"Hope and Healing"
Fr. George Wertin
Sunday, September 14th, 2003

As we kick off the fall season with religious education classes and Family Masses begin today, I want to talk about us as a parish and where we are going. I want to propose that we focus on “Hope and Healing” during the weeks and months ahead.

But let me begin with a story: It seems that there was a frog in a swamp sitting on a lily pad surrounded by alligators! He said to himself, “If only I could hop far enough to get to the next lily pad.” Well, there was a wise old owl in a tree over head, and he said, “Why don’t you fly?” So the frog took a running start, jumped, flapped his legs vigorously – and came down right in the middle of the alligators! As he thrashed about he looked up at the owl and said, “Stupid owl. Frogs can’t fly.” “Well,” the owl replied, “that’s a matter of implementation. I just deal in concepts!”

Yes, it’s always about implementation. It’s about ‘doing Eucharist.’ It’s about living what we believe. It’s about hope and healing.

Let me explain. In the two years since the terrorist bombings of 9/11 we’ve had some difficult challenges here at St. Joan of Arc – both as Americans and as members of St. Joan of Arc Church.

In the aftermath of 9/11, we faced our own vulnerability. We, at St. Joan of Arc, began our “Conversations on Peace” that still continue. We crafted our ‘Statement on Peacemaking” which states that we are committed to operating out of love and not out of fear.

We faced the mounting terrorism in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians. We struggled to understand how a two-state solution could bring an end to mutually assured terrorism and devastation.

We gasped as our nation attacked Afghanistan in an effort to rid that country of the terror-provoking Taliban. We initiated the march for peace from the Cathedral to the State Capitol and bought the “Just say no to war” signs in the face of imminent war on Iraq – a country with no apparent connection with the terrorist attacks. We mourned the loss of life and now we are appalled at the cost of maintaining our occupation of this beleaguered country.

And we have had our struggles as a part of the larger Church as well. We were all pained when, for the first time, Archbishop Flynn demanded that one of our speakers be cancelled. We dialogued and prayed. We decided not to defy the Archbishop nor to cave in. We agreed to step outside the power struggle and seek a third way and follow the principles of active non-violence. Mel White did not speak, but he was present – and so was his message. We recommitted ourselves to being a welcoming, compassionate community – especially to our gay and lesbian sisters and brothers.

Then, the award for excellence in catechesis was denied to our own Kathy Itzin because she is a lesbian in a committed relationship. Again, we reaffirmed her and gave her our own tribute and award of excellence.

Finally, a small hate group called upon the Archbishop to remove her from her position as Director of Religious Education here at St. Joan of Arc. We, again, gave support to Kathy and even worked with a lawyer to stop this group from disseminating their inflammatory letters and flyers.

When I step back, I am amazed at the roller coaster ride we have been on these past few months. But they also make it clear that St. Joan of Arc stands for peace, non-violence resistance and inclusivity as essential components of the Gospel. I’m proud of who we are!

We heard our Mission Statement proclaimed this morning. I urge us all to recommit ourselves to it. And I ask us to collectively be a people of hope and healing – especially in the months ahead.

I have learned a lot about hope from Judy Griep, who is a wonderful parishioner and cancer survive. Through her two bouts with cancer she has shared with me. She says she has learned not to seek her particular outcome as the only solution she hopes for. She has learned to place her trust in the sacredness of the universe. She has learned to reconfigure her priorities. In other words, ‘my way’ isn’t always the only way – or the best way. She has a wonderful acronym for H O P E: “having other possibilities exist. She says hope is more a verb than a noun. It allows for growth and change. I hope we can learn to discover a hope that allows for growth and change too.

Secondly, we need healing. People have been hurt, disappointed, disillusioned and angry. We need to reach out and find new ways of relating. Let me give you two examples.

Kathy Itzin was feeling hurt and vulnerable. She was concerned about the attacks on her family and the hate mail. Peter, Julie and I met with Kathy in an attempt to support her and determine how to protect her. Finally, she decided that she needed to write to the Archbishop and ask him to help her and find a way to prevent the attacks. Kathy wrote him a very personally and caring letter in which she asked to meet with him. The Archbishop responded to her very caring letter and agreed to meet with her. The threats had already subsided. But it was the building of a bridge in which they both learned to understand and respect each other. It was a healing moment. And the Archbishop even got to go through Kathy’s family photo album and know her wonderful children! That’s healing.

When Mike, Julie Madden and I were in Jerusalem almost one year ago we met with Rami Elhanan, an Israeli father whose gifted 14-year-old daughter had been killed in a suicide bombing in 1997. He shared with us that after her death he recognized he had two options: one, to sink into depression, discouragement, emptiness and wait for a welcome end to his agony…or to try to overcome, to gather his forces, to speak to people’s hearts…to break this seemingly endless cycle of bloodshed. His message is one of healing.

Rami and a Palestinian, Gazi Briegieth, whose younger brother was killed in an Israeli attack are both members of Bereaved Families for Peace. This is an organization of more than 450 Israeli and Palestinian families who have lost loved ones to combat or acts of terror and seek peace and reconciliation through tolerance and compromise. They are coming to the U.S. on a tour with their message of healing. They will be our guests at St. Joan of Arc the first week of October. I hope you will come out to hear their compelling message of peace in the midst of the unrelenting violence in the Middle East.

I have more to say today. But I will stop here for now. I ask you to take to heart what it means to be a part of St. Joan of Arc. I ask you to recommit yourselves to peace, non-violence, inclusivity and compassion as the core message of the Gospel. People have left us because of what we stand for. And others have joined us for the very same reasons. But I believe that the opposition shows that we stand for something worth addressing. It is not enough to spout concepts like the old owl. We have to be a beacon of hope and healing in a world that is all too familiar with violence and alienation.

We must demonstrate that there is a third way. It’s about hope and healing….