Rector’s Sabbatical
January, 2009
Professional Development Leave:
A Time for Mutual Renewal
Dear Parishioners:
Towards the end of February, I will begin a three month leave from St. John’s for the purposes of renewal and continuing education. It has been five years since my last Professional Development Leave. According to Diocesan Guidelines such leaves along with a month’s annual vacation are strongly recommended every five years and written into Letters Of Agreement between the parish and the Rector. It is in the spiritual and emotional interest of the Rector, and his/her family and the parish to provide such times for refreshment, acquisition of new tools for ministry and quality time with family. The benefits gained by the priest redound to the parish. Indeed, clergy leaves of absence often provide new opportunities for parish growth and new possibilities for lay ministry.
I am convinced that sabbath time of this nature is a mainstay of our shared ministry. It is a unique opportunity to pull back, assess, and plan ahead.
I am deeply thankful for this provision for rest, retreat, renewal, education and of course, some adventure.
While my plans are still in formation, some of the activities I am currently working on include a conference on racism, a two week retreat, at least a week of continued Spanish language study, family time, a visit with Deborah’s and my goddaughter in Guatemala. My last visit there resulted in arranging for a substantial grant to dig a well for her village high in the mountains. During this sabbatical, I also intend to learn more about migrant ministry, visiting again the No Mas Muertes hospitality station in Nogales, and possibly participating in a field trip sponsored by Borderlinks (See Web Site).
Towards the end of my time away I am hoping to spend two weeks as a pilgrim walking a section of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain. It is one of the oldest pilgrimages in Europe.
I am still reviewing all these options and other possibilities as well, and will let you know when I have more more details. Deborah will be joining me for some of the time away.
I am delighted to say the The Rev. Walt Zelley will be returning as priest in charge during my absence. Many of you will remember Walt and how blessed we were to have him serve at St. John’s during my first leave. Walt will be presiding at the 10:00 service. I am further delighted to tell you that Rev. Lance Beizer, having recently retired here with his wife Ann, will preside at the 8:00 service and assist with pastoral care. Finally, The Rev. Adam Greene, recently ordained to the Diaconate in Atlanta, will also be with preaching and church school.
Lisa Richards will have returned to work before I begin this Leave. She will be the first call for logistical concerns. Lance will be the first call on regular pastoral matters. Walt would oversee arrangements for any pastoral emergencies such as deaths. He will also attend Vestry meetings and spend one half day a week in the Parish Office. The property will be under the oversight of our new Jr. Warden, Mieke Armstrong. As you can see, you are in excellent hands!
Please pass on to me or the Vestry any suggestions you may have regarding how to make things run smoothly at St. John’s during my absence.
Regrading the costs related to this Professional Development Leave, designated funds have been set aside over the last five years to cover all church expenses to the church as well as a smaller amount intended to assist my expenses. There is also a limited amount of Diocesan support available. Personal funds make up the majority of the funding for this Leave.
You and I have been ministering together now for ten years. I am profoundly grateful for the gifts we have shared in Christ’s name. As well, I am humbled and excited as we look forward together to more mutual ministry. May God’s blessing be upon you, your loved ones and upon the mission of St. John’s in this new year.
Love, John
Desert House of Prayer
February 24- March 16, 2009
“No Mas Muertes” Hospitality Center
Guatemala
OAXACA (Wa-Ha-Ka)
April, 2009
As you well know, traveling is not without its unexpected ups and downs. In conveying the story to the folks back home the traveler/writer tends to omit the difficulties and accentuate the positive. The following is an exception to that general rule of kindly discretion.
The back-story … Things got off to a rough start in Oaxaca, Mexico. Our flight in a small jet from Mexico City to Oaxaca was pure white-knuckle. It was night. Our fragile plane shook, trembled, rattled, bucked and dropped for 20 minutes through an exceedingly violent electric storm. Highlights included lightning flashing, booming and striking the plane right outside our window. Not a word from the pilot throughout. I did not know it was possible to pray so fast. We were both undone.
When we landed under clearing skies at the Oaxaca airport we soon discovered that Deborah’s suitcase (la maleta perdida) was not on the plane. Sever al weeks later when we left Oaxaca it still had not been recovered. “O did it ever return, no it never returned and its fate is still unlearned…”
On our first day Deborah came down with nasty flu bug accompanied by high fever. Throughout these various “dangers, toils and snares”, she was a complete trooper.
Then there was the challenging “Home-Stay”. Many language-training programs include a home-stay with a family as part of a language immersion process. Our hostess was very kind but the situation was not. There was no privacy in any stretch of the word, and a high-strung dog outside our window enjoyed barking well into the night at every real or perceived threat. We lasted two nights there. The Director of our language program at Instituta Cultural quickly sized things up. Mercifully and efficiently she found a much better situation for us, a small inn called Santa Maria Posada. Our hostesses there, Bibiana and Thelma, were very hospitable and served a delicious breakfast every morning.
The rest of the story… After the bumpy start, things really did improve and we had an amazing two weeks featuring language study, several trips outside of the city, regular stops for quiet and prayer at the local church (which had birds nesting and singing in it); the sampling of fine Oaxaca cooking, touring the Botanical Garden, enjoying many kinds of art and music (including a drumming circle), walking and hiking, visiting an organic food market, and making some new friends.
I have divided the photos from Oaxaca into four categories with a short narrative accompanying each group.
OAXACA I The Language Program
Language classes at the Instituta Cultural:
Photos include classroom scenes, the handsome building and gracious grounds; break time and our stay with Bibiana and Thelma.
OAXACA II en Via
Fundacion en Via is a new micro financing non-profit. Its purpose is to assist poor women in State of Oaxaca with small no-interest loans paid back within 100 days. The principal means of raising capital for the loans is a tour fee paid by “tourists” such as Deborah and myself. The full day tour in which we participated, went to Teotlan, a pueblo outside of the city, which is famous for weaving.
We began the tour in Teotlan by visiting the town church, a museum and a local weaving market. Emily our guide and an organizer of Fundacion en Via took us to six homes to visit six women who were applying for small loans to get them out of cyclical poverty. We met bright, energetic, entrepreneurial women who were hoping to win approval of a loan for very simple (to us) purposes; money to buy more supplies for a tortilla business, money for feed for 8 chickens, yarn for rugs, etc.
Up to this time, every lender has paid back her loan.
The photos will fill out the details.
OAXACA III The Arts and Creativity
This set of photos includes paintings by Rudolfo Morales, Rufino Tamayo, and other regional painters. Beauty is found everywhere in Oaxaca in many diverse forms; jewelry, weavings, architecture, fountains, churches, the bright colors of buildings, iron work, colorful clothing, flowering trees and plants, puppetry, sculpture, ceramics and fruit stands.
OAXACA IV General
If you still have an appetite for more, this group includes photos from the ancient Mayan temple and city, Monte Alban, landscapes, a new friend, street scenes, a wedding at Santo Domingo, political protests and graffiti, and our departure.
Enjoy!
April, 2009
EASTER Morning In Los Angelas
The Lord is risen! Happy Easter fellow pilgrims in Christ!
It is a sunny morning here in Los Angeles. I am outside writing this on a picnic table. There are some young families walking around the courtyard in the UCLA apartments where Caleb, Sachi and Maya live. It is 8:00 AM here and 11:00 in Salisbury, which means … you are just completing your Lenten journey celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus with Alleluias, prayers, beautiful flowers, sacred food and joyful music.
In about an hour, Deborah and I will go to a local Episcopal Church where we have not been before to join you and millions of others haling this “festival day” around the globe.
May you be filled today and throughout this Eastertide with blessings of peace, renewal and hope.
Love,
John+
Road Trip from LA to Tucson
Borderlinks Delegation
Last week, along with 10 others, Deborah and I participated in an intensive educational experience organized by BORDERLINKS (See their Web site), which is a bi-national non-profit, based in Tucson, AZ and Nogales, Mexico. The name of our delegation program was “Immigration and the Criminal Justice System”. Over the course of six days, we had revealing interviews and meetings with people who work and live on both side of the Mexican/US border. We traveled to Nogales, US and then spent 2 days in Nogales, Mexico. We went to 3 American detention centers and prisons, including the “Tent City” run by Maricopa County’s (includes Phoenix) Sheriff Arpaio. We met the Director of the Arizona ACLU, and many other impressive individuals committed to compassionate justice and reform of an immigration policy that inflicts much needless pain and misery and costs billions to operate.
The Delegation was extremely well organized and led by Ben Harville. Ben was ably assisted by Ivan Anguamea, a Borderlinks volunteer who lives in Nogales, Mexico. Our group consisted of individuals from all parts of the country and ranged in age from 19 to 70. Traveling a lot in a tightly packed van, sharing meals on the road and at Borderlinks Headquarters, reflecting on our impressions and struggling with a variety of sobering experiences during the week, sleeping on the floor of a Methodist Church, walking in the mid-day heat on a trail currently in use by migrants crossing the border… we grew close as a group.
Below, you will find a detailed itinerary. If you are interested, I believe you will find it well worth reading. Following the itinerary, there are photos of the Delegation that correspond generally with the daily schedule and will give you some sense of this amazing week.
Click here to see detailed itinerary for Borderlinks
Rector’s Sermon, July 25, 2009
John F. Carter St. John’s Episcopal Church
THREE SISTERS: TELLING COURAGE
My Dear Sisters of Michoacán:
Your words and courage have stayed with me for three months. I cannot forget you nor do I want to. I was in your company for only 20 or 30 minutes but your troubling story pulls my conscience like a voice calling in the night.
So I am gathering my thoughts and impressions of that day in Nogales, Mexico at Grupos Beta. I will be as accurate as memory allows. Forgive me if I stray from the facts or forget an important truth. I offer the following account with love and respect and with the hope that others might learn from you as we did.
My wife, Deborah and I were at Grupos Beta (GB) as members of a Borderlinks Delegation. Borderlinks is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Tucson, Arizona and Nogales, Mexico. Its mission is to educate others about the complex issues pertaining to immigration and to inspire delegates, like Deborah and myself, to act on what they learn. For almost a week our delegation traveled in Mexico and Arizona learning first hand about “Immigration and Criminal Justice”.
On the first two days of the seminar, we walked an immigrant trail in the hot Arizona desert, spent a night in Nogales with an unemployed maquiladora (multi-national owned factory) worker and her daughter, met with the police from Nogales, AZ and visited a shelter for young deportees, children who had been separated from their families in the chaos of an attempted border crossing or in an often-heartless deportation process.
When we arrived at Grupos Beta there were a lot of recently “re-patriated” (deported) men outside, milling around, chatting, waiting, and making phone calls. Funded by the Mexican government, Grupos Beta offers migrants who are heading north information concerning the dangers of the desert as well as their legal rights once they cross over into US territory. This agency also offers basic services to migrants who have been repatriated to Mexico. Another part of its mission is to assist in searches for missing migrants and look for the bodies of those who have died from dehydration, disease or murder.
The twelve members of our delegation had come to hear a presentation by a GB staff member. We sat in a public room where deportees make phone calls, use the bathroom or recover enough to figure out their next move. Many arrive exhausted and despondent. We sat down in no particular arrangement as our host greeted us and began to explain the work of GB. Sitting on a bench near us were four Latina women who had just arrived after a failed attempt to cross the border. They were in a state of shock. One got up to make a phone call. The other three were sisters from the State of Michoacán. Michoacán is very poor and much in the news recently due to the rampant violence of the drug wars there. Only a few weeks ago, assassins of drug-lords killed 20 policemen. It is a dangerous place to live.
Our host welcomed us and began to inform us about his work. Our attention, however, gradually shifted from his presentation to the three disconsolate sisters on the bench. They appeared to range in age from late 20s to late 30s. As they collected themselves, they too were listening to the presenter. It seemed to me that he was tired. He was less than sensitive towards the people he was attempting to serve. Perhaps the suffering he witnessed on a daily basis caused him too much pain. Like a father who is angry with a child who does something rash and gets hurt, he expressed frustration at the women’s getting into trouble. At one point, the oldest sister respectfully took issue with something he said.
I did not learn the names of the sisters, so I have taken the liberty of giving them names: the oldest is Mercy, the middle Lupe, and the youngest Carmen. As they began to relate their story, members of our Borderlinks delegation leaned towards them in rapt attention. The director also pulled back and listened. Something unplanned was unfolding in front of us that upstaged the planned event and transformed us from observers to participants.
Mercy began to tell her story, her truth. She had thought it would be simple to cross back over the border from Mexico into the United States, as easy as it had been the first time seven years ago. But for Mercy and her two sisters who attempted to cross together a week ago, the return had been terrifying and disastrous. As she recalled the trauma of recent events tears streamed down her cheeks. She seemed oblivious to them and kept on talking, encouraged by our sympathetic listening.
Several weeks before, Mercy and Lupe had received the heartbreaking news that their father, whom they had not seen in years, had died in Hidalgo, Mexico. They left their jobs and homes in Los Angeles to bury him.
Originally, Mercy had fled her Michoacán home and crossed the border into California for work and for sanctuary from an abusive husband. Before she left Michoacán seven years ago her husband abducted their son and she could not find him. She had never stopped loving him even as she valiantly made a new home in California. The heartbreak of her story is not unusual. In fact, her sister, Lupe, had also crossed over at the same time for similar reasons. Mercy and Lupe had been sending money home for years to assist their family.
Mercy also wrote letters to her son but never heard back from him. When she went to Hidalgo for her father’s burial she hoped to reunite with her son. Not knowing how her former husband may have poisoned his mind, she was afraid that he would reject her. It had been so long since they had seen each other and he would be a young man now. Would he even recognize her?
When the two sisters completed their rites of bereavement and honoring their father, their younger sister, Carmen, decided to join them in their trek back into the States this time. She too was having problems at home.
Now the three sisters sat near us on a very hot afternoon in Nogales, Mexico. We had come to find out about life on the Border at Grupos Beta and were learning first hand. As we listened to Mercy’s story pouring out from her, I was touched by her trust, honesty and valor in sharing such vulnerable information with people she did not know. We delegates had all crossed a precious bridge and were transfixed on the other side by the suffering and courage of these three sisters from Michoacán.
By this time, we had created a circle, that most empathic of shapes. Tess, an American writer living in Mexico City, sat next to Mercy and quietly consoled her. Deborah had moved into the empty space on the bench at the other end bringing Kleenex and compassion with her for the tears that were flowing copiously.
At the burial in Hidalgo, Mercy’s son had initially been chilly towards her, but later a fragile rapprochement in this mother-son relationship seemed possible. Mercy was torn about returning to Los Angeles, but her life was there. So she, Lupe and Carmen set out to cross the border. Unlike the first journey seven years earlier, however, crossing now was fraught with danger. In fact, hundreds die every year trying to cross.
Some of the reasons for this tragic loss of life include a formidable wall, the intensification of border security, the Minute Men, and the tightening of the margins of the border so that only the most treacherous desert and high mountains are now available for crossing. Dehydration and hypothermia are the most common killers. Young children are dying in the desert as well as adults.
These three sisters had no idea how difficult their journey would become. In addition to natural hazards, women crossing the border are frequently the victims of sexual predators and thieves. Robbers or drug addicts on either side of the border sometimes force women to strip and then submit them to violative searches for money. It was possible this happened to Mercy, Lupe and Carmen. After crossing the border, they wandered for six days in the Arizona desert where extremes of heat and cold, as well as cactus and snakes are present dangers. Their water ran out and they became dehydrated, cutting cactus open to moisten their parched mouths.
Then the Border Patrol caught them. Exhausted and depleted in every way, they relate now how BP was rough with them and shoved them into a van. They then spent a night in a detention center and were delivered to the Mexican side of the border by a bus line outsourced by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Mercy and Lupe were shattered by exhaustion, humiliation and loss. Their homes were in Los Angeles where they had work and a community of relationships. Their options now were abysmal. If they were caught again attempting to cross the border criminal charges would be filed against them and they would face a long and uncertain period of detention or imprisonment in any one of 180 detention centers scattered across the United States. It is sometimes the practice of ICE to separate families and place detainees hundreds or thousands of miles from where they have been apprehended.
It was not clear to me what Mercy and her two sisters would do. Carmen had lost the least since this was her first crossing and she had not established a life yet on US soil. But for Mercy and Lupe, an act of love for their father had turned into an unbelievable nightmare.
Mercy got up and anxiously tried to reach her son by cell phone. There is some hope that she will be able to rebuild a relationship with him.
Members of our delegation moved in yet closer to the three sisters. The presenter and we had learned much from them. We offered them eyes of comfort and words of support. When our time was up, there were embraces and tears. We had listened with care, and had honored them. They were grateful for our empathy. They smiled warmly and thanked us.
It was difficult to leave them. I wanted to help them, but there was no more to do. As we said goodbye, I sought words of encouragement,
“Ustedes son fuertes. No llegaron a este tiempo duro en sus vidas sin una fe poderosa. Que Dios bendigan siguiendo en esa fe y fuerza con mucha esperanza.”
“You are strong. You did not come this far without having a powerful faith. May God bless you as you continue in that strength and faith with much hope.”
So Dear Michoacán sisters, I do not know where you are now.. I pray that you have found some healing and hope. I know the other members of our delegation join me in this well-wishing. You gave us an incredible gift. You opened our hearts.
This letter is my thank-you.
For more information about Borderlinks programs go to Borderlinks.com
