some pictures from St. Vincent's School for the Visually Impaired

john lennon

Tomorrow is John Lennon's birthday.  I've never been much of a Beatles' fan but living in Liverpool means becoming aware of their history here.  Downtown Liverpool has a museum that tracks the band's 8-year history and there are a couple of streets that still pay homage with statues, clubs where they played, bars they attended.  On the whole, though, the city is trying to carve out an identity for itself that doesn't rely solely on the Fab Four.  The city has changed a lot since they left, even though the band is what people immediately think about when Liverpool is mentioned. 

On a walk to a big park a couple of weeks ago I accidently walked by Strawberry Field.  It's not really a field but more like a big garden in a residential area.  Lennon used to play there as a child and it turns out his childhood home is not far from where I'm staying.  Maybe there will be some kind of tribute to him there tomorrow.  He would have been 71. 

my other job

I'm checking in after a long absence on Blogger.  Today I return to St. Vincent's School for the Visually Impaired.  It's really more than a school for the blind because most of the children (45 total) also have an additional handicap besides their lack of sight.  Some have cerebral palsy.  Others have emotional problems or physical disabilities.  Each child has his own unique situation and after three weeks I'm still not always sure what kind of care and need is appropriate for any particular student.  I'm still learning names and what limitations they do or do not have.  The school encourages independence, as much as possible, and makes it a point to challenge them, intentionally having us, the teachers and workers, not doing everything for them.  Since I'm new the kids, mostly the teenagers, will sometimes take advantage and pretend to be unable to complete tasks so that I'll do them instead.  Then the teachers will point this out and they will just smile. 

Working at St. Vincent's is a nice change after three days with the public school children at St. Gregory's.  Instead of contast fighting and sugar-induced movement, the St. Vincent children will sit quietly in a circle talking to each other.  They move slowly, carefully and generally want to make conversation with me.  They ask questions about "America" and smile a lot.  One of them told me I sound like LL Cool J.  Another asked if I know anybody famous.  Most of the kids are very informed about the music scene and sometimes I forget they have all the instincts and hopes of an average teenager.  In seminary I learned that in the biblical world loss of sight was considered a source of shame for a person and his family, a sign that God's punishment was on that family.  The eyes and the heart of someone were thought to be related in a way that a person without sight was not whole and could not love fully.  Jesus' response was that he was annointed with the Spirit of Yahweh to proclaim the recovery of sight to the blind and announce the year of God's favor (Luke 4).  Ministry is simply helping Jesus do this by working within the same Spirit. 

Today I help in the swimming pool with the students' exercise programs and tomorrow I will assist with traditionally classwork.  Though my time at St. Vincent's is not always exciting or interesting, it is imitating God and following Jesus in a small, tangible way.