Originally posted by Bosse de NageThanks for breathing some fresh life into this worthwhile thread.
Strange Vagabond of God
While living in Zimbabwe I heard the remarkable story of John Bradburne (1921-1970). After serving with the Ghurkas & Chindits (jungle SAS) in WW2, this incurable wanderer, poet and recorder-player could not find a way to settle down. Forestry and teaching didn’t suit him; a Catholic convert, he attempted to join several mona ...[text shortened]... y on the RCC’s list of candidates for sainthood.
(Read more at http://www.johnbradburne.com)
Originally posted by Bosse de NageI don't know that I am necessarily seeking redemption as I am power. I am doing my homework first. I will start by finding some snake handling churches and attend them and get to know them better. I got to get in my comfort zone. Hopefully in time I will be able to handle a copperhead. I don't want to start out wit a timber rattler or a black mamba.
How goes the quest for redemption via serpents?
Originally posted by kirksey957People like Will Campbell are the source of good in the world. They think for themselves and use their insight to help others. You don't have to believe in a God to do that, but it's hard to deny that in Wills case his beliefs had everything to do with his actions.
I'm not sure anyone is reading these, but I will continue.
My next addition is another southerner. Like some of our previous saints, he also hails from the south. His name is Will Campbell. Like Marney he was quite a character. During the 1950's and 60's he was quite involved with the civil rights movement. He moved around in liberal circles an ...[text shortened]... e genocide--for where have all the redmen gone."
Be ye reconciled. Thank you, Will Campbell
I enjoy this thread, because you're describing personalities. It doesn't matter what they believe (the first one was a fellow atheist, right). They've done good things and they are not ashamed to admit the bad doings. That's the only way to move on is to accept what has been bad and try not to repeat it. (We will eventually, inadvertently or not, do harm. How we deal with that is what matters.)
I especially like the quote in the end. Our white ancestors has taken America by force in the name of God, and if you believe in God as a sacred good it would be a blasphemy to ask him to bless those actions. Very interesting. 🙂
I think we must never do that again (take a country by force, prevent certain groups from expressing their thoughts and regroup its native population into small areas impossible to survive and thrive in). (Wait a sec... didn't that just happen a few years back?.. hmmm)
My own contribution to this wonderful thread:
Mother Marianne Cope and the Sisters of St. Francis
For centuries Hansen’s disease, or leprosy, was a frightening illness, both for its victims and those who treated them. Although it was known to be contagious, no one knew exactly how it was contracted. For that reason, many physicians and other health care providers refused to treat or even touch those patients diagnosed with the disease.
In the late 1800’s Mother Marianne Cope and other Sisters of St. Francis journeyed from the United States to the far-away Kingdom of Hawai`i to care for these outcasts of society when others would or could not. Their story is not as well known as Father Damien’s, but it is just as full of love and sacrifice.
Choosing the Path
It was in June 1883, in Syracuse, New York, that Mother Marianne Cope received an intriguing letter from a Catholic priest asking for help in managing hospitals and schools in the Hawaiian Islands. At that time, she was 45 years old and had been a Sister in the Order of St. Francis for 21 years.
There were reasons Mother Marianne might have ignored the letter. Growing up in Utica, New York, Mother Marianne had not had an easy life. She was born Barbara Koob to a family of modest means in the village of Heppenheim in the German grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. The family immigrated to Utica, New York, in 1840 when Barbara was a child of two. As a young adult she was a factory worker in Utica. At her acceptance into the community of Franciscan Sisters she took the name of Marianne.
By 1883 she had reason be proud as she had achieved the position as supervisor of St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse. The letter that arrived from Hawai`i offered her a different path. Mother Marianne decided to accept the less prestigious position with the Hawaiian mission.
She responded to the letter enthusiastically: “I am hungry for the work and I wish with all my heart to be one of the chosen Ones, whose privilege it will be, to sacrifice themselves for the salvation of the souls of the poor Islanders…. I am not afraid of any disease, hence it would be my greatest delight even to minister to the abandoned ‘lepers.’”
She and six other Sisters of St. Francis arrived in Honolulu in November 1883. With Mother Marianne as supervisor, their task was to manage Kaka`ako Branch Hospital on O`ahu, which served as a receiving station for Hansen’s disease patients gathered from all over the islands. Here the more severe cases were processed and shipped to the island of Moloka`i for confinement at the settlement at Kalawao, and then later at Kalaupapa.
The sisters set quickly to work. They began the process of cleaning the hospital and tending to the 200 patients. By 1885, the sisters had made major improvements to the living conditions and treatment of patients at Kaka`ako. In November of that year, they also initiated the founding of Kapi`olani Home inside the hospital compound. The home was established to care for the non-patient daughters of Hansen’s disease patients at Kaka`ako and Kalawao.
The Call to Kalaupapa
Mother Marianne expanded the efforts of the Sisters of St. Francis to include managing a hospital and school at Wailuku on Maui. She also responded to a call for assistance on Moloka`i. In April 1888, wealthy Honolulu banker Charles Bishop had presented the Hawaiian government with a donation of $5,000 to establish a home for girls in Kalaupapa. The government approached Mother Marianne with supervising the new home.
The resident priest, Father Damien, who by 1888 had already been diagnosed with Hansen’s disease and knew his death was imminent, was eager for the sisters to come. Mother Marianne consulted with all the sisters and, to her credit, they felt free to voice their concerns. Responded one: “I am very honest with you. I am afraid. I have heard too much about these poor people. I heard also that there are no rules and regulations. That everyone does as he pleases.” Another stated: “If it is not a suitable place for any woman how can it be for the Sisters.”
But Mother Marianne, along with Sister Leopoldina Burns and Sister Vincentia McCormick, accepted the challenge and in November 1888 they arrived at Kalaupapa. They ran the Bishop Home, and until 1895 they managed the Home for Boys at Kalawao, founded by Father Damien for boys and young men.
The workload was extremely heavy in that Bishop Home alone provided shelter for 103 girls in 1893. There were times when the burden seemed overwhelming. In a moment of despair, Sister Leopoldina reflected, “How long Oh Lord must I see only those that are sick and covered with leprosy?”
Mother Marianne’s example—her never-failing optimism, her serenity, her caring nature, and her considerable abilities—gave strength to the other sisters. Together, through devotion and self-sacrifice, the Sisters of St. Francis rendered a remarkable service to humanity in the islands of Hawai`i.
Mother Marianne never returned to Syracuse. She spent the remainder of her life at Kalaupapa. She died in 1918 at the age of 80 and is buried on the grounds of Bishop Home.
http://www.nps.gov/kala/docs/marianne.htm
Originally posted by stockenActually, Clarence Jordan was a Baptist pastor.
People like Will Campbell are the source of good in the world. They think for themselves and use their insight to help others. You don't have to believe in a God to do that, but it's hard to deny that in Wills case his beliefs had everything to do with his actions.
I enjoy this thread, because you're describing personalities. It doesn't matter what t ...[text shortened]... ble to survive and thrive in). (Wait a sec... didn't that just happen a few years back?.. hmmm)
Have you ever heard someone say "he just needs to go out in the woods and find himself"? My next addition did just that. He may be the least recognizable of the people in this forum, but I believe ultimately he will have one of the most profound impacts on our culture, especially for men.
Bill Kauth, a social worker by training, went with several of his buddies into the woods and emerged with a vision to help what he saw was a crisis in manhood and masculinity. The women's movement had been well established, but what about men? He came to see that men did a lot of suffering in silence. Indeed, they were victims of culture in addition to being perpetraters of the less disirable parts of culture. Look at TV today and you will see commercials that pleasantly denegrate men, but they are OK as there is a woman who is powerful or has the last laugh. So today we have men caught between the perception of being tyrannical abusers of women and the environment or being feminized to the point of being soft and out of touch with true masculinity.
Kauth developed a program to address the wounds of men. Interestingly enough, many feminist simply said it was a bunch of men learning how to scream in the woods. But it was much more than this. It was a program in which men could be challenged and supported by other men. It was non-sectarian and men with a variety of issues from vocational calling, addictions, gender identity, and abuse (victims and perpetrators) could come and have an intensive experience and return home with a different view of themselves and their reality. This was called a "New Warrior Weekend." Today it is called the "Mankind Project."
An interesting thing that happened is that the women in these men's lives were so moved by the profound changes they saw that they wondered if they could engage in this experience. Yes and no. After some experimenting with this they realized that women's reality was somewaht different than a man's so they needed a different "way to get there." What resulted was a sister program called "The Woman Within."
Bill Kauth you may not have heard of, but I would guess that many of you have heard of the poet and writer Robert Bly. He has become one of champions in calling men to a new understanding of masculinity.
A side note. I personally participated in a New Warrior Weekend many years ago. As a minister, it gave me a new vision of what conversion is about. As one leader in this program said, "most of the wars men fight today are not with guns but rather on their insides."
Kauth's vision is now a worldwide program with active chapters in the UK and Europe, and even South Africa.
For more information go to www.mkp.org.