Dear Five O' Clock Friends,
What captures your imagination? What stories stick with you long after their telling? What images speak to you in a way far deeper than words can convey?
Today, as the world mourns the death of Nelson Mandela, I am reminded of a story that still speaks to me long after I read it. The story is the novel The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. It's the story of two fathers--one black and one white--whose lives collide and converge in a South Africa becoming increasingly more violently divided along lines of race and kin. What I remember most about this novel I read long ago is not the plot but the story of the author and his banning by his homeland--a banning that tore his heart apart. Alan Paton, a white man, testified at the trial of Nelson Mandela, and that was part of Paton's undoing. Yet it was not until years later that I even got a glimmer of what that title "Cry, the Beloved Country" really meant.
What captures your imagination? What stories stick with you long after their telling? What images speak to you in a way far deeper than words can convey?
Today, as the world mourns the death of Nelson Mandela, I am reminded of a story that still speaks to me long after I read it. The story is the novel The Beloved Country by Alan Paton. It's the story of two fathers--one black and one white--whose lives collide and converge in a South Africa becoming increasingly more violently divided along lines of race and kin. What I remember most about this novel I read long ago is not the plot but the story of the author and his banning by his homeland--a banning that tore his heart apart. Alan Paton, a white man, testified at the trial of Nelson Mandela, and that was part of Paton's undoing. Yet it was not until years later that I even got a glimmer of what that title "Cry, the Beloved Country" really meant.
Two men together raising their arms in victory--one white, one black. A transfer of power. A living out a dream. The beloved country rising. Nelson Mandela assuming the office of President of South Africa. As my mother said at the time, "Who would have thunk it!"
Tomorrow we will hear the words of the prophet Isaiah. Most often when I read the passage we will hear, my mind races right to the part of the wolf laying down with the lambs. But before that there's a phrase that sticking in my mind right now--"A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots." Whenever I read or hear those words from Isaiah, I'm reminded of the redwood forests in Northern California. There, in those big woods, mighty trees really do grow from roots. From a felled tree or rotted stump, a little redwood springs up and forms the base of a grand forest that will surely come one day.
Tomorrow, we at Live at Five will join with others from St. Michael's as we worship and serve at St. Martin's. We've come to expect that on the second Sunday of the even-numbered months there will be a worship service and a meal at St. Martin's Hospitality Center. Such was not always the case. Almost four years ago, St. Martin's was forced to suspend Sunday services and service on Sundays. But a determined group of people--including people from the Diocese of the Rio Grande--would not let go of the dream of serving at St. Martin's. From that stump, a tree began to grow. Sundays at St. Martin's.
Tomorrow, we will join in worship and in fellowship with people who know well the truth of the prophet Isaiah. People who know that shoots do grow from stumps and that branches spring out from decaying roots. People from St. Martin's and people from St. Michael's. When worship has ended, when we've finished serving, when the last pot is put away, we'll join at Garcia's on 4th Street just north of Mountain and just behind St. Martin's. There we'll share stories of branches spring out from the roots of lives.
See you tomorrow.
Susan+
Tomorrow, we will join in worship and in fellowship with people who know well the truth of the prophet Isaiah. People who know that shoots do grow from stumps and that branches spring out from decaying roots. People from St. Martin's and people from St. Michael's. When worship has ended, when we've finished serving, when the last pot is put away, we'll join at Garcia's on 4th Street just north of Mountain and just behind St. Martin's. There we'll share stories of branches spring out from the roots of lives.
See you tomorrow.
Susan+
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