Spirituality and Our Life Stories

Logically, many of the people I have conversations with these days are of my own generation...  former colleagues from my years of work in many places, long time friends, cousins and siblings, and people we meet in the churches we attend and the community in which we now live.  Also it seems to be that, so far at least,  most of those who are reading my book and finding it interesting, are of a mature age. 

I had hoped and perhaps somewhat naively thought that the themes of the book, with stories of service from various places and cultures around the world, might appeal to young people who are exploring careers of service.  But they are busy people, these young ones, and have many other things to read and do.  We have made the book available to some of those who are entering the Young Adults in Global Mission program of the ELCA.  (Lutheran Church)

I do try to communicate with and keep connected with some young people - especially our own kids and grand kids, but we seem to spend a lot of time now with "old people".  Unfortunately there aren't many youth in the churches we visit and relate to, and a common lament we hear is about the diminishing numbers in the churches and the departure of the next generation after ours,  and the next... the generation of our children and grandchildren. 

An Easter Journey

The last two weeks are a bit of a blur.  We began a trip to Oregon two days  before Palm Sunday and arrived home in Sheridan, Montana a week after Easter Sunday, having traveled almost 4000 miles, including a round trip to Minneapolis. As I traveled those long miles - east and west - to the coast of Oregon and back through Montana and the Dakotas I was reminded that the first title I had selected for my book was to have included the words "the endless journey" in it. That referred, of course, to the spiritual journey, and does catch a bit of the truth of our spiritual journeys.  

Now I am thankful that this road trip has finally ended.  It was a good and salutatory journey to the funeral of Maurice, our brother-in-law - the husband of Romell, Judy's sister ... a celebration of his life and a necessary time of remembrance, feelings of connections and thankfulness for family, good conversations and pondering about the meaning of life and of Easter -even thinking about the subject of doubts on this day when the Gospel text was about Thomas, the doubter.  

The Easter season continues, of course. We got this message on Easter Sunday from Jenkin Thomas, our long-time friend in London.

"May I wish you Happy Easter in my mother tongue, Welsh, namely "Pasc Llawen". "Pasc" is the Welsh for Easter and in the Welsh language the adjective follows and does not precede the noun. "Pasc" is of course derived from the Judaeo-Christian Latin name for the feast.

It always strikes me as odd that in Anglo-Saxon lands the biggest feast of the Christian year should be entitled "Easter" in distant commemoration of "Eostre", an Anglo-Saxon spring fertility goddess."

Something else to ponder but not something to keep me awake  at night. As I sit and take in the springtime sunset over the mountains in our Montana valley home, it is a peaceful feeling that lingers with me now.  Good to have made the trip and it will certainly be good to sleep in our own bed tonight.  

Peace be with you,

The Meek shall inherit the earth.

The following will not be totally clear to readers who have not been involved in Vietnam over the many years since the war in the 60s and 70s.  Nevertheless, a word of orientation. 

Richard Fuller, who writes this short message, has lived in Viet Nam for many years  and was a part of Viet Nam Christian Service in the 1970s and worked in the same project Judy and I worked with in the 60s.  Grace Mishler, about whom this is written, follows in the tradition of the service done by the  Church of the Brethren, one of the historic peace churches.  It is the only Church denomination I have been with in services that make a regular practice of foot washing.

I don't personally know either of them, but have become acquainted through the wonders of email and the internet.  I think Grace epitomizes the model of the spirituality of service and a good example to reflect on this day.  From what I can gather, Grace is blind.. but she has a great vision of service to the poor.  I have slightly shortened Rich Fuller's original message for clarity to readers of this blog..

Saigon, Easter Sunday, 2013

Today, as the question of how much hope the world has these days, I want to share my congratulations to Grace and with all of you, folks of good will.

This quiet, humble unsung heroine is the first "Brethren nun" as she calls herself I have ever met. She has chosen to help design a curriculum for social work students at the National University in Thu Duc to assist the disabled, including the blind, a part of society usually left behind in a nation's quest to develop economically.

Thoughts about friends in hospice

Two people who have been important in our lives are now in hospice. Their names are Paul Longacre and Maurice White. When we hear that word ­– hospice, we immediately know what it means – among other things, caring for and honoring one who is dying and an acceptance and letting go of this life.  The word brings forth the feeling of imminence – something hanging threateningly over one, ready to happen. But perhaps the sense of finality also elicits a reaction of mystery and wonder – a goodly reminder that the earthly journey will end soon enough for all of us.

Ready for Lent to be Over?

Here is a reflection from my Lenten journey ten years ago.

Somoto, Nicaragua, March, 2003

We visited and talked with people yesterday who work with the poor, people living on the extreme edge of poverty – indigenous peasants, mostly. All of my colleagues on this trip are very motivated people, sensitive to the injustices and wrongs in the world, upset with a political and economic system that keeps people subjugated and living under conditions of poverty. Enough to ignite righteous anger!

We are board members of a foundation that has funded projects to get to the root causes of these problems. Most of the participants on the trip have not lived outside the United States nor spent time living among the poor, but they are intelligent and well meaning people who desire to see a more just world. The benefactor and founder of the foundation is traveling with us. He is now advanced in age and his plan is to give away his wealth and he sincerely wants it to be effectively used to help the poor.

On the Theology of Accompaniment

I recently received a message from  Milissa May, a student at Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary asking for some thoughts on this topic as she is writing a thesis on the theology of accompaniment in the Lutheran Church. So I asked my old friend and colleague, Pedro Veliz, from Lima, Peru for some of his thoughts on the theme of accompaniment

Some years ago I worked with Pedro in the Andean Regional Office of Lutheran World Relief when we were developing a methodology of working with the poor that we called accompaniment. After that experience I wrote the book "Partners with the Poor" published by Friendship press in 1993.

Here is a brief message from Pedro: (my translation with a few edits for clarity)

Dear Jerry,

Thanks for lifting up the theme of accompaniment. I wonder if  the younger generation has had little exposure to the word "accompaniment". (Years ago) when I first heard of its significance (from early colleagues in LWR) I understood it as a different kind of practice of helping the needy.

We (wanted to) help others by respecting their dignity as human beings so we looked for ways to be in solidarity, not just sharing what is left over or in order to feel good; rather it was out of a desire to see that others would live better, in a way that they deserved, a way that everyone deserves to live a better life.

My commitment as a Christian believer transformed this practice into a vocation, first looking at how to do accompaniment, but then I started to ask "Why?" and "What for?"  Such questions are not frequently asked by professionals today.

Then I found in St Luke 24:13-35 Jesus' model of accompaniment - showing patience, teaching, sensitivity, solidarity, love and respect. (This is the post-resurrection story of Jesus walking alongside the two men on the Emmaus road)

Today in my daily experience as a Lutheran Christian my feeling is that accompaniment is an ethical expression of the practice of service. I am studying the Sermon on the Mont, the longest of the sermons of Jesus, which gives us this ethical framework of accompaniment - the most integrated vision of service that God offers through his Son Jesus Christ.

I hope to write more about this to you soon. There are other questions and issues that will better explain this experience that I have had through many years of work with the church. 

Un abrazo fraterno en Cristo Jesús - A fraternal embrace in Christ Jesus.

Pedro Veliz,

Lutheran World Relief,

Andean Regional Office,

Lima, Peru

Memories of War and Peace

Memories of long ago are easily ignited these days through email listings and blog postings spawning a flurry of emails from people we have not heard from or about for 20 or 30 years. Such is the case now as a former colleague in Vietnam Christian Service sent a message that Paul Longacre, one of our Mennonite colleagues and leaders during those years  is dying from chronic lymphocytic leukemia and has decided not to continue with hospitalizations and ongoing treatments.  So he's set things up with hospice.

Viet Nam Christian Service existed between 1966-76, and Judy and I served

Lutheran World Relief as part of that team between 1966-68.

 Many of us started our lives of service in that war zone so many years ago are now reminiscing with Paul about his good a faithful service as he faces his final journey in this life.  It also is cause to reflect on our own good or not so faithful journeys of service to the poor and victims of war and oppression.

Paul and his first wife, Doris Janzen Longacre ("More With Less Cookbook"), greeted many of us very green volunteers and staff when we were deployed to Vietnam -  at the center she hosted as our first home and language center in Saigon. And Paul served as administrator of Mennonite Central Committee and Vietnam Christian Service programs in Vietnam and later in Akron., PA.