Update from the Road

I'm posting the homily early, so nobody read this until tomorrow!

If you'll remember, a couple weeks ago I posted about our new purchase, for the purpose of being church on the road. We got the wagon that goes with it, too, so I just wanted to discuss a little bit about what it's like to be out here and ministering to the people of the world. (I'd upload a picture, but I can't seem to get blogger to work, sorry!)

Not surprisingly, we got a lot of stares, but because they could smell food wafting, and we are selling organic smoothies, organic tannin-free wine, organic beer, and other organic vegan things, well, people came to us to learn about SOV2. And they helped "further" our cause by helping to peddal down the road while discussing their own faith journeys.

What's especially cool about this new form of ministry is not only the health we can serve up with our ecumenism, but the exercise to boot!

The other day, we met a man who had been a 20 year alcoholic, and he climbed on board for a smoothie and to talk to us about his 12-step program and the higher power he chooses to call...well, I can't remember the term, but it worked for him, in any case. He had a smoothie, but unfortunately we learned that he was lactose-intolerant, and his smoothie had some milk-based product, and he passed out and fell off the wagon. That was so unfortunate, but no hurt feelings. And in fact, he had such a good time with us, in spite of his incident, that he's going to invite his entire AA group to join us next time! We did have to promise to put the organic wine away and not make it available for anyone during that time, so we agreed. I hadn't considered our ability to assist those who are chemically-dependent, but there it is! As it turned out, their group was really sick of drinking coffee and smoking and meeting in one place, and after meeting with us, they both want to come visit SOV2 proper, and they are going to start their own ministry by peddaling smoothies along with 12-step!

They aren't going to get the wagon like we did, though, because they don't like the symbolism of falling off. So if this group from Dry Creek comes by, give them a big ol' SOV2 welcome, and be careful what you offer for hospitality; we have to be sure not to offend.

We met other people, too, some of them just curious, some gave us tracts that were written by a bird named "Jack Chick". He had a lot of things to say about the Catholic Church, and while I agreed with a lot of it, he had a lot of hostility in him, so he wasn't very church. And I think he got some of the details wrong about the history and belief. Amazingly, I found myself defending the Catholic church from the Chick's followers.

What amazes me, though, is that Jack Chick, being just a bird, is real talented, and so he'd be a great mascot for SOV2, at least if we could maybe redirect our feathered friend's talent into more positive work. After the bird's followers left, we, the road ministry team, met to discuss groups like that; they tend to be really angry and they are completely intolerant about what other people believe. And their focus wasn't inclusiveness, but of exclusion because their entire reason for grouping together was to discuss how wrong everyone else was. So in the end, we're not going to go track down the miraculous bird. It must have been really hard to train him to begin with, and I think Che' had a parrot once, didn't you Che'? And he was really hard to train out of bad habits. Che' finally had to get rid of him because Turk taught the bird bad words, which caused quite a scandal when he was sick so Che' couldn't leave him home. That bird swore during the liturgy at the most inopportune moments! So he ended up giving him away to someone. Who was that, Che'? Have you kept tabs on that foul-mouthed fowl?

In any case, it seems birds, unlike people with bad habits, can't be trained to change their lives or attitudes, so our ministry will continue to be to reach out to people on the fringes. Not the feathered ones, though.

Many of you may not know that I lost a family member to alcoholism, so really, when this AA group comes to visit SOV2, treat them as you would my family. Our outreach shouldn't just be on the road, but, as long as we own property, right or wrong, we should use it for the good of the people who come our way and we should be church with them. And try not to kill them in any way.

Anyway, about the readings for today; we're not going to use them because they don't go along with my homily. So we're going to read Robert Frost's "The Road not Taken", and a passage from "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, and a passage from "The Handmaid's Tale".

Dym Tim might take a shift on the road while I come back to SOV2 for awhile, but we'll see how that works out. He's been itchin' to get out on the road for a bit.

WE ARE CHURCH!!!

Jesus, a great prophet, recommended that we go out and "Spread the Good News" and that's what I'm doing!

I just got back from my ordination...uh...er....I mean "retreat" on the Danube river, and while there, we came across the coolest thing for our ministry!



Altho' SOV2 is a rockin' place, we shouldn't limit our great prophetic voice to one small corner of the Universe. To do so is to limit what the god-spirit wants to do with us. We are charged with going out among the people, being Eucharist with them, but how can we do that when we are imitating that dead heirarchical and patriarchial organization, the Roman Catholic church, in plotting out a piece of Mother Earth?

So I have met with Dym Tim, and we're going to purchase a new way to bring SOV2 on the road! I'll have informational and brainstorming sessions all month, and next month we'll have listening sessions, so everyone gets a say as to where we might go first.

Our theme this year is "WE ARE CHURCH!" so we're going to require that all of the older students sign up for a mission trip on the new...well....what should we call it?

Any suggestions?

CONTEST!

Dym Tim and Che', will you choose the best names and the proper award for whoever wins?

The Book of Job!

Hi, everyone! I apologize for my lengthy absence. There's been so much going on and I hope to be able to update you on all of it, but for now, I just have some wonderful, pressing information to impart!

I have returned to school so as to better help everyone share their individual faith journeys. Tonight I went to a Sacred Reading Study at my University, and we looked at the book of Job.

Have you ever read it? It's completely fascinating. If you go to Job, chapter 2, it talks about how, when disaster struck his family and his property, he "rent" his robes. Well, first of all, that's a misprint because clearly he had to rent his robes, or clothing, because he was suddenly poor. So the word in the Bible should say "rented". "Rent" is the present-tense verb.

Anyway, then he was sick, and so he had to go and rent new robes because he was so poor he just couldn't afford to actually buy them. And because he didn't have a house, he just lived in the ashes of his house.

Then his vertically-challenged friends, Elephant the Termite, Billy the Shoe-height, and Zoltar the Mini-mite came to visit him, having heard of his great tragedy. And they understood SOLIDARITY, let me tell you! They were so Church with Job that they went out and rented robes, too! And then they sat with him for 7 days!

That's because they knew that it was so important to give preferential treatment to their poor friend Job, who apparently didn't have a job anymore so he was destitute.

So, basically, the lesson for today was that if we see people suffering, it's meaningless to talk to them because words are cheap. It's better to suffer in the same way they are. So, for example, if your friend loses his house due to a fire from a lightening strike, then you should start an electrical fire of some sort at your home and just let it all burn down. That way you can be Church with your friend.

And if your friend has to rent clothing, you should do the same thing.

Or, say, if you're a doctor, the same thing applies. If someone comes to you with a broken bone, you have to first respect where that person is at. How can you understand that person's pain if you haven't experienced it or arent' experiencing it? It's better to be in solidarity with that person, so if you can't reproduce the cause of the injury, you should at least try to find something that would be a similar injury. And that way, even when you hobble around together on crutches, you'll all be church and you'll be able to help each other out.

But there was another aspect that was discussed; Job's friends were trying to be church, but didn't really get the concept. They rented robes, but they still had their own. So we actually see later on in the next chapters that they only rented the robes because their own fine ones would have gotten dirty. And they didn't have laundry facilities like we do now so the Old Testament version of dry cleaning was just renting robes. Which isn't really very church with Job, who had none to dry clean, anyway. And I don't think he could return the ones he was wearing. But read abotu what happened to him and you'll undestand. It doesn't say whether Elephant, Zoltan, or Billy gave him their rented robes when his own wore out or not. So we can actually have a discussion on that next week after the fall bonfire in the labyrinth.

Sr. Fairah

Hi, everyone.

I just got back from dropping Sr. Fairah off. Please remember her in your wishes this week.

The other day I found her wandering around in the Spirit Maze, and at first I didn't want to bother her because I thought she was just chanting Buddhist mantras, and it sounded like she was speaking another language. But then I could hear a couple words, and saw how disorganized she was, it didn't look like a real meditation. And the words she was mumbling, the ones I could understand, anyway, were "Sir Feeney" and "latin" and some other stuff.

So I managed, with the promise of gree tea leaves, to get her to come back with me, and I called Fr. Tim. He took some time off retreat to meet with us, and by then Sr. Fairah was more coherent, but obviously very shaken up.

She explained the horrors of her childhood. Honestly, her parents should be behind bars, and everyone like them! It's a wonder she survived at all! Get this! Would you believe that they would not let her have any dinner until she could conjugate ten latin vebs, and they wouldn't even let her sleep until she could recite the "potter nose ter"! Whatever that is. And that was all at the tender age of FOUR!

That's * THIS MANY * !

Wow. I'm glad my parents didn't make me speak latin.

Obviously latin is very dangerous.

So anyway, Fr. Tim suggested that Sr. Fairah go on retreat, so she's not going to be around for awhile. They won't let her use the computer and even took her iphone away from her.

I'm supposed to ask you all, that when you pray for her, don't use latin...and that goes for YOU Adoro! Ugh! I don't even wanna say your name, for fear it will hurt Sr. Fairah!

Her pain is totally centered around latin, so if you pray for her in latin, it wouldn't be very church to her. She is working on becoming one with the Universe and the Universe knows when one of you does this and what you put out there will come back to you. Karma, baby. Karma.

Anyway, I don't want to be mysterous or make this all seem to be a shameful thing for Sr. Fairah, and she told me to pass on to you all that she is at a wonderful retreat center recharging her batteries. She looks forward to coming back and ministering to you all again.

Back to the Dark Ages

I apologize for my absence; I was away dealing with a family emergency. We had to put a family member down; Grandma didn't want to live anymore so we had an earth ceremony, pulled out her NG tube and withheld food and water. She had cancer and with her doctor and the State of Florida Medical Board, we all decided it was best to be merciful and let her end her life with dignity, but without food and water, per her wishes. It was completely painless. She hasn't been able to speak since her vocal cords were removed a few years ago, and it was heartbreaking, because we couldn't hear her last words.

She kept grabbing her throat and making water motions...I think she was trying to tell us to follow the water and make our own path through life. And she made motions towards the food we ate at dinner, and moved her lips like she was trying to speak, so we figured that, like she had told us so many times, the food before us, we must continue to share with others. So we actually packed up our leftovers and gave them to her neighbors; they are down on their luck. We would have invited them over to dinner had Grandma told us to before, so we just did the best we could when we figured out what she was saying.

Grandma can't write, since she had such bad arthritis, otherwise we would have had her write out her final words of wisdom for us. She died peacefully, still motioning about the food and water, wanting to die reminding us to live for others and bring food to the poor, and make our way like water through the Universe, until we, like her, go to become one with the Universal Consciousness.

Anyway, the dreaded "Motu Propio" has been released, which has effectively taken us back to the dark ages. I second all that Fr. Tim said, and I promise you all that we will work hard to preserve English in the liturgy. We will NOT go back to that oppressive ritual that worked only to enable clericalism and suppress the power of the people!

I'm back from the labyrinth!

It's been a great week, everyone!

Last weekend's concert with Marty Haugen, David Haas, and Don Schulte was incredible. I stayed up hanging out with the Sisters of St. Joseph, learned about Reiki, Healing Touch, and spending time in the Labyrinth with Starhawk!

I even got her autograph!

Anyway, now that I'm a Healing Touch practitioner, and I have a full array of crystals, I'll be taking appointments for anyone interested. We can work on healing auras, diseases, blemishes, all those things. I'll also be giving a class on Centering Prayer, and through that, we'll be working on conversing with the divinity within so that we can self-actualize and become the deities we are!

Next weekend, I should be well versed enough in Tarot and will be holding a seminar in Astrology, Enneagram, and Tarot in the Spirit Maze at 9 pm. We will be surrounded by the torches to represent the divine masters who have gone before us, and after that, if someone has interest, I think I can get that guy from "Crossing Over" to hold a seance for us. We might have to schedule that for a different weekend, though.

It's going to be a really exciting summer here at SOV2!

PILGRIMAGE!

You guys, I am NOT. MAKING. THIS. UP!

Now that we got rid of those psycho-spaz militants, it's time to get back to normal. I suggest we take a pilgrimage to Minnesota for the final opportunity to see Marty Haugen, David Haas, and Michael Joncas in concert! (And I'll see if they can come here....Turk, are you down with that?)

You can read about it here, but I'll quote a section:

On Sunday, June 10, Haas, Haugen and Father Joncas will play one of the final two concerts they have scheduled. The 7:30 p.m. program at Guardian Angels in Oakdale is a benefit for “Music Ministry Alive!” — the summer program at the College of St. Catherine that trains young Catholic liturgical musicians. Last year’s concert wassold out.

That's my Alma Mater, St. Cate's! I just LOVE the Sisters of St. Joseph, almost became a consociate, but then I moved down here to Knoxville. You should check out their Wisdom Ways Center, and we can do that when we go up there, too!

Sister Fairah, aren't you an SJC?

Anyway, I think Turk would LOVE this trip especially. I'll have a sign up after liturgical dance practice tomorrow night.

And maybe we can get ideas for our Labyrinth there, too!

Who's with me! Sign up now, we leave on Saturday!

And for those who can't go for this weekend, we can do church with Minnesota and hit the Labyrinth. I'll be up there all week so you can also come as you will, but it's better if we roadtrip it.

ADORO AND I HAVE ESCAPED!

Ignore "Father" Kane's last message: he is not who you think he is. PLEASE, EVERYONE, I BEG YOU, LISTEN!

This is a pro-war group, they have GUNS, and they are NOT what they are claiming to be!

The good news is that Adoro and I have escaped the perimeter, thanks to Adoro's previous training in handling violent offense. I never realized such training could be useful for those of us seeking peace, but if it weren't for her, we'd still be stranded there.


They also lied to you; Che' and Brittnee are not in the encampment, but they are off base somewhere.

We will continue to post as we are able; we have set up cameras and microphones around the campus and this information is being transmitted to those who need to see and record it, and some of those cameras are very revealing; when they are alone, the "Brothers of Love" and "Father Kane" clearly identify themselves as:

Posse Comatatis and Sgt. Lido Caine. He is not a priest, he is not Catholic or any other religion, He is an atheist, anti-womyn, and he doesn't even believe in GAIA!

Get out now! The Feds are en route. They don't like us either, but they at least don't think our faith community is out for terrorism.

Adoro is Right

I never in a thousand years I'd ever say such a thing, but Adoro is right, and I've seen the proof.

The "Brothers of Love" told you all that I should be watched and ignored ostensibly because my liturgy had traditionalist leanings. You all KNOW that to be a lie! The spirit of Vatican II told us to innovate and I've worked so HARD with and for all of you to live up to that directive! Remember the liturgical dancers last Sunday?

The proof is before your eyes, people. Adoro is right...we are all being deceived.

The reality is that they won't let me leave because I learned their secret. Their true agenda is to take our property and...get this....USE IT FOR MILITARY TRAINING! THEY'RE WAR-MONGERS, NOT PACIFISTS! THEY ARE NOT BROTHER'S OF LOVE OF ANYTHING OTHER THAN WAR!

But if we work together, we can beat them.

Please, everyone....I beg you.....HELP US!

We found Keith!

I got an email today, and I've been asked to share it with you all, just in case Keith never came back. I think Che' got a copy, too, but I can't find him so I'm taking it upon myself to share this with you all.

There was an encrypted message (pig latin) indicating that "The truth is out there", and he's heading out to the Roswell area. There was a message that ended very abruptly but there was a picture that really reveals quite a bit:

That's him there with one of the aliens, he's waving. So I'm not sure if he's going willingly, but boy, he's lost a lot of weight!

Incidentally, I think we could commission someone to do a type of caste of that alien and place it in the gathering space. It would really look good here. Or maybe put it in the spirit maze so people can climb into that hole and experience being reborn by c-section.

Anyway, it seems that Keith is OK, he's just an alien now...maybe he'll bring them back with him so we can include them in our liturgy, too.

Keep a lookout for Che', he'll have more info on Keith's doings.

Pentecost and Womyn in the Church

Next week I'm going to be giving a talk on womyn and the Church, and I'd like to invite y'all to come!

As we all know, womyn have been oppressed by the Roman Patriarchy for centuries now, although there's evidence that womyn were ordained priests in the early years. As a result of men's actions, womyn's leadership has been suppressed and they've invented their own history to cover up the truth.

It's time that we take arms against this sea of trouble, and by opposing, end it.

The fact remains that womyn were priests in the past and we are seeking to turn the tide back towards this in the future, calling for equailty, for womyn who are experiencing the call to the priesthood are being denied. It is unfair, and it is intolerant of womyn, and usurps our dignity.

As this is pentecost, let me also draw your attention to the fact that Mary was present at the descent of the Holy Spirit and this should be proof enough that she was a priest, too.

We will get together next week in a workshop to explore the history of oppression of womyn in the church, the reality of ordained womyn in history, and find ways to dialogue about this so that we can work to change the heirarchy from within.