When We Are Most Alone

WHEN WE ARE MOST ALONE-Job  38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5

St. Jerome

Twenty five years ago in January, in L.A., when I was a prostitute, and totally alone, I developed a severe case of the flu. I was having chills and high fever and thought the local Christian house of hospitality would take care of me. They were more than willing till they found out I was a gay prostitute, and refused to take me in. I found myself in a flea bag motel totally alone.

In those moments of high fever, sweats, I cursed God, and in that cursing I know longer felt alone, and I knew that Christ was with me in my suffering, and all that mattered was Christ. I have never felt alone since.  Ultimately all we have is God.

I remember that experience with each person I encounter. One night a young man came to my door, shivering with a chill, a high fever, a young man who had cursed me, made fun of me, and I brought him in and put him to bed, and nursed him, and he looked at me and said, “I was counting on you.”

God in Christ is with us in our suffering, and he calls us to be with others in theirs–regardless of how we are treated and how different they are from us.  For ultimately all of us are alone, and we only have God, and  in us God can be most present.  Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.S.T., D.Min. candidate

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

http://www.temenos.org

415-305-2124

 

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Peniel–“Where Jacob Wrestled With God And Survived”

— PENIEL

“Where Jacob Wrestled With God and Survived”

October, 2016

Twenty-Second Anniversary Issue

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

415-204-2124

www.temenos.org

Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.S.T., D.Min. Candidate, John Knox Seminary

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JOURNAL OF AN ALIEN STREET PRIEST:

 

This month we celebrate our twenty-second anniversary working on the streets of San Francisco.  On October 4 of 1994, we moved into our room and bought our first piece of pizza for a homeless youth.  And from there it has gone, each and every day, in different ways. The City has become gentrified, but the poverty of the ones we serve remains the same, and has even increased. People ask,

“What have you learned?”

First of all, we have learned about the faithfulness of the words of I Corinthians 15:3:ff:

“Christ died for our sins in line with the scriptures, he was buried, and he rose on the third day in line with the scriptures.  He appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve, and then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at once. . .Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me. . I am what I am by God’s grace. . .”

We have learned that we belong to God.

Br. James Koester presents a message to us about belonging, in his comment:

“I don’t know about you, but this is a question I reflect on a great deal in one way or another: to whom do I belong? Where do I belong? What does it mean to belong? Whose am I? This, in a sense, was the question posed to Jesus and His answer, though ambiguous was clear.  We may have responsibilities to Caesar, but we belong to God.”

Secondly, we are all brothers and sisters, nothing more, nothing less. We are all equal as human beings, and in that equality we should share of what we have, so that all might have.

Thirdly, in the words of St. Jeanne de Chantal, “No matter what happens, be gentle with yourself.” And, also in her words, “In prayer one must hold fast and never let go. If it seems that no one is listening to you, then cry out even louder. If you are driven out one door, go back in by the other.”

In other words, always be kind to yourself, for there are so many others who will not be kind, and to never, never give up.

And so we begin another year in the trust of Jesus, in the gentleness of his arms, with thanksgiving for all of you who have loved us, been gentle with us, and prayed for us. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

THE PHILIP WORKMAN MEMORIAL BANQUET

Friday, October 7, 2016

Noon

Haight and Stanyan

With Agape Meal

of Vegan Stew

followed by 

Passing Out flyers and Visting With People on the Haight To Vote Against the Death Penalty by Supporting Yes on 62

Remembering Philip Workman, who was executed by the State of Tennessee in May of 2007, and who gave his last vegetarian meal to the homeless.

Vigils are Every Wednesday and Leafleting Every Friday

Vigil Planned for State Capitol on October 31, 2016

for more information contact franciscansagainstdeathpenalty@gmail.com or phone 415-710-8709

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WE ARE BEGGARS

Someone recently asked us, “How do  you live, when everyone is asking for donations?” The truth is that we live on faith, and trust,  as we have for twenty-two years, through the generosity of others, and in so doing,  we have provided food, socks, pastoral care, and harm-reduction supplies to thousands  All we can say is that we are thankful for your continuing to care, with all the of the requests coming your way, and want you to know that your gifts have given hope and joy to so many.  Please continue to support us at:

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA. 94164

or at www. temenos.org  on PayPal

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WORLD VEGETARIAN FESTIVAL

THE SAN FRANCISCO VEG SOCIETY HOSTS THE 17TH ANNUAL WORLD VEG FESTIVAL:

On behalf of the SF Veg Society and World Veg Festival Committee, we invite you to the 17th Annual

World Veg Festival to be held on Sat and Sun Oct 8 and Oct 9, 2016 at the San Francisco County

Fair building (1199 9th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122 located inside Golden Gate Park next to the

Botanical Gardens).

For 17 years, the San Francisco Veg Society

www.sfvs.org

has been organizing the World Veg Festival to

educate and inspire more people about the benefits of vegan, plant‐based lifestyle for healthy, ethic, and

sustainable living. Every year we curate a group of the best speakers, chefs and presenters on the topics

of vegan health, ethics, animal rights, good eating and more to present to our festival goers. From 10am to

6:30pm there will be fun, food, entertainment and activities for the whole family! $10 general admission.

$5 students w/ ID, seniors 62+, and youth under 18. Tickets sold at door. Free for press with press pass.

Any of our speakers and sponsors/exhibitors are available for interviewing:

Greg Rohrbach, SF Veg Society President and World Veg Festival Organizer, 415‐948‐9642

Patly Rohrbach, World Veg Festival Organizer, 415‐948‐9642

The following sponsors will be present at the festival and are available for in person interview:

Friends of Animals, Priscilla Feral, feral@friendsofanimals.org

Ripple Foods Tolu Onafowokan c

413.330.3124

+

tolu@sunshinesachs.com

+

Gentle Barns, Ellie Laks (speaker Sunday)

+

Lentilicious Lisa Josefik, President & CEO, info@lentilicious.com,

408.314.9362

 

Solar City

 

Stanford Inn. sid@stanfordinn.com

Opportunities Against the Death Penalty

VIGIL AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

Come and Prayerfully Stand In Witness Against the Death Penalty

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Noon-1:00 p.m.

Noon–Earl Warren Supreme Court Bld

350 McAllister Street

San Francisco, CA

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THE PHILIP WORKMAN MEMORIAL BANQUET

Friday, October 7, 2016

Noon

Haight and Stanyan

Service of the Eucharist

followed by

 a meal  of vegan stew

to all present

Remembering Philip Workman, who was executed by the State of Tennessee in May of 2007, and who gave his last vegetarian meal to the homeless.

Following the Service we will ask that volunteers distribute flyers supporting the “Yes on 62” Campaign– the measure to end the death penalty.

Vigils are Every Wednesday and Leafleting Every Friday

Vigil Planned for State Capitol on October 31, 2016

for more information contact franciscansagainstdeathpenalty@gmail.com or phone 415-710-8709

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Being Self-Centered Is Our Own Private Hell

BEING SELF –CENTERED IS OUR OWN PRIVATE HELL

Luke 16:19-31

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is one of  startling contrasts

 but at its heart the message is simple:  be alert to the needs under your nose.  The rich man is totally self-centered, and that self-centeredness leads him to hell. The hell I think of is the hell of self-absorption, of so totally being absorbed in ourselves that our lives cease having meaning and purpose, and leave us with an empty shell.

Our streets are full of homeless, suffering people, and we walk by, and do not give notice, but Marian Wright Edelman says to us:

“You just need to be a flea against injustice. Enough committed fleas biting strategically can make even the biggest dog uncomfortable and transform even the biggest nation.”   

Be a flea, bite hard in the smallest spaces, and your life will transform the world.

Feed someone, talk to someone, simply speak, treat them as a person.

A second meaning to  the  Lazarus story is that Jesus is not only talking about the physically poor, but the minorities of the world.

First in regard to queer people or as several people have so crudely called me on the blog and in person– us “homosexuals”.   Your words and actions towards me are first of all despicable, and when you tell me they are in the name of Jesus you make me vomit.  Secondly, If was not already a follower of Jesus, but thinking about it I would walk away in a second.   The Jesus I follow says loudly by his words and his life: “Love your neighbor”, his whole life is one of self giving love.  This political season has brought out how much we are the Lazarus’s of the world, the events in Uganda, the Pulse Bar,  and other parts of the world remind us that we  are  Lazarus. The political rhetoric is not just words, but the underlying attitude of many.  

Secondly, the recent events on police brutality and violence throughout the country remind us that racism and discrimination is alive and well. 

Our self-centeredness has kept blinders on our eyes, like the rich man we remain with blinders on our eyes, and we pave our way to a hell of that is destructive in our relationships, our society, and within ourselves. To be alive we must engage life, we must suffer with our fellow human beings, and in that suffering we experience resurrection.  We must be fleas biting against injustice. And we will live well, and die well. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Father C. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.S.T., D.Min. candidate

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

http://www.temenos.org

415-305-2124

Hidden Meanings

HIDDEN MEANINGS

Ecc. 11: 9-12: 8; Lk. 9:43-45

People always want answers, they want to know.  That is why we have such rigid religious beliefs.  We want to be told what is right, what to believe–when in reality life is full of questions, and it is in the questions that we discover who God is.

During the Second World War from September 1943-July 1944 there was a children’s concentration camp where the children wrote post cards to mislead the world. Their teachers taught them French, math, and music, knowing full well they were all going to the gas chamber. They restored dignity to human beings, and when they were asked by Gentiles–“What difference are you making?” they answered, “God makes a difference.”

That is the answer that we need to live by,  to serve by , to provide for people by –it is God who makes the difference in God’s time.

People write to me, and say horrible things to me–“You are a fag,” “you are a false priest because you are homosexual,” these are  among the the politest comments, I have been threatened, stabbed, hit, and I am often asked what keeps you going, and all I know is that “God makes the difference.”

Rather than looking for answers through science, religion, let us look at Jesus, his way of love, and the words of Will Tuttle, while he talks about veganism, he  is talking about the way of the cross, the way of service:

“Rather than relying on science to validate veganism and our basic herbivore physiology, we may do better by calling attention to universal truths: animals are undeniably capable of suffering; our physical bodies are strongly affected by thoughts, feelings, and aspirations; and we cannot reap happiness for ourselves by sowing seeds of misery for others. Nor may we be free while unnaturally enslaving others. We are all connected. These are knowings of the heart and veganism is, ultimately, a choice to listen to the wisdom in our heart as it opens to understanding the interconnectedness and essential unity of all life. Dr. Will Tuttle”

Let the Spirit move in our hearts, let us love others for who they are, love ourselves for who we are, and in that respect come together as simply a loving humanity for all creatures. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

http://www.temenos.org

\415-305-2124

The Eternal Present

 

The Eternal Present Tense

“There is an appointed time for everything. . .

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

Luke 9:18-22-“. ..But who do you say that I am”

I am sitting here listening to the Byrds singing Pete Seeger’s tune, “Turn, Turn, Turn”, as I read this Scripture from Ecclesiastes.  Fall is here, the holidays are around the corner, things change, and yet nothing changes.

And as I sat with a social worker yesterday talking about a young guy, I thought to myself, “nothing changes.” She told me he was “feral” and she saw little she could do for him.  Strangely I found it humorous ( a sign of getting older) and asked: “You know what feral means?” and than answered, “It means being ‘wild’, ‘not being able to be tamed,’  and it does not mean one can not live a fulfilling life.” 

The prophets would be called “feral”, “untameable” as would Jesus be so as well.  Being queer at one time was labeled “feral”, and “wild”.

People often look at me as being “wild”, “different”, and I have been labeled “feral”.  All of which I claim proudly,  and own, because for me that means not going with the status quo, and with the norms of society. It is freeing because it frees one up to be themselves, and to share openly.

I am finishing up my Doctor of Ministry  Degree at John Knox Seminary, and when I first started attending this conservative school I would have people asked me if I was worried about my “safety”, if I was concerned about my “liberal theology” getting me in “trouble.”  And the reality is this  has been the best academic experience I have had.  It has been the most accepting school, and one in which you can look at theology within the Gospel tradition.  I have been challenged, and in so doing have grown in the faith.  I have come to know Christ in new and life giving ways. John Knox has been a blessing.

I believe we need to get out of our “tribes” and share, interact, and in so doing see each other as human beings.

Yes some of my kids are “feral” but like me they can live fulfilling and productive lives living out their dreams, in their own way. To label, to put our own guidelines down are destructive. We want people to fit into our “tribes”, and that is death giving.

Through the resurrection we have access to God’s timelessness, and that resurrection has already begun in us when, in the midst of life’s ephemeral events, we remain focused on the enduring and eternal. As James says in chapter 1, verse 17: “. .. there is no variation or shadow due to change.”

Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Fr. River Damien Sims, D.Min. Candidate, John Knox Seminary

http://www.temenos.org

punkpriest1@gmail.com

WE CHOOSE

WE CHOOSE

Dag Hammarskjold once said: “We are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny. But what we put into it is ours. . .”and. ..”Do not seek death.  Death will find you . But seek the road which makes death a fulfillment.”

Each day how we choose to live  shapes the way we think, feel, and what we believe.  Jesus liked children, he pointed to their openness and their being wide eyed, and their approach to life without judgment.

That is the way Dag Hammarskjold  approached life. His life was one of service.  He was wide eyed and and saw wonderment all around, and tried to help others see and experience that same wonderment.

As we get closer to election day, his words remind us that we should not impose death on others.  For in imposing the death penalty we deny the right of our fellow human beings the chance to find fulfillment in life.  The majority on death row are persons of color, lack education, have been abused, they have not had a chance in life to find that fulfillment.

And for us not wanting the death penalty allows us to see life with the wide eyes of a child, as a place of wonderment and where all have the chance for the same wonderment and fulfillment. We held the hand of the person who killed our loved one as he died. Seeing him die at peace, was enough for us to oppose the death penalty. It is not our place to take life. We are God’s children, we are to be opened to wonder, and fulfillment.

VIGIL AGAINST THE  DEATH PENALTY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2016

12 NOON-1:00 P.M.

EARL WARREN SUPREME COURT BUILDING

350 MCALISTER STREET

SAN FRANCISCO, CA

FOR MORE INFORMATION: 415-710-8709

Franciscans Against the Death Penalty

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.S.T., D.Min. candidate

 

The Word Still Becomes Flesh

THE WORD STILL BECOMES FLESH

Adrienne von Speyr

“All freedom develops through surrender and through renunciation of liberty; And from this freedom within commitment there arises every sort of fruitfulness.”

Luke 8:4-15

There are three questions that I do not answer because we live in God’s time, not our own.

First:  “How old are you?” I tell reporters, and any one who asks, “I am 80” simply because age is relative, and we live in God’s time. We should not be stuck in our generation, but embrace all generations, and relate to all. In God’s time there is no age.

Secondly:  “Stability”: We are asked in our  society that is always moving, “do you ever think about going any where else?” Our ministry are with the people who move, who come and go, and those who stay, and we are here for them. We remain stable in our ministry.  Stability for us is faithfulness to ministry on the streets of San Francisco. 

Thirdly: We are always asked about our “ten year” plan and we laugh. We live in God’s time, in the moment, we do what is at hand. The parable this morning tells us we grow at our own pace, we grow in the moment.

Each day we do the Ignatian Examine and as we asked ourselves the questions:”What have you done for Christ today? What do you need to do differently? and what will you do for Christ?” time ceases and we see our lives just in the moment and our present actions, which grow into the future.

In Philippians 2 Paul tells us we should “work out our salvation,” and what he is talking about is to work at believing, for believing is hard work, to have faith in the midst of all that is around us is difficult. For when we believe, and have faith we know that we are loved by God, and we love all of creation in return. We take care of our neighbors and all creatures without judgement, and we see that our natural resources are not for us to use and discard but for us to take care of, to love, to appareciate.

Dr. Adrienne sums it up in her words:

“All freedom develops through surrender and through renunciation of liberty; And from this freedom within commitment there arises every sort of fruitfulness.”

Listening to her words let us meditate on their meaning for our lives.

Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

http://www.temenos.org

415-305-2124

Sacrifice Unseen

SACRIFICE UNSEEN

Martyrs of Birmingham (d. 1963

Luke 2:33-35

On September 15, 1963, some one tossed a packet of dynamite through the basement window of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls–Addie Mae Collins, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley, and seriously injuring twenty others. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at their funeral preached: “These children–unoffending innocent and beautiful–were the victims of one of the most vicious, heinous crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.”

And so it continues. . .in my closet I have various tee shirts of black young men killed in the area in the past three years; when I take food to the shelters I see more men of  color than white; I hear the word “nigger” used more often than not on the street among white, housed, and moneyed.  Discrimination, racism, homophobia are ever present. Our tech industries are not diverse; people of color do most of our back breaking service jobs.  Homophobic comments are made in regard to my blog; on T.V. and in the movies how many queer relationships do we see, how many leads by people of color?  Racism and homophobia is ever present. We choose to ignore that presence by saying “it is better”, “in our children it will cease to be,” “all have equal rights”, and so on.

Only through our hearts being opened to the pain and the horror of the lives that people live can we truly change our attitudes. We need take our heads out of the closet and open our eyes and look.  We need to move out of our tribes, and talk, work, and enter into relationships with people. We live in our own little tribes. It is not about the color of our skin or our sexual orientation, our religion, it is about us being human, loving one another. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francis, CA 94164

A Faith That Is Difficult and Hopeful

 

A FAITH THAT IS DIFFICULT AND HOPEFUL

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross

Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:13-17

“but the people became impatient on the way. .” And so begins the story of the Israelites and the bronze serpent in our reading. And within a few verses we see God’s power transforming a medium of suffering, a serpent, into an instrument of healing.  It is easy to see the analogy of the cross in that when Jesus is lifted up he transforms a tool of torture, through God’s mercy in to the fullness of life, a way of saving the world.

All of us on the desert journey of life complain, look for other means. In our age we can fix anything. I  have a spur on my  heel, a muscle has been torn, and I am  walking with a stick.  People asked me, “when are you going to get that fixed?” the reality is it ain’t that easy. We have a fix for everything.  Grief, chronic pain, unemployment, homelessness, rejection, loneliness, we hear “have faith and things will get better,” and when they do not we get depressed, and walk away in various forms. Despite the bronze serpent, the Israelites continued to wander in the wilderness, and Jesus still suffered the torments of the crucifixion; millions suffer homelessness, mental illness, drug abuse, and rejection.

The Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross is not simply a beautiful service in which we exalt a beautiful cross–it is a feast of pointing us to a more difficult and hopeful faith. It is a faith that sustains us in the difficulties of life.

Scott Peck in his book The Road Less Traveled shared that we can learn to deal with life when we acknowledge one reality: “That life is difficult.” This is the Gospel of the Cross, this is the Exaltation of the Cross, life is difficult, but we do not walk alone, and in the darkest times we are never alone but Christ is there. The cross call us to walk with others on the  journey, to be the presence of Christ in the lives of others. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God!

Temenos Catholic Worker

P.O. Box 642656

San Francisco, CA 94164

http://www.temenos.org

415-305-2124