Connections

I have been spending the last few days with college friends in Portland, although yesterday I went up to Seattle for a CSJP community meeting.

It is hard to believe but I graduated from Lewis and Clark College twenty years ago! That span of time seemed significant enough to warrant attending my reunion. I also needed to be in the Northwest this weekend for the aforementioned meeting. But it is also very important to honor relationships with people who mean a lot to me by spending time with them when I can. Sure we stay connected across the miles, but there is nothing that can replace being together.

So I flew out here on Wednesday and have been staying with my good friend and her family,  including my 13 year old godson who is almost as tall as me! On Thursday I went on a tour of alumni owned wineries with two of my old roommates and some other classmates.  And on Friday I able to attend our class reception and 80s karaoke night (the pic is one a friend took with my camera without my knowledge of my friend Kim and I singing  a Talking Heads song).

We have all grown up. Careers have changed.  Children have been born and are growing up. Other important people have come into our lives. But the connections we made twenty plus years ago still matter.

I am glad I was able to come for a bit and look forward to the time when I return to the Pacific Northwest and see these people more often. We may not see each other frequently.  Our lives may have diverged as we follow different paths. But I am who I am today in no small way because of these relationships.  And for those ongoing connections I give thanks!

Full Circle

Twenty Two years ago I was a rising Junior in high school looking at colleges. My Dad had a conference in a little town called Portland, so my mom and I tagged along.  While my Dad met to talk about highways and asphalt, my Mom and I explored from our base at a hotel near Lloyd Center. We went to Powells Books, rode the light rail, visited the rose garden, and experienced the beauty of the Oregon Coast. We also took a campus tour of Lewis and Clark College. The rest is history. My history.

Life has come full circle in a way. I was the one attending a conference this weekend, giving a presentation on the church's call to respond to human trafficking and immigration.  I am staying at the exact same hotel near Lloyd Center.

Life has a funny way of surprising you and reminding you of loved ones long passed, or the first time you tried marion berry ice cream, or your first steps on the path to adulthood.

A good weekend of ministry for the common good and memories of spirit filled moments in my own life.

The Dream of the 90s is alive in Portland

In the funny 'cause it's true category, I give you Portlandia's "Dream of the 90s"

Visitation

I lived in Portland for 16 years.  They were great years.  College.  Bureaucratic Adventures.  Becoming a Church Geek-Extraordinaire.  My time in the City of Roses means a lot to me,  filled as it was with amazing people, spiritual and personal development, and opportunities to learn and do good work.  Plus Portland is, well, Portland.  Those in the know understand.  I need say no more.

It was hard to leave six years ago to begin this journey into religious life.  I'm glad I took the risk and left the "People's Republic of Portland," as my Dad used to call it.  Life is good now too, filled with amazing people, spiritual and personal development, and opportunities to learn and do good work.  But I will always miss Portland.

Even though I only live about a three hour drive away, I haven't been able to visit  in a few months. My weekends have been filled with homework, workshops, community meetings, etc...  Tomorrow in fact I'm scheduled to give a workshop in Seattle, so even though I'm writing this from the comfort of my friend's house in Portland, I need to drive home tonight.  This is a quick visit, but an important one.  In a few hours I will head to a local parish for my god daughter's first communion!  I am so happy I can be there with her on this day.

I drove down yesterday and had some time to catch up with old friends, run a few errands, and get a great night's sleep in what may just be the comfiest guest bed I've ever slept on.  And I've slept in a lot of guestrooms.  Today I met one of my best friends for brunch at one of my all time favorite breakfast places.  Got a fresh strawberry smoothie from Burgerville (heaven!).  Did some birthday shopping for nieces and nephews at my favorite toy store, and bought a workbook for a class I'm taking at my favorite bookstore in the entire world. (Yes, lots of bests and favorites).

I've managed to pack a lot into this 30+ hour visitation of stumptown.  Looking forward to coming back again soon!

my inner footwear

I'm in Portland for the weekend. Visiting good friends and spending some much needed down time. I also visited my favorite shoe store to buy a pair of clogs ... I wear my old ones absolutely everywhere and they are very worn out. I left my old clogs to be repaired and bought a new pair of Dansko clogs that will last me another 3 to 5 years. Not cheap, but they are my basic every day footwear. And by purchasing them in Oregon, I managed to save the sales tax! :)

Imagine my surprise when I took this silly blog quiz this evening and found that my inner shoe personality is ... clogs! Notice where it says I should work: a company dedicated to helping the world.

You Are Clogs

You are a solid and down to earth person. You seek – and almost always achieve – a really sound balance in your life. You are stylish yet comfortable. Mellow but driven. Excited yet calm. You are the perfect mesh of contradictions. No matter what happens, you have the ability to stay well grounded in your life. People know that they can truly depend on you. You should live: In Europe You should work: At a company dedicated to helping the world

What Kind of Shoe Are You?

Blogthings: We Have a Quiz for Almost Everything

friendship

Somehow February wooshed by, and here it is the last weekend of February. I lived for 16 years 3 hours south of Seattle in a little town named Portland. I went to college there. I grew up there. I found God there. And I made some absolutely amazing and dear friends who are still there, while I've been moving around and growing into my new life as a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace.

But friendships are very important, for our hearts and minds and inner being. Of course I've made friends in community, and a year and a half into my sojourn in Seattle I've made some friends here too. Not to mention my bloggy friends! But there's nothing like spending time with the people who you've shared joy, laughter and tears with. Plus there are now amazing little people who have become part of my friends' families to play with and get to know as well!

So, this is all a long preamble to sharing the news that I'm headed to Portland this weekend. I have so many other tasks that need to be done -- homework, some projects for community, sorting out the piles of paper on my desk, etc... But I also know that I need to be with my friends. It's been far too long!

And so, once I pack my bag and make my bed, I'm headed down for the drive I learned so well during my groovy sister reserves, only in reverse! (I spent every other weekend in Seattle when I was discerning my vocation, so I know this stretch of I-5 particularly well.)

I'm actually looking forward to the drive ... I've had an assortment of wonderful observations, reflections and God moments on that solitary drive over the years.

Muddy Boot Makes the News

The current issue of the National Catholic Reporter features a great story of Catholics taking their faith seriously and living it in the world. It also just so happens to be a story about my old parish in Portland and features some fabulous quotes by some of my friends talking about the Muddy Boot Festival.

It's so amazing to have seen this growing understanding of the connection between our faith in our Creator and our care for Creation. It started at St. Phil's with the Columbia River Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of the Northwest. Some folks at St. Phil's got together to see how they might try to live that aspect of their faith as a community of faith.

The Muddy Boot Organic Festival, which held its fourth annual event this Sept. 11-13, marks for St. Philip Neri Parish not only a means of evangelization, reaching out to the wider community in this heavily unchurched region, but also a transition in its own identity. Its longtime Italian-American membership is aging, while many of the younger parishioners stepping forward to take the lead bring not that ethnic identity, but a strong environmental consciousness. ...

Even before Muddy Boot was launched, St. Philip Neri had already taken steps toward promoting sustainability, inspired in part by the 2001 Columbia River pastoral letter issued by U.S. and Canadian bishops of the Pacific Northwest. One of the parish’s major projects in response to that call was to create a bio-swale on the property -- a piece of land with native plants, designed to collect rainwater from the parking lot, instead of it running into storm drains, and filter out pollutants before it returns to the water table or to the Willamette River.

“There are a lot of young Portlanders who have this value of wanting to care for creation, and the Columbia River pastoral letter appeals to that group,” said Dr. Debbie Murphy, 38, who serves as a medical volunteer at the festival (“mostly sunscreen and Band-Aids,” she says). “The festival was born out of this idea.”

Much of this started as I had one foot out of parish life, leaving my role with the Peace & Justice Commision and Pastoral Council and beginning my journey with the Sisters. I personally had little or nothing to do with any of it. In a way, this put me in a privileged position as I was able to see the seeds that were planted grow and bloom into something absolutely amazing!

What's truly wonderful is to see what can happen when the layity have the support and guidance of the clergy, but are also given the freedom to dream dreams. Seeds are planted and then they grow. Fr. Steve was the pastor when those seeds were planted 6 or 7 years ago. Then Fr. Rich was there when the festival started 4 years ago. Fr. Jerry is there now. But the festival started with the folks in the pews ... Greg and Debbie and Jackie and Dolly and Mark and Matthew and the list goes on and on. Very cool!

Life Goes On

Three years ago on the day that I entered the Novitiate in New Jersey, my friends at my parish in Portland were launching an ambitious project inspired by the Columbia River Pastoral Letter and our concern as Catholics for Care for creation. They called it the "Muddy Boot Organic Festival." The idea was to get a big name speaker (they had Robert Kennedy Jr., the first year) on Friday night to talk about an issue of environmental justice. On Saturday & Sunday they'd turn the parish parking lot into a big festival site, with live music, organic food and beer vendors, information booths from all the local organizations working for sustainable living, fun activities for kids, and workshops. It was a big success by all accounts.

This year is the 4th Annual Muddy Boot fesitval. It was also the first I was able to attend.

All I can say is ... wow. What an example of what a life of faith lived in the world looks like. So many people were there for the food, music and fun. But they were being exposed to something. Not only to the information and resources for living a more sustainable life. But also the connection between care for creation and spirituality. And the personal committment of so many folks. Most of my parish friends were of course working, so I ended up hanging out with them while they worked.

I'm so glad I was able to attend. It's an example of what can happen when people have a vision and work together to change the world. It's also an example of how life goes on. Which can be a very good thing. I've obviously moved on to a different stage of my life as a Sister of St. Joseph of Peace. They're doing new and different things too. The great thing is that we get to stay connected, which broadens all of our experiences and perspectives.

Glad I was able to make it down for Muddy Boot. But now, for the drive back to Seattle!

Going Home Again

They say you can't go home again. Well, obviously you can physically go back again to a place you once called home. But things change, people grow, you're different and it's not the same. Which is not to say it can't be GOOD to go home, it's just not the same.

This weekend I made a whirlwind trip to Portland, the City I called home for the first 16 years of my adult life. I've been back many times since I left the Rose City 3 years ago. I'm only living 3 hours away now and I have many good and wonderful friends in town. I always feel welcomed and at home. I LOVED living in Portland. It's a truly great City. Easy to get around. Progressive. Well designed. Good public transit. A great ethic. And the right amount of weirdness ... hence my favorite bumper sticker "Keep Portland Weird."

I think I can honestly say that I'm ok not living in Portland anymore. This was a major discernment issue for me, as I came to Portland a broken and wounded young woman. It was in Portland that I healed, that I came into my own, that I found God again and began to see glimmers of who I was meant to be. It was hard to leave a place that felt so much like home. But the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace also felt like home (as my last post indicates) and are not present in Portland. Hence the discernment issue. 3 years on the other side of that decision, I continue to receive affirmation that it was the right one for me.

It's also nice to be able to go back "home" and see life going on well for my friends. I went to mass this morning at my old parish. While I've been back to St Phil's several times, today there was a concentration of folks I haven't seen in a long time from the Young Adult Group. We were all single young professionals 8-1o years ago growing into our faith. Now, many of them are young parents. It was great to see the little ones running around together after mass, ranging from a one year old to a smattering of 3 year olds, 5 year olds and 8 year olds. A perfect illustration that life goes on.

Another illustration that life goes on is the fact that there are many new buildings. Old sketchy neighborhoods are now trendy. There's a new "it" taco place. Businesses have closed and new ones taken their place. It's a familiar city to me, but it's different all the same.

home

Sorry for the blog silence ... I was away for the weekend for a quick visit with friends in Portland. A quick recap:

On Friday I had lunch with two friends in what used to be the Meier & Frank Department store but is now a swanky hotel and restaurant. Weird.

I then stopped by my office of 11 years to say hi, only to discover that they were having the annual Valentine's Day Bad Poetry Contest! Happy to know some things never change.

Afterwards I wandered around downtown Portland and ran into one of our Sisters (who lives in Seattle but was also visiting friends in Portland) in a toy store. The world is small.

I stayed with my good friend and her family in the suburbs. Watched silly movies, played with my godson and his brother, and generally relaxed.

Sold some books at Powells. Caught up with another good friend. Drove home safely.

All in all, a good (if quick) weekend.

Hope all is well where you are.

robo house

I'm in Portland housesitting for a friend. This is the base for my post-christmas vacation. I have another friend from California who arrives Monday to hang out with me. The plan is just to read, visit with friends, play cards, and generally relax. There is even more snow down here in parts, but at least my friend's neighorhood is flat (unlike groovy sister hq which has some serious hills).

I'm also cat sitting two very cute cats. The great thing is that my cat duties are decreased because one of the cat litter boxes is self cleaning! Although I'm noticing you do need to still check that it's working.

I'm also actually allergic to cats, but I've always noticed that some cats affect me more than others. I generally don't have problems in this house, mainly because it's so clean. That of course means I need to keep it that clean over the course of the next 8 days! Another gadget will help me here ... she's got a roomba. You know, the robot vacuum that spins around the house and vacuums for you?

Hence, I have christened this humble abode, "robo house."

Merry 3rd day of Christmas!

Vacation!

I'm headed to Oregon tomorrow morning for my winter vacation. An old college friend - as in we've been friends for a long time, not that she's old - is meeting me and the two of us are house sitting for another friend who is spending her Christmas vacation in Europe.

There will be fun and relaxation and visits with friends until next Sunday. I'm REALLY looking forward to my vacation! Even if it's going to be raining - hopefully - which is much better than the mess of snow currently blanketing the Pacific Northwest.

I looked at the forecast for Portland next week and saw that it will be in the 40's & raining. My initial thought was, "What good news!". Nothing like a major snow storm to change one's weather perspective!

I'll certainly be checking in from time to time, as my friend's house should have internet access.

Have a wonderful (and safe) holiday!

So true

Happy Saturday everyone! I'm driving down to Portland this morning. A good friend is hosting a get together with folks who weren't able to make it up to Seattle for my vows ceremony last month. It should be a fun weekend.

In the meantime, I leave you a very accurate silly blog quiz.

You Were the Brainy Kid

In high school, you were acing AP classes or hanging out in the computer lab. You may have been a bit of a geek back then, but now you're a total success!

Who Were You In High School?

my hippie quotient

You are a Hippie

You are a total hippie. While you may not wear birks or smell of incense, you have the soul of a hippie. You don't trust authority, and you do as you please. You're willing to take a stand, even when what you believe isn't popular. You like to experiment with ideas, lifestyles, and different subcultures. You always gravitate toward what's radical and subversive. Normal, mainstream culture doesn't really resonate with you.

Are You a Hippie?

For the record, I'm not a hippy. I do not in fact wear birkenstocks or smell of incense. Nor do I own any tie die. I did live in Portland, Oregon for 15 years, and 11 years of that was in the Hawthorne District which may account for my score! ;)

I'm busily working on some reading, reflections and assorted projects here at the Novitiate ... hence the lack of posts. I'm leaving for my second ministry assignment in Jersey City in just two weeks from Wednesday! My how time flies ...

home

When I was in London, I was often asked where I was from. I'd instantly say "America," and the questioner would often look exacerbated and say "I can tell that by the accent, but which state?". This actually left me stumped.

Sometimes I'd give the complicated answer: "Well, I was raised in Maryland but lived in Oregon for 16 years. Right now I'm living in New Jersey for 2 years for the Novitiate but most likely I'll be returning to Seattle where most of the Sisters in my Province live."

If I wasn't in the mood to confuse the person, I'd just say "Seattle, Washington" for simplicity's sake, since that's where I hope to end up. Other times I'd say "Oregon," since that was home for so long. It's also where my stuff is in storage and where I'm registered to vote.

So in a way, I suppose I'm "homeless" - since I don't know where home is! Tomorrow I'm headed back "home" (the Novitiate in NJ) from my "home visit" (a two parter to my brother's home in CA and friends in Oregon).

For the first 1/3 of my novitiate experience, I was very "homesick," home being Portland where I'd gone to college and grown into young adulthood. Then I had the chance to go back last summer to testify at a trial, and I realized that while I loved my life in Portland, I was in a different place now both interiorally and exteriorally. I reached what I guess you'd call closure. This has been my first trip back since, and it's been a good one. I feel loved and known here, but I also feel like I don't need to live here for that to happen. Being known and loved is something you can carry with you.

For the first 1/2 and a bit of my novitiate experience, I also felt "homesick" for my western groovy sisters. I'd come to know and love the CSJP community through these women in the Northwest who bring their own flavor and feeling to groovy sisterdom. Then I entered the community and went "away" to another province for my novitiate experience. It didn't help that I'd always considered myself an east coast refugee and had a collection of chips on my shoulder related to all things east coast. But something happened during my time in our 3rd (and original) province in the UK this summer. I realized that interiorally at least, I felt like I belonged to all the provinces. Each is home. Each has its pluses and minuses. Each has its own flavor. But each is a part of the whole of what it means to live as a Sister of St Joseph of Peace.

If you add up those last two paragraphs, while I may be "homeless," I think I'm also learning how to be at home in myself wherever I am. And that my friends is a pretty amazing and unexpected development.

On that note, I'm ending this existential post for a last day of frolicking with old friends in PDX.

greetings from the couch

Greetings from my brother's couch - which was my bed up until a few hours ago when I woke up and turned it back into a couch! I've got two cats playing around me and family members sleeping upstairs. (I'm still on east coast time).

I arrived in California yesterday after a brief stop in Portland. I'll spend a few more days in Portland on the way back to Jersey next weekend. I saw a few friends, played with a few friends' kids, visited the Jesuit novitiate where my bloggy friend formerly known as Omis lives, and went to lunch in my old neighborhood. Quite a lot crammed into just over 24 hours!

I knew I was in Portland when I stepped off the plane and heard a woman say to her 8 year old niece ... "Welcome honey! Did you bring your rain gear?"!.

Now I'm in sunny California, so my rain gear is safely put away for the moment. I must see if I can located my sunglasses though!

Home Visit

What The Holidays Mean to You

For you, the holidays are about emotional connections and bonds. You are happiest being around those you love. You celebrate the holidays in a minimalist style. You are likely to only give one great present and decorate your house with a few special items. During the holidays, you feel happily busy. There's so much do to and not a lot of time to do it. But you enjoy every minute of your holiday chores. You think the holidays should be comforting and relaxing. You don't like the holiday rush... you just like the simple pleasure of the holidays. Your best holiday memories are warm and intimate. You remember special moments more than gifts or parties.

What Do the Holidays Mean to You?

Our Christmas celebrations here at the Novitiate are over. Last week we had a party for the senior sisters next door. Saturday we had a day of prayer in the house. Christmas Eve we had a small dinner party and then went to Vigil mass next door. Today we joined the sisters next door for dinner and then went Christmas Caroling in the infirmary. Great fun with good people.

Now I'm headed "home" for the rest of the holiday time. I will be spending the bulk of the time with my brother and assorted family members in California. I'm also spending a few days in Portland with old friends. I feel very blessed to be able to combine community, family and friends into these days of celebration.

I head to the airport in the morning. I'm sure I'll check in a bit while I'm away - especially at my brother's wifi equipped house. Until then .... Peace!

My friend Tom

My friend Tom - well, actually my friend Doctor Tom - is featured in a Catholic News Service story about how parishes might help those with mental illness participate more fully.

Dr. Thomas P. Welch, a psychiatrist in private practice in Portland, Ore., and chairman of the Interfaith Council on Mental Health in Portland, said parish staff members are often "the first responders to people experiencing mental health crises." In that group of first responders he includes "clergy, religious, educators, the secretary, the janitor and the groundskeeper." ...

He summarized what parishes and individuals can do for people with mental illness and their families in a few words: "Pay attention. Welcome. Include. Accommodate. Pray. Learn and teach." ...

He also urged the inclusion of parishioners with mental illness by inviting them to join in parish activities, volunteer or bring up the offertory gifts at Mass and by encouraging parents of children with mental illness to bring them to Mass.

Tom & I were on the pastoral council together of my old parish in Portland. We also - along with friends Jackie & James - saved our parish rummage sale from a midnight flood in the parish hall a few years back. AND, his parents live down the street from where I lived during groovy sister reserves as a Candidate. And one last random fact about Tom - his elementary school principal was my Congregation Leader, Sr. Sheila.

Back to the article, it's a good read and a very important issue - for parishioners as well as clergy. Jesus is calling us all to the table, after all.

work thoughts

It's been over a year since I quit my job as City Elections Officer. I had a sort of love-hate relationship with the job. I loved the people I worked with, I enjoyed creating and implementing new programs, but it sucked out all of my energy and didn't always make me the nicest person. Plus towards the end, and especially after the fiasco in Florida and our own campaign finance scandal, elections officer wasn't the funnest job in the world.

I found myself checking out the City website today to see if tomorrow was the day I thought it was ... the first day to file for office for next May's Primary. Portland is a kooky city and tends to have an "interesting" assortment of folks running for office, in part because the filing fee is only $30 for City Council and $50 for mayor. But also just because, as the bumper sticker says, Portland is a weird place and proud of it. One year I actually had a clown running for office. Anyway, I found myself thinking about my replacement and wishing him luck with the start of filing season. I even sent him an e-card, which will probably just have him thinking I'm weird! :)

Next week I'm going to start active full time ministry for the first time in over a year! This past year has had its up and downs, but one of the highs was definitely having time away from the rat race to work on my relationship with the big guy. For the next 3 months I'll be working at a day center for the homeless in London during my first "ministry experience" of my novitiate ministry year. The idea is to take my experiences from this past year of retreat and see how I can balance my life of active ministry with my life of prayer. We'll see how that goes!

Muddy Boot

If you live in or near Portland, Oregon, head over to the Muddy Boot Festival in SE Portland this weekend. This is the 2nd Annual festival, which is sponsored by my old parish and billed as a "soulful celebration of sustainable living." I missed last year's event and will miss this year's event, but know it will be fun!

The keynote speaker tonight is Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of that other Cousteau and founder of the Ocean Futures Society.

Saturday & Sunday there will be live music (March Fourth Marching Band, Freak Mountain Ramblers, Jackstraw, Stolen Sweets, Dirty Martini Trio and more), organic food booths (and I hear a beer tent!), children's activities, and workshops on sustainable living and climate change. It's all family friendly and the weather should be beautiful this weekend.

Muddy Boot Organic Festival
at St Philip Neri (SE 16th & Division)
$5 Donation requested
Saturday, Sept 8 noon to 9 pm
Sunday Sept 9 noon to 7pm

The festival was the inspiration of the parish's Caring for Creation Committee. You can read more about their work here. A few years ago St Phil's received a "Green Congregation" award from Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.