Grace Upon Grace

Lunch in Park City

Two delightful women from the Episcopal Church in Park City, Utah took me out to lunch today at the Windy Ridge Cafe. Claudia, Judy, and I chatted away like old friends. This must be one of the main benefits of being part of the Body of Christ -- the connection we share with other members of it.

Then I bought some house-made rhubarb sorbet, basically out of curiosity, at the Windy Ridge Bakery and came home. The cold is still plaguing me and I was embarrassed to meet my new Park City friends with a red, chapped nose.

At least it isn't Stress Nose, an ailment that has plagued me from time to time since moving to Wyoming. But you, dear reader, do not need to know the unpleasant details of Stress Nose.

Much sadness all around this past week -- the death of the Rt. Rev. Jim Kelsey, Bishop of Northern Michigan, has touched our Wyoming Diocese closely, as he and our Bishop and the Diocesan staffs have closely collaborated on the Total Ministry or Mutual Ministry approach that both Dioceses share. Everyone who knew Bishop Kelsey seems to have loved and admired him. Closer to home, a young woman was murdered out in the Bridger Valley, just east of here; a long-time parishioner of St. Paul's was found dead up in the Uintas where she liked to go hiking; and a dear friend is about to undergo surgery for a tumor on her pituitary gland.

And I have the nerve to complain about my nose! Here's hoping for a better attitude in the morning.

Friday Five

From RevGalBlogPals:"...[S]uppose you were told to pack some essentials for a trip to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Describe your location, in general or specific terms and....

Location: Kiawah Island, South Carolina, the most beautiful beach I've ever experienced.

1) What book(s) will you bring? Mary Oliver poems; a Bible; the latest memoir that has caught my eye.

2) What music accompanies you? African pop; Black Gospel compilations.

3) What essentials of everyday living must you take (as in the health and beauty aids aisle variety)? Sun screen, beach umbrella, big hat! And maybe something for stingray burns, as I was covered with them the last time I went to Kiawah ... Not a pretty story.

4) What technological gadgets if any, will you take with you or do you leave it all behind? Though I probably shouldn't, I'd take the laptop.

5) What culinary delights will you partake in while there? Fresh, fresh, fresh shrimp and local fish; beautiful vegetables and fruits from the farm stand.

As a bonus question, what makes for a perfect day on vacation for you? A gathering of friends and family at the beach (obviously), but with some private time in there as well -- and on that lovely day I would not have to cook or clean!

Virally Yours

Was it the 50-mile-per-hour winds blowing dust around for two days? Was it me running my mouth too much? Or was it a lapse in the hand-washing regimen so engrained in the hospital worker's mind? Well, whatever it was, I got me a cold, or should I say, the cold got me.

This gave me the opportunity to take some time off from work, but I find I am easily bored unless I am really, really sick. So today I watched two movies we'd had out from Netflix for way too long: "Something the Lord Made" (strangely enough, my friend Seeking Servant watched it today too, 2,000 miles away) and "The Devil's Playground." "Something" sounds religious and isn't, though certainly it has spiritual themes. It's about a white surgeon and a black lab assistant who work together to pioneer heart surgery for "blue babies" back in the 50's (I think). Naturally the white surgeon gets all the glory and the black lab assistant, who is equally knowledgeable and more than equally gifted, gets to deliver cocktails to guests at the surgeon's parties .... But there is a reasonably satisfying ending.

"The Devil's Playground" is a documentary about Amish young people and the experience of Rumspringa, a time when they are free to try out worldly things and then decide whether or not to embrace the traditional life. This wasn't a very well-made documentary but the stories of the young folks are interesting, and a little scary: I'd never have guessed teenaged Amish kids would quickly become addicted to meth, for example.

The clients in the hospital's Dual Diagnosis program (dual diagnosis = substance abuse + mental illness) sent me a card and a funny flower made like a stuffed animal, via my husband who works with them as a therapist. One wonderful fellow signed the card, "It's hard to learn when you're not here, get well soon, your friend, A." I love those guys and gals. They are truly fighting for their lives -- you don't get into our program until you're in the later stages of addiction -- and they inspire me all the time.

Tomorrow I am supposed to go to Park City to meet my "fans" there. There are a couple of Episcopalians who read my column in the Salt Lake Tribune regularly, and they kindly invited me to lunch. I'm really looking forward to it and hope I am not sicker in the a.m.!

From the Presiding Bishop...

... courtesy my friend Seeking Servant, words from our Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts Schori, that I can live by:

For me, one exchange of note [at a forum at Virginia Theological Seminary recently] came about when a woman priest, soon to begin a new ministry, asked the PB about what it means "to be a good and faithful priest".  Her simple response was "Feed my sheep, Tend my lambs, and Stand before God with His people in your heart".

Praying for Friends

I'm reading a book of collected interviews with and articles by Timothy Radcliffe, OP, who is Master of the Dominicans (worldwide, apparently). I really enjoyed his piece on Catherine of Siena. I need to learn more about her, I think. He includes a prayer she wrote and said for her friends:

Eternal God,

I pray to you

for all those you have given me

to love with a special love

and with special concern.

Let them be illuminated with your light.

Let all imperfection be taken from them,

so that in truth

they may work in your garden,

where you have assigned them.

This seems a pretty good prayer to me.

On another note, it is extremely windy tonight and we are expecting snow tomorrow, which worries me as I am scheduled to start a four-week course at Salt Lake Seminary with my favorite teacher, Tom McClenahan, on Amos, tomorrow night. I have written here before about what the drive over Parley's Canyon (on the way to/from SLC) is like in the snow. As discretion is the better part of valor, I may not go .... but I hate to miss that first class of only four!

Memorial Day

I'm remembering the dearest veteran in my life today, my father, Harry Harmon Clark, Jr., who served in the Navy during World War II and thankfully survived. He told harrowing tales of being on a ship in the North Atlantic or during a typhoon near the Philippines -- also of being on one of the ships surrounding the A-bomb test at the Bikini Atoll. But he was glad and proud to serve.

I have another remembrance today, prompted by Guy's bringing an old Bible in from a box we had in storage. The Bible apparently belonged to my great-great-grandfather, Mr. John Clarke. His obituary is pasted into the front of the Bible and reads as follows:

In Memoriam

Mr. John Clarke, who departed this life on the 14th of May, 1904, requested that Elder Wm. M. Smoot preach his funeral sermon, and as the Elder was in Mt. Sterling, Ohio, at the time of Mr. Clarke's death, he complied with the request on Sunday morning last, at the Baptist church, in Occoquan [Virginia]. The text used on the occasion is found recorded in the twelfth chapter, and thirty-sixth verse of Mark. Mr. Clarke was a firm believer in, and a staunch friend of the Anti-Means, Predestinarian, Old School, or Bible Baptists. He was an honorable upright man and had many friends. He was always ready and willing to help the poor and afflicted. John Clarke was the son of Alfred and (Bulock) Clarke. He was born on the 8th of July, 1820, and married in 1840, Elizabeth Jordan, who died December, 1849. Married second time, February 19, 1851, Sophia Carter, who died January 6th, 1886; married third time, March 18, 1888, Fanny Cole, who survives him. He is also survived by eight children: Lucian, Henry, Edward, Milton, Jennie, Mrs. LaHayne; Lizzie, Mrs. Davis; Emma, Mrs. Alexander and Frances, Mrs. Selecman. The family have our deepest sympathy in this sad time of their lives. BEN HUR

Anti-Means, Predestinarian, Old School, or Bible Baptists -- does anybody know what this means, exactly?

Two things seem clear from reading this. One, this is another ancestor who had firm convictions about his Christianity. (I'll tell the story of great-grandmother Gibson, the former Roman Catholic, in another post.) Two, I may have some longevity genes!

I believe am descended from John's second marriage to Sophia Carter, but I'm not sure from which of their children. Geneaology has never particularly appealed to me, but stick an old newspaper clipping under my nose, and my interest is piqued. I also have a fabulous, huge photograph of the family's reunion, which took place four years before John Clarke's death and about which I have another newspaper clipping, in which John Clarke is reputed to have been "hale and hearty at eighty years of age."

I'll try to get that huge photo scanned and post it here.

Happy Memorial Day, everybody! And in honor of John Clarke:

For David himself said by the Holy Ghost, The LORD said to my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. Mark 12:36, KJV

RevGalBlogPals Friday 5

1. Have you ever successfully quit a bad habit, or gotten a good habit established? Tell us about how you did it. Smoking. I quit and re-started several times, but finally quit in 1996. I can't take much credit for this. I was lying on the gurney about to undergo surgery (unrelated to smoking) when the thought popped in my head: I don't ever want to be re-living this moment and thinking, `If only I had quit smoking.'" I have stayed quit since then!

2. "If only there were a 12-step program for procrastinators!"

3. Share one of your healthy "obsessions" with us. Ummm.... does bird-watching count?

4. Share the habit of a spouse, friend or loved one that drives you C-R-A-Z-Y. My dear husband MUST have every kitchen drawer and cabinet completely and firmly closed, despite the fact that years of paint buildup on same often results in completely stuck drawers. Small potatoes, I know.

5. "I'd love to get into the habit of walking early every morning before work." Since I have a hard time getting out of bed in the a.m., and barely make it to work as it is, I'm not sure this is realistic!

Bonus: What is one small action you might take immediately to make #5 a reality? Go to bed earlier!

Taming Pentecost

Tonight I conducted a Bible study at the hospital, my usual Tuesday night session. I had three participants, each of whom regularly makes insightful comments about the scripture we're reading.

We studied Acts 2-4 today, reading it aloud bit by bit, then discussing each section. When we got to Peter's sermon in Acts 4, it was my turn to read, and I read it calmly and smoothly, without a lot of inflection. C., who is a woman of great faith and fascinating perspectives, said, "You know, we sit here reading this all nice and quiet, but imagine what Peter was actually doing. He was probably hollering and waving his arms and jumping up and down!"

She was right on, I thought. And how often we try to tame these powerful, even alarming scripture passages and make them acceptable to our dulled, modern ears?

The Pentecost quilt to the right was made by Linda Schmidt.

It gets closer to the feel of the actual event than did my mannerly reading of Acts 4 tonight.

Make Us One, Lord

Worship yesterday at All Souls Chapel, Wyoming State Hospital, was interesting as always, and sometimes uplifting (for me at least). The Gospel from John 17 focused on unity between Jesus and his Father as well as unity between all of us with each other and our unity with Jesus and the Father. I found myself gesticulating creatively to indicate these configurations of unity. I pleaded for ecumenism, as I so often do, and pointed out that our worship service is a combination of elements from many different churches. I thought I was doing pretty well with all this, but then a client interrupted -- a client, I might add, who thinks he is God. In fact, he told me one time he couldn't receive Communion because it would be auto-cannibalism.

This client was persistent yesterday, making bizarre references to his ideas of God's glory and our relationship to God. Usually I am adept at fielding interruptions and keeping the thread of the sermon going. Yesterday I didn't do so well. I had the feeling I'd better wrap the sermon, or sermon shards, up and move on before complete chaos ensued. (Other clients get annoyed when I am repeatedly interrupted, and the interrupter is quite a touchy fellow, and he's also 6'5", huge, and prone to violence -- and I am the only staff person in the chapel.)

I thank God for music. When everything else falls apart, music works. We sang "They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love" and "Make Us One, Lord" and, finally, "Amazing Grace" and "He's Got the Whole World." Though we'll never win any awards for choral singing, we tend to make a pretty good racket, especially on "Whole World." I've used that song to close worship in the two psych hospitals I've worked in for eight and a half years now, departing from that pattern very rarely. It leaves people in an upbeat place. In here, they need it.

Christian unity? We have a kind of unity, a foxhole unity, the unity that is born of being under fire together. The fire is made up of the illnesses suffered by the clients, the realities of poverty and class, the struggle to recover from abuse and violence, and the extra indignities forced upon them by the hospital itself. Our unity shows up as small kindnesses and big tolerance and willingness to worship with each other when we disagree about fundamental things, like whether it's okay to have a female chaplain or not.

"Make us one, Lord."

Falwell et al.

I had to say a word (or 600) about two events in the news last week: the controversy caused by Rev. Al Sharpton's comments about Mormons (which plays huge here so close to Salt Lake City) and the death of Rev. Jerry Falwell. That's the topic of this week's Salt Lake Tribune column.