A Prayer for Spring

"Help Me to Believe in Beginnings" by Ted Loder from his book Guerrillas of Grace; Prayers for the Battle

God of history and of my heart,
so much has happened to me during these whirlwind days:
I’ve known death and birth;
I’ve been brave and scared;
I’ve hurt, I’ve helped;
I’ve been honest, I’ve lied;
I’ve destroyed, I’ve created;
I’ve been with people, I’ve been lonely;
I’ve been loyal, I’ve betrayed;
I’ve decided, I’ve waffled;
I’ve laughed and I’ve cried.
You know my frail heart and my frayed history -
and now another day begins.

O God, help me to believe in beginnings
and in my beginning again,
no matter how often I’ve failed before.

Help me to make beginnings:
to begin going out of my weary mind
into fresh dreams,
daring to make my own bold tracks
in the land of now;
to begin forgiving
that I may experience mercy;
to begin questioning the unquestionable
that I may know truth
to begin disciplining
that I may create beauty;
to begin sacrificing
that I may make peace;
to begin loving
that I may realize joy.

Help me to be a beginning to others,
to be a singer to the songless,
a storyteller to the aimless,
a befriender of the friendless;
to become a beginning of hope for the despairing,
of assurance for the doubting,
of reconciliation for the divided;
to become a beginning of freedom for the oppressed,
of comfort for the sorrowing,
of friendship for the forgotten;
to become a beginning of beauty for the forlorn,
of sweetness for the soured,
of gentleness for the angry,
of wholeness for the broken,
of peace for the frightened and violent of the earth.

Help me to believe in beginnings,
to make a beginning,
to be a beginning,
so that I may not just grow old,
but grow new
each day of this wild, amazing life
you call me to live
with the passion of Jesus Christ.

The Intersection of Love and Social Justice

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

Luther and I have been working with Harvard students and the Harvard Chaplains over the past few months to plan an event in remembrance of Martin Luther King Jr. The event is scheduled to fall this year on Friday, April 4 - the anniversary of King’s assassination in Memphis.

Between planning for this, and the fast approaching of Valentine’s Day, I’ve been reminded of something I read by King regarding the intersection of love and social justice. This February 1957 article ‘Nonviolence and Racial Justice’ written by King was sent to me by a friend this fall. I’d like to share a section of it, entitled ‘The Meaning of Love,’ here:

“In speaking of love at this point, we are not referring to some sentimental emotion. It would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense. ‘Love’ in this connection means understanding good will. There are three words for love in the Greek New Testament. First, there is eros. In Platonic philosophy eros meant the yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine. It has come now to mean a sort of aesthetic or romantic love. Second, there is philia. It meant intimate affectionateness between friends. Philia denotes a sort of reciprocal love: the person loves because he is loved. When we speak of loving those who oppose us we refer to neither eros nor philia; we speak of a love which is expressed in the Greek word agape. Agape means nothing sentimental or basically affectionate; it means understanding, redeeming good will for all men, an overflowing love which seeks nothing in return. It is the love of God working in the lives of men. When we love on the agape level we love men not because we like them, not because their attitudes and ways appeal to us, but because God loves them. Here we rise to the position of loving the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed he does.

“Finally, the method of nonviolence is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice. It is this deep faith in the future that causes the nonviolent resister to accept suffering without retaliation. He knows that in his struggle for justice he has cosmic companionship. This belief that God is on the side of truth and justice comes down to us from the long tradition of our Christian faith. There is something at the very center of our faith which reminds us that Good Friday may reign for a day, but ultimately it must give way to the triumphant beat of the Easter drums. Evil may so shape events that Caesar will occupy a palace and Christ a cross, but one day that same Christ will rise up and split history into A.D. and B.C., so that even the life of Caesar must be dated by his name. So in Montgomery we can walk and never get weary, because we know that there will be a great camp meeting in the promised land of freedom and justice.

“This, in brief, is the method of nonviolent resistance. It is a method that challenges all people struggling for justice and freedom. God grant that we wage the struggle with dignity and discipline. May all who suffer oppression in this world reject the self-defeating method of retaliatory violence and choose the method that seeks to redeem. Through using this method wisely and courageously we will emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man's inhumanity to man into the bright daybreak of freedom and justice.”

A Poem on Thanksgiving

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

This week I want to share a short poem about gratitude attributed to the mystic Rumi. May it help you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, wherever you are!

Thanksgiving is sweeter than bounty itself.
One who cherishes gratitude does not cling to the gift!
Thanksgiving is the true meat of God’s bounty;
the bounty is its shell,
For thanksgiving carries you to the hearth of the Beloved.
Abundance alone brings heedlessness,
thanksgiving gives birth to alertness…
The bounty of thanksgiving will satisfy and elevate you,
and you will bestow a hundred bounties in return.
Eat your fill of God’s delicacies,
and you will be freed from hunger and begging.

- Rumi

Discerning What to Discern

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

My blog post today will be full of half-thoughts, I can already tell. So please bear with me.

My community members and I were talking last night about discernment - about finding a balance between things one likes/is good at and the opportunities one has to actively seek help and create justice in the world.

This is something I've struggled with a lot; and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I've frequently heard advice from people I trust and admire about making your vocation the intersection of what you enjoy doing and where your skills are. And I do think there is a lot of truth in that. But my fear is: will this intersection for me be "enough"? Will it lead me to a career that serves and is fulfilling to anyone but myself? So I hesitate.

I don't want to go too far towards the other end either; to focus too hard on jobs with "maximum impact" and end up unhappy and bitter because it isn't something I have the skills or the passion for. And how could that type of person be the best one for the job at that point - wouldn't I end up doing a disservice to whatever cause or injustice I'm trying to serve by placing myself in that position? Again, I hesitate. 

So here I sit with a half-finished post, ending, once again, without a solid answer or solution. I don't know the secret to finding this balance between doing something one is good at and something that accomplishes more than making one's self content. I haven't even figured out what that will mean for myself yet. But I most certainly will write on this again, especially when I approach the end of my service year here and these questions become more pressing. And I welcome thoughts (fully formed or otherwise) from you all on this too.

A Norfolk Birthday

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via Lutheran Volunteer Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

I’m going to visit Ron, the incarcerated individual I write to and visit with as part of my work with HIPE (Harvard Interfaith Prison Education), tomorrow. As is our custom, I wrote to him early last week asking if the 31st would work for him and heard back a few days ago that, not only would it work, it would be his birthday and so he would especially love a visit. I hadn’t known his birthday when I worked to schedule the visit but was surprised and thrilled to learn of that happy ‘coincidence.’

Surprised and thrilled at first, at least.

My mind immediately started running around all the possibilities of gifts or tokens we could bring to mark that occasion. I could make cookies! Get balloons! Or a book relating to things we’ve talked about! But then, of course, reality had to set in and I realized that I couldn’t do any of that. When going in to see a prisoner, visitors can’t bring anything with them (except little gift cards for the vending machines allowing you to share a snack during your visit) so I couldn’t bring a gift for him with me. And there are strict regulations around what can be mailed to folks inside the prison - clearly sending him birthday cookies would be out of the question.

I felt the inequality of our situations very keenly then. Like Ron is Harry Potter - getting his uncle’s old socks for his birthday - and I am Dudley - flush with expensive things, surrounded by loved ones and taking all of it completely for granted. Realizing that I can’t help give Ron a good birthday, can’t at least making sure he gets more than Uncle Vernon’s discarded socks, was a bleak reminder of the contrast between our two lives. It made (and still makes) me feel helpless.

Not to say I’m not still so glad we’ll be able to give him a little company on his birthday. That, I think, while it may feel small compared to all the things I can’t do, will be a gift.

Next Steps

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via the Lutheran Service Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

I’ve been thinking about next steps recently. An intimidating line of thought at any time, but feels especially so as I’m only just beginning to feel “settled” in my new Boston life. As I look at potential grad school programs and think about possible careers, a snippet of poetry comes to mind frequently. It’s source, “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver, is a frequently quoted poem, especially the last two lines (which, of course, are the ones running through my head so often). As I can’t offer any stunning insights or wise conclusions on planning for The Future, I want to share Oliver’s poem here in the hopes that it helps others figuring out their next steps as it has for me.

Mary Oliver’s “The Summer Day”

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean—

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down—

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do

with your one wild and precious life?

A Visit to Norfolk

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via the Lutheran Service Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge. 

I went on my first visit to Norfolk prison last Thursday to meet with Ronald - one of the participants in BU’s College Behind Bars program that HIPE is matched with. It was great to finally get to Norfolk and meet Ronald. Along with it being my first visit to Norfolk, it was also my first time in any prison, and was an incredible eye opener for me.

My most clear impression, which illustrates how important this program is for the volunteers/students too, was how "normal" things were. I had this image in my head of talking to someone wearing an orange jumpsuit behind glass or surrounded by guards. Which was not at all the case - Ronald and I sat next to each other on plastic chairs, and everyone wore normal clothes.

He and I talked about his life in general, and a little about his educational goals. It was not a tutoring session, even though Partakers and HIPE are technically billed as “educational mentoring programs.” When we spoke about college and his education, it was in a general sense - where he’s been and where he would like to go - but not in a specific way of my editing one of his papers. Mostly, I listened to him share his life story with me.

So I left Norfolk feeling positive. Both because of my encouraging experience with Ronald, and the great community I observed in the visitor’s waiting room, especially amongst the "regulars" who come to visit someone quite often. I’ll share an example of this, in an interaction I observed before I was able to go in and see Ronald (I’ve changed the names here).  A lady sitting by me turned to another women approaching a chair behind her.

"Excuse me, are you Joey's mom?"

The second women looked surprised, and responded - a bit defensively- "Yes. Why?"

"I'm here to visit my son Sam. He and Joey are good friends! Sam asked me to look out for you, since Joey said it'd be your first time visiting. He asked me to show you what to do."

And so Sam's mom proceeded to walk Joey's mom through the steps to getting processed, talked her through what to expect in the security screening section, and sat with her while they waited. It was a sweet moment where human kindness shone through to brighten a fairly bleak place.

Now, I don’t mean this to sound as if I visited Norfolk and think prisons are happy places full of rainbows and butterflies. I mean to say that I had my eyes opened to the realities of what prison (or at least the realities of visiting a prison) and the folks inside them are like. My visit showed me the importance of seeing a correctional institution first hand - how it can be a way to break down all the societal views of what prisons or prisoners are like. To see the institution and people inside them for what they are and not how I expect them to be.

B-PEACE Resource Day

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via the Lutheran Service Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge.  

Last year, after the murder of a 19 year-old young man, Bishop Shaw decided it was time to take meaningful action youth violence. To do this, the diocese started B-PEACE - a campaign to address the root causes of violence. This follows in the footsteps of two St Stephen’s youth programs; B-SAFE, a summer program, and B-READY, an after school one, that aim to keep kids learning when out of school. (Incidentally, the Chaplaincy’s own Emily Garcia has worked with B-SAFE for the past two summers!) The B-PEACE campaign has three core initiatives to address the root causes of youth violence; gun reform advocacy, creating meaningful jobs and workforce development opportunities for youth, and improving mentoring and educational opportunities through church partnerships with underserved schools.

All that, while it excites me, is about the extent of my knowledge on the B-PEACE program. Of course, as it’s a social justice program connected with the diocese, and I’m working on social justice projects for two Episcopal ministries, it’s something I’d very much like to be more knowledgeable about. Luckily, the program is putting on an event in a few weeks specifically designed to help congregations and individuals learn more and find ways to participate. So I - along with Emily, some members of Christ Church’s congregation, and a whole host of Life Together folks - will be attending the Congregational Resource day on September 28th. I’m hoping to bring back with me a better understanding of the program and ways for individuals or communities to be involved back to ECH and CCC.

While you can of course expect a report on the day from Emily and I after we attend, registration is still open - and free! - if you would like to experience it first hand yourself. More information (whether you want to attend or not) can be found here: http://www.diomass.org/event/fall-resource-day-2013-b-peace. Otherwise - look for on update on what we learned from our B-PEACE day in a few weeks!

Service at the Kennedy School

Abi Strait is the new 2013-2014 Micah Fellow at ECH!  She comes to us from Wisconsin via the Lutheran Service Corps in Delaware, where she worked at the Ministry of Caring. As a Fellow in the Life Together Program, she'll be splitting her time between ECH and our mother-parish, Christ Church Cambridge.  

As part of my year with the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard and Christ Church in Cambridge, I’ll be working with several social justice programs. One of these is ACT (Advocates for a Common Toilet) - a campaign supported by many community businesses and faith groups to add public restrooms in the Cambridge Common.

On my first official day of work last Monday, Richard Parker, a leader of the ACT project and a professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School, invited me to participate in the Kennedy School’s day of service on Thursday. During this day of service, first year Kennedy students were assigned to different volunteer activities. ACT was one such activity, and the only one (as far as I’m aware) falling more closely with advocacy than with volunteer work. That, along with it’s name, made it a unique project.  

Although I didn’t quite know what to expect - I’m still brand new to the project and to Harvard after all - and wasn’t sure what my role would be, I told Richard I’d be happy to participate. I knew it would be a way for me to learn more about ACT, a project I anticipate spending a good deal of time with over the next months. It would be a way to learn through doing, not only through reading. It would be a way to dive, not wade, into the project.

And what a learning experience it was! Thursday started out with a talk from Professor Parker about ACT and it’s history, as well as the difference between social justice and charity. The students then split into pairs and had about 45 minutes to find a public bathroom around Harvard Square. There were some rules: no using Harvard buildings, or places where you need a Harvard ID to get in, and no buying anything (which knocks out most restaurants or businesses).

While they were doing that, I helped prepare materials for the signature collection drive we set out on after lunch. The students were in pairs for that, joined by folks who had been working with ACT for some time. Neither my partner nor I had much experience asking people on the street for signatures, but it went surprisingly better than I anticipated. It’s amazing how much the words “toilet” and “bathrooms” catch people’s ears! All in all, about 450 signatures, spread between petitions and postcards that will be sent to the City Council, were collected. An amazing effort for the two hours we were out!

Listening to Professor Parker, seeing the student’s enthusiasm for a project they were just introduced to that morning, and hitting the street myself have given me a much better handle on ACT -- and increased my excitement and energy for it as well. It was, while initially a bit intimidating, a great opportunity and I am so thankful for Professor Parker’s invitation to join in. I’m looking forward to my continuing work with ACT this year and am excited to see where it goes!