St. Anthony on the Desert Episcopal Church
  • Home
  • Belong Believe Become
  • About Us
    • Our Mission and Vision
    • Getting Started
    • Meet the Staff
    • Keeping in Touch
  • Worship
    • Order of Service
    • Recent Sermons
    • Live Streaming via YouTube
  • Financial Giving
    • Make a Pledge
    • Online Giving
    • Legacy Society
  • All the News
  • Making God Connections
    • Wednesday Bible Study
    • Circles of Grace
    • Monthly Musings from a Deacon on the Way
    • Inspire Labyrinth and Gardens
    • Prayer Ministry
  • Reflections on the Way
  • Making a Difference in Our World
    • Outreach Grants
    • East Valley Men's Center
    • Habitat for Humanity
    • Haiti Ministry
    • Healthy Packs
    • Make a Difference Day
    • Needlecrafts for Needs
  • Making Social Connections
    • The Arts Council
    • Avid Readers
    • The Blessings of Belonging
    • Seasoned Saints
  • On the Way Moments Podcast
  • Childrens Ministry
    • Registration for Children
    • Children's Safety
    • Sunshine Acres Outreach
    • Feed My Starving Children
  • Youth (6th-12th Graders)
    • Registration for Youth
  • Pastoral Care
  • Photo Album
  • Major Life Events
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation
    • Death of a Loved One
    • Weddings
  • Walking the Mourner's Path
  • Blessing of the Animals
#stanthonydesert

All You Need is Love (no problem, right?)

9/7/2014

1 Comment

 
The Rev. Dorian Mulvey
All you need is love! Long before the Beatles made their hit song there was the greatest of all commandments – the commandment to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. All you need is love – this is how Jesus summed up all the commandments – this is what Paul affirms as he writes to the Romans. Just as God loves us we are to love one another.Sounds pretty straightforward but the truth of the matter is – love is hard to do. Love asks us to be vulnerable, trusting enough to risk exposing our inner self. Love asks us to forgive – to look beyond our wounds and hurts. Love asks us to be hospitable – accepting even when we disagree. If love is to be the essence of the church community then we had better have ways of handling disputes and disagreement when they arise. In other words – we need to learn how to practice love.

No problem – right? Churches are supposed to be places that perfectly model love and deal with conflict so that we can learn and 

Read More
1 Comment

Woody's Chair

7/28/2014

3 Comments

 
James Bruzzi
Haiti Team Member
Picture
In the front courtyard of the Hopital St. Croix in Leogane, Haiti, there is a small patch of grass with three coconut palms towering over it. On the grass sits a chair.

On first arriving in Haiti, I glanced at this chair in disgust. It is a tall and ugly chair, crudely constructed of what appears to be scrap wood and painted in the unflattering turquoise of the main hospital building. In general, this chair appears to be completely unsafe and is unpleasant to look at.

Knowing that David and Jeanne Paige were familiar with the compound from their previous visits to Leogane, I mentioned this chair to them. They told me that this throne had formerly been located across the street and had been moved into the courtyard when its proprietor had landed a security position within the hospital clinic.

Picture
On my next visit to the courtyard, I found this chair occupied by a very tall and very thin man who introduced himself as Woody. With a sweeping gesture over the grass under the coconut palms, he welcomed me to his “plage” or beach. I chuckled in my head at this idea, Woody in his lifeguard chair keeping watch over his plage in the middle of what amounts to the hospital parking lot.

Picture
Over the rest of my time in Leogane I formed an unlikely friendship with Woody on his beach. Through a combination of bits of Creole, French and English, translator apps and photos on my smartphone I got to know a little about Woody’s life; and he got to know a little about mine. We talked about our families, and we chased stray chickens. The other team members would await updates on Woody, and I would find myself checking out the window to see if he was out sitting in his chair. 

Preparing to depart for the airport, we gathered in the courtyard in front of the plage. There sat the empty chair. I took one last long look at it and smiled. It is a beautiful chair, carefully constructed by hand and fully functional. It is an interesting chair with an interesting story and an even more interesting occupant. Woody and his chair remain one of my fondest recollections of my time in Leogane.

3 Comments

    Authors

    Various voices from the community of St. Anthony

    Archives

    July 2016
    January 2016
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Anxiety
    Conflict
    Forgiveness
    Friendships
    Haiti Mission
    Hope
    St. Luke
    Storytelling
    Worry
    Youth Ministry

    RSS Feed

Saint Anthony on the Desert ~ 12990 E. Shea Boulevard ~ Scottsdale, AZ 85259
480.451.0860 ~ email: communications@st-anthony.net