On the Eve of Another Stampede...

Tomorrow (Sept 17) St. Bridget will hold its 10th Annual Elephant Stampede, a rolicking picnic and walk/run fundraiser for our sister parish of Namitembo, in Malawi, Southeast Central Africa. We've had a great friendship for nearly ten years now, and raised over a half million dollars. (The link to our web page leads to several different articles describing our history together.) It's been a wonderful relationship, and it's made a huge difference (we both believe) in the future of the people of Namitembo. I know that it's made a difference in the lives of our own parishioners as well, opening our hearts and minds to the lives of a people far away in distance and culture.

But on the eve of the event... I'm not thinking about how much we might raise, or the weather forecast (cloudy, possible showers). I'm thinking about my own personal future. This relationship with Namitembo has changed me as well. Personally, I've visited our friends there three times: four years ago, two years ago, and this summer. So, what am I thinking?

Maybe it's natural, but I wondering about using more of my own time and energy to try to create this kind of relationship between other parishes and missions.

"Sister parish" relationships can be really wonderful (and I'd love to hear from more parishes about their experience with this) -- but I've noticed that they often seem to be the inital byproduct of the energy of a person or small group, who have a vision of making a difference. But that vision often doesn't quite grow and blossom the way the original founders had in mind, and seems to die out after the original people move on to other things. Or, as sometimes happens, perhaps the funds that are raised do not go far enough, or do not get spent wisely, or are spent for things that really were not the priorities of the people, or that really did not address the root causes of the poverty they live with.

I'm a part of a Seattle group called Friends of CRS [Catholic Relief Services]. Our mission statement is to "Inspire our communities to action for Global Solidarity through the work of CRS throughout the world" (more on this group another time). Global Solidarity -- what a wonderful thing for U.S. Catholics to aspire to! And sister parish relationships can be such valuable connections -- really fostering that sense of solidarity. That's why I was interested in the Friends to begin with.

Solidarity -- what a GREAT value for U.S. Catholics to live out. As a people we're such a force in the world, but individual citizens are generally unaware of what life is like beyond our boarders.

This brings me back to my thoughts, about my own future. What if I were to spend three months of the year in places like Malawi, and the rest of the time in Seattle or other places in the Pacific Northwest, trying to create viable, lasting partnerships? What could happen?

I'd be interested in hearing from the experience that others have had with sister parish types of relationships. I'd also be interested in hearing what my own parishioners think about their Deacon "going off on some idealistic quest."

Taken in Namitembo, Malawi -- Southeast Central Africa

Wish I could figure out how to post this picture on my profile. Well, I'm still learning...

Why this, why now?

After nearly 23 years here on the staff at St. Bridget parish, I've found that an increasing amount of my time is spent communicating.

First of all, when you've been around that long you're witness to a wonderful amount of human history. From knowing what the artist's intent was when he designed the abstract stained glass over the west rise of the church... to remembering the youngest daughter's name at her mom's funeral, even though she lives in Ohio, because she was in your Confirmation class 20 years ago... to knowing where the shut-off valve is on the cold water in the crawl space underneath the church addition, when the plumber starts hollering... you just know things. That's helpful, and it can serve to link us up with ourselves, as a community should be linked.

But there's more. I'm here at our parish full-time; more than that, actually, as people know. I love this place -- I love this community. I know that people have placed a lot of trust in me. (That's really humbling, you know.) So there's this desire to be present to people: in prayer or at liturgy; at school or parish events; at personal, intimate times; at gatherings, meetings, classes... whether to lead, cheerlead, or be simply present. And that too, means that I see a picture of a greater whole, that I'm constantly called to describe, represent, or even simply enjoy.

And there's still more. It's more because as much as I love this community, I've become ever more aware that we can be so much more. We have much to celebrate, and we celebrate well. Yet we have soft spots -- even blind spots -- where we could do so much better. We have great strengths and have done truly wonderful things -- but we also have greater strengths that are only barely tapped. And all of that needs a voice.

And there's still more! For like any other parish, as a community we are very narrow in our vision. There are neighboring parishes with whom we have little in common... parishes far different, far more diverse: racially, economically, theologically, politically... there is a wide Archdiocese and an even wider national and international Church, with so much richness, with so many issues about which we seldom concern ourselves. There is much vision it has to offer us, and we have many resources from which we could share.

So it's time, for this. For a long time -- 18 years or more? -- I've been writing a weekly bulletin column called "Brief Notes." For better or worse, there's so much more to say, and there's so much less time left to say it than there once was. So, we'll try this vehicle, and see what happens.

September 5th, 2006