Christmas in the Bay...

Hanging out with my nephew. It took him a day to warm up to me but now we're good.

Opening the hand painted nativity set from auntie Carrie:

Only took Levi a few seconds to figure out that the characters where good for throwing so it got put away again pretty quickly.

Andrew and Pearl, sporting their new hats.

Levi opening his combined birthday/Christmas gift from auntie Alicia and auntie Carrie.

Trying to get the Little People's Farm out of the massive bag.

Dad built all the girls, including Carrie, cedar chests with maple trim. The maple wood came from a tree from their yard. Dad had them stored at the church so here we're bringing them home.

As soon as Levi saw the chests he crawled right in.

Christmas dinner at our place with grandma.

Mom, opening her gift from Niki.

While the girls got chests, the guys got catapults. They'll get their larger wooden gifts next year.

Andrew had my name for our Christmas gift exchange this year. He was so thoughtful in getting me the 1121 page memoir of "Brian Mulroney"! Inside was tucked a card with a poem that he wrote especially for me:

Your gift can freeze.
Your gift can die.
So bringing it home for Christmas I didn't even try
I heard bamboo can grow a foot a week.
But here is a picture, so you can have a peek.
You'll get your gift soon
Then maybe you can put it in your room.
By spring you could have a bush.
I hope taking care of it isn't a pain in the tush.

The final chapter...

Final commitments have been met. Our stuff has been packed. Goodbyes have been said. And as I write this we are half-way to Manitoba. Today and tomorrow Carrie and I find ourselves in that odd in-between place, with the only keys we hold being those of our car and our stuff for living packed into boxes in a U-haul.

On Friday Pathways Retreat sent me off with a special time of blessing, and one surprise after another! Yesterday our church gave us "mugs (of blessings) and hugs," which is a sending and blessing ritual that is part of their faith marker ministry. And then yesterday afternoon Carrie and I hosted our "Closing House" Open House. We had over 40 friends come through our apartment to say goodbye, and many hands made light work of loading our trailer. I have been grateful for many opportunities for good closure with this move and feel as though I've been able to gather up a lot of strength to face the unknown with so many prayers of blessing.

Carrie's parents came out this weekend to help us wrap things up and pull the trailer back to MB. All our fears about moving in December have been put to rest - we finished packing in the last of our things this morning in a balmy +11C. It felt like spring outside, which seemed congruent with new beginnings. I know that winter's reality will probably hit us soon enough.

Pulling out...

As we were turning in our keys at the front desk the registrar surprised me by presenting me with my diploma. It's official! I received my M.Div. not 5 minutes before leaving campus for the last time.

I thought for sure that I'd have to wait until January to receive this in the mail. What a perfect way to end my time at AMBS!

It's been a big day, but I am feeling surprisingly at peace in the midst of this transition. The fact that this transition has been taking place through Advent - a period of expectant waiting - has been significant for me. Mary's willingness to trust and say "Yes" has been a model. There are many unknowns about what life in Manitoba will hold for us, but I think our pastor's prayer yesterday that we trust God is preparing the way says it all. My mantra over the past months as I have been discerning vocation and employment has been "If God has called and prepared, God will provide." Another truth that I have been living with is, "What is needed will be provided, and what is provided is what is needed." This past weekend Carrie and I have been reminded of this in a very tangible way as we received many gifts of blessing, including help with moving and some unexpected monetary gifts that added up to our first month's rent in our new home. ...trust.

Now the next time I write we should find ourselves in our homeland.

All I Really Needed to Know...

I wrote a tribute to the maintenance guys here on campus and published it for them in a little photo book. Here's the condensed version:

All I Really Needed to Know at Seminary I Learned in Maintenance

Most of what I really need to to know at seminary
about how to live and what to do and how to be
I learned in maintenance.
Wisdom was not at the top of some
graduate school mountain,
but there in the shop on campus.

These are the things I learned:
Share the golf cart.
Play when the boss isn't looking.
Put things back where you found them (or Jeff won't like it).
Don't hit gas condensers (or anything else) with the scissor lift.
Clean your own mess.

Don't ask for permission; ask for forgiveness.
Don't take things that aren't yours.
Pray (for no leaks) without ceasing.

Say you're sorry when you break down the Steiner
...and the Deere...and the golf cart.
A day on the Steiner is good for the soul.
"Opportunity is often missed because
it's dressed in overalls and looks like work." -Thomas Edison

Wash your hands before you eat.
Meat and potatoes are good for you.

Flush.
Live a balanced life.
Learn some and think some,
and paint and paint and paint
and play and work everyday some.
Take a nap every afternoon (just don't get caught).
When you go out into the world
watch for skunks.
Hold ladders and spot one another.
Always stick to the buddy system.

Be aware of heights and sharp objects.

Written by yours truly; inspired by and borrowed from the original poem by Robert Fulghum.

Done!

My practicum is done! Yesterday I met at the hospital with all four of the supervisors involved in my practicum, which was a really good time of reflecting together, and this morning I finished my final report and sent it off.

Left to right: David (EGH Chaplain), Linda (GPC Associate), me, Daniel (AMBS Professor); missing is Roger (EGH social worker) who had to leave the meeting a bit early. I'm so grateful to these four who all had a huge part in making this rather unique practicum happen.

It's hard to believe that all of my seminary requirements have now been met (Daniel told me yesterday already that I've passed my practicum). Just a few more weeks for paperwork to be processed and I'll officially be adding 4 letters behind my name.

Listening...

Spiritual and pastoral caregiving is, at its core, a ministry of presence and this poem speaks to that simple yet profound truth:

In the depth of silence
no words are needed,
no language required.
In the depth of silence
I am called to listen.

Listen to the beating of your heart.
Listen to the blowing of the wind,
the movement of the Spirit.
Be silent, said the Lord,
and know that I am God.

And listen to the cry of the voiceless.
Listen to the groaning of the hungry.
Listen to the pain of the landless.
Listen to the sigh of the oppressed
and to the laughter of children.

For that is authentic communication;
listening to people
living with people
dying for people.

~an Indonesian author, 1983; in Imaging the Word, vol. 3, p. 123.

Packing up...

2 weeks and approximately 2 days until we close this chapter and head north-west. Carrie and I have spent today and last Saturday packing and we've made a good dent in it. It feels good to know that all those boxes we already have sitting in the basement won't have to be packed the day or two before we move.

I only have two more shifts at the hospital and if yesterday was any indication, things are definitely winding down there. It was a little awkward yesterday to be meeting new referrals and telling them that I'd only be around another week. I have one of my supervisors shadowing me for a day this coming week which should be fun! This fall I have primarily worn my "Counseling Intern" name badge but I had an opportunity to carry the chaplain's pager for 2 weeks recently and put on my old "Chaplain Intern" badge which was a really good experience. The past few weeks have been clarifying for me as I was able to compare these two identities and found, to my surprise, that I'm more of a minister than I thought. I was honoured and humbled to accompany patients who found themselves in liminal space, and re-discovered that I am able to stand in the role of "priest" when called upon to do so. I don't know if I can describe what that's like - perhaps the closest I can get is to say that it is Holy Ground.

In terms of my Pathways internship I am still working at writing their story and have a bit more writing to do in the next two weeks. Hearing the Pathways Retreat story told in a more intentional way has given me incredible insight into how this place came to be and what it takes to offer a ministry such as this. During Advent Pathways is offering quiet mornings on Wednesdays. These times begin and end with prayer but leave about 2.5 hours to simply be in the quiet, which is much needed time for reflection in the midst of this transition.