I can’t remember what details I have given you all about our household here in Minneapolis so I will fill in some details for you. Rev. Joan and I started the Minneapolis center in 2005. We lived in a duplex in a part of Minneapolis called Uptown. The apartment had a huge living room and dining room two bedrooms an office and a tiny chapel. We lived there for three years and had grown out of the space so the Order bought us a house. We had two young women at our center (Carolyn and June) who were interested in being novices and they planned on moving in with us to start a Novice house. Okay- maybe I should explain what a novice house is.

A novice house is a place where a minister (or a few ministers) lives with students who desire a more intensive training. Novices take a one year vow of celibacy and agree to participate in daily communion, prayers, and community meals whenever possible. It is a lot like a modified monastic life. The novices work at their jobs in the world but spend a great deal of time in prayer, meditation, classes, and community. Their relationships with their sisters or bothers in the house are very intimate and honest. In our case, we have only women in the house and the novices are very dedicated not only to the spiritual work but also the relational work.

Okay- so back to the story. We were planning on moving into the huge house with only Carolyn and June but as the Master Teachers went around the country doing seminars they found that there were three other women who very much wanted to join our program. Christine from Oakland, Estelle from New Haven, and Anna from Atlanta all bravely moved from their cities and COLs and came to Minneapolis to make a nice big family. All seven of us live in the house and share meals, prayers, classes, and fun. Which brings me to the State Fair.

As all of you Minnesotans know, state fair is a big deal. People talk about state fair all summer and often go several times during its two week presence. The main attractions at fair are the variety of fried foods on a stick, animals and the rides. Rev Joan and I went in 2006 but after eating two kinds of fried food on a stick we were full and found the rest of the fair unexciting. But, we now had three novices who had never experienced State Fair so we had to initiate them into Minnesota culture. We drove to a near by transit point and took a special bus to the fair. By the time we got on the bus we were already having a great time. We arrived at the Fair in high sprits and set forth to try many varieties of fried food and food on sticks. Because there were so many of us we could taste many more foods. The list included fried pickles, a fried candy bar on a stick, fried mac and cheese on a stick, corn dogs, Australian fried potatoes, a fried onion, fried dough, steak on a stick and frozen grapes. Yeah, the frozen grapes broke the mold but were needed a break from the grease. We also road on some rides and especially loved the flying swing. I felt like I was a bird and felt an over-whelming love for all of God’s creation. I was swinging around and watching the sky and the light and the people and felt like there was nothing more perfect than that moment.  

Everyone had a lot of fun but more importantly we bonded as a family. I was so impressed with the way everyone shared lovingly and unselfishly. There was a very loose turn taking with the purchases but no one got rigid or anxious. Everyone was joyfully generous with their money and food and it felt like the best kind of family experience.  I felt and feels so grateful to be sharing this amazing spiritual community.