary-Robertson-Grandma-Biography.php" target="_blank"> Grandma Moses</a></span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><br /></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>*FOLLOWUP NOTE: <i> The "OMG" message from Dr. Paddison was intended for someone else. That's okay...it led to my discovery of the abstracts and posts that got me thinking...</i></b></div>
</div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-6846068172305743202014-04-20T09:27:00.000-07:002014-04-20T09:30:58.368-07:00Breaking the Mold<span style="font-size: large;">Each year, thousands of people give something up for Lent. Traditionally, a devout Christian would make a token sacrifice to commemorate the time Jesus spent in the desert before entering Jerusalem. By the Twentieth Century, most Protestant denominations had relinquished the practice. Many Catholics saw Lent as a time one gave up red meat one day of the week, eating fish on Friday, Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. While these meatless days are yet a practice of Lent, the depth of meaning behind the original purpose has been lost for many. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Somewhere along the line, some mainline Protestants rediscovered Lent. They have taken the time from Ash Wednesday to Easter to make a “sacrifice” and take time to reflect on their lives. There are some who take Lent very seriously. These devout believers consider whatever they have given up to be a true sacrifice and the 40 days of Lent to be a time of internal reflection and reassessment of values. However, for many Christians, Catholic and Protestant alike, it seems as though the “giving up” for Lent is a chance to relinquish things that have been hard to give up otherwise. For instance, someone might give up soda, coffee, or perhaps sugar. These are things people choose to “give up” because they have wanted to give them up but have little willpower. They need the impetus of Lent to give them strength to do so. I am certain that I’ve been guilty of this myself. Is this sacrifice? Or is this self-serving?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I never considered giving something up for Lent this year. When I realized this, I couldn’t exactly figure out why. It occurred to me that I couldn’t think of anything to give up. What could I give up that would constitute sacrifice? What did I have that could be a real gift to God? More importantly, perhaps, what was I willing to give up that would be a fitting reflection of the life of Christ? There was nothing. Nothing that I was willing to give from my life was equal to the kind of sacrifice Jesus made during his 40 days in the desert. Nothing I was able to give was even a faint reflection of the sacrifice he made because he lived a life of true love.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s funny how you can be thinking about one thing and then suddenly realize you’ve moved on to something that seems to be totally unrelated. At some point in my reflections, I shifted from considering the nature of Lenten “sacrifice” to what was happening with St. Brigid in the Desert. I had begun to think that in order for St. Brigid to become a “real” church, I should find a way to meet every Sunday, bring people to a place where we had regular weekly worship. Oh, the liturgy would be unique, but it would be more like what people expect “church” to be. I had no idea how I could swing a place to meet like that. Our house isn’t appropriate and very few existing Christian churches would be willing to even rent space to a church with UAC values, let alone donate that space. I certainly don’t have the funds to put up rent anyway. These plodding thoughts were bringing me down. They were stressing me out. How can I be a priest/pastor/whatever-you-call-it if I don’t have an actual church to go to every week? When would I find time to do all this? I was beginning to feel inadequate. I was failing God. I was failing the good clergy of the UAC who took me in, flew me to Milwaukee, and lovingly ordained me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">These thoughts went on for days – maybe weeks – and then I read a comment by poet <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rose-Aiello-Morales/e/B00BXMTG5O" target="_blank">Rose Aiello Morales</a>. "Spring is the best time to break stagnant molds,” she wrote. This simple thought brought all my crazies squealing to a halt! It seems so non sequitur, I know. I can’t tell you how it follows; I can only say that it does. I realized that I had never been called to be a “regular” pastor of a “regular” church! Wasn’t it, after all, a call to be a new kind of church, the kind where the lines are fuzzy, where Wiccans who love Jesus and Christians who love the Goddess can mingle and find hope? Isn’t it, after all, a call to break through boundaries and provide Life Event Celebrations and Rites for those who straddle traditional boundaries? Wasn’t the plan to have worship celebrations in conjunction with the Celtic Wheel of the Year and to serve in different ways as Spirit led?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Why yes! Yes it was! I had taken what can only be described as a unique, joy-filled, Spirit-led, creative call from the Divine to be someone who has hardly existed before and turned it into an unimaginative chore. I had become that nasty lime gelatin with clumps of shredded carrot poured into a fish shaped mold that people bring to church basement potlucks. Well, time to break that mold! It was time for me to remember what God has called me to be and re-mold myself into that person – into that priest. What better time than Lent to let go of the old ideas that were stuck to me like barnacles on an old whale? What better time to remember that Jesus told his disciples to “make disciples,” not to “make Christians?” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In the past few days, I have been inspired by two very different Christian leaders. Just yesterday, Christian/Buddhist priest <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Fr.Scott.lc?fref=ts" target="_blank">Fr. Scott Elliot</a> of<a href="http://www.newseedspriory.org/" target="_blank"> New Seeds Priory</a>, wrote on Facebook, "I didn't become a priest so I could have an executive salary and a professional status; I became a priest so I could learn humility, service, and vulnerability; and to share with others what I learn on the way." This morning, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lorenza.andradesmith?fref=ts" target="_blank">Rev. Lorenza Andrade Smith</a>, a <a href="http://unitedmethodistreporter.com/2013/01/04/notable-um-newsmaker-of-2012-lorenza-andrade-smith/" target="_blank">news making United Methodist pastor </a>who chose to be appointed to live and minister among the homeless for a number of years writes, “I pray we continuously seek to be empowered by the resurrection of Jesus in a way that lures us -- and even breaks through that temperate and often doubtful resistance of ours --to live into the hope of transformative peace, justice and love for ourselves and our neighbors.” </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">As Easter dawns, and thousands shout “He is Risen! He is Risen INDEED!” my heart rises anew. Resurrection has many meanings, and for me, this Lenten season has been a time of dying to old ideas about what it is to a priest of God and even what it means to be “church.” It has been a time for ideas that have been small seeds within me to sprout anew, to begin to take hold. In those seeds are the sprouts of history. In those seeds are the sparks of new life and the very essence of All That Is.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Many years ago, <a href="http://www.starhawk.org/" target="_blank">Starhawk</a> wrote, “In the Craft, we do not believe in the Goddess — we connect with her; through the moon, the stars, the ocean, the earth, through trees, animals, through other human beings, through ourselves. She is here. She is within us all.”*</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Indeed, God/Goddess is not something to “believe in.” The Divine is that which creates us, connects us, inspires us. What<i> is</i> something to believe in is a way of living, a way of giving, and a way of loving. This Lenten season, I have begun to understand what that means to me. As this Easter dawns, I witness a new birth within myself. I am becoming a person who no longer fears breaking the old molds and becoming something new.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So Be It!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">*<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Spiral-Dance-Religion-Anniversary/dp/0062516329/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1398010756&sr=8-1&keywords=the+spiral+dance" target="_blank">The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess,</a>1979.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4970866537867378020.post-80122635200678765732014-03-23T22:35:00.002-07:002014-03-23T22:39:11.531-07:00Coffee Service<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie27CJvGVBlV3DepHzAYC9TDvptS__-L9w25SLWL61bTXdUskeydIRrRsD9xJNdx2tVsltR45Bbs7Gt8Eo1IVEMqJQpaA8mcfk7vloEn48GzNFH1rFqht1lSMq7RDjApLCnqP2wHwKgOI/s1600/Coffee+Heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie27CJvGVBlV3DepHzAYC9TDvptS__-L9w25SLWL61bTXdUskeydIRrRsD9xJNdx2tVsltR45Bbs7Gt8Eo1IVEMqJQpaA8mcfk7vloEn48GzNFH1rFqht1lSMq7RDjApLCnqP2wHwKgOI/s1600/Coffee+Heart.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">God is an entity encompassing all. Breath, living, breathing…Being itself. Does this kind of God require offering and
sacrifice? I don’t think the God Who is
All That Is; the God “I Am” requires such things. We humans imagine manifestations of Being;
gods who represent the best qualities we can imagine for a God Who is beyond
our understanding. These gods become our
focus for worship, our means of understanding the physical world we observe and
the spiritual realm we sense around us. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Once in awhile a person comes along who reflects the very
best we can imagine in a god or in a human being. These people become more than role models –
they become reflections of Being. These
humans are said to have attained a state of perfection, enlightenment, or even
godhood. Many people see this reflection
in the person of Jesus, who is believed to have attained Christhood and
resurrection after death. Others find
this reflection of Ultimate Being in Siddhartha, who is understood to have
reached enlightenment and Buddhahood.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There are many other facets of the Divine. Some are found in the faces of the many gods and
goddesses of the Hindus, who each reflect certain aspects of the best or the
most powerful that we can become. The
same might be said for the Orisha of Yoruba, Santeria and related religions, or
the Loa of Vodou. These and many more
glorious manifestations of our expectations of the Divine are prayed to, prayed
with, conferred with, and served in many ways. Humans have long imagined that these beings
have craved sacrifice and offerings to appease them or even to coax them into
providing favors to us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">God doesn’t require the kinds of sacrifices and offerings
that humans have historically felt the need to give. These things – burnt meat, fruits, or
vegetables, flowers on an altar, incense waved around a room, lives given up or
lived in misery “for the love of God” – these things are not what God
requires. We do these things for
ourselves. What God requires is
service. Service given from open hands
and open hearts without the desire for something in return is like a secret
window looking into the house of God. This
is clear from the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, the Hebrew prophets, Mohammed,
and even Lao Tzu and Confucius. I don’t
mean to say that sacrifice is never necessary.
Often, in order to serve, sacrifice is necessary. However, it is not the sacrifice, but the
service that matters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What does it mean to serve?
How do we serve? Who do we
serve? When do we serve? I believe that to serve is to live a
compassionate life. It is to live in
Love. By living compassionately, one
gives of oneself to others. In giving to
others, one becomes a healthy, vital portion of the all encompassing entity
that is God. For most of us, I think the
idea of service has somehow become separate from the rest of our lives. Just as we often find it difficult to find
money to give, we find it difficult to find time to serve. Yet, this should not be. In fact, today I discovered that it is not
true at all.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">While I am a parish
priest, in order to make ends meet, I must work what we lovingly call a “day
job.” Working as I do on the telephone,
selling a product, I have been wondering how I can possibly be serving God
while doing this. After all, it’s a full
time job, I’m tired when I get home, and once I’m home there are household tasks
to be done. For a long time, I have
belabored my inability to give of my time and my money. I only seem to be able to eke out a living and
a little time for ministry. So, when do
I serve? How do I serve? What do I sacrifice in order to serve?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I’ve thought perhaps my service is in the words I speak to
some of those with whom I interact on the phone, who often talk to me about much more
than their need for the product I sell.
Perhaps it is true that there is ministry in discussing kindness and
suffering, loss and joy with people from across the country. Indeed, there are many times during my work days when I know I have touched the spirit of a hurting person and both of us have come away better for our conversation. However, the real service I find myself
providing is much closer to home.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It’s all about the coffee.
You see, at my job we are provided free coffee, tea, and cocoa in the
break room (I know, we’re fortunate!)
When I get to work, I put my purse away, take out my notebook and pens,
set up my phone, and sign in to my computer.
Then I grab my coffee cup and head to the break room. Where I usually find two quarter-pots of
coffee, two empty pots, and a scattering of sugar and creamer on the
counter. Each day, I get my cup of
coffee, pour the coffee together into one pot, switch on the warmers, and make
two more pots of fresh coffee. I clean
the counters and set two filters with a packet of coffee in each one on top of
the coffee machine. If I have time, I’ll
make one more pot so there are close to four pots when I head in to work. In the end, all I have sacrificed is a bit of
my free time, and I’ve provided a little caffeinated sustenance to many of my
coworkers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I do this because it needs to be done. I am not, by far, the only one who makes
coffee. There are perhaps five or six of
us who do this throughout the day. Yet
it seems like every time I head into the break room, it needs to be done
again. For the longest time I joked that
I did it because the food service business was bred into me. “You can take the waitress out of the
kitchen,” I would laugh, “But you can’t take the kitchen out of the
waitress.” I make coffee because that’s
what peons do. That’s what I thought,
anyway. Until today. Today, as I finished setting up the third pot
to brew and began to wipe down the counter, setting the creamer and sugar
containers straight, I had a revelation about coffee. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Coffee is a daily service that I can provide. Each time I make the coffee for my coworkers,
I am serving them. I am feeding
them. Service need not be fancy,
long-suffering, or expensive. It need
not be far away, late into the night, or in dangerous places.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Of course, I have dreams of serving more fully as a parish
priest, minister, and spiritual director as St. Brigid grows. There are factors that must come together
before the dream can come into full fruition.
In the meantime, I just make coffee.
It’s what I do. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What do you do?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<h2 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0.83em 0px; text-align: center;">
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 9.95pt 0in;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems_poets/poem_detail.aspx?ID=383484"><span style="color: windowtext; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">In the Coffee Cup</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A
morning looking in a coffee cup,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My
soul is asking questions of the heart,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As
destiny reveals itself in art,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Should
inquiry find truth in crumpled dreams,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
bring the eye to look so gently up,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
heart must be ready to flow soul streams.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin: 12pt 0in;">
<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-Jemmy
Farmer<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 12pt 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>from: <u><a href="http://www.poetrysoup.com/poems_poets/poem_detail.aspx?ID=383484" target="_blank">Poetrysoup</a></u></i></span></div>
</h2>
<div>
<br /></div>
Suzy Jacobson Cherryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12165602107275019824noreply@blogger.com0