Christmas Reflections #2

All the Little Children

I never thought I would be an overprotective mom.  My mother raised me to be independent and I want the same for my little daughter Madison.  However, once I became a mother, I felt differently.  I am constantly worried about something happening to Madison (or something happening to me and leaving her without a mother).  I asked my mentor if things ever change and she informed me that they do not.  The one time she didn’t attend a class trip for her boys, the teachers lost her son (thankfully only for several minutes).  My mother told me she didn’t sleep well the entire year I was in Iraq (I was 37).  And then the tragedy in Connecticut.

I was sitting on our hotel bed in St. Thomas last Friday while my little girl slept peacefully beside me.  I turned on the TV and my heart leapt.  I hoped what I was seeing wasn’t real.  I sat there stunned with tears flowing and my body heaving.  I looked at Madison’s angelic face and couldn’t imagine the pain the mothers of those children must be experiencing.  

Lunch last week with a good friend helped me cope.  He said he sees the fallen children on the lap of Jesus Christ.  I hope the mothers in Connecticut receive this same vision.  It’s difficult to understand why such horrible things happen.  I don’t think we should look for an explanation.  All we can do is appreciate what blessings we have at this moment.  Madison was born with a strong spirit but 2 ½ years has proven quite frustrating for us all on many days.  Since the tragedy in CT, Allen and I more often remember just what a miracle is our girl and find strength in her character.

Christmas is my favorite season.  I love to decorate, attend parties, host people, bake cookies and even shop.  I don’t become blue, I don’t feel stressed.  This year I bought too much for everyone.  But it’s this year that I am more thankful for the love I am able to give and receive.  I learned a few years ago that life is short when my best friend lost her soul mate at only 50 years and after only 5 years together.  That touched close to my heart.  This year my heart was almost broken by the loss of God’s children, but it made me realize that we don’t have everyone forever and we must love each other deeply.

This Christmas season, remember that Christ died for us and loves us.

Christmas Reflections #1

Christmas is a time of joy and happiness, of believing in a future of hope and love.  But, somehow this Christmas season is falling short.  One of the young amongst us actually told me that she is getting less in the Christmas spirit the closer it gets to Christmas.  That is a sad state of affairs.  So, today in this last day of Advent, I am committing myself to remembering the true meaning of the season.

Yes, that is a cliché, but I have to say it this year.  With all that has occurred and is occurring right now, I have to make that extra effort to embrace joy and hope.  There are families in Newtown, Connecticut where Christmas presents will be unopened, Christmas dresses and suits will be unworn, chairs will be empty at Christmas dinner and innocent and joyful faces will not grace Christmas services.

For us, we will not see such pain and suffering.  Although, we must grieve and feel the pain of the loss, we are blessed with joy, love, family, happiness and Christ at this Christmas time.  We should talk about this loss to help us cope with its evilness.

One of St. Barnabas’ former seminarians is now at St. James Parish in Farmington, Connecticut (40 miles from Newtown) and shared his sermon following the Newton tragedy with us.  You can read it at this link. As Rev. George Roberts states in this sermon and as Rev. Linda has reminded us, we must take strength from knowing that our God loves us so much that he sent his only Son to die on a cross.

That, is what Christmas is.  Celebrating the love of God, the Hope he gave to us, knowing that He will give us the strength to face crisis.  In this very short last week of Advent, I am committed to setting aside those worldly pressures and demands that deplete my energy and sap my hopefulness.  I will rejoice in the birth of God’s son.  I will sing the praises of His grace.  I will seek and receive God’s love.  Lastly, I wish all people a blessed, safe, festive, joyous and loving Christmas.  Joy to the World.

by Jennifer Lefere

Spiritual Discipline - Join us at Adult Forum in December

Do come by for one of the Adult Forum discussions in December:

1. December 9 Spiritual Discipline - Prayer - Lectio Divina, led by Betty Dunlop
2. December 16 Spiritual Discipline - Solitude and Simplicity, led by Noah Stetzer
3. December 23 Spiritual Discipline - Mary and Praying the Rosary, led by Bob MacFarlane

Discussions start at 9:15 AM and end at 10:00 AM every Sunday, held in the Richardson Room of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church at 4901 Ravensworth Road, Annandale, VA 22003.

Why I Teach

by Debra Gustin

I grew up in a household of learning. My father has been a leader in the educational system and we were encouraged to question and comment on everything! It is no wonder that I ended up as a teacher. I have taught over twenty years and have worked with children from first to sixth grades. 

But teaching is not confined to a school. I have also been a DCE (Director of Christian Education), taught every level of Sunday school, led bible studies, acolytes, youth groups and children choirs. It was not my degrees that gave me the training for these. 

It was my faith and my commitment to the Christian community to which I belonged. From ancient times teaching has been a respected profession. The word rabbi, the leader of the synagogue, means teacher. 

A teacher is someone who guides, who listens, and continues to learn themselves. My most profound learning experiences have been at the hands of children. If you look in the mirror and do not see a teacher, look again! There is a teacher in all of us and what better place to explore that than right here at church. 

Be brave. Be daring. 

Teach!

Honduras Mission Trip - Len's View Part 3, Final

Monday morning, not up as early as the last couple of days, so we figured we'd get our bread after breakfast. Breakfast included fresh coconuts from the hotel owners' yard. The van picked us up, then we stopped at the bread lady's house, and learned that Monday is her day off (dia feriado). We went on to the coffee shop downtown. While we were having our coffee, we noticed that it was raining. It was a serious downpour, and there was a drain blocked, so the side street was flooded almost up to the curb. When it was time to go to the school, the driver went to get the van. After a few minutes, the rain stopped, so we went across the street to wait for him. It seemed like it took him forever to come. When he arrived, he explained that there had been deep water all around the van. While he was trying to figure out how he would get to it, a handicapped man on a hand cycle came by. The cyclist ferried our driver out to the van with our driver standing on the rear axle of the hand cycle. Then we went to the school arriving a few minutes after our scheduled 9:00 am arrival.

 

We went in the gate and around to the sports court. This is a large basketball/volleyball court with a roof (paid for by St. Barnabas') and concrete bleachers on the two long sides. As we walked into the arena I saw something that made me uncomfortable. There was a long table (actually 2 tables) with white tablecloth and seven chairs. There were seven little straw baskets with candy and cookies spread out on the table. The table was clearly for us and we were to be guests of honor at some sort of ceremony. I like to do what I can do and leave with just a low key thank you. However, I long ago learned the importance of accepting people's gratitude and in this case there was also the pride of the students who would be putting on a show for us. First they went through their usual Monday routine of singing their national anthem, saying the pledge of allegiance, the reading of a bible verse, and a few words about the bible verse. All of this was led by students. I'm pretty sure that there was something else, like maybe the Lord's Prayer, but I'm not sure. I wasn't keeping notes. Guests of Honor do not take notes. They watch appreciatively. After all the routine things were done, then there was the special presentation. The school's Seniors did a Honduran folk dance. That was followed by other classes doing Japanese, Indian, and Brazilian dances. The last one was a French can-can. The theme was the countries of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. It was a very good performance. It was nice to see the entire student body in one place.

 

After the assembly, Frank and Scott got to work on finishing the big painting of the school mascot (a scorpion) on a wall facing the street. It rained on and off through the rest of the day, but there is an eve over the wall, so, with some occasional help from other group members, they got the job done in plenty of time. The rest of us 'roamed the halls'. We visited the science classroom where Melissa Green showed us a video put together by a class on a visit to the Lancetilla nature preserve a few weeks before. We also visited the computer lab with 25 computers. There were first graders in there. I was surprised at how much they can already do. We visited other areas and visited with teachers during their free time.

 

That evening we had dinner at the home of the Senior Warden. It was a beautiful house with teak doors, beautiful paintings, and we had wonderful juice from the bitter orange tree in their back yard. Our hosts (Martha and Nathaniel?) lived in New York for many years. We had delightful conversation in addition to some very good food.

 

Monday night we started packing and went to bed. Tuesday morning we got up early and finished packing. Then breakfast, one last stop at the bread lady's, a quick photo in front of the scorpion, which looks really good, then on the road. We had time for a half hour of souvenir shopping, then to the airport. I think that we arrived back in Virginia somewhere around 10:00 pm. Scott and I agreed that it was the best Honduras trip that either of us had been on, and that's a total of at least eight trips. Maybe you'll join us on the next one.

Priscilla Lydia Sellon, 1821 - 1876 Abbess, Society of the Most Holy Trinity

Poverty, chastity, and obedience are strange notions to most.  However, in religious orders of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, and other parts of the Church, people live these vows.  The Church honors the women and men in religious communities for their devotion to Christ’s service.

In the Anglican Church, King Henry’s suppression of monasteries in 1538 was a defining trait for several centuries.  By the 1800’s, Anglican religious communities tentatively reappeared to gradually win acceptance.  This restoration took root in the work of Priscilla Lydia Sellon with her religious sisters and brothers.

The industrial revolution in England caused great human need among people searching for work.   Existing institutions were very slow to respond.  Answering her Bishop’s appeal in 1848, Miss Sellon began work in the Plymouth tenements – feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, clothing and housing the needy, taking in orphans, teaching girls, boys, and women.  This became a model for others.

Suspicion of religious communities and antagonism toward Sister Priscilla constantly hindered her work.  In response to allegations of inappropriate behavior, the Bishop of Exeter investigated her and her sisters.  Unfortunately, his report praising their life and work did not stop the gossip.  Mother Priscilla persisted.  She was criticized for going into areas where decent women did not go, especially at night.  She replied that she had promised to go to the people in their time of need.

Primitive sanitation at the time caused regular outbreaks of cholera and smallpox in English cities.  The reasons were poorly understood.  Mother Priscilla’s communities remained in the midst of the disease to nurse the sick and dying.  The work during one epidemic left her partly paralyzed.

Even with impaired health, she called people to serve Christ in others.  Members of Anglican religious communities set up shelters, dispensaries, schools, and food centers.   Their work spread beyond England to the United States and elsewhere.  A well-to-do traveler found Mother Priscilla’s nuns at a humble mission in a distant port teaching children and visiting the needy.  The sisters had no possessions, no family contact, no leisure.  But their service was joyful and they were serene.

Thousands of women and men in Anglican religious communities continue to serve throughout the world.  Others with regular jobs and families outside of these communities adhere to their principles of service and simplicity.

The Anglican Church remembers Mother Priscilla on November 20^th, the date of her death at age 55.  In the Book of Common Prayer, the Episcopal Church offers this prayer – first used by the Church of India -- for the example of those like Mother Priscilla.

O God, whose blessed Son became poor that we through his poverty might be rich:  Deliver us from an inordinate love of this world, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Priscilla, may serve you with singleness of heart, and attain to the riches of the age to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

EI

Honduras Mission Trip - Len's View, Part 2B

I'm back home now, but picking up the story where I left off. As Sunday school ended, we had a detail to figure out. The puffy paint on the T-shirts has to dry for 4 hours. We knew beforehand that we would leave the shirts at the school to dry and the kids would pick them up the next Sunday. We just hadn't figured out where we would leave them. The Sunday school teacher is Ada Pineda, a young lady whom we are helping through teacher's college. I was impressed with the way that she led us in an impromptu team decision making process. I've had a chance to watch her grow over the last six years, and it's great to know that we helped enable that. Here's what we ended up with. The normal routine is that the Sunday school kids go into church after the adults finish taking communion. The kids process up to the front of the church and receive communion placed on their tongue by the priest, then they go to sit with their parents. On this Sunday, they carried their painted T-shirts in front of them, took communion, then lined up across the front of the church showing them to the congregation. Ada made a quick announcement, then the kids lay their shirts on the floor around the pulpit. This was the first time that we had done a Sunday school program for this congregation. We plan on making a part of future trips. After church we took some of the clothing that we would normally distribute to a multi-purpose room in the school. The members of the vestry (board) of the church distributed the clothing to people to whom we have given directly in the past. We like that way much better. It's not as rewarding for us, but it is well organized and equitable, and the people receive from their church rather than from American visitors.

Lunch was at Charlie's Restaurant. Charlie is a local who serves typical Honduran food. That's where we traditionally eat after Sunday morning church. The rector's daughter, Hillary, ate with us. She and our two teens get along really well.

We went back to the Costa Bella hotel for a quick nap, then into the van to go to San Martin. San Martin is a rural village about 17 kilometers from Tela. When we arrive, we park outside the gate of the walled schoolyard. I'm frequently conflicted when we come here. The adult congregation worships in one room of the two room schoolhouse, the Sunday school meets in the other room. Regardless of which one I'm in, they usually sing a hymn that I want to sing in the other room. This time the room with the good song was the Sunday school room, and that's where I was. We had a craft project for the kids that involved making crosses with a stained glass look out of paper and glue. The younger kids needed some individual help again which creates an opportunity for one on one interaction. After the craft project, we gave each child a goody bag. Sara had put these together with pencils, toothbrushes, and some fun things. This brought one of the best moments of the trip for me personally. As the kids went through their bags and compared who had gotten what, I looked up and saw a girl at the gate. She was holding on to the iron bars and looking longingly at the other kids. My first inclination was to take one of those Save the Children type photographs, but I quickly realized what I had to do. As I headed back to the building, Scott started to motion to me, and I just nodded. I got one of the extra bags that we had and took it to the girl. She took it with a smile, then turned and went down the road. Then I could take the photo of a lone girl going up the road, but the effect isn't the same when you see that she's skipping. It's those special moments that make these trips.

After that we gave out clothing. We didn't have enough children's things, especially shoes. We did have enough rice and beans for each family to get a bag. We put it in some nice shopping bags with zipper tops that Sara had brought. After that we returned to town for dinner and a walk along the (concrete) boardwalk.

Small Group: Beginnings

Thank you to everyone who joined in last night's conversation. Our next meeting is Monday evening, 19 November at 7PM. We will discuss the next two chapters: Submission & Service.

Honduras Mission Trip - Len's View, Part 2A

Sunday was a long day, but comfortably paced. Sara, Scott, and I went for an early morning walk to buy Bread from the lady who bakes in her home. It was around 7:30 and there was no bread on the table out front. [Correction to yesterday's article: it is actually Italian bread. I think that's a teaspoon of sugar more or less than French bread.] I called out "Buenos Dias". A man came out, I asked for two loaves. It was fresh from the oven, as in: I was afraid that it would melt the plastic bag that it was in. The three of us finished off one loaf on the way back to the hotel. It was a beautiful walk. We kept saying "look at that flower" as we passed various yards.

                                                                                      

After a pancake breakfast at the hotel (it feels a bit like a B & B), we went to the coffee shop, and then to church. Some of us went to the church service. Jody, Kinsey, Sara, and I went to a classroom to do a craft for the Sunday School class. We had about 30 kids of varying ages in one room. We spread out shirts on the floor and the kids painted designs with puffy paint. It was a bit chaotic, but when kids hug you and don't want to let go, anything's worth it.

Breakfast is ready. I'll have to finish later.