04.13.09
The Pen is Mightier than the Sword
Friday the 13th was a bad day. I was at fault in a stupid small accident. And I knew I was getting sick. Really sick, not just little-tickle-in-your-throat sick. It lasted for three weeks, until I finally went to the doctor. His only comment to me was, “Why did it take you this long to come see me?!” It was a full-blown sinus infection. Which is why it’s taken me a month to write about what I’m trying to write about. But I digress …
The day after I got sick, March 14, we had a Continuum Church outreach event called The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. Cool name. Adam came up with it. Which is good because we would have had an even harder time convincing people to come to Political Letter-Writing Night. But essentially that’s what it was.
A week before our outreach team had been to a training event hosted by Bread for the World. We had debated seriously about whether we wanted to take on a letter-writing event. We’ve all been working very hard, mentally, to broaden our ideas on all the avenues God has provided for us to do good in the world. But I was afraid that it wouldn’t seem valuable if we weren’t actually getting our hands dirty. But the team agreed that we should give it a shot. So we went to the training.
It was almost a full day of information on how to perform a Bread for the World Offering of Letters. I’ll let you check out the link for yourselves because it’s good stuff, but suffice it to say, we learned a lot. We learned about how much the U.S. spends on foreign aid each year (less than 1% of the country’s annual budget!) and how it is distributed. And we learned that it could be done more efficiently, even without spending any more money. We also learned about the horrors of malnutrition and starvation from a doctor from Doctors Without Borders, but really that was just to set the stage for the conversation about aid. We talked about the differences between “betterment” and “development” - development being the best option because the goal is to contribute to an infrastructure that will eventually empower people to care for themselves. (This is an idea that I’ve been grappling with for several months as I consider our domestic outreach projects.)
And then, after all that learning, we wrote letters. Hand-written letters to Senator George Voinovich asking him to work towards streamlining the U.S. approach to distributing foreign aid. (We hand-wrote envelopes too because that’s really what catches someone’s attention initially.) Even though this project was my idea, I was intimidated by actually writing the letter. But there we were with half an hour to do it, and as it was the culmination of the training, there really was no way out of it. And I am SO GLAD that I did. I had no idea what a sense of accomplishment it would bring just to write a letter. Elected officials really read those hand-written letters. Usually they read them personally, but at the least they are read by a high-level staffer. And for every letter they receive, they assume that there are hundreds more constituents back home who believe the same thing and haven’t bothered to write.
This IS a way to do good in the world. No one wants kids to starve. Everyone wants our tax money to be used efficiently. So our Glenn Beck followers were on board for more effective government. And our Obama-button wearers were stoked that we were doing something to increase assistance to struggling foreign countries. That’s the way it should be – with compromises, both sides should win. Until the day when we get some new sides, or get rid of them altogether.
So, that was the training. But then, on the 14th, our outreach team recreated it for Continuum Church folks and friends as The Pen is Mightier than the Sword. We had 11 more people show up to write letters. And we had a really good time. One friend, Chris, said to me, “This was very good. I expected it to be two hours of lecture.” No sir. We had videos, Chutes and Ladders board game, small group discussion, and plenty of visual aids. And everyone wrote a letter. And they liked it!
This is how we fight our own cynicism. This is how we refuse to be caught up in the powers, but subvert them instead. This is how we take small steps that add up to a great journey. As someone said on Sunday, you don’t have to be a soloist, but you should always be part of the choir. Because, as Lucas wrote in his letter, Spider-Man reminds us that with great power comes great responsibility.
Blue Plate Mondays
“Domesticity is not for the faint of heart.”
Here in my new living situation in Columbus, my main household responsibility is cooking. This is just fine with me; I actually requested it. But, let me just admit, it’s harder than I thought. I have even more respect for my mother, who worked hard and made dinner most nights. My Columbus-family is already a little tired of my repertoire.
So I’m going to join my friend Kelly in observing Blue Plate Mondays. Of course, posting this recipe doesn’t actually mean that I made it for dinner. It means that you should make it for dinner, and I should continue staring into the fridge and pantry contemplating whether I might be successful with shell macaroni, vanilla soy milk, and canned pears.
However, in this case, I made this recipe on Saturday. It was lovely, if I do say so myself. My mom used to make this, and our whole family loved it. So here you go. I tried, unsuccessfully so far, to come up with a catchier name for it. Suggestions appreciated.
Sausage Casserole:
Fry up around 8 sausage patties. I use turkey sausage, and this time bought one that was too lean. (Didn’t think you’d ever hear that, huh!) If it is too lean, the patties just stick to the pan. The directions said to add a little oil. But I ask you, what is the point of adding oil to sausage that you purposely bought lean? In this case I added water, which worked, but didn’t allow the patties to get brown and crispy.
Scrub 8 small-ish potatoes and 8 carrots and cut into bite sized chunks. Of course the smaller you cut them, the faster this will cook. You can also add some onion, if your family likes that.
Put the sausage and veggies in a 4 quart baking dish that has a lid, and grind a good helping of black pepper over the top. I had to use two 2-quart dishes because I didn’t have any other options with a lid. This worked out well though, since one casserole could be onion-free.
Combine one large can of tomato soup with a little water. Sorry, no definite quantities here. Just keep mixing until it seems saucy, but not soupy. Then pour it over the sausage and veggies.
Bake it at 375 for an hour. I know, this is the part that makes it hard to do on a weeknight. I’m sure the crockpot would be helpful in this situation, but I don’t know if the potatoes would hold up for 8 hours of workday, even on low. But it’s worth a shot. I was afraid to turn the heat up any higher, but I was tempted. I know it doesn’t work for baking, but really we’re just heating this up, right? So maybe jack it up to 400 or 425 and see what happens. I’m a little leary because I blew up a glass bowl in the microwave the other day. Indeed, domesticity is not for the faint of heart.
01.24.09
“Sloppy joe … slop, sloppy joe …”
I got a job. I’m going to be the <ahem> Lunch Aide at Gahanna Christian Academy. It will be my job to keep the kindergartners in line, and run the snack cart. I am fully aware that the former will be infinitely more difficult than the latter.
I’m thankful for this job. It’s in the middle of the day, allowing me to continue to be available to schlep Taylor to and from school (and of course not requiring me to leave my bed before the daylight actually arrives). It’s not so many hours as to infringe on my Continuum work. I’ll be working with a fellow Continuum Church-er, Janet Eblin. And it won’t be something that occupies my mental and emotional energy outside of the actual working time.
So one down, two to go. Jill and Luke are still on the hunt for employment. Maybe theirs won’t require a hairnet.
01.22.09
The Contact Us Page
New Address for Beth Kavanaugh,
Jill and Lucas Gorz,
and Nikki Wallar and Taylor Miller:
PO Box 10801
Columbus, Ohio 43201
All our cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses remain the same for now.
01.20.09
The Inauguration of Only One Man
This morning, like many many other Americans, I watched the Inauguration of Barack H. Obama. (Actually, I watched some TV channel on mute and chose NPR as the audio.) And I have to admit that I thought it was pretty great. Historic. I was glad to have seen it, and wish I’d been there in person.
I loved the grand scope of his speech, and I believe that it was the right time for grand. Today was a day for inspiring and uniting a nation, not laying out specific tactics. I thought First Lady Michelle Obama’s ensemble was fabulous: gold dress and green gloves! And I could have listened to “Aire and Simple Gifts” all day long. (I mean, John Williams arranging for Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman?! Come ON!!!)
For me, the most poignant moment of the ceremony was one particular camera shot during the inaugural speech. The shot changed from a close-up of our new president to a wide-angle shot of the Capitol and crowds, and pulling back even further. For a moment he looked so small. And then I couldn’t even distinguish him from the rest of the folks on the balcony. I was reminded that, although he’s been granted tremendous power, Barack Obama is still only one man among hundreds in our government and millions in our country. Let’s look to him for what he can provide – inspiration and leadership – and not expect him to accomplish anything lasting without the rest of us.
01.19.09
Ridiculously Overdue for an Update
Yes, that’s what I am: ridiculously overdue for an update … even if this isn’t the kind of blog where I post about my normal life. Although I’m starting to think that maybe it should be that kind of blog.
I won’t even try to make up for all the stuff I’ve missed since … umm … that post about the election. (Wow, that’s pathetic.) Suffice it to say I went home to Missouri at Christmas and stayed for a full week longer than expected because my boss at Curves closed the club with no warning and so I lost my job and my mom and I played about 40 games of Scrabble and then we packed up the house and moved except we couldn’t fit everything in the truck and so there’s still a bunch of stuff in my garage that Jill and Luke will have to get when they go home again next month. There. That should cover it.
Or maybe not.
So, Jill and Luke and Nikki and Taylor have all decided to move to Columbus and be part of what we’re doing at Continuum Church. They all made the decision months and months ago, but I never said much about it because I was so afraid that something would go wrong and it wouldn’t happen. And I just couldn’t take that much of a disappointment. But apparently risk-taking is contagious because here we all are.
Our first morning here J and L awoke to mutual panic regarding our collective underemployment; and as it should be, N and I were relatively zen about the whole thing. Clearly that kind of a role-reversal was divine. Not divine that they panicked; divine that we didn’t! So we did what I’m sure we’ll do many times in our life together: stop talking, take a deep breath, pray for guidance and strength, and get on with it. Oh me of little faith – I’m always a bit too surprised when that works as well as it does!
And although we continue to look for the jobs we believe are out there for us, our home life is beautiful. We are renting the perfect house from some very generous friends at church. We’re not sure how long we’ll stay in this house, because we’d still like to be more centrally located in the city. But in the meantime, this house is fantastic. After a year of major upheaval for all of us, we were more than ready to be settled, so we unpacked and arranged immediately. We didn’t unpack everything, just the essentials, but it’s all put away. And it looks beautiful. And it fits perfectly. And I love it. We feel safe here: physically and emotionally and spiritually. We feel at home here.
So for all of you who have been asking and wondering, we are doing fine. We miss our families and Springfield friends very much. We are actively searching for jobs. We (well, some of us) are learning to navigate a new city. Sometimes we think we are crazy for taking this step. But we believe that we have found our path and that with each other and Jesus and enough time, we can conquer anything.
Some of you we thank for letting us go. Some of you we thank for welcoming us in. All of you we thank for believing in us, and in God’s breath-taking dream to put the world back together.
11.05.08
Hope and the Election
(So my friend Jenna is observing National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) by posting every day. I still haven’t made peace with myself about the purpose of my blog, but the more my other friends write fascinating stuff, the more I’m tempted to give it a try as well. So, this is not a commitment, but I am thinking about posting a little more often. And NaBloPoMo seems like a good excuse to do so.)
So … like everyone else in the blogosphere (I really like that word) I will probably say something today about politics. It’s been a unique election season for me. I was tired of the campaigning this time LAST YEAR, so I have to admit that by yesterday, it was pretty old. Also, I voted absentee on the Missouri ballot, so I was not very informed about the local issues that usually mean so much to me. Plus, we’ve been having some fantastic discussions at Continuum Church about Jesus and Politics over the last several weeks. Through some very thoughtful (also a word I’m using a lot right now) conversations, I’ve given more consideration than ever before to my choice for a president.
Now, over the last year I have changed my mind about a lot of things, and the overriding change has been to becoming a person with hope for the future. Not just when Jesus finally comes back and fixes everything, but now and soon. I don’t honestly believe that my personal choice for president in 2008 is going to get us very far towards that goal. But that’s fine, because I’m not counting on the government to do what can only be done by individual people choosing to live our lives in a new way. And I have hope that we will.
HOWEVER I’m still frustrated by the lack of thoughtful (see, there it is again) conversation and information in the general election. I think that we need more choices. I think that we need a new definition of the political spectrum; traditional explanations of “right” and “left” are worn out. And I’m tired of seeing moderate candidates forced to polarize themselves in order to be distinctive. So I want some more legitimate options.
BUT I take very seriously the privilege of helping to choose my government. I believe that it matters that I vote. And I desperately want my vote to count. And I hate feeling frustrated.
SO this year I did something different. I used my vote to actually say what I wanted to say: let’s open up this discussion. And I voted for a third-party candidate. Not because I thought he could win, but because
Now that the final results are in, I see that not many others made the same choice I did. And I have hope.
10.13.08
Sinus Infection + Yard Waste = Divine Appointment
In youth group, we used to talk a lot about “divine appointments” and I noticed how often my interactions with people really seemed to have a bigger purpose. Things weren’t just coincidences. I have to admit, that in the last few years, I’ve gotten leary of that kind of language, and so haven’t thought about things in those kinds of spiritual terms. But I also noticed that when I stopped looking for it specifically, it seemed to stop happening.
Well, this afternoon I had a conversation that really could not be described any other way. So get out your hankies, because I’m about to testify! As with most of my stories, it will take a minute to get there, so hang with me …
Our ServeFest projects last Saturday required a LOT of different tools. Most we brought with us, but a few belonged to the neighbors we served. Most made it back to the right person the same day, but unfortunately Miss Diane’s hedge trimmers wound up in someone’s car. No problem – I can take them back to her. I need to buy some Avon from her anyway. We decide that Tuesday evening will be good for both of us.
Well, Tuesday morning rolls around and I feel AWFUL. The week leading up to the outreach I’d had one of those headaches where it hurts if you look too far to one side or the other. Denise told me that was sinus pressure, but I didn’t think much of it because generally I don’t have sinus trouble. By Monday, the pressure was gone, but my throat hurt. And by Tuesday at noon, the doctor was writing me a prescription for an antibiotic to treat my sinus infection. I called Miss Diane to say that I couldn’t come meet her that night.
Then, on Wednesday, Miss Christine called to tell me that the bags of yard waste in the alley behind her house had not been picked up. And she had called the city and been told that they would not be picked up unless they were moved to the front of her house (where I was betting they STILL wouldn’t be picked up because her street is all blocked off due to construction, so I doubt any big trucks are getting through). Now, we do our job all the way, so I promised her we would take care of it. And I fully intended to, but …
Things started to get away from me last week, between the sinus infection, getting ready to leave town, and the sprained ankle. When I finally got back to business today I realized we still hadn’t taken care of that yard waste. So I frantically contacted Wendell who assured me we could take care of it tonight.
Perfect. And since we’ll be in the neighborhood, I’ll go about half an hour early and take Miss Diane’s hedge trimmers back to her. I left a message for Miss Christine to let her know we were going to take care of the bags, and headed to Miss Diane’s.
Well, as I arrive, I realize that Wendell is parked right in front of me at Miss Diane’s. Of course I wonder why he’s here 1) so early and 2) at Miss Diane’s instead of Miss Christine’s. But whatever. He goes with me to Miss Diane’s (because we both really enjoy her) and she invites us in as she finishes a phone conversation in the kitchen.
She walks back into the living room, crying, grabs both of our hands and says, “Oh Jesus, we need to pray!” Now we knew that she was concerned about some situations with her family, but it was more serious than we realized, and this evening she was very upset about it. So she talked with us for a while and then we really prayed for God’s will to be done in everything that concerned her.
When we get to Miss Christine’s, we find no yard waste. The alley is clean; even the dumpsters aren’t full. I tried to call her again, and this time she answers and says that apparently it was picked up on Friday or Saturday.
So … really, I’m convinced that the only reason we were supposed to go today was to be with Miss Diane. Because God knew what she needed. And (shocking) that was me and Wendell. I’m always blown away by realizations like that.
I think I’ll start putting a little more effort into looking at my life as more than just a series of chance encounters. It’s a lot more meaningful when you see a bigger purpose even in the little things you do.
(“Mmmmmm!!!! Amen!”)
Birthday Weekend Update
I’m so glad to be bringing you a good report of the activities of Continuum Church’s first birthday! We had high expectations for the weekend, but I have to say that things went even better than we had hoped.
Last Saturday a group of us met in the Kroger parking lot at 9:30 a.m. to divide into our teams for ServeFest. It was chilly, but sunny, and we knew it would warm up later on. While in the parking lot we were approached twice by people who wanted to know what we were doing standing around in such a big group!
We had five worksites that day: the homes of Betty T., Diane D., Anthony D., Christine H. and Gayle H.. Each site had totally different tasks to be done, required different kinds of tools, and would take different amount of time. I had originally thought we could be finished with everything by 12 noon, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Everyone stayed for as long as they could, and we finished almost everything we’d set out to do. On the follow up surveys, the top responses for “favorite part of the event” were the reactions from the homeowners, and the opportunity to serve with other Continuum people. I know that as God continues to grow our congregation, these service projects will be an integral part of building community. Nothing brings people together like hard work!
Here are some before and after shots of cleaning out a wild tangle of brush in the parking area behind Ms. Christine’s house.
Brush tangle: Before
That team faced huge bushes, a wire fence tangled up in the bushes, metal poles sunk deep in the ground … and an infestation of spiders! But they did an amazing job …
Brush tangle: After
Ms. Christine had been gone all morning, but arrived home before the team left. She was overwhelmed with what they were able to accomplish and told them that area hadn’t been so clean since she was a little girl.
Sunday morning was just as good. We had several different elements in our service, including one of our members receiving her ministerial credentials, hearing from our district executive secretary, an interview between Adam and Kathryn Dove (one of our members), and communion. I loved all of it. I also had the opportunity to share about the ServeFest project the day before, but even more just about the mission of Continuum. Adam had set it up perfectly with what he shared right before I came up, and I was able to follow up by talking about why our work is so important and where we’re headed in the future.
Adam’s interview with Kathryn was moving. She came to Continuum from Adam and Jenna’s previous church, where she had grown up. She shared very openly about her journey of faith. Some of the language we use at Continuum, and the concepts we present, are different than what you might hear at other churches. Kathryn celebrated the opportunity to ask the hard questions and be OK with not knowing all the answers. She said that she shares her faith more than she ever has before because of what we’re learning together.
After church we had lunch together in Kathryn’s grandmother’s home. People stayed for hours, eating and talking and getting to know each other better. At one point, everyone gathered outside, and Adam, Jenna and I were called to the front. Wendell and Kathryn were holding big gift bags, and Wendell said some very nice things about the three of us and the work we’re doing. Apparently, it was also Pastor Appreciation Sunday! Can I just tell you how weird it was for me to be on the receiving end of that?! Surreal, but nice. The gift bags contained cards from everyone, and I’m overwhelmed by the kindness. I know that I’m doing what God has called me to do, so it doesn’t (usually) feel like a huge sacrifice or service to me. But it’s nice to know that what you do is appreciated.
There were many points during the weekend when I was amazed by what God has done here in the last year, and since I arrived in February. It’s been incredible, and yet I know it’s just the beginning. Thank you all for what you’ve done to make this possible. I wish you could all have been here to celebrate with us, because without you, it wouldn’t have happened.
10.10.08
Why I Hate Dogs
I’ve tried. I really have. My family has owned dogs. And other people have dogs that I like … a little. But today has finished me forever I think.
The family I live with has two dogs, Buster and Bandit. They are both small and pretty well behaved. Of course they have a few bad habits, but overall they are cute, and they were even starting to grow on me a little bit. I admit, when everyone else is gone, I have even been known to let them sleep on my bed.
However, Bandit is very small. Very fluffy, but he has a small body. And he loves to run. So if he manages to get out of the fenced backyard – game on. A couple months ago we found that he could fit through the bars of the deck, so that is now covered with netting.
So today, I came home from Curves later than normal because another staff member had a family emergency so I filled in for a while. I let the dogs out as I always do, making sure the gates were closed. A few minutes later I stepped to the kitchen window and noticed Bandit OUTSIDE THE YARD. And I’m ticked, because this is not going to be easy. And these aren’t my dogs, so I really don’t care that much. But of course I go out to get him. And he runs.
So I chase him all the way to the park where he is enthralled with two dogs on leashes. The owner is clearly a dog-person (she has TWO fairly large ones!) and of course she wants to help. So she’s trying to keep her smaller vicious dog from biting Bandit (not sure I would really care) while Bandit and her giant dog stand nose to nose. We continue to circle around with me darting in to try to grab Bandit, who, in case I haven’t mentioned is very fast, small and tricksy.
It’s a lovely fall day here in the park and the wet grass is littered with walnuts. At just the right moment, my left foot finds a walnut instead of solid ground, and down I go. The weak ankle has struck again, turned a direction that ankles are not supposed to turn and I’m on hands and knees on the ground. It is immediately obvious that I can’t even really bear my own weight on this ankle, much less chase a dog. So now, despite my attempt to shake it off, I’m drawing a lot of attention from the rest of the moms and kids and dog-people.
Finally, tenderhearted Bandit makes the mistake of getting close enough to me to find out what’s wrong and I grab him. With the bravest front I can muster, I thank Nice Dog Lady and begin limping my way home. And I’m sure I look fabulous: in workout clothes, no makeup, bad hair, limping, crying and carrying a dog.
So now here I am. I’m sitting in my room with my foot propped up on the bed and ice around the ankle. It hurts like mad. Like I think it might make me crazy if it doesn’t stop. And my ankle, foot and halfway up my calf have swollen to the size of a Bradford pear tree trunk. Which seems appropriate since this ankle is about as weak as one of those limbs in a Missouri spring storm.
In short – no dog is worth this. Period.
