June 2009
Table of Contents
A Sweet Fragrance
“Pardon me, sir. Do you work here?”
“Yes…what can I help you with?”, I asked.
“Is it okay for me to go upstairs to pray?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Oh, thank you.”
After Vi prayed she came down and informed me that she had left all the change she had on her person…and a few cigarettes (to make up for her lack of money) at the foot of the cross, as an offering. She told me this because she wanted to make sure that someone from the church knew it was there. She asked me if that was ok.
Vi* is a wonderful, shy woman; she blends into the background so well that it could take you a few weeks possibly to even know that she’s there. Once you do notice her and she notices you, then things change. She’s still shy, but she will talk with you. She is almost always smiling and has this infectious simplicity about her.
Her unassuming humility is what has recently struck me. That and I seem to be one of the people that she asks now when she wants to go upstairs. It also got me thinking (something I am doing a bit too much of these days) about my own offerings to Jesus. Here was a very good example (not perfect, but hey, what is?) of the story of the widow and the mite (Mark 12:38-44) in the New Testament. Here is Vi leaving all that she has, including her addiction, at the feet of our Lord. What have I laid there recently? More than that though – what have I laid there that I don’t have in abundance?
The Drawer Boy
“Was it hay or straw you were loading?”
“I dunno, what’s the difference?”
“Between hay and straw.”
“Yeah.”
“One you sleep on and one you eat. What are ya, stupid?”
~ excerpt from Act 1, Scene 4, The Drawer Boy ~
Last year, The Passages of Everett Manning was produced. Our first full-length, community-inspired play. Excited by the production and encouraged by the community, we decided to do another full-length production this year. Seeing as how Shannon Blake, the writer of Passages… was busy with work, and the amount of time it takes to work on a new play is considerable, we decided to venture into established plays. We found ourselves wondering what would work; something that speaks truth about, and to our community. Flirting with several plays, we finally decided on The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey, a play about truth, relationships and farming.
This production saw Shannon at the helm as director, Tony Mednis as Morgan, Richard Bechard as Angus and yours truly as Miles. That’s it. There’s three characters. Nice and simple. The challenge though, with three characters, and the play being between 90 and 120 minutes…well you do the math as to how much stage time we each had. Richard and Tony did amazingly well though. This was their biggest challenge yet – and they both delivered! Tony has been with the Screaming Monkeys since our first show in 2004; Richard has been with us since 2005 and both of them were involved in The Passages of Everett Manning.
“The play was extremely well-received by our street-involved community. Men and women who struggle with everything from addiction to poverty to mental health issues to abuse to disability to homelessness were able to leave their struggles for a few hours and immerse themselves in the world of Miles, Angus and Morgan. We had a number of community members who became groupies, coming three, four, five or six times to see the show. A particularly raucous and joyous moment happened on our opening night when the street community audience members began to moo in appreciation at our actors” [from a letter to Michael Healey by our director Shannon Blake]. Michael Healey’s play truly was a gift to our community!
arts Extravaganza
We had our first arts Extravaganza of the year. It was wonderful! And, like all Extravaganza’s, it was unique – we only had about an hours worth of performers. In the past, I would have been a bit more nervous about this. But it afforded us an opportunity we hadn’t had before. It gave people more time to browse the art and connect with the artists. It ended up being a very enjoyable and rather peaceful evening.
This fall has something very exciting in store for an arts Extravaganza…our first short play written by one of our very own. That’s right, Richard Bechard, who has been with the Screaming Monkeys for 4 years now is venturing into writing and directing. We are looking forward to celebrating with him as the play becomes a reality. Stay tuned for more info as it comes.
Family News
“He created them male and female. God Blessed them: ‘Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!…” Genesis 1:28
WHEEEEE! Our family has grown! Join us in welcoming Levi Paul to the family. Levi took his first gulp of air on May 18th, 2009. It was a good delivery. Jenn is doing very well right now. One of my biggest concerns was how Deyen would receive his little brother. Well, when we walked in the door with Levi and told Deyen that this was his little brother he said, “Oooh, I love my little brozer [brother]!” And he has kept that positive attitude since then. Every once in a while he gets a tad jealous, but that’s to be expected, especially when you go from 100% of mommy and daddy’s attention to less than 100%. Deyen is behaving absolutely lovely though.
Levi is already growing like a weed. He regained his birthweight within a week and is already one pound heavier than when he was born (which is amazing!). He was a half inch shorter than his brother at birth and almost a pound heavier. He looks so different than Deyen it’s amazing. It’s thoroughly amazing how the same 2 people can produce children so different looking. If you are connected to the “inter-web” [internet] then head over to http://picasaweb.google.com/stolteclan/LeviPaul# and check out our regularly updating picture collection of our beautiful boy and his many fans!
Street Level
Every three years a bunch of people who all work with the poor and excluded get together for a big conference called Street Level. The theme this year was A Legacy of Justice! It was fantastic. Like last time, this conference was held in the Westin Hotel in Ottawa. Jenn & Deyen were able to join me and we had some fun times as a family. Jenn & Deyen are very friendly as well with a number of staff at Sanctuary, pretty much everyone as a matter of fact. So between the great speakers and having my family with me, it was a great conference.
Prayer Requests
If you feel inclined, here are some items that the folks here at Sanctuary and I would greatly appreciate prayer for:
- Strength and wisdom as we work towards justice and healing in difficult situations
- Health and rest for Jenn and Levi (and Deyen and myself too)
- Continued and growing financial and prayer support
In Christ and His Grace,
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