Mark 4:35-41
The Gospel According to Green Grass: Crossing to the Other Side
[Dan Renn offertory prayer]
Reflections follow by Laura, Stephanie Kenny, Lee Whitaker, Jen Hall and Nancy Mol. conclusion by Laura.
Laura
We’ve barely unpacked from our trip out to the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota and yet, putting into words what we’ve seen and heard is part of the covenant we make on these church partnerships of the heart. Today, we are following the wisdom from 1st letter of Peter “Always be ready to give an account of the hope that is within you.” (1 Peter 3.15)
By a show of hands, how many of you have travelled to Green Grass at some point over the past 33 years? (Many showed!)
It is this living partnership
that binds us together as a people of God.
At Karaoke night last Thursday in the Green Grass Community Center, I was given a baby to hold for a while. Her name was “Journey” (Don’t you just love that name!) and she and I swayed to the music of Katy Perry, Kenny Chesney and the Beatles. While folks from Green Grass and Old Lyme sang (sometimes screamed (their hearts out.
For an hour, Journey snuggled into my neck as I whispered lyrics in her ear hoping her mother wouldn’t come back anytime soon. At 3 mos old, Journey lives in my heart along with so many other new/old Lakota friends from the Reservation. While Journey was the youngest I met, and Grace Kasto (Gasto) was among the eldest.
Grace was the matriarch and octogenarian in our midst, who told amazing stories of her great, great grandfather Crazy Horse. As you know, Crazy Horse was that famous Leader, peacemaker and warrior who stood up for his people against Custer at Little Bighorn and said “one does not sell the land upon which the people walk.”.
“Journey” in her pink baby cap and “Grace” in her wheelchair wearing Elvis and Sitting Bull earrings are for me of the unfolding story of life on the Cheyenne Indian Reservation, a communal hard life we’ve participated in and cherished here in Old Lyme for over three decades.
Journey, herself, is the promise and hope we hold for a child’s future on the Rez-indeed the hope we hold for all our children. A joyful, persistent hope that lives on in spite of the visible despair, poverty and the dysfunction you witness around you on a trip to these Great Plains…
Grace, wears the proud legacy of a Lakota Elder sharing her history, her dreams, her sacred traditions, as well as, our relationship with the Green Grass UCC Church.
Sitting with Grace and her husband, Abe, I wanted to ask her the question written by the poet Naomi Shihab Nye, “How did you survive so much hurt and remain gracious?”
Grace also spoke –as many of the elders did–slowly and deliberately telling of their appreciation for our 33 yearlong partnership with Old Lyme. “You don’t forget us”, Grace told me, “You always come.”
In this spirit, last Saturday evening, we gathered on the breathtakingly beautiful grounds of the Green Grass UCC church, standing around this bell pictured here on today’s bulletin cover. It is inscribed with the Lakota words “Wakantanka” in honor of the Lakota’s name for the divine, known as “Great Spirit”. I’m also told our own Phil Simmons, Judy Simmons’ late husband built the foundation for this bell in 1990.
We rang the bell 3 times letting its echoing beyond us across the green rolling hills filled with fresh scent of sage and yellow clover.
First, for the past:
honoring our partnership of 33 years and those who formed it from seed to garden.
We rang the bell for those upon whose shoulders we now stand; For the South Dakota leadership of folks like Rev. Henry Good Bear and Sacred Pipe Keeper, Arvol Looking Horse, and Eunice Larabee, as well as our own David Good, Korin Keam and Ginny Speirs and countless others who who started with a vision in 1985. A vision of a new kind of mission rooted in the ministries of reconciliation, accompaniment and relationship.
The bells echoed across the hills too, for The difficult, painful past the Indians have endured with their stolen lands, co-opted sacred rituals and lost freedom.
We also rang the church bell for the present
This moment in time of living and listening, feeding and praying, building and dreaming at the new Community Center just up the road from the church. A community Center 20 years in the making and now the central hub of life and hope for this small village.
After a moment of silence,
We rang the bell a third time for the future
The future of these beloved and beleaguered people who live in poverty with all the traumas of addiction, depression and losses they endure. And, for the bright eyed dreams of some of the youngsters and the mentorship of the elders like Manny RedBear and Ivan…
and for the future of our continuing partnership
We prayed for the future for all our children walking together on Mother Earth under Father Sky.
Hear now these reflections from some of our travellers, beginning with our most capable leader and organizer, Stephanie Kenny.
Stephanie Kenny
Tiospaye, a Lakota word that literally means extended family.
Look around you, to your left, to your right, behind you. This meetinghouse is filled with your Tiospaye, your community, your “tribe”. The branches of our extended family reach out to places like Palestine, Haiti, South Africa and of course to Green Grass, South Dakota.
For over 33 years this church has sustained a mutually beneficial partnership with the community of Green Grass located on the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.
I often reflect back on those early days and wonder what it must have been like. I think about my mom, Karin Kiem and Ginny Speirs, the founders of Tribal Crafts, driving door to door with Manny Red Bear as their guide and asking if anyone had crafts they were interested in selling. To walk into their homes, unknown and untrusted, and to emerge as family, visiting year after year after year. They may not have known it at the time, but Karin and Ginny had laid the foundation for what it means to live as Tiospaye.
From day one, the Tribal Crafts mission has been the same. To lift up, to affirm and to celebrate and share the beautiful crafts for which the Lakota people are known. And while the Tribal Crafts account has ebbed and flowed over the years, we have never wavered from our purpose and our goal, to buy at least one thing from every artist we see.
The days of traveling from home to home have transformed to what we now call buying day. Folks travel from all over the area to a location we’ve set to sell what they’ve been working on. This year we brought it back home to Green Grass in the new community building they have worked so hard to build.
It can be hard when the Tribal Crafts account is drained. Literal tears often find their way to our buying team, but we do our best to reboot for a new day and work our butts off to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
I am more than pleased to report that through a ton of hard work and dedication, we pumped over $10,000 dollars into that community of artists.
$10,000 dollars is not an insignificant number and the money we provide goes toward things as simple as pampers, propane and food. The simple things that we take for granted are hard to come by when you are living on the Rez.
When unemployment, drugs and alcohol stare you in the face day after day, this exchange of crafts can make the world of difference not only financially but by affirming and encouraging continued craftsmanship, to stay focused, and to keep hope close.
Growing up as a child of this partnership has had a significant impact on me and now that I have been helping to lead and coordinate these trips, I can see with more clarity than ever before just how crucial and important this partnership is and how we must feed it for another 33 years.
Folks often ask me; why do you go back year after year? What do you do when you are there? Don’t you ever get frustrated that nothing ever changes?
But here’s the thing… everything changes.
With one word of encouragement; one cup of coffee; a push on the swing and a mended pups paw, with one muddy squish in the river and one ride into town, the motion forward is set.
We can be the catalysts of hope.
With help from our mission’s board and private donations, we were able to purchase 6 eight foot tables, 32 chairs, two picnic tables, move a refrigerator in the new community building and help fund additional plantings for the new community garden. We cooked, we served and we hosted a day camp for kids of all ages, we sang karaoke, played in the mud, rode horses and if that wasn’t enough, we ended with a bang, watching an amazing firework display that rivals any local show.
Our Tiospaye indeed grew stronger and wider over the last week and as families sometimes do, we had our moments but in the end, I know that this trip and this group were truly, truly outstanding.
One last thing,
You may have noticed the beautiful star quilts hanging all around you. The Morning Star is a symbol of hope. It’s the last star holding out on the horizon bringing forward a new day.
There is always hope in a new day.
I’d like to think that Tribal Crafts and Old Lyme bring that hope, bring a little joy, bring a little something different… even if just for a week. But here is the thing, I also believe that Green Grass brings hope and a joy to each one of us.
We have the opportunity to get out of our heads, out of the unnecessarily chaotic schedules we set, out of our comfort zones. We stretch our minds and our hearts and our spirituality. We learn about another way of being. We learn that our way may not be the best way. That in Lakota culture, family and community is first, above all else. Perhaps this is the boost we get, what sets us forward and gives us hope for our own communities.
So what will you do today, this week, or this year to pass forward hope and friendship onto someone else? Will you simply go about your day or will you work to bring community and family together in a positive way. Will you learn to let go, to breathe and to spend time with what is truly of value.
Our Connection to one another, to the great spirit, connection to mother earth and to family. Look around you, to the left, to the right, behind you… this is your Tiospaye. Amen.
Lee Whitaker
After several years of listening to the stories from Green Grass, it was about time to head there myself.
I ventured upon this wonderful journey to meet our Lakota family at Green Grass.
Some of my primary responsibilities during the week were shopping and cooking for the Green Grass Community. The folks there greatly appreciated ‘The Feed’, which we provided them. And cook we did, thanks to Mary’s expertise. A favorite was Winona’s famous Indian taco dinner, complete with a little grease fire and smoke alarm sounds, which were quickly extinguished, but they were still good. We all worked well together cooking, serving and cleaning.
Many Lakota friends mentioned that they look forward to our yearly visit and thanked us for the food.
I discovered how important prayer and ritual is for the Native Americans. We were honored to be invited to a sweat lodge ceremony which was performed to prepare three individuals to go on a Vision quest, where they spend 40 hours in silent prayer at a location on Green Grass. We met Uma and Ivan, who explained the ceremony and welcomed us in. A small hemispheric lodge is used where a pit is dug into which rocks heated in a fire outside were placed. Once participants entered, water from a bucket was poured on the glowing rocks. The steam that arises is referenced to as the breath of God and purifies those present. Songs and prayers are then offered in the Lakota language. It sure was hotter than a sauna, but what a wonderful experience that I will always remember.
As I flew home, I thought about the folks in the Green Grass community, many of whom would never go on a plane or even see the sights of South Dakota like Crazy Horse, as they are lacking jobs and funds.
It was my privilege to travel with the wonderful group of FCCOL folks and friends and I will treasure these memories and experiences from the trip that I had heard so much about.
In conclusion, I’d like to read the following 10 Indian commandments in the hope that everyone can use them as guidance.
- Treat the Earth and all that dwell with respect
- Remain close to the Great Spirit
- Show great respect for your fellow beings
- Work together for the Benefit of all mankind
- Give assistance and kindness whenever needed
- Do what you know to be right
- Look after the well-being of mind and body
- Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good
- Be truthful and honest at all times (and finally)
- Take full responsibility for your actions
Jen Hall
Good morning; my name is Jennifer Hall, and this was my first journey to the Green Grass community on the Cheyenne River Reservation. My daughter Kylie has been going for six years, since she was 11; a testament to how much this partnership means to her. This year we also brought my youngest daughter Avi, age 5, and she is already making noise about going again next year, so… you can imagine the impact our experience had on her.
To be honest, I struggled with what to say when I was asked to provide a reflection for today’s sermon. Every night after the day’s activities at Green Grass, I wrote some thoughts in a sort of “journal” – and mind you, I am not the “journaling” type – and even then, I struggled to find the right words to describe the experience, even when it was fresh in my mind. That feeling remains. If I were forced to choose one word that might describe this journey, it might be “dichotomy.” The beauty is unimaginable, but so is the pain. History walks alongside the present, laughter shouts and sometimes wins, but sometimes it is the tears that triumph. These people are wounded still, yet every day I saw quiet, majestic pride in each striking face. Even if I never go again, I know that my experience at Green Grass will be on my mind as I draw my final breath.
I would also like to add, that this experience has also cemented my love for this Church, and by that I mean not this building, but all of you. I love that relationships like this are encouraged and supported, that the ideals espoused by the man we are taught Jesus was, are actually embodied in our ministerial leadership and in all of us. Thank you, thank you, all of you, for making these partnerships possible, and for walking the path of love, companionship, and empathy. I do believe that will we need every bit of it as we head together into the future.
(Amen)
Nancy Mol
Weeks before leaving Old Lyme, I was looking forward to going to Green Grass. For the last few weeks, I seemed less patient and felt myself reacting more to minor things that usually didn’t bother me. I felt that I needed a tune up. This was my second trip out to Green Grass.
Riding in Mimi’s car, with her daughter Mary Tommasetti, Luke and Katherine, I felt I was in the right place. It was important for me to pay tribute to Mimi by riding out with her family this year.
A feeling of total centering enveloped me as we entered the Cheyanne River Reservation and drove to Green Grass. Reconnecting with familiar friends, I was thrilled to spend our time at the new Community Center. Serving lunches with Tracy, who is running the free lunches for kids through July; making dinners and eating with friends from Old Lyme and Green Grass was fulfilling. Sitting and talking with Paul Sand, Vivian, Betty, Sue Ellen, Arlee and so many more Green Grass friends was so rewarding. I felt renewed.
Seeing the tables of children from both circles engaged in crafts and creating treasures was so wonderful. Travis drew his wild horses on large, white sheets and both children and adults colored each horse. Borrowing a phrase from Bill Slivinski, “a blending of communities” was present on so many levels. Our communities certainly blended during the week and since the Community Center opened, more Lakota family members have returned and blended with each other.
During his time at Standing Rock, Oscar High Elk, a young, Native American in his 20s, reconnected with his Lakota culture. He found a sense of purpose and value. He wants to create a space that provides the same opportunity for children and young adults at Green Grass. His dream is to build a sustainable, living community with an equine assisted activity center. A place where Lakota children can learn their traditional, horsemanship to gain self-confidence and feel a sense of value and where young adults can have an opportunity to train the children and strengthen their own self-worth.
Francois Fiddler, also in his 20s, is our Lakota horse whisperer. He facilitated horseback riding throughout the week. Both children and adults took turns riding. Even I dared to get up on the horse with Francois’ help. I’ve heard him described as smart, very skilled, gentle, a wonderful teacher and that he has a strong will to persevere. With opportunities available to him, I see him raising his community up and offering valuable lessons to all.
A community vegetable garden is being created by Uma, who is married to an elder member of Green Grass. After asking her if I could bring out fruit and vegetable scraps, she showed me where I could discard the scraps for a future compost pile. I took on the job of bringing out the scraps and had helpers – children from both communities. On the last day at Green Grass so many of us gathered to pray around the garden as Uma shared her dreams of a community of sharing.
Leaving Green Grass that night, after a fabulous, fireworks display offered to us by Ed and Dan, my feeling was that this community will be moving forward in the coming year. I will be interested in hearing news of Green Grass until my next visit.
The next day, our group stopped at Bear Butte. Last year, I struggled climbing up nearly a third of the Butte before turning back because of a possible thunder storm. I began climbing this year and was quickly reminded of the steep terrain. I was walking with Lee Whitaker and we decided to take it slowly. We plugged along and encouraged each other along the way. It was Lee who mostly encouraged me. Those two miles took us at least two hours if not more. Being in a sacred place, I told myself if I was meant to reach the top, I would. I hoped that I could accomplish this. It felt like this strenuous climb would never end but Lee and I persevered. When we reached the top, I felt so accomplished. I had not thought before about a bucket list but this was certainly an item to check. Others in the group were already there. Laura and Stephanie soon followed. We prayed in a circle with our prayer ties and Laura and others there strung the ties on a nearby tree. The moment was so spiritual for me.
My hope this morning is to leave you with a sense of hope for our Green Grass partners as well for ourselves. Borrowing a phrase from Mary Tommasetti, we all have the opportunity to experience “Shared Hope” amongst our families.
Thank you.
Laura-Concluding
“Let us go across to the other side.” Jesus told his disciples in Mark’s gospel text for today. (4.35)
As we learn trip after trip,whether it’s to Green Grass or Israel-Palestine, Haiti and Mexico or the New London Hospitality Center– our even walking in sanctuary with those friends in own church basement,
Crossing to the other side (the lake, prairie or Lyme street) with Jesus is what we do as a community of faith. Crossing to the other side is the heartbeat of our church.
And the source of our mission.
And the core of our discipleship.
It is the gospel invitation to be with “the other” in community.
Let US cross to the other!
Let US see how we can be changed by going to a new shore together
Let US see what it is, who it is that Jesus wants us to meet
So that No matter how storm-tossed, chaotic or challenging the landscape might be for us
No matter how hard it is to step beyond our comfort zones and enter the pain of another.
We learn another way of being in the world.
This gospel invitation is a clear as a bell,
Let us keep on going where God’s beloved are,
So that together we live into a new reality of community and communion.
Where all are welcomed as kin.
And forever changed.
AMEN