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The sunset was especially beautiful as I drove to church tonight. The barren tree tops appeared golden as the setting sun colored them. Compared to many recent days, it was warm outside. The wind was blowing in large fluffy cumulous clouds as higher flat clouds seemed to disappear in the eastern sky. It was just February 21st, but could spring be soon to follow? Days like this give rise to hope and the faith that everything will work out.
Arriving at St. Joan of Arc I met a friend of many years. We updated each other on important happenings in our lives and proceeded to the church basement for a traditional SJA Soup Supper. I observed others doing the same.
Soup Suppers on the Wednesdays of Lent are special at St. Joan's. Each Wednesday, staff and parishioners work to create a beautiful new experience of food and liturgy. Organizers, soup makers, bread bakers and donors, prayer partners and musicians jointly compose a unique piece. This work of art performs the intangible. It imprints our souls.
The warmth of friends passing grape jelly and Skippy peanut butter and the smell of bread after a day of fasting seemed to make everyone glow. Workers and recipients alike seemed to enjoy supper. And what a supper it was! Every soup you might imagine seemed to surface! To mention only a few, there was; African Peanut, Clam Chowder, Mushroom Wild Rice, Pasta Faguli, Cream of Artichoke, Lentil, Tomato Basil, Ribollita (Tuscan Vegetable and Bean). The combination of smells filled the room.
The supper was just the beginning of the Ash Wednesday celebration at SJA! The night was young and there was much left to experience. In the church, Steve Kremer played guitar and led us in song until the Ash Wednesday gym service began.
In the gym, Anna Vagle and the SJA Choir greeted us. With Joe Chouinard and our SJA musicians, we were taken on a journey that started with the story of David and Goliath, executed by mime Michael Hennessy, and ended with courageous stories told by fellow parishioners, Molly, Mark and Francis. We felt the power of transformation and resurrection through them as they shared their journeys. If they could overcome, so too could we.
Father DeBruycker shared a story told to him during his childhood by Father Fabian Wegleitner in St. Paul. Was it true? It went something like this. In 1918 Ricky Peterson had lost his dad, David, in WW I. Concurrently there was a bad influenza epidemic effecting the civilian population at home. People were dropping like flies, deaths reported daily. Ricky showed up to church one Sunday after his dad's death elated! He was with his father. People observed them at mass together. Had his dad returned from the dead? Had he not died? Shortly after the service neither son nor father were to be found anywhere. It was later revealed that Ricky had died that Sunday morning prior to the church service. Truth or fiction? The lesson to take from the story is that all will be fine and taken care of in the end. We are reunited in love through Christ with our loved ones. This is the resurrection story.
"Take a risk or God will set one up for you," said Father DeBruycker. "It's up to us on how we want to handle things. Be a blessing to each other. Celebrate who you are and risk in love for each other." Fix what needs to be fixed between you and your brother.
Prayer Partners held the bowls of ashes and facilitated parishioners in the process of blessing each other and asking each other to "Take a Risk and Be Changed."
We ate, we sang, we listened, we learned, we began the Lenten journey with each other. Let hope, faith and love guide us through the season.
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