September 2020

This month we welcomed Joy Perkett as a Candidate for Covenant Companionship. What Joy for all of us! (I didn’t even try to resist that!) The Board of Directors of CMA met and continues formation as we incorporate four new members. All of us are participating in engaging and sometimes challenging conversations about shared leadership and building community among the different threads of the Companions. Companion life is full! And…

See some of what Dario is up to in September’s newsletter reflection:

Dear Friends,

The words of the psalmist have been in my mind and in my heart a lot recently: “You love righteousness and justice; your loving-kindness fills the whole earth.” (Psalm 33). In times where loving-kindness is often portrayed as weakness and the justice system has resulted in a caste system with disenfranchised individuals at the bottom, what are we to make of these words?

I have the privilege of serving on the “Balancing the Scales of Justice” Task Force in Nebraska, whose mission is to be a prophetic witness to criminal justice reform, including the abolition of the death penalty in the State. The Task Force is led by Kaitlin Reece, a long term Covenant Group member and a dear friend of mine. The Task Force began its work last fall with prayer, with a day long vigil in the town where death row is. Through the work of the Task Force, I’ve had the opportunity to educate myself about mass incarceration in this country and the profound racial disparities that plague our justice system.

I won’t deny that it’s been very painful to learn more about these issues. I have been grieving over the state of our democracy for quite some time, and working on this Task Force has opened my eyes to even more injustices. However, there are also reasons to be hopeful. Seeing people all over the Diocese being genuinely interested in educating themselves, raising awareness, and taking action has been truly heart warming.

The Task Force’s next steps will focus on the restoration of voting rights for Nebraskans who have completed a felony sentence, and we will begin with a training workshop on public advocacy related to this issue in November. 

As Companions of Mary the Apostle, we are called to announce the good news of new life. However, as Mary did, we often have to get to the tomb first, to become aware and to raise awareness of the loss we experience, and to give ourselves permission to grieve.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Blessings,

Dario, for the Companions

Diane continues work on an icon of Sofia, and is getting ready to celebrate Cristosal's 20th anniversary on October 8th.

Elizabeth has returned to more active ministry and community life from her “Staybatical,” has resumed spiritual direction on Zoom;  is attending to communications a bit more; and enrolling new members in our Covenant Group.

Ernesto continues his creative, lively ministry as a Lutheran pastor in Beatrice, Nebraska. 

Joy is auditing a class that Joe Davis is co-teaching with David Sherer: The Next Faithful Move for Church Leaders: Tools for Talking about Race and Faith.

Lauren reports that things are (blessedly) quiet in Queens, NY.

Shane is on sabbatical, but not visiting her brother in Chicago. It's a long COVID story. She has also joined a writing group, is writing up a storm, and beginning to share on her blog. She just completed an Enneagram Workshop on Zoom, and is enjoying reading, and taking lots of walks.

Shelby has begun seeing patients and really dived into her chaplaincy residency in St. Paul, MN.