Connections and What Did I Miss?

Connections

Sister Glenda Bourgeois, OSU

Think about it.  Life is all about connections, isn’t it? Our needs, our loves, our stories, our inspirations connect us with others.

As I awaited donations on Saturday morning my mind turned to the activity that take place at the side door of Clare House. I see it as a place of remarkable connections. It is at that door that we take in donations and through which those donations are handed out making all the difference in the lives of those who queue up twice a week every week of the year.  In a real sense the side door at Clare House is a really sacred place, a place of such compassionate connection. It is a place where connections are life lines. It is a place where need connects with grace, where hope connects with nourishment, where brother connects with sister in our human family and where both connect with the tender mercies of our God whose love embraces us all.

Our twenty-first century is one in which good and evil, life and death, those who have enough and more than enough and those who are deprived live in close proximity no matter how far apart. Clare House gives us the opportunity to connect and make our world a better place. And it is such a gift to see it happening at the side door week after week. 

What Did I Miss?

Stew Salowitz

There are several definitions of the word “miss” – one is “to fail to attend” and another is “to feel the lack or loss of.” Hopefully you’ll figure out which one is accurate in these next few sentences.

I missed working last week at the soup kitchen, out of town at a convention for work. I’m sure everyone got along fine without me, but I missed being there.

I missed Elmer carrying and cleaning the trays. I missed Paul, sitting in the corner reading a thick book, and the tall, electronic musician, Abraham, coming back for another bowl of soup. I missed exchanging words with Brian and Andy and the twins.

I’d mention the co-workers I missed, but would get in trouble if I left anyone out - I’ve only been “working” at the Soup Kitchen one day a week for about two years, but in that relatively short time I’ve made wonderful connections with those people, dedicated and caring and working with a sense of humor and humility.

The soup kitchen has become part of my routine and I missed it when I missed it. (Oh, I missed my cookies, too.)

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me…” – Matthew 25:35