Connections

The last two weeks of August have been full of travel and much blessing. First, Susan and I launched our daughter, Rebecca, into her first year of college at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. On Friday of that week (8/22) I boarded a plane in Dayton, Ohio and spent the weekend with my father and stepmother in Bradenton, Florida. Sunday afternoon, my sister Kathie and I traveled together to the Ocala National Forest, where we met up with my other sister, Donna, who was coming back from settling 2 of her children into Florida State University.

What a blessing it was to spend three full days together in a relaxing setting! We were able to catch up on each other’s lives, reflect about our childhood days, and Donna was finally able to get an apology from me that she’s waited for about 35 years. We had a fun outing swimming together at Juniper Springs, and even met a family of inquisitive raccoons.

I flew back to Indianapolis on Thursday, met Susan at a hotel airport, and we flew out together at 7 AM on Friday to Erie, PA, on our way to Chautauqua Lake in western New York. Today is our 25th wedding anniversary that we were celebrating with our weekend away. It was a good adventurous weekend, which included a couple of hours sailing on the lake, and scrambling over rocks and through crevices at nearby Panama Rocks. Susan and I both agreed that it brought the kids out in us.

As we were walking through the grounds of the Chautauqua Institute on Friday, we came across an interesting piece of terrain next to the lake. It didn’t take me long to figure out that it was a replica of the terrain of Israel. Soon I was showing Susan where Ben and I had been in June, and she was better able to visualize the changes in elevation between the different parts of the country. Even though the depiction wasn’t truly accurate, just serendipitously coming across this model, tied in this last renewal event with my very first.

I will keep my eyes open to seeing the face of God in my connections with others and all of creation.

The Wisdom of Iona

Our week at Iona Abbey turned out to be a true family pilgrimage, my only regret was that in arriving on a Saturday evening and departing on the next Friday morning the week seemed oh so short. We were in community at the Abbey with other weeklong residents as well as the volunteer and full time staff, who all hailed from many corners of the planet. We arrived and left in a drizzle, yet for the most part we had great weather. The worship experiences in the Abbey church were awe-inspiring. The words of the liturgies were simple, yet profound and challenging. The acoustics of the Abbey were phenomenal. My soul found many occasions to soar in the midst of our songs, which were so beautiful and simple to sing as well.

The breathtaking views, which changed with the ever-changing light, were phenomenal. Susan and I both agreed that the pictures that we had seen beforehand pale in comparison to the experience of being on this lovely little isle. Here in this place God reveals herself in splendor.

Along with the pictures, I include a poetic reflection on something that I learned about community this week.

The Wisdom of Iona
From near and far she called us to live together in community, walking in the footsteps of ancient monks.
Our ideal vision for the week of community resounded with words like honesty, non-judgmental, joyful, diversity, respectful, a place to be your true self, and fun.
Then, one small voice added another word into the mix of these glad tidings…”sad.”

At first it seemed so out of place,
flowing against the tide that brought us all to this sweet place.
But the more I turned it over in my mind, the more awed I was of her profound wisdom.

True community must willingly embrace its sadness…
The sadness from the wounds we all carry inside
The sadness of walls erected between peoples
The sadness of broken creation
The sadness of inevitable goodbyes

Our wise one led us in the practice of communal sadness
with the look in her eyes as she hugged her friend Jenny goodbye,
and in the simple words of her announcement at our final evening meal, “I will miss you.”

Without sadness, true community cannot exist. Such profound insights often remain hidden to souls many decades old.

Ah Iona, what a wonder to be so wise

at the tender age of five.

Ben & Iona

Very Dear

Speeding along on this train through Scotland I feel so enriched by the experiences of the last two weeks. Yesterday was a wonderful conclusion to our time in Northern Ireland as the sun finally came out giving us a cool clear day to explore Giant’s Causeway and the north coast. We even saw some seals out sunning themselves. Last Sunday we went to church at Maghera Presbyterian church with John, Valerie, Caroline and William Sloss. We all sat in one pew, thus filling it up with Slosses, which hadn’t happened there in some while according to John. I felt a sense of rootedness here as I looked around the church and recognized some of my father’s cousins who still attend there. After the service we headed out to the church cemetery and saw the grave of my great grandparents Robert and Nancy Sloss. John and Valerie had us over at their place for another traditional Sunday dinner with food galore. Susan obtained a scone recipe from my great aunt Josephine that Sunday, and on Tuesday we baked up quite an acceptable batch, yum. I think that they were even better than the ones that we bought at the bakery for 50P a piece. We also tried our hand at soda farl (bread) successfully too. These new found baking skills are part of the culture that we’ll be taking home with us. We’ve been having fun learning the local lingo. For example if someone says that they had some good crack (spelled craick), it means that they had a fun spirited time. The word dear is used to refer to something expensive. It is very dear means it costs a lot. In this light our last two weeks have been very dear and full of riches both for my family and myself. John and Valerie treated us to a great day Monday, walking the walls of Londonderry and visiting the Famine Village in Donegal. They also hosted another grand get together of extended family Thursday evening…great craick. We were also treated to a great outing at the Ulster American Folk Park near Omagh on Wednesday by my father’s cousins Stanley Lytle, Nancy Anderson, and Etta Lytle. We traveled through the beautiful even when wet Sperrin Mountains, then walked through the outdoor living history museum without getting wet. The museum was very well done. They had even imported some authentic period cabins and houses from the US. Meeting a loose cow in the road didn’t detour our return and Etta’s scrumptious home cooked meal to top off the day. All in all we won’t soon forget these past few weeks and the new connections that we’ve made with our extended family in the land of my ancestors.

Ulster Welcome

We have been treated to some wonderful Ulster hospitality this first week in Northern Ireland. My father’s cousin, Robert Lytle, and his wife Olive met us at the airport and put us up at their home our first night. We had a barbecue that night at their daughter Karen’s home with husband Alan, and their three boys, Garith, 16, Stephen 14, and Alisdair, 11. Olive and Robert gave us a taste of a traditional Ulster fry on Saturday morning, and just yesterday morning we successfully repeated it on our own with fried bacon, fried soda farl (bread), fried potato farl, and fried eggs.

Last Sunday we attended Strean Presbyterian in Newtonards with Robert and Olive, followed by a delightful sunny afternoon picnic at Mount Stewart gardens complete with jazz concert. Monday was another sunshiny day that we spent hiking and touring in the Mountains of Mourne.

Tuesday we climbed Scrabo tower and even took some time to pick some wild raspberries for lunch. Tuesday night was a social evening with all 11 of my dad’s cousins who live in Northern Ireland ascending on the Lytle’s home for a delightful evening of chatting, eating (food galore), and some singing too as Karen’s boys brought along a couple of guitars. It was going on midnight when the party broke up with many of those having a drive of an hour or more to make get home.

It has been great to connect with our extended family here and to experience the land and its people firsthand. I’ve been struck by the hospitality and cordiality around mealtimes. We could all learn a lesson or to from these folks about the importance role of the table in living a rich life.

A Bigger Picture

The White Violet Center for Ecojustice Workshop with Diarmuid O'Murchu proved to be quite interesting. I come away challenged to be more active in justice making, and still marveling and pondering the 13.7 billion year old story that now is our story.

Birth, death and re-birth are an ongoing cycle of creation. Scientist tell us that the first generation of stars following the Big Bang operated only on hydrogen and helium. They had to die and explode to create the additional elements like carbon that make biological life possible.
Embracing this big cosmological perspective on life has been another Promised Land sighting for me. As Diarmuid quotes St. Thomas Aquainas, "If we don't understand creation correctly, we can't hope to understand God correctly."

On one of the last days at Tantur, someone shared a prayer written by Diarmuid O'Murchu, which segued me nicely into last weekend's workshop. I think now that this Irish priest has helped get me ready for the next leg in my journey, connecting with extended family in N. Ireland, and learning about Celtic spirituality at Iona, Scotland.

New Birth

Ben and I made it home OK, but the 31 hour day left us pretty tired. As I've been reflecting on the whole Israel experience, I realize that my reading and ruminating on Scripture will now take on new dimensions. I'll be more in tune with Middle Eastern culture and the lay of the land. For example, Isaiah's many metaphors have already become more alive for me.

Today, I've begun the next leg of this sabbatical journey, by traveling to the White Violet Center for Eco-Justice at St. Mary of the Woods College in Terre Haute, Indiana. I came a few days early for an Eco-Justice Workshop presentation by Father Diarmuid O'Murchu. This gives me the chance to have some retreat time and to learn more about the work of White Violet. I was graced to see the newest member of the Alpaca herd, Providence Amber, born at 8:30 AM. When I saw her after lunch, about 12:30 PM, she was already ambling about and looking somewhat comfortable in her new world. In meeting some of the other Alpacas, on first impression, I perceive them to be rather calm in nature, living with a sense of pleasant satisfaction. I think that there is an important living in the Promised Land lesson to be learned here.

The Galilee & The Desert

The Galilee
I’ll always remember the beauty of the lake that we usually refer to as the Sea of Galilee. With the mountain ranges rising up on both sides, it is truly a scenic place. I was also struck by the volcanic rock that was very abundant in the region. There were a lot of pilgrims in many of the traditional places that we visited, yet one of the memories that I will cherish is our encounter with the living stone of our guide, Ghada Boulos, a Melchite Christian from Haifa.
The Desert
Tomorrow our Tantur community will spend the day in the desert. Biblically, the desert teaches God’s people to trust. This trust can be born out of the experience of exile. Here we can hear God’s call to live more fully in the Promised Land. “Then the LORD your God will turn your captivity, and have compassion on you, and will return and gather you from all the peoples, where the LORD your God has scattered you. If any of your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of the heavens, from there will the LORD your God gather you, and from there he will bring you back.” (Deuteronomy 30:3-4) Where are your desert places? How have your or are you experiencing exile? I invite you to enter your desert and listen for God’s call.

See more pictures at: Ben's Flickr site and Tantur group site