Monday, March 10, 2008 at 1:01am
Bread crumbs and manna
Column: Interesting Times
Conventional wisdom is sometimes useful, sometimes misleading and sometimes leads to deep spiritual truth. An example is: "One thing leads to another." It does. Small things, a saving trail of bread crumbs, can in fact hint at manna of the universe, and become the elements of a full-blown structure, a life, deep friendships, purpose and meaning. But sometimes we can't trace the bread crumbs and don't see the manna until years have gone by.
Once upon a time — seven years ago — an unsolicited email showed up in my mailbox saying something about women in science and technology or religion and technology — now I don't even remember. There was to be a conference or get-together on Cape Cod in November, all paid for, and if I wanted to attend, just send back an email. I didn't live far from Cape Cod then, and a drive to Providence with a right turn off I-95 seemed like a nice outing.
There were eight women at the meeting — all but myself either ordained ministers or affiliated with a university — and I suppose it is because I am blonde, or that I had not said much, that I seemed to the convener to be not the sharpest tack in the box. On the last day the convener asked who could help write up a report on the discussions, and I raised my hand along with two others. "Oh, you don't have to," she said. "We will get someone with experience." It was then that I mentioned I had several published books, a column, articles, and one thing led to another. So it was that on a walk back from the ice cream parlor, two of the women asked if I would be interested in teaching a course on Spiritual Writing for Publication at the Boston Theological Association. I had to look up what that was and discovered it was and still is a consortium of nine divinity schools in the Boston area.
So six weeks later the original unsolicited email led to teaching a class at Andover Newton in Massachusetts. I loved, loved, loved the students, the teaching and in the fall term, on Sept. 12, 2001, was a self-possessed, athletic, Navy chaplain who in the spring would assume the duties of chaplain at the Presidential Retreat at Camp David. The sermons he would preach would be printed, passed around and archived, so his natural gift for speech and connection would be reduced to the printed page — which is where he needed some help. And the bread crumbs were leading to my working with him for the next three years on those sermons and prayers in that rarified location. One semester he was my only student in a directed study he had requested, and we would meet daily online and in various places in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Perhaps our most memorable meeting was one spring day in Mystic, Conn., where we shared a meal at Mystic Pizza and took a walk down the street to the harbor where we shared ideas about Abraham - the Father of Us All.
Pat has his own story of these times and of his being sent to Iraq for not one but two tours of duty. I sent him a laptop, so he could keep up his writing and email, and we would correspond — he from his tent or hut in Iraq and me from wherever I would be in the past four years. While to the eye I was a solitary woman at a computer, in reality I was at Camp David, in Iraq, as close to the action of our times as one can be. The manna of ideas of participating in and sharing experiences gave me a full life.
The sermons and prayers found shape, and now his first book is being published:"No Atheists in Foxholes: Reflections from the Front."
His bio reads: Patrick McLaughlin, STM, MDiv, is a Lutheran pastor who's served as an active-duty Navy chaplain since 1992. He's a veteran of two Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments with surgical, shock and trauma and mortuary affairs units with the USMC/Navy team. Prior to deploying to Iraq, he had the honor of serving for three years as the chaplain to the president and first family at Camp David. He's served with all five branches of the U.S. military during his career including Navy ships, Marine helicopter squadrons, Coast Guard river units and Army and Air Force communications units. Patrick and his wife, Leigh, are the parents of five children from college to elementary ages. They've also been foster and group home parents together. Toss in six cats and four dogs, and the McLaughlin home in beautiful, coastal Sneads Ferry, N.C., is always a place of adventure and excitement. He can be reached through his website.
When you see or buy his book, you will be touched, moved and see America at its best. And perhaps you will think of the small bread crumbs in your life that can lead to manna for us all in this wilderness.
— — —
Lynne Bundesen is the author of five books on religion and was adjunct professor at the Boston Theological Institute under a Templeton Science and Religion Grant. She is currently the spiritual expert for the physical and spiritual health website of Dr. Andrew Weil. Her book "The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture" was just published. Her email address is {email lynnebundesen@hotmail.com}lynnebundesen@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Lynne Bundesen.
Once upon a time — seven years ago — an unsolicited email showed up in my mailbox saying something about women in science and technology or religion and technology — now I don't even remember. There was to be a conference or get-together on Cape Cod in November, all paid for, and if I wanted to attend, just send back an email. I didn't live far from Cape Cod then, and a drive to Providence with a right turn off I-95 seemed like a nice outing.
There were eight women at the meeting — all but myself either ordained ministers or affiliated with a university — and I suppose it is because I am blonde, or that I had not said much, that I seemed to the convener to be not the sharpest tack in the box. On the last day the convener asked who could help write up a report on the discussions, and I raised my hand along with two others. "Oh, you don't have to," she said. "We will get someone with experience." It was then that I mentioned I had several published books, a column, articles, and one thing led to another. So it was that on a walk back from the ice cream parlor, two of the women asked if I would be interested in teaching a course on Spiritual Writing for Publication at the Boston Theological Association. I had to look up what that was and discovered it was and still is a consortium of nine divinity schools in the Boston area.
So six weeks later the original unsolicited email led to teaching a class at Andover Newton in Massachusetts. I loved, loved, loved the students, the teaching and in the fall term, on Sept. 12, 2001, was a self-possessed, athletic, Navy chaplain who in the spring would assume the duties of chaplain at the Presidential Retreat at Camp David. The sermons he would preach would be printed, passed around and archived, so his natural gift for speech and connection would be reduced to the printed page — which is where he needed some help. And the bread crumbs were leading to my working with him for the next three years on those sermons and prayers in that rarified location. One semester he was my only student in a directed study he had requested, and we would meet daily online and in various places in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Perhaps our most memorable meeting was one spring day in Mystic, Conn., where we shared a meal at Mystic Pizza and took a walk down the street to the harbor where we shared ideas about Abraham - the Father of Us All.
Pat has his own story of these times and of his being sent to Iraq for not one but two tours of duty. I sent him a laptop, so he could keep up his writing and email, and we would correspond — he from his tent or hut in Iraq and me from wherever I would be in the past four years. While to the eye I was a solitary woman at a computer, in reality I was at Camp David, in Iraq, as close to the action of our times as one can be. The manna of ideas of participating in and sharing experiences gave me a full life.
The sermons and prayers found shape, and now his first book is being published:"No Atheists in Foxholes: Reflections from the Front."
His bio reads: Patrick McLaughlin, STM, MDiv, is a Lutheran pastor who's served as an active-duty Navy chaplain since 1992. He's a veteran of two Operation Iraqi Freedom deployments with surgical, shock and trauma and mortuary affairs units with the USMC/Navy team. Prior to deploying to Iraq, he had the honor of serving for three years as the chaplain to the president and first family at Camp David. He's served with all five branches of the U.S. military during his career including Navy ships, Marine helicopter squadrons, Coast Guard river units and Army and Air Force communications units. Patrick and his wife, Leigh, are the parents of five children from college to elementary ages. They've also been foster and group home parents together. Toss in six cats and four dogs, and the McLaughlin home in beautiful, coastal Sneads Ferry, N.C., is always a place of adventure and excitement. He can be reached through his website.
When you see or buy his book, you will be touched, moved and see America at its best. And perhaps you will think of the small bread crumbs in your life that can lead to manna for us all in this wilderness.
— — —
Lynne Bundesen is the author of five books on religion and was adjunct professor at the Boston Theological Institute under a Templeton Science and Religion Grant. She is currently the spiritual expert for the physical and spiritual health website of Dr. Andrew Weil. Her book "The Feminine Spirit: Recapturing the Heart of Scripture" was just published. Her email address is {email lynnebundesen@hotmail.com}lynnebundesen@hotmail.com{/email}. © Copyright 2008 by Lynne Bundesen.