AS CULTURED AS THEY COME

When I took piano lessons in the first grade, my favorite piece was Through Central Park. I liked it because you could "hear" the clip-clopping of the carriage horses in the music. This past weekend we saw Central Park dressed in snow, and enjoyed it as much as the kids (of all ages) who were sledding or making snow people. I especially enjoyed it through Sister Jan's eyes--she had never seen snow before, and would periodically stop and poke it with a hand or foot and say, "Isn't it miraculous stuff?"

We also visited the Metropolitan Art Museum, heading right for the Impressionists. We could have stayed there all day, but were lured from one lovely room to another by the art of one culture after another. Every human culture expresses itself in some art form, even headhunters of Papua New Guinea! It occured to me that Central Park is like the art museum, a place set aside to allow us to get in touch with creativity at an even more basic level--the creativity of God.

I'm in severe withdrawal from National Public Radio, since I can't get any good station for news and classical music in my room. It's as real as hunger. All these hungers: for nature, arts, music, all forms of creative expression, and spirituality...are genuine human needs. For the first time I paid attention to the section in the Declaration of Human Rights (the U.N. passed it in 1948) that says "Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts..." (Article #27) Imagine having to say that we have a right to the very thing that distinguishes us two-legged, big-brained human critters from all the rest. Creative God, fill ALL our hungers!

HAPPY FEAST DAY!

Happy feast day to everyone who loves Saint Angela Merici! the United Nations closed today in her honor (though if you asked any of the officials there, they would say it was because of the 18 inches of snow we have...)

Through the "women religious network" at 211 West 43rd Street, I met one of the New Rochelle Ursulines; we are going to get together soon to celebrate. But in the meantime, the Franciscan sisters in the house here are going to celebrate tonight (I smell the good curry that one of the Chinese sisters is fixing)! Jan and I also stopped in Grand Central Station on the way home and had an espresso to celebrate. Her community patronal feast (St. Bridget) is next week so we will celebrate then, too.

We are quite good at celebrating here (I feel right at home); yesterday we celebrated Australia Day. Since there are two Aussies in our office and several more in the office building where we work, Catherine, the director of UNANIMA, had stopped by an Australian bakery for some Lamingtons (a cake dessert named after some important British guy in Australian history), and she provided a jar of Marmite as well. Marmite is the British version of the Australian yeast delicacy called Veg-i-Mite--and neither one is for the fainthearted. They look like brown wax and taste like old gym socks. Catherine had the office decorated with aboriginal art, various Aussie artifacts, and the flags of all countries represented by people in our office, and there was even a CD of Australian bird song. We all sang the first verse of the "kookaburra" song (I sang the second verse because nobody else knew it...maybe it's just something the Girl Scouts made up). Then we tried Waltzing Matilda but Jan was the only one who could get through that one. We finished the celebration at home, that night, with a special meal and another Australian dessert, a Pavlova. Lucky we have to walk so much, or we would have to cut back on the celebrations!

Anyway, I'm missing all the "home folks" and wishing you all a wonderful feast day!

TREES AND ME

The main order of business at the U.N. this week, at least as far as I am concerned, is the beginning of a two-week Forum on Forests. People are here from all over the world to talk about forests and their relationship to / impact on food supply, water, energy, indigenous people, poverty eradication, sustainable development, economics, biodiversity and climate change--in other words, almost everything the U.N. is concerned with is tied in some way to forests!

As I sat in the huge conference room, listening to the people of the world talking to each other, I wondered: where else would you have Iceland sitting next to Hungary sitting next to Honduras? "We are many parts, we are all one body!" And to tell the people of a Pacific island that the rise in sea level is their problem, not ours, is like saying "your end of the rowboat is sinking" when we are both in the boat. It's inspiring to watch the process here--but as you might expect, people are people, and I think I am beginning to see that the U.N. is also fertile ground for posturing, "politicking" and parochialism; of caucusing, collaborating, and (no doubt) occasionally cursing the other's point of view.

A Passionist priest who works with his community NGO here quoted someone as saying "To work at the U.N. you must be radically committed to incremental change." In other words, progress is v-e-r-y slow. He said "You might say things move at glacial speed, except that glaciers might be melting too fast" for the analogy to work! But nonetheless things DO GET DONE. For example, the Declaration of Rights for Indigenous People took 25 years of negotiation and stops and starts, but it finally passed with only four "no" votes -- guess who? The U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand (all of whom have indigenous people sitting on coveted mineral resources?) ...as I said, people are people!

Today I can resonate with the feast which the Church celebrates, The Conversion of St. Paul. I have to admit I have had my share of conversions. What I notice about the conversion of Paul is that, as one writer states, "Paul's entire life can be explained in terms of one experience--his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus." What a gift to have a powerful encounter with Christ which hurls you into a complete 360 degree turn around. That was Paul's experience --he went from persecuting Christians to becoming one. From that day forward he spent his life forming others in the following of Jesus Christ.

Tertullian, a theologian of the 2nd century, said that is what becoming Christian is like.“Christians are made, not born.” One does not become a Christian simply by saying you want to be a Christian, although this is an important step. Being Christian just does not happen like magic. Rather, slowly and gradually one is opened to the good work of God in their life and God’s call to share life together within a community. The process is a lifelong process of conversion. Conversion is God’s work of literally turning someone around and redirecting them into a way of life rooted in the values found in the Gospel. If we are growing in faith, no matter how long we have been Christian, we will experience a call to conversion as a life long journey.

What about you? Think about your own life of faith. When have you encountered a similiar call to redirect you way of relating to another? When did you hear an inner voice nudging a change of attitude? Where is the greatest need of conversion in your life today? I believe St. Paul is not the only one who could benefit from a blinding light that illuminates areas in need of conversion. Grant to me O God a heart renewed, recreate in me the gifts of Your Spirit, your joy, your peace, your charity.

MISSION: 97TH STREET

At the end of the day, it's so good to get off the subway and head for my home away from home. Even though I can't see much from my window but a brick wall and a church steeple, maybe that's what Angela Merici saw when she lived next to a church in 16th Century Brescia, Italy. And I'm warm and well fed, unlike the homeless on this night when we are expecting subzero temperatures in New York City.

But today I was feeling a little like a stranger in a strange land; I miss being close to nature, even if it's only to look out at my back yard. They don't have any back yard here, no front yard either (you just walk into the buildings right off the street). There's no place to plant flowers or a tomato. The school next door doesn't have a playground--for recess, I'm told, they just close the street for play.

It's easier to cope when I remind myself that this is a missionary experience. Our sisters who went to New Mexico in the early 1900s missed Kentucky in the same way I miss nature; the Ursulines who came in the early 1800s from a well-ordered Bavarian city must have had a shock when they got to Louisville, and Angela surely must have missed her rural home and vineyards when she moved to a typical medieval city! We go where we are called, because our true homes are in the heart of God. And of course there are other forms of beauty here: the architectural embellishments on buildings are remarkable, there are parks here and there, and trees planted in the median along Broadway. Oh, and did I mention that I went to Lincoln Center to the opera the other night? The sisters know someone who gives them free tickets--we saw a stunning performance of Simon Boccanegra. In the subway tunnels last week we were treated to a Peruvian folk ensemble, jazz, Cajun, a Chinese stringed instrument, breakdancing and mime...this is not a bad place to be "exiled." And there is beauty everywhere, if we just look.

Bound for All Eternity

I marvel and am amazed that Angela Merici's words, "be bound one to another" continues to touch and inspire me. When I have an opportunity, like I did today as some of us gathered for the funeral of Billie, Sister Vivian's mother, I had a definite experience of the words of Angela being lived out. I was so aware of the bond and the confirmation of who I am called to be as we sang together the "Magnificat". I felt the bond that is intangible yet truly unites us as daughters of Angela. Following the liturgy of Christian burial, some of Sister Vivian's family came up and expressed their gratitude for the hymn of praise. I believe their words were, " Such angelic voices, I could listen to that song all day!" I thought to myself and oh how I wish I could take that graced moment as we lifted our voices together in prayer and cherish it for eternity. Yet, perhaps that is exactly what we as Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph do. Do we not take the relationships we have in community and savor them even beyond this earthly life into eternal life? There we will shine like stars among all the saints, in communion with Angela, with God-our Creator, and all our loved ones. We will be bound together in eternity. This brings me such peace and comfort! We have so much to look forward to and celebrate! Eternal peace is my prayer for you Billie --as you rest now forever in the arms of your God, the Lover of us all.

INSIDE THE U.N.

Thursday was my first venture INSIDE the U.N. I tried not to walk around with my mouth open, so I would not embarrass you by letting them know I was a "hick from the sticks." The complex is actually several buildings--the big tall one houses the administrative offices of the Secretariat, and right now it is closed for its first renovation since the staff moved into it in 1950. The smaller white structure you see on the left houses the big assembly room where the delegates meet in plenary session--and most of that building is also closed for renovation except for the assembly room, the "touristy" areas, the cafeteria, and a few service areas. This building also will be closed at the end of this year (so if you want to see it within the next few years you should hurry). There are a couple of other relatively more inconspicuous buildings, but most of the work now is being done in a large temporary building that was erected on the north lawn.

That's where we met on Thursday for a briefing on the topic of "what's next, after the Cancun conference, regarding climate change?" It was exciting to be in the great big conference room, with earphones and personal microphones, and to interact with the panel of speakers...and the content was good. (I'll be sharing with you on specific topics as we progress in this experience, and the work of the commissions begins in earnest). On Friday Catherine signed us up for an official tour, given by a lovely young woman wearing her colorful native dress from Uzbeckistan. The building has interesting art work and gifts from foreign governments (such as an eight foot model of the royal barge from Thailand, an elaborate ivory carving from China, and a gilded "peace stupa" from three Buddhist countries). There are exhibits illustrating some of the work of the UN, like the footlocker-size "school in a box" that makes an instant school for 40 children, the temporary housing units provided in case of disasters or refugee crises...and some darker reminders like land mines that have been removed from many countries thanks to UN efforts, and fused housewares from the atomic blast at Hiroshima. It made real for me the quote from Dag Hammarskjold, "The U.N. was not created to take us to heaven, but to save us from hell."

STOP THE WORLD (for a day)

T.G.I.F.! I've only been here for a week, but have learned a year's worth of stuff--some related to the U.N. and its NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) and a lot related to survival in New York City. Sister Jan and I agreed today that we feel like we've been run over by a truck, one bearing tons of information.

I'm just so impressed with the United Nations and what it does to promote peace and justice all over the world. When you think of it, it's the only place in the world where all nations--rich or poor, large or small--can sit down and talk to each other on an equal footing. And I'm so proud of how women and men religious are using this venue to influence world policies. To give you an idea of what kinds of things we are working on through UNANIMA, here's my schedule for this last Wednesday (each meeting was about an hour and a half long):

• Working Group on Poverty and Climate Change (the environment is one of the top priorities of the current General Secretary)


• NGO Committee on Poverty Eradication (the issue of poverty cuts across all UN agencies and activities)


• Workshop in Advocacy Training (this taught us how to approach official groups we are trying to influence)


• NGO Committee for Social Development (many religious community focus issues are involved in this--it deals with themes around family, aging, youth, disabled persons)

Needless to say, we missed lunch that day. Luckily, I had put two granola bars in my pocket to give to homeless people on the subway, so Jan and I co-opted them. In this one day, in a small way, we experienced solidarity with the hungry and the disabled (as I am still hobbling around on a sprained ankle), and suffered vicariously with the poor and those dealing with the effects of climate change! What an education...

U.N.believable!

I learned today that one of the interns here is "just now beginning" to understand how things work at the United Nations--and she has been here for four months. After our first day I can understand why it takes so long! During our orientation session my head began filling with inititals and acronyms: UNDP, UNEP, UNHCR, ILO,FAO, IFAD, UNIFEM...well, you get the idea. And our schedule for the next two weeks includes meetings with subcommittees and committees and working groups and briefings and forums...well, you get the idea!

Yesterday we braved bitter cold to go to the U.N. Building to register for our U.N. passes that will get us in the building without the airport-type security screening that visitors undergo each time. And we actually had a bit of real work to do: to write a prayer service for a series of Lenten reflections on global food insecurity, which will be published as an online calendar by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance in Geneva, Switzerland. Today we navigated icy and slush-filled streets to get to work at the UNANIMA office, where we sat in on a meeting of the Working Group on Trafficking and Migration. Nine different religious communities (orders of sisters, brothers, and priests) were represented at that meeting, not counting the other UNANIMA communities represented by Catherine Ferguson. The main topic on the agenda was to plan a "site event" scheduled for February 14...it will include testimony from individuals who have been trafficked or who have some special expertise in the relationship between trafficking and migration.

NGOs primarily seek to educate U.N. members on issues of concern to them, and to influence the wording of policy statements--even the wording of the Secretary General's annual report! I am so impressed with the quality and power of the networking that religious communities bring to this good work...

'NEATH THE SIDEWALKS OF NEW YORK

After a pretty good night's sleep (remarkable considering the city sirens, a yowling alley cat, and a radiator that sounds like small yapping dogs at certain phases of its activity--not to mention the effort of digesting a huge and very festive birthday dinner we had for one of the resident sisters), Jan and I were out and about before 8:00 (that's 7:00 according to my Central Standard body time) to give ourselves time to get lost on the subway and/or to wait a long time for a train. Well, the subway maps are good, so neither happened, and we arrived at the UNANIMA offices half an hour early!




The orientation session with Catherine was interesting, and we met the three sisters "interning" with the International Presentation Sisters' Association, one of the three NGO entities who share the office. (the other group represented there are the Sisters of Notre Dame). All share a space on the 12th floor of an office building near the United Nations...the whole office space is no larger than your average one-car garage. But they explained that all religious community NGO's get along very well, since they know that in numbers there is strength, and all share information and resources.


Our orientation session soon gave us to know that we had better arrive on Monday morning ready to work! In fact, we have lots of homework to do before then--websites to visit, introductory materials to read, and even virtual tours to take. On the way home, Jan and I stopped for lunch in the food court beneath the restored Grand Central Station...what fun to see it again for the first time since I came through there on a train at age 10! The sign that said "Track #117" hints at the huge size of the complex, and the artistic carvings and lovely architectural frills on this grand old dame give us a glimpse of a time when people took time to make things beautiful. The subway still leaves from Grand Central so we took the shuttle train over to Times Square and from there went home (yes, 97th Street is beginning to feel like "home"). At the evening Mass in a nearby church an usher took out what he suspected was a bomb--typical of the calm paranoia of this city of surprises!

GLAD TO BE HERE (I THINK)

On January 14, after enjoying a clear flight over Lake Michigan (covered with ice floes) and the snow-covered mountains of Pennsylvania, my heart sank as we flew in over Queens (the New York City borough where LaGuardia Airport is located). As I saw the miles and miles of houses, houses, and more houses--and miles and miles of concrete, brick, and cement, I imagined all those people squashed down there in that little space. And as we rode through the congested streets of the city, noisy with honking horns and piled high with uncollected garbage--I reflected that this is what humans know how to do really well: generate waste and ugliness. Can I survive in a city for four months? This is a real "missionary" experience for me!

But then I allowed myself to be swept up into the cultural diversity of this most diverse of cities, and to feel underneath the ugliness and grime the throbbing heart of this place that is beloved home for so many. In the first two hours I was here I was driven home by a cab driver from Africa, saw a group of women crossing a street clad head to foot in burkas, met the sisters' Guatemalan cook and the sisters themselves: one from Lebanon, two from China, one from Spain, one from Ireland, and two from Brooklyn (and understand that I just missed one from the Philippines, one from Canada, plus three Japanese guests)!

As I met Sister Jan, my fellow intern from Australia, and Sister Catherine Ferguson, the director of the UNANIMA program, and all these warm, funny and hospitable Fransciscans I will be living with, I reflected that no matter the SIZE of the city or the number of people who live there, we still really meet each other one soul at a time, and it is on that level where you come to love each other. In Spanish there are two verbs for "know:" saber is the verb used about knowing things and facts, but conocer is the form used to describe how you know people or cities. "Conocer" has more of a feeling of "become acquainted with," the idea being that you can never fully know a person--or a city. I am looking forward to becoming acquainted with New York and its people...

LAUNCHING OUT INTO THE DEEP

Long story short: I sent in my application the next day, was accepted into the first class of UNANIMA interns, and received permission from my community leaders to "go for it." Before accepting, I took the decision to prayer once more, but there was never any real doubt in my mind that this was the will of God for me at this time. It felt so RIGHT...a gift from God. In fact, I think there has never been a decision that was so clear for me...it exactly matched by "ideal job" specifications, and I felt a great sense of peace about it.

There was only one cloud on the horizon--I will have to live in New York City for four months. Now, I love the vitality and cultural diversity of New York. I've been there several times and loved visiting museums, sightseeing, and doing the "touristy" things, but I was always glad to leave. Let's face it, I'm a small town girl of the open spaces. Moving to Kentucky to join the convent was bad enough--all those trees blocked my view, and the colorful "bones of the Earth" that you can see so well in New Mexico were covered by grass back here. But there's always Central Park, and the place I will be living (a convent on the upper West Side) is not far from there.

There will be two of us pioneering these internship positions, a Brigidine sister from Australia and I, and our first day will be an orientation on January 15. My fellow intern and I will commute by subway or bus to the UNANIMA office on 43rd Street, near the United Nations building. When friends ask, "but what will you DO?" I have to admit I don't know, except that I will be working in support of the UNANIMA mission, which is to "work at the United Nations on behalf of women and children in conditions of poverty; immigrants and refugees; and the welfare of the planet." Watch this blog for further details! Next time you hear from me will be from New York, "the Good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise."

I WAS LOST BUT I GOT FOUND

So I decided that I probably would not find my dream job, and became resigned to finding something--anything--that would contribute to the mission of our community, and would bring in a salary to help support our retired sisters. Bring it on! I searched the internet, looked at job postings online, scanned the want ads in the paper, and even went to a local job fair...where my spirits sank lower and lower as I cruised the tables (noticing all the much younger faces and stronger backs that were cruising with me). And I didn't see anything that really appealed to me, though I did ask at the Sheriff's table if he needed a member of a posse who could ride a horse.

A day or two later, Sister Sharon, our community leader, forwarded an announcement sent to her by another of our sisters, who had enclosed a note saying "this sounds like Michele." It was an announcement about the availability of paid internships with UNANIMA, an NGO (non-governmental organization) that works in New York City with the United Nations on global justice issues, especially those involving women and children. UNANIMA is composed of 19 communities of women religious, including our community, the Ursuline Sisters of Mount Saint Joseph. In the past they have focused on issues such as human trafficking, but recently have added an en emphasis on Earth issues, including (get this--chill down the spine!) global water issues and climate change.

I perked up at the keywords: women and children, Earth, water, climate change. As I sat there with the information in my hand, my heart literally started beating faster...my body was trying to tell me something! Now, as a woman religious, I made a vow of obedience, which people outside religiious life usually interpret to mean that I do everything my religious superior tells me to do. But our community recognizes that practices of good discernment include listening to the God Within: paying attention to likes and dislikes, strengths and weaknesses, passions, and yes--rapidly beating hearts! In fact, our community founder, Saint Angela Merici, urged us to "above all, obey the counsels and inspirations which the Holy Spirit unceasingly sends into our hearts." At that moment I felt really connected to that 16th Century wise woman...

THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM

If you could accomplish just one more thing in your life, what would it be? Is there a particular type of job on your "bucket list?" That's what I asked myself, and I asked a blessing on my pen and journal as I began writing down what I would love to do in my next job. In the transition workshop, we had said a prayer promising that we would always listen to God's voice, "even when it sounds like mine." I interpreted that to mean that God often speaks through the Spirit whispering through my own interests, my own background, my own skill set--my own JOY.

They say that one way to discern the occupation that gives you joy is to picture the type of task you are doing when you lose all track of time; another way is to notice where your feet go in a bookstore. And I reflected on what gave me the most joy in my former careers: designing and teaching ecology, marine biology, and environmental science courses; working as a volunteer water quality monitor for over 25 years; doing nature study; writing and speaking and teaching and learning.

So, feeling a little foolish and presumptuous, I designed my own dream job, and here's what it looked like: it would involve working full time for the welfare of planet Earth and its people; it would benefit the poor in a very concrete way--especially women and children (in keeping with our community focus); and it would involve research and writing. That done, I put my journal aside with a feeling of regret, thinking that at my age (66) and in my circumstances, I could never find a job like that...

What gives you HOPE

There is a line in the Talmud that says "We see things not as they are, but as we are." If this is true, our view of reality at any given moment is colored by many factors. The dominant view among many in our nation, church, and community is that disillusionment is very acute.

Now I am not one to expound on what is wrong with our nation, our Church or our religious community, but I am one who continues to hope. I am inspired by people who continue to seek employment even when jobs are seemingly unavailable. I am touched by families who make sacrifices so that their children might have quality education. I am edified by elderly who get out daily to receive Eucharist despite all the physical aches and heartaches they carry on their heart. I am humbled by a friend who remains passionate about her ministry and love for the Church while running back and forth to the doctor. What give me hope? St. Josephine Bakhita, who survived a horrible life as a slave said it so eloquently. " I am definitely loved and whatever happens to me--I am awaited by this Love."

Look for reasons to hope. Hope keeps me going day by day. What gives you hope? I would love to hear your experiences of hope that you encounter on a daily basis. Please consider sharing them with me. I also invite you to join me in striving to be a bearer of hope in our hurting, dark and expectant world. Let's illuminate wherever we are and as we are with hope!

TRANSITIONS: EASIER SAID THAN DONE

According to a book by an expert on transitions (his name is Bridges, believe it or not!) a transition begins with an ending, which is followed by a neutral zone or void, and ends with a beginning. In the "ending" phase you have to say goodbye to what has gone before, to grieve the losses, and to a certain extent detach yourself from that old self...not easy! But the really hard part comes in the "neutral zone / void," while you float free and wonder who you are and what your new self will be like. Other unemployed people can probably resonate with one or both of these phases.


When I got ready to open myself to a new beginning, I sat down and tried to imagine my next "Great Work." There's a song that goes, "My Great Work is where my great joy intersects with Earth's great need." Earth has so many great needs that I decided it might be easier to begin by focusing on what gives me great joy. It's strange, we don't always ask ourselves what gives us great joy--we often just plod along, doing what we have always done or what we need to do just to survive. I read somethere that an estimated 80% of people don't enjoy their jobs! Can you do a job really well if you don't have at least some liking or passion for it?


Hmmmm, so it should be something that gives me great joy...and I also wanted to take into account a ministerial focus of my religious community,"freeing and nurturing women and children." What's a former biology teacher to do? I'm too young to retire, but am I too old to hire?

STATUS: UNEMPLOYED

After a 33-year career as a college biology professor and/or adminstrator, and a six-year elected position as leader of my religious community, it happened--I joined the ranks of the unemployed. I've never been "between jobs" before, and it made me empathize with the unemployed (of course, sisters are never really unemployed: we are always seeking to do the will of God and furthering the mission of our community...and besides, someone will always find something for us to do)!


But as a newly "unemployed" person, I began to notice things. For example, when someone meets you, the first thing they want to know is what you DO. They don't particularly want to know who you ARE (like, an Ursuline Sister of Maple Mount, Kentucky; a native New Mexican of Irish-Scottish-Austrian descent; a lover of nature, including insects; an incurable optimist...) no, they want to know what you DO. Well! does saying you're "between jobs" make you sound like a loser? So I found myself saying that I was a "former" this or that, which seemed somehow unsatisfactory and even unhealthy. But there I was--no title, no salary--a situation many of us are experiencing these days.

I was lucky; I got to take advantage of a transition program that my community offered me, which gave me the time to think about what I should do next, and to explore this new "self" and what it might have the potential to become. Stay tuned and I'll tell you what I learned about transitions...

A NEW JOURNEY

In the 19th Century, scientists who opened an ancient Egyptian tomb found a seed embedded in a piece of 3,000-year-old wood. Just out of curiosity, they planted it; to everyone's surprise, it sprouted and grew! Like that little seed, all of us have long-lived unexplored potential--roads that we did not travel earlier in life, choices we did not make because of other duties, unfulfilled dreams that may become ripe for achievement only after we have gained certain life experiences, or after our external circumstances change.

What if you were to sit down and write an exact description of what you would like to do next in your life...and then the "ticket" fell right into your lap? That's what happened to me recently. After a life journey that has led me from a small town in northern New Mexico and taken many interesting twists and turns, I've come to a surprising fork in the road--one that leads to East 42nd Street in New York City. I invite you to walk with me for the next four months, to see what we can discover together.