A lovely day it was at the Lake Harriet Band Shell, St. Joan of Arc (SJA) outdoor mass. The first new friend I met there was Maxine, the yellow lab. You could tell this was a very special occasion for her. Twice a year, Maxine gets to attend mass; once at the band shell and the other is at the Basilica. As her tail wags in my face in the “pew” behind her, I’m reminded of how beautiful life is. St. Joan of Arc and all of her ways, opens doors for everyone. Even yellow labs have a place in God’s kingdom!

The service started with the wonderful melody of “Tis a Gift to be Simple, Tis a Gift to be Free”. This was a beautiful, meditative instrumental by Anna Vagle on recorder, with her husband Fred and Lee Vague offering guitar accompaniment.

As tradition for SJA, we started our mass hearing about the needs of the world through world events. We prayed for those affected by:

• The weather and victims of its destruction. We remember those suffering - God of Creation, we pray that we will open our eyes and hearts.
• The dramatic rise of health care costs and parallel rise to tax benefits going to the richest in our Nation. May there be recognition of the disparity of resources and a call to realign our priorities - God of Justice, open our eyes and our hearts.
• The splendor of the Olympics and those driven by their dream. May we all be awaken to our own dreams, visions and goals - God of powerful imagination, open our eyes and our hearts.

And we sang…………. “I feel a strong wind”, “I feel the presence of God”, “I feel the spirit move”, “I feel the power of love”, “I feel a strong wind”

Maxine feels compelled to be heard throughout the mass, with two loud barks, just to make herself known.

Presenters Julie Madden, Roger Dick, Mark Scannell

Together, we have the power to “wake up” God, to wake up Jesus in our lives, our families, and our communities.

What does this really mean? The poem we heard, spoke about the soul - that we have the power to awaken the soul in each and all of us. We have the power to wake each other up. There are so many powers forcing us to stay asleep, to stay divided and to make us more partisan. There are forces trying to keep us alike, to conform, to look, act and think alike. Fear numbs us. Instead of us waking up and challenging our fears through faith, we’re staying numb, fearful, and invisible. We need each other to help us wake up. Sometimes it’s hard to wake up alone. Here’s how we can help each other:

• Belonging - longing to be. We all need to be a part of a community; and a community that challenges us to wake up. For Mark, SJA speakers have woken him up even when he sometimes wants to stay asleep. Where do you belong? Where do you find people that challenge you and wake you up?
• Thinking - Thinking is a patriotic act. Sometimes, we forget to think on our own. We tend to let others tell us what to think. It’s important to question authority; even the church!
• Feeling - When we see others in pain or joy… our souls are connected and we feel again. This is the time to wake up and awaken our hopes, thoughts, and feelings in each other.

Rachael starts off snoring…..while Squeeky, her “Main Bird” the pink parrot puppet tries waking her up…”You snooze you lose Man” - “the early bird gets the worm”, Squeeky says. Sometimes, it takes children to wake up adults - they are the ones with all the wisdom. Squeeky counts: 1, 2, 3, - and all of the children shout - WAKE UP!!!!!

Rachael wakes up and is startled to find out, she’s required to give the homily!!! After getting her bearings, she tells the kids a story…

Rachael once had a really bad dream. The dream was about monsters chasing her and she didn’t know what to do - she was scared… In her dream, she said to herself - “Hey, you can wake up!!!” And she did… she realized that she always has the power to wake up. And whenever we get scared, we need to remember that we really have the power to wake up and know that we are never alone - God is always with us. The only monster we have is Fear. Love counteracts Fear. The thing we do with fear is realize that we are loved. God loves us and we’re REALLY LOVEABLE!!!

The children help spell WAKE UP with an SJA response:

W - We welcome you where you wherever you are on your journey

A - Attitude of gratitude

K - Kindness towards everyone

E - Extend a helping hand

U - Understanding of people’s differences

P - Put your faith into action!!!

Creator God, thank you for the gifts of belonging, creation and the power to wake up one another. This morning we come together to be refreshed, renewed and commit to the real vision of a kingdom. Bless this world in which we live - we ask in God’s Name.

Closing Song - “We are Called”

MarySue Hansen has been a parishioner of St. Joan of Arc for over 11 years. She lives in St. Paul and treks over to S. Mpls every Sunday Morning for 9 o'clock mass, community and spiritual renewal. She lives and breathes community, loves children, and believes strongly in the power of collective learning and action. She is the Director of a collaborative community working to improve protective factors for children in Suburban Ramsey County.

As the congregation clapped and sang, Maxine contently grinned, and the birds soared over the congregation. It’s as if we were all ONE, Dancing together, and Waking Up!

Lisa Leo has been attending SJA with her family since 1992. Lisa runs video camera for professional sporting events such as the Twins, Timberwolves and Vikings for both FOX Sports Net and Domevision, and has been doing so since 1987. Her hobbies include playing guitar, hanging out with friends and sitting in front of the fire.