[Dialogue] [Oe List ...] A Very Brief Collegium

[Ken Fisher via Dialogue]

Dear Gordon,

As you said, at our age, such news is not a complete surprise.

What can be of course, is the manner in which we live this news.

A dear friend of ours, John, was similarly diagnosed and died last weekend.

His last email stated: The will of God has never taken me where the grace of God has been unable to protect me.

He was a most humble man who had contributed much to Habitat for Humanity, the International Sacred Dance Guild, his local church and his big family.

I have always enjoyed your reports such as facilitating with a bunch of under 30 persons in Seattle (?).

With much affection for you and for your life-long witness,

Ken







On Sep 4, 2015, at 8:01 AM, Nancy Trask via Dialogue <dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:

Saluting you and the whole pack of colleagues you described,  Gordon.  This group has shown me how to live a life,  and I have such appreciation for each one.  God bless you and your family on this medical journey,  and as you continue to bleed the meaning from each moment. 
Nancy Trask 


Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone


-------- Original message --------
From: Gordon Harper via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> 
Date: 09/03/2015 11:19 PM (GMT-06:00) 
To: ICA/OE List Serves <dialogue at lists.wedgeblade.net>, Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> 
Subject: [Oe List ...] A Very Brief Collegium 

Beloved Colleagues --

Few of us, as the end of life approaches, get the chance to speak directly to anything like our whole community.  It appears that I have that opportunity, and I’m taking advantage of it.

Last week, after two months of medical testing to find out what had suddenly landed on me and drained me of my strength and usual energy, Roxana and I got the diagnosis.  It’s a rare form of fairly fast moving (typically two months to two years) leukemia, called CMML.  There’s little to be done to treat it, especially in someone my age (about to be 79).  I'm getting good medical care and have a fine local support community here in Seattle.

First of all, I want you all to know that I am at peace with this, as is Roxana.  My life--in good part because of you--has been rich, crazy, wonder-filled and a unique and unrepeatable journey with the Mystery. And no one knows better than you and I how to celebrate both our being here and the completion of our journeys.

I am taking this rare chance to express to all of you how much you’ve meant to me over the years--as the amazing collection of individual nobodies we are that rode out like the Man of La Mancha to throw our beings into the challenge of bending history.  More than that, you all contributed your own weird and special gifts, neuroses and idiosyncrasies to the makeup of our corporate life and community, all over the world.  Without you, there’d never have been such a community; so thank you, thank you, thank you.  

I hope to be able to chat with at least some of you individually or collectively over the time remaining to me, through one of the dizzying array of communication tools at hand today, and give you a little abuse.  (What else would you expect from me?  And please--do return the favor.)  We’ll see how things work out.  In the meantime, this note will have to stand for my salute to all of you, my heartfelt gratitude for your having been and continuing to be who you are and for that remarkable webbing and mission that connects us.

 The peace of God is yours this day --

Gordon  

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