Grape #1: It was with great delight that I celebrated the Illinois Bicentennial, not only on December 3, but throughout the year, as I took many small road trips to see the sights of Illinois and get a better sense of what this state is all about where I have made my home. I enjoyed the trips, which gave me the chance to see Charles Mound, and the former state capital cities of Kaskaskia and Vandalia. Going to Springfield for the dedication of the Bicentennial Plaza on August 26 was a memorable day. And as also part of my travels, I enjoyed riding in Amtrak Business class for the first time when coming back from Galesburg. Illinois has a lot to offer and has really becoming something over the past 200 years--a far cry from James Monroe's observations that not much would come of the vast prairies he saw in the 18th Century. By the time he put his signature to the resolution admitting Illinois as the 21st state, the potential Illinois held had already been tapped, and what a ride it's been for two centuries.
Grape #2: I enjoyed the opportunity to travel back to St. Augustine Mission five years after going there on a trip of service. It was wonderful to reconnect with the people and places there and elsewhere in eastern Nebraska, and to have a trip with a strong spiritual component as well, manifested in visiting with Fathers Dave and Mark, attending Mass, and joining the Benedictine sisters in their evening prayer.
Grape #3: It was an honor to join the prestigious Knights of Columbus, which has a well-established reputation for upholding strong values in the Church so as to have a meaningful impact on society through service.
Grape #4: I enjoyed the opportunity to get in on some of the action at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. I finally was able to get access to seeing some of the curling games. Watching the opening and closing ceremonies also gave me the chance to take in some Korean culture, particularly K-Pop music.
Grape #5: I was glad to do my part contributing to the democratic process of the Republic of the United States and serve people in my community as an election judge for the November 6 elections, which, like the times before, was an equally exhausting and exhilarating experience.
Grape #6: I had many fabulous opportunities to participate in offerings by the newly-renamed Chicago Architecture Center, which moved to a new location this year, and changed its name from the Chicago Architecture Foundation. I was at the opening weekend for the new CAC location, on Labor Day weekend, and I won a contest, which gave me as a prize a CAC membership, with plenty of opportunities to go on tours to take in some of Chicago's amazing architecture, which I also did on Open House Chicago weekend. My brother and I also went on a nighttime architectural river cruise, whose tickets were also a prize.
Grape #7: As a way to pass the time with a longer distance to reach work than I had before my current job, I started to play audiobooks while commuting, which included many great books, including the Eric Metaxas biographies on Martin Luther and William Wilberforce, Daniel Pink's When, and a book compiling multiple speeches David McCullough gave on various occasions.
Grape #8: It was a true blessing to join the celebrations for Dan and Ann Ruggaber's Golden Wedding Anniversary back in August, and to take stock of the extraordinary relationship we've forged over the past 9 years that make me as much as part of their family as any of their sons, siblings, and other relatives.
Grape #9: With great joy, I marked in my own way the many other milestones that various people in my extended family attained this year. Our family also welcomed a new addition: It's been a pleasure getting to know Weasley, the dog my brother and sister-in-law have had since June.
Grape #10: I jumped at the opportunity to make a donation to the Julian mural project to give a meaningful opportunity for student artists to spend their time during summer break, while I also could give tribute to the extraordinary impact my Julian experience has had on my life. The mural is a masterpiece, and it was a very memorable day when I attended the dedication ceremony for it.
Grape #11: I was able to reconnect with the amazing impact of my time at Valparaiso University as I marked the 5-year anniversary of my graduation from there. Leading up to it, I went back there to talk with students about careers and share insights from my own experiences.
Grape #12: One of the most significant parts of my post-college life has been teaching Religious Education, which has given me the chance to channel the newfound zeal for faith I attained upon graduating from ValpU. Most meaningful has been the way I have connected with my students as I pass on the great gift of faith to them.
As I think back on this year, I realize many of the significant events have drawn meaning from the various communities and families of which I've been a part: my own family, the Ruggaber family, my home parish and the RE community within it, the Knights of Columbus (both the local Ascension council and the larger organization), the larger global Church, the United States, the State of Illinois. There's something incredible that happens when we come together, as we're able to create something that we could not doing as individuals.
I think about the song, "Glorious". I stumbled upon on YouTube video of the One Voice Youth Choir singing it, and the song quickly became one of my favorites. (The link goes to a version with the lyrics, and the video below shows the youth choir singing it.)
The song is in the soundtrack of Meet the Mormons, a documentary that profiles various Mormons. The lyrics speak so richly to how we each have a purpose, and when we join together in living out that purpose, we create a beautiful, glorious symphony.
As I think about the communities I'm part of, I think about my place in them, and the contributions I've made to enrich them, which is why I've had so much reason to celebrate their special occasions. These communities are a part of me, and have shaped me, much as I am part of them, and have shaped them like all the others who are part of them. So I really have had so much reason to celebrate.
But what's more, these communities all embody timeless values. So even as we bid farewell to 2018 and head into 2019, and as each successive year comes and goes, we find a firm foundation as we take our part to uphold the values these communities embody. I thought much about this a couple of days ago when I was in Springfield, IL, for sightseeing as a way to extend the celebration of the Illinois Bicentennial. Abraham Lincoln did much to uphold the values of the United States, much as did many others during a time of great crisis, particularly the soldiers in combat.
While they lived years ago, we are still connected with them, because we are part of the same country as they were, and we strive to uphold the same values as they did. When their stories are told, they become alive as we embrace what they embraced.
Indeed, like is espoused in aboriginal American and also Roman Catholic spirituality, there is a connectedness we experience that transcends the bounds of time and space, bound up in the words, "All my relations."
As I see it, I'll keep carrying the cherished memories of the momentous experienced I had during this year of 2018 as I keep participating in the various communities of which I'm a part and continue to embrace and uphold the timeless values they embody, like I did in 2018.
No comments:
Post a Comment