Welcome to the Lord Jesus Christ, true Messiah, Yeshua! Welcome
to 50 days of Easter’s Glory as we await Pentecost, the Coming of the Holy
Spirit! As I write this letter to you, it is Good Friday. Our staff just walked
the Stations of the Cross with other Christians praying at several sites in KCK.
It was so impressive to see people of different faiths, races and ages all
giving praise to the Lord for His love for all of us. I had to smile as I walked
down the steps from the Huron Park, a small child in front of me and a dear
80-year-old friend beside me. Both pilgrims, the child and the senior religious,
telling me to slow down and enjoy your own city.
As I await Easter’s glory to dawn upon all humanity, the
words from a talk by Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, CA, quoting the
sociologist, Roger Sanjek come to my heart: "Where will the future of this
country be unless we move forward toward greater inclusiveness and
collaboration." And the cardinal continues: "In Sanjek’s work we are
confronted with two very different visions of our future: the one ‘color-full,’
the other ‘colorblind’. The latter is nothing other than a new apathy."
Guau! es verdad? Is this not true?
From Acts of the Apostles, the first of our readings for Easter
Sunday I quote: "Jesus commissioned us to preach to the people and
testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.
To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will
receive forgiveness of sins through his name." Jesus, Yeshua, the Risen
Messiah has the primacy and all of us must surrender to this Incarnate Lover who
embraces all the people, without leaving anyone out. This Risen Lord invites us
to collaborate with Him and each other in this mission of freeing the people
from any obstacle that would hinder their beauty, their true reality. Why do we
embrace a garden of various flowers and plants and yet we are very fearful of
embracing my sister or brother of another race or color or belief? As a good
friend told me on Holy Thursday: "Jesus washed the feet of everyone, even
of Peter."
I have had a most wonderful opportunity to learn more about the
heritage and spirituality of the people of Mexico. As I try to learn the
language and the culture, I find myself singing and thanking God that we have
such richness right in front of us. "Dios te salve Maria, llena eres de
gracia, el Senor es contigo." (God saves you, Mary, you are full of
grace, the Lord is with you.) God saves you Dennis, God saves all of us, no one
is left out. God is with you Mary, God is with you Dennis, God is with all of
us. May those who pray for the mission of Sanctuary of Hope and they themselves
are in prison; may those who come here day in and day out, even for a brief
visit; may those who work so hard to beautify the grounds at our prayer center
or lift a broom or a paint brush, who whisper a quiet prayer; may those who hurt
deeply or suffer much from discrimination, from another’s real colorblindness;
may you know that the Messiah stays with you thru it all!
On behalf of the live-ins at Sanctuary of Hope Prayer Center,
Bernadine, Sister Mary Eugenia, Jeff, Kelly and Steven and Steve Sullivan, I
pray you have a happy and joy filled Easter Season...Feliz Domingo de Pascua.
Love and Prayers,
Fr. Dennis Wait
Return to Table of Contents
Treetop Village Resort
"Imagine a Place"
Timeshare Fund-Raiser
by Eugene Lipscomb
Sanctuary of Hope has again received a donation of a
timeshare at the Treetop Village Resort located in the Lake of the Ozarks, MO.
We will use the timeshare to raise funds to renovate the bathrooms and
plumbing fixtures on the second floor of the facility. The fund-raiser last
year for the unit was a great success and we raised almost $4,000! SOH is
blessed to have received the donations which were used in completing the first
floor renovation of the east wing.
The drawing will be at 12:00 Noon on Saturday, July 14,
2001, after the "Work Day". You do not have to be present to win.
However, you are encouraged to tour the beautiful facility and grounds, see
the improvements that have been made and learn more about SOH. We are
seeking to raise $10,000 this year for work on the second floor.
The June Newsletter will have a more detailed article. SOH
requests a donation of $2.00 for each raffle entry and individuals may enter
as often as they like. A book of ten entries will be enclosed with the News
Letter to be used by yourself or you may give them to your friends or
neighbors. The stubs on the entries should be completed and returned to
Sanctuary of Hope, Attention: Timeshare, 2601 Ridge Avenue, Kansas City, KS
66102. We look forward to this very worthwhile fund-raiser and would
appreciate your support.
This past winter has been rather severe in Kansas City and
as race day approached we had reason for concern, oh we of little faith! Race
day, April 7, proved to be a sunny, mild and really pleasant spring day. The
turnout for the race reflected that; we had 130 people on the course (ranging
from age 4 to age 70) and Marty Thoennes and his kitchen crew served 190
servings at the breakfast that followed the race. Both these figures are up
about 40% from last year. Also, due to spectacular response from our sponsors,
we had nearly a 300% increase in the funds raised by the event.
I don't believe, however, that the success of this
event is measured in numbers. We were able to bring many people to SOH for the
first time and the resulting impression was clearly positive. The mood at
breakfast was festive and as a result of many questions by the newcomers
Father Dennis made a brief presentation on the the history and purpose of SOH.
The overall effect of the race is best reflected by the remarks of one of
the racers, "I was so impressed with Sanctuary of Hope. What a
BEAUTIFUL location and building. I loved the tranquility that permeated it. I
met many nice people, too. You can bet that I'll tell lots of my friends and
relatives about this race so they'll come out and run next year--and I'll be
back, too!"
Runners getting ready to start running the good race, 2001.
And they're off!
Just like last year, Mike Scannell was first to arrive at
the end of the race.
Father Dennis Schmitz is still able to run the good race...
The winning lady was Julia Frailey.
And the youngest winning runner was Justin Pyburn.
Taize' Prayer replaced the March Associates
Day
by Donna Cermak
An old adage says: "Silence is
Golden." Truth is, it’s a real treasure, a "Pearl of Great
Price."
On Saturday, March 24th, at Sanctuary of Hope, guests and
community members came together to begin a spiritual "treasure hunt,"
a Lenten prayer experience, by following the Taize’ Prayer tradition. I would
like to take license here and quote from an article written by Bernadine Asher
sometime ago describing this tradition.
"Taize’ Prayer is similar to the Liturgy of the Hours,
the prayer which priests, nuns, monks and many lay people have used for
centuries, but with more emphasis on the chanting.
The repetition of the chants fosters communion with God and
the music sings on long afterwards in one’s own heart. Some familiar Taize’
chants are Veni Sancte Spiritus, Adoramus te Christe’ and Stay
With Me."
John Rudzinski, Director of Music
at Good Shepherd, Shawnee, KS, led the singing of the
chants accompanied by Chris Vitt,
Coordinator of Liturgy and Music at Guardian Angels Church in Kansas City, MO at the piano and Gerald Trimble on the viola da
gamba.
This time of quiet reflection and chanting brings one to
experience the whispering voice of God within one’s spirit. It is truly a
grace and blessing that leads us on our journey into the passion, death and
glorious resurrection of Christ.
May your journey of prayer, silence and
reflection bring you Christ’s peace and love!
Editor’s Note: My
face leaked as the vibrations of the chanting scrubbed my soul and the readings
enlightened it...
[Remember] Carol Marie Loechler
Return to Table of Contents
OR Home
Advancing Dawn
