Ten days since I've written a line; a busy week and more both here and in Lacombe, where I'm spending more than two full days each week. When I look back over the time, I see meetings, computer time, and time spent hunting for and finding senior citizens who haven't been contacted by anyone from their church for quite awhile. That experience - quite rewarding, actually - drew my mind back half a century to a conversation I had in a Nursing Home in Winnipeg with an elderly lady who had been active in Augustine Church until she was forced into long term care by her health.
"When you get old and sick, you get kind of 'excommunicated' from the Church. Every body's busy, and your old friends are as hampered as you, and pretty soon everybody forgets you're alive!" That shocked me back in 1966, and I've reflected on it many times since then. Although it's an over statement, it carries an element of truth in it. My personal observation is that some congregations have worked hard at picking up the slack in this area. Pastoral Care Committees labour away at making sure old folks get visited, and kept in touch with things. Some clergy are more faithful than others at maintaining contact. And long term care facilities whip up many activities that fill the elders days,even if they aren't as challenging as folks are used to.
Thinking about this, I wonder if this is part of the reason that I keep revolving back into paid employment? It's a way of keeping myself alive in peoples' eyes, public and active and useful. It's worked reasonably well so far, although I'm wondering this time if I won't do this another time, when these few months are over. I feel even less interested in attending meetings than previously - too many years of managerial meetings in institutions, doing things that made someone feel important, but lie as not accomplished very little in the long run.
The current Search Committee at St. Andrew's in Lacombe holds the promise of being an 'accomplishment' committee, but then, it's just been organized, and the politics have barely started. Time will tell if I feel any differently.
One evening, I had a long and stimulating conversation with a young woman (she'll snort to read that description) about my long career in Pastoral Ministry in institutions. The talking stimulated my memory, and I began to recall things that I haven't thought of in years, from parts of my internal "hard drive" that is covered with dust! There is at least one other conversation to come, and I can hardly wait to see what that one stirs up!
Klaglahachie (local drama and musical group) is doing "Jake and the Kid"by W.O. Mitchell, adapted for the stage by a local woman, Connie Massing. They did a credible job! It was fascinating knowing all the people behind the characters. The production suffered from the pains that many local drama groups face: the sound wasn't good at the back of the church, and some people complained of not being able to see. The young man who played "Jake" is a boy I've known for over four years, and it's terrific watching him develop into a confident young man with potential in many directions. He's currently deciding about his future education.
All the fresh work trying to contact and relate to seniors I've never met is stirring up lots of personal reflections in me. I've mentioned one, but there are more. I've been thinking about people from my past, and wondering where they are, what they're doing. I've lost touch with most people from my childhood and youth years, eve from old College mates. I seem to live mostly in the very 'here and now,' with little reach into the past. At a time when "old friends" could be a great blessing, I have few, if any. With Vincent's death I lost a friend whose presence in my life reached back well over 40 years. I stepped away from Roy when his abusive mouth got to be too much for me, and I'd been in a kind of relationship with him for over 50 years. I was really Betty's friend from those College days, and once she died, the relationship with Roy changed and soured, as far as I was concerned.
This must seem like a weird blog to you: it certainly seems weird to me. It's more the internal ramblings of an old man than an article about anything substantial in world terms. Having greased the wheel, perhaps I'll have more on the ball next time.
"When you get old and sick, you get kind of 'excommunicated' from the Church. Every body's busy, and your old friends are as hampered as you, and pretty soon everybody forgets you're alive!" That shocked me back in 1966, and I've reflected on it many times since then. Although it's an over statement, it carries an element of truth in it. My personal observation is that some congregations have worked hard at picking up the slack in this area. Pastoral Care Committees labour away at making sure old folks get visited, and kept in touch with things. Some clergy are more faithful than others at maintaining contact. And long term care facilities whip up many activities that fill the elders days,even if they aren't as challenging as folks are used to.
Thinking about this, I wonder if this is part of the reason that I keep revolving back into paid employment? It's a way of keeping myself alive in peoples' eyes, public and active and useful. It's worked reasonably well so far, although I'm wondering this time if I won't do this another time, when these few months are over. I feel even less interested in attending meetings than previously - too many years of managerial meetings in institutions, doing things that made someone feel important, but lie as not accomplished very little in the long run.
The current Search Committee at St. Andrew's in Lacombe holds the promise of being an 'accomplishment' committee, but then, it's just been organized, and the politics have barely started. Time will tell if I feel any differently.
One evening, I had a long and stimulating conversation with a young woman (she'll snort to read that description) about my long career in Pastoral Ministry in institutions. The talking stimulated my memory, and I began to recall things that I haven't thought of in years, from parts of my internal "hard drive" that is covered with dust! There is at least one other conversation to come, and I can hardly wait to see what that one stirs up!
Klaglahachie (local drama and musical group) is doing "Jake and the Kid"by W.O. Mitchell, adapted for the stage by a local woman, Connie Massing. They did a credible job! It was fascinating knowing all the people behind the characters. The production suffered from the pains that many local drama groups face: the sound wasn't good at the back of the church, and some people complained of not being able to see. The young man who played "Jake" is a boy I've known for over four years, and it's terrific watching him develop into a confident young man with potential in many directions. He's currently deciding about his future education.
All the fresh work trying to contact and relate to seniors I've never met is stirring up lots of personal reflections in me. I've mentioned one, but there are more. I've been thinking about people from my past, and wondering where they are, what they're doing. I've lost touch with most people from my childhood and youth years, eve from old College mates. I seem to live mostly in the very 'here and now,' with little reach into the past. At a time when "old friends" could be a great blessing, I have few, if any. With Vincent's death I lost a friend whose presence in my life reached back well over 40 years. I stepped away from Roy when his abusive mouth got to be too much for me, and I'd been in a kind of relationship with him for over 50 years. I was really Betty's friend from those College days, and once she died, the relationship with Roy changed and soured, as far as I was concerned.
This must seem like a weird blog to you: it certainly seems weird to me. It's more the internal ramblings of an old man than an article about anything substantial in world terms. Having greased the wheel, perhaps I'll have more on the ball next time.
Youre right. I snorted. But being a student again makes me feel like a young person - so I know where you are coming from!!
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