Summer Reflections...

Mathias on the windmill

Our mini-hayride

This past summer, Henri, a member of the Tau House community, spent some time with me up in Ohio. He offers his reflections below.

The great thing about vacations is that they give memories meant to last. Since it still feels like summer in New Orleans, I think it's still OK that I offer a blog here about mine.

Being from New Orleans I have already done: hurrications with Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike. Also staycations (they’re cheap and I really like my own bed a lot!). But this time I did it all differently and I actually did a vacation.

Billy Edwards invited me up to his family's place called Crystal BrookFarm, near Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It’s some 40 "motorist" minutes outside of Cleveland. I've

never been to Ohio. He invited me and is a gracious host. I needed to just see someplace new, to change my mind and the scenery. It's been a year since the house is repaired and we are back in it. So with those and so many other good reasons, I took the plane up to Ohio.

Is it cloying to say this was all a miracle for me? A different way of seeing my world? The day before I left, I went to visit a friend I met years ago on a Handicap Encounter Christ retreat. The miracle began when it turned out by accident and coincidence that of all the days I chose to see Mike again after 5 years, it was his birthday. I brought him a nice journaling book so my gift was a birthday gift and this was the first time that he, his mom and I all found ourselves in the same place. After she left, he treated me to dinner where we both didn't eat the liver.

I hadn't flown since ’02. and didn't feel like going through the TSA screening, but I was able to bring some of the blueberries for snacking that I had picked and also tea bags of my preference so it wasn't bad.

I landed at Akron/Canton airport some 5 hours later after changing planes in Atlanta. Billy picked me up. There at the farm waited Mathias Verheyen and his sisters Desiree and Sophie who had arrived the day before. All of us at Tau had met Mathias this past Mardi Gras. (Cf. blog entry below “Southern Hospitality”.) Here he was again, this time with his sisters, making a month long tour of the Midwest and Metropolitan corridors. This was a treat for them especially since Mathias had completed his soup kitchen work, Desiree had just graduated from university and Sophie had found a job in her field of counseling. It was also a treat for me to see Mathias again and to be here at Billy's family's farm after all these years knowing him only in New Orleans because of Tau House. I was here for all these good reasons and not out of the drama of the crisis of fleeing for one's own life.

So it was fun to so many different degrees: encouraging Sophie in her English as she encouraged me in my German; going to Chagrin Falls and checking out the waterfalls; shopping at an Amish farm road side stand for some fresh produce for the traditional German meal they would cook for us. Just looking out over lake Erie for the first time and just doing it though we were tired and couldn't decide what else to do. Walking through Cleveland on a beautiful sunny day (without New Orleans' humidity!) with Mathias thinking we could make the long trek on foot from Tower City down to the Museum of Art then but then deciding to take the bus instead. Meeting Billy's parents. Having the calm and silence at the farm interrupted twice by honking Canada Geese arriving to rest on the pond then also departing for their next leg of their journey. Taking a hayride and witnessing the chutzpah of youth as Mathias climbed up a windmill. Just being able to gaze out on a field, a pond and woods, noticing different butterflies and flowering plants that are indigenous to this part of North America. Picking flowers out the field - of which Queen Anne's Lace I had never seen before - for the place setting for the traditional meal of Kartoffelsalat mit Frikadel that Mathias, Desiree and Sophie prepared. And just enjoying this final meal with them on Saturday evening. They would leave early Sunday morning by Greyhound bus for NYC. Waiting with them at the station I was remembering how it was for me when I was that age and traveled around Europe with friends after we had completed our studies abroad...

The Falls at Chagrin Falls, Ohio

I was on my way to Columbus to see a friend who couldn't return to New Orleans because of Katrina and her health. The next miracle for me was that I accepted the complicated circumstances of what I would go through to get to see her, if only for just a couple of hours. I let go of what would be comfortable or the ideal situation for me and in the end I figured it out. I said good-bye to Mathias, Desiree and Sophie at 2:30 a.m. and then waited for my bus to leave at 4:30 a.m.

Henri André Fourroux III

With Billy's Family

Making Hay

Most of the regulars at Tau House know that I'm up in Ohio being a farmer and landscaper for my regular 5 month stint. We've just finished getting in our first cutting of hay and I thought I'd share a few photos. Haymaking is prayer for me. Instead of beads on a rosary I have row after row of hay to deal with. With each row I call to mind a different person.

So here's the process... The machine below is called a haybine. It cuts the grass at its base. It only cuts it once (not like a lawnmower). It then pushes the hay through those big black rollers where it is crushed and bent so that it will dry more easily. It then spits it out the back.

On the 2nd day of the process the hay is "tedded". This machine spins around and turns the hay over so that what is still wet is exposed to the sun for a day or so.

On the 3rd day, the hay is raked back into rows and then the baler picks it up, compresses it, cuts it into rectangles, and spits it out the back. Our baler has a "kicker" on the back which throws the bales into the wagon that is attached behind the baler.

In the video below you'll see my faithful coworkers who accompany me in the tractor. They make sure the wheels keep going around!

Video

Blessings

One of the Tau traditions is offering blessing to anyone in our community who is undergoing a significant illness, making a big change in life, marking an anniversary or some other important milestone.  At the end of the liturgy we gather in a circle around the person or persons, extend our hands toward them, and sing the Old Testament blessing - 

May God bless and keep you. 

May God's face shine on you. 

May God be kind to you and give you peace.

Yesterday we marked Kevin and Chris' marriage anniversary with such a blessing and I was lucky enough to catch some of it in the short video below.  For you readers far from us, I hope it jogs a good memory for you.

A Look at Easter & Holy Week

I’m not going to post a lot of words about our Holy Week prayer but rather will let the pictures speak for themselves.   Thanks to all for doing their part in bringing it all together.  Especially to Henri for his leading voice.   The place was thick with prayer. 

A word about the Easter Candle.  It was a labor of love.  The closet in the chapel was full of remnants of old candles from many years of Easters at Tau House.   Witnesses to many hours of prayer and people who have graced Tau at one time or another.  As I was breaking them up and melting them, a single honey bee appeared out of nowhere as if to reclaim its wax or just to taste some of its sweetness.  It ended up in the candle along with all those prayers and hopes.  Turned into the real light  of Christ.

I learned how to upload a video so there's a few seconds of Ralph at the blessing of the new fire. Just click on the "play" button. 

 

Also from Quincy

Eric, another student from Quincy, wrote the following about his time in New Orleans:

We as Catholics and as good people of this earth are called to serve and to help one another. What better way to do this than to partake in a mission trip to New Orleans, Louisiana and serve those whose lives have been ruined by Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to the generous donations from friends of Brother Ed, a few of us from Quincy University were able to do just that. With no costs keeping us from serving, we were able to help in what little ways we could. As with most mission trips, we were able to help with gardening, cleaning of windows, and other tasks that are hard for others to accomplish. However, we were serving in more than one way. We were able to serve not only the ministry of labor but also the ministry of presence. On this trip in particular, we spent time hearing the stories from the residents of Lazarus House, a home for those suffering from HIV. Many were delighted to share their stories with us and to make connections with us. One man, an immigrant from Cuba, felt so comfortable with us that he decided to play matchmaker with a few of us and some girls that were working on a different mission trip. Getting to know the residents was, for me, the most important part. That is where the real relationships are developed. I learned so much and will be forever changed. Thanks to Brother Ed and those who help to support his cause, New Orleans is no longer just a city on a map, but a city with great culture and a city made up of actual faces. I hope that in our efforts, we can help to be a face for them from elsewhere in the country showing that they are cared for. Thanks so much!

 

Eric Steitz

From Fr. Bob

This note from Bob Pawell was hidden away in one of the comments...

Friends I want you to know that I shall be visiting New Orleans from March 20- 27th. I hope to see you at that time.

Fr. Bob

The Quincy Connection

I just received a note from Bro. Ed. Two of the guys who came down with him from Quincy wrote short reflections on their experience in New Orleans. They are a reminder that part of the Tau House tradition is that we are a place that allows for growth.

My New Orleans experience was great. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time off from school and work but to do service. This trip was a retreat and a service project because it was filled with helping others and self-reflection. When I wasn’t doing direct service, I was learning things about life and myself as we would spend time just talking with people and listening to their stories. This took me by surprise as I originally thought the trip would be service followed by recreation. Little did I know that the trip constantly offers something to be learned granted that one is open enough to let it do so. I found out that this whole experience is something well worth having because it taught me to truly listen to people and it opened my eyes to things bigger than myself even more.

Mike Varrone

Going to New Orleans with Brother Ed is a life changing experience. It does not matter how many times you go down, you will always learn something new. I always go down with the intention of learning something and becoming a better person. It is tough for a person to change but I would have to say that this trip makes it easy. When I return I always feel like a better person and that is because of the people I meet in NO. The feeling can last anywhere from a brief second to many months. It does not matter how long it lasts, because even with the shortest amount of time you can say the trip was a success. This is all due to Bro Ed. Without him many people would not be who they are today. He changes people for the better. He is unbelievable. He truly is my hero.

Brian Silverstein