On Generosity 
By Katrina Vandenberg

I returned to the Episcopal church and the way of Jesus because of an act of generosity. In 2004, I had been traveling alone in Ireland, in the town of Glendalough, when I came across a group of Episcopal college students on a pilgrimage. Their group leader Mark, an Episcopal priest, invited me to follow their tour of Saint Kevin's monastery that day, and to participate in their reflection circle after; the next day, he invited me along on their day trip to Saint Brigit's cathedral and sacred well in Kildare.

Mark and his students weren't trying to recruit me. They were only sharing what they had: a seat on their bus, a group lunch in a pub, and their fellowship. They never asked me about the state of my soul, and I was grateful for the privacy. I'd grown up in the Episcopal church, but was disillusioned and angry with it. I secretly longed for reconnection, though, and Mark and his students opened a door for me, without knowing they were doing so.

- Katrina Vandenberg     
These are the more intellectual reasons I returned to the church, the kind I could easily tell Mark over e-mail a few years ago, when we got back in touch and I thanked him. But something else happened that day, which I didn't tell Mark, if only because I found it so difficult to explain. When the group had been doing a walking meditation around Saint Brigit's well, I suddenly felt as if the ground tilted, only it didn't. The world looked exactly as it did before, yet everything felt deeply connected and infinitely good. I wept. For a week after I said goodbye to Mark and the students, I was euphoric. I walked to deserted beaches by the sea and jumped up and down, whooping for joy. I was completely unafraid to die. I had been entered by the Holy Spirit. That day at Brigit's well remains a central experience of my life; when my faith is tested, I mentally return to the love I felt in that moment, barefoot on the wet, cool ground.

After the euphoria wore off, of course, the work began. It would take a false start with the Roman Catholics and another four years before I found the faith community at St. Matthew's. It will take the rest of my life for me to try to be a better follower of Jesus. But I have been thinking about Mark and his students ever since we began talking about generosity at St. Matthew's. From them I learned that an act of generosity has great power, more than any monetary value I could have placed on their gift at the moment it was given. Gifts reverberate in ways that no one can anticipate. I've also learned that true gifts want to keep moving, so I often think about when and how I might be able to pass on their gifts to someone else, and what form such generosity could possibly take.

This Summer: Spirit-Led Faith Experiments
By the Rev. Lisa Wiens Heinsohn

As most of you know, during the summer months when the Sunday evening service of night prayer + Eucharist and drop in dinner are suspended, we are instead initiating a number of creative faith formation, worship, community, and service events this summer for any to participate who wish - Sunday "morning" regulars AND Sunday "evening" folks. Please sign on to the City to see details about those events and to RSVP. Here are some that are coming up:
  •  Dinner and evening prayer gathering at the home of Elizabeth Lienesch and Claire Fromme (in the Midway neighborhood) on Sunday, June 12, from 6-8. For more information email Elizabeth
  •  A two week experiment with daily prayer, led by Lisa Wiens Heinsohn, between June 12 - 26 (people agree to pray privately every day, meet in person on June 12 and June 26 to reflect, and email each other during the two weeks on a structured basis to share what they are experiencing). For more information email Lisa Wiens Heinsohn
  •  Eucharist, music and potluck supper in the backyard of Jeff and Kristen Kidder in Frogtown on Saturday June 25 from 5:30-7:30pm - email Jeff Kidder
  •  A conversation over pizza about "Christ-Centered Problem Solving" hosted by Arun & Cecelia Caspram (location TBD) at 11am on Saturday July 9. email Arun Caspram
All are invited to attend any of these events, and/or to initiate your own - to see where the Spirit leads!
We will use The City as the communication platform. If you haven't signed up for the City, please email Laura Bathke without delay so you don't miss anything!
  • Within the City, please post these experimental gatherings as Events in the main group,"+St. Matthew's Episcopal Church."
  • Once you are signed on to the City, you will see a small circle with three dots in it in the upper right quadrant of the page. Click on that, and then on "notifications" - and pick which level of notification you wish to receive. Many prefer to use a "daily digest" which will let you know everything that is being communicated, including any events that have been set up. Once you RSVP to an event, the City will also conveniently send you an email reminder!

Northside Achievement Zone - Ending Generational Poverty
By Cecelia Caspram

On a recent Sunday, Sondra Samuels - CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) - came to the Adult Forum, as a follow-up to the bus tour of North Minneapolis that over 30 St. Matthew's members and friends participated in this past March.

After taking the tour, many participants were on fire. They wanted to do something. They wanted to be a part of the solution to the generational poverty there. They wanted to help advance the renaissance they saw happening on the Northside. Since NAZ is actively working on ending generational poverty in North Minneapolis, we asked Sondra to talk to us about its mission - and to give us concrete ways we could all get involved and help.

Sondra began by telling us a story.  I don't have room for the whole story here. Suffice it to say that it involves a monkey and a fish, that it offers us insight on helping others effectively, and that you can find the full story here.  Be sure to go to that link and read the story. You'll be glad you did.

She then addressed how we, as helpers, are so often concerned with what to "DO." She continued: "You know what to do by being - staying in relationship with others, and listening. We get it right when we love," she said. "Love makes truly listening possible." And when we listen, she said, we will know what to do.

She shared an example of a time she recently listened to the NAZ families. Representatives from Target guided NAZ staff through a sophisticated exercise in design thinking - which is a formal method for practical, creative resolution of problems. The process involved asking NAZ parents about their goals for their children. She was surprised to find out how few of them actually had "college" as a goal (even though college readiness and attendance are key goals of NAZ). The parents she talked to had a different outcome in mind: "I just want my babies to be happy." She realized, then, that college for college's sake was not how she and her staff needed to explain their work to the parents. Rather, college was a tool for achieving happiness - to fulfill goals in life, live independently, etc.

NAZ was founded when the federal government granted the organization $26M over five years to create a wrap-around program of support for these families. (That was five years ago; the grant is up at the end of this year. They are actively working on fundraising now to fill that gap, so they can keep up their work at the same level they have been so far.)
In that time, the organization went from 12 employees to 75, from a $1M budget to a $10M budget. NAZ is currently serving 1,100 families and their children.
Beyond listening and loving, we'll talk about some practical ways to get involved and help in the next issue of Tidings. Stay tuned!
 A Day in the Life at Loaves & Fishes... 

The Rev. Blair Pogue asked Cheryl Olman - who organized the May 22 Loaves and Fishes dinner at the Dorothy Day Center how the evening unfolded; Cheryl graciously offered this look behind the scenes:
"It went beautifully -- I had loads of help, and a good time was had by all.  I think 15 people were there to serve  We had plenty of hands.

I really enjoy hanging out with the cooks at Dorothy Day -- there's down time between the cooking shift and the serving shift, so I'd brought a book to read (The Latehomecomer, by Kao Kalia Yang), which sparked a conversation with James about cultural differences in St Paul (his family is from Louisiana) and a quotation that he appreciates on the wall at the Dorothy Day about "finding hope through service."  That resonated with me since my favorite verse is Ps 27:13, and I think that the kindness we share at the Dorothy Day is "the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living."  And I found out that David - who spent years in addiction and is grateful for the good things he has now - his step-daughter is graduating from Hamline this spring.

I didn't remember to ask how many people came through; Eric Johnson was the person out front checking in w/ the gatekeeper to keep a tally on serving sizes. From the left-overs, I'd say no more than 250 ... we went through all our milk, 5/6 of the sloppy joes, 7/8 of the beans and 7/8 of the fruit ... but only 2/3 of the cookies and carrots.  Not an exact science, to be sure!  We buy and prepare the same quantities each time, but each time, it's a different item ... last time I ran out of fruit and cookies when the last person was coming through line; this time it was the milk (it was hot and people were thirsty).  I helped David store the left-overs to serve at bedtime, so nothing went to waste."
Leading Women
By the Rev. Dr. Blair Pogue

Last week I had the great pleasure of attending a conference of Episcopal women leaders in San Francisco titled "Leading Women." The prerequisite to apply for the conference was 10 years of service as a leader in the Episcopal Church. Thanks to a grant from Trinity Episcopal Church, Wall Street, 59 women were invited. They came from all over the country and the group was racially and ethnically diverse. Over the course of three days we talked about leadership and specifically our leadership with former Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, Jane Shaw the Dean for Religious Life at Stanford and former Dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, and Meghan Foster Froehlich, the National Church Missioner.

The conference was not only a wonderful opportunity to reflect on my leadership style, strengths, and growing edges, but also to meet other women leaders and conversation partners. We learned more about what Bishops, Deans of Cathedrals, rectors of Cardinal and large churches, and Canons to the Ordinary (the "Ordinary" is the Bishop) do, and talked about everything from gender-inclusive liturgies to what to do with aging buildings.

Perhaps my favorite part, other than meeting and sharing ideas with some amazing women, was our worship in the chapel of the Mercy Center (the convent where we met). We sang at least 1-2 songs a capella during each service, and the sound of the beautiful voices of 66 Episcopal women leaders (including our presenters and mentors) singing praises to God in harmony simply brought me to tears.

Given that this coming September is the 40th anniversary of the ordination of women in the Episcopal Church, the sense of how far we have come - and how far we have to go - was not lost on me or anyone else at the conference.

Dahip Grad Party: June 12  

Larai Dahip invites the entire St. Matthew's parish to the Dahip home this Sunday, June 12 at 3:00pm to celebrate the graduation of  Dr. Michael Dahip, who received his medical degree (MD) from Ross University School of Medicine in the Caribbean.  All are welcome!

Michael grew up at St. Matthew's - the Dahip home is located  at 12195 Osage St NW, Coon Rapids, 55448-1802
Marimba Afrika: June 26


Don't Miss This!  Parishioner Yusuf (Joe) Shalita's band is playing on Sunday, June 26, at 9:00pm at Tuttle's in Hopkins, MN. 

 

Dear Friends, 

Marimba Afrika is back at Tuttle's where you can dance and listen to live African Music with your favorite musicians and DJ Johny Kisekka. Come early and win a surprise prize at 11 pm. Remember, the show starts at 9:00 pm and there is never a cover and plenty of good parking.  Tuttle's address: 107 Shady Oak Rd, Hopkins, MN 55343 Phone: (952) 938-4090.
CORRECTION:  Ben Johnson graduated from St. Paul Central High School AND   from St. Paul College with an Associate of Arts degree (through the Post Secondary Enrollment Option) - quite an accomplishment!

Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • June 12:
    •  Financial Giving Trends at St. Matthew's with Dan White: 10:45am in the library.
    •  Two Weeks of Daily Prayer,  11:00am in the youth room.
    •  Michael Dahip Graduation Party, 3:00pm at the Dahip home
    •  Dinner and Eucharist at the home of Elizabeth Leinesch and Claire Fromme, 6:00pm
  • June 15: Cook's Night Out: 6:00pm at Ipho Saigon, 704 University Ave.
  • June 22 and 29: Book Discussion of Living Without Enemies, 7:00pm in the parish library
  • June 25: Eucharist, music and potluck supper in the backyard of Jeff and Kristen Kidder, 5:30pm
  • June 26: Marimba Afrika at Tuttle's in Hopkins, 9:00pm
  • Project Home Begins in August: Sign Up Here!
 
Please share your news and photos with us: tidings@stmatthewsmn.org 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons