[Oe List ...] A Very Brief Collegium

[Lynda Cock via OE]

Dear Gordon, Roxana and the Harper family,

With such knowledge we stand in awe, because of your own and our own
projected timelines‹now at 75 for Lynda and soon-to-be 77 for John.

Thank you for including us (the OE community) as part of your family. We
salute  your wisdom and humor that has been a creative force in our
corporate life. John and I  hold each other a little more tightly as we hold
you all in our hearts, with deep gratitude for your journeys with us and our
family. 

We thought of you this morning on our walk after reading your epistle. The
words from our walking ritual of ³We are journeyed by grace: sustained,
called, empowered, and fulfilled² rang more powerfully than usual as we
think of our common journeys of purpose, community, and age.

We celebrate more than ever your being here with being itself in history,
together as part of the Earth community we have served through our common
years together.
  
Grace and peace is yours,

Lynda and John 

PS. We also sang the Mormon hymn ³Come, Come Ye Saints Š All is well, all is
well²‹that is, the parts we most affirm‹with hearty affirmation of your/our
common journeys.


From:  Gordon Harper via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
Reply-To:  Gordon Harper <gharper1 at gmail.com>
Date:  Friday, September 4, 2015 at 12:19 AM
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 I¹m 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.  It¹s a rare form of fairly fast moving (typically two
months to two years) leukemia, called CMML.  There¹s 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 you¹ve 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, there¹d
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.)
We¹ll 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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