frontier

I have a strong and abiding belief, I guess because I am grounded in the richness of history and the wealth of knowledge and wisdom to be drawn from the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, that life is best lived, as one spiritual mother said to me, through an appreciation of what is ever ancient and yet, can become ever new.

What that means is that we must always be cognizant of where we came from, of our history, both good and bad, moving into the future with that knowledge, with lessons learned, and with the hope that in some way we will add our unique story to something that is new and life-giving to others both now and in the future.

The News School at St. Agatha is an important component of our parish community’s desire to address the challenges facing the families and individuals in the community of North Lawndale in ways that reject our current culture’s propensity to simply bandage problems. This requires an authentic look at our history, why we are where we are today economically, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

It requires an authentic dialogue with longtime residents, with old and young people, to assess not only the challenges, but to recognize and celebrate the ways families have stayed together, neighbors continue to support each other, and various groups work to meet the immediate needs and work to empower community members to healthier self-sufficiency.

I have been blessed to minister and be ministered to by many in this community. As a white pastor gifted with the privilege of shepherding a faith community in the Black community for 15 years and counting, I continue to be blessed by the stories, the passion, the resilience, the creativity, the faith, the music, and art of the Black community.

In experiencing this gift, it has caused me to want to convey this to my white brothers and sisters who often see only the shadow side of the community and fail to recognize the incredible gift to be gained by getting to know those who are all too easily lumped together as another ‘them’ to be disregarded or feared in our society.

If there is are new frontiers to explore – and there always are – I believe that our ‘final’ frontier is found in the building and deepening of authentic dialogue and relationships across every ethnic, racial, gender, faith, and economic group – no easy task! Yet, it is an ancient strategy for building community… gathering around the campfire, sharing a meal, and telling stories.

We must create ways, create sacred spaces if you will, where people from all walks of life, transcending every societal ‘ism,’ can come together as pilgrims on the journey, enriching each other with their stories, with their wisdom, with their hopes and dreams, and with their pains and struggles.

frontierA word we often use is accompaniment or companionship, the roots of which mean ‘to break bread together.’ It is in the sharing of physical, emotional, and spiritual sustenance that we are fed by each other, enriched by each other, challenged, and energized by each other.

The best way to do that is one-on-one, face-to-face, or in a group like a talking circle. Zoom has been a great way to connect, but it cannot and should not become a substitute for the necessary physical, emotional and spiritual connect that we all need simply because that is the way we are built: for relationship!

One image that I love is in regard to the expansion of space and time that our universe is not just expanding and stretching but that as it does so, space and time emerge/is created from what some cosmologists call ‘the all-nourishing abyss.’ In the Black community, I have been taught that God ‘makes a way out of no way.’ I think they are the same thing. The nature of us human beings and the nature of the universe of which we are a part is to be procreative, i.e., life-giving.

Thus I believe the ‘Final Frontier’ that will determine the survival of the human family must have as its foundation the setting aside of all of the distractions to meaningful human contact and relationship, making each other the priority and collectively lifting each other up to dismantle all of those things that have separated us from each other.

If we are going to survive, true compassion and companionship on the journey to a renewed humanity and restored earth must become our passion.

Written by Fr. Larry Dowling, Pastor, St. Agatha Catholic Church

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Pete Fussle’s Flickr Page  – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Lorianne DiSabato’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License

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