Ancestry: Sometimes there are surprises

I have no doubt as to where I come from.  I know my ancestry on both my mother's and my father's side of the family. My mother was an important part of my formation, values and identity, as was my dad  -  I am of 100% Norwegian and my identity is heavily influenced by my  rural Minnesota, Lutheran  background. I was also shaped and formed by a few teachers, pastors, and friends along the way. One of them was Dave C. Johnson, a Professor of Sociology at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where I went to college in the 1960s. He was a beloved mentor and inspiration to many.. Humorous and engaging, perhaps the most intelligent person I had met up to that time of my life. 

While I grew up in a Norwegian Lutheran heritage, Dave Johnson grew up in the Swedish Lutheran tradition,  He was a Scandinavian in Minnesota and he was a Johnson. I once tried to locate him in the Minneapolis telephone book and found at least a dozen David Johnson's.  

In 1946, when Dave was 13 and the world was still reeling from the horrors of Nazism, World War II and anti-Semitism, his mother took him aside and shared the well-kept family secret, the secret not to be told: She told young David that she was Jewish. Dave Johnson is half Jewish, and of Eastern European rabbinical stock, no less. Uffda! Oyvey!
 
Dave has just finished a totally engaging account of his personal journey to discover and honor his Jewish ancestry and heritage. It was diligently and doggedly researched, and recorded with detail and affection. The book is a legacy for coming generations, and a lovely account of Dave’s growth and maturation as he transitioned from keeping the “secret” to “coming-out” Jewish, boldly and proudly. I haven't gotten a copy yet but it comes recommend from a friend and I will read it, for sure..

Shtetls to Shipsides/The Religious Roads of My Mother’s People is available on amazon.com, or by contacting Dave at johnson@umn.edu

Small Groups for Nurturing Spiritual Growth

Small groups can an effective tool to deepen our spiritual lives, examine our own spiritual practices, and even bring renewal to our congregations.    A number of the groups using my book, A Spirituality of Service have reported positive results.  I have been interested to hear feedback and am "promoting" the book for this purpose - thanks to all who have sent in their comments.  

The following is part of a message from Debora Baker from Concord, New Hampshire,  whom I didn't know until  I got her message. She belongs to an Episcopal church where our friends Darrell and Bunny Huddleston are members.  Darrell is a retired Episcopal priest and has been a mentor to me for many years.  I thought it might be good to share these comments with others and encourage you, if you have a group, to use the book as a spiritual formation resource in a small group.  Deb wrote:

"I am a part of Darrell Huddleston's Spirituality of Service discussion group at St. Paul's Church in Concord, NH. We met for several weeks before church to share our stories as we read the book, and it was such a wonderful experience that we've decided to try to continue to meet -- although the timing is challenging as Darrell does a lot of summer supply in other churches.

For me personally the book was a catalyst to think more deeply about God's presence in my everyday life; I am trying to focus less on what I am doing to be more spiritually mature and more on noticing what God is doing. I was also part of another educational group at St. Paul's in the spring and our concluding activity there was to write a personal Rule of Life, so when I got to your "cornerstones" chapter it helped me to hone that.

I also really appreciated getting to know others at church more deeply and sharing our spiritual journeys. The group appreciated that your book offered encouragement grounded very strongly not only in faith, scripture, and teachings of great thinkers and writers, but also in practical day to day life, and we felt your generosity in sharing your own experiences -- including times when you felt frustrated or things didn't go perfectly -- made our spiritual work feel less daunting.

Thanks for your time and for sharing your journey of spiritual service.

All good things,
Deb Baker

Let the rivers clap their hands, Let the mountains sing together for joy; Psalm 98:8

The old beer commercial  that used the phrase "it doesn't get any better than this!" describes the days just passed - days with our family who were visiting here in Montana -  canoeing, biking, hiking, laughing and talking - and even singing and worship together.  And, Oh yes, wonderful food and tasting a great variety of local beers. 

When families get together they inevitably retell old stories and the add new ones.  Thus, the canoe that capsized and spilled Lani, Jessie and Lucy into the fast moving current of the Jefferson River gave them, and all of us, a few minutes of panic and concern - that soon turned to relief and by the end of the day good laughs and now something to reminiscence about.  

I couldn't stop smiling in the midst of the beauty of nature surrounding us. Much joy!  Mountains, rivers and grand-kids will do that to you!

But the days quickly sped by and one by one they left.. though we have  eight year old twins, Frannie and Lucy, and 13 year old Henry with us for some weeks.  

 Judy and I try to enjoy these days, for these too are fleeting.  But we are conscious of the preciousness of each day and give thanks for all these blessings.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music;" Psalm 98:4

Appreciating a Garden

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.  ~Mirabel Osler

These days I spend a lot of time in the garden.... not only mine, but the community garden of  which I am a member.  It's called Jackson's Garden here in Sheridan Montana where I get my hands in the dirt and watch the ever amazing transformation as seeds become beautiful flowers or delicious and healthy food during the summer months.  

I like growing things, but have never mastered all there is to know about it.  Nor do I aspire to.  

Right now we need to transplant the last seedlings from the green house and weed the plants that are already growing.  This week I was doing a lot of weeding.   I found this quote to be true:

"When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it.  If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant."  ~Author Unknown.   

Not so true but it brings on a chuckle. There are many poems, sentimental quotes, and sayings about the esthetic and spiritual nature of gardening.  I rather prefer the humorous ones. 

I like the tranquility of the garden in the morning hours.  I don't do any thinking about the problems of the world as I concentrate on the task at hand - tilling, planting, weeding, harvesting. In the coolness of the day I listen to the water rushing down Mill Creek about a hundred yards below. I am aware of the birds singing and one of my co-workers across the way quietly tending to a patch of flowers.  I like the solitude and quiet -  it is a kind of prayer of gratitude.

And another thing about this community garden - all of us are volunteers and do just what we can and want to do - guilt free.  This is pretty conflict free group - which is commendable, given the fact that some do lots more work than others. When I return from a trip I have always been welcomed back, even though the others have been putting in many hours in my absence.  There is a parable somewhere in the Gospels that speaks to this principle, I think.

It is a diverse group of men, women and kids - older and younger, master gardeners and rank armatures, Christians and "nones" - (not affiliated), extraverts and introverts, conservatives and liberals - though we never have gotten into political or religious discussions.  

At the end of the day my back reminds me of what happens when I spend a lot of time bent over the plants I am tending.   As another unknown author said, "Gardening is a matter of your enthusiasm holding up until your back gets used to it." 

Here is a truth about gardening: There is no gardening without humility.  I have never become an expert at it and it doesn't matter. I have many years of experience but have never gained an expertise in plants and soil - though I am glad some have acquired that knowledge and skill.   

 What I appreciate about the garden is that nature comes to life each spring and is ready to surprise us with lavish gifts of life, beauty, and peacefulness - and this prompts me to want to help care for and love this God-given wonder of creation.   

Here is Judy and her sisters in the garden - left to right: Judy, Jackie, Romell, Paula.

Question for reflection:

What is an activity you do that is good for your body, gives you peace of mind, and turns you toward the Divine Presence?

Sorting Through and Shedding Stuff: A Spiritual Practice?

Once in awhile Judy and I talk about all the stuff we have and that eventually we will have to get around to downsizing. 

 When we moved from place to place in the past we had opportunities to shed some of our material things, but we usually felt that we still had too much "stuff".   When we came back to the states after living some years in third world countries we would go through a kind of reverse culture shock - we especially remember the vast variety of choices in the supermarkets and the large number of things every family felt they "needed". 

In the 1970s there was much written about the value of a simple life style.  This concern interfaced with the growing consciousness of the vast number of people in the world going hungry and living in poverty.  My perception is that the movement to simplify lives did not catch on in this country. Marketing and consumption are a huge part of our culture.

 

The other day I was looking around the garage and I saw boxes with labels like "Files" and "Miscellaneous".  Looking inside I found many letters, memos, reports, articles and papers that, undoubtedly, at some time we thought were important to keep.  So we neatly filed them away and most of them have never been looked at again.. until now.

I started to look at these files and had an inspiration to sort through and start to shed myself of much of this accumulated paper trail of my life.  As I read some of them I was flooded with good memories, but a few even brought on a tinge of regret for a undue critical comment made in a letter. I mentioned this process of sorting and shedding to dear friends, Paula and Peter Limburg, with whom we worked and shared some of the most memorable years of our lives when we served our respective church organizations in Central America.

Paula sent this perceptive and entertaining commentary on their recent experience:

Dear Jerry and Judy, I read your blog this morning and was so tickled because that is exactly what Peter and I have been doing for the last 2 months! Peter has pulled all print materials from the attic and is almost done in his basement office. We've tossed, recycled, and sorted for shredding tons of STUFF!

Like you, we've been significantly delayed by the distraction of reading whatever it is we're sorting. We have lots of letters from you, and of course from our parents. It must be that when we've moved, we've just transferred boxes and boxes of old letters, college term papers/tests, documents, pictures - they all jog memories that we have to track down in the allies of our brains or ask each other for clarification (usually believing our own take on the memory anyway) - makes for lots of dinner conversations about the past.

I hope that this is just a stage: I love thinking of decades past, but not exclusively! Peter says he's done with the paper-mining, and there will be no more. Hah! This week we "Reune" with my sibs, and in July with Peter's, so I'm returning their letters to them to re-read or dump. Peter's mom saved all our letters to her for several decades, and we got them back when she died. So I've sorted and tossed. Some files will make good memory books when we get hard up for reading - probably never. Then our kids will need to toss.

But it makes us think about life and living and dying - and the significance and meaning of all that we've done with our years. We're so grateful for our faith, and are learning that our worth is not in what we've accomplished, rather what God has (and does) accomplish through us. Otherwise, with our growing collection of frailties and failings, we would have a hard time with finding worth and meaning at this time in our lives when we're not working our heads off - it still is a challenge, though, since our culture tends to define people by their work and their accomplishments. Love to you both, Paula

Now, the spiritual part:  Some of this I got from a Quaker website (wouldn't you know it?)

What Paula wrote is very insightful.  Letting go of what is, in the end, just stuff  - is a spiritual opportunity to live a life of simplicity and stewardship.  It can be an outward act of inward removal of that which is not of God.  It is an occasion of expressing gratitude for the plenty that we have been given, and for receiving the grace inherent in giving to those in need.  It demonstrates to those around us how to live a (simpler?) life, and how to deal with life’s diminishments in a gracious spirit.