fUnKY GuPpIes

The last couple of days have been filled with intense learning, prayer, and continued discernment about the summer that is to come. I have been barraged with stories of workers facing injustices in the workplace over and over. I sometimes find myself feeling a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the men and women who continue to be exploited by the companies and men and women who profit from their labors. The excerpt found on the statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your weak and your poor…” are still there. They have not been erased though they have I am sure been eroded through pollution and just weather wear. The greeting that my ancestors read as they sailed the Atlantic Ocean is the message that is not being relayed to the workforce presently in America.

Walking through downtown Chicago- there are taxis everywhere. I was so tempted after hearing about the Taxi-Divers Campaign in Nashville, TN to ask each individual driver if they were unionized. I was visiting with fellow interns about the reality of our lives being forever changed. I will not be able to go into a hotel without examining or researching whether or not the hotels have union contracts for their employees. Tomorrow, in the afternoon, we will be as a group joining the longest workers strike in America today. The Congress Plaza hotel has refused to negotiate a contract with their employees for the last five years. There has been an individual striking everyday-24/7 for the last five years! What a testament to the spirit of these men and women, and the validity to their campaign.

I continue to be reaffirmed in my decision to have been a part of this organization. Some clarifications have been made that I would like to post on the blog simply because I want to be clear about what I will be doing this summer. I will NOT be working for a labor organization. Instead, I will be working with religious leaders, encouraging them to organize on behalf of the workers to speak about the human dignity of work, and how a just wage and benefits are great not only for employees to adopt (increase public morale) but to also see that it is great for the work force of America. Essentially, this is an issue of poverty. To continue to eradicate poverty from our world, religious leaders can speak on behalf of their congregations to alert the business communities that just wage/living wage is an important issue.

*I have learned some more information about my stay in Phoenix, and will be joining an already existing campaign. I will be leading and organizing delegations of clergy men and women to fight for the rights of the men and woman of the Great Western Campaign for the Iron Workers Union. Please continue to keep me in prayer that I may continue to be a vessel of transformation for myself and the men and women that I will encounter.

1st full day of Training...

This bench is located at West Point Military Academy close to Trophy Point. (That is all I can say without being snarkily sarcastic.)

Today my day began with a keynote by Dr. C. Melissa Snarr from Vanderbilt University.

As she was a very good presenter the main point of her message was simple:
"Social compassion is more important that efficiency." WOW! What a great inclusive understanding of what catholics are called to invest their lives in. This concept is so disconnected from our cultural understandings of productivity. So much in our society is based upon numbers, and the efficiency of factory production (whether it is a meat packing plant or a toy production company). This understanding of compassion calls into question very specifically our own interpretations of compassion. Is it compassionate for people of a certain faith persuasion? (As I am Roman Catholic woman, I generally approach and speak specifically from this tradition's perspective.) Dr. Snarr went on to say that with social compassion comes an understanding of the call to responsibility. There is an implicit-ingrained understanding that we as HUMANS have a moral obligation and responsibility to be compassionate to one another. It is not compassionate to engage in wage theft. It is not compassionate to be promoting a work schedule that does not embody the guidelines and regulations set up by the Department of Labor.

One aspect of this training that continues to call my own naivete into question is that these abuses take place in restaurants, and school/university cafeterias. These awareness call into question the practices at St. John's University. As I currently don't know who is providing the food services there, I cannot rightfully speak about any injustice. However, be certain that I will be finding this information out, and additionally noting who is providing these services at the University.

There is one member of those who are participating in the training who is agnostic, and that has continued to challenge my understanding of "Interfaith". Interestingly enough he will be leading our morning reflection tomorrow. I had several conversations with this man today, and would say that he embodies compassion, but I wonder, as he is from central Iowa, how does he encounter compassion?

How do you encounter compassion in your daily life? With others?

Preperations Have Begun

The picture is of my sisters, Kati, Heidi, myself, and my brother Joel.
My life has been in a bit of an upheaval in the past week and a half. I am back visiting my parents in my hometown. It has been a good time. I spent the last week in New York gathered with my family to celebrate as my brother graduated from West Point Military Academy. (Note: I protested the commencement speech given by the Secretary of the Army by listening to my Ipod. The Indigo Girls raged in my ears with their “Despite our Differences” CD.) I find this to be one of the paradoxes in my life that I easily embrace. I struggle to live and embody peace, and peaceful choices, and come from a family that continues to embrace their own definitions in different ways than I do. I find that I can embrace these differences because we respect each other. I am so proud of my brother, and it was a truly moving experience to se the “long gray line”. Each of us siblings is so different, we have all chosen to participate in different fields of work, and yet each of these fields inherently finds its roots in service. That is a value that both of my parents have worked hard to instill into our daily living.

My week in New York:
Great food
Kayaked the Hudson River with my sister Kati at sunset!!! –Gorgeous!
Hiked a mountain in the Hudson River Valley with Joel!!!! - Gorgeous!
Fell down the mountain and sprained my ankle—Grace is still not my middle name!!!
Found out that I will NOT be going to Austin, Texas for the summer, rather, I will be in Phoenix, Arizona working with Ironworkers.
Went to the Broadway production of Spamalot! -Fantastic! (But no Jersey Boys!)
Had a great time with my sister Heidi and my common-law-brother-in-law Dominic!
My book came in for my ILP portion of the CPE experience.

I leave for my orientation training in Chicago on Sunday. Once there I will be posting twice a week, and will be doing one posting specifically on the practical happenings- the learning’s, and the second post will most likely focus on how I am internalizing this experience, and what this will mean to me.
Please pray for me, the other men and women taking part, and for those we will be working with and for.

Is home still home?

I have been in Nebraska since Saturday. The state motto, which a friends’ husband is fond of reminding me is— Nebraska…Welcome to the Good Life. I have to say, after having been away from the state of my birth for the last two years, (minimal trips home- but the trips home were of length) there was great nostalgia driving me from Omaha to North Platte. The Great Plains that sweep through the entire state were incredibly green. One could even venture to use a word such as verdant, or lush. Nebraska had gotten rain over the last two days and there was minor flooding throughout the state. I was able to stop and visit my dear friend, Jose for a couple of hours. The time away from Nebraska from the family and friends that have been so formative in my years growing as a woman of faith has been challenging.
What happens to a person when the support system that has been forming for years is taken away? But not really taken away, so much as removed by choice. I chose to move away. I chose the location of Minnesota, and I chose to participate in a Master’s program lasting three years.
The last couple of days I feel that I have been a bit of a pain to my family and friends. I have been asking tons of provoking questions, and I feel that there is some frustration as I continue to question, and frame questions with words that have been used in my education for the last couple of years. I have come to a level of expectation about how deep my conversations should be, and the topics that the conversations cover are varied, generally about as varied as the people involved in the conversations. It would seem that my vocabulary has changed, and I have stepped outside the rhythm of the natural flow of my family as a result of my time away.
So, as a result I have to wonder then if others go through this adjustment of time and rhythm with their families? The measure of and value of adaptability I think are more than just great indicators of family. How much do family dynamics affect our continued growth? As we remain a part of our birth family, and grow older each year, how readily do our expectations change to note the change and formation in our selves?

Movin' On...

I was thinking last night about the profound effect that moving can play in the lives of people. I am leaving Collegeville for the summer on Saturday morning. This will be the first time that I have left the state for longer than 3 weeks at a time. I will be gone all summer. It is an exciting time, and also a time that can potentially be filled with incredible learning. I continue to grow in my excitement for my CPE expereince. I am intrigued greatly by the union that I will be working for. I am anxious as well to learn as much as possible about the Austin area.

My Summer...

I found out that I will be spending my summer in Austin, Texas (a place where I have never been) working with the SEIU organization. Wahooo!
Anyone been there? I would love to hear fun to see places and hear great stories!

Almost at the end...for this semester

Picture: me, Fr. Allan Bouley,OSB, Laura Kelly Fanucci

My academic year is coming to an end, and that is bringing its own sense of relief, and anxiety as well. I remember when I began my program at St. John's University. I was so excited to begin the MDIV program. I had no idea what was coming up, and was ready to go! I had no idea that the men and women that I would meet are just phenomenal, and that they would become my deepest friends and biggest cheerleaders and advocates. It has not always been fun and easy, there have been trials that have certainly challenged me and I would not have made it through these times had it not been for these friends, their prayers, my family, and my place with in the community of believers and love in God.

I took my final for Fr. Allan Bouley, OSB. He is a fantastic instructor who was in Rome, Italy during the Second Vatican Council. He did a wonderful job of blending the historical elements of the council, the pastoral ideas, and the liturgical elements that we find within our church. Sometimes the Rites can be a bit confusing, but Fr. Allan did a great job of making sure that we knew the historical elements, and understood some reasons for how these Rites are best expressed within our church community.

I don't know yet where I will be placed for my summer internship-CPE experience. I am looking forward though to vacation in New York as my family gathers to celebrate my brother's graduation.

Have a great week, I will do better with my posting in the weeks to come.