Early Morning…Rally Day at the High School

I began the day with a rally for staff and faculty of the school district. It included band, cheerleaders, Folklorico dancers. We introduced new teachers and staff and heard a moving presentation of our new district Strategic Plan. I chatted with one of the new para-educators at Centennial Elementary (I recognized her t-shirt) as well as the media supervisor.

My favorite part was Dr. Vergara sharing his personal story: of his father leaving, teachers intervening in his life, of being homeless in Portland…and connecting his story with the Call to Action: building solid relationships with students.

Dr. Vergara showed a video from LA Times about “Gaspar,” an unaccompanied minor living, working and studying in Los Angeles. The quote that struck me, regarding the language barrier and the tiring work Gaspar endures: “It’s really hard to articulate how smart Gaspar really is…a lot of these kids are that smart, but because of the linguistic obstacles they are like these mute geniuses that we are missing out on.” That really struck me a prescient for the work in both the school district and the church.

Later Morning…Meeting with Lay Leader

I held my weekly check in with our Lay Leader. With September comes a lot of work in the congregation: Sunday School kick-off, budget work, new studies and worship series, new community partnerships, continued work with our congregational coach and new opportunities for service and community. After a 30-minute meeting, my to do list is looooong. But I also like where we’re headed.

Later Morning…Pastoral Care

An expected hardship. We’re here to support each other.

Afternoon…Meeting with event planners

There is an ad hoc group in the area hosting a training and public event around abuse within the church. The public event has been brewing for some time, but they shared a lot more about their training. We already do extensive training of our staff, but this group is doing important work in a needed area of the church-universal, and I came away really appreciative if their efforts. We’ll take on promoting the event and I’ll at least attend the training.

Afternoon…Hospice Visit

As far as hospice visits are concerned, this one was among the best. “Bruce” was at his desk, talking with his wife when I arrived. I shook his hand and accidentally squeezed too hard, he winced and I immediately apologized. His Parkinson’s makes his arthritis all the more painful. Otherwise, he had as much energy and pep as I’ve seen him in a long time. He has a theological education and was a trained social worker. We talked about worship, his penchant for music (he was an accomplished trumpeter), and his concerns for the world. Finally, he invited me to arrange a lunch date with another parishioner who lives on the other side of the home. It was quite a sweet gesture and one I will honor soon.

Evening…Open House at Elementary

I finished the night at Open House for Centennial Elementary. These are my people! They do these kinds of events in a very open-ended welcoming way. Upon entering, I was greeted by the secretarial staff who know me as a volunteer. I helped some families find their classrooms and meet their teachers. I then headed to the third grade section to check in with the teacher I read with. Meeting Ms. S, I also met a new third grade teacher as well as a student intern. As we were chatting, we were talking about our own third grade teachers. It turns out that the two third grade teachers each had Mrs. M. as their third grade teacher. Mrs. M is a member of my congregation. Yes, I took a picture to share with Mrs. M. I then headed back and struck up a conversation with the Assistant Principal. He turned to me and said: ‘I read your name in the Herald. I love what your church is doing,’ referencing our pallet house project. So we talked a bit about homelessness among the student population at Centennial and he pointed out the social worker that serves their students. Finally, the PE teacher stopped me to chat for a bit and I also introduced myself to the Reading Intervention Specialist. I made a note to check back in with her: I am seeking more training as I help out Ms. S with her reading kids. I think of it as a success to walk away from these events with a list of follow-ups.

Late Night…Merton is my Lullaby

It being the 25th, I read chapter 25 of New Seeds of Contemplation, by Thomas Merton before going to sleep.

If we were incapable of humility we would be incapable of joy, because humility alone can destroy the self-centeredness that makes joy impossible.