garbage

Every day I walk to work.  It's a 30-minute walk next to a busy two-lane road.  It's a nice walk but man, there is a lot of garbage on the ground.  Mostly plastic bottles and candy wrappers but I've also seen large trash bags.  Anyway, since arriving in Liverpool, this has been a disappointment.  Now and then I'd try to pick up a piece of trash and throw it away but that is just a small step.  After a few weeks of my disgust, I've noticed that one reason there is so much trash everywhere is that there aren't any trash cans available.  Today I carried my apple core for 20 minutes before finding a can.  No wonder there's so much on the ground.  And I guess the reason there aren't many trash receptors (and those are usually filled to overflowing) is that someone would have to pick the trash up and that would require another salary.  Well, the grounds at St. Gregory's has a fair amount of trash too.  And since today was another pleasant, sunny day I found a trash bag and started cleaning up.  Surprisingly, the kids suddenly started to help, aided by these cool little mechanical arms that grab things by squeezing a trigger.  We picked up two bags of trash and even had a little fun while doing it.  At one point the kitchen lady came out and put sunscreen on the kids (rolling eyes) and somehow the boys managed to fight over the same piece of trash.  Otherwise, we had a good afternoon. 

weather

Today is a stunningly nice day.  The sun shines brightly in the sky without any sign that it's only temporary.  It's warm with a fresh breeze blowing in from the Sea.  The leaves have only just started to turn but the grass is still thick and bright green.  It's a good day to be alive in England as the whole country is enjoying these clear skies and warm temperatures.  I took a walk around the neighborhood this afternoon and people are venturing outside slowly, not quite believing the day (and not trusting it either).  Apparently it has been a cold, damp summer and everyone has given up on 2011.  But the famously unpredictable English weather is supposed to be nice all week.  Hedges are being trimmed, coats are being thrown over shoulders and perhaps for once people won't be passing the travel agency window dreaming about being somewhere else. 

a third patience

I have an addendum to my last posting.  There is another "patience" I didn't mention.  In addition to patience with others and patience with self, St. Vincent might also say we require a gentle patience with God.  Vincent was a man who in early in his life was in a rush to acquire success and position.  Through a series of surprises and setbacks he came to the conclusion that God's spirit was leading him in another direction; in his late 30's he accepted the work God gave him to do.  Another way to think of spiritual growth and a healthy life of prayer may be having a gentle patience with God, knowing that it is He who is slowly working out our salvation within us...in his time...for our best.  Happy Vincent de Paul Day.

Vincent de Paul

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul.  Tonight our Vincentian Volunteer group gathered for our weekly prayer service and focused on this man who spent his life working with the poor, with prisoners and with those who sought to serve God.  (The Vincent de Paul Society, one of the largest layman ministry groups in the world, was established 150 years after Vincent's death to continue his work and spirit.)  We read together this quote from him:

"Whenever I happened to speak abruptly to the convicts, I spoiled everything. But whenever I praised them for their acceptance and showed them compassion, whenever I sympathised with them in their sorrows, when I kissed their chains and showed them how upset I was when they were punished, then they always listened to me and even turned to God.  A missionary needs patience and restraint in his work with those to whom he is sent.  The poor can be so unrefined, so ignorant...If an individual hasn't the gentleness to put up with their crudeness, what can he hope to accomplish?  Nothing at all.  On the contrary, he will dishearten those poor ones when they feel his sharpness, they will be put off and will not return to learn those things which are needed for them to be saved.  Gentle patience, then, is demanded of us." 

We then had a short discussion about patience.  I noticed that my two ministry positions both require patience, but different kinds of patience.  When I'm at St. Gregory's I work with kids bouncing off the walls after school and my job as supervisor asks me to patient with them.  Not to lose my cool or ignore them.  But at St. Vincent's School for the Visually Impaired, the kids are much better behaved, so behaved in fact that they sometimes seem to move about in slow motion.  Time moves so slowly.  Patience is required, but this time it is patience with myself.  I have to adjust to the slower pace of the students and the school, and this requires me to let the chaos and impatience seep out of me.  In both cases, St. Vincent's words are appropriate for me: Gentle patience is demanded.  Gentle patience with the children at St. Gregory and at St. Vincent, gentle patience with myself.  When I'm impatient with other people, it may reflect the amount of patience I give myself.  And when I am patient with others, it may reflect how much of God's grace and peace I allow myself. 

head cold

I have a head cold. That means, at the moment, very few things are interesting. Most of my energy is directed towards fighting the bugs and blah.... My first act after recovering will be to buy a big bottle of multivitamins.

moral child, immoral children

Although I knew this, today I was reminded that the larger the number of children they worse they usually behave. Granted, it doesn't help to have pulsing music playing overhead over a candy bar serving them. While some of the kids communicate well with adults, they treat their peers as competition for toys, computers, attention, etc. Sigh. If you have any tips for organizing large groups of kids, please post them.

poverty

There are two kinds of poverty: material poverty and spiritual poverty.  The kids that come to St. Gregory's Youth and Community Initiative have the first but not the second kind of poverty.  They may be generally aware that they don't have as much as those 10 blocks away, but they don't dwell on it.  If anything they are thankful and excited about what is offered at St. Gregory's. Material poverty exists and can sometimes dehumanize those suffering from it, but the kids at the center remind me every morning and afternoon that material wealth is not necessary for experiencing joy. 

the local scene

The area in which I work is a suburb of Liverpool, a poor area where most families receive government assistance.  Yesterday I read in the paper that the unemployment rate in Liverpool is (gulp) 31%.  The public conversation about the economy is very pressing here and I have been surprised at the lack of material wealth in this area.  Most people live in duplex or economy housing and own one small car.  Almost no home contains a garage.  Public transportation, mostly buses, are necessary for most, including me! 

First Posting

This is a blog that follows my Vincentian year working in Liverpool.