Susie, CRC
Susie is resident at the Motherhouse, where she is the Retreat Coordinator and chief Housekeeper and Chef. She coordinates the Literacy Program at St. Alban's, and plans and coordinates the Motherhouse's recycling and composting projects, as well as serving as chief chicken-keeper, all of which she does with virtually limitless cheerfulness. She is married to Ernst, and is a mother and grandmother.
Susie writes, "I used to think my mission in life was to work for justice for the poor and oppressed. I tried to do that by feeding the hungry and homeless who came to the doors of the church, assisting in giving the church's money to worthy groups and organizations, and voicing opposition to bad "welfare reform" legislation. Of course, I maintained my comfy middle class lifestyle while doing these works.
"Then I jumped, blindfold, off a cliff and into God's waiting arms. Looking back over these years of residential living at the Motherhouse I see some remarkable transformations taking place, while still struggling at times to free myself of those arms that hold me up. "I can hold myself up, thank you very much!" Fool that I am!
"What I've come to see clearly is that I am really and truly feeding the hungry. Our guests are all looking for something. They are hungry for quiet, peace, simplicity, love, and above all, God. What they find here is a warm, loving, welcoming, uncomplicated place, a safe harbor from all the traffic congestion of their everyday lives. Some people return and say they feel like they're back 'home.'
"I used to think I had to be 'out there' doing works, but now I see that living here, providing hospitality, is the most radical thing I've ever done... I love being the cook/housekeeper/fixit woman... I have to remind myself that I have jumped off that cliff into a life that demands no turning back, but always maintaining our rule and the service of God in a radical way. And so I feed the hungry, the poor, the oppressed, the homeless. They are Hungry for God; Poor in spirit or direction; Oppressed by wealth, possessions, position, or inability to decide; Homeless because of not knowing where they really belong.
"All of us together are learning what it is to live at right angles to the church and the world by simply being who we are, where we are, and doing what we do best, which is prayer and hospitality. I never understood how powerful those two things can be. What a blessing it is to have been given the grace to jump off the cliff!"
 |
 |
||