Broom Tree is one of those activities I avoided for seven years. It took three guys and the plea of an administrative assistant to whom I owed more than a few favors before I decided enough was enough and submitted the requisite application to be part of the seventh class - lucky number seven.
In the last seven years, most participants shared the following with me about their time at retreat: 1) technology is deeply frowned upon - best keep your smart phone in your pocket on silent; 2) expect to have your Christmas ruined; and 3) never, ever, ever be late.
Skating in at five minutes before the official start time, I was close to breaking rule number 3. My mother would have been gravely disappointed in me if I had been late. Why? Because she taught me respect, respect for time, respect for rules, respect for faith traditions. Her construct, which she passed along to me, was every person, as a child of God, was deserving of respect.
The sponsoring Sisters are, on the barometer of my respect scale, pretty close to the tippy top. They represent to me, the single, educated, mature woman and the collective shoulders on which I have been lifted and the role models of individualism and community that demonstrate how to be present.
If there is one thing I shall remember about Broom Tree and one thing that I will take with me where ever I may go is the importance of being present. Present in the moment. Present in the conversation. Present during the meal. Present. I have come to believe that is one, but not the only, reason why technology is so deeply frowned upon. It is also why being on time is revered. It doesn't explain the Christmas part but I will go into that later.
Staff back at the office has nicknamed Broom Tree "rehab". As in, "she's headed to rehab so get your questions answered before she takes off on Thursday morning." Amusing? Yes. In a way, perhaps it is rehab. Come out stronger, better, clearer, whatever your word might be, than when you started.
I have thoroughly enjoyed the history, the context and the discussions surrounding the Bible. Lost in the modern era is the underlying truth that this is a book, many books and letters actually, written not as a historical retelling of how the earth was created (easy to understand in the face of modern day science), or how a virgin gave birth (a popular point in Bill Mahar's Christianity as mythology argument). We forget, probably for our own internal and societal needs, that the Bible is literature, a confluence of oral traditions, legends, myths, parables and allegories among other writing styles to relate an understanding of God and God's relationship with us. Reading it in a 21st century world with a 21st century frame of reference becomes overwhelming at best and misinterpreted at worst (leading to wars and social peril). It also gives rise to challenging modern images of the nativity scene, hence the "ruining" of Christmas commentary.
Jesus the innocent. Without sin? By my definition of sin? Couldn't say. Did he even understand his divinity while on earth? Would he have that capacity having come in human form? What does life to death to life take? How are we to define our faith in a world where atheism is the largest growing segment of belief in our American society? Are we simply birds resting on the branch of our faith?
The "who are the birds" and "who is the branch" line isn't mine. I borrow it from the film "Of Gods and Men". a real life story of the Algerian monks killed in 1996. They are portrayed in this film filled with powerful moments. I've ruminated over that scene dozens of times. The monks, knowing that if they stay they would most surely face death, grapple with the decision of to stay or to go. The lead monk says to the villagers, "we are but birds on a branch". And a woman of the village interjects, "but you are our branch and we are the birds. What will happen to us if you leave?"
How many of us have been faced with that question? You feel like a bird, but you are in a very real sense the branch. I've seen families where the matriarch, is the branch for the entire family tree. I ask the same question at work - bird or branch? If I am to be a branch, then I must do all I can to be a strong one. There are many families who depend on it.
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Taking a part of Broom Tree back to work, friends and home has been the experience's bonus round. From other year's participants, I didn't hear the stories about the infancy narrative or the combo big bang/creation story or the differences in the writing styles of Luke and Matthew. I took back those stories and weaved them into the fabric of conversation. I didn't realize its effect until our controller shared the parable of the field workers through the eyeglass of social justice and equity in providing counsel to a staff member. What I have had the opportunity to bring back to work, to family, and to friends has left them asking, "Where can I go for this?"
We have absolutely no programming in our society to allow an individual the opportunity to discuss faith traditions in a non-judgmental venue. I'm not saying debate should be shunned. I'm just saying how fun it is to ask questions, mentally challenge the answers and know that there may not be a right answer.
The challenge of Broom Tree isn't balancing time away from the office with time spent there, weekends make up for the deadlines that can't be missed. The challenge of Broom Tree is bringing to balance the work with the mission. I've worked in the private sector, the public sector, for profit and not for profit. It is different here, and maintaining that difference in an era of margins, regulatory change and generational transformation is easier said than done.
Technology provides the advantage of "finger tip" information. To be an "A" student, is to master the numbers, the information and the technology. Rarely is an "A" student defined by their mastery of the mission. That mastery of the mission is the challenge of Broom Tree.
I am amused as I channel surf on a Sunday morning. A television pastor will speak to a verse in Matthew and I will immediately consider the context of the passage and its writing in a framework of two thousand years ago. This isn't something that I would have done before Broom Tree.
I have learned that the "Kingdom of God" is not for the hereafter in the sweet bye and bye. It is here, and it is now. Broom Tree changes everything.
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