Home from Wild Goose …
What a weekend. Rain. Sun. Laughter. Tears. Amazing music. The sounds of the French Broad River and a thousand katydids. One amazing conversation after another. The honor and pleasure of being interviewed by Krista Tippett of On Being on NPR. Seeing and spending time with dear lifelong friends from the beautiful church in Maryland that was so formative in my life. Hanging out with once-a-year-friends (a special category) with whom you pick up one year right where you left off the last. Hearing encouraging stories. Hearing heartbreaking stories. Watching a dream become a reality. You really should be there next year.
Three highlights (of so many) –
– Getting to know and work with Ani Zonneveld. If you don’t know her, her music, or her inspiring leadership in “emerging islam” … you should investigate.
– Hearing and hanging out with my roommates, Rich Cizik and John Dear.
I first met Richard Cizik in 2004 at the Sandy Cove conference on the environment, and have met him several times since. But last weekend I got to hear him both in public and private, telling the story of what he has experienced over the last several years in bringing to birth the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good. Rich and I share all the ups and downs of an Evangelical heritage, and he is an inspiring human being.
I have long been an admirer of John Dear, another inspiring human being. (Not the tractor guy, the Jesuit peace guy …) I had met John several times, and read his autobiography and some of his books, but I hadn’t heard him speak or had time just to take a walk and get acquainted. His talk at Wild Goose on what Christians can learn from Gandhi was spectacular. You can read many of John’s articles here … and you should pick up his books too. His book Jesus the Rebel is on the same wavelength as my book The Secret Message of Jesus. I have the feeling that our paths will cross more often in the future.
That’s Wild Goose in a nutshell – having an Evangelical activist and a Jesuit activist as roommates.
– Seeing Krista Tippett in action. I’ve been a fan of Krista’s since the first time I heard her NPR show On Faith, which later morphed into On Being, which I listen to “religiously.” In a world where we all so often wince when people speak of faith and religion, Krista creates a space that somehow integrates reverence, humility, humor, and humanity … to speak of things of which we must speak.
10,001 thanks to Gareth Higgins and Rosalee Hardin and all the staff, Board, and especially the amazing volunteers that made Wild Goose possible.
