Prejudice and the Daily Office

Prejudice and the Daily Office

“Do not let the oppressed be shamed and turned away;
Never forget the lives of your poor.” The Daily Office, https://dailyoffice.org .

If I cannot attend the office of Morning Prayer at St. Mark’s, I try to read it from this website. If you do not know about this Daily Office website, you are in for a new adventure. Besides having all the readings right there in front of you for morning and evening and noon day prayer, the Lay Vicar, Josh Thomas, of the website offers hymns and pictures that relate to the readings and offers prayer petitions from those who send to them. It is not just a website but a community praying individually as well as participating in a live broadcast of morning and evening prayer service twice a day from the site. I always feel connected to pray-ers all over the world when I connect to The Daily Office.

As I read these prayers through this community, my mind takes me out of my own problems, and I move more globally. I see the children and families of Latino origin who are still separated and incarcerated at our southern border with Mexico. I cannot stop thinking and praying about them and those who are making and supporting a policy that has brought on great tragedy.

Then I remember an episode yesterday from our food pantry. I go to St. Mark’s weekly food pantry just meet and talk with those who come for their groceries. I see a brown colored woman with black hair and three children with similar appearance come in who seem to be confused about the process. I immediately think they must be Latino and motion to our member who speaks Spanish to go over and help them. The mother tells him she speaks English. Later, as I talk with the children I realize they are Native American.

I learn about my own prejudice that all brown skinned people must be of a certain heritage. I cannot condone the prejudice of those who are harming immigrant children and their families who are seeking asylum in our country, but I have a little insight into my own darkness.

I make amends to the family and hope I have learned some life lessons taught to me by those who were here in this land long before me.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Recovery Conference 2018

Recovery conference 2018

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu

I am attending the Episcopal Recovery Conference in Asheville, North Carolina and learning so much more about recovery from addictions. First of all, I realize that the longer I am in recovery, I tend to believe I know and have heard it all. Today I am disabused of this thought process. I actually know very little. That is why so many gatherings like this are important.

One speaker, Chris Budnick, executive director of Healing Transitions in Raleigh, talks about how we think recovery for others should look similar to ours. Not true. Recovery from addiction is not a cookie cutter process. We share with others our experience, strength, and hope, but we must not expect others to have the same experience, strength, and hope. Perhaps we can see this more clearly in reference to our spiritual life. We each have a spiritual connection to God, but it is different for each of us. So also is our response to recovery and how we reach recovery unique.

I learn one more lesson today. We often talk about someone not coming to recovery because they “have not reached their bottom.” That means they haven’t reached a level of pain that will cause them to make a change. The speaker gave examples of others who decided to change because people in recovery kept letting them know there was hope for freedom from addiction. Hope for a new life. Mentors in recovery keep letting them know that those in recovery care about them, have some realization of what they are going through, and keep telling them there is hope. Those caught in addiction may begin to see hope and caring in the person in recovery who seems honestly to care about them.

This is one more way of how those in recovery can carry the message to those who are still suffering by continuing to reach out and give them hope.

Joanna. Joannaseibert.com

Dog with a Bone

Charleston: Changed Again

“I have been changed. I am not the same person I was before. Over time, over many experiences, good and bad, I have grown in understanding, awareness and compassion. I have found a deeper sense of peace. I have come to appreciate the importance of love.” Bishop Steven Charleston, Daily Facebook page

I know we are called to articulate our truth as best we can, but then I know we must let it go. I try to turn the situation over, to give up the bone. This is hard because the life approach we have been taught has been like a dog with a bone about issues we are passionate about. Never the less, we still admire people who are like that faithful Border Collie with a bone about issues they believe in. We also know the cost to our own body, and mind, and soul for holding on to that bone. There is often no peace. Love is hard to find. The arteries tighten up. When we lose, we think we must try harder. When we win, we are empowered to keep doing it better.

This is my hope for change. We will no longer see life as win or lose. We have a part. We are to step out of our comfort zone and speak out in love and try to make a difference. More and more we know that for every cross there is a resurrection. God brings about the resurrection, rolls away the stone. Our job is to keep looking and listening for every possible sign of love and the resurrection.

We will have set backs in giving up this control, thinking we are in charge of the resurrection, but stark situations where we see where we are not in charge will bring us back to the truth over and over again. Believing that we have control of situations in our lives and in the world involving others is fake news, a fantasy, but there is this sweet voice that whispers in ours ears that keeps telling us we have such good ideas and we need to be a strong woman or man and get our agenda done.

Trying to be connected to something greater than ourselves teaches us that a strong person may be one who pauses and perhaps prays and listens before she speaks as articulately as she can, does the best she can, and then gives up the results to God, who may have a better view of the situation than she does.

Amazing. Is it possible that there may be a better plan than our own!

Joanna joannaseibert.com