From the Heart

Last week, Lorna and I had a mini-vacation from our summer home in PEI and visited Halifax for three days.  We saw a lot and walked as much and had a great time.  We experienced many of the sights of Halifax including a tour of the Alexander Keith’s Brewery - great beer with a great history, Point Pleasant Park, the Public Gardens and much more. 

The two experiences which engaged me most were the Pier 21 Canadian Museum of Immigration, and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.  The Canadian Museum of Immigration touched me on a deep level when I engaged the stories of so many people from so many different lands that have been an integral part of the story of Canada.  We are all immigrants except the first nations who were also honoured for their place in Canada.  What impressed me greatly was the indisputable fact that we are at our best as human beings when we open our hearts to welcome the stranger who has come into our lives.  This is one thing that set apart the Israelites from other nations around them.  As noted by one source http://ronrolheiser.com/welcoming-the-stranger-2/#.XZIQgHdFzIU:

In the Hebrew Scriptures, that part of the bible we call the Old Testament, we find a strong religious challenge to always welcome the stranger, the foreigner. This was emphasized for two reasons: First, because the Jewish people themselves had once been foreigners and immigrants. Their scriptures kept reminding them not to forget that. Second, they believed that God’s revelation, most often, comes to us through the stranger, in what’s foreign to us. That belief was integral to their faith.

This welcoming of the stranger is a foundational part of our call as Christians.   Many of the groups which were there to welcome the immigrants at Pier 21 were church groups including the “Women's Missionary Society of the United Church, Presbyterian, Anglican, Lutheran and Roman Catholic workers, as well as the I.O.D.E.”

The second encounter which truly engaged me was, as I noted, the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.  Specifically, it was the exhibit of the life and works of Maud Lewis.  I had been aware and impressed by Maud’s story previously, particularly in the movie if her life, Maudie. I was enthralled by how Maud’s life and who she was, was expressed through her art.  What I saw was an indominable spirit of someone who did not let all the challenges of this life; physical, economic, and cultural, prevent her from expressing in the most powerful way what and who she essentially was.  Her whole life and everything around her became an expression of her true self. 

These two events showed me what can be accomplished when the spirit of our being is allowed to spring forth into the world which God created and intended that creation to be and become. 

Blessings on your journey