Halloween: moving the limits of the real world.

The limits of the real world are moving at the end of this month of October. Today, I saw Alice in the Wonderland and a skeleton shopping at the supermarket – not kids, adults. And on the parking lot on the way out, the car parked next to mine had a surprising feature: a human foot was sticking out of its trunk. At Halloween in the US, children are not the only ones getting a costume.

In a society where religion is so prevalent, that also means protests and arguments. This week for instance, a Baptist church by a the road had the following message on its board: «Abstain from all appearance of evil, 1 Thessalonians 5 :22. That includes Halloween».

The argument sometimes arises from surprising premises. A few years ago, one of the Puyallup schools decided to cancel the afternoon usually dedicated to the children enjoying their costumes… because of the protest of a group of Wiccans, “earth worshippers” who said they were shocked of the way witches were represented in those costumes. This situation and the indignation of the families brought the attention of national news[1].

Today, the day went harmoniously, and strangely, almost without rain. In the morning, Irvin preached a sermon titled “All Saints” where he talked about those people that inspire us and become examples of life to us. He mentioned Native persons of great faith from last century. Tomorrow is All Saints Day.

Tonight, we welcomed children with multicolor costumes with candies.
But the costume award should go to Guillaume, a fellow French friend, who lives in Tacoma. Guillaume and his family went above costuming. The four of them created a whole story made up with each of their costumes. Marcus, the youngest son was the dragon that put the fire to the house, which Guillaume was representing. The mom was taken out of bed because of the fire ; fortunately Max, the firefighter, arrived in time. The best way to “trickortreat” as a family, according to Max!

[1] To find out more, click on http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12381-2004Oct30.html

Ordination Exams : You Will Go Out in Joy

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

When I was a student at the faculté de Théologie of Paris, we were given those verses (Isaiah 55:12) to translate from Hebrew at our term exams. I remember the growing doubt I had felt as I was working on it. I had not recognized the verses so I was perplex. Hills bursting into songs? Trees clapping their hands? Was I in the middle of a complete misinterpretation, so easy to get lost into in the Hebrew language?

I was reminded of those verses this week – oddly enough, the music of the «Sound of Music» was playing in the background. Isaiah must have inspired those lyrics: "The hills are alive with the sound of music / With songs they have sung for a thousand years…”

Why this overflowing euphoria that made me want to leap and twirl around in meadows like Julie Andrews? You guessed it: that was the relief to have passed my ordination exams. The long expected phone call finally came this week.

The process is not over yet though. I still have to experience Clinical Pastoral Education (internship in a hospital) and finally the ultimate trial: polish my own statement of faith and defend it at the Presbytery. In other words: more exciting upcoming events! To be followed…
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music

My heart wants to sing every song it hears…

A memorial to commemorate and say thank you

For two years, Irvin and his siblings prepared this day honoring their Dad Larry Porter. They would have regular conference calls to discuss the list of gifts, the family members and friends to show appreciation to, the meal to plan for 150 guests… On the morning of that October 16th day, tension was perceptible when we started to lay table clothes on the round tables of this large room the Sheraton let us use, near the golf whose so vividly green lawns made such a contrast with the desert.

But everything went well, along with the joy of gathering and seeing each other again, except the powerpoint presentation that my sister-in-law Grace patiently put together and which was most reluctant to start. The big screen showed our pup Sitka (the background screen of our laptop) while Grace kept busy working on the settings of the computer.

Sylvia, daughter of one of Larry’s sisters (he was the younger of 10 children) spoke of the Pima traditions she knew of. She mentioned that available young men would race, and young women would run after them. If they could catch up with them, they were allowed to date. Sylvia suspected that her grandfather slowed down on purpose so that his wife-to-be could draw level with him.

As it is customary, the blankets were opened by Irvin and his brother Fred when they presented them and they then wrapped it on the person who would receive it.

This memorial also allowed us to see Bill again. Bill is Hopi, a tribe from the Northern plateau of Arizona. This tribe has kept most of its original culture. Bill and his sisters still fluently speak Hopi. He calls me “Me Wee”, which means “daughter in law”. Bill is the second husband of Eloise, Irvin’s mother, who passed away in 2006. He used to feel such jealousy toward Larry that he would not stand seeing pictures showing them together. At the end of Eloise’s life, he cared for her with great dedication and his feelings evolved. And here he was, travelling through Arizona to be part of a day dedicated to Larry that included many pictures of the past.

Eventually, a grave stone designed by Ron, one of Irvin’s brothers, was set up on Larry’s grave.

More pictures can be seen on the French version of this post: http://anne-cecilenews.blogspot.com/2010/10/un-memorial-pour-se-souvenir-et-dire.html

VAH KI CAMP MEETING

For more than a hundred years, Christians Pimas (most of them Presbyterians) have been gathering for several days in October for a serie of worships aimed at deepening their faith. Some of them camp out near the nearby Church, called Vah Ki (“old house” in Pima) and worship take place outdoor, under a large roof. By mid-October, the weather is still very warm in Arizona, but strong winds and thunderstorms often happen in this area which on the same latitude than Africa.
No less than 3 worships take place during the 4 days of the camp meeting. Some families don’t miss any of them! Irvin was invited to preach 5 times during the weekend. The worship services keep the memory of the revivals time. The sermon should always be at least 30 minutes, and an altar call follows. The choirs of the neighboring churches participate in those worships, singing in English or in Pima. Each worship service last about two hours and a meal for everybody follows.

Make sure you check the French version of this post that includes some pictures at http://anne-cecilenews.blogspot.com/2010/10/camp-meeting-vah-ki.html

Calendar Sticks : not your ordinary History book

What is the best way to keep track of historical events when you don’t have a alphabet and written language yet ? Carving symbols is a good solution. The history of the Pima people has long been written on long sticks called “calendar sticks”.

The People of the River

Most Native American people are from several nations, and so is Irvin. His mom, Eloise, was Nez Perce, a tribe from central Idaho. His father was Pima (Akimel O’otham, people of the river) in Arizona. However, Natives can only be enrolled in one tribe. Irvin was born in Idaho but his siblings and he could not be enrolled in the Nez Perce tribe. Eloise’s mother was Norwegian. There was also a French Canadian ancestor on her father side. Eloise therefore could not transmit to her children the quarter Nez Perce blood required. They turned toward Arizona.

The Gila (pronounce ‘ila) River Indian Community was officially created in 1939. It is located on a reservation of 580 square miles South of Phoenix. This area has been inhabited with Akimel O’otham for more than 2000 years. For generations, Pimas practiced agriculture by using the abundant water coming from the Gila river, the most important affluent of the Colorado river. They would grow corn, beans, squashes, melons, citrus, cotton.

The Gold Rush toward California at the 19th century brought an important population in the region. The lines around the current reservation were drawn in 1853, following the banks of the Gila River. But the families that settled upstream started diverting more and more water and soon, its level became so low that it could not support the fields of the reservation. Desert spread. Some of the Natives moved toward East, near the Salt River, an affluent of the Gila, creating a new Pima community.

The fields surrounding the Gila River became desert. The government sent supplies – fat and low-quality food. The health of the Native has been impacted forever. Suddenly sedentary, using a completely different food, the obesity rate skyrocketed. Today the tribe still has the highest diabetes rate of the world.

But this nation is full of resources. Pimas worked little by little on new irrigation projects; cotton fields, citrus and squashes are now growing again on the reservation ground. Casinos were opened and thrived. The leaders of the tribe invest the profits with a long-term vision, foreseeing that those earnings could evaporate one day, like the Gila River did. They built hospitals and state of the arc dialyses centers.

They created hotels and resorts whose architecture fit harmoniously with the desert. The members of the tribe enjoy important discounts there. The Wild Horse Pass Sheraton has become our home away from home when we come to Phoenix.
The people of the River has shown remarkable adaptability to change and long-term vision.