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Gift from the Rev. Eric, Jessica, and Robby Metoyer
Thank you to all who have called, given gifts to Temenos, and provided me with a wonderful birthday!
-------------------------------------------------------------- John 11:25ff “Unbind him and let him go". We see in John's account of the raising of Lazarus the power of Christ to bring life out of death. It was Jesus who gave Lazarus his life back, who created for his friend the possibility of a new beginning. But it was not Jesus who unwrapped the shrouds of death from Lazarus, it was instead Lazarus' friends, the members of his community, who unbound him and let him go. Let me share with you a story. One day, a man wanders into a Cathedral in LA. It is the middle of the morning during the week, but the weekly celebration of the Eucharist is taking place inside. Not quite knowing why, he sits down and begins to listen to the liturgy unfolding around him. His life is in shambles. He was kicked out of church for being gay, became a prostituted.. Since that time, each day has been a struggle. He stays through the entire service, not because he wants to, but because this seems like a safe quiet place. After the service, as he is leaving, a woman of the parish approaches him and invites him to the weekly Bible study that follows the service. Having a few free minutes, and glad to be able to spend some time with people older, he agrees. During the Bible study, he meets other members of the parish who show an interest in him and who seem pleased that he has joined them. Read More
This celebration of the Eucharist was for this man a kind of new beginning. He returned to the church and after some time, he learned to like and eventually love this parish and the people in it. They helped Him to cope, they gave him their love, and they shared with him their lives. Just as Jesus saved Lazarus and gave him new life, I believe Jesus saved this man and gave him a new life. It was Christ's redeeming grace that directed him to the church that morning. Grace brought him to the church, but it was up to the members of the church, to unwrap the shroud and the bandages from him so that he could live. It was the men of the parish who first approached him, and the members of the Bible study, who first began to unbind him. Christ made his new life possible, but it was the people in the church.
to take off his cord and unbind him. The good news is that through Christ there is indeed always the reality of new beginnings, of new life. Christ's own journey to the cross has made that possible. But as members of Christ's body, we must take that new gift, given to each of us, and unwrap its glory. Ask yourself this morning, how do I need to be unwrapped? Moreover, what can I do to help another to realize their new beginning, their new life. In Christ, everything is possible, in Him life abounds. But it is only through our love for each other that this gift of new life can be fully unwrapped and fully realized. Amen. "Today I choose. Today I bear witness to grace. Today I practice kindness. Today I choose love over fear. Today I am not afraid to be generous. Today I belong to the whole world, not merely a portion of it. No matter what others around me choose, today I choose to live in peace." Steven Garnaas--Holmes Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T, P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross "Our Haunting!" April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that.
$15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ Fr. River Sims, D.Min., D.S.T. Temenos Catholic Worker P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, California 94164-2656 415-305-2124 "You can measure your worth by your dedication to your path, not by your successes or failures." Elizabeth Gilbert Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded. It's a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others. Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity. (Pema Chödrön) The most fundamental aggression to ourselves, the most fundamental harm we can do to ourselves, is to remain ignorant by not having the courage and the respect to look at ourselves honestly and gently.” (Pema Chödrön) Self-esteem is the commitment to treat yourself in a kindly, loving manner when you're alone. This is an active process that requires effort and energy. -- David Burns, Intimate connections, 1985. |
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A Kid On the Street!The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ Read More
40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”
I finished Dr. Planter's book with much sadness, for in many ways, it is a memory of what was, and a memory of my life.
Li Po, 8th-century poet, once said: "The birds have vanished into the sky, and now the last closed cloud drains away. We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains." I live on Polk the mountain, in the midst of a world where I feel very uncomfortable--upper-class, white people, for the most part, who knows nothing about what has been, and want the homeless moved out. I am not well-liked by many of these people, in fact I am a threat by my presence. I am a threat by my going up and down the street feeding, and caring for the older homeless, taking them into restaurants to eat, and being their friend. I am threatened, hated, or simply ignored. The mountain and I remain. And so, not much has changed in my life through the years. I grew up in a small town, where I was taught to have any other sexual feelings accept for a girl was wrong, and where one friend of mine was murdered because he at 14, was caught having sex with a guy. I had a son at 15, to have him adopted out, and the secret kept. I entered the ministry, and for 17 years suffered in the closet, and then kicked out, and found myself on the street, a prostitute. When I came back it was as an Old Catholic/Anglican priest, for outside of the Metropolitan Community Church, all other denominations were basically homophobic. My calling was to work with youth, and as a result I found myself being 'promoted' to a Bishop in the Old Catholic tradition because like all churches my church of ordination was afraid to work with kids, which is why the established church is dying. I have friends ordained in the Old Catholic tradition who remain in their other denomination, never fully coming out for who they are, and wanting to be a part of the mainstream, even when I could have come back, I refused, for I am as the book of Hebrews tells us "outside the gates", the kids on the street are. Therapy never really works with them, for like me, they too are a square peg that will not fit into a round hole. That is the main reason I do not apply for grants, they are from the establishment that desires based on the idea of the established upper class, and I can not lie, and take money it is impossible for me to use in line with their goals. Yesterday, on Haight Street, I visited with two 19 year old, Craig, and John, from South Carolina. Young, "travelers", no interest in services, simply traveling around the country, living a 'hippie' lifestyle. One called me later, and we met again in the Haight, and shared with me of sexual abuse by his stepfather, discrimination for liking both boys and girls. He loves traveling. The boy gave me a huge hugged and took off. Polk Street has older men who sleep in the doorways at night, they are "the ones who are dangerous to customers" these guys are struggling to stay a live, not harm to anyone. Today is the Feast of St. Oscar Romero he exemplified what it means to be a disciple of Jesus in the modern world of poverty and violence, and challenges both the church and the world to stand for justice for the poor, those on the street, those without housing, He calls us to pay up personally: One who is committed to the poor must risk the same fate as the poor. And in El Salvador (and San Francisco!) we know what the fate of the poor signifies: to disappear, to be tortured, to be captive, and to be found dead.
Plaster gave me the highest compliment, one that I strive for every day, with every inch of my soul and body:
"River is the surrogate Holy Father to the "lost boys" and "Lost Girls." Following is this years Stations of the Cross, entitled "Hauntedness" and I invite to join me the rosary every day praying that your "Hauntedness" may lead you to enter into the lives of the "Forgotten Ones!": Tenderloin Stations of the Cross
“Our Journey With Our Brothers and Sisters Who Live on the Street" “Our Hauntedness!” “The street transforms every ordinary day into a series of quick questions and every incorrect answer risks a break down, shooting or pregnancy." Ta Nehie Contes April 7, 2023 Noon Meet In Front of City Hall Sponsored By: Temenos Catholic Worker and Society of Society of Franciscan Workers (1)
The Stations of the Cross Introduction People, who live on the streets, the homeless, have haunted me all of my life. From the time I was six years old, driving late night through Sequoia National Park, seeing an old homeless woman walking up the road, and when I was seven walking across the street with a homeless person begging for money. Haunting is the relentless remembering and continue reminding that will not be appeased the propaganda of assistance and care or the promises of our city, state, and national Governments that all will be well. In over twenty years in San Francisco we have seen the problem grow immensely, with tons of money being spent. Haunting is both acute and generally are haunted, but that haunting comes from the haunting of society. The (2) United States is permanently haunted by the homeless, its massive population of poor and the violence intertwined in its past, present and future days. Haunting’s aim is to wrong the wrongs, a confirmation that the rich and middle class hope to evade. On Good Friday the cross call’s us to look at its “backside”, the side that points us seeing the homeless from their perspective, not one judgment, but one of love, and to work to end homelessness. The First Station The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Olives Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed and agitated. 34 And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” 35 And going a little farther, he threw himself on the (3) ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. 36 He said, “Abba,[a] Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” Jesus felt sorrow and dread over what lay ahead of him of him. He prayed for the burden to be lifted and the cross to be removed. He accepted his future, “:Not my will but your will.” We are haunted by the pain of the homeless, and as we see them around us we feel dread and fear. In our haunting we are pushed to walk with them and help them. “Not my will but thine be done.” (Mark 14:43-46). All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. And follow me.” The Second Station The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived, and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47 But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a rebel? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 All of them deserted him and fled.1 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.” (Mark 14:42-46) Rejection always hurts. It tears at our self-esteem, makes us feel like we are nothing, and leaves us doubting who we are. Homeless people are rejected all the time. When people walk by and do not even see the person on the side walk they feel like they nothing. May we be haunted by the feeling of rejection, as we look at our neighbor before us. All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. And follow me.” (4) The Third Station The Sanhedrin Condemns Jesus Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 53 They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. 54 Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. 55 Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. 56 For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. 57 Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, 58 “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.’ ” 59 But even on this point their testimony did not agree. 60 Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” 61 But he was silent and did not answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah,[k](5) the Son of the Blessed One?” 62 Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’ ” 63 Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? 64 You have heard his blasphemy! What is your decision?” All of them condemned him as deserving death. 65 Some began to spit on him, to blindfold him, and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” The guards also took him and beat him.(Mark 14:55-63), Envy and jealously can be like a cancerous disease, They haunt us, spreading through our bodies leading to destruction. Gossip and false accusations, leads us to push aside the homeless, in much the same way the Sanhedrin pushed aside Jesus. We are haunted by only listening to gossip, accusations, and the fear of others in pushing homeless individuals aside. All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. and follow me.” (6) The Fourth Station Peter Denies Jesus Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 66” While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the female servants of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt.[a] Then the cock crowed.[b] 69 And the female servant, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and you talk like one.”[c] 71 But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man (7) you are talking about.” 72 At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. Mark 14:66-72.” We are all like Peter. We deny our friends and lie when placed in a fearful situation. We are always for ourselves. We are haunted by these denials. We are haunted by the denials of caring for homeless people on the street. Like Peter if we return in faithfulness to Jesus, he will use our haunting on raising people on the streets into a new life. All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. and follow me.” The Fifth Station Pilate Condemns Jesus to the Cross Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. (8) 15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” 3 Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. “6 Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. 7 Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8 So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. 9 Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do[a] with the man you call[b] the King of the Jews?” 13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14 Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the (9) crowd, released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified” Mark 15: 1, 6-15. Dietrich Bonhoeffer critiques unconditional forgiveness in his book, The Cost of Discipleship as “cheap grace” and tells us, “cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism with out church discipline, communion without confession, and forgiveness without absolution. Forgiving someone without requiring repentance in action, allows them to continue their abusive behavior and allows continued suffering.” As we see Jesus condemned, and our condemning by cheap grace let a remember the words of St. Oscar Romero: “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.” Leader: Lord, may we looking at the cross hear the voice of Jesus calling us to turn our eyes to the sidewalks, the alleys, and street corners, and see your children, and our brothers and sisters. Amen. (10) All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Sixth Station Jesus is Scouraged and Crowned with Thorns Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “Then they took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, ‘Hail King of the Jews!’ And they struck him repeatedly.” John 19:1-3 Pilate had Jesus scourged, a truly brutal punishment. He was probably stripped to the waste and bent over a short pillar. The pain was excruciating. James, 55, was in a doorway, with his belongings and a policeman told him to move, James said ‘It is raining’ and the policeman struck him with his baton. (11) All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” Seventh Station Jesus Is Mocked by the Soldiers and Given His Cross Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “The soldiers lead him away inside the palace, that is the praetorian, and assembled the whole cohort. . They begin salute him. . .and beat him. . . And when they had mocked him they stripped him of his purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes and led him out to crucify him.” Mark 15:16,18a19-20.” The City has proposed to build some housing for homeless people, small houses in several of our neighborhoods, the residents are screaming, “No homeless housing in our neighborhood.” (12) The homeless remain silent, so different from us who are housed and have money. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” Eighth Station Simon the Cyrenian Helps Jesus Carry the Cross Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.” Mark 15:21 Those in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus compelled Simon, a man from the country. They had to compel (13) Simon, he knew little of Jesus, but what about us? We know all about Jesus, and his ministry of serving the poor, and yet we have to be compelled to house, feed, clothe, and provide health care to our homeless neighbors, and little at that. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Nineth Station Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said: ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.’” Luke 23:27-28. (14) Compassion means literally, to suffer with someone. Empathy means to feel with them. These women displayed both qualities as they accompanied Jesus. We are called to show both of these qualities in our accompanying our homeless neighbors on their journey. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Tenth Station Jesus Is Crucified Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “They brought him to the place of Golgotha (which is translated Place of the Skull). They gave him wine drugged with myrrh, but he did not take it. Then they crucified him and divided his garments by lots for them to see what each should take.” Mark 15:22-24 (15) First they drove nails through his hands and feet. Then they raised him on the cross, where he hung painfully for three hours. Pope John XXIII had a crucifix on his bedroom wall. He prayed in front of it before retiring, upon arising, and whenever worries awakened him during the night. “A cross,” he said, “is the primary symbol of God’s love for us.” I wear a silver cross with an Amherst in the middle. The Amherst was given to me by a young man, sitting on Haight Street. James place the Amherst in my hand after turning down a man’s offer of $100.00, saying, “River this is for your love for us street kids,” and I placed it on a silver cross to remind me that serving homeless kids is more valuable than money, power, prestige and security. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Eleventh Station Jesus Promises Paradise to the Penitent Criminal Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you.(16) All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him and two criminals there, on his right, and the other on his left. . Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus. .The other, however rebuking him, said, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation?. .And we are condemned justly.’ Then he said: ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom,’ and Jesus replied, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise.’ One criminal said, ’no’ to Christ, the other ‘yes”. To the one who said ‘yes’ he promised immediate entrance into “Paradise”. We are asked today to say ‘yes’ to caring for our homeless neighbors, and Christ’s promise is we enter into the reign of God here on earth. For the Kingdom of God is here now, and in service we have a taste of Paradise.(17) All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Twelfth Station Jesus Speaks to His Mother and to His Disciples Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother’s and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, ’Behold your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple too her into his home.” John 19:25-27. With these words Jesus gives Mary to us, making her our mother, who reminds us to unite our sufferings with her son on the cross and her at the bottom of the cross. In so (18) doing we share in Christ’s work of serving others. Jesus calls us to serve the those who are most ignored in our society, and we see the homeless on our streets. Let us bring Christ’s love and grace to our homeless brothers and sisters. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Thirteenth Station Jesus Dies on the Cross Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.’ .. .Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. (19) Jesus, as faithful Jew, would have prayed the Psalms regularly. It is no surprise that these words from Psalm 22 are in his mouth in those painful last moments. Shortly afterward he surrenders his total self to God with these words: “”Father into your hands I commend my spirit.” May these words at our last be on our lips when we breathe our last. And may they come after a life of service to him in the broken body of Christ as seen in those who sleep on the street. For each day we see the broken Christ in each homeless person we meet. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Fourteenth Station Jesus Dies on the Cross Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation.(20) “When it was already evening, since it was the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the Kingdom of God. . .courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. .he gave the body to Joseph. Having bought a linen cloth he took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.” Mark 15:42-46. Starting on Good Friday we enter into a period of silent grief, a time of mourning that looks with hope to the joy of the resurrection that begins at mid-night on Sunday. We grieve in much the same way when someone we love dies. There are tears and sorrow, of course, but rays of hope and belief in new life in Christ that is to come. On this day as we return home, let us look at Christ dead in our midst, in those on the street, and let us pledge to (22) bring them new life in our care of them in the days ahead. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” The Fifteenth Station Jesus Rises from the Dead Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. “. . . .When they looked up, they saw the stone had been rolled back; it was very large. On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth. He has been raised, he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him.” Mark 16:1-6 Hallelujah Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! (23) His triumph is ours as well. On Easter Sunday, and in the many other Easters of our lives, we rise above our failures, our burdens, and our struggles, we too emerge victorious. Throughout our own Good Fridays, the risen Lord is by our side, pledging that we too, will rise again, and enter his Reign on earth, and unto eternity. Through the years I find the majority of youth and adults who are on the streets have poor experiences with Christians. Christians are the unseen. Not welcome in local churches, and the direct persecution through trying to remove them from their neighborhoods. As we enter the new life of Easter let us hear the words of Jesus, and asked ourselves do we honor his commands: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd (24) separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you (25) sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And (25) these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” I would like to invite any one to come forward if you would like to be anointed with oil, and given the body of Christ in the Eucharist. Thank you for coming and may you have a Happy Easter! "Today I choose. Today I bear witness to grace. Today I practice kindness. Today I choose love over fear. Today I am not afraid to be generous. Today I belong to the whole world, not merely a portion of it. No matter what others around me choose, today I choose to live in peace." Steven Garnaas--Holmes Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T,
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross
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Short Shifted!John 5:1-16
THE EIGHTH STATION Simon the Cyrenian Helps Jesus Carry the Cross MARK 15:21 Leader We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. Leader Those in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus compelled Simon, a man from the country. They had to compel Simon, he knew little of Jesus, but what about us? We know all about Jesus, and his ministry of serving the poor, and yet we have to be compelled to house, feed, clothe, and provide health care to our homeless neighbors, and little at that. All Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” 10 THE NINTH STATION Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem LUKE 23:27-28 Read More
Leader We adore you O Christ, and we praise you.
All Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. A large crowd of people followed Jesus, including many women who mourned and lamented him. Jesus turned to them and said: ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children.’ Leader: Compassion means literally, to suffer with someone. Empathy means to feel with them. These women displayed both qualities as they accompanied Jesus. We are called to show both of these qualities in our accompanying our homeless neighbors on their journey. All Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” "Short shifted" is a word that means "to pay little or no attention to a subject or person." But what I did not know was the "formal", "archaic" definition of "short shift". It shocked me: "Barely adequate time for a confession before execution." Figuratively this is the way many homeless people feel. They are treated differently, people really never treat them as "human beings". I remember a time in Portland being very sick, a minister "friend" told me he could pick me up after his dinner, meaning I would wait two hours; a homeless friend ran and got his car and took me to the hospital, and my minister friend commented later, "how could you ride to the hospital with a person like that?" My friend was "short shifted." I have been talking to several elderly on the street. They sleep in the doorways of closed businesses, and I am told how they are simply ignored and sometimes spat upon. This is "short shifting". St. Clare of Assisi tells us: "We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become." On Good Friday as we begin the Stations in front of City Hall, we enter the Tenderloin, a stand end for ancient Jerusalem, where Christ is right in front of us and see him crucified every day on the streets, he is real, and calls us to a life of compassion meaning literally, to suffer with someone. Empathy means to feel with them! In doing so we will be "short lifted" with Jesus! But O what a great time we will have! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! "Today I choose.
Today I bear witness to grace. Today I practice kindness. Today I choose love over fear Today I am not afraid to be generous. Today I belong to the whole world, not merely a portion of it. No matter what others around me choose, today I choose to live in peace." Steven Garnaas--Holmes Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T,
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross"Our Haunting!"
April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish Soda Bread 2.5 lb. loaf image 1 during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that. $15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ |
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THE SEVENTH STATION"In Kids on the Street Joseph Plaster explores the informal support networks that enabled abandoned and runaway queer youth to survive in tenderloin districts across the United States. Tracing the history of the downtown lodging house districts where marginally housed youth regularly lived beginning in the late 1800s, Plaster focuses on San Francisco’s Tenderloin from the 1950s to the present. He draws on archival, ethnographic, oral history, and public humanities research to outline the queer kinship networks, religious practices, performative storytelling, and migratory patterns that allowed these kids to foster social support and mutual aid. He shows how they collectively and creatively managed the social trauma they experienced, in part by building relationships with johns, bartenders, hotel managers, bouncers, and other vice district denizens. By highlighting a politics where the marginal position of street kids is the basis for a moral economy of reciprocity, Plaster excavates a history of queer life that has been overshadowed by major narratives of gay progress and pride."
THE SEVENTH STATION Jesus Is Mocked by the Soldiers and Given His Cross MARK 15:16-20 Leader We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. The soldiers lead him away inside the palace, that is the praetorian, and assembled the whole cohort... They began to salute him. . .and beat him. . . And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of his purple cloak, dressed him in his own clothes and led him out to crucify him. Read More
Leader The City has proposed to build some housing for homeless people, small houses in several of our neighborhoods, the residents are screaming, “No homeless housing in our neighborhood.” The homeless remain silent, so different from us who are housed and have money.
All Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” In his book Dr. Joseph Plaster presents and excellent sociological perspective of Polk Street through the years. He points out that until LGBTQ entered into the mainstream Polk Street was stigmatized, poor, and seen as the area were queers were to hang out and now Polk Street is simply an upper middle class straight street.
In his chapter on "Street Churches" and talking about three street ministers through the years, of which I am the "last one", he describes our ministry as: ""the anarchist Catholic Worker Movement. devoted to nonviolence, voluntary poverty, and serving people on the margins; and the Old Catholics, a religious underground that claims ecclesiastical. . authority through and unbroken chain of ordinations stemming from the apostles. . .River approached street kids as 'sacred figures' and the Tenderloin as 'a sacred space.' Taking as his inspiration the life of Christ, he 'sought out the most loathsome and unclean' and created a ministry identified with those 'who find themselves abandoned and isolated in their suffering.'' Each year using the Tenderloin as a standard for ancient Jerusalem he made the Stations of the Cross, reenacting the journey of suffering that marked Christ's last hours.s 'People think about the crucifixion in terms of the past, something that is back there two thousand years ago,' he said,'But to me, Christ is right here. I see him being crucified everyday on the streets of the City.' No one wants people who are poor, who are homeless around them--put them "somewhere" else. Polk Street is a common example. As primary upper middle class people moved in, the inexpensive SRO's were moved out. Housing is now expensive, surrounded by coffee shops; The citizens of Haight Street would not allow an area for assisting homeless individuals, and now a high rent apartment building is being constructed. Street kids are shunned. The cross points to the crucifixion of Jesus in our very midst and summons us to ask: Were You There When They Crucified My Lord? Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! Today I choose.
Today I bear witness to grace. Today I practice kindness. Today I choose love over fear. Today I am not afraid to be generous. Today I belong to the whole world, not merely a portion of it. No matter what others around me choose, today I choose to live in peace. Steven Garnaas--Holmes Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T,
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross"Our Haunting!"
April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that. $15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ |
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Make Me New!Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Psalm 51 THE SIXTH STATION Jesus is Scourged and Crowned with Thorns JOHN 19:1-3 Leader We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. Then they took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, ‘Hail King of the Jews!’ And they struck him repeatedly.” Leader Pilate had Jesus scourged, a truly brutal punishment. He was probably stripped to the waste and bent over a short pillar. The pain was excruciating. Read More
James, 55, was in a
doorway, with his belongings and a policeman told him to move, James said ‘It is raining’ and the policeman struck him with his baton. All Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!” Like most laments Psalm 51 begins with a cry directly to God. We call out with four imperatives: have mercy, blot out, wash and cleanse. But in the middle of the section we admit we are our on worst enemy: "I know my evil well; it stares me in the face."
Day before yesterday I went to Kaiser for a check up and walked passed some forty people who have no health insurance; my evil stares me in my face. I walked passed Jamie, a sixty year old man last night begging me for socks, and I should have taken my socks off and given them to him--my evil stares me in my face. I have let my own pain, and tiredness get in the way. I need to trust God completely! It is not easy to trust God this much! It is not easy to let the potter start over with the clay. Looking ahead, this is why I think the resurrection is Jesus' greatest act of obedience--and ours too! It is total surrender to God's gift of life, to God's creating hand! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! Today I choose.
Today I bear witness to grace. Today I practice kindness. Today I choose love over fear. Today I am not afraid to be generous. Today I belong to the whole world, not merely a portion of it. No matter what others around me choose, today I choose to live in peace. Steven Garnaas--Holmes Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T,
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross"Our Haunting!"
April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that. $15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ |
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Feet to the Fire!
The Fifth Station
"Pilate Condemns Jesus to the Cross" Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered him, “You say so.” 3 Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed. Read More
“6 Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. 7 Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder during the insurrection. 8 So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom. 9 Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead. 12 Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you wish me to do[a] with the man you call[b] the King of the Jews?” 13 They shouted back, “Crucify him!” 14 Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” 15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them, and after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified” Mark 15: 1, 6-15..
Dietrich Bonhoeffer critiques unconditional forgiveness in his book, The Cost of Discipleship as “cheap grace” and tells us, “cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism with out church discipline, communion without confession, and forgiveness without absolution. Forgiving someone without requiring repentance in action, allows them to continue their abusive behavior and allows continued suffering.” As we see Jesus condemned, and our condemning by cheap grace let a remember the words of St. Oscar Romero: “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.” Leader: Lord, may we looking at the cross hear the voice of Jesus calling us to turn our eyes to the sidewalks, the alleys, and street corners, and see your children, and our brothers and sisters. Amen. All: Jesus said: “If anyone wants to become my follower let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me!”
Daniel 3:25, 34-43; Matthew 18:21-35
In Daniel , we see Daniel in the furnace, and Azariah prays from a furnace which would make some of us self-obsessed. With no human rituals left, he asks for the balm of God's mercy. He focuses on God's wonders--and when he is delivered (3:52-90), Azariah sings praise to stars, snow, clouds, hills, rivers, birds, even "fire and heat"(66). What could destroy, instead transforms. When we look at the homeless, drug addicted, mentally ill, the young and old on our streets and are haunted! It is time that we lift our heads and look around us at the trees, hear the sounds of babies, and people, and see in them the beauty of God's creation, and turn our eyes to the street, and be a transforming agent. or as Oscar Romero tells us: “There are many things that can only be seen through eyes that have cried.” Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T,
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross"Our Haunting!"
April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that. $15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ |
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Tomorrows Justice Today!Luke 16:19-31
". . .Moreover between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to your side or our your side to our side." The chasm between Lazarus and the rich man was impossible to cross because the rich man did not serve Lazarus in life. The rich man like Peter denied Jesus, and lost eternal life. Read More
Yesterday there were around thirty people at the funeral of Alex Jones in the park in front of City Hall. Around us was the majesty of the City, and the children's park where Alex once took his little child.
The people present were people I have known through the years on the street. Like Alex they are on the side of the "chasm" where most people will not go, the "chasm" of poverty, drug use, homelessness. Like Peter we deny the existence of Jesus on the street. During our sharing time in the service each one shared of Alex's goodness, the "starfish" on the sand he threw back into the sea of life. It was a very moving service. Talking about the future we must take seriously the question of justice. If our hope for a better future is dismissive of the Alex's of the present than we have not understood the message of Jesus. Eternal life in God is a gift that we can embrace or refuse. It is a gift that begins in the here and now of our lives, and receiving it in fullness involves considerations about our existence as a whole. Homelessness is growing, they have little excess to health care, food, and housing. We can listen to the wisdom of Jesus on how life decisions, just and unjust, play a role in defining our ultimate relationship with God. Or we can listen to other voices, the choice is ours! You can be a Peter who denies Jesus or one who follows him! Yesterday I was experiencing eternity, and the presence of God at Alex's funeral! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! The Fourth Station Peter Denies Jesus Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 66” While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the female servants of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she stared at him and said, “You also were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.” 68 But he denied it, saying, “I do not know or understand what you are talking about.” And he went out into the forecourt.[a] Then the cock crowed.[b] 69 And the female servant, on seeing him, began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” 70 But again he denied it. Then after a little while the bystanders again said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them, for you are a Galilean, and you talk like one.”[c] 71 But he began to curse, and he swore an oath, “I do not know this man you are talking about.” 72 At that moment the cock crowed for the second time. Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept. Mark 14:66-72.” We are all like Peter. We deny our friends and lie when placed in a fearful situation. We are always for ourselves. We are haunted by these denials. We are haunted by the denials of caring for homeless people on the street. Like Peter if we return in faithfulness to Jesus, he will use our haunting on raising people on the streets into a new life. All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. and follow me.” Deo 'Gratias! Thanks be to God! ================================= Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T, P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross
"Our Haunting!" April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that. $15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ |
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The Third Station
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Ask and You Will Find, Seek and It Will Be Given to You!Matthew 7:7-12
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition Ask, Search, Knock 7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for bread, would give a stone? 10 Or if the child asked for a fish, would give a snake? 11 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! Read More
I spent the afternoon with Carolyn a young lady on her spiritual journey, presently at the Zen Center. She has been with me a couple of times on the street and very easy to work with and very caring in working with everyone.
Today looking through our many photos taken through the years Carolyn commented: "You have lived such a full, inspiring, giving and beautiful life." Carolyn does not know how much her words meant to me. A friend once told me "You are like a mountain and you can only view from a distance to see the beauty of your ministry." Li Poe wrote: I spent the afternoon with Carolyn a young lady on her spiritual journey, presently at the Zen Center. She has been with me a couple of times on the street and very easy to work with and very caring in working with everyone.
Today looking through our many photos taken through the years Carolyn commented: "You have lived such a full, inspiring, giving and beautiful life." Carolyn does not know how much her words meant to me. A friend once told me "You are like a mountain and you can only view from a distance to see the beauty of your ministry." Li Poe wrote: "The birds have vanished into the sky, and now the last cloud drains away. We sit together, the mountain and me, until only the mountain remains." Lent reminds us that our time will come, and we too will vanished, I am very aware that my time is coming. And as it comes I will continue to practice faith summed up in this quote by Leonard Boff: "Spirituality is that attitude which puts life at the center, and defends and promotes life against all the mechanisms of death, desiccation, or stagnation. " The life I have asked for has been given to me, sought has been found, and the door has been opened. And as an old Buddhist saying says: "Don't make yourself small for anyone. Be the awkward, funny, intelligent, beautiful little weirdo that you are. Don't hold back weird it out." Lent invites all of us to be "little weirdo's for Jesus, and for all other faiths as well or non-believers-our time is short, "weird it out" for when you "ask, seek, you will find", and God surprises us! ----------------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T, P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that.
$15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ 
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The Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus!Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you.
All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. 43 Immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived, and with him there was a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. 44 Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him and lead him away under guard.” 45 So when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” and kissed him. 46 Then they laid hands on him and arrested him. 47 But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. 48 Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a rebel? 49 Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But let the scriptures be fulfilled.” 50 All of them deserted him and fled.1 A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, 52 but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked.” (Mark 14:42-46) Read More
Rejection always hurts. It tears at our self-esteem, makes us feel like we are nothing, and leaves us doubting who we are. Homeless people are rejected all the time. When people walk by and do not even see the person on the side walk they feel like they nothing. May we be haunted by the feeling of rejection, as we look at our neighbor before us.
The Trevor Project's latest report examining the Mental Health of Black Transgender and Nonbinary Young People reveals one in four, of their group as compared to twelve percent of the cisgender and LGBQ groups have higher rates of victimization, attempts from others to change their sexual orientation and housing instability. We have failed to see one of the understandings of our evolution as human beings is the various gender differences; and the Church in particular continues its journey of bias, transphobia, and homophobia. We are still racially discriminating. A recent study show that 50% of blacks have no faith in their white brothers and sisters. When we fail to acknowledge the racial discrimination, fail to even seek to understand, and ignore the rejection and discrimination of trans and nonbinary folk we are betraying Jesus in our midst! All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. And follow me.” --------------------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T, P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross
"Our Haunting!" April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that.
$15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ 
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Being Nudged!The First Station
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden of Olives Leader: We adore you O Christ, and we praise you. All: Because by your Holy Cross you have saved all of creation. They went to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took with him Peter and James and John and began to be distressed and agitated. And he said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.” Read More
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. He said, “Abba, Father, for you all.
things are possible; remove this cup from me, yet not what I want but what you want.” Jesus felt sorrow and dread over what lay ahead of him of him. He prayed for the burden to be lifted and the cross to be removed. He accepted his future, “:Not my will but your will.” We are haunted by the pain of the homeless, and as we see them around us we feel dread and fear. In our haunting we are pushed to walk with them and help them. “Not my will but thine be done.” (Mark 14:43-46). All: Jesus declares: “If anyone wants to become a follower, let them deny themselves and take up their cross. And follow me.” The Reverend Canon Dana Corsello of Washington National Cathedral wrote this piece based on Matthew 25:31-46 which summarizes our First Station:
"I know many of you heard about the “true angel in Buffalo,” Sha’Kyra Aughtry, who with her partner, Trent Alls, Jr., rescued a man standing outside their home in a raging blizzard at 5 a.m. on Christmas Eve. Joey White, a 64-year-old mentally disabled man, became disoriented and lost while walking home from his movie-theater job that evening. He was on the brink of severe frostbite when Sha’Kyra looked out the window and saw him staggering in the elements. They took him in and nursed him until a band of Good Samaritans could make their way in a 4X4 truck to the Emergency Room two days later. I share this story with you because of what Trent said to David Begnaud of CBS Mornings when David surprised them with Superbowl tickets courtesy of the NFL and Delta Airlines. Trent confessed that he may not have opened the door if Sha'Kyra hadn’t prodded him. What really convicted me was his confession, “Before this incident I only wanted to help people when it was convenient for me.” That sentence and sentiment hit me hard. Convenient for me. How many times have we seen people in need and kept walking or driving down the road? I have even said to myself, “Surely someone will help them. I can’t today. Too busy, too much going on.” And then I am wracked with guilt. How about you? “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?” Then he will answer them, “Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.” Friends, let’s commit to taking risks and becoming “helpers” this Lent. It’s not about getting treated to the Super Bowl or Disneyland for our good deeds—it’s what Jesus calls us to do!". Omniscient God, guide us, nudge us, protect us as we open our hearts and minds to serve those in need. May we trust Christ Jesus in you to always lead us where we need to go and how best to love our neighbor. Amen. Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T,
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross
"Our Haunting!" April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that.
$15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ 
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"Our Hauntedness!"People, who live on the streets, the homeless, have haunted me all of my life. From the time I was six years old, driving late night through Sequoia National Park, seeing an old homeless woman walking up the road, and when I was seven walking across the street with a homeless person begging for money.
Haunting is the relentless remembering and continue reminding that will not be appeased the propaganda of assistance and care or the promises of our city, state, and national Governments that all will be well. In over twenty years in San Francisco we have seen the problem grow immensely, with tons of money being spent. Read More
Haunting is both acute and generally are haunted, but that haunting comes from the haunting of society. The
United States is permanently haunted by the homeless, its massive population of poor and the violence intertwined in its past, present and future days. Haunting aim is to wrong the wrongs, a confirmation that the rich and middle class hope to evade. On Good Friday the cross call’s us to look at its “backside”, the side that points us seeing the homeless from their perspective, not one judgment, but one of love, and to work to end homelessness. As we enter Lent I meditate on how we are all haunted by hour own ghosts! One ghost that has haunted me since being smiled at by a homeless person in Memphis when I was six are the homeless. All my life the ghost of homelessness has followed me.
I was without an address for two years in L.A., yet I was not homeless making enough money to have a hotel room every night but always afraid I would be without food or a place to live, I struggled like hell everyday? There are times these two ghosts haunt me--over eating for fear of not having enough money for another meal, always worrying about losing my housing and not having enough money to find another place in San Francisco or anywhere. Being homeless leaves scars, severe scars. For nearly thirty years I have sought to confront the ghost of homelessness, using all my strength to walk with youth and adults who have no homes, food, health care, and friendship. The words of Sr. Marie Augusta Neal, raises a question for all of us in her words: "When the poor reach out to take what is rightfully theirs, what does the gospel mandate the non-poor to do? To let go our grasp on the things the poor need in order to survive." Deo Gratis! Thanks be to God! ---------------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T, P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross
"Our Haunting!" April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with Fr. River Damien Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. 
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that.
$15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather's iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ 
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Time to Break Something!Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Concerning Alms giving 6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your alms may be done in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[a] Read More
Concerning Prayer 5 “And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 6 But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and Concerning Fasting 16 “And whenever you fast, do not look somber, like the hypocrites, for they mark their faces to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.[g] As a child, I was warned to be careful in my grandmother's living room not to break her porcelain figurines, "Don't touch, Don't touch!" We do the same in our churches, warning God's children not to touch certain valuable items! Orderliness and not rocking the boat are the norm. We are trained to have a life of orderliness and control. Lent is a time of examination of our own actions. What actions have hurt our brothers and sisters? Maybe it is time to break something? Take notice of your surroundings and act! Maybe it is time to break open our church doors and let people of different races, genders, LGBTQIA+, and homeless in? To let them be themselves and meet them where they are? Pope Francis gives us some suggestions of how we can observe Lent, with several added by Father River: to break our habits of apathy and indifference and break the culture of turning a blind eye to those in need, breaking through to a better world by looking inside our heart, speaking out, and speaking up for our brothers and sisters who need our help: 
"Feed the Hungry" As a part of your fast for Lent, save half of food you are eating in a restaurant and take out to a homeless person, and talked to him; "Welcome the Stranger": Welcome an undocumented person into your home and church; welcome an LGBTQlA+ into your church and home; Welcome the Homeless": Take a homeless person out for a meal; sit with a homeless person on the sidewalk, take her out for lunch; "Visit the Sick": Visit the homeless in the hospital; visit the aged, the housebound who are ill. Let us renew ourselves this Lent and breakaway from a culture of indifference to one that cultivates encounters and welcome! |
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The Twenty Second Annual Stations of the Cross "Our Haunting!"April 7, 2023
Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with River Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many Irish during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. Read More
There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the good fairies are released. We like to believe in that.
$15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164. Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/. 
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Priest As Dreamer!"In the last days it shall be as God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh and your sons and daughters shall prophecy, and your young men and women shall see visions, and your old men and women shall see dreams."
Acts 2:17 The Bushmen of Africa talk about two hungers:
The Little Hunger yearns for food, while the Great Hunger, yearns for meaning. Only a life that yearns for the hunger for purpose is truly fulfilled. Only a life that has the Great Hunger is truly human! Priest the Dreamer! One night a young twelve you old,sitting around a campfire at summer camp, felt his "heart strangely warmed", called to ministry, and thus began his journey to fill the Great Hunger, in the search for meaning! Priest the Dreamer! Read More
His journey took him through college, seminary, and ordination into ministry, following the Great Hunger, of the Dream. At his ordination, his bishop challenged the ordinals, "you are called to wait tables." Priest the Dreamer!
"To wait tables!" "Preach the Word and Administer the Sacraments", the Dream became a covering of hope and meaning! Priest the Dreamer! And the Dream brought him to San Francisco, becoming visible in those we serve! Priest the Dreamer! The dream is seen in the young man who pulls a knife, and spits in anger at the priest who sees the face of the broken Christ! Priest the Dreamer! One sees the dream in the man stabbing this priest with a syringe full of blood, giving him malaria, and later murdering the priest's son, leading to the priest learning the meaning of Jesus's command to forgive! Priest the Dreamer! The dream is seen in the young boy, high on drugs hitting the priest with a club and the days following not knowing whether he would be able to walk again! The dream was seen on the boy's face when told he was forgiven! Priest the Dreamer! My dream has been sustained, supported, and this is why in the best and worst of times I see the Dreamer leading me into Galilee What is your dream? What sustains you in the darkest of times? Find the dream that feeds the hunger for meaning! Priest the Dreamer! Lent begins Wednesday, and is a time of reflection! A time to enter into the heart of the Great Dreamer, finding the Dream meaning! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! 
Fr. River Damien Sims sfw, D.Min, D.S.T
P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 9416 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124
"Our Haunting!"
April 7, 2023 Civic Center Noon-2 p.m. Food Provided By: AUNT BARBARA’S KITCHEN GOOD FRIDAY IRISH SODA BREAD BLITZ ON POLK STREET in alliance with River Sims of Temenos https://www.temenos.org/ Please help support a Good Friday initiative. Fr. River Sims aims to serve 200 folks with Irish Soda Bread, the food that supported many IrishIrish Soda Bread 2.5 lb. loaf image 1 during hard times. It’s in the spirit of community and nurturing. There’s a legend that when a cross is made in each loaf before baking, all the goodfairies are released. We like to believe in that. $15/loaf payable through www.temenos.org , pay pal, or Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen/Temenos Catholic Worker, P.O. Box 642656, San Francisco, CA 94164 Aunt Barbara’s Kitchen is a Cottage Food Operation from a home kitchen in Marin County. The business started with $10 and Aunt Barbara’s great grandfather iron skillet with the intention to build a business model that feeds the hungry and revenue that goes to youth in college. The owner volunteers her time to this endeavor and takes no revenue for herself, at this time. She hopes to reshape the model of what businesses can create for communities, especially our youth, to cultivate and showcase the power of human investment. 415 717 0151 https://barbaramcveigh.com/aunt-barbaras-kitchen/ 
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Holy Moments! The Beauty of the Broken!Sirah 15:15-20;I Corinthians 2:6-10; Matthew 5:17-37
6th Sunday in Ordinary Time The Gospel readings for the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time focus on the commandments. Jesus revisits the Jewish Law offering another way of thinking about them. Jesus does not condemn those who do not follow the commandments. He recognizes that we as humans are not perfect beings. Instead, he gives us a lesson on humility by pointing out that we are all broken in some way. He urges us to understand the imperfections in ourselves, which allows us to understand the imperfections in all broken human beings. If we want to follow Jesus, we must love each other despite our brokenness. We have a very, very difficult time loving our brothers and sisters. We judge, we criticize and when I judge I am reminded when am pointing one finger toward another, there are three which point back at me. "Holy Moments!" Read More
Recently I was eating on Mission Street, and a lady spoke to me, I did not recognize her, a stunning woman. "You do not recognize me? I am Delila, one of the working girls?", laughing. "You saved my ass on Polk Street many a time?" We talked, and she shared her work with sex workers in the Mission, and handed me this poem laughing, the girls and I call you the "rent boy priest", you are our priest: Rent Boy I used to have a room Somewhere I could call all mine I was alive and happy I was doing fine. I turned to my Dad and told him I was gay He beat me, scolded me and threw me away ashamed and disgusted that I his son was gay. Cast aside like yesterday’s trash Once a loved child until that day I came out and told him, ‘Dad, I’m gay’ Shunned by religion Told by the Church of England to go away I slept on the streets I sold my body for food Yeah I bought a sandwich For which I let myself get screwed You may find my language wrong, or think I am crude Well, I make no apologies, Living on the streets you have to be shrewd Come on captain, vicar, teacher, and whoever you are Sure you can wear your shoes You don’t have to pay me more I am a boy that cannot refuse After all sex with you Buys me my food. I used to be someone’s child Yes someone’s son, a brother, cousin, nephew and so on Here I am selling myself to you for sex But hey ho its the way life goes, Working the streets yes the sluts, whores, rent boys and Ho’s Come on minister You can wear your shoes Your office, home, a hotel you choose If you are paying for me I ain’t gonna to refuse I can even do a bargain discount on a blow job up against the wall You choose Sir Anyway at all. I used to have a home I used to be someone Now all I am is a rent-boy Homeless A nothing A Nobody That’s right No one. . .!!! -------------------- Billy De-Vere "Holy Moments!" Yes, this morning brought back memories, very painful memories, and good memories. I have learned that happiness is not black and white but comes together in the middle and you see both feelings, simply as one entity complementing the other. One can come to simply see life in the present, and each moment is a Holy Moment, bringing a transformation to our lives. I was raped, physically and emotionally abused, and yet I experienced much goodness in my fellow sex workers, 'johns', and many others. "Holy Moments!" It was through the process of coming out of sex work. Jesus was present and brought me back to a new life, and ministry that is far more rewarding than my ministry before. Each moment is a "Holy Moment!" Coming to San Francisco I was divided, resentful of the Church, depressed, anxious, and afraid, as I began this ministry. And into my life came a psychiatrist, Dr. William Anderson. Dr. Anderson simply listened to me through the years and guided me into seeing the wounds that I suffer, as a part of one broken jar, healed together, making a beautiful piece of work. For his patience, giving me a low fee, and most of all love I will always be thankful! Each moment is a "Holy Moment!" I am proud to be called the "rent boy" priest, for in woundedness comes healing for others. Ha! Holy Moments! My former denomination literally crucified me for being gay, making up rumors, to cover their tracks. I have one friend now from those days who could not have been my friend before he retired. I was thrown out on the streets, and I hated, literally hated the Church, and God. "Holy Moments!" But in allowing myself to let the Spirit of God move, my love for the Church has returned, the Church I serve like John Wesley is "outside the Gates". "Holy Moments!" Each week as the Eucharist is celebrated on Haight Street with homeless young people and adults, and in my apartment with individuals who work the late shift in the surrounding hospitals the Church is present. "Holy Moments!" Sitting with a family whose brother has just been found dead in a storage container he rented, and was locked , the Church is present. "Holy Moments"! The following Ode is a reminder the Church is made up of broken people: Ode to the Church. How much I must criticize you, my church, and yet how much I love you! How you have made me suffer much and yet owe much to you. I should like to see you destroyed and yet I need your presence. You have given me much scandal and yet you alone have made me understand holiness. Never in this world have I seen anything more obscurantist, more compromised, more false, and yet never in this world have I touched anything purer, more generous, and more beautiful. Many times I have felt like slamming the door of my soul in your face – and yet how often I have prayed that I might die in your sure arms! No, I cannot be free of you, for I am one with you, even though not completely you. Then, too – where would I go? To build another church? But I cannot build another without the same defects, for they are my own defeats I bear within me. And again, if I build one, it will be my Church, and no longer Christ’s. No, I am old enough to know that I am no better than others. I shall not leave this Church, founded on so frail a rock, because I should be founding another one on an even frailer rock: myself. And then, what do rocks matter? What matters is Christ’s promise, what matters is the cement that binds the rocks into one: the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit alone can build the Church with stones as ill‐hewn as we. Carlo Carretto. Life is a "Holy Moment!" Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ---------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 --------------- Dr. Anderson, I hope you are reading my blog, for I want to truly thank you for all the Holy Moments you gave to me. |
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Priest As Fool! In the Beginning!Reading 1 Gn 1:1-19
In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw how good the light was. God then separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." Thus evening came, and morning followed–the first day. Read More
Then God said, "Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters, to separate one body of water from the other." And so it happened: God made the dome, and it separated the water above the dome from the water below it. God called the dome "the sky." Evening came, and morning followed–the second day. Then God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered into a single basin, so that the dry land may appear." And so it happened: the water under the sky was gathered into its basin, and the dry land appeared. God called the dry land "the earth," and the basin of the water he called "the sea." God saw how good it was. Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth vegetation: every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it." And so it happened: the earth brought forth every kind of plant that bears seed and every kind of fruit tree on earth that bears fruit with its seed in it. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed–the third day. Then God said: "Let there be lights in the dome of the sky, to separate day from night. Let them mark the fixed times, the days and the years, and serve as luminaries in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth." And so it happened: God made the two great lights, the greater one to govern the day, and the lesser one to govern the night; and he made the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky, to shed light upon the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw how good it was. Evening came, and morning followed–the fourth day. Responsorial Psalm Ps 104:1-2a, 5-6, 10 and 12, 24 and 35c R. (31b) May the Lord be glad in his works. Bless the LORD, O my soul! O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in light as with a cloak. R. May the Lord be glad in his works. You fixed the earth upon its foundation, not to be moved forever; With the ocean, as with a garment, you covered it; above the mountains the waters stood. R. May the Lord be glad in his works. You send forth springs into the watercourses that wind among the mountains. Beside them the birds of heaven dwell; from among the branches they send forth their song. R. May the Lord be glad in his works. How manifold are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all— the earth is full of your creatures; Bless the LORD, O my soul! Alleluia. R. May the Lord be glad in his works. Alleluia Mt 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Jesus preached the Gospel of the Kingdom and cured every disease among the people. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 6:53-56 After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennesaret and tied up there. As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding country and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. Whatever villages or towns or countryside he entered, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed. ========================= Remembering the Emmaual AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, in 2015 offering nothing but words of forgiveness towards Dylan Roof, I see and hear Jesus saying: Humans are not made for the Sabbath: the sabbath is made for humans." This proclamation by Jesus is not to be confined to a narrow interpretation of Jewish law, but a cosmological statement concerning the relationship of each and every human being to all institutions. Institutions are made for humanity or as one seminary professor once proclaimed: "Jesus came to put an end to religion." Institutions have become instruments of death. Their preservation has become the a form of idolatry, we raise millions for their survival ignoring the homeless, the handicapped, all they have been created to serve. Institutions have become more ineffective and corrupt. Basic human needs are ignored for their survival. In the last twenty years, sexual abuse rings through all institutions because we have endowed them with magical, life-changing power, and because we place the "Divine" within the Church, the Church has hurt millions. I love the Church, and see its human form, but also see her as my Mother in the service of feeding the hungry etc. I do not give her magical power over me, but work in service. We must begin to look at our expectations of institutions and see how we project life-giving qualities within them, thus setting them up to have power over us. Jesus would have us withdraw those projections we place on institutions and place those expectations within ourselves. We must include whatever we project onto the institution of Jesus; each of us must come to know himself or herself as priest, anointed one, prophet. If we fail to withdraw our projections and continue to endow institutions with magical-divine power they will kill us. Jesus never intended to found a "religion", he intended for us to encounter the Divine, bring the Divine within ourselves, and serve others. As the Buddhists say: "There is a time on the spiritual journey when a person must decide never to belong to anything else ever again. Temenos is formed as a religious, church, non-profit, for tax purposes, at my death its money will be given for socks, food, and other supplies for street kids, and then dissolved. I am a priest, ordained as a sign of my calling, but the priesthood to which I am a member is that of the "priesthood of all believers." In the beginning, all was good, and in the person of Jesus he came to love, heal, and show us what the Kingdom of God truly is, not an institution for the reign of our God! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ------------------------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 temenos.org 415-305-2124 ------------------------------ If you want to be a prophet don't belong to an organization! Daniel Berrigan. |
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A Light Not of Our Own Making!"Priest As Fool!"
Isa. 58: 7-10: "Share your bread with the hungry, shelter the oppressed and the homeless, clothe the naked... 2 Corinthians 2:1-5: "For I resolve to know nothing while I was with you, but Jesus Christ and him crucified. ." Matthew 5:13-16: "Jesus said to his disciples, 'You are the salt of the earth'." Read More
Each day, in the words of the Eucharistic liturgy the words "Be what you see, become who you are," ring out as a reminder in that we are the salt of the earth, we should permeate all of creation with sermons being preached in acts of care, we are called to be instruments of God's work in the world, actively attending to the concrete needs of others. God is the deep origin of all that we do. The light of our concrete actions illuminate not our heroism and sanctity, but God's activity in and through us. My late friend Dr. Michael Dwinell wrote a book entitled Being Priest to One Another! One chapter is entitled: "Priest as a Fool," I will relate as it affects me, and I invite you to reflect on how you see yourself as a priest in the "priesthood of all believers". With all, I pour myself out into a powerful and passionate proclamation that the celebration of the Eucharist represents and demonstrates the heart of the drama of creation itself. I speak of death, of a raging death of violence. In lifting up the bread, and saying: "This is the body of Christ". I proclaim the absurd! It is even more absurd to remind that we are commanded imaginary and sacramentally to eat the dismembered limbs and spilled blood. Yet, even more, absurd is to proclaim that this is the food and drink of eternal life, of heaven, the very act of becoming one with Almighty God. This proclamation overturns our aesthetic taste, and our moral values, beyond reason. Either the declaration of a priest is the ravings of a lunatic or they are the absolute truth. If the witness and proclamation of the priest are of truth then the world is not what we think it is. Our modes of perception and our definitions of reality are grossly deficient and disturbed. The fool is one who takes the entire worldview, the whole view, turns it upside down, in and out, and throws it in the air, so that we understand what we take for granted is a mere fraction of reality. "Priest feeds us with brokenness and splits and death, and we are saved by cannibalizing brokenness and splits and death." I am always being asked questions about my relationships with institutions, and why I am not afraid of rumors and accusations, of being a "friend" to people I hang with. I see no divisions, no fear of anyone, but simply as children of God. I take all lightly and center in the Eucharist. I am a "fool for Christ." Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ---------------------- Father River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 temenos@gmail.com ========================= My thanks to Fr. Stephen Bartlett-Re and Bill and Dina Tiege for their support and care in my recovery from surgery! |
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To the Mississippiby: Charles Timothy Brooks (1813-1883)
Majestic stream! along thy banks, In silent, stately, solemn ranks, The forests stand, and seem with pride To gaze upon thy mighty tide; As when, in olden classic time, Beneath a soft, blue Grecian clime, Bent o'er the stage, in breathless awe, Crowds thrilled and trembled, as they saw Sweep by the pomp of human life, The sounding flood of passion's strife, And the great stream of history Glide on before the musing. There, row on row, the gazers rise; Above, look down the arching skies; Read More
O'er all those gathered multitudes
Such deep and voiceful silence broods, Methinks one mighty heart I hear Beat high with hope, or quake with fear;-- E'en so yon groves and forests seem Spectators of this rushing stream. In sweeping, circling ranks they rise, Beneath the blue o'erarching skies; They crowd around and forward lean, As eager to behold the scene-- To see, proud river! sparkling wide, The long procession of thy tide-- To stand and gaze, and feel with thee All thy unuttered ecstasy. It seems as if a heart did thrill Within yon forests, deep and still, So soft and ghost-like is the sound That stirs their solitude profound. More poems by Charles Timothy Brooks Copyright (c) 2007 - 2023 Black Cat Poems. All rights reserved. Browse poems by poet | Browse poems by subject These days I think of my life like the Mississippi River, a mighty river, one that at 15, a friend and I canoed from New Madrid, Missouri to New Orleans, Louisiana. We told our parents we were finishing our canoeing merit badge, and in the days before social media left them a note telling them our real plans. It was going to be a fun trip, only taking "a week" but it was the first real-life lesson we both would experience, a lesson that would prepare us for real life. We both were raised in well to do families, and given anything we wanted, in otherwords, we were entitled, spoiled rotten kids. It was a beautiful June morning as we pulled away from the New Madrid levy. Sunny, beautiful blue sky, And as we paddled further we encountered heavy currents, and through the next ten days found ourselves fighting heavy currents, and two thunderstorms. It was dangerous. There was much beauty, the trees, the wild ducks and geese, all varieties of birds, plenty of snakes, rabbits, and other creatures. We ate plenty of catfish and carp. We ate craw dead's. And as we entered the New Orleans harbor we could see the Gulf of Mexico looming ahead and the Mississippi joining the Gulf. Sitting at Toast eating a beautiful, healthy lunch, I experience guilt passing by people sitting on the street and only giving them a candy bar. I experience guilt in my warm apartment every night, and in having excellent health insurance. We all deserve food, housing, and health insurance. Every last human being deserves these rights. I was asked the other day for the umpteenth time, "What is your legacy going to be?" Donations have been withdrawn because I am not making any "progress" with getting the homeless off the street (hilarious with all the money the City has spent the last thirty years to do just that)! My legacy, is "I try!" My life tumbles hits the banks of the river, is knocked around by rocks and fallen branches of doubt, disappointment, people's judgment, anger, and hatred. Like all fish in the stream, I am bruised, and injured, by illness, and age. And like all fish, who fight the harshness of the river, I ultimately will lay down my life and enter the Gulf, the Great Sea, the presence of God. We become one with the Source and all of our anger, hatred, and prejudices disappear in that Great Love! One day Dorothy Day responded to some harsh criticism with these words: "I try!' Getting nearer to flowing into the Great Gulf/Sea of Life, I too respond with all of my heart and being, "I try!" to practice Matthew 25:31-43: Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.’ Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! "It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings us no pleasure on the world." John Steinback (East of Eden) -------------------------------------------------------- 
Ash Wednesday! February 22, 2023 Anointing and Imposing of Ashes On Polk: 8:00 p.m.-2:00 a.m. and Haight Street 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. ======================= We beg for gifts to provide pastoral care, food, socks, and other needs! You May Give By Mail: Temenos Catholic Worker P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 Pay Pal If anyone needs a tax summary for 2022 please email River! ------------------------- "I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine, and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers. It was like walking from a dream of separateness." Thomas Merton |
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In the Shadow Lands!
The Visit of the Magi: Matthew 2:1-9
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east[b] and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd[d] my people Israel.’ ” Read More
7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. ============ We now enter the season of Epiphany, the season in which we celebrate Christ being the Light of the World. The reality is his light is covered by shadows. We live in Shadow Land. All around us are the shadows of violence, fear, climate change, homelessness, poverty and so many more. The Shadow Land seen in Rebeca Shaw's words "tells us that human activity is driving plant and animal species to extinction at a rate not seen since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago. The biannual Living Planet Report from the World Wildlife Fund estimates that vertebrae populations have had an average decline of 70% since 1970." One report estimates that 40% of youth suicide are LGBTQ-related, and 10% of those are transgender. In the past three months, there have been two deaths of transgender youths. Both committed suicide. Their parents wanted nothing to do with them. We recently walked out on the Golden Gate Bridge, and with the "Service of Committal" cast their ashes into the sea, into the arms of God. A little of me dies with each person I know who dies. These shadows have been allowing our compassion to remain in the Shadow Land. It has been strange trying to share my grief, about my two young friends, who have died of suicide in the last 2 months. When asked why I am sad, and I am honest, faces turn the other way, and the subject is changed. They do not understand about why a person wishes to change their gender expression, and become transgender. For me it is seeing each person as a human being to be loved, allowing them simply to be a child of God. Many people are breaking traditional gender norms: young goth youth are wearing eyeliner and fingernail polish. I wear fingernail polish. We need to simply enjoy the child of God in each person. Several friends have talked to me about "retiring" and recently I read you become "elderly" when you have no mission or hope, and simply let yourself begin to die. There is a fire of love that burns within me and until that fire dies, I will not be "elderly" and retire. We live in the Shadow Land when we stay in our own"little tribes" and do not step out into the light of love for each person we encounter. So the question and challenge to us comes in the words of Fr. Gustavo Gutierrez Merino" "So you love the poor? Then tell me what are their names?" ======================== Fr. River Damien Sims. sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 |
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Following the Star!The Visit of the Magi
2 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star in the east[b] and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him, 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah[c] was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd[d] my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod secretly called for the magi[e] and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out, and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen in the east,[f] until it stopped over the place where the child was. Read More
---------------------------------------- Dorothy Soetile reminds us that following the Star is a lifelong pursuit: "The frightened shepherds become God's messengers. They organize, make haste, find others and speak with them. Do we not all want to become shepherds and catch sight of the angels? I think so. ...Because the angels sing, the shepherds rise, leave their fears behind, and set out for Bethlehem, wherever it is situated these days. --------------------------------------------- On the night of the birth of Jesus, there were three Wise Men, three Kings, powerful men, all they had to do was wiggle their little fingers, and all would be given to them. When they approached Jesus each offered a gift and walked away empty-handed. They were the first to acknowledge our call to leave our fears behind and set out for Bethlehem, wherever it is situated these days. Fr. Louie Vitale, from a wealthy family, a bomber pilot in the Second World War, followed the Star, leading him to his Bethlehem, turning his life upside down and leading him to the priesthood of working with the homeless and a non-violent advocate; The Reverend Glenda Hope, following followed the Star to Bethlehem was ordained the first woman in the Presbyterian Church in San Francisco, spending her life working with the homeless. Rio following the Star encountered Bethlehem in his call to ordination, the Star which led him through rejection and abandonment and brought him out of prostitution, to ministry with the homeless youth in San Francisco. Following the Star to Bethlehem does not make life easier, but centers us in Christ, allowing us to see the Reign of God where all will be healed! All three have seen the "Slaughtering of the Innocents" on the streets of San Francisco spending their lives in service. The "Slaughtering of Innocents" continue on the streets of San Francisco, and throughout our nation and the world! So Happy New Year! My NewYears Resolution is to continue to follow the Star which I found in Bethlem on the streets of San Francisco and to follow these concluding words: Hildegard Von Bingen "As the light begins to return in this circle of the seasons, we have spent some necessary time in quiet contemplation, not the simple vows of silence that are part of our normal waking and working hours, but the solitary contemplation that comes without distractions. My thoughts have often considered the many trappings and traditions of our church that rule the day-to-day moments of our lives. I imagine most religions have these and I question their relevance and purpose except to control the lives of the participants in some way. More and more I feel the need to ignore all the little “do” and “do nots” preached with the fiery threats of some hellish afterlife if we do not comply. The important basics only remain, to treat all of creation with respect, compassion, and above all, love. God is love. God loves all. We are asked to love all as well." -------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw. D.Min, D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 We are beggars! All gifts are tax-deductible in 2022! |
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God!
The Birth of Jesus Luke 2:1-14
2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 All went to their own towns to be registered. 4 Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. 5 He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no place in the guest room.[a] The Shepherds and the Angels 8 Now in that same region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah,[b] the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,[c] praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!” Read More
---------------------------------------- Two days ago I was having breakfast at a "Toast" across the street and in comes a man wrapped in a "tiger skin" blanket, with nothing underneath. The manager tried to rush him out, so I got up and ordered him breakfast and we sat outside. He introduced himself to me as "God", so for an hour we sat and talked about creation and his love for humanity. The police arrived and told the manager there was nothing they could do, "People run around in San Francisco naked all the time, he is apparently using drugs, but no threat to anyone." The comments of people walking by were very negative, many of them had been drinking, and several were smoking marijuana. There is a mushroom shop in the Haight, and I only know five or six people who are "straight edge", doing no drugs. We live in a drug culture, yet we criticize and try to run homeless people away when they are 'high'. I see naked men in the Castro all the time, but they are not homeless either, so that is ok. To me "God", in our photo is a sign, and he is a sign which means a great deal if we truly understand. We do understand it if we do not merely hear these tidings: This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger,” but also have in our hearts the light which appeared with the angels. He appeared with light when these tidings were first proclaimed to make us realize that it is only those who have the spiritual light in their minds who truly hear. This Christmas when you see homeless individuals on the street, in your heart see "God"! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ------------------------------ Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org ---------------------------- Personally, I would like to wish each one of you a very Merry Christmas! "May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you. May the Lord lift up his countenance and give you peace." Amen. |
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The Blessedness We Carry!Gospel Lk 1:46-56
Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. for he has looked upon his lowly servant. From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his Name. He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm and has scattered the pride in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.” Mary remained with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned to her home. Read More
---------------------------------------- What Hannah, Elizabeth, and Mary all have in common, what allows them to sing in harmony is that they know they have received God's blessing, Each one of them has carried the blessing around in their body, kicking and growing until no one who looks at her can miss it. For Mary, there is a great blessing, and hope for the future, there is great fear, and yet great trust in God. Mary has been embarrassed and afraid of the most miserable of the miserable, but God has blessed her in her low estate and has made her a promise she believes, and that is the living definition of faith, faith that gives substance to our hopes, faith in things not seen. Today we think of the mothers on the border, cold, afraid, and not knowing what tomorrow may bring. They come bringing such hopes for their children, facing a government that appears not to care. They come to a country they believe bears hope for everyone, yet are met with indifference, and uncaring. Today we think of the young men and women living on our streets, cold, afraid, rejected, treated with indifference, and ignored. Today we hear the cries of the 44% of LGTBQ youth who are considering suicide, the 62% who have not been able to receive the mental health care needed, the 50% not in an LGBTQ life-affirming school, and the 70% who experience discrimination based on sexual identity or gender identity issues. These percentages are for California alone. Today Mary stands with her arms open, reminding us that we are all, men and women, mothers of all who live in despair, fear, and hopelessness, calling us to cast down the mighty from their thrones, to lift up the poor, bringing housing. health care, food, and equality for all. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! |
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Cracking A Part the Shell to Open Hearts!Luke 1:26-38
Meister Echart wisely said, "Do not cling to the symbols, but GET TO THE INNER TRUTH. ."What good is it if Mary is full of grace IF WE ARE NOT FULL OF GRACE? And what good is it if Mary is the Mother of God? IF WE ARE NOT ALSO THE MOTHERS OF GOD?" Yesterday I completed the "Forty Mile Challenge" of the Trevor Project, by walking out to the center of the Golden Gate Bridge, where it was breezy and freezing cold. Praying the words of the Office of the Dead over the ashes in my hand of my young transgender friend I cast them over the Bridge into the Sea, and wondering at the same time if there was hypocrisy in doing so because those words come from the prayer book of a branch of religion he felt rejected him. Looking at the "inner truth of the Gospels," we see a Jesus who loved the poorest of the poor, the most broken, and never condemned anyone because of their sexual gender, in fact, he never mentioned it, calling each one of us into becoming "mothers of God." Redemption is not being "saved" from our "outward sin" but the liberation of our hearts from within to remove discrimination, hatred, and injustice from our hearts. "Redemption is the journey of being reconnected to the light of God within. It is a journey home that takes us through what seems like unknown land. Redemption is not the bringing of light into a creation that is essentially dark, but rather the liberating of light from the heart of life." J. Phillip Newell. Read More
Rather than telling me "how sorry" you are for my feelings, donate to the Trevor Project, double my donation of $500.00.
This Christmas go out on the streets, and look, look closely and you will find Transgender individuals, go to the Trangsgencer bar in your community, and take one individual out to lunch or dinner. We do not understand what we do not know! Push aside your taught beliefs by homophobes, and transphobes, and crack open the shell to new understanding and new life! Deo Gratias! ------------------------------------------ 
"Together, we can make sure that LGBTQ young people who need support know they are not alone. Your support will help us provide them with the affirmation and love they deserve--every single one. Your gift also helps Trevor to: Advocate against anti-LGBTQ laws and work with policymakers to pass legislation to protect LGBTQ youth Connect LGBTQ peers through TrevorSpace, our safe space social networking site Conduct original research to capture the unique experiences of LGBTQ young people Will you consider a monthly gift? By giving each month, this will help us ensure we’re able to reach every single one of the young LGBTQ people who reach out to us all year round. For questions about giving or website issues, please contact us at development@thetrevorproject.org or (212) 695-8650. The Trevor Project is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization and your gift is tax-deductible! ================================== Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656. San Francisco, CA 94164. www.temenos.org 415-305-2124. |
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Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe!December 12, 2022
"So Fill Our Imaginations!" Judith 13:18-19 "Then Uzziah said to her, "O daughter you are blessed by the Most High God above all other women on earth. . ." On this day of celebration let us "So Fill Our Imaginations" with the God who in various and sundry ways appears to us at the times needed. Our God reveals himself in many forms, and in the greatest times of need. Juan Diego was a simple man. He was Our Lady of Guadalupe's kind, "To him, she entrusted the delivery of a message instructing his bishop to build a sacred sight that would serve as a place of refuge and peace--a place where her Son would give the people his help, compassion and protection.. When the bishop turned him away, Juan Diego begged Mary to choose someone of status or nobility to do the very important work of God. "I am a nobody," he said, nothing, like a pile of sticks." But the Blessed Mother picked him up from his knees and commissioned him to go. Read More
Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe, came to the people of Mexico, the native Mexicans, who had been raped, murdered, and beaten down. The people were a mixture of Spanish and Native American blood, considered nobodies. They had no rights. Mary came to give them hope, to raise them up. She brought a sense of identity that transformed the country.
Our Lady of Guadalupe has through the centuries continued to identify with the "nobodies": in their struggles; the poorest of the poor. In every major social justice struggle, her image leads the poorest of the poor. On a cool night in Los Angles, a young gay sex worker rested before her statue and heard her voice reminding him, "You were called to preach in your mother's womb, pick yourself up, go preach, let no one stand in your way," thus began his journey back to full-time ministry, a "nobody", but one who had a God-given purpose. The message of Guadalupe our mother, is for us to continue building a world in which all God's children will be well fed and safely sheltered, will have access to good health care, housing, and schools--will be treated with the same dignity and respect as the Son of God she bore. May God fill our imaginations with Our Lady of Guadalupe, who comes to the most oppressed, and the poorest of the poor in the world! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ------------------------------ 
Book Review
"So Fill Our Imaginations The Words and Play of A Year of Preaching Mark Lloyd Taylor Dr. Mark Lloyd Taylor is Professor Emeritus at Seattle University, and has taught theology, worship, and preaching there for twenty-five years. He is a lay preacher at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The sermons are from the years 2016-2017. Dr. Taylor preached from the Lectionary Cycle A. His sermons are well written and are very academic in presentation. The only criticism is that during the election year of 2016 and the year that followed he was very blunt about his feelings about the President in a very negative manner. What that raised in my mind was how the other parties' supporters were effective. My own practice is not to share my own beliefs about political issues within reason. I have donors from all sides and I show respect for them. We can not put others in the same bucket. Polarization is destroying our society, and we need to come together in a common space. Overall this is a good book, and Mark in his experience makes a good presentation. 
======================================= Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 64265 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 |
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Repent! The Reign of God Is Near!"John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching.
."Repent of your sins, and turn to God, for the Reign of God is at hand. Matthew 3:1-2." Last night I sat with a seventeen-year-old transgender man* *as he died from an overdose of fentanyl; on November 20 we had the Club Q massacre in Colorado Springs, LGTBQ Club, and two were transgender. I thought of my own complicity in the discrimination of being an ordained priest; of my own pain caused by the Church. I thought of the pain the Church had inflicted on me as well! Read More
Dr. Megan Rhor writes: "Churches always want to welcome queer people but do it quietly to avoid the bullets, bullies and rage and all who blame queer people .for every problem in society." I have no adult friends who are active in local churches with whom I can comfortably about talk queer youth or even adults. Churches are always silent when it comes to LGTBQ issues, especially youth! When denominations open to LGBTQ they push everything behind the door and move on without being inclusive of education and talking about feelings and pain resulting from past discrimination. All is well as the sins of the past continue to corrode and destroy. Drug use is growing among youth. A recent study tells us that over half of California youth over 12 drink alcohol, and twenty-percent smoke marijuana. Personally, I only know six who are straight-edge and who are homeless or housed and I know hundreds. Our woundedness can only be healed as we grieve, and then put our lives back together. In doing so we can become wounded healers. For wounded healers embrace and move through their pain. Jesus accepts all of us equally, he loves each one of us equally and cares for us as his brothers and sisters without judgment. Join me in the Trevor Project, focused on suicide prevention efforts among LGBTQ youth. Their stated goals are to provide crisis intervention and suicide prevention services for people under twenty-five. The heaviest rates of suicide are among LGTBQ youth, forty percent of the total number. During December the Trevor Project is sponsoring a "Forty Mile Challenged Walk", walking forty miles during the month with individuals donating for each mile. Each mile is walked in support of LGBTQ youth. You may donate to me on Facebook or send a donation on their website: www.trevorproject.org. Join in making the "Reign of God come near!" =================== Advent Study Advent in Narnia Reflections for the Season By Heidi Haverkame Get a copy of the book and follow our reflections during the week. We are studying The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Read Week One. Fr. River Sims |
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A Book Review and Reflection on Birthing the Holy Christine Valters PaintersPaintner presents an introduction to Mary as one who gives birth to the Holy in the early part of the Gospels and at the end surrenders herself to something she never ever could have imagined, to be the human Mother of the Messiah, of God.
In Birthing the Holy, Paintner presents the manifestation of a prism of Mary which continues to reflect the many forms of the love of Jesus. Cynthia Bourgeault writes that mystical hope "has something to do with presence--not a future good outcome, but the immediate experience of being met in communion, held in communion,by something immediately at hand." It was Mary, in the manifestations of "Our Lady of Guadalupe" and "Mary the Untier of Knots" through whom Christ kept me close to him when I wanted to run away. Those manifestations remind me of the words Dorothy Day about the Church: "She is both a whore and our Mother." Read more
Mary is why I am still a priest. Thirty-four years ago I left another state for Los Angles, broken, defeated, and hating the Church and Christ. My sexuality had turned the treasures of my life against me. I was removed from the ministry and marked with a scarlet letter. I vowed, I swore I would never go back. To make a living, and frankly, giving the Church and God a finger I became a sex worker. But God was not through with me, for through my Hispanic sex worker friends I was introduced to "Our Lady of Guadalupe", the racially mixed Mother of God, who lead her people into struggling against injustice. She transcended all boundaries. As I experienced the presence of the archetypical Rose, I found Jesus again, the Jesus who accepts all. And in the early morning light before her statue, my heart felt that strange warmness, that once called me to ministry, and I left sex work and began my move once again to ministry. Secondly, "Mary, Untier of the Knots" through the years has been very meaningful. The knots are those things within our lives that keep us tied up. The heart of healing work is the transformation of our wounds and self-imposed limitations of grief and loss that enslave us. The Wounded Healer, as so beautifully expressed by writer Fr. Henri Nouwen, points to the way that our own healing is broken open through our woundedness and allows us to become healers. Mary pointed me back to Jesus, my Hope and Redeemer. Jesus who is not judgmental accepts all of my spots and transforms them into tools of love. This Advent I encourage all of us to read Birthing the Holy and allow these manifestations of Mary to embrace each of us, allowing us to see Jesus, as our Healer, Redeemer, and the One who loves us with all of his heart. Julian of Norwich sums it all up in her poem: “God chose to be our mother in all things and so made the foundation of his work, most humbly and most pure, in the Virgin’s womb God, the perfect wisdom of all arrayed himself in this humble place. Christ came in our poor flesh to share a mother’s care. Our mothers bear us for pain and for death; our true mother, Jesus, bears us for joy and endless life. Christ carried us within him in love and travail, until the fulltime of his passion. And when all was complete and he had carried us so for joy, still all this would not satisfy the power of his wonderful love. All that we owe is redeemed in truly loving God, for the love of Christ works in us; Christ is the one whom we love.” Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! |
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The Holy Thief!Isa. 2:15.
Matthew 24:37-44. "Work hard to enter the narrow door in God's Kingdom for many will try to but will fail.,. Luke 13:24. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis writes of four children who have been sent from their home in London to the countryside to escape the Blitz during World War II. They are in a new place living apart from their parents with two adult caretakers who are mostly absent. Read more
One rainy day Lucy finds a wardrobe all by itself in an empty room full of coats and as she enters she finds herself in the middle of a snowy forest. Lucy was the "Holy Thief" walking into Advent, similar to walking into the wardrobe. Lucy did not belong in the wardrobe, nor in the forest, she was not invited, just walked in. This was Narnia. In San Francisco, we often forget what cold and snow feel like. Advent in Narnia is being set apart from ordinary time, with a glimpse of a more kind and caring world. the "Holy Thief" sneaks into our lives quietly, bringing us a glimpse of Narnia. And in that glimpse, we see with our hearts homelessness, hunger, destruction of our environment, and global catastrophe. And move forward being a vision of transformation into Narnia. .Each day as I walk into Golden Gate Park, hang on the Haight, and walk through the darkness of the Tenderloin I always return more hopeful, for there I meet brothers and sisters who look death in the face and yet remain hopeful and joyful. God stealing in! Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! |
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Giving TuesdayJoin the Giving Tuesday movement and reimagine a world built upon shared humanity and radical generosity. November 29, 2022!
Temenos Catholic Worker Gives Out 20,000 Pairs of Socks A Year! We Provide Pastoral Care to Countless Individuals! We Meet People Where They Are! Give through PayPal! Our website: www.temenos.org! And through the mail: P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164. Fr. River Sims. P.O. Box 642656. San Francisco, CA 9416. www. temenos.org 415-305-2124. |
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Advent StudyAdvent in Narnia.
Reflections for the Season by Heidi Haverkame. Get a copy of the book and follow our reflections during the week. We are studying The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Read Week One. Fr. River Sim. P.O. Box 642656. San Francisco, CA 94164. www. temenos.org 415-305-2124. |
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Christ the King
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ONE BRIGHT MOMENT IN Narnia (The Reign of God!)Matthew 5:3-12
New Living Translation The Beatitudes 3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,[a] for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,[b] for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. 10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. Read more
Two days ago as I turned onto Hwy 121 and headed into Napa Valley, I began relaxing and smiling, experiencing the smells and sights of Autumn as the fall colors of the grapevines dashed before my eyes much like the leaves of the trees of my childhood in the south and midwest. Followed by the taste, and smell of the new wine. In those moments, I had a glimpse of entering Narnia.
The dream continued as I presented the stories of our homeless adults and youth on Polk and Haight Streets to the sixth-grade students attending St. Apollinaris Catholic School. There were no cell phones, no texting, and all were bright-eyed and attentive, asking questions well beyond their maturity, and retaining child-like qualities. There was no judgment, no classism, simply concern and compassion for our street youth and adults. Concerned only with the moment. These were "Narnia" moments with Aslian, the Great Lion-- the Divine Heart (Jesus) smiling at each one of us. These were moments of the Reign of God in all of its fullness. My heart was uplifted, and the tiredness within my bones vanished. On All Saint's Day, and All Soul's Day we remember all the Saints (both named and unnamed) who have crossed into Narnia, (the Reigh of God), and surround us in the Great Cloud of Witnesses, supporting and cheering us as we continue our journey. For we are called to bring the sunshine of Narnia into our world, feeding, being present to others, listening, and simply caring. Let us remember the words of St. Clare of Assisi: "We become what we love and Who we love shapes what we become," entering into the Divine Heart (Jesus), and loving others. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! -------------------------------- 
All Saints/All Souls Zoom! Tuesday, November 1, 2022 5:00 p.m. Meeting I.D. 761-4436-8264 "A Time of Remembrance And Prayer!" Bring the names of Loved Ones! You May Also Email me: at punkpriest1@gmail.com or text: 415-305-2124 the Names of Loved Ones and I Will Remember Them in Prayer! --------------------- Fr. River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 64265 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org punkpriest1@gmail.com |
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Seeds of Compassion!Luke 13:18-21
New Living Translation Parable of the Mustard Seed 18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? 19 It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.” Read more
Parable of the Yeast 20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? 21 It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough." Through the years I have lost donations, with comments like: "You do not do anything about the big problems and have results for our money." The truth is there is no way I can "solve" or "fix" people or the problems of homelessness, they are just too big. What I do is simply show love to each person at a time, listening, caring, giving them socks, and most importantly friendship, a ministry of presence! Our Gospel describes how our little acts of kindness will grow to fruition. Keanu Reeves comments: "The simple act of paying attention can take you a long way." Paying attention to someone on the street and to our friends and neighbors takes us a long way. Ultimately Jason Shulman in his book: The Instruction Manual for Receiving God, gives a good summation of viewing life and of simply being a seed of compassion: Let us say that the individual person is a drop of water. . Standing beyond this drop is the ocean: the entirety of All That Is. There are no drops of water in the ocean, of course, just water and more water. So there seem to be two worlds: the world: the world of the individual drop and the world of the ocean. It is tempting to think that the single drop is "my individual ego" and the ocean is God. But this is not true, "God in you and you in God" is the truth. It is as if you awoke to find yourself capable of knowing simultaneously that you are a separate bit of water --glistening, wet, fluid, and alive--and that this "drop" is just a moment of separation in an ocean of water. This ocean is the source of all drops. It is life unending. Knowing both the drop and the ocean is living the life of the Divine Self. It is one world. One life. One God. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! --------------------- Father River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T. P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 |
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Ex Denominalists!Luke 18:9-14
Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector 9 Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: 10 “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer[a]: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ Read more
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ 14 I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ================ During the writing of the dissertation for my doctorate several years ago, I interviewed approximately one hundred and fifty people including teenagers seeking to find out how church denominations affected their lives, only five had a positive response, and the remainder had no response. In asking each to share their different journey and yet similar, one could hear the Pharisee speaking to each one:‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! 12 I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ They left or were kicked out for a number of reasons: in an evangelistic church they disagreed with the theology; several were lesbian or simply female and called to professional ministry; others came out as Queer, and some for refusing to vote for Donald Trump. For all of them: their churches raised money for their building, and simply ignored the poor. In talking with street youth and adult homeless, churches ignore them, reject them, and for many were sexually abused by ministers, priests, or church members. Overall the denominational church has no meaning in their world. In fact, Christianity has no meaning in their lives. Looking into the eyes of each one, seeing their pain, one can hear the words of Jesus: I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” And the Divine One stands with a smile, that radiates across the wounds of each one, with his wounds visible, not from dying for our sins, but as the healing accepting Abba saying: "How I have wanted to gather you together as a hen gathers her children under her wings." Safe in the arms of Jesus and our Mother God with their wounds healed. Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! ----------- Father River Damien Sims, sfw, D.Min., D.S.T P.O. Box 642656 San Francisco, CA 94164 www.temenos.org 415-305-2124 |