Putting Our Whole Selves In

I love the fact that our service trip to the Diocese of Cuernavaca happened while our national church’s General Convention was meeting in Ohio. While people at the General Convention, along with Anglicans around the world, were debating what it means to be part of the Anglican Communion, we had the good fortune to not just be talking about it, but living and celebrating in our actions what it means to be part of a larger Communion.

The people of La Bendita Virgen Maria hosted a wonderful church service and fiesta for us to both celebrate and thank us for the painting and cleaning that we had all together accomplished. They generously shared wonderful food and games with us and we shared some songs with them. We will never forget their hospitality. Given the language barrier, the songs and games that worked best were those that included actions. So naturally, we taught them the Hokey Pokey and we all thoroughly enjoyed playing it together.

As you probably remember, the song starts slowly by asking each participant to put just a little part of themselves in (your hand, your leg, etc.). The last verse of the song finally asks everyone to “put their wholes selves in.” And that’s just what we all did. And not just in the song. Every one of us who went on this trip will be forever changed because we did just that, we risked putting our whole selves in and … the rewards for us were innumerable. This experience has definitely “turned ourselves around.”

Every one of us can look back over our lives and see that those experiences that were most rewarding and most enriching were those where we gave our whole selves. These major life experiences don’t come along very often. Yet an important part of our spiritual life is discerning where and when God is calling us to give completely of ourselves, every ordinary day. And then we need to pray that we have the courage to do what we are being asked.

And one final lesson from the Hokey Pokey. I can’t ever imagine someone doing the Hokey Pokey by themselves. What fun would that be? It is by definition a communal song and game. And so is the process of putting our whole selves in. It is never done alone. It requires both the support and the reception of loving communities--communities like St. Christopher’s and La Bendita Virgen Maria.

-Scott

Visiting Father Fernando´s church in Taxco

Today we all took a bus to a beautiful town south of here by an hour and a half that is situated up in the mountains... in the heavens. We parked the bus and walked up the extremely narrow, windy cobblestone streets (all the while praying we wouldnt get hit by a taxi!)to the small church we had heard so much about all week. Father Federico Fernando Fuentes has become a spirited and helpful member of our team. He is the priest for two churches, one of which is the small but beautiful church in Taxco. As he showed us his church, he emphasized that this is not his church but our church and we are all welcome to come back for a visit anytime. He also pointed out that his church has no windows which is a problem when it rains and for security. Ther are many needs here! Then we split up and wandered the streets exploring the silver shops and searching for cords, ribbons and such on which we could hang the beautiful silver crosses the bishop had given each of us last evening as a thank you gift. Now we are back at the Diocesan Center winding down and thinking about re-entering our lives with minds that are full of ideas and new perspectives. It has been a week of hard work and yet one of renewal as well and one none of us will forget anytime soon! See you soon. Holly

We started our day visiting a Habitat for Humanity house in Cuernavaca, which was on the side of a small mountain. After a long, steep walk, we were met by Lidia and her husband Seraphim. They discussed how Habitat works in this area and the struggle that every home owner has in finding funding as well as help to build their home. The Habitat homes that St. Christophers have worked on over the past three years seem like palaces compared to the home we saw today. We were all impressed with how so little goes so far.

A small group also went with the Bishop to the church of San Juan el Telologo in Alejandra. We discussed with Father Alturo Vicario his parish´s needs, and how we might assist the church. We were impressed with his positive attitude in light of the condition of the church. I again experienced how blessed we are for what we have and the need to reach out to others.
-S.W.P.

A Mustard Seed

Today was our last day at The Anglican Church of the Blessed Virgin. This bright sunny day began with a small crew of dedicated painters ( Petrie & company) taking a cab to the church with Fr. Frederico to get a head start on spray painting the church pews - very similar to metal park benches. Everyone else took our charter bus - arriving at noon, with an afternoon of final touch up painting, scraping ¨drips from windows, washing all the windows. I put my dormant cleaning skills (learned from a part time student job) to use by mopping the church floor from one end to the other. The church is very simple, but very beautiful, and now is freshly painted inside and out - white with blue accents.

Our working day ended when the alter guild arrived to place alter hangings etc. followed by Bishop Delgado, who celebrated a specialEucharistt, in Spanish and English, for church members and St. Christopher´s visitors. The Bishop preached a brief and simple message of thanks about the mustard seed - the gospel reading - and said very simply that Scott and Hollie´s vacation visit last year planted a mustard seed - a seed that has born fruit now. St. Christopher´s kids presented the church with banners they had made back in Wisconsin and brought on the trip.

The church and its sister church threw a fiesta for us following Eucharistrist - with the church ladies serving tacos, tamales, tortillas, etc. Much of the entertainment was songs and games - Scott played the guitar and the St. Christopher´s kids and Mexican kids made friends quickly and easily dancing the Hokie Pokie and singing Old MacDonald!

By the time our bus came and it was time to go home to the Cuernavaca Diocesan Center, everyone was sad - Father Ivan (vicar of the Blessed Virgin) came to the bus and thanked us very graciously - and said a part of us would always remain at his church because of our work - and that he, and his church would pray for St. Christopher´s, and asked that we pray for them.

This week I´ve been touched over and over again by people, many of whom have very little and yet greet us with real and genuine hospitality and grace. There were lots of tears as the bus pulled away - with a lot of the church and neighborhood waving, smiling. Speaking for myself, this experience has changed my life.

Chris Goodale

God is in our midst

Well, we´ve definitely been accepted by the local children! Yesterday, after a full day of painting, a shy little girl peeped in staring at us all, not quite sure what to make of what she saw. A little boy joined her watching us with big round eyes. I smiled and gave them each some cookies. They smiled, giggled, said "thank you" (in pretty good English) then ran off to find their friends. Shortly thereafter, they came back with another boy in tow. Of course, I gave him some cookies too. Pretty soon Scott and Holly were deep in conversation with the children as more and more began to arrive. All with smiles on their faces and laughter in their hearts.

Today, these children were a welcome sight! We had been working hard all day. The sun was hot, the paint fumes were noxious, we were tired and the initial excitement of our work was beginning to wane. But, just like yesterday, the children began to stop by the church to watch us as they were coming home from school. What a beautiful god moment to watch these children smiling, laughing and singing with our children. Scott played is guitar, and Hannah led the troops. No different than back at St. Christopher´s except for our surroundings. Watching all of the children, it was clear to me that god connects us all. He is in us, each and every one of us, no matter where we are or what building we´re in.

God is in our midst. He is and always will be. Allelulia!

Seeds In Us All

As you all know by now, yesterday´s gospel was the story of the mustard seed. We went to two services at the Cathedral, and have been contemplating ever since, the seeds we sow, and those sown within us. Riding home in the taxi from the city center, I watched and listened as my son sat in the front seat chattering away, in a tone I seldom hear, and in a language I do not understand, and thinking about the seeds he was sowing in me as I listened without understanding, and in the driver (who it turns out has worked in Wisconsin) through his ability and willingness to ask of his life and his son on that Father´s Day. Today, the work began in earnest, going through 26 gallons of paint, cleaning up, and making ourselves ready for more of the same tomorrow. We arrived here, of course, thinking mostly of the seeds we believe we are here to sow, perhaps in the hearts and minds of the children who go to that church and visited us today as we worked. But one quickly realizes the seeds being sown in our own hearts and minds by the welcome we have received and warmth, humility and appreciation of all around us. Many have so little and yet give so much of themselves. What becomes clear in time is that we are not really giving one to another, but that we are all nuturing the most important seed sown in all of us, the seed of the Holy Spirit, in the hope, that with time, and work it can become the seat of mindfulness, knowledge and understanding that God placed it there to be. Tired as we all are, it is a reason to rise tomorrow and do it all again, in the hope that seed can be nutured and grow, and change us all in the process. Brent

what is the good shephard cathederal in cuervaca-

The cathedral in cuernavaca has 7 pews on each side. The pads on the seat are a rich red, there are red stools to knell. all the walls are whitewashed white and there is a beautiful large stained glass over the alter. it is a simple and humble catherdral, the smallest catherdral in the anglican community, wordwide, so bishop delgado tells us. this small space was the site of a most wonderful spirituality today. we heard scott tell of planting the smallest of seeds, a mustard seed, and watching it grow to support birds and others. we are part of a seed planting. we are establishing relationships with this small community that hopefully will extend long into the future. it was a very great god moment.

we heard scott give the 10 oclock service in english and most of us stayed for the noon service in spanish. the priest at the spanish language service invited all the fathers in the ocngregation to be blessed, and to see both our group of father and the congregation fathers was quite moving.

bear with me i cannot find the capitilization key, nor can i find the punctuation.

this group is working out pretty well. what a unique opportunity to blend with each other. we are having a lot of fun with each other.

downtown cuernevaca is a city of 1.5 million. Not too many americans. we piece together language with a few hearty souls who speak enough spanish to translate.
lunch was a prolonged afair with 23 of us. Then we split up and visited the castle that Cortes build in the 1500´s. that is the location of the very moving rivera murals depicting the struggle to conquer the county of mexico. the catholic catherdral was next on our walking tour, beautiful, but we could not enter the big catherdral unless we were worshipers. the borda jardins gardens was a brief 5 minute walk through. the brady museum was teh best part of the tour.

we owe a lot to bridgit, who has bent over backwards to welcome us, pave the way, be a tour guide, order taxis and buses for us. she is wonderful-

bet you wish you were here. all our good thoughts and prayers to you

kathleen stokes

what is the good shephard cathederal in cuervaca-