Seeking the Presence of Christ in Vacation
A few weeks ago, several friends and I participated in the Communion and Liberation Summer Vacation for the Upper Midwest region, which takes place every year around that time. Marcie, a participant, shares “Ever since attending my first CL Summer vacation I have looked forward to it. Every year. It’s a joyful, fun filled and meaningful and faith filled time. Many ages, lots of families who follow what the Communion and Liberation movement proposes: Christ is something that happens to me now. There I join others who are seeking the presence of Christ in one another and in the reality of every day. There’s sharing amongst ourselves of our experiences and encounters with Christ. I am filled!”
Spectacular sunset
This year was different because we went to a new place, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in the Porcupine Mountains. It was a beautiful place, even though we couldn't fully appreciate it due to lots of wildfire smoke. But for one perfect day it cleared up enough to see the sun, blue sky, the mountains, and a spectacular sunset.
Even with all the smoke, the organizers had prepared a variety of ways to encounter beauty in nature and in our companionship. One day, we drove to Black River Harbor for a hike and swimming in Lake Superior. Although you couldn't see much of the view, the water in the lake was crystal clear and delightfully cold. Here you can see a photo of the suspension bridge through the smoke.
Suspension bridge in the smoke
Another day, we did a short hike around the Presque Isle River. The kids had a great time clambering around on the rocks and exploring the shoreline. Some folks continued on a longer hike up and around more waterfalls.
Presque Isle River
Group hike
Even more than these beautiful landscapes, though, was the friendship and companionship we discovered amongst ourselves. As parishioner Peg shared, “Although there were many places of beauty that we visited during the vacation along the shores of Lake Superior, the greatest part of the vacation was the meeting of friends, old and new! The shared events of morning prayer, daily Mass, and community sing-a-longs were especially moving and great symbols of our unity in Christ.” Several folks from the region had prepared to share their experiences of School of Community (the weekly meeting of Communion and Liberation), charitable and missionary work, and the ways that CL is encountering and transforming everyday culture. Still others had prepared to lead singing nights of secular music (including the Backstreet Boys, a throwback to my own 90's childhood) as well as music from CL and sacred music. One of the priests even played the saxophone!
Community sing-a-long
Several priests from the movement celebrated Mass each day; Sebastian conducted a volunteer choir for one of them and other musicians led or accompanied the congregation in singing. Each day we prayed Morning Prayer together in recto tono, which is a way of chanting the prayers in unison on a single pitch. It takes some getting used to if you're not familiar but can lead to a deeper contemplation of scripture.
There were volunteers who brought along activities for children of different ages and took turns accompanying the kids so the adults could focus on the presentations. I brought some painting supplies and invited the children to paint the view we might have seen if it hadn't been so smoky. You can see they were particularly inspired by the idea of wildfires, although we were completely safe and no fires were visible where we were.
A child’s painting
Playing with bubbles
Other leaders organized complicated, competitive team games. That‘s not really my thing, but those who participated had a blast! It was thoughtful of the organizers to plan the games at a location with a playground for kids and shaded picnic tables for folks who needed a break. One person brought supplies for the kids to make huge bubbles!
In all of these ways, I really felt like I was part of a community of friends (even though I didn't know all of them) who care about each other and want the good for everyone. We might disagree about what the best good is in any given situation or how to accomplish it, but underneath it all is a clear desire to help one another and accompany each other even through challenging circumstances.
If this sounds like a companionship that you would like to be part of, I encourage you to "come and see" our Rochester Area School of Community when it begins again in September and consider coming with us to the Summer Vacation next year!