There are moments when we catch glimpses of a deeper, gracious world. Something most of us don’t see as we stumble along, taking out garbage, paying bills, doing the ordinary but necessary chores that keep everything from falling apart.
Savvy, trash talk comedians and TV talk show hosts build fortunes reminding us of just such fleeting, enlightened awareness. The 20th century theologian Richard Niebuhr actually called such moments the source of all true religious life.
A year ago, in December, before the Great Pandemic, I attended a holiday concert performed by our local community symphony. It took place in a refurbished old performance hall a few blocks walk from our home. A friend called. He had an extra ticket for balcony seating. Diana, my wife, was out of town. I took advantage of the thoughtful invitation.
During the intermission, a retired colleague of mine and I struck up a casual conversation. A few years back, a close friend of mine died after a tough bout with Alzheimer’s disease. It happened his wife, a widow, was there that night, sitting a few rows behind us. Both my colleague and she had grown up in the same small town in Minnesota. I made a passing comment about high school days. I saw a sparkle in his eyes when I mentioned her. He quickly responded, “She was four or five years older. I was in middle school. I think she was a high school senior.”
I thought for a moment. Umm . . . Thirteen years old. A slightly older girl emerging into young adulthood, attractive, poised. I took a chance. Asked if he had ever thought about her in any romantic fashion. I thought I saw a blush. I may have been wrong.
The one-time young girl from Minnesota was there that night along with a neighbor, a woman also recently widowed. I wandered over to briefly greet them both. And playfully suggested they both may have had unknown admirers during their high school days. Their eyes lit up.
Returning to my balcony seat, I was suddenly overwhelmed by recognizing all the attractions and longings experienced through our lives that bring a certain glow to our worlds. Only a miniscule number of such feelings, of course, are ever acted upon. Rightly so. Yet, during the passing years of our lives, I’m thinking we carry them unknowingly, adorned around ourselves like Holiday strings of twinkling lights.
We all have been a gleam in someone’s eyes. Forget about commitments or marriages. Those are other chapters for other stories. There’s only one thing now to remember: No matter who you are, there are those who admired and cherished you. And still do. Most importantly, you will never know them.
A deeper truth may be that these attractions reflect a greater Presence, personal and mysterious, that infuses the very universe itself. That’s probably difficult for many to comprehend. Unless, perhaps, you’ve been lucky enough, or broken enough. Then you’ve heard, as Henri Nouwen says, that distant echo whispering, over and over again, “You are Beloved.”
Winter 2020 Ecotone Newsletter
CONTENTS
- JOURNAL NOTES
- THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION
- REFLECTIONS ON COVID-19
- INSTITUTE SERVICES
- ON THE HORIZON 2021
JOURNAL NOTES
Congratulations to 16-yearold Ian Parkkonen who received a Boy Scout Eagle Award at St. Michael Parish in Marquette on 10/25/20. A member of Troop #302, Ian worked with CTI as part of his Eagle Scout requirement, coordinating volunteers in the planting of 500 cedar trees. Ian and his sister Maija planted the first tree that summer in memory of 94-year-old Lotta Stewart who passed away days before. Ian participated at her committal service in Marquette’s Park Cemetery.
Kudos to Rev. John Rosenberg who continues to be a leading voice in the Pacific Northwest in watershed protection for the Columbia River Basin. On 12/9-10, John served as a key presenter for the 7th Annual Columbia River Conference, “One River, Ethics Matter.”
Scheduled for the Spring 2021 issue of Lake Superior Magazine is an article written by the CTI’s director, “A North Country Gift.” It’s a reflection on spirituality and ecology based on 25 years of making maple syrup at a remote cabin in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Area citizens are organizing to protest a spaceport launch site proposed to be located nine miles north of Marquette Eagle Nest’s Road. For more information contact Dennis Ferraro with Citizens for A Safe and Clean Lake Superior (CSCLS). You can reach Dennis by email contactcscls@gmail.com A special, fundraising, grant matching opportunity is up and running for CSCLS until December 31st.
CTI’s outdoor Tai Chi Wednesday evening sessions continue as a winter gift to the community. Participants age from 4 years old to 80+. A cup of hot tea and lanterns will welcome you. West end of Marquette’s Mattson Park, 5:30 – 6 P.M. No cost or obligation of any kind. Dress warm! Winter is here.
Special prayers for Oregon’s John King, recently ordained into the North America Lutheran Church. John is a former student from Oregon State University, a long-time colleague of the CTI Director. Bring your gifts to your new congregation, John! Speak boldly. Encourage compassion for the poor. Speak for those who have no voice.
A shout of encouragement to Lanni Lantto and her prophetic, important spiritual work with Wild Church, an outreach of the Episcopal and Lutheran (ELCA) communities of the Upper Peninsula. Ref: upwild.org or email: lanni@upwild.org
On the unexpected death of Kathy Davis, we lift up prayers for her husband William (Bill). Kathy was a remarkable advocate, a long-time prophetic voice in the environmental community, and faithful member of the North Country Trail Association. For years she and Bill generously supported countless community projects, concerts, and nonprofit organizations, including CTI. Please pause. Take this moment to offer her a gracious bow.
THE MIND-BODY CONNECTION
Cedar Tree Institute’s Response to the Pandemic
Harvard Medical School recently published a study of seven characteristics that make up the resiliency of Navy Seals, the elite fighting force of the United States Navy. The first is “calmness under pressure.” This relates to how we handle stress, how we self-regulate the fight or flight response, how we make good or poor judgments under pressure.
In the spring of 2020, CTI initiated the following programs in partnership with local health agencies and faith communities. We addressed stress of work and family challenges facing frontline workers.
April- May 2020
Wellspring: Health and Wellness in Crisis Times
Support for 15 clergy and faith leaders from the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan, the Lutheran (ELCA) Northern Great Lakes Synod, The Unitarian Universalist Community, and the Covenant Church.
September 2020:
The Janus Project:
Support and training for 14 hospice staff and volunteers.
November 2020
Project Eagle Wing:
Mind/Body training with 10 medical staff at UPHS’s Bell Memorial Hospital.
November- December 2020
Project Moccasin Flower:
Training for 12 staff and youth residents with Great Lakes Recovery Centers of Northern Michigan.
Thanks to family physician Mike Grossman and community psychiatrist Kelley Mahar for serving as a team with the CTI Director in these efforts.
Support for frontline health workers is scheduled to continue in 2021 thanks to donations from individuals and ongoing support of the M. E. Davenport Foundation, Thrivent, Marquette Community Foundation, and the Superior Health Foundation.
Training programs are currently under deliberation for the early winter of 2021 with staff from the Women’s Center of Marquette and Alger Counties, Marquette County’s Medical Care Facility, and the Leadership Training Program coordinated by Katherine Finegan, Bishop of the Lutheran (ELCA) Northern Great Lakes Synod.
REFLECTIONS ON COVID-19
“A Personal Journey”
By Joseph Piccione, CTI Research Fellow, Theologian and Bioethicist, Peoria, Illinois
COVID can trigger so many things in us. The last ten months it moved, as pandemics will, from an abstraction into a threat all too real.
In late July, my immediate family was infected. We joined fifteen million other persons in our nation. The journey is unique to each of us; COVID doesn’t have a rule book it follows. For many of us, the journey continues after significant recovery.
My Family Context
We are a household of five; my spouse (in her 50s), our two adult (in their early 20s) and one near adult (17) children and myself (late 60s). Due to our unique pattern of illness we were able to spell each other in giving care. It was amazing solidarity and we are so fortunate to have each other. My brother in New York shared his COVID experience and was a tremendous support.
The Experience and Symptoms
Within a few days of the test results symptoms accelerated. Loss of smell and taste were joined by fever, chills and compromised breathing. My wife Nancy opened a bottle of vinegar and pleasantly asked, ‘When did they take the smell from vinegar?’ The lightness of heart helped in the moment.
Given my age and health conditions, I was part of an internet based COVID monitoring care program for several weeks. Three times a day my oxygen saturation, temperature and blood pressure were transmitted to the center. My nurse coach spoke with me almost daily.
Shortness of breath presented on occasion and put me on the verge of panic breathing and a likely trip to the emergency department. What so helped was my breath meditation practice.
I’ve been blessed to be a team facilitator on Cedar Tree Institute retreats in Santa Fe over recent years. We sat in a circle for breathing and guided meditations several times each day. And in COVID shortness of breath, I accepted my breath, frail as it was, and stabilized myself there, carefully breathing.
Fatigue merits a final symptom note out of respect for its seriousness. During COVID I was able to work remotely. My reading, writing and most of my conversational skills were intact and it was good to be remotely connected. But there was a lost weekend of a fatigue that I had never previously encountered or imagined; it felt like falling into an abyss.
The Journey Continues
My personal narrative has a thread through it: gratitude. For my dear immediate family and the emotional lifeline of my brothers in New York and Maine, and family and friends who sustained us with food. Clinicians were humane in their compassionate competence; in person or remote in location I felt their concern.
Gratitude is my response to regaining the everydayness of life. My family would rejoice, laughing as the taste of food slowly returned. I have deeper gratitude for such moments and yet remember that this life has its limited number.
My gratitude includes the breath and the sun. In my spiritual practice, breath meditation is foundational; in breath I find the intimate creative energy of God. I receive breath with reverence. Francis of Assisi spoke of ‘brother sun’ which warmed me when I sat in the yard in August, feeling a little cool when it was 90. Just yesterday, in December, I sat in the yard at 40 degrees and, in appreciative reception, felt the sun on my face.
“From all who dwell below the skies, Let songs of hope and faith arise. Let peace, goodwill on earth be sung, through every land by every tongue.”
A sung blessing and thanksgiving From the Mennonite Tradition.
“We will build back better from the COVID crisis. This is our opportunity.”
-Jacinda Ardern
New Zealand’s Prime Minister October 2020
INSTITUTE SERVICES
CTI COUNSELING
Consultations are covered by insurance When unavailable, by incorporating the Buddhist practice of “Dana” -generous reciprocity -gifting within one’s means.
TRAINING IN MIND/BODY MEDICINE & PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY
An emerging field that focuses on self-regulation, breathing practices, and cognitive reframing. Contracted programs have included training for hospice staff, clergy, social workers, American Indian tribes, and teachers.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROJECTS WITH FAITH-BASED COMMUNITIES
Past efforts have included Earthkeeper Initiatives I and II, 2004 –2014 and the Northern Great Lakes Water Stewards, 2016-2020
PARTNERSHIPS WITH AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES
Programs have included a six-month wellness project with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Zaagkii Project, a seven year native plant protection initiative with tribes of the Great Lakes Basin and the United States Forest Service. Youth participants play a key role in all projects.
NOTES ON OUR MISSION
CTI’s mission as a nonprofit organization involves four operational principles.
- We acquire no material possessions or support full-time staff.
- We work collaboratively.
- 1/3 of all services are offered pro bono to the community.
- We ground in honoring and recognizing life’s spiritual dimensions.
All projects and programs of CTI are financially supported by individuals from diverse walks of life: musicians, retired power plant employees, environmentalists, poets, clergy, coffee farmers, accountants, attorneys, food store clerks, physicians, one-time loggers, bishops, teachers, railroad workers, foresters, engineers, students, postal workers, and artists.
Thank you to Anne Rydholm, our remarkable volunteer bookkeeper, Jim Elder and Steve Mattson, CTI’s key Board members, seven advisory Board members and four insightful Institute Research Fellows. Most recently added: Ruth Almén! Onward we go!
ON THE HORIZON 2021
PROJECTS & RETREATS
Specific dates and scheduling will be dependent on Public Health guidelines and CDC protocols during the current global pandemic.
GREAT LAKES WATER STEWARDS II
Building on our 2016-2020 interfaith initiative, this next phase of our outreach will focus on raising standards and protecting the quality of drinking water in the Upper Peninsula in partnerships with Indian tribes and local municipalities.
THE MYSTERY OF TREES
A 4-day retreat on ecology, forest practices, spiritual traditions of trees, and the role of forests in our planet’s health.
September/Michigan
SPIRIT OF PLACE
The Dance of Pain and Pleasure. An exploration of brain science, addiction, spirituality, and justice in the heart of America’s famous adult playground.
November/Nevada
THE IRON BUTTERFLY
Resiliency and Mental Health
An evening-morning workshop on Mind/Body connections with neuroscientist and psychologist Layne Kalbfleisch.
July/Marquette
THE JANUS PROJECT
A training and support retreat for hospice staff and volunteers across Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
TAI CHI for HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Ongoing Tai Chi Classes via Zoom and outdoor weekly winter practice.
CTI BOARD
- Jon Magnuson, CTI Executive Director
- Steve Mattson, Financial Consultant, Wells Fargo Private Client Services, Retired
- Jim Elder, Attorney
ADVISORY COUNCIL
- Larry Skendzel, Physician, Hospice Care
- Gareth Zellmer, Consultant, Trainer
- Ken Kelley, Professor Emeritus, NMU
- Rick Pietila, U.S. State Department
- Jan Schultz, Botanist, USFS, Retired
- Michael Grossman, Family Physician
RESEARCH FELLOWS
- John Rosenberg
- Ruth Almén
- Kent Fish
- Joe Piccione
“The poorest of the poor is Mother Earth. We have squandered her.”
-Pope Francis I
Epidemiologists now conclude that the two root causes of the COVID-19 global pandemic come from an imbalance in how we are living with our natural environment and a growing gap between our world’s rich and poor. Natural ecosystems hold life in delicate balance, holding viruses in check, not unlike a hanging mobile. Ours is a time to reset, beginning with honest recognition of what has happened, building new, healthier ways to live with ourselves and each other.
Thank you for supporting our small but important role in sharing such a vision in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Thank you for reading the Winter 2021 Ecotone Newsletter, the official Newsletter of the Cedar Tree Institute.
