I do my duty: other things trouble me not; for they are either things without life, or things without reason, or things that have rambled and know not the way.
– Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
(as translated by George Long)
Character Over Reputation
Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Character is what you really are; reputation is merely what you are perceived to be.
– John Wooden, Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections
God With Us Always
Whither shall I go from thy Spirit?
– Psalm 139:7-12
Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend to heaven, thou art there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there thy hand shall lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, “Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to thee,
the night is bright as the day;
for darkness is as light with thee.
MM: Happy MLK Day!
Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.
– Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream speech (transcript)
We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protests to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.
SS: Play to Your Stengths
What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.
– Meryl Streep,
speech at Indiana University
Alpha Kickoff Tonight! Winter 2020 Starts Now!
We’re starting a new season of Alpha tonight in Concord, New Hampshire! Are you able to join us for free food and delightful discussions concerning the meaning of life? It’s a lot of fun, the food is consistently amazing, the people are awesome, and there’s no commitment. Consider this your invitation! Bring friends and family; all are welcome, and we look forward to meeting all of you. Here are the details:
Time: 6 pm
Date: Thursday, January 16th
No cost; no commitmentLocation:
Christ the King Parish Activity Center
72 South Main Street
Concord, NH 03301
Have you ever been on an Alpha course?
“What’s One A Them?” – Gram Seed
Alpha is a place to discuss the big questions about life. We meet, enjoy a delicious meal, get some information, and discuss the topic. It can be held just about anywhere – churches, bars, restaurants, and homes all serve as venues – so long as it’s safe and people can hear each other. Simple, right?
Yet it’s so much more than free food and good discussion. Alpha is a place where you are welcomed just the way you are and encouraged to grow and participate in the growth of those around you. Guests are invited to take the next step to become the person they want to be by investigating the core concepts of our humanity.
If you come to the first night and like it, please come back, and consider bringing that person you thought might want to come but you didn’t want to suggest something and have it be a total bust. We want you to enjoy the Alpha community! If you come to the first night and think it isn’t a good fit for you right now, no worries; we’ll miss you, but we totally understand.
Who’s Alpha For?
Everyone! If you have yet to go on an Alpha course, consider yourself invited. If you have gone on an Alpha course and want more, consider joining team. I love serving our guests and making sure they have a wonderful experience, and I learn so much by encouraging others to comment out loud.
Alpha is for anyone interested in exploring the meaning of life. It was specifically designed for people who aren’t active in a Christian faith life. This includes people who’ve never gone to church, people who have always gone to church but aren’t engaged, people who are hostile to the idea of God, people who are just searching for answers, and people who don’t identify any particular way.
Concerned about food restrictions? Reach out to us! We often offer vegetarian, gluten-free, nut-free, pepper-free, dairy-free options, and if there’s something that we can do to accommodate you, we’ll try our best. We provide awesome meals while taking into account guest needs.
If you’re unsure whether it’s for you, come tonight; if you decide it’s not for you, thank you for checking us out!
Why Bother?
I’m a fan of Alpha because it encourages us to ask and talk about the big questions of life. Every topic is a question to evoke deep discussions between guests. Part of this means that I get to hear so many perspectives about things that matter! Most of these subjects don’t come up in daily life, but they’re all so rewarding to learn about.
Alpha is a safe and casual environment to delve into topics that matter in the long term. It’s also an excellent venue for making new friends. I met one of my dearest friends at Alpha, and we likely never would have gotten to talking if it weren’t for the prompts the course provided. Alpha is a great opportunity to learn more about yourself as well as those around you, initiating discussions that often don’t occur organically and are much more profound than typical table talk.
Interested But Not Local?
Alpha is an international program, and there’s an online tool to help anyone interested find a course nearby. Put in your location, how soon you’re looking to join, your preferred language, and age group (if you have a preference). There’s also a button to automatically fill in your location based on your GPS location.
Minor caution: if you click the “Find My Location” but then decide to manually fill in the address, the website may not track properly. If it glitches, indicated by filling in information but the map not updating, I recommend opening a new tab. (Refreshing the page in the same tab didn’t work for me, but bringing up a new tab did.)
Bon Voyage!
I hope you’ll join us, either locally or in our extended Alpha family, as we undertake this journey together. Welcome to Alpha!
What are your thoughts about Alpha? Are there any questions I can answer for you about the program? What have your experiences been? How can we help you decide to check us out? How can we be more inviting? What are your burning thoughts and questions about life?
Supporting the Cause
I was out tonight helping prepare the church hall for a fundraiser on Saturday. The theme: Italian dinner night. The task: decorate. Sub-tasks: de-decorate from Christmas events, remove some standard images to make room for murals, drape tables, have tape handy, fetch components of table decor, set up the bulletin board, and random tasks as they appeared.
I’m not really one for decorating (organizing – specifically, maximizing space – is more my style, so my eyes lit up when they said something wouldn’t fit in the freezer), but I’m eager to help with whatever tasks I can do well. This includes following instructions and taking directions. This does not include masterminding decorations. I like my decor! However, I’ve discovered that my aesthetic style is quite… unique.
(Aside: Next to the article featuring swimming pigs, I have clippings of tiny pictures of pretty homes from one of those magazines advertising homes for sale, a thank-you note from a friend, and a reminder to do what I must to grow into the person I want to be. I’ve been told pictures of myself is the proper way to decorate my room. This is incredibly strange: I already know what I look like, and in case I forget, I have a mirror; why do I need images of me?)
Thankfully, I wasn’t tasked with figuring out how to set up the hall, just with mimicking how it was set up last year. Whew! I can do that. Remove glittery ribbon until I look like a pixie? Sure thing. Hang that assortment up there like in the picture? Done. Tape this up here? You got it.
Why would I volunteer to do something I’m not very good at? Three reasons: (1) I support the cause, (2) they needed plebians like me to run around doing the things, and (3) I can leverage what I am good at to the advantage of the group. Let’s visit these from the bottom-up.
(3) Leveraging My Strengths in a Field of Weakness
Figuring out a master plan for prettifying a room is definitely not my forte. So much so that the only suggestion I made for this event’s decor was listened to, nodded at solemnly, then quickly (though kindly) rejected out of hand. Why? Because I was over-thinking it and providing a logical perspective on an aesthetic inquiry. The considerations I made were irrelevant.
However, I’m excellent at following instructions. When tasks are assigned to me, I do them and do them well. I’m also good at anticipating needs: when I’m waiting on the next assignment, I find miniature quests to complete that benefit others in the duties they are working on.
I’m also good at optimizing efforts. For example, two of us were removing ribbon from the columns. My partner held out a pair of scissors to me, offering to let me trim a wire holding the ribbon in place near the ceiling. She’s about a foot shorter than I am. Accepting the tool, I thanked her and told her I would go around chopping off all of them and double-back to help with the coiling. She was great at coiling, and I could reach the top of the columns without a ladder. Win-win.
(2) Acting the Pleb
One of the volunteers mentioned that there were too many leaders and not enough followers in our group tonight. There seemed to be a hint of frustration in the comment which was quickly followed with an encouraging remark about helping with other events because the other events aren’t nearly as bad. I absolutely understood the was irritation, but I didn’t share it.
Sometimes, I’m good at playing the plebian. I’m especially good at being a follower when I know the leader role doesn’t suit my strengths. (In case you missed the section above, coordinating decorations for an event fits into the not-my-forte category.) One of the other volunteers even mentioned that I was quite the busy bee because I was seeking out projects to complete. I like to do stuff: give me a task, please, so I can be productive.
Just such a thing happened with the bulletin board. I was assigned the bulletin board – which someone later described as the most difficult of the decorating duties. Another volunteer came over to see what I was doing, and together, we had it set up to exacting standards (which were detailed after we thought we were finished) quite quickly. Someone working on another task actually did a double-take because we finished such an obnoxious task so swiftly yet so well. All we did was strategize how to get to the end goal, then pressed onward until the job was complete.
(1) Support the Cause
Certain causes speak to us. This fundraiser is to support a crisis pregnancy center in town, a place where women can go if they are pregnant and need help. Maybe they don’t know what to do, maybe they’re scared, maybe they don’t have the resources to support a child, maybe all of the above. Crisis pregnancy centers care for and support women when they are potentially terrified of the past, present, and future. They save lives – and I’m not just talking about pre-born babies. These centers provide assistance to desperate people who don’t know where else to turn.
Why is this so near to my heart? Because women deserve better than abortion. This isn’t a statement we can throw out into the ether and be done with it: we need to support these women mentally, emotionally, physically, and financially. It takes a village to raise a child. We need to be that village – walls, ceilings, and support beams – for the mothers who can’t turn anywhere else. We should be that village for all mothers, but let’s start with the ones who will accept our outreach.
Our society throws anything with a mild scuff away, or looks at it as though it’s trash – even human life. If we want to change this, we need to show society that we care for human life – in all of its forms – not simply in words, but in actions. Our actions – prayer, providing financial support, giving time to help with chores or babysitting, volunteering for events that benefit these causes – show who we are and what we want society to be.
Be the change you wish to see in the world.
– Wall art, t-shirts, leather journals, paperback journals, and bumper stickers
(often mis-attributed to Mahatma Gandhi)
I’ve been promoting this event because I strongly believe in supporting mothers through what may very well be the scariest situation they have ever faced. I pressed my parish (nearby) to put up the flyers for the event, I’ve repeatedly mentioned it to friends and new faces alike, and I’m still inviting anyone who will hear me out. We should be supportive of our neighbors regardless of circumstance, but it is imperative that we grant them our assistance when they need it. Our commiunities need us to stand strong with mothers and their children.
If you’re in the Manchester, NH area on Saturday evening, please consider stopping by to support this awesome cause. Spaghetti with meatballs, salad, garlic bread, desserts, and various beverages will be served; there will be raffles, and awesome Italian music, and door prizes. It’s going to be a bunch of fun; come support a great cause and let us do the dishes!
- When: 5 pm ’til food runs out
- Where: Saint Joseph Cathedral’s Bishop Bradley Hall, Manchester, NH
- Price: $8/adult and $4/child with a $25/family max
What’s Your Cause?
We all have at least one thing we’re eager to support. Maybe you’re an advocate for tipping hotel staff, or maybe you’re more into protecting free speech rights. Whatever it may be, more power to you. What is your thing? Do you have more than one? How did you discover what your thing was? How do you support your cause?
MM: Keep Going
Persevere.
Recover.
Repeat.
When no quote fits, craft the words yourself. 😉
No Matter How Small!
A person’s a person, no matter how small.
– Dr. Suess, Horton Hears a Who!
Boldly Bear Your Cross
I’ve been searching for work, and I’ve gone on a number of interviews. I have a specific first interview look: from each article of clothing to the way I part my hair, my appearance is the same for every first interview.
This morning, I loaded up my stuff into the car and going through my checklist: matching blazer and bottoms, check; soft blue top, check; dark blue shoes, check; contacts, check; padfolio with resumes and pen, check; spare pen, check; … necklace … where did that treble clef necklace go?
I thought I knew precisely where it was, so I checked. Nope. So I checked the next place. Nope. I furrowed my eyebrows and thought, lifting my right hand to my neck to play with the pendant currently there as I concentrated on where my accessory might have gone, but no other location came to me. And I wasn’t going sans-necklace; it’s the only jewelry I wear, and I feel bare without it.
My thumb rubbed the back of my cross as my forefinger steadied it. I try to get a feel for the people I’m meeting with before wearing anything overtly religious; it’s remarkably easy to put people off these days. At the same time, I was just talking with a friend the other day about how I’m not going to hide my faith at work: I’m not going to preach (which sounds terrifying), but I am going to live my faith. And I’m not about to hide it in an interview, either – I don’t want to end up in a situation where my co-workers are hostile to me having faith – but I’m also not going to poke the bear. It’s a tightrope I’ve learned to navigate.
I shrugged and drove off. Well, that’s that. It’s on them if they’re offended; I suppose it isn’t meant to be.
This thought was frightening, particularly given a conversation I had on Sunday about my inability to find work, but it was also remarkably peaceful. This is the necklace I wear most every day; it holds a lot of symbolism for me. It’s not the conversation starter that my standard one is, but it’s very me.
Accepting whatever was to come my way, I was off.
There are a number of things that I took from this interview, but while I was walking back toward my car after the interview, only one stuck out: I wore my cross and I found my people. We had a lot of similarities: Maine connection, trains, and Church. Not only do we attend the same church, we attend the same Mass time!
Certainly, this would have come into the conversation if I’d been wearing any other pendant, but that I was wearing this one made the revelation all the more striking. The one time I wear my cross necklace is the one time I hit it off with a fellow follower of Christ. Go figure. What a coincidence!
But that’s the thing: it’s not coincidence.
Based on the discussion, we would have probably discovered we attend the same Mass time at the same church. Probably. But my wearing that cross, despite my concerns about causing offense, was a signal to who I am. That signal was a flag to others about who I am, inviting them to engage me in a discussion about that part of me.
I’m still working on allowing people to see aspects of me that I don’t know they’ll like, but I find that I don’t connect with people unless I put myself out there. I can go just a little out there; it doesn’t have to be a mile, but I should try to step a toe length or so. And these are things that I may even like about myself! Perfect example: I sing, but I’m so nervous about singing in front of people because I don’t want anyone to have to tell me to stop mid-song. How awkward that would be for them! And how embarrassing for me. Regardless, if I don’t sing, I won’t know who I can inspire to sing with me.
What do you want to connect with others about but are worried about the response? Have you done anything particularly gutsy lately with respect to putting yourself out there?