Christmas
Friends,
Here’s what’s happened in the past week: One of my co-workers handed me $100 for paint and cleaning supplies. Another filled the chair in my office with three gallons of paint and a smoke detector. A couple promised $200 for eyeglasses. A committee at the Presbytery voted to give us whatever is left in their budget, close to $400. Someone else mailed me a gas card. We received a total of $540, plus the promises of close to $600 mentioned above. And a church voted to make a contribution to our bail fund. And that doesn’t include the wish list items people have told me they are buying. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and awe. You people are amazing.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, there is a noisy furnace in the central room that is so filthy the room gets full of dust particles every time it gets turned on, and the person who sleeps in that room is developing a cough. When I promised to bring a fire extinguisher the next time I came, the response, instead of the usual "you don’t have to do that," was a direct and urgent, "When?" I went and got it and returned that afternoon. But the mildew in the bathroom has been bleached and scrubbed, and there is now a toilet seat. (Can I tell you how angry all this makes me?) Soon we will have a painting day, and everybody will stay at my house overnight to get away from the fumes.
Speaking of my house, that’s where we will celebrate our Christmas Eve Mass. You are most welcome to join us at 4 pm for Mass, and to stay for dinner afterwards. Send me a note if you’re coming and I’ll send you my address and directions. We will also have Christmas morning Mass at St Joe’s at the usual time, 11 am (at Michael’s request!).
In the midst of all this giving and righteous anger and squalor, it is very important to note that, terrible as the situation of injustice is, there is love in that little house. There is togetherness galore (that’s the plus side of living so close together ... the downside is a painful lack of privacy). The more time I spend with these beloved friends, the more my respect grows. I am learning to slow down, and to let go of anxieties I didn’t realize I had. I am learning to recognize how much my own culture is in need of healing. I am one of the learners, here. Much more is being taught than English and literacy, and Spanish for me: the learning, the giving, goes both ways.
This coming week, we celebrate the coming of God, who came bursting into human history in a stable of all places. I think of that all the time: this little house is probably not so far from the kind of place where Jesus was born. The Spanish phrase for "to give birth" is "dar luz," to give LIGHT. Another thing I think about is how small that entrance of God into the world was -- just a few people, in a backwater country. May our little community in a house that ought to be a stable, not a home for human beings, be a light of love and healing and justice and life. May we be birthers of the presence of God, here and now. May we be whatever God is dreaming of us being.
And you, reading this -- you are a part of the dream, the work, the healing. Thank you for reading, praying, giving, loving. God bless you, and Merry Christmas!
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
"Yes," said Lucy. "In our world, too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."
C.S. Lewis "The Last Battle"
Various people have written to say that they wanted to get something from our amazon wish list but couldn’t find it. Here is a link (sorry I didn’t think of this last week!):
https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/BNFWKHXXWOSF/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o
My neice, Jasmine Staff, is in Ghana for two years with the Peace Corps. I’m amazed at what she’s doing so far. Below is a link to her website about the work there. Jasmine writes, "Please take a moment to allow me to introduce to you the rural African village which has become my home and stolen my heart, and the exciting project I'm creating to help it:
http://empoweringasiri.wordpress.com/
_________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, December 18, 2011
4th Sunday in Advent
Friends,
Here’s a beautiful bit of Advent light! This Sunday we celebrated our first genuine, bona fide bilingual Mass, combining our English- and Spanish-speaking communities. The church that meets in the dining room at St Joe’s was joined by one of the men from our migrant community, who had a wonderful time, as did we all. After Mass we had breakfast, cooked by Linda Condon, and sat around talking until we were joined by Catie and Jared, our volunteer English teachers.
My daughter-in-law, Catie, and Jared who is a med student at the U of R, hadn’t had a chance to meet beforehand, so the three of them were strangers to each other. I was actually a bit worried as I left the three of them, (I work at St John’s Home on Sunday afternoons) and wondered if they would find enough to do. "Well, this is awkward!" I heard one of them say as I left. At the service at St John’s when we were taking prayer requests, I asked everybody to pray for the three people who hadn’t met before and who were stuck in a room together to work on English for two hours! But when it was time to get them, as I walked in the door I could hear voices, and found the three of them deep in their lesson, having had what sounded like a very enjoyable teaching and learning time. I was so proud of all of them for moving through the awkwardness and into something good. Learning is a wonderful thing!!!
After that we had some great community time back at my house, with folks from St Joe’s joining us for supper. I think this is going to be a wonderful way to spend winter Sundays!
The hardest part of the day, though, was facing the reality of the new living situation our friends are in. The house where they are staying for the winter is cramped and really pretty horrible. Not a fit place for humans to live – any humans – but so awfully much worse when it’s the home of friends, people I’ve grown to love. It’s dry and it will be warm, but that’s about all that can be said in its favor. It made me think of some of the terrible poverty I’ve seen in El Salvador…. It was just like that, only with snow. It made me angry.
I am dreaming of a house… a Catholic Worker house out in the country, where we could provide a safe, clean, loving, stable living situation. Anybody got a house to donate?
If your Advent giving extends to this community, here are some needs: a gallon of good, mildew-resistant paint, white or off-white, two gallons of heavy-duty wall paint, Cleaning supplies. ESL materials (check out our wishlist on Amazon.com under St Romero’s Church). Gas money. A better place to live! One of the men needs glasses. We can always use cookies or other food for get-togethers. There are things we could do with art supplies. A throw rug or two would be welcome. Big needs and small.
There is a wonderful booklet called "Engaging the Word," a series of sermons on migrant spirituality, complete with suggested questions for group discussion. If we were to have a study group this winter, we could read one sermon each week and talk about it. Reading them has helped me to better appreciate some things like the courage, strength and resiliency of our friends. Please let me know if you might be interested in that, and when you might be available if we were to form such a group. The sermons are available in Spanish, too. What might we do with this? We’ve got about a dozen of the books.
Our friend Chris Phillips has asked for prayers for his Mom, Barb, as she nears the end of her life. Please pray for Barb and for everyone who loves her.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Here’s something to share, a page from my journal last spring:
The world says, "How much money do you have in the bank?"
And God says, "Honey, I am your banker."
The world says, "How many people are coming to church?"
And God says, "I am here with you."
The world says, "Keep your shoes on!"
And God says, "Sweetheart, please do as I ask,"
The world says, "Where are you going?"
And God says, "Honey, just go with me."
The world says, "Do something important!"
And God says, "Come waste time with me."
The world says, "Make a difference."
And God says, "Just be, and be in me."
And God says, All is well
And
All is well
And
All is well
Amen!
___________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
Here’s a beautiful bit of Advent light! This Sunday we celebrated our first genuine, bona fide bilingual Mass, combining our English- and Spanish-speaking communities. The church that meets in the dining room at St Joe’s was joined by one of the men from our migrant community, who had a wonderful time, as did we all. After Mass we had breakfast, cooked by Linda Condon, and sat around talking until we were joined by Catie and Jared, our volunteer English teachers.
My daughter-in-law, Catie, and Jared who is a med student at the U of R, hadn’t had a chance to meet beforehand, so the three of them were strangers to each other. I was actually a bit worried as I left the three of them, (I work at St John’s Home on Sunday afternoons) and wondered if they would find enough to do. "Well, this is awkward!" I heard one of them say as I left. At the service at St John’s when we were taking prayer requests, I asked everybody to pray for the three people who hadn’t met before and who were stuck in a room together to work on English for two hours! But when it was time to get them, as I walked in the door I could hear voices, and found the three of them deep in their lesson, having had what sounded like a very enjoyable teaching and learning time. I was so proud of all of them for moving through the awkwardness and into something good. Learning is a wonderful thing!!!
After that we had some great community time back at my house, with folks from St Joe’s joining us for supper. I think this is going to be a wonderful way to spend winter Sundays!
The hardest part of the day, though, was facing the reality of the new living situation our friends are in. The house where they are staying for the winter is cramped and really pretty horrible. Not a fit place for humans to live – any humans – but so awfully much worse when it’s the home of friends, people I’ve grown to love. It’s dry and it will be warm, but that’s about all that can be said in its favor. It made me think of some of the terrible poverty I’ve seen in El Salvador…. It was just like that, only with snow. It made me angry.
I am dreaming of a house… a Catholic Worker house out in the country, where we could provide a safe, clean, loving, stable living situation. Anybody got a house to donate?
If your Advent giving extends to this community, here are some needs: a gallon of good, mildew-resistant paint, white or off-white, two gallons of heavy-duty wall paint, Cleaning supplies. ESL materials (check out our wishlist on Amazon.com under St Romero’s Church). Gas money. A better place to live! One of the men needs glasses. We can always use cookies or other food for get-togethers. There are things we could do with art supplies. A throw rug or two would be welcome. Big needs and small.
There is a wonderful booklet called "Engaging the Word," a series of sermons on migrant spirituality, complete with suggested questions for group discussion. If we were to have a study group this winter, we could read one sermon each week and talk about it. Reading them has helped me to better appreciate some things like the courage, strength and resiliency of our friends. Please let me know if you might be interested in that, and when you might be available if we were to form such a group. The sermons are available in Spanish, too. What might we do with this? We’ve got about a dozen of the books.
Our friend Chris Phillips has asked for prayers for his Mom, Barb, as she nears the end of her life. Please pray for Barb and for everyone who loves her.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Here’s something to share, a page from my journal last spring:
The world says, "How much money do you have in the bank?"
And God says, "Honey, I am your banker."
The world says, "How many people are coming to church?"
And God says, "I am here with you."
The world says, "Keep your shoes on!"
And God says, "Sweetheart, please do as I ask,"
The world says, "Where are you going?"
And God says, "Honey, just go with me."
The world says, "Do something important!"
And God says, "Come waste time with me."
The world says, "Make a difference."
And God says, "Just be, and be in me."
And God says, All is well
And
All is well
And
All is well
Amen!
___________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Monday, December 12, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, December 11, 2011
3rd Sunday in Advent
Friends,
Thirty years ago this weekend, a horrific massacre began in a little town called El Mozote in El Salvador. Over the course of three days, more than 800 people were killed, half of them under the age of 12. A woman named Rufina Amaya was able to hide under some bushes, pretending to be dead. As she listened to the voices of her own children as they were killed, knowing that to try to rescue them would be death for her as well, she told God that if she survived, she would tell the world what happened.
She did survive, and eventually was able to tell her story to the UN. They sent a team to investigate, and found everything exactly as she said. The children had been herded into the rectory and killed there. Others were where she said they would be. Among the remains were bullet casings that were stamped "Made in Missouri." The leaders of that massacre were trained at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. Our tax dollars paid for the weapons. We need to know about El Mozote and all the evils that have been done in our name, with our money.
This past January I visited El Mozote with my friends Ruth, Yani, Fabiola, Bernhard and Eglantina (some of you might remember Ruth, Bernhard and Tina, as they were in Rochester for my ordination). We saw the memorial to the victims at El Mozote. Rufina Amaya is buried there (she died a few years ago after years of telling her story to the world). The memorial is beautiful. There's a statue of a family, and lots of flowers, and plaques with the names of the victims. Over by the church is a garden in memory of the children, with a beautiful mural of children playing. On the other side of the church there is a mural of the hopes and dreams of the people who live there, now. For many years it was a ghost town, but now the houses are lived in. The mural on the church shows a school, a hospital, children playing and learning and using computers. There's a surprising amount of hope, there. As we drove away, I noticed the name of the pupuseria in the center of town. Pupusas are wonderful stuffed tortillas, sort of the hamburger of El Salvador, and usually the little stores where they are sold are named after their owners. Not this one, though. The pupuseria in El Mozote is named "Pupuseria Fe y Esperanza." Faith and Hope.
This coming Monday, December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe, a group of us will hold a demonstration in front of the Federal Building at 4 pm. Please join us if you like. It's all tied together. Our Lady of Guadelupe appeared to a man named Juan Diego just ten years after the Aztec conquest. Note how beaten the native people were: Juan Diego is a Spanish name. He'd even lost his Nahuatl name. This feminine image of God spoke to him in his own language, using the religious symbols he had grown up with. She had dark skin, like him, and spoke to him with respect. The memory of her appearance (and it doesn't matter at all if there was a literal, factual appearance. God is present in the story) has been a source of strength and hope to people in Mexico and Central America ever since. There is a home altar in our little migrant community with a big picture of her.
Let's celebrate her feast day by speaking out for the people she came to visit - a people that has suffered, over and over and over again, and continues to suffer indignity, hatred, isolation and poverty, today.
Let's be a light! And may you be surrounded by light in this season of hope.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Our friend Gustavo Monzone is looking for funds to help him return to Mexico to work at the Catholic Worker house called Casa Calibri. He used up his savings traveling around the US talking about Casa Calibri and raising funds for a truck for them (Casa Calibri provides overnight shelter to people who come to their little town to visit the health clinic there, so that they don't have to walk back to their own villages that same day). If you'd like to send him some money, his address is 1323 North Ave. 56, Los Angeles. CA 90042
____________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
Thirty years ago this weekend, a horrific massacre began in a little town called El Mozote in El Salvador. Over the course of three days, more than 800 people were killed, half of them under the age of 12. A woman named Rufina Amaya was able to hide under some bushes, pretending to be dead. As she listened to the voices of her own children as they were killed, knowing that to try to rescue them would be death for her as well, she told God that if she survived, she would tell the world what happened.
She did survive, and eventually was able to tell her story to the UN. They sent a team to investigate, and found everything exactly as she said. The children had been herded into the rectory and killed there. Others were where she said they would be. Among the remains were bullet casings that were stamped "Made in Missouri." The leaders of that massacre were trained at the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Georgia. Our tax dollars paid for the weapons. We need to know about El Mozote and all the evils that have been done in our name, with our money.
This past January I visited El Mozote with my friends Ruth, Yani, Fabiola, Bernhard and Eglantina (some of you might remember Ruth, Bernhard and Tina, as they were in Rochester for my ordination). We saw the memorial to the victims at El Mozote. Rufina Amaya is buried there (she died a few years ago after years of telling her story to the world). The memorial is beautiful. There's a statue of a family, and lots of flowers, and plaques with the names of the victims. Over by the church is a garden in memory of the children, with a beautiful mural of children playing. On the other side of the church there is a mural of the hopes and dreams of the people who live there, now. For many years it was a ghost town, but now the houses are lived in. The mural on the church shows a school, a hospital, children playing and learning and using computers. There's a surprising amount of hope, there. As we drove away, I noticed the name of the pupuseria in the center of town. Pupusas are wonderful stuffed tortillas, sort of the hamburger of El Salvador, and usually the little stores where they are sold are named after their owners. Not this one, though. The pupuseria in El Mozote is named "Pupuseria Fe y Esperanza." Faith and Hope.
This coming Monday, December 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadelupe, a group of us will hold a demonstration in front of the Federal Building at 4 pm. Please join us if you like. It's all tied together. Our Lady of Guadelupe appeared to a man named Juan Diego just ten years after the Aztec conquest. Note how beaten the native people were: Juan Diego is a Spanish name. He'd even lost his Nahuatl name. This feminine image of God spoke to him in his own language, using the religious symbols he had grown up with. She had dark skin, like him, and spoke to him with respect. The memory of her appearance (and it doesn't matter at all if there was a literal, factual appearance. God is present in the story) has been a source of strength and hope to people in Mexico and Central America ever since. There is a home altar in our little migrant community with a big picture of her.
Let's celebrate her feast day by speaking out for the people she came to visit - a people that has suffered, over and over and over again, and continues to suffer indignity, hatred, isolation and poverty, today.
Let's be a light! And may you be surrounded by light in this season of hope.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
Our friend Gustavo Monzone is looking for funds to help him return to Mexico to work at the Catholic Worker house called Casa Calibri. He used up his savings traveling around the US talking about Casa Calibri and raising funds for a truck for them (Casa Calibri provides overnight shelter to people who come to their little town to visit the health clinic there, so that they don't have to walk back to their own villages that same day). If you'd like to send him some money, his address is 1323 North Ave. 56, Los Angeles. CA 90042
____________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Bulletin for Sunday, December 4, 2011
2nd Sunday in Advent
Friends,
Thirty-one years ago today (December 2, 1980), Dorothy Kazel, Jean Donovan, Ita Ford and Maura Clark were killed in El Salvador. Last night at Iglesia de San Romero, I told their story, these women killed for the dangerous political act of walking with the poor and teaching them to read and write. They knew they were in danger and could have left. Like Rosa Parks, who on December 1, 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white man, being in the words of Martin Luther King, "anchored to that seat by the accumulated indignities of days gone and the boundless aspirations of generations yet unborn," they were rooted to the spot by love and justice. Especially love.
Well. I didn't expect anyone to have heard of Dorothy, Ita, Maura and Jean. I wasn't too surprised that they hadn't heard of Rosa Parks. But they hadn't heard of Martin Luther King, either. Or global warming, I learned earlier in the week during a conversation about weather. Seems I'm constantly learning a little more about what it means to be imprisoned by poverty and isolation and undocumented status. The phrase, "set the captives free" has been burning for me since that day in September when we did just that.
Here's the thing, though. All of us have things to learn. All of us have things to teach. One day it occurred to me that perhaps I'm one of the captives getting set free, here. So I started thinking about that, and about all the things I'm learning. These days I feel like the guys are my spiritual directors, as I learn from them about staying in the moment. Their lives change so fast and unexpectedly, it's hard to make plans. It's like Jesus said in the Gospel reading this past Sunday: Stay awake! Stay alert! You don't know the day or the hour. That's the reality they live with.
This past Sunday morning we were hoping they'd be with us in Rochester for Mass. Folks had to work, though, so it didn't happen. Those of us who were there decided to celebrate a bi-lingual Mass, anyway, for practice. Pretty wonderful, really, that on the first Sunday of Advent we were waiting, preparing, hoping. That's Advent, right? Getting our hearts ready for the advent of the kindom of God. This Sunday they'll be moving, so definitely not with us, then. After that, we'll see. I long for the day when "us" is truly all of us.
On Monday, December 12 at 4 pm, there will be a vigil (co-sponsored by St Romero's) in front of the Federal Building, to commemorate the anniversary of the 1981 massacre of nearly 1,000 people (half of them children) in El Mozote, El Salvador, by soldiers trained at the School of the Americas and using weapons from the USA. John Honeck, who organized the vigil, has been consistent in his efforts to close the SOA for years.
Another consistent voice for peace, St Joe's own Harry Murray, was found guilty yesterday, along with 30 others, for their Good Friday protest at Hancock Airforce Base in Syracuse, protesting the drones. Harry points out that since drones are deployed from Hancock, that means people are being killed from there, which makes upstate New York a war zone. More here: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/2/hancock_38_defendants_found_guilty_for
Thank you to all of the Hancock 38, for your strong, clear witness for peace.
Sending love to Olga Lucia Alvarez, the Columbian womanpriest who puts the Spanish version of this bulletin on her blog each week. Olga is fighting cancer and your prayers would be welcome.
Deepest sympathy to Myra Brown, whose husband, Derwin, died yesterday on their 10th wedding anniversary. Please hold the whole family in your prayers.
Come join us, any Sunday you like. We'd love to see you.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
____________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Friends,
Thirty-one years ago today (December 2, 1980), Dorothy Kazel, Jean Donovan, Ita Ford and Maura Clark were killed in El Salvador. Last night at Iglesia de San Romero, I told their story, these women killed for the dangerous political act of walking with the poor and teaching them to read and write. They knew they were in danger and could have left. Like Rosa Parks, who on December 1, 1955 refused to give up her seat to a white man, being in the words of Martin Luther King, "anchored to that seat by the accumulated indignities of days gone and the boundless aspirations of generations yet unborn," they were rooted to the spot by love and justice. Especially love.
Well. I didn't expect anyone to have heard of Dorothy, Ita, Maura and Jean. I wasn't too surprised that they hadn't heard of Rosa Parks. But they hadn't heard of Martin Luther King, either. Or global warming, I learned earlier in the week during a conversation about weather. Seems I'm constantly learning a little more about what it means to be imprisoned by poverty and isolation and undocumented status. The phrase, "set the captives free" has been burning for me since that day in September when we did just that.
Here's the thing, though. All of us have things to learn. All of us have things to teach. One day it occurred to me that perhaps I'm one of the captives getting set free, here. So I started thinking about that, and about all the things I'm learning. These days I feel like the guys are my spiritual directors, as I learn from them about staying in the moment. Their lives change so fast and unexpectedly, it's hard to make plans. It's like Jesus said in the Gospel reading this past Sunday: Stay awake! Stay alert! You don't know the day or the hour. That's the reality they live with.
This past Sunday morning we were hoping they'd be with us in Rochester for Mass. Folks had to work, though, so it didn't happen. Those of us who were there decided to celebrate a bi-lingual Mass, anyway, for practice. Pretty wonderful, really, that on the first Sunday of Advent we were waiting, preparing, hoping. That's Advent, right? Getting our hearts ready for the advent of the kindom of God. This Sunday they'll be moving, so definitely not with us, then. After that, we'll see. I long for the day when "us" is truly all of us.
On Monday, December 12 at 4 pm, there will be a vigil (co-sponsored by St Romero's) in front of the Federal Building, to commemorate the anniversary of the 1981 massacre of nearly 1,000 people (half of them children) in El Mozote, El Salvador, by soldiers trained at the School of the Americas and using weapons from the USA. John Honeck, who organized the vigil, has been consistent in his efforts to close the SOA for years.
Another consistent voice for peace, St Joe's own Harry Murray, was found guilty yesterday, along with 30 others, for their Good Friday protest at Hancock Airforce Base in Syracuse, protesting the drones. Harry points out that since drones are deployed from Hancock, that means people are being killed from there, which makes upstate New York a war zone. More here: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/2/hancock_38_defendants_found_guilty_for
Thank you to all of the Hancock 38, for your strong, clear witness for peace.
Sending love to Olga Lucia Alvarez, the Columbian womanpriest who puts the Spanish version of this bulletin on her blog each week. Olga is fighting cancer and your prayers would be welcome.
Deepest sympathy to Myra Brown, whose husband, Derwin, died yesterday on their 10th wedding anniversary. Please hold the whole family in your prayers.
Come join us, any Sunday you like. We'd love to see you.
Blessings and love to all,
Chava
____________________________________________________
Oscar Romero Church
An Inclusive Community of Liberation, Justice and Joy
Worshiping in the Catholic Tradition
Mass: Sundays, 11 am
St Joseph's House of Hospitality, 402 South Ave, Rochester NY 14620
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)