Sanctuary from Violence

Cover Image: Angel, Jet Schneider

A Sanctuary from Violence

A collection from the Oasis community September 2012

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What’s Inside?

In the following pages you will find a gathering of reflections from some of the amazing people

who make up the community associated with Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development. The call

for submissions stated: “With recent news of gun violence and intolerance, we are inviting the

community to share submissions for A Sanctuary from Violence, a free eBook from the Oasis

community.”

Enclosed are the submissions we received: photos, poetry, artwork, reflections, and a sermon.

It is a diverse, thought-provoking, prayer-evoking, meditative collection of pieces to ponder and to

spur action. Our thanks to all who submitted material. I have been blessed by you.

Thank you to all who continue to support Oasis, especially through prayer.

As you read and reflect, may you be inspired to find and create sanctuary from violence with us.

Cindy Garis, Executive Director

Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development

419 Deerfield Road, Camp Hill, PA 17011 717.737.8222 * www.oasismin.org

Table of Contents

Angel, Jet Schneider.................................................................................................................................. Cover

Silence: My Forgotten Friend, Celeste Lauritsen ..............................................................................................3

Butterfly in Butterfly Bush, Sarah Bailey ......................................................................................................... 3

Solitude, Marie Rodichok ................................................................................................................................ 4

Ahhhhh, Marie Rodichok ..................................................................................................................................4

Permeable Sanctuary, Lynda Myers ................................................................................................................ 5

Brook 2011, Judy Clark .................................................................................................................................... 5

Chalk Drawings, Lynda Myers ......................................................................................................................... 6

Yard, Fall 2011, Judy Clark .............................................................................................................................. 7

God Is In This!, Sarah Bailey ............................................................................................................................ 7

Heart of Shells, Sarah Bailey ............................................................................................................................ 8

Family Secrets, Megan Malick ................................................................................................................... 9-15

Omnipresence, Diane Brandt .........................................................................................................................12

Easter 10:15 am, Diane Brandt ..................................................................................................................... 16

Peaceful Sanctuary, Marie Rodichok ............................................................................................................ 16

Flower Power, Sarah Bailey ........................................................................................................................... 17

Chippy in Tree, Sarah Bailey .......................................................................................................................... 17

Blessings of Labyrinth Building, Jet Schneider ........................................................................................ 18-22

Message from Nature to Your Soul in Autumn, Sarah Bailey ........................................................................ 23

Winter Sunset, Sarah Bailey .......................................................................................................................... 23

List of Contributors .........................................................................................................................................24

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Silence: My Forgotten Friend

What are the sounds of silence?

A vapor vanishing?

A felt, but not heard breeze?

A tip-toeing insect that appears on my paper?

Shoes lying in my closet?

My TV in the off position?

Sometimes I get nervous in too much quiet…

I must be missing something…

Maybe there is something going on in this world that I need to know about

Silence is also not reading email – even if the room is silent, my brain is engaged…

Do I really need the store coupons for 25% off that appear in my email?

….for more comfortable shoes that I really, really don’t need to stuff into my closet!

Silence came to me on Saturday evening when I held my three month old grandson asleep in my arms.

In the early morning as I notice the dew on the grass…it arrived in silence.

The bread that I bake used to rise in silence too, until I got the noisy,

but efficient bread maker.

I think I could even wash dishes in silence

—but instead I turn on the noisiest dishwasher in the world (it really is)

Thinking that sanitary hot water washing with noise is really healthier.

My life is SCREAMING for more silence

Begging for more silence

I need to listen….in silence!

~ Celeste Lauritsen

Photo submission: Butterfly in Butterfly Bush, Sarah Bailey

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Solitude, Original artwork by Marie Rodichok

Ahhhhh, Original artwork by Marie Rodichok

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Permeable Sanctuary

He did not live

to use a cell phone,

surf the Internet,

or witness the election

of an African-American

president of the United States

but met death

one morning

with a bullet

from a friend’s gun

at little more

than twenty-one.

Another statistic

for young black men.

Not even

an English teacher’s

prescient sanctuary

crafted of a collection of

stories and poems

of Langston Hughes

and Leroi Jones

and an excerpt from

Norman Mailer’s

account of Ali and Frasier’s

Fight of the Century

could shield him

once he stepped outside

the sanctity of the eighth grade

classroom where

he was often

center of attention.

He was never on the yearbook staff.

He did not hold first chair in the orchestra,

run for student government,

or make honor roll,

But, he endeared himself

to faculty and classmates, alike.

Then, we saw a hope and

a future, not his end,

a teenager with cherubic countenance,

gold-flecked brown eyes, impish grin.

Whatever happened?

Why could we not protect him?

~ Lynda Myers

Photo submission: Brook 2011, Judy Clark

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Chalk Drawings

I leave Safe Harbor

and walk atop drawings

in colored chalk,

read upper case

alphabets

of children’s names

I recognize as middle school

boys, once regulars

in our now-defunct

after school program

The hard, flat sidewalk surface

a perfect canvas

for after-hours handiwork,

a place to unleash

creative energies

once channeled

into making pizza

with organic heirloom tomatoes,

playing basketball in the gym

or reading out loud

together

with a college mentor.

One less island

in an archipelago

of sanctuaries set up

to protect

vulnerable youth

who now trace outlines

of their half-grown

bodies and

print their names

impermanently

upon the concrete.

Harbinger?

~ Lynda Myers

"Chalk Drawings" is about my walking atop the colored chalk drawings of two of our after school program outside James Wilson Safe

Harbor, our transitional housing facility in Carlisle, PA.

Original artwork by Lynda Myers Collage/mixed media. Found fibers, recycled paper, pen,

marker, ink.

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Photo submission: Yard Fall 2011, Judy Clark

GOD IS IN THIS!

Brilliant contrasts of Maple,

Oak and Pine,

Of fallow fields readied

For new life,

Of crows and corn, and

Pumpkins waiting for

Frost's first bite.

GOD IS IN THIS!

So Truth with life,

My life in Autumn rhythm

Dares show true colors now.

The self exposed, no longer threatened.

Free, unbound from fettered tyrants

That undermine the beauty one dares

own.

GOD IS IN THIS!

So, welcome Autumn,

Knowing Winter is at hand.

In the Autumn of my life,

I know the icy blast awaits

That wracks the bone

Deep to the soul,

And calls one's essence into

Peace at Home.

GOD IS IN ME!

Written by Joan S Kuiken, October 11, 2009

Submitted by Sarah Balley

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And Where Do We Go From Here

And where do we go from here?

Just a question my soul asked

From a former life.

One step at a time.

Trust, trust, trust

All shall be well.

God is in this mess.

It is not too late to

See the Light on our path;

The Light reflected from the Christ within.

Stay centered in the source of the gift.

It will guide you through.

What you feel is where you need to follow.

Think what you feel-feel what you think.

I saw a vision.

We all loved each other

Loving each other.

Written by Joan S Kuiken, August 4, 2003

Submitted by Sarah Balley Photo submission: Sunrise over Mountains, Sarah Bailey

There is life inside the shell.

Dare we to be as brave

To show our inner selves.

The beauty of the sea shell

Survives inspite of being

Tossed through perilous seas.

Uniquely it is this turmoil

Which hones its beauty.

Look into the face of another

And you will be reminded

That life's pressure makes us

Or breaks us.

You will see it in the sea shell.

The echo in the conch,

The sound of the sea

Is nature's way of naming

Eternity.

Written by Joan S Kuiken, July 19, 2004

Submitted by Sarah Balley

Photo submission: Heart of Shells, Sarah Bailey

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In July 2012 I preached a sermon on Mark 6:14-29. I looked at the story of the Beheading of

John the Baptist from Herod's daughter's perspective. To some she is nameless, to some

Herodias, to some Salome

It's not about gun violence but violence, shame, and secrecy within families that I believe fuels

gun violence.

I titled the sermon Family Secrets. ~ Megan Malick

Continued on page 10

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Continued from page 9

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Omnipresence, Original Artwork by Diane Brandt

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Easter 10:15am, Original artwork by Diane Brandt

Peaceful Sanctuary, Original artwork by Marie Rodichok

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Flower Power by Sarah Bailey FLOWER POWER is of artwork I do, using flower petals as paint and my fingernail as a "brush." I

stroke the "petal paint" onto paper and then highlight / outline with an ink pen. It looks like a

water color, but it is only the color that comes from the squished petals and leaves.

Chippy in Tree, Sarah Bailey

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Blessings of Labyrinth Building

After several years of letting the idea of building a labyrinth in our back yard grow in our minds

and hearts, it happened this summer: our community peace labyrinth became a reality.

The Journey began with walking

the great labyrinth at the

Bethany Retreat Center many

years ago and eventually

attending a labyrinth-walking

weekend there. Walking the

labyrinth, a form of body prayer,

resonated deeply with me in

both its simplicity and

profoundness: everyone could

do this, regardless of religious

background, and find the

spiritual in walking a spiraling

path to the center and out again

into the world*. The seed was

planted to perhaps build a

labyrinth in our back yard one day.

Now and then a gentle nudging would come: wouldn't it be wonderful if we could build a

labyrinth? Where in the back yard would we build it? My husband Don and I had an idea for a

possible location, but was it right? One evening several years ago we walked in the garden

with a spiritually very sensitive friend, and asked her where would be a good spot to build one.

After walking down the hill to a flat area largely surrounded by trees she remarked, "Do you

notice it being a little warmer here? This would be a good spot." The question of where to

build a labyrinth was answered; our friend's answer had affirmed what Don and I had thought.

Now the questions of what kind of labyrinth, which building materials, and especially who

could help us build it, could be addressed.

It wasn't until after completing my studies at Oasis Ministries for Spiritual Development three

years later (where, among many things having to do with Spiritual Direction, I had also learned

more about labyrinths), and beginning my ministry of offering Spiritual Direction, that the

nudging came that it was time to continue the project. Don and I had talked about a simple

labyrinth, which would be easy to maintain. One day we came upon a picture of a labyrinth

with the lines made out of bricks, which were dug into the ground flush with the grass, while

the paths were made out of grass, so the labyrinth could simply be mowed for easy

maintenance. We didn't know labyrinths could be built this way, and it exactly met our needs!

We also loved the kind of labyrinth that was in the picture - a classical, 7-circuit Cretan

(Continued on page 19)

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labyrinth, a very ancient design.

Who could help us build the labyrinth? We wanted this to be a community-building project

where everyone who wanted to could participate in building the labyrinth in their own way -

some by praying, others by digging lines and/or placing bricks. But we knew we also needed an

expert to supervise and guide the project.

Tom**

, a very kind and gentle fellow parent we met when the children were in elementary

school, is a contractor. He had recently lost his wife Jane**, and was searching for ways to

help him in healing his loss. We described the project to him and asked if he could be our

expert supervisor, and he said yes.

Announcements about "Labyrinth Building Evenings" were made, and the project was under

way! Don had designed a labyrinth layout with exact measurements on the computer, Tom

had spray painted the design on the

grass, and then people came to help us

- people of very different ages,

backgrounds, and all over the political

and religious spectrum, all working

together harmoniously on building the

labyrinth. We never knew who would

appear on a given evening; people

would just come, build, drink some

lemonade, and enjoy each other's

company. It was such a blessing and a

wonderful practice of healing for many

of us, a practice of peacemaking. Friend

Justine** offered advice on how to

build a labyrinth (she had built

labyrinths before, as we found out

later), and mentioned there had to be

water close to the surface in the center

of the labyrinth (something we were unaware of when laying out the labyrinth- it just "felt

right" where it was, to us). After dowsing, she discovered there indeed was water close to the

surface - yet another confirmation that it was the right spot.

As we were starting to build the labyrinth, friend Mary**

, a gifted spiritual director and healer,

informed me that her church in the Carlisle, PA area had been looking into building a labyrinth

there. She asked if they could please use the information /knowledge we had gathered so far

in how to build. A sister labyrinth is now in the process of being built there.

(Continued from page 18)


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One evening it started raining, which felt very refreshing after the heat of the previous days,

and then it started pouring! All builders that evening were soaked to the skin, and

rediscovered the joy of playing in the rain, like little children enjoy doing.

The labyrinth holds all, a paradox of both joy and sorrow. One evening while working on a

flowerbed near the partly dug-out labyrinth (the trenches were about 8 inches deep to

accommodate a layer of gravel with a brick on top), I accidentally stepped into a trench and

dislocated my elbow while trying to catch myself. Literally falling into the labyrinth (as our

oldest son pointed out), I realized there were lessons to be learned. It helped me to become

much more aware of the suffering around me, in all the fellow builders, and also in the world.

As the hot summer days continued into the dog days of August, building in the evening was

becoming more and more difficult for Tom (who helped us with the labyrinth after working his

outside day job where he was exposed to the relentless heat), and for the volunteers

alike. Don and I had just started to privately wonder if the labyrinth would be completed

before the ground would freeze, when our gardener brought over his friend Henry** to look

at our garden to possibly trim some of our tall bushes.

Henry was very excited about the labyrinth as a way of prayer, and then mentioned quietly

that he was a contractor and would be happy to help Tom by coming over with a small crew

and finish the work for us in the course of a few days. After thinking about it, talking it over



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with Tom, noticing that people weren't able to help as much anymore because of the heat,

and hearing from friend Mary**

that my injured arm really needed rest, I decided to give Henry

a call. He and his crew Mark**

and John**

finished the labyrinth for us - a new experience for all

of them. They did a beautiful job, and we're extremely grateful to Tom, Henry, Mark, John,

and all the volunteer builders for all the hard work they put in to build the labyrinth.

The day the labyrinth was finished, we noticed beautiful, purple butterflies flying over the

labyrinth - an instant reminder of Tom's wife Jane's outdoor memorial service two years

before, where purple

butterflies appeared out of

nowhere, flying among the

rows of people gathered.

Purple was Jane's favorite

color, and seeing the butterflies

flying over the labyrinth that

Tom helped build (and that

contains a little of Jane's ashes)

was a wonderful affirmation

that All is One, and we are all

connected to the same Source

(whatever we may name it)

beyond our physical

boundaries, time and place. As

the Native Americans say: "As Above, So Below," or in Christian tradition "On earth, as it is in

heaven..." The labyrinth serves as a poignant reminder of this.

We had never before seen purple butterflies in our garden, and yet here they were, flying

only above the labyrinth, and nowhere else. The next day when Henry was adding grass seed

to the labyrinth, a purple butterfly flew between him and his rake. We waited 3 weeks before

walking the labyrinth to allow the grass to grow. The day I started walking the labyrinth, I

noticed another purple butterfly.

Now the labyrinth is completed. We are planning to have a dedication ceremony on Saturday,

September 22 at 10 am - a date chosen for its proximity to the International Day of World

Peace (Friday September 21st) and the Autumn Equinox.

After September 22, Don and I intend to have the labyrinth be available for whomever wants

to walk it - all we ask is a phone call the day you intend to come and walk.

We are deeply grateful for all the guidance, help and blessings we received in unexpected

places along the way in bringing this project to fruition. Blessings abound....may all who walk



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the labyrinth be blessed, and may the labyrinth help them to be open to nurturing Peace in

themselves and thus in the world.

In gratitude,

Jet Schneider

Contact information for the labyrinth:

Don & Jet Schneider

814-238-0010

*For people who are suffering from an ailment that prevents them from walking, there are finger labyrinths on the market based on the same

principle, while some labyrinths are wheelchair accessible, as well.

** Names changed to protect privacy.


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Message from Nature to your Soul in Autumn "Keep your roots strong - nourished - watered - and deep in the ground of your being;

Bend with Ruach and release what's no longer needed;

New life will grow from you again."

~ Sarah Bailey 2009

Photo submission: Winter Sunset, Sarah Bailey

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Our deepest gratitude to all of our contributors and our heartfelt thanks to our proof-readers. Our apologies if we inadvertently omitted someone’s submission.

Many of the contributors have participated in various day or overnight retreats.

All are friends of Oasis. Ones that have completed year-long programs are identified by the

following Oasis acronyms: CL = Contemplative Living: The Spirituality of Daily Life (one-year contemplative program)

SDSG = Spiritual Direction for Spiritual Guides (two-year training in spiritual direction)

DYDM = Deepening Year for Direction Ministries (one-year program for spiritual directors)

List of Contributors

In alphabetical order

Sarah Bailey (pages 3, 8, 17, 23)

Diane Brandt (pages 12, 16) — SDSG grad (2001-2002), DYDM grad (2005-2006), CL grad (2011-2012)

Judy Clark (pages 5, 7) — DYDM graduate (2011-2012)

Joan Kuiken (pages 7, 8)

Celeste Lauritsen (page 3)

Megan Malick (pages 9-15) — CL graduate (2011-2012)

Lynda Myers (pages 5, 6)

Marie Rodichok (pages 4, 16) — SDSG graduate (2007-2008)

Jet Schneider (pages 18-22) — SDSG graduate (2009-2010), DYDM graduate (2010-2011)

If you are interested in participating in the Oasis community and programming, please explore

www.oasismin.org, call 717.737.8222, or email [email protected]. Receive brochures by

becoming a part of our mailing list, or receive free news, updates and prayers by joining our email list

at www.oasismin.org.

Thank you.

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Sanctuary from Violence