I hope you have the time of your life...

“When you have the time of your life doing what you’re doing, this has a way of calling forth the deeps in another person…You are not talking about “good news,” you are good news. You are the embodiment of the freedom of a new humanity.” –Gordon Cosby

Am I having the time of my life doing what I’m doing? No… Does that mean I’m not “good news”? am I “embodying my vision of a new humanity”? hmph. If I am at all, it is only to a limited and flawed extent…
How do I be the kind of person I want to be, how do I live the kind of witness I want my life to be? Why is it such a hard thing to do?
Maybe I can’t love what I’m doing right now, and that’s what I’ll learn about myself this year. but I hope I can love it more.
…the journey of self-discovery is not always smooth and painless…

Fall Retreat

Ah, retreat! What a joy to be out of the city, surrounded by trees and grass! We were so ready for this retreat. It was great to have other people to hang out with, talk to, and connect with; to discuss our challenges with and compare experiences with. And of course I enjoyed boating on the pond, hanging out at the campfire, and taking turns playing guitar and singing songs out of Rise Up Singing for a couple hours. The mass on Saturday night was very soul-filling. We sang some of my favorite music (Gather Us In and The Summons!) and the homily was energetic, intellectually stimulating, progressive, interactive, and had a radically inclusive message about the banquet table being open to everyone. I couldn't NOT take communion after that! It was the first time since joining JVC that I've actually taken communion at a Catholic mass.


The best thing, though, about reatreat was having 1-on-1 conversations with each of my community members. I’m glad that the two people I have the most difficult time talking to about issues are the ones that want me to talk and be direct with them. Having that request, I don’t have to hold myself back in fear of judgement. I’m looking forward to Disney singalong dishwashing nights with Patti. =) And to deeper connection with Tricia and yoga with the girls, and to exploring mass transit and Camden with Megan. We also had a really deep and honest community discussion on Saturday. It’s a relief to finally have had these conversations and feel like we understand each other a little bit better and re-commit ourselves to working on building a strong community.

Neighborhood Park

The park on our block has re-opened! Hooray! There was a big party to celebrate it, and it was great to be out there enjoying the beautiful day, live music, free food, art activities, etc. with so many people and families from the community. Here's an article about it from our regional newspaper, which includes pictures of my housemate Patti and our neighbors' family (Bob was pretty much in charge of the whole thing).

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200810050310/NEWS01/810050357

birthday pie

Thanks, Dad, for an amazing apple pie recipe! I had no idea pie crust could be so easy to make…Hopefully it wasn’t just beginner’s luck! Yay for fresh apple pie with ice cream. And yay for an abundance of apples and for birthdays and for how we all pitched in, schemed, and worked together to make it a special day for Tricia. =)

Rosh Hashana

I led us in a spirituality night last night based on the themes of Rosh Hashana. I found a large blue pillowcase to be our tablecloth and placed a glass bowl of water with a few rocks at the bottom in the center of the table and a candle at each end. It’s the Jewish New Year, so it’s about turning the page and new beginnings. I alternated some Julian of Norwich readings with a few songs (I played guitar!), focusing on the theme of repenting, casting our sins into the “river” and letting it wash them away, letting go of things that have been weighing us down, being made whole again, etc. We wrote these things down on slips of paper, wadded them up, and tossed them in the water. We closed with the traditional Rosh Hashana ritual of eating apples with honey – yum!