Clementines and Catholic Church: Taking Initiative

Hi You,

These last few weeks have been really incredible. Not easy, but incredible. I've learned a lot about what it is to take initiative when it comes to life. I've also learned a bit about the amount of work it takes to articulate and configure one's dreams into a possibility and then reality. For my project the week after Cornerstone, I decided that I would go to the area in downtown near The Bridge and The Stewpot to deliver some food and chat with the people congregating there. I initially thought I'd go order a few pizzas or call ahead to McDonald's and buy come crazy amount of hamburgers. Then I thought about what I was doing and what I was trying to accomplish with this. I wanted them to feel refreshed and at rest, if only for a minute. I wanted them to eat something good for them; I wanted the whole experience to be pleasing to their mouths, ears, and souls. So I stopped at Whole Foods and bought bundles upon bundles of Clementine oranges. My thought process was that they needed something fresh (the best thing I ate the whole weekend in Austin was half of a banana), the fresh food needed to not spoil or bruise easily, and it needed to be relatively easy to eat without any kind of utensils. Thus, Clementines.

When I stopped at the corner, the group looked at me suspiciously while I approached them. As I got closer, a couple of them recognized me, hugged me, introduced me to their friends, and then went to help unload the oranges. It was really, really enjoyable. Too much so to take pictures. I'm sorry I don't have documentation of the whole thing, but honestly it was too intimate for a camera. I was as welcome to join them in conversation and community as they were welcome to the food I brought. I hadn't expected so much. I anticipated more awkwardness than what occurred, but it was such a pleasant surprise to have been wrong in my assumptions.

I really can't imagine not having nights like that one in my life.

The next week was Thanksgiving- the one time of the year when kitchens don't really need all that much help because companies and families have booked them weeks sometimes even months in advance. So when my grandmother asked me to assist with Thanksgiving Mass at her Catholic church in Kansas City, I gratefully accepted the invitation. I must premise this with the fact that I'm not Catholic, and while I find it beautiful, I don't know as much about it as I should. I helped with a small amount of set-up and then agreed to read a couple of passages during the service. Mistake number one. I decided to sit on the front row so that I could reach the stage in an orderly and unobtrusive manner. That would be mistake number two. My poor seating choice left me plummeting to the kneeling board on a few occasions as I realized upon turning around that I was the only one standing in the entire room. During the walk-through of my role, I realized I had unknowingly agreed to participate in the first readings of the service. Whoopsie number three. Whenever I was given the nod from my grandma, I walked up to the podium on the left of the stage. In heels. Number four. I began reading and was fine. I'm typically quite comfortable in front of large groups, even when I have no idea what I'm doing. Then I got to the part where I asked the audience to respond. Everyone stood. Uh-oh. What's happening? I just read on. Five. I got a third of the way through the Psalm... To what are they supposed to be responding? My brief pause gave the congregation enough time to mumble out some confused resemblance of the responsive portion. Shouldn't have paused, should have just kept going. Number six. I burst into laughter. Thinking then to myself how uncanny it is that I am terribly good at making a mess of things. Laughing would make big fat holy number seven; no one else thought it was funny. I continued on, let them respond accordingly and then walked off the stage as if nothing had happened. After the service, everyone was so kind and told me how well I did and they were so glad I came to help and I would get it perfect next time. I accepted their kindness and apologized profusely for laughing during Jesus time, they laughed with me then and continued to be so kind and forgiving.

At least I ended on the best number possible, right? I think maybe they were counting and recognized it too. My heart was fitting for the deed, just not so much my knowledge and understanding of what exactly it was I was supposed to be doing. Either way, it was a terrific way to spend Thanksgiving morning.

It was another wonderful and laughable experience. I love how it's just so human of us to want to do something good and look like a fool for the attempt. I hope soon that you risk something to do good. I hope you take risks, even if the only thing you're betting against is your pride. It's worth it; other people are worth it. I hope you take the risk to find out for yourself.

Alyshia