Student pilgrims return from Rwanda

with lessons in reconciliation   

Massachusetts student travelers with the Rev. Philbert Kalisa and staff members at REACH Rwanda (Courtesy PHOTO)

Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE joined a group of students from Boston College and Northeastern University and their Episcopal chaplain, the Rev. Judith Stuart, for a pilgrimage to Rwanda, Dec. 27-Jan. 7, to "learn about the ways in which Rwandans have lived not only through the dark time" of the 1994 genocide "but beyond it with hope and a vision for a peaceful future in which the beloved community of God is experienced as a reality," Boston College Ph.D. student Shan Overton wrote in the group's travel blog.

That future is being ushered in, in large measure, by the group's host, the Rev. Philbert Kalisa and his organization, REACH Rwanda, which trains counselors and offers programming that promotes reconciliation between offenders and victims.
 

The students get dancing lessons from women in Nyamata who are trained as REACH counselors and have formed a soap-making collective whose profits provide care for local orphans. (Courtesy PHOTO)

The Massachusetts students visited the Kigale Genocide Memorial Centre, which Boston College student MacLean Cadman described in a blog post as "a beautiful and sobering place" whose "heartbreaking exhibits" provided "a depth of understanding of the genocide and its aftermath that cannot be matched by any movie or textbook."

The students then had the opportunity to see the remarkable fruits of reconciliation in action a few days later when they traveled to Kirehe, near the Tanzanian border, to take part in the dedication ceremony for a home built by genocide perpetrators for a survivor.

"For us, this experience of witnessing the results of this remarkable journey into the heart of forgiveness is inspiring and causes us to ask questions of ourselves," Shan Overton wrote.  "We take these questions home with us, and we will ponder what we have witnessed here in Rwanda.  The home dedication has given us a tangible and community-based approach to reconciling across differences that seem insurmountable from one angle.  We are grateful for the opportunity to learn from Rwandans about what it means to be humans and to be Christians.  They have taught us what Baptism really means."

Priests and transitional deacon ordained

(Courtesy PHOTO)

Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE ordained two new priests and a transitional deacon at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston on Jan. 14.  Pictured, from left with Shaw, are the Rev. Kiel Walter Mitchell, transitional deacon sponsored by Trinity Church in Boston; the Rev. Lynn Campbell, serving as curate at Christ Church in Needham; and the Rev. Suzanne Wade, who will now serve as priest-in-charge at St. Mark's Church in Westford.

The monastery chapel (Courtesy PHOTO)

Resolve to go on retreat in 2012:  One need not go far.  The brothers of the Society of St. John the Evangelist invite retreatants to their newly renovated monastery near Cambridge's Harvard Square.  "Our monastery is a sanctuary, a place of reflection, a place to be vulnerable, a safe place to come and be yourself before God, a place to find strength and spiritual healing," the order's superior, Brother Geoffrey Tristram, SSJE said. "Each of us has our own relationship with God and, like all relationships, it needs attention and care to grow." For more information on a retreat at SSJE, visit www.ssje.org/retreat.

Similarly, Bethany House of Prayer, a ministry with the sisters of the Order of St. Anne--Bethany, in Arlington, offers opportunities to nourish the life of the soul in the beauty of retreat houses and chapel.  Bethany retreat leaders and spiritual directors invite individuals and congregations to come learn contemplative practices for daily living as the season of Lent nears.  They also offer a contemplative prayer group each Thursday morning; monthly Refreshment Days and Contemplative Eucharist; and spiritual direction and retreat facilitation for congregations and groups, both on and off site.  To learn of upcoming offerings, visit www.BethanyHouseArlington.org.

ECM honors Burgess Urban Fund grant recipients:  At an awards luncheon at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston on Jan. 12, Episcopal City Mission (ECM) handed out 20 Burgess Urban Fund grants totaling $241,000 to 20 Massachusetts organizations--ranging from the Merrimack Valley Project in Lawrence to the Brazilian Immigrant Center in Boston to the Coalition Against Poverty in New Bedford.

"We want to celebrate you and your work to improve the lives of those in the Commonwealth affected by social injustice," ECM's executive director, Ruy Costa, told the gathering.

Named for the Diocese of Massachusetts' 12th bishop, the late John Melville Burgess, the Burgess Urban Fund has for more than 30 years supported grassroots community organizing in response to social injustice, and it has awarded more than $6 million in grants.

The complete list of grant recipients is available here.

LDI 3.0 builds momentum:  The Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) in the Diocese of Massachusetts is preparing to launch its third year of training lay leaders in local justice leadership skills.  LDI had 50 participants representing 10 different churches and groups at its December training.  The kick-off training for year three will be on Friday, Jan. 27 (6-9 p.m.) and Saturday, Jan. 28 (9 a.m.-5 p.m.) at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill.  It will cover the skills of public narrative, relationship building, team building and strategy.

LDI is a rigorous, hands-on, six-month learning lab that aims to develop the spiritual leadership of congregations.  It supports teams to develop justice projects in their local communities.  More information is available at www.diomassleads.org.  Churches interested in learning more about LDI may contact Duncan Hilton, Program Director, at duncan@diomassleads.org.

2012 Ecumenical Lenten Carbon Fast: Sign up here to receive daily e-mail suggestions for activities that reduce carbon footprint, beginning Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22 through Easter Day, April 8.

Let's hear it, again, for the lobster rolls:  The already island-famous lobster rolls served at Grace Church in Vineyard Haven have received yet another accolade.  Grace Church will be one of 150 destinations in the U.S. and Canada featured in the New York Times publication "36 Hours:  150 Weekends in the USA & Canada," the Rev. Rob Hensley, Rector, reports by e-mail.   

Meanwhile, Grace's "Winter Lobster Rolls" program is back in action.  "We started this last year on the first Sunday of the month, January through April, following the 11 a.m. Mass to give folks another winter social outlet, in addition to our Friday night Community Suppers. Helps cheer up an otherwise very dreary and isolating time for a lot of the year-round residents," Hensley said. 

One to grow on for Centre Street Pantry:  The Centre Street Food Pantry at Trinity Church in Newton Centre, launched with support from congregations in the Charles River Deanery, marks its first anniversary this month.  "The Eagle," the newsletter of St. John's Church in Newtonville, reports that three dozen volunteers invest more than 100 hours each month stocking shelves, assisting clients and picking up food from the Greater Boston Food Bank and local food donors, and that the pantry space has evolved to include a refrigerator and freezer so that fresh and frozen food can be available to clients.  Residents of Newton and neighborhing communities who meet USDA guidelines are welcome to shop the pantry once a month.  It is open every Tuesday, 4-7 p.m., and the first Saturday of each month, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. 

(PHOTO:  Jody Clark)

These kids are "Best in Show"--and so is their gingerbread:  Members of the middle school youth group at St. Mark's Church in Westford gathered in early December to make a gingerbread replica of their church for the annual Gingerbread Village display at All Saints' Church in Chelmsford.  Their creation was named "Best in Show," and the funds raised at the event were donated to the Greater Lowell Habitat for Humanity. 

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