The End of an Era
The Seuss themed end of year party had some great moments; my favorite being a game poking fun at Patchy, called Pin the Beard on the [Patchy]. I also had a lot of fun blind-folding (and terrifying) the winner of the Richard Baker Award, an Award that’s been a tradition at Ryerson given to graduating students who go above and beyond choosing to extend hospitality and invest in younger students especially in their last years of their degree which are usually the busiest. I had her blind-folded and brought to the front of the room, then proceeded to talk about all the wonderful ways she’s blessed our community, and relished as she squirmed thinking she was in for something awful, then I had the blind-fold taken off and gave her the award. I think she was more upset at the anticipation of something terrible happening than if I had actually done something terrible! But she was grateful for being honoured with the award.
At this point in the festivities, I made the announcement to the larger community (and now to you) that I would be leaving Ryerson and becoming a campus minister at OCAD University.
After this, the same student who won the Richard Baker Award, called me forward, and asked me to sit in one of two chairs at the front of the room. She took the other seat, and then proceeded to conduct an “exit interview”. I think it was meant to be more lighthearted and funny, but some of the questions (which I had no prior knowledge of) were a little awkward to answer without preparation.
After a few more games and tons of desserts, the party was over. I had a lot of fun, but as my last RIVCF party on campus, it felt like a bit of an anti-climactic ending. My last official Ryerson-specific event after this party was a final leader’s meeting to debrief the year.
At our last exec meeting, which was 2 days later, we spent the time eating pie and sharing with each other what we appreciated about one another and about all the things we were glad to receive this year in leadership. I was encouraged as I saw this group of strangers had become deep spiritual friends and deeply loved one another.
As you likely know, I’m an avid reader, and as a parting gift I gave away some books for the students to further their development moving forward giving each a specific book to meet them where they are at, many of these titles may seem familiar as they are ones I’ve mentioned on this blog:
- Patchy: Real Life by James Choung
- AP: Small Things Done with Great Love by Margot Starbuck
- Beaker: Pursuit of God in the Company of Friends by Richard Lamb
- Swift: Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster
- Pink: Everyday Justice by Julie Clawson
- Dumplings: Baking Bread: Recipes and Stories from Immigrant Kitchens by Lynne Christy Anderson and Corby Kummer
- RA: Wounded Healer by Henri Nouwen
It felt good to give the students my personal copies of these books and share the insights I’d received these books and bless them into the next things in their lives be it more school or entering the workforce.
Oh the Places You’ll Go
It’s my favourite Dr. Seuss book, and I have fond memories of one of my first events as a student in the Ryerson IVCF community had Jess, the Campus Minister at the time read this story to the graduating class. I always planned on doing something like that when we had a big graduating class, and this year we themed our Year End Party around this Seuss book. With bright decorations, nostalgic games and themed food we celebrated a full year of ministry with friends new and old. I widely announced to the community what’s coming up for me, and ended the party with a reading of Oh the Places You’ll Go.
Oh the Places You’ll Go
What I’m reading these days
As many of you know, I’m an avid reader. I have so many books on the go, and so many more that are in the queue to be read. This year some friends of mine started a book club, and it’s been a lot of fun gathering with this group, and the books we’ve been reading have led to some lively discussions.
Here’s what we’ve been reading:
October: Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter
November: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer
January: Americanah by Chimamanda Nguzi Adichie
February: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
March: Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters by Courtney Martin
April: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce
May: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu
Some notable books on that list have been January’s book and March’s book.
January’s book, Americanah was enlightening to see and understand the perspective on an international student from Nigeria. I have spent nearly the entirety of my life in Canada and I often have a hard time fully understanding the experiences of those who newly arrive in North America. I found the main character’s perspective and humour insightful as she names and wrestles with concepts and concerns that are far removed from her home context. Her perspectives on race and culture as a Non-American Black were intriguing and gave voice to things I’ve felt or experienced but struggled to name aloud.
Since reading Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters, I can’t stop talking about it. While reading it: I often wanted to curl up and cry for all the women in my life whose lives reflect those depicted in this book; I surprisingly found stories that deeply resembled my own; and my eyes were opened to how these attitudes and behaviours have stolen life from so many of the lovely and beautiful women in my life. And though the bulk of the book was heavy-laden with sad stories and statistics, it ended on a hopeful note, with encouragement to get help and support. I was surprised as one of the chapters discussed the author (and my) generation’s deep spiritual hunger; naming that ours is amongst the first of generations where spiritual beliefs or foundations have been absent and in the place of having belief in and a relationship with God our generation has made their own gods that we center our lives around, one being eating disorders. This idea isn’t exactly new to me, in fact part of the reason I work in ministry is because I see this everyday; the way people orient and center their lives around something that leads to death and I long for them to reorient their lives toward something that would give them life rather than take it away. But I was surprised to see the author name this as well, and invite her readers to fill that spiritual hunger and how that can give them the strength and support to conquer their disorders and reclaim their lives.
And as always, there’s more that I’m reading, but I’ll include some of the others in another post.
The Arch 