It’s unwise to ask for trouble and heartbreak. Life has its own sure measure waiting, sooner or later, for each of us. But sometimes, in just such unwanted circumstances, a light appears glaringly bright. It changes everything.
So here’s what recently happened to Nancy and Dianne who live in the tiny village of Ripley, perched on a side of a hill, covered with trees and mine tailings, two hours west of here on the edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula.
June 17th, 2018. The middle of the night. A fierce, unpredicted rainstorm. Tons of rock and mud were washed of the ridge above them, filling their living room with water, crashing through windows, destroying walls and foundations of their old Victorian home, originally built in 1856 overlooking a now abandoned foundry.
Buildings and roads were destroyed across the County. State and Federal governments declared the Keweenaw a disaster area. Because of the nature of the damage, no insurance covered any of their loss.
As dawn broke, and the rain and water subsided, Nancy and Dianne began to sort through the wreckage. A dozen neighbors showed up with shovels to help begin digging out. There was one special collection of cherished china dishes, passed down for generations that disappeared. Most of it appeared lost, shattered, buried beneath mud and broken timber framing. The dishes held important value, a keepsake of Nancy’s family heritage from the early years of the copper boom in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Nancy told us that when she turned, a young man approached her, his hands extended. He was holding an old family photograph along with a single china bowl he had somehow managed to salvage from what was left in the mud-soaked basement. He looked up at her. She told us you could see the compassion in his eyes.
A few days later, Nancy shared reflections on her experience. Here’s what she said. “Those dishes, those heirlooms, Dianne and I have used them to serve friends, guests, and travelers over the years.” Her voice breaking, she continued, “Now they’re gone.”
“We are so grateful that they were used. Here’s my advice: Whatever you have, share it with others, use it, celebrate it. I realize, now, we actually were able to do that over the years. The dish set brought joy to hundreds of guests who have shared our home for meals and festivals. Don’t hoard your possessions, or jealously hide and protect them. Whatever you are given, it’s meant to be shared. One day, one night, it will all be taken from you.”
Months later, on a rainy autumn evening in Marquette, I came across my own journal entry: A personal reference from the writer Annie Dillard reflecting on a passage from the Quran. “And so as far as abundance goes, what should you spend? Spend it all. Tat’s what life is about. Don’t save something good for a later place. Don’t hold back from your students, from the poor; don’t try to keep anything for yourself ’cause it’ll turn to ashes. If you spend it, it will fill up from behind.”
For those who might be interested in providing assistance in helping Nancy and Dianne rebuild their home, please visit their GoFundMe page.
Fall 2018 Equinox Newsletter
CONTENTS
INSTITUTE OUTREACH
The Medicine Wheel Project (2017-2018) came to completion in September as a one-of-a-kind health initiative designed in collaboration with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and funded by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan Foundation.
A pilot project integrating mind/body interventions (breathing, visualization, focused movement, reframing) with traditional tribal spiritual traditions.
The six-month initiative involved designing specific lifestyle practices for 20 tribal members.
The results (lab reports) showed solid improvements for major bio-indicators. Articles are now being prepared on this project, the first of its kind in the Upper Great Lakes.
The Institute Director facilitated a series of spiritual reflections for Marquette’s Fresh Coast Film Festival on 10/21. On 10/24 he served as co-presenter, with Dr. Michael Grossman, M.D. for Lake Superior Hospice‘s annual Palliative Care Conference. During 8/26-29, the Institute facilitated, in partnership with Bell Hospital, a continuing education seminar “Finding Meaning within Life-limiting Illness.” Special thanks to Tim Fillmore who, with his son Jack, served again as kayak guides, and to Bay Cliff Health Camp, our host.
On 9/9, CTI’s Director served as guest presenter for the Unitarian Universalist Sunday morning gathering in Escanaba, sharing thoughts on “Mystery of the Cedar: Faith, Spirit, and the Environmental Crisis.” On 9/17, he joined Barb Ojibway in presenting two workshops at Fortune Lake Camp for Women of the NGLS Lutheran Synod (ELCA) on “Dreams: God’s Forgotten Language” and “An Inside Look at an Outside Mission: Social Action and the Church.”
In the upcoming November 2018 issue of the “Living Lutheran,” a nation-wide denominational publication, an article on “The Kingdom Within,” written by CTI’s Director, warns readers about the consequences of abandoning attention to interior spiritual life within medical practices and religious institutions.
AN INVITATION
SPIRIT OF PLACE: THE WALL
December 6-9th, 2018
El Paso, Texas
Center for Franciscan Spirituality
A Cedar Tree Institute Spirit of Place Retreat “Justice, Borders, and a Life of Faith”
With Texas song writer Ray Wiley Hubbard & Sister Mary Kay Mahowald, OSF, Las Americas Advocacy Center
LEARN MORE
Includes hosting a benefit concert to support hospice work along the Mexico – U.S. border.
CROSSINGS
IN MEMORIUM
Lotta Stewart (1924 – 2018)
Lotta, age 94, along with her husband Jay, have been long-time supporters of the Cedar Tree Institute’s nonprofit work here in Marquette. An elegant, thoughtful individual with extraordinary artistic sensibility and a friend of my wife Diana. She died in her sleep, lying next to her husband after a long, extended illness. Institute volunteers, led by 14 year-old Eagle Scout Ian Parkkonen, planted the first of 500 Northern white cedar trees in her honor this summer in the Yellow Dog Community Forest.
Fred Gustafson (1940 -2018)
Fred Gustafson, a Lutheran pastor, Jungian analyst, husband and father, served as a mentor and guide for The Cedar Tree Institute’s unfolding work over the last 23 years. An author, teacher, and interpreter of dreams, he resided in Watertown, Wisconsin, worked as a faith-based mental health counselor, and was involved for over 20 years in efforts to support and protect the Lakota Sun Dance on South Dakota’s Rosebud Reservation. He died, surrounded by family, following a year long struggle with cancer. A small deerskin bag of cedar, a gift from the shores of Lake Superior, hung by his bed as he took his last breath in this world. Drums echoed with traditional songs of blessing during his funeral.
Linda Wilkins (1946-2018)
Linda Wilkins was a life-long member and leader of Mackinaw County’s Zion Lutheran Church. She was an informal advisor for me when I served as a parish pastor in rural Northern Michigan. Linda carried a remarkable ability to appreciate the complex dynamics of groups and individuals in a small town. Since our first meeting in Zion’s church basement on a bleak Easter weekend 45 years ago, she and her family hosted, on more occasions than one could count, myself, my wife Diana, and our family for meals and overnight stays. Linda died on 10/13 surrounded by family. Her spirit will live on in the songs and prayers lifted up by her church, family, and the St. Ignace community.
THANKS
Thank you to the 112 individuals representing all walks of life, from mail-carriers to math teachers, from retired clergy to poets and loggers, who have chosen to help support us thus far in 2018 with financial donations. The Cedar Tree Institute is pledged to remain as an “on the ground” nonprofit organization, unabashedly bold in its projects, addressing issues of justice, health, and environmental integrity.
On the near horizon is our Institute’s intention of training parish-based teams of volunteers to test water quality in the Upper Peninsula’s rural wells, drinking water, lakes and streams. We’ll publish the results as part of our interfaith Northern Great Lakes Water Steward Initiative, 2019-2020. Beholden to no federal or corporate agency, this information will be distributed free to the public. It will be a prophetic work.
The Cedar Tree Institute, a nonprofit organization provides services and initiates projects between boundaries of medical institutions, faith communities, American Indian tribes and social action movements. One-third of our services are provided pro-bono.
CTI BOARD
- Jon Magnuson, CTI Executive Director
- Steve Mattson, Senior Vice President, Wells Fargo Private Client Services
- Jim Elder, Attorney, Elder Agency
ADVISORY COUNCIL
- Larry Skendzel, Physician, Hospice Care
- Gareth Zellmer, Consultant, Trainer
- Ken Kelley, Professor Emeritus, NMU
- Rick Pietila, Project Technician, Vienna
- Jan Schultz, Botanist, USFS (Retired)
- Michael Grossman, Family Physician
RESEARCH FELLOWS
- John Rosenberg, Olympia, Washington
For information contact us at 403 East Michigan Street, Marquette, MI 49855 or contact us via email. Telephone & Fax: 906-228-5494
The Fall 2017 Equinox Newsletter is brought to you by Cedar Tree Institute.
