Our US Tour Week 4: IL IN ON

2006-10-27

Dear Friends,
This week, we crossed the line into surprise new time-zones, back over into Canada and over into my former college... Carry on, fearless and faithful reader:

Thursday September 28, Chicago IL:
The end of Week III saw our sojourners camped out on the walkway leading up to First Congregational United Church of Christ, overnight. Our visit in Western Springs became a morning brunch when Jan Fraccaro brought Nancy Reeves back, and we were joined by other members of the church staff for conversation and food on the long wooden table of the library.

However, before they all arrived, the children and I had decided that this needed to be a morning on which we would dance and move. We had brought a CD of dance downloads that Allison Rennie had made for us before we left home for just such a purpose. Each of us had chosen a couple of songs, for the times when we could not get real "exercise" on the trip, and we had agreed that we would live with one another's song choices - unless they were dire. So, our dance tracks leaped from the Doobie Brothers to Raffi and his beluga, to hip-hop and Crazy Frog to Stevie Wonder. We closed the curtains and grooved until the kids couldn't keep up with the grown-ups. Really.

We left the church with satisfied stomachs, wobbly legs, and a beautiful labyrinth pendant from the congregation's pastoral minister, Paul Stiffler.

Nancy bravely joined our vanload, and we drove in the afternoon up to John Brebeuf School in Niles - another outskirt of Chicago, where we had a different kind of evening planned. A simple evening of reflection on "Living in the Light; How God Heals" was to be a benefit for the St Vincent de Paul Society. The simplicity and commitment of the society impressed me, and I was pleased that Nancy had arranged with Claudia Pieske that David and I might be included in their intimate visit with Nancy.

Nancy has such a gentle, marvelous way of drawing the listener in with her reflections on the way people respond to life. She tells stories and weaves a tapestry of understanding about them, with insights from both psychology and spiritual disciplines. It was my job to sing in between her different reflections. Such an evening, while both gentle and inviting, has by nature a more sober feel to it, and one that was quite beautiful. At evening's end, the children got in the van with us, already in pyjamas, and we all made our way in to the heart of Chicago where the St Vincent de Paul society had made arrangements with the Daughters of Charity (Whipple St) to have us overnight. It was possibly the first time our kids have slept overnight in a convent, and it was lovely, cozy and comfortable. Two sisters had stayed up to let us in at the later hour, inviting us to join them for worship early the next morning.

Friday, September 29 to Muncie IN:
It was a quiet morning worship with some of us still in pyjamas. A narrow, carpeted little room of chairs, some bookshelves and worship table was the gathering place. One sister said to the other who was to lead the liturgy that they wouldn't use a CD for music that morning, as I was with them. As if I could sing that early in the morning..! Still, we did and the day had a gentle beginning. Nancy had left for her flight to our next venue at an ungoshly hour.

In the diningroom, I asked Sister Cecila, who seemed to be a little bit in charge of our care, if she could take a minute to share with Patrick and Nicole why she was a sister. Cecila has a background working with young children and now is studying to work in emergency counselling situations, so she is qualified to speak to my children. She responded without hesitating: "Well, you know how God spoke to those children in your God Detectives book? Well, sometimes God speaks to adults, too. And I felt that God was asking me to do the work I am doing and to live in a family like this one. You have a family, and this is my family." I liked that.

We left (armed with the extra tea that sisters are frequently given) and drove slowly down the alley behind the convent and neighbouring houses. It was garbage day, and that is dangerous when you travel with me - my being a re-cyclist by genetic compulsion. Behind the last house on the block was a plastic shelf of 3 drawers - a piece of furniture I have been asking the universe for since the tour began and the boxes were not cutting it. "Stop," I said to David. "I have prayed for that and I'm not kidding." David is a wise man and waited for me to consider the wisdom of garbage-picking in Chicago. Mostly I was just considering whether it was in good enough shape to take! I brushed it off, popped it in the van and - a tribute to my family - nobody batted an eye.

We left the Chicago cloud behind and, hours later, were on our way to Muncie IN. Slow again and yet still surprised at how slow we are (definitely living in denial), we could see that we were going to be somewhat late for our hosts at High Street United Methodist. However, it was only when we were in the neighbouring town that an old clock tower announced a time that was an hour later than we had expected. "No way," we said. It had been an old clock tower; surely it was wrong and we were... However, a niggling memory began to surface. Had Carolyn Danielson mentioned, at some point in our copious e-mailings to be careful of a time-zone change on the way in..?! A phonecall to Carolyn (and Nancy) and the team confirmed my fears. We were even later than we had thought. Worse still, we learned the state had only that year instituted Daylight Savings Time.

Carolyn and the folks had already devised a Plan B and C(!) for our arrival, and Nancy had done all she could to direct the set-up of the concert space, so we were ushered straight to supper at our host's home, filled with fabulous soup, and dispatched to the church immediately. Nancy's rocking chair was in place, the piano hiked up onto the high chancel, the sound team ready with cords in hand and monitors on the floor, greeters at the door and - best of all - the organizing team all had matching "High Street Methodist: Good Music, Good Company" T-shirts!!

A good-sized crowd of all ages laughed, listened and sang along on our evening of God Detectives and song. Children gathered around Nancy's feet (her favourite) and I managed to thank Muncie for making Canadians at home by bringing in a daylight savings time-zone change - saying they really NEEDN'T have gone to such trouble!

Sat up and talked with our host and Sue Dougherty about America ("Don't get me started," says she) until late.

Saturday September 30, Muncie to Waterloo ON:
Well, we may have been late, but we got to stay longer, thank goodness. An early rise got us all back to the church, where Nancy led a group on grieving and healing, and I led children and grown-ups in a song and story faith hour. We even wrote song verses together. All gathered to sing and end together with great spirit.

The team decided that, even though we had to leave briskly, we still had to eat, so they might as well feed us. So, we ate elegant leftovers from our hastily devoured meal of the night before and then had to leave. We had a big day of driving to Canada ahead of us.

The rain gave the city of Detroit a morose appearance, as we sailed through it, highways weaving and intertwined. It was completely dark when we passed through customs at Detroit into Windsor. Rain all the way to Waterloo, where Doris Jakobsch had written an entire letter to us on her front newell post to say: Welcome.

Back in Canada

Sunday, October 1, Paris ON:
I felt I had good reason to lie in bed quite a bit longer after I heard the first noise of the morning. However, the first noise of the morning was David telling me that everyone was already in the hot tub. That was too much. I dragged myself into a bathing suit, wrapped myself up and found all our children sprawling in the hot water with Doris, Nancy and Doris' daughter, Kaira. The autumn air was chilly and the occasional dry leaf floated down from windy trees onto the steaming water. Jessie - the other of Paul and Doris' kids - kindly offered to accompany us on the trampoline, so we (some of us) alternately jumped in the freezing wind and lay in the hot tub. A Canadian variation on the Scandinavian original. [American note: just kidding]

Doris works at the university, teaching about Women and Sikhism, so there were hours of conversation to be had. But not hours to have it in. Our collective clans gathered around their huge wooden table to celebrate being together. And then we parted.

Arriving at Five Oaks Centre, in Paris is another kind of homecoming. Mardi Tindal, our programme director and dear friend, met us with hugs outside the door, and we began to move furniture almost immediately. Five Oaks is retreat centre run by the United Church of Canada, tucked into a diminishing forest land in south west Ontario. Its main building sits on a gentle hillside, with the diningroom facing out onto a treed path and bird-feeders that regular see brilliant red cardinals come to dine with guests. Although the building is long and bunker-like, its main room feels like a livingroom so we chose to hold the Middle Canada Launch of the God Detectives here. Mardi was effusive in her excitement about Nancy, David and me and a gathering of all ages from all over the area being together, and had to tease herself for saying the word "wonderful" too many times.

I was thrilled that our west coast friend Paul Gitlitz could join us for the musical portion of our launch. Paul is a player of fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo and he produced my latter two albums. He and partner, Karen, have just moved to Hamilton for her year-long internship in Unitarian ministry and you could read the surprise in Paul's voice as his first e-mail read, 'I've found musicians here; I could play every night!'

Nancy told stories from our children's book, we sang some songs and David and I got to leave with the children to play musical games, sing and tell stories. They were a marvelous group of children; it was hard to stop! But our programme ended in the large group again with singing in celebration and all heading downstairs for dinner and an official God Detectives cake.

I love to wander the halls of Five Oaks in the evening, when few are living there. The building is at peace and the noises of the day seem to echo gentle and muffled throughout the carpeted hallways. The children had spent the day with Diane Matheson, hiking the trails around the centre, finding a frog in the glen, playing games. They were ready for sleep early that evening.

Monday October 2, Paris ON
Jackie in the Grand River Bookstore was thrilled. Throughout the day, a hundred God Detectives had sold. That raises sales of our book (published by Wood Lake) to 1500 in a month and a half. This is excellent, although Nancy tells me it doesn't get Bestseller status, as fiction, until something like 10,000 have sold. We'll get there!

The morning belonged to me, as I got to lead my favourite "Hospitality of Worship" workshop with participants who were worship leaders, music leaders, children's leaders. I love to help people see through the eyes of the artist - to view worship as an invitation to something that flows in a natural shape (rather than a scripted set of "events"). I think that worship flows ideally in this way: from a kind of high, extroverted energy to deep and receptive and back out in high energy again. David joins me in some ridiculous improv when we model a bad "visit" at my home, with me jumping from activity to activity (heartfelt sharing into sudden directions to the bathroom to drinking tea...) as a kind of metaphor for how worship can sometimes be "scripted". All the pieces can be right, but we sometimes string them together with little regard for the flow between them or the interaction of the host and guest.

Nancy had the afternoon with participants, examining the many ways that God heals. I had a lot of good ideas for my afternoon, but after I had washed out the plastic drawer cabinet that the universe had flung me in Chicago, I slept. Boy, that was God healing!

Nancy and I led a church school teachers' workshop that evening. Our closing incorporated the last story of the God Detectives, in which Jacob has a young crisis of meaning, followed by an experience of transcendence and deep, abiding love. "Behold," says the prophet, "I am doing a new thing."

Tuesday Oct 3, Toronto ON:
The rain came out only while we were packing up the van and trailer. But, by the time we made it into Toronto, it was gone, leaving clear skies and clean city air. We had attempted to arrive a little early in town because of the Computer Envy I was experiencing. I needed therapy. Nancy and I have just about the same computer and we sit almost side by side in the van. But, when we sidle up to a wireless hotel or cafe, Nancy blissfully reports that she suddenly is receiving a fountain of e-mail, while I sit with no signal. Then, I am almost completely unable to SEND any mail whatsoever. We were turning ourselves in to the nearest Mac shop, with the distinct suspicion that there was something deeply wrong.

What I learned was that it was my server that was not allowing me to send e-mail at all. At ALL. I left in shock, slowly considering the alternatives - the only one of which made sense was switching servers (mid-tour??) and thus e-mail addresses. This is the business equivalent of moving your storefront to Winnipeg and leaving a cardboard sign on the door saying where you went.

Nobody needs to hear about that at Emmanuel College. Ranting about one's computer to strangers is what prepares you for senior years of reporting on your lumbago and bursitis. Still, I made Bill Kervin listen, as we hoisted our stuff through the heavy, wooden doors of the college. Luckily, there was no time to spread the misery any further because Bill presented me to his Introduction to Worship class and I was off and running with my theory of the up-down-up worship flow. It was a great class - actually my first time back to teach at my own college (where I had graduated with a Master of Religious Ed in 1991). It seemed that there was a perceptible difference in feel from fifteen years ago at my college - a looser, more comfortable atmosphere. But then, so has there been in the church in general.

Betsy Anderson had asked us to scoot off immediately to Trinity-St Paul United Church, just down a few blocks on Bloor St. Navigating and parking a VW and trailer in Toronto is no joke, believe me, but there was a postage stamp spot by the church, and we caught up with our 3 children in the main hall. Our friend, Jeanette Unger (from our Naramata summer) had taken charge of all three and they had spent the afternoon at the Royal Ontario Museum and having ice cream at a famous Toronto spot. Feel the pain for these poor children on tour, my friends.

Our time together at Trinity was an all-ages musical story exploration time and before we began in the small piano room off the dining hall, I just wanted to sit and enjoy who had come. We were every age possible, many different colours and all so different! It was delicious. And so was dinner, afterward..!

Our search for a friend's home late in the evening proved fruitless, so - instead of panicking - we pulled over onto the side of Bloor and called Betsy for help. "Come on up to my house," she said, and her whole family re-arranged so we could crash at their home. They didn't seem to bat an eye at a family of five suddenly planting themselves, but something tells me that Betsy, as co-ordinator of Continuing Education for Emmanuel, is frequently called upon to be flexible!

Wednesday Oct 4, Toronto ON:
It only takes one day to feel like you've got a handle on a new routine, we're finding. The next morning, we were all off to Emmanuel College to assist Joan Wyatt with her integration class. Well, OK, some of us were there to do their Handwriting and Spelling homework in Betsy's office. This group had been out on internships in pastoral ministry and, now in their final year, had the job of integrating book learnin' and real life experience. So, they were a very interesting group of thoughtful people. They had sent on three questions for me to ponder - questions about how to make music a powerful tool in worship (my favourite!), how to lead children in singing, and then: what were my joys and sorrows as a musician and traveller in the church?

No problem with the first two. The third has been an ongoing search for me over the past few years: I think that it must be possible to be a deeply spiritual, prayerful church and yet be active and activist with our faith. The United Church of Canada seems to have nailed the second half of that equation - and that is clearly why I joined or was called to it in the first place (back when I was 20). What I feel sorrow about is the burn-out that I believe I can spot both in myself and in the church at large, that I believe comes from trying to do "God's work" without a sense that it is God's work, not our own. That God is constantly, actively renewing and healing and re-growing all of creation. Watch for it in our community prayers! Either they are litanies of woe with no solution, or they are "God, we remember..." prayers that do not envision or ask for healing, or they are teaching moments ("God help us to know that..."). We invite God on our journey, rather than thanking God for inviting us on God's journey. BIG difference.

Emmanuel is a long, stone building with tall, echoing walls rising to three storeys. How good it was to be able to use the (alumni fund-raised!) elevator to transport our christian flotsam and jetsam up and down. Wednesday was community lunch and forum day so there was pizza in the students' lounge, followed by David and Linnea in the chapel for a "conversation" about music as a spiritual discipline. That balance of devotion and activism was part of what we sang about for an hour, ending with our usual, our traditional, our famous Olde Tyme Gospel Medley. Never have I seen Emmanuel College rock so well! It made me consider advanced degree study.

Bill Kervin wrote later to say: "Your time with us continues to reveberate in wonderful ways." Now, that's good feedback for a musician.

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