The Longest Day

Our first day in Mexico was the longest day of my life. 

Beginning our travels at 10pm on Monday evening (having been awake for thirteen hours already), we took a plane to a bus to another plane to a three-hour car ride, arriving at our destination a mere fifteen hours after departed. At this point, it was only 1:30pm, a long way away from finishing.

The biggest adjustment, even greater than the language, was the weather. As some of you know, Washington, D.C. has been unseasonably cold, remaining in the 50s and 60s during the month of May as it experienced 19 straight days of rain. When we arrived in Tenosique, Mexico, a tropical area in the south of the country, the temperature was 102 with a dew point of 66. I was completely shell-shocked throughout the first day. No air conditioning, no ice or cold water, no relief in either night or day. (Now in our third day, I have not stopped sweating at any point.)

But wait, we haven’t even done anything yet; our day, in a sense, was just beinning! First there was a tour of the place, were acquainted with our rooms (more in a second), a quick nap, then concluded with multiple hours of aimlessly walking around the grounds attempting to have conversations in Spanish with the volunteers and migrants. Let’s just say I was not in the mood nor did I have the energy for this to be enjoyable.

So what about the room? Well, let’s just it’s not exactly what we were expecting. Not a room in the friary, our room is a communal barracks-style room shared with other volunteers. It’s kind of austere… 

     

  

 

It was at this point that we thought we had made a mistake. What have we gotten ourselves info? There was no mention of our language classes and it appeared that we would be volunteering all summer as workers (or at least until we died of heat stroke.)

Christian and I prayed together that night before bed in our sweltering room, exhausted, dejected, and a bit worried. We were going to reserve judgment until the morning, deciding that a good night’s sleep would make things better.

We were half right. The heat kept me up all night, prolonging the longest day, but the next two days have been much better. We met with the director and made a schedule, organized prayer times (previously not regularly done but added at our request), and began our classes. 

We’ve had some interesting and exciting experiences already since then, and it looks like it’s going to be a great, albeit hot, Summer  for the both of us… But that first day was something I will never forget nor do I want to repeat!

Before leaving, I filmed this final video for the summer. My internet is not great here so you may have to go to the YouTube channel to find it, but this link might work:

 8 Comments

 Posted on June 2, 2016 by

 Justice, Ministry, News, Post-Novitiate, Trips, Video

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Homes Away From Home

The final two stops of our trip were places that already had a place in my heart: Greenville, the place where my vocation was born in college, and Triangle, the place where I lived and ministered last summer. After our trip to Macon, I advised them both that it was going to take a lot to woo us after such a great experience…

But c’mon. Was there ever a doubt!?

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The brothers and I getting a tour of the school.

We arrived in Greenville late Wednesday night and so began our tour the following morning with mass as the Poor Clare Monastery in Traveler’s Rest, SC, about 30 minutes north of Greenville. An often overlooked aspect of our charism, I think it’s a great gift that we have multiple Orders within the Franciscan tradition and it’s a great thing to support one another. From there, it was back to St. Anthony of Padua Catholic church and school for a tour of what is hands down the most beautiful elementary school every built. Seriously though. Floor to ceiling windows, original art, signature carpet to match it’s tagline “weaving a brighter future,” amazing gymnasium with cushioned supports under the floor and multimedia hookups, a roof garden, private playground for kindergarten, and a chapel fitted with stain glass windows and a replica of Bernini’s Window from St. Peter’s Basilica. Oh, and the best part? This mostly African-American school graduates students from high school at a rate of 98% whereas the rest of the city has graduated African-Americans at a rate between 35-50% over the past decade. That’s ministry right there.

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Dennis and Abraham walking through the famous rose garden at Furman University

After the tour, we got a quick lunch at the house and it was up to Furman University, my alma mater, for a walk around campus where we unexpectedly ran into a few Catholic Campus Ministry students who were happy to tell us about the organization. The following day we had the privilege of seeing the site of the new Vietnamese mission being run by one of our friars, the only Vietnamese-speaking priest in the whole diocese. It was a drop in the bucket of what goes on in Greenville, but what a visit!

With nothing left to see until Triangle, and Triangle being seven hours away from Greenville without stops or traffic, we decided to take our time, take a scenic route through Asheville, NC, and spend the night in Raleigh once more. It was a nice break in the fast-paced movement of our trip, and also nice not to be “on” for a day, being shown around and meeting lots of new people.

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St. Francis Church in Triangle is definitely one of our nicest places of worship in the province!

Come Saturday, though, we packed everything up for the last time and made our way up 95 to Triangle, VA. At this point, I have to admit, we were all incredibly tired and were in no mood for another tour, big dinner, or programming of any sort. All we wanted a low-key, easy-going time. This is difficult to come by at St. Francis. We got there just in time for mass, and despite being a Saturday vigil mass, it was full and lively. Standing outside of the church before and after mass, I was amazed at how many people came up and introduced themselves to Abraham and Dennis and welcomed them to the parish with such kind words. But really, I shouldn’t have been. The people of this parish are hands down the nicest people I have ever met (and I say that knowing that people from Greenville, Raleigh, Durham, and Silver Spring read this blog!) For all the things that they do at this parish—and they do a lot—their best quality is by far their hospitality. After a home-cooked meal with the friars that night, we came back the next morning to greet people at three masses and attend one, and it was the same story: people came up to all three of us, gave introduced themselves, gave us hugs, and made us feel right at home.

And really, what a perfect way to end the trip. All told, we traveled more than 1500 miles, stayed in five different houses, went to eight different ministry sites, and spent time with twenty different friars—a test for any introvert, I assure you—and yet there was a sense we were “home” all along. In every friary we went, whenever we asked for something to drink or to use something in the house, the response was always the same: “Of course. It’s your home too.” The same was even true for the ministry sites with the people we served: there was a familiarity of style and purpose, a common vision that we all knew and lived, and people treated us like they had known us for years. How could we travel so far, meet people so new and different, and yet feel right at home? I guess all I can say is that the Holy Spirit is alive and well in the friars and with the people we share our lives. It’s great to know that, no matter where I go and whoever I meet throughout this life, there will always be a home away from home waiting for me with the friars and people of God!

 Posted on May 15, 2016 by

 Fraternity, Ministry, Trips

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A Hop, Skip, and a Jump

With the journey moving quicker than I expected and spending more time with the friars and less time on the road than last year’s trip, I decided not to post everyday like last year. As much as I love sharing, why take time away from the friars to go write an essay? Crazy talk.

The worship space is very intimate, perfect for a college community.

That said, we’ve seen a lot since we left Macon. Our first stop was just an hour and a half north in Athens, GA, where the friars are the Catholic chaplains at the University of Georgia. This is quite a ministry. When I was in college, I spent a lot of time with the Catholic group on campus, and was really happy by the time I graduated to see the group grow to about 25-30 regulars, a mass with about 100, and a few events on campus each week. The University of Georgia is just slightly larger. With more than 35,000 students, the campus has four Catholic masses on Sunday in it’s own church (we had to share ours with other groups), a Catholic student center complete with library, dining room, offices, and lounging areas, a paid staff that runs the programming and finances of the ministry, and two full-time friars. Add this to a beautiful campus, quaint downtown city, and excellent weather and you’ve got yourself a friar that would love to minister here!

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The original church building of St. Andrew’s parish in Clemson

After a quick visit here, it was off to South Carolina on Wednesday. In the morning, we stopped by the campus of Clemson University (the second of three campus ministries on our tour) where we met one of our friars for lunch and a tour. Relatively new to the friars, Clemson University and its Catholic presence there has a lot of history, changing shape and hands many times. Officially a parish with a student center (unlike UGA that is a student center with parishioners), it has a different feel for sure, with more focus on the larger community around it rather than just the students. There is still a lot going on for the students and the friars have made an effort in just a few years to get involved on campus not just at the Catholic Center but also reaching out to the administration, professors, and other organizations to offer a Catholic presence in a relatively non-Catholic area. For me, there was a lot of potential for growth here, and I’m excited to see what the friars do now that they’ve been established there for five years.

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Even the windows had a Franciscan spirit!

With places to be and people to see, we left campus late in the afternoon for our next stop, Anderson, SC. Originally a mission to African-American Catholics in South Carolina, the parish was founded by the friars back in the forties and has remained a steady mission for us, despite changing its focus a few times. Today, the parish is roughly 40% white, 40% Hispanic, and 10% black, giving it great diversity and a lot of different needs. The friars were great to show us around and give us a little insight into the challenges and joys of running the parish, allowing us to ask questions ourselves.

The whirlwind tour ended as all good days should: dinner with the brothers. With friars from Anderson and Clemson getting together every Wednesday, we lucked out on a great dinner and exceptional conversation, laughing around the table for more than an hour. It was a great way to get to know the friars outside of their ministerial capacities and to just be brothers with them.

More pictures are up on Facebook if you want to check them out! Check back tomorrow for a look at our stop in Greenville, SC, and see if it stacked up to the other places!

 Posted on May 14, 2016 by

 Fraternity, Ministry, Trips

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The Surprise of the South?

Greenville and Triangle be advised: if you’re hoping to woo the friars on our road trip, you’ve got some stiff competition: Macon, GA was impressive.

Known only as “the place where we got a flat tire driving home from spring break” and “the school that kept us from the playoffs in baseball one year” prior to this trip, Macon was not an impressive place in my mind. When the province announced last summer that we would be taking a small parish and a school there, I didn’t think much of it. “Oh, cool, a new ministry in the south,” but my initial response was not of excitement.

Having now visited the quaint, historic town, I’m a big supporter of the friars’ presence there. We all were.

Good food, good people.

When we arrived Monday afternoon and met the friars, we were given a quick tour of premises—parish, school, friary, and offices—and told that dinner would be in about an hour. But rather than going out to eat and catching up with the friars in private, one of the friars organized a pot-luck dinner with 15-20 of the staff, sisters, and involved parishioners to welcome us and informally share what the place was like. Besides the fact that the food was amazing (this friar is an accomplished chef), the time with everyone was fantastic. We got to hear their stories, get to know what makes the parish special, tell a little about our lives as friars, and really, just laugh and have a good time for a few hours. Rather than spending time in empty buildings or talking about the things they do, we were in a sense thrown right into the heart of the parish, the people.

The following morning, we got to see these wonderful people in action. Starting at the elementary school, we stopped by the kindergarten, sixth grade, and pre-school classrooms to meet some of the students and to get a feel for the life of the school. They were energetic and excited to see us, and despite their large gap in age, were all fascinated by our habits with many pockets (it’s a universal reaction I suppose.)

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Despite being a high school, I could definitely see myself ministering here.

After that, we headed to the high school where one of the friars is a chaplain. Had you have asked me prior to going what I thought about going to a high school, I would have said, “Eh, we don’t have to see it. It’s just a high school.” I would have been very wrong. This school was lively, diverse, growing, and active. Walking through the halls and into a few classrooms, all three of us were amazed at all of things that were going on, how mixed the student body was, how welcoming all of the teachers were, and how Catholic the school was in its prayer and charitable works. As one of the teachers told us, “Too often kids think that community service is a punishment for committing a crime not big enough to go to jail. Here we show them that community service is part of who we are as Catholic, and all of us do it together—students, teachers, staff.”

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Coffee shop? Nope. Homeless shelter.

After an inspirational time with the students and teachers, we finished our tour at Day Break, a day facility for the chronically homeless in the area. This might have been the most impressive aspect of the whole trip. While many cities have shelters for people to stay at night and soup kitchens for people to get food, there are rarely any places for homeless people to go during the day. For the most part, they’re told to leave until the next meal or until the next evening comes. Day Break fills that void. Whether someone needs a shower or some medicine, a comfy chair or a book to read, Day Break is the place to go. Resembling a college town coffee shop more than a facility for the homeless, we were amazed by the comfort of the place. Here, men and women could hang out all day and feel like they were in a restaurant, living room, or recreational facility. For those trying to get a job or get back to school, guests had access to not only a computer lab and telephone, but could also register a private voice mailbox for employers or landlords to call without knowing that they were calling a shelter. Tremendous.

On paper, Macon is admittedly not that impressive. The parish is quite small, likely able to fit every Sunday worshiper inside either Raleigh or Durham’s sanctuary at one time; the elementary school is under capacity and has a little bit of debt; the friars minister to a neighboring Catholic high school; and there’s a downtown center for the homeless. All great things, but nothing extraordinary.

And yet, in person, the sum in much greater than its parts. The people were welcoming and alive with the Spirit; the ministry was dedicated and unique; and while there were some nice gems in the area, there was also a lot of room for imagination and innovation. Don’t be surprised if you see me ministering here in the future!

I took a lot more pictures, so check them out here!

 2 Comments

 Posted on May 11, 2016 by

 Fraternity, Ministry, Trips

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Raleigh/Durham

Our first day of our “Southern Exposure” began with a tandem of ministries in central North Carolina: Raleigh and Durham. To say that it was a busy weekend is an understatement. Besides being the feast of the Ascension, it was also Mother’s Day, graduation weekend for a few of the area colleges, first communion at Immaculate Conception Durham, and there was even a baptism at one of the masses. Put in the context of two of the largest parishes in the diocese of Raleigh (more than a couple thousand families each) and you have yourself a busy weekend pulling the friars every which way.

And yet, we still had a great opportunity to spend time together, share a few meals, get a tour, and hear about their lives.

From a ministerial standpoint, St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Raleigh and Immaculate Conception Parish in Durham are among the liveliest, most efficiently run parishes that I’ve experienced.

St. Francis is a very large, very beautiful church with thousands of people attending each weekend

What caught my eye immediately about Raleigh—besides the sheer size!—was how involved the laity was on a large scale. At one of the masses, I counted 25 eucharistic ministers, complete with two assigned to oversee the refilling of patens and chalices in stations that ran empty, and they all knew exactly what to do. There was no needless standing around, awkward pauses or stumbling over one another. They all knew how to receive, where to be, and how to make it move. For a congregation that amassed more than a thousand people, there was no sense that things were taking too long; it flowed much more efficiently that parishes I’ve seen that are half the size! Is this the best aspect about this parish, the way it distributes communion? Of course not. But it is representative to how St. Francis is run: smoothly with a well-trained and highly involved lay staff. When you look at their ministries—a whole two pages of one-line listings in the bulletin—you see a different lay person taking charge and leading it. This is not a parish in which “Father” comes up with everything or oversees everything strictly. This is a parish in which the people realize their baptismal call to be priests, prophets, and kings, and the friars are there to walk with them, not for them. Truly a remarkably run parish.

Sometimes the best way to learn is to do, using all of one’s senses!

Similarly run and designed as St. Francis in Raleigh (they share an architect and founding pastor), what caught my attention about Immaculate Conception in Durham was the culture: culture of the people, the town, and the parish. Unlike St. Francis that leans on the homogenous side of things and is located in the suburbs, IC is split almost 50/50 between English speakers and Spanish speakers in a traditionally African-American neighborhood, is located on the main street of a historically significant but newly thriving city complete with art, leisure and great restaurants, and is just minutes away from one of the finest universities in the country in Duke. Although smaller than St. Francis in Raleigh, its location and ministerial focus makes it seem much busier, adding a dash of chaos to the creative mix of ministries. One  thing in particular that got my imagination going was one of their elementary religious education classrooms: complete with a mini altar, baptismal font, giant rosaries, and religious symbols, tiny children are taught through a hands-on approach, getting to “play mass,” pretend baptize baby dolls, and learn about the prayer life of the Church by leading it themselves. What an amazing way to teach students in an experiential way that transcends language and culture!

But this trip is not all about ministry and so our time was not spend simply at mass or in tours but also with the brothers at table. On Saturday night, the three traveling brothers sat down with the friars in Raleigh for a delicious dinner prepared by one of the friars, and on Sunday evening the friars from Durham joined the friars in Raleigh for a cookout. This, I have to say, is when friars are at their best. Having met all of these men before but not particularly close with any of the six, we all immediately felt at home, laughed almost constantly, and found ourselves included in the fraternal teasing by the end. We talked about the Church, our lives, politics, ministry, school, sports, art, philosophy, you name it. And we had a great time doing it.

Unfortunately, though, our time was short-lived, and come Monday morning it was off to our next stop: Macon, GA. Our newest ministry, it is unlike Raleigh and Durham in almost every way, and yet an incredibly place in itself.

For more pictures of Raleigh and Durham, be sure to check out my Facebook page here all week!

 1 Comment

 Posted on May 10, 2016 by

 Fraternity, Ministry, Trips

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