June 1, 2019
Feast of the Ascension
Danville, California
Hello Friends,
Peace and all good! It’s been a while—quite a while!—since I have written anything in this blog. But I decided that today is as good a day as any to start again. Besides, the Feast of the Ascension—this precious, liminal moment when Jesus lets go of the earth so as to embrace both heaven and earth more fully—seems like a propitious one.
Today is also important to me in a personal way. On June 1, 1980 I travelled from California to Sweden for the very first time. This was before—long before—I became a friar or was ordained a priest. I was 30. I had received a generous scholarship from the Swedish Institute to study and travel in the country for four months. Most especially, I was to study it’s textile traditions, visit with artists and craftmakers, and even take a short course in tapestry weaving.
It was four months that changed my life and which continue to affect and influence the course of my life, even today. What a difference one simple, yet important decision can make, huh? Go figure. I never, ever thought in a thousand years that I would that I would fall in love with Sweden. That I would end up living in Sweden (three years altogether from 1980-86). That I would return to Sweden several times over the years to renew friendships and contacts.
Or that now, nearing my 70thyear, that I would return once more to Sweden—only this time to live and work as a Franciscan friar and priest. Again: go figure.
Starting October 1, I will be serving as pastor at a small, but vibrant parish (see photo above) in the city of Visby on the island of Gotland, smack dab in the middle of the Baltic Sea. Three hours by boat from the Swedish mainland to the east. About 90 sea miles from the coast of Latvia to the west. Finland and Russia are to the north; Poland, to the south. In the middle of everything and (to many people unfamiliar with the area) seemingly in the middle of nowhere at the same time.
The parish is called Kristi-Lekamens katolska församling/ Corpus Christi Catholic Parish. Close to 200 registered adult members, with several hundred others who are not officially registered. It is a small, but remarkably diverse community, with native-born Swedes (most of whom are converts to Catholicism) as well as individuals and families with roots in places as diverse as Burundi, Sri Lanka, Poland, and Spain. The community is welcoming and wonderful. At the same time, it is part and parcel of the Church universal, with all of the challenges and opportunities people of faith are facing everywhere these days. That said, Välkommen!
I am not the first Franciscan to land on the island of Gotland. And I sincerely hope I will not be the last. The friars first arrived in the year 1233. Considering that St. Francis of Assisi died in 1226, it is clear that they didn’t waste any time getting here! S:ta Katarina (officially St. Catherine of Alexandria Church, but lovingly referred to as “Sankta Karins” church), starting from the 13thcentury but in ruins since the Reformation, still presides over the town square; the Franciscans’ convent next door has been restored. I confess that every time I pass the church, I whisper: “We’re back!!” And I pray that the spirit of Sts. Francis and Clare will continue to hover over and bless these wonderful people and this beautiful land.
For the present, I am engaged in all the necessary footwork of leave-taking, packing, and organizing. We all know how much fun that is.
Of course, it is difficult to leave friars, family, friends, and the work I have been doing in recent years. I think anyone who has been through similar life changes can understand that readily. But I believeGod continually challenges us to leave our comfort zones, to surrender, and to trust. Here goes!
Godbless,
Charles
Map of Sweden: c. 2019 Newebcreations. Photo of C. Talley: c. Peter Jordan
