Spirit On The Margins

Another inspirational story from one of our volunteers.

This morning I was facilitating a spirituality group at a drug/alcohol treatment center. Yesterday a man who was a participant in the recovery program died in his room at the center. Many of the men in the group I was facilitating knew him well. A new man came to the group today, who I believe was an alumni of the treatment program, who I’ll call Paul. He had felt an inner nudge from God to come to the group today, after he finished working a 3rd shift at the Metrodome. Paul has been sober for 4 years, but he came back today to give back to others.

Another man in the group said he’d had a nagging feeling that he was supposed to ask Paul to be his sponsor (mentor) for his recovery program, but he hadn’t seen Paul in a while. So when Paul showed up this morning and sat next to him, he saw that as an answer to prayer.

Paul spoke in the group about the intimacy of his relationship with God, and about the joy he found in it.  He emphasized that expressing our emotions and thoughts to God is key to cultivating the relationship, just as we would with a friend.

Paul’s presence spoke deeply to me, and many of the men there, who were grieving about the man who died yesterday.

city-house-cup-program-elect-brochure-fall-09

Click For Brochure

We had not planned on offering the “Will You Drink From This Cup?” program this fall.  But, we have had so many requests that we have decided to offer it after all.

A City House spiritual enrichment program in collaboration with Christos Center for Spiritual Formation, Loyola Spirituality Center, and Sacred Ground Center for Spirituality.

This program is for you if you want to deepen your relationship:

~ With God;

~ With the economically disadvantaged

~ In a supportive environment of fellow Learners

 This program is for you if you want to explore meaningful questions, such as:

~ How can God shape me through those who find themselves in poverty?

~ In what ways am I homeless, imprisoned and impoverished?

~ What currently keeps me separated from persons in poverty?

~ Other questions you and God will Identify.

For information and registration, attend our session on Tuesday, September 8th from

7 to 9 p.m. at Loyola Spirituality Center. Please RSVP if you plan on attending

city-house-inner-leadership-brochure-fall-09

We are delighted to once again offer the Inner Leadership: Choosing to Learn from Mentors on the Margins program this fall.

This program is for mainstream leaders from all sectors (government, business, religious, and nonprofit).  It is for those who have moved beyond the success/ skill set stage of leadership and:

Have made or want to make the interior turn

Have made or want to make the transition to power by reflection;

Already take or would like to take their spirituality seriously;

Want to leave their comfort zone and learn from mentors they least expect;

Want to change their own lives and live out of a deeper sense of purpose;

Want to grow as leaders in a safe environment

4 learners from last year’s program have already stepped forward to “pay it forward” for this year’s learners!!  We are looking for new learners to step forward, and / or nominees for new learners that you think might benefit from this program, and / or new sponsors to financially sponsor even more learners.

To find out more, attend our information session. Please RSVP if you plan on attending.

As part of the “Will You Drink From This Cup?” program, we lead a session entitled the Culture of Poverty. It is designed to help mainstream learners better understand the values and behaviors they encounter among persons who find themselves on the margins of society.

That session is co-led by one or more participants from our core program, where we are providing spiritual companionships to persons who find themselves on the margins of society.  This time, we were very capably led by Pedro and Eric in this discussion. They did an outstanding job. I was lucky enough to have my picture taken with my good friends.

At the half way point of City House’s “Will You Drink From This Cup?” we lead our learners on an inner city pilgrimage for a day. This time, like many others, we visited Reentry Metro, a halfway house for women coming out of prison, and Dorothy Day, a drop in homeless shelter in downtown St. Paul.

As in the past, this turns out to be one of the most powerful experiences of the entire program.  As one of our learners said when we were done, “On a scale of 1 - 10, I give this experience a “12″.

Dear friends,

We are so blessed to have such dedicated and soulful volunteers who provide spiritual companionship to persons who find themselves on the margins of society. It is such a gift to City House and to persons on the margins to have them as part of our community.

Recently, we conducted a survey of those volunteers and asked them to reflect upon their experience. Here are some quotes to some key questions that were asked. 27 current, past, and prospective volunteers responded.

What about volunteering with City House is life giving:

The stories! The opportunity to listen to people I would not otherwise meet. The challenge I have each week of quelling my fear and anxiety about meeting strangers. Intimacy with another person.  It is a time of goodness.

It often seems as I leave the prison that our session was mutual.  I have much to ponder as I think about the starkness and confinement of the prison and the freedom and presence of God in our conversations.  Many inner and outer contrasts.  I find I care very much about the woman I see - it’s a mutual friendship.

The depth of prayer and honesty in the group. It is one of the most life giving things that I’m a part of.  The care that the men have for each other during that time is so life giving to me.

Remaining present to personal suffering without trying to fix things is spiritual work and humbling.  Experiencing pain among the marginalized.  Remaining vulnerable in ambiguous situations. Keeping my heart open.

These women inspire me in their determination (some, not all), generosity, hopefulness, admission of wrongdoing.  Simply creating space that allows them to speak their truth to themselves and each other is a beautiful thing to be part of.

My time with City House as been one of the most deepening experiences. Learning to just be with the poor, listening and loving them. Bringing hope and love of our God.  Letting God work first with me.

What about volunteering wiht City House is life draining?

Knowing that it is hard to break through life-long habits and behavior and that my presence may not make much difference for many of them.

Struggles with boundaries - i.e. how much to get involved in someone’s life, tendency toward care taking. Recognizing the reality of helplessness, even hopelessness in other’s lives touches into fears about my own.

Sometimes I forget and wnat to take care of the participant when all I need to do is listen and be supportive in words and prayers.  Listening to the obstacles (government) they have to literally push thru at times gets frustrating.

I have been unable to figure out how to move beyond my own fear and pain surrounding this population and so have not pursued additional volunteer work with City House, but I still hold some kind of interest and plan to keep holding it till I know what to do next.

Would you recommend City House volunteeing to others?

Yes. It is a joy to work with folks on the margins who can teach we middle class folks so much about trust, perseverance, and overcoming adversity.

I have, Iwould and I do.  Volunteering with City House moves me out of my comfort zone to share the gift I have of listening, being with, accepting, loving another.  The barriers of race, gender, life style, accents, life experience, religious denomination, wealth, employment (or lack thereof) fall away.

I would and have recommended City House volunteering to experienced spiritual companions.  It’s a place to enlarge our view of God and God’s love and look inwardly with a new perspective.  One can grow in gratefulness and compassion and learn to see God in all people.

Yes, there are few opportunities to connect with people on the margins of society through relationships of dignity and respect.

I love the programs and enrichment opportunities City House offers to volunteers.  I also love how they offer support and then encourage us to follow Spirit.  I believe they do everything possible to make our work an enriching life experience.

Can you see why City House staff finds it so rewarding to work with this group of people as volunteers. It is so rewarding!!

City House Cup Program Spring ‘09 Brochure

City House is delighted to once again offer this program that invites you to experience connection with the poor as spiritual practice.

Please feel free to attend our information / orientation session on Thursday, January 22, from 7:00p.m. - 9:00p.m. at Loyola Spirituality Center.

This is the full brochure. Make sure to click through all 4 pages of this PDF file to get all of the information.

Thanks!!

A friend of mine, Michael Bischoff, is taking a year’s sabbatical and doing research on the spirit of institutions.  He has begun a blog where he reports and reflects on what he is learning. The Spirit of Institutions  It overlaps in some ways with City House’s work on The Inner Leadership Program, where we invite mainstream leaders into relationships where they are mentored by someone on the margins of society. The premise of this program is that relationships with persons on the margins will lead them beyond their ego and the achievement / success stage of leadership.

MIchael was a learner in that pilot program this fall, and he was mentored by Charles Simmons, an ex-felon. Michael interviews Charles in this video on his blog.

Charles Simmons: Spirituality and Leadership

Another story from one of our volunteer spiritual companions who serves at a domestic abuse shelter.

Ginny entered the room and her friend said, “she dragged me here to see you, she said it would be good for me,” Cindy said grudgingly. We talked about their frustrations of the last week regarding; finding suitable housing (“it’s hard to get housing with 4 felons one said), the school uniform of her daughter’s that was stolen from Ginny’s room last night, and finally the violence against them by the men they had just left.

A long pause and Cindy said, “My Momma was a faithful woman and she always said “You gotta forgive and forget,” but I’m having lots of trouble doing that, what’s wrong?” I won’t go into all the details but it was a very rich interchange. Reassuring them it was ok not to forget. . . and as I had them explore what forgiveness meant to them, as they understood it, Cindy didn’t know, as she was still ‘hopping mad’ at the sting of abuse that she and her daughter still felt. I said to Ginny who was slouched in her chair looking uninterested, “What does forgiveness mean for you?” After a long pause, and pushing her hood back off her face for the first time, she said in a quiet voice, “I think you just finally forgive for your own self cause you don’t want to give that person any more of your energy.”

Wow, I thought, I am blessed to be here today— to have been informed and touched by this woman.

To view evocative videos about stories of forgiveness:

A Lesson in Forgiveness

A Lesson in Forgiveness

This piece of reflection comes to us from Mary Gallagher, another City House volunteer who serves as a listening presence among the homeless. Thanks Mary!!

A Memorial

so little

yet so much

The basement room was filled, on that rainy evening with folks who had come to the local Catholic Church for a free meal, an educational session and spiritual direction.  As a spiritual director, I felt honored to be there.  I often thought I received more from the individuals I talked with in a spiritual direction session than I could ever possibly give to them. 

As I walked into the church, I glanced up to see Sarah and her beloved dog.  She had a forlorn look in her eyes.  “Here,” she said, “Read this article.”  I glanced at the newspaper article and remembered seeing it in the newspaper a few days earlier.  “A Brutal Homicide,” was the title.  The article told of a homeless man who had been murdered by the Mississippi River for his possessions.  “Robert was my friend,” she said. “I wish we could do something here for him.”  Robert, the deceased man, had attended a few sessions of our educational program at the church.  Many of the program participants were acquainted with him on the street or had met him at a drop in center.  As Sarah continued to talk, she expressed her desire to have a memorial service for Robert.

At the end of the evening session, I spoke with the program facilitator regarding Sarah’s request. We decided to have a prayer service for Robert at our gathering the following week. 

When I arrived the next week, the newspaper article that Sarah had been carrying in her hand the week before was pinned to a bulletin board next to some pink, plastic flowers and a sympathy card.  I noticed people reading the newspaper article about Robert as they gathered in small groups around the board, many shaking their head in disbelief.  At the end of the evening, we all joined hands in a circle… all ages, all nationalities, and all the poorest of the poor, who mainly live in shelters, low income housing or on the street. The facilitator invited anyone who wanted, to say a few words about Robert.  Sarah, along with some others, shared their thoughts about this kind Native American they had met at a shelter.  “A thoughtful man, a man who loved basketball, a defender of the underdog,” was just a few of the comments that filled the air. As tears flowed we said the Our Father and then read in unison,

He will raise you up on eagle’s wings

Bear you on the breath of dawn,

Make you to shine like the sun

And hold you in the palm of His hand…

                                                            Isaiah 40:31

As the reading ended, tears changed to smiles as thirty-five caring individuals broke into a rousing applause as a final good-bye to Robert, a soul whose tragedy had gifted them with an opportunity to share what they had the most of….love.

For me this was a simple but powerful memorial.  These heartfelt expressions of shared memories allowed God’s grace and love to transform their grief into a bond of healing and caring for one another.  I was blessed to be a part of this special moment.

Basilica St. Mary’s Minneapolis Pathways Program