This will be my last reflection on my time away since I may well be blathering to myself anyway. When I flew into Santa Fe, New Mexico. I then had to seek out the car rental and drive for an hour and a half through the desert. By the time I got closer to Ghost Ranch it was dark --very dark -- and all I could do was peer into the gloom for the mile markers which gave me assurances that I wasn't as lost as I felt.
I did get there, and when I arrived I discovered that I was sharing a room, something I had specifically asked not to do. I didn't want to go to summer camp! As I talked to my "roomie" my heart sank. He works for Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The founder and director is James Dobson, a far-right Christian whose influence in the U.S. is destructive, as far as I'm concerned. In addition, the guy who would be in the bed five feet away from mine attends the mega-church of 17,000 members where disgraced Ted Haggard was the pastor. Why me God!
Peter is a wonderful human being. He has a doctorate in leadership training and is bright and insightful. He is also compassionate and open in his Christian walk, eager to learn about Celtic Christianity. Speaking of walking, he was the only other person willing to hoof it everywhere at Ghost Ranch rather than hop in a car.
Although Peter is now an evangelical Christian, he has a Jewish and Roman Catholic background and recently began attending mass on Sunday mornings before heading off to worship in the mega-church with his wife and daughter. He told me that he needs the liturgy and the mystery which just isn't there in his congregation. We ended up talking for hours and we promised to stay in touch.
In an email after getting back to Bowmanville I told him that he is a fine ambassador for Christ. I like it when people shatter my stereotypes and I wonder if we were brought together for a purpose. I'm sure I can hear Jesus chuckling in the background.
Thank you, God, for Peter.
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