Our new friend

Meet Rocky. As in the Rocky Mountains, taking his name from their often white-capped peaks and summer blue lakes.

Budgies have had homes in my life for all but fifteen (or so) of my human years. I debated whether another one would be a good idea for quite some time, as they can live long lives, and love attention that I might not always be able to give.

But with the anniversary of Shadow dog's death early next month, and so much of concern happening in my world, I decided to welcome some liveliness into our home, especially since, due to many different factors, now is not the time to find another pup.

Today marks one month since Rocky joined our household, and he's slowly getting used to us noisy humans thumping around the kitchen/dining area and trying to teach him to talk. Because his wings were clipped to facilitate training, he ends up on the floor when he tries to fly, and often runs for cover under couch or coffee table. I expect that will change when his wing feathers grow back in and his confidence returns.

For now, the highlights of Rocky's day include a trip to the kitchen window to watch the sparrows at the bird feeder, short conversations (him just listening) while sitting on my finger or shoulder, and the odd millet treat. He also loves the sound of running water when we wash dishes, and certain pieces of music sometimes get him going.

There are many "budgie updates" (click here for one of my favourites) already among my moodlings from feathered friends in the past, which make me laugh as I remember those little birds. This is my way of giving readers fair warning that there may be a few more budgie updates, as I suspect Rocky's current sedateness will change over time, and he'll become a happy and clownish companion who brings us much joy.

Just as the others did!

Sunday Reflection: Mountaintop hospitality

Fences to keep out the homeless...

Today's reflection is brought to you by 

Mark 9:5.

I've always liked Simon Peter. So many of his responses to the wonder of walking and working with Jesus make sense to me.

Today's Gospel reading (Mark 9: 2-10) is another case in point. Jesus, Peter, James, and John have climbed a mountain where Jesus is shown in dazzling white glory, and they are joined, quite miraculously, by Moses and Elijah. 

I can see Peter, standing in total awe of the moment, mouth open in amazement, thinking, "Wow! This is incredible! And so beautifully unexpected!" So his offer of hospitality for the three holy men he is with makes absolute sense in terms of resting in the moment and enjoying each others' company. Not to mention how he would have loved a chance to kibbitz with the holy men of old. How cool would that be?

But most of the sermons I've heard on this reading have been somewhat unkind to Peter. They don't give him any credit for his willingness to truck back down the mountain and bring back tents for Elijah, Moses, and his Rabbi, not to mention the other trappings required for hospitality -- food, water, wine, and bedding for the night. Peter was willing to go the extra mile for a heavenly camp out.

My own city isn't so hospitable. People living in poverty in downtown Edmonton have been pushed elsewhere, fences have been erected all over the inner-city to prevent camps from reappearing, and our police chief and provincial politicians are congratulating themselves that they no longer have daily reminders of the struggling poor who have no place to live. The officials have done their utmost to soothe their own consciences without lifting a finger to put permanent roofs over anyone's heads.

The provincial government is patting itself on the back for serving 300 people so far at the "reception centre" it opened a month ago for people who have been displaced. That's maybe 10 people per day who have moved into temporary shelters, when we know that there are probably 1500 more people than shelter mats available. Besides, downtown social service agencies were already doing the same work more effectively when they knew exactly where to find the folks in the camps who needed their help. Now it's much harder with folks spread throughout the city.

... and more fences...

What's really terrible is that sheriffs and clean up crews are still working daily to disrupt the lives of those who prefer to live outdoors among friends they trust than in overnight shelters where they are surrounded by strangers who might steal their few possessions. Clearly, shelter mats are not the solution to homelessness. Permanent, supportive, and affordable housing is the only answer (and costs less than the daily wages of so many ruthless sheriffs and cleanup crews!)

So today, I'm inviting St. Peter to pray with me, and you can too, if you like:

Creator,

thank you for this life you have given me.

As Peter said, it is good to be here.

Rabbi Jesus, 

as Peter enthusiastically asked 

to make dwellings for you, Moses, and Elijah,

I ask that you inspire government leaders

to make many dwellings

where people who lack

... and more fences......

the kinds of homes that work for them

may live in safety, warmth, and dignity.

Give your spirit of compassion

to those who are blind 

to all but their own needs,

who try to soothe their consciences

by choosing to hide their faces from

poverty 

in its many forms

rather than heal it.

Inspire those of us who have homes

to do what we can

for those who do not. 

Help us all

to work together to build

beloved community

by ensuring that no one is excluded

and that everyone

is cared for.

Knock down all our fences,

O God.

+Amen

P.S. My friend, Glen, wrote an excellent piece for a national paper this week. You can find it by clicking here.

Monday Music Appreciation #24 -- a small piece of Mozart's Flute and Harp Concerto

I've always been fascinated by the harp. Maybe that's because I can kind of play a 12-string guitar, and can't imagine dealing with forty-seven strings -- and seven pedals besides!

Last week was Education Concert week at the Winspear Centre for music where I work, and over six performances, school teachers and Winspear staff successfully brought nine thousand grade 4-6 students from their field trip buses into the chamber to listen to a show called "Heavenly Mozart," and learn about the instruments of the orchestra. Now that I think about it, it was a pretty amazing feat, logistically speaking! They all came and went without too much trouble (only one child ended up on the wrong bus after a concert, but she was discovered in time!)

Though I sat in the lobby for some of the shows (to direct kids to the washrooms, mostly), if it wasn't too busy, I snuck in for the Flute and Harp Concerto K 299 second movement -- the andantino, which you'll hear below. It is performed by the Croatian Chamber Orchestra (Zagreb), conducted by Igor Tatarević, with Tamara Coha Mandić on flute, and Diana Grubišić Ćiković on harp.

The conversation between the two instruments makes for a really lovely piece of music for a Monday. Enjoy!

Happy Lent!

The Lent Madness Logo

I wished a neighbour a Happy Lent yesterday, and she said, "Lent isn't supposed to be happy!" I replied that if it's a time designed to get us back on track with God, why can't it be happy?

Yeah, I know. I've had my share of dismal Lenten seasons. But with life as tough as it has been lately (for many reasons -- family illnesses, war, climate change, the local unkindnesses to homeless people, and the anti-trans ideology that threatens my kids and their friends), I need to spend my Lent focusing less on sin and misery -- there's enough of that already! -- and work with the good things that bring us all closer to Creator. 

So for the second year in a row, I'm choosing Lent Madness over penitential pessimism. Lent Madness is a completely different take on the March Madness tournament set up by the NCAA in the United States. Instead of pitting college basketball teams against each other in sudden death games, Lent Madness sets up 32 different holy folks in a so-callled "saintly smackdown" that invites readers to vote for one saint every day during Lent. It culminates with the vote on the final Golden Halo recipient.

Sound goofy? It can be a little silly at times (especially when the writers get into the saintly "kitsch" that can be found in online/souvenir stores), but it's also a way to learn about interesting Christians who have shaped our world through their compassion, conviction and faith. I explored a few of last year's contestants and found some really inspiring stories that motivated me to learn more about their faith and love for Christian community. (And don't worry, I was suitably penitential, too.)

Today's first saintly smackdown is between Thomas Cranmer (an English church reformer) and Thomas the Apostle, and it's never too late to get in on the event, though voting is available one day only -- tomorrow we'll have the opportunity to read, learn, and vote about two more holy folk.

I first heard about Lent Madness from Pastor Jim at ICPM, and couldn't help but participate fully last year. It was actually quite a moving experience, learning about saintly people I had never heard of, praying the daily prayers with some of the communion of saints I hadn't yet met, and discovering new holy friends who struggled with being human like we all do.

If you're looking for some saintly inspiration this Lent and want to join me and many other Christians from across North America, visit https://www.lentmadness.org/ and subscribe to the daily emails. 

And have a Happy Lent!

Monday Music Appreciation #23 -- Some cheerful music

Here's a bright and lively piece of music -- the Rondo from Mozart's Horn Concerto No. 4, K95, in a trio arrangement by someone named Joshua Davis. I think the video must have been made in the middle of pandemic restrictions because the Berlin Chamber Music Hall is empty of patrons. I'm so glad that's no longer the case!!

On the weekend, we heard the Edmonton Symphony's Orchestra's Principal Horn, Allene Hackleman, perform the entire 18-minute concerto just beautifully to a happy crowd, but in the video below, you'll see only the four-minute rondo with Sarah Willis on horn, Tamàz Velenczei on trumpet, and Jesper Busk Sorensen on euphonium. 

Musicians are amazing people, wouldn't you agree?

Sunday Reflection: "If you choose, you can make me well"

Today's reflection is brought to you by 

Mark 1:40-42.

A Prayer for Brett

The man 

came to you

with his heart in his eyes,

saying,

"If you choose, you can make me clean."

"I do choose," 

you reply --

over and 

over and 

over.

You choose us

no matter how

messed up 

and complicated

our lives get.

You reach out to us

in the love of those 

around us,

in the beauty of the world

with which you surround us,

in the moments 

that fill us with joy and delight

-- and even

in the painful times when we

reach the bottom

and have nowhere to go

but up.

You choose us.

You are with us.

And you wait for us

to choose you, 

too.

Our messed up, 

complicated,

beautiful,

painful lives

need your help.

Help us to choose

you,

to choose

the good road

starting now.

+Amen

* * * * * * *

Pastor Quinn invited Brett to come in off the street for church this morning at the Community of Emmanuel, our ecumenical community in the inner-city. Brett came in and sat by the door, and we ended up chatting as we waited for the service to start. He told me he wasn't sure why he accepted Quinn's invitation because he hadn't been to church in years, so I assured him that ours was a low-key and no-pressure kind of service, and he told me a bit about his life on the streets. 

Once the service began, I spent most of it helping a fellow with very cold hands, and passing coffee out the door to people waiting outside because it was a full-house kind of day. As the service ended, I checked in with Brett. He was very emotional and talked about how much he wants to get off of drugs, and how afraid he is that they've already damaged him beyond healing. 

Today's reading about Jesus choosing to make the leper well aligns with Brett's story. Just as leprosy divided families in Jesus' day, addiction and anger issues have been a wedge between Brett and his family for the past five years, and he's homesick. Quinn's invitation to pray with our community -- and Brett's acceptance of it -- might be a turning point for him, or it might not. 

That puts this young man whom I barely know near the top of my prayer list for the week ahead. I hope and pray that today's service at Inner City Pastoral Ministry can be the moment that Brett realizes that Christ does want to restore him to his community, as he did the leper. I hope that Brett will call Quinn for a meeting in the days ahead that will bring him healing, reconciliation, and reconnection with his family sooner than he expects. 

If you have any spare prayers for healing and hope, Brett can use them.

It hasn't stopped

Yesterday morning Pastor Quinn and I went downtown to share warm clothes and snacks with inner-city folks waiting to enter the Bissell Centre -- only to find police and clean up crews throwing peoples' tent/tarp homes and possessions into garbage trucks yet again. I can't tell you how disheartened the folks there looked. There are no words. 

The Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness recently put together an excellent brochure debunking myths being thrown around when it comes to encampments, and it is important enough to take up a few pages in Inner City Pastoral Ministry's February newsletter. 

If you have questions or concerns about encampments and their demolition, please click here to read "Busting the Myths about Campsites" on pages 4 and 5 of the February 2024 issue of Straight from the Street. And if you want to join the crew from ICPM at our Annual General Meeting, there's an invitation in there, too. Would be lovely to see more friends there!

Monday Music Appreciation # 22 -- Joni

It happened again, and this time I'm not sure why this Monday moodling didn't go through. I was quite sure I'd hit the publish button. No matter -- here it is, on a Tuesday instead. -- M.K.

She's an amazing woman, really, this Joni Mitchell. A girl born in Fort Macleod AB, who grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and who has an impressive musical life in folk, pop and jazz worlds. On Friday night, patrons at the Winspear were treated to an evening of her music played by the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra and sung by Sarah Slean, who gave an amazing performance. And I discovered that I know every word of Both Sides Now. How or why that is the case, I'm not sure. I do know that our family sing song book has the lyrics in it.

Last night, Joni received another Grammy Award for the recording of this performance (her first after recovering from a brain aneurysm) with another of my favourites, Brandi Carlile. Enjoy!

The myth of "other"

Yesterday, the premier of my province announced draconian anti-trans legislation in what seems like an effort to win further accolades from her supporters.

At a point in my past, I would have been cheering her on for protecting so-called parental rights. But I've since learned that some parents are so stuck in traditional male/female dichotomies that they don't realize they are endangering their own children -- who know themselves to be different. Not all children fit into those two boxes, nor should they have to.

As a parent of a trans person, I've been crossing the bumpy waters of trying to help my child come to self-acceptance and joy in who they are. It hasn't been easy -- in fact, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. But I know that my child was able to try new pronouns and explore who they were in the safety and acceptance of their school, and that eventually, they shared their discovery of their trans-ness with my husband and me. 

Our youth shelters are filled with kids whose parents prefer to disown them rather than try to understand who they are.

What really scares me is that the premier's declaration yesterday puts in danger my child, other trans kids and adults, and all people who offer life-saving and scientifically-based supports for trans people because they understand that there are more than two genders.

Just like the anti-encampment folks in our city have pushed our homeless people further and further into the woods, where necessary and life-saving help is hard to come by.

Divisive rhetoric like we heard from the premier yesterday, like we've heard from the anti-encampment police chief for weeks, hurts our society by dividing us instead of equipping us to work together for the common good. In refusing to accept differences among our community members, we are turning ourselves into harsh and judgmental human beings who disrespect lifestyles different than our own.

The problem is that it's too easy to jump on the bandwagon of a self-righteousness that leads to hatred. It's much harder to stand up for the marginalized (my body tells me that -- I am shaking as I write this moodling). But mystics and wisdom teachers across the centuries know that our allegiance lies with every human being, no matter how different their journey is from ours. 

So, somehow, my allegiance must be with people who disagree with me, and with people who agree with me. Dialogue leading to understanding and education is critically important, but holding the tension of differences is extremely difficult.

All that I know for certain is that it's never been "us" vs. "them." It's only us, in an interconnected web of life. And we need to get back to walking many miles in each others' shoes, which the Premier and her supporters clearly forget how to do. Only love and acceptance will win the day and better our world.

I've shed many tears this morning for both sides of these divides -- for the people who refuse to understand, and the people who know they have to stand up for who they are against so much opposition. The poem below is what landed in my journal. I think it fits the many situations where we are tempted to "other" each other, rather than ask the deeper questions that help us to understand each other:

I've come far enough 
in my life 
to understand 
that there is no "other" -- 
there is only us.

To judge others
because they are different from me
is really a judgment on myself.

To withhold the rights of others 

-- because we cannot accept 

who they are --
is to impoverish everyone.

The differences between us
enrich us as human beings.

Were we all the same,
would there be laughter and delight
at the surprises we bestow on each other?

Would there be music
with harmonies?

Would there be sumptuous feasts
that fill all our senses?

There is beauty and safety
in seeing that "other" 
is truly gift
to us all.

There is joy and belonging

in knowing that our differences
make us
us.