[Oe List ...] Adding to the conversation

[Blase Sands]

Thank you, Marsha! I’m so sorry for what happened to you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree we were caught in somewhat of a mass hypnosis that allowed very harmful things to happen. Hopefully, we can learn and grow!
Blase Sands

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________________________________
From: OE <oe-bounces at lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of JAMES ADDINGTON via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2025 1:58:01 PM
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
Cc: JAMES ADDINGTON <inarja at comcast.net>
Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Adding to the conversation

Thank you, Marsha, for a very thoughtful, frank and brave reflection on our life together in the Order. I found it deeply troubling and, at the same time, profoundly healing. Ellen and I and our two toddlers joined the Order in January 1965 (01-04-65 to be exact). That began a very intense, deeply rewarding, and very damaging 20 year journey. Like Bill S, I also am very grateful for tools, skills, experiences and friendships that would be life altering and life forming. Your parents were very important mentors and colleagues to us, especially in the early days. I grieve the callous disregard for some aspects of family life and individual development we were willing to tolerate in the service of our mission. I especially grieve the price my children paid for my vocational commitment. At the same time, I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to experience deeply the cultural diversity of our world and the bond of missional collegiality the Order provided. Those 20 years propelled a post-Order life that was impactful and perhaps a contribution.

Thank you (and Shelly) again, for your courage and directness. This is an unfinished and crucial conversation.
With deep gratitude,
James Addington

06/30/2025 7:45 AM PDT Marsha Hahn via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:


For several months, I have been doing some writing, the intention of which was to spur some self-critical reflection about the Order. I had been thinking I might send it to the archives, but the last couple of days, as David, Shelley, and others have raised challenging but important topics, made me decide to go ahead and share it in this forum. If memory serves, one of the original purposes of this listserv was to create a space for inter-generational dialogue. There hasn't been a lot of that, but here we are.

 It's a little too long to include in the body of an email, so I'm attaching a PDF.

Hoping it's a helpful contribution to this conversation.

In love and respect,

Marsha
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