The Family of Man... and Women

The Family of Man

“The purpose of these pages is twofold.

To serve as a remembrance of our happy times in the past and of our own search for ourselves.

To serve as a message of hope for a successful life in every respect in the future.

A past and a future—both tied together by the present—not only the present, but love—without which neither the past nor the future would exist.”— Judy Rand and Sue Latham, inscribed in The Family of Man, probably written in 1964, given to me as a gift at our graduation from the University of North Carolina Greensboro, the women’s college of the University of North Carolina at that time.

Migrant Mother Lange 1936

The Family of Man was a photographic exhibition of 503 pictures from 68 countries created by Edward Steichen for the Museum of Modern Art in 1955. The exhibit then toured the world, drawing record-breaking crowds for eight years. The book from the exhibit became an instant success and has never been out of print.

My husband directs the archaeology of our past memories from our basement, and recently brought me this photographic book from the "The Family of Man" exhibition to consider giving to one of our granddaughters for graduation.

It is the perfect gift to pass on. Zoe will not know Judy Rand and Sue Latham, who gifted the book to me. But the book will always carry the inscribed love of these two dear college friends from my dorm. Unfortunately, in the intervening years, I have lost touch with Judy and Sue. However, my hope is that the above inscription from Judy and Sue in the book will carry the love of friends who changed my life, and may also bring meaning to Zoe at a similar age in her adventures, more than half a century later.

We all have a call: to continue to treasure the love we received from friends and pass that love on as best we can. This copy of The Family of Man is a treasured, visible tradition that allows this to happen. Discussing the photographs in the book with my granddaughter and talking about the friends who gifted it will be another way—simply spending time together in the present moment, remembering the past, and looking to the future. A sacred time.

A wonderful postscript. Through Facebook, Judy Rand and I recently reconnected. She is still the amazing person I once knew. After many years in the academic world, she is now an artist and musician living in West Virginia.

Joanna joannaseibert.com

Lamott: Prayer

Lamott: Prayer

“So prayer is our sometimes real selves trying to communicate with the Real, with Truth, with the Light. It is us reaching out to be heard, hoping to be found by light and warmth in the world, instead of darkness and cold. Even mushrooms respond to light—I suppose they blink their mushroomy eyes, like the rest of us.”—Anne Lamott in Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers (Hodder & Stoughton, 2001).

When spiritual friends have difficulty with prayer, we discuss our current prayer life and what kind of prayer discipline has been helpful in the past. We discuss the various ways to pray, including walking and praying, praying in silence, using prayer books, Ignatian prayers, Centering Prayer, praying with beads, praying in color, and observing the monastic hours.

Anne Lamott’s book Help, Thanks, Wow is a realistic, humorous, and down-to-earth discourse on praying, organized around three subject lines: giving thanks, asking for help, and praising. The book is filled to the brim with simple “one-liners” to remember and guide us through the day.

One of my favorites is, “If one person is praying for you, buckle up. Things can happen.” Another is, “The difference between you and God is that God never thinks he is you.” Finally, she reminds us that gratitude is not just lifting our arms and waving our hands, as we often see on television, but instead picking up trash, doing what is required, and reaching out to others in need. When we breathe in gratitude, we breathe it out.

Lamott’s section on “Wow” likens that kind of prayer to a child seeing the ocean for the first time. I still remember standing just inside the National Cathedral as a group of fifth-graders walked in. I will not forget one small boy who looked up at the high, vaulted gray stone ceilings and exclaimed: “WOW!” These are uppercase wows.

There are also lower-case wows, such as getting into bed between clean sheets. Lamott suggests poetry is “the official palace language of Wow.” She also reminds us of C. S. Lewis’s view of prayer, that we pray not to change God, but to change ourselves.

My experience is that Lamott consistently stimulates us to adopt new faith practices or reminds us about those we have forgotten. This can bring welcome renewal to our everyday lives.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

The Hound of Heaven

Hound of Heaven

“The name is strange. It startles one at first. It is bold, new, and fearless. It does not attract, but rather the reverse. But when one reads the poem, this strangeness disappears. The meaning is understood.”—J. F. X. O’Connor, S. J., in A Study of Francis Thompson’s Hound of Heaven (John Lane Company, 1912), p. 7.

Once a week, I meet with friends who share how God works in their lives. I attend this meeting on Saturday morning because I believe in miracles, which are always affirmed by what I hear and see. These are people once caught in addiction who thought there was no way out—but somehow, through the grace of God and with the help of community, found a new life. I give up my Saturday morning to meet with people I have seen for years and others I have never met. There are people from all walks of life, many of whom I would not have known otherwise.

People often talk about when they realized there might be a way out of their old lifestyle. They call it a moment of clarity. Many were desperate. Some knew this was not the path they would ever choose, but there they were.

They were all initially uncomfortable when they came to the group for help. I attended this 12-step group for the first time around Thanksgiving. I can remember seeing posters about a Thanksgiving potluck. I remember thinking, I don’t enjoy being here, and goodness knows I don’t want to eat with these people either! Today, over thirty years later, most of the people I go out to eat with are those I met through this community!

Many talk about how they did not understand what gave them the courage to attend this meeting. Story after story reveals that there is something greater than all of us—caring, loving us, and calling us to become the persons we were created to be. I also observe this phenomenon in individuals seeking spiritual direction. Something is calling us out of our God hole—the God, the Christ within us, who, deep down inside our being, makes us aware that we are unconditionally loved.

In 1893, Francis Thompson wrote a 182-line poem about his experience of being “hounded” by God, which he titled The Hound of Heaven. I could not have given a better description.

Another reader, Don Follis, reminds us about his experience with The Hound of Heaven.

“The Hound of Heaven is relentless, patient, tenacious, and, thank God, good!”

Don also sent a quote from C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

“Aslan is a lion—the Lion, the great Lion.” “Ooh,” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.” “Safe?” said Mr. Beaver, “Who said anything about safe? Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.” 

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

There is a 12-step Eucharist at St. Mark’s at 5:30 in the chapel every first Wednesday of the month.