I am reading a book called “AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How it Can Transform Your Life.” It is an inspirational read on life and a fresh take on many feelings and things we experience daily. It takes a scientific approach to something that we all feel on a regular basis—awe—and studies it with a scientific approach but then returns to the spiritual nature of the wonder and awe that is inherent in our human existence. The author, Dacher Kelter, defines awe as a “feeling experienced in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world” and then our desire to grapple with it. In one sense, we all could experience awe every day if we could but allow ourselves to pause to soak it all into our hearts and minds.
This past weekend, I experienced awe twice in one day. I was presiding at a wedding in the Presidio in San Francisco for a couple in our community. I had forgotten how vast and beautiful it is and how stunning the views are throughout the whole of the Presidio. As I drove home, google maps took me home the fastest way through the neighborhoods of Haight-Ashbury and Twin Peaks—Oh my Gosh! It was a stunning drive, and I was delighted to be rerouted to areas I have not been to in my life. Gorgeous! My heart was again filled with awe at the vastness and beauty.
I arrived back in time for the beginning of the St. Simon Community BBQ. Wow! Over 800 people in attendance with over 200 children playing on the turf! It was spectacular to see old friends catching up over a glass of wine or beer and new friends meeting for the first time. I am deeply grateful to Angela Schaufler (PLG Chair) and Deanne Bligh (new PLG chair) and their entire team for an amazing and awe-inspiring event. The sheer number of meals, 800! And the vastness of the crowd. What an amazing community we have—St. Simon couples, families and friends love to socialize and be together. Thank you for your willingness to come together and be a community.
Earlier this week Pattie Sharrow, Nancy Perkins and their team transformed the parish center gym from a depot of boxes of everyone’s donated goods into a department store and shopping mall. WOW! Again AWE! I was stupefied by the transformation and marveled at the many hours of work her 60 daily volunteers did in a few days! I have never seen the Rummage Sale before and I was blown away by the sheer volume of clothes, shoes, beddings, books, household goods, sports equipment, and decorations. Absolutely breathtaking! Even more so was the fun to see the children from school come over to “shop” by class—their eyes lit up like Christmas lights when they saw the department store in their gym! The awe and wonder in their faces was a pure delight to see. I must admit I was in awe of the volunteers who worked all day together and were fed by another group of volunteers who prepared meals for them – their interactions together were priceless. This is an AMAZING event, and we must keep it going! We need you to come and shop and share the store with others who need some gifts for others. Yes, it has been a week of AWE! Praise God.
Speaking of community and awe, I am delighted to announce that we will be holding a retreat here on St. Simon Parish campus. We are bringing a weekend retreat to you here! So, there is no need for you to travel to a retreat center. It is called “Rekindling Your Spirit” and it will feature myself, Francesca LaRosa and Meredith Augustin as speakers and musicians. This is an opportunity to focus on keeping the joy in our lives and rekindling the fire that life dulls or overtime fades, and sometimes may even extinguish. It will be a highly interactive retreat where we will teach you how to build tiny habits and rekindle the power of love, the glow of joy, the heart of service, and the bond of community. We will give you practical tips on how to start with tiny habits that will enhance your life on the importance of rest and sleep, exercise and movement and quiet prayer each day.
Please mark the dates and plan on coming for the weekend. It will be 5:30 pm – 9:00 pm Friday, October 27 to Saturday, October 28 8:00 am – 9:00 pm here on the grounds of the parish. We will use every building to accommodate the crowds. We ask you to commit to both days and only go home on Friday night to sleep and register early as we are limited to the first 500 people. We will start with a dinner on Friday night followed by a presentation and concert. Then on Saturday we will start with morning meditation/prayerful movement followed by breakfast, a presentation and quiet time, then lunch followed by meditation/prayerful movement, a presentation and quiet time. The retreat will close with dinner, a presentation, and a concert. This is an opportunity to rekindle your spirit and learn to recognize the awe and wonder of God’s creation.
As you can see, we are committed to helping you grow in your relationship with Jesus and deepening your faith journey together in one community of faith. So please mark the date now and join us for an awe-inspired weekend of prayer and music. Registration will open soon.
God bless,
Fr. Brendan