My journey through the world of non-profits and spiritually intentional community continues. I am spending my work days coordinating academic work for students who have been suspended from school, playing basketball and building relationships with them, and promoting and doing marketing work for the YMCA's Darkness to Light child sexual abuse prevention initiative (check out my revamping of the website). Currently, our Fridays are spent in servant leadership class, which I have found to be a great form of personal exploration and dissection of what it means to be a leader who is also a servant (in the mold of a fella you may know as Jesus- foot washing still to come). While I am still somewhat working to find my work niche, I am definitely enjoying the work, and accomplishing my goal of learning more about the inner workings of a non-profit organization. It is also interesting to, in addition to the 2 specific Y programs I am working for, be a part of the larger YMCA. Y's have a lot to offer to the community, something I didn't see or realize in the Swim and Gym Y that we are members of in Birmingham.
My second goal during my time here (for those not paying attention, the first was learning about non-profit management) is to do some spiritual expansion, exploring new spiritual practices and attempting to learn more about other faith traditions and congregations. I was reading Eboo Patel's (founder of the Interfaith Youth Corps) book recently and a quote seemed to define my searching. "The tradition you are born into is a home. Open the doors and let the winds of other traditions blow through and bring their unique oxygen." So far, this is going splendidly. Thus far, I have attended worship services that were Presbyterian, Church of the Brethren, American Baptist, Unitarian Universalist, United Church of Christ, Quaker, Episcopal (traditional and bluegrass mass), non-denominational, and interfaith (International Day of Prayer for Peace). I am gaining a great respect for the traditions and practices that each congregation holds dear, and the spiritual practices that can be gained and learned from in each. This past Sunday was World Communion Sunday, and I heard one of my favorite sermons ever at Binkley Baptist Church. The preacher spoke of an experience with a Catholic-priest friend, who not only invited him to participate in the Eucharist with him, but encouraged him to kiss the table before hand. As he discussed the true Communion and community of believers that World Communion Sunday reminds us of, we were encouraged to think back on all the different communities of believers with whom we had worshiped over the years. While many were likely thinking of congregations and groups abroad, my experiences were all in the United States, but wow were they diverse. I thought back on a church in an old bowling alley, an outdoor worship service at the 4-H center, the traditional worship of my upbringing, the Quaker worship of silence, a Miami that, had our group of college mission trippers not showed up, would have consisted only of those leading the service, the F219 service and participants that grew so close to my heart over my time in Birmingham, and the many church congregations I have seen in my travels over the last 2 years. I also thought back on worship services where I hadn't been comfortable; congregations or worship styles where I didn't fit in, didn't enjoy it, or disagreed theologically. But as the Words of Institution were given and we were encouraged to kiss and taste the table of these congregations all around the world, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the unity and Communion that we were a part of. A communion of believers, of churches, of spiritual communities, of searchers and of servants, so different in so many ways, but all coming together on that day to celebrate our commonalities and to cherish the value of each and every time that two or three are gathered around the table of Christ, humbled to be broken and then fed and re-energized for the journey.
Bullet time!
- As I sat in the office of a colleague today going over a marketing scheme, I realized that I am becoming one of those people who will grow old and get left behind by the ever-changing technology. That's a harsh reality at 23. As I sat listening to a hipster woman and a trending Asian fellow on a video blog discuss the release of the new Iphone as Tim Cook and company were revealing it, I realized that I had little to no idea what any of the features they were discussing entailed. And honestly, I didn't care. Some day, technology leaves each of us behind and we grumble about the newfangled doodads and thingamajigs. Today is my day. Touch screens, 3D movies, 4S, tracking devices. Grumble, grumble, grumble.
- My new favorite quote, "It's not about how you weather the storms, its about how you dance in the rain."
- Food is a difficult thing to agree on amongst 8 people.
- Check out Mipsomusic.com, home of the Mipso Trio. Chapel Hill band I have seen a couple times in the last couple of weeks. Good stuff if you are into the folky Avett Bros/Civil Wars kind of stuff, with a bit more of a bluegrassy twang.
- "Hope only makes sense when it doesn't make sense to hope." - Paul Hawken
- A quote from our Boomerang promotional material that is intriguing for the situation that our kids are in, but also appropriate for those in pretty much any stage in their lives. "A bend in the road isn't the end of the road, unless you don't make the turn."
- If you want to know more, ask in the comments.
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