Lisa, Interview #42

Name: Lisa
Where you live: ALtoona, WI
What you do as a vocation or avocation? Schedule in home cares for disabled adults and frail elderly.
Your two favorite books: Sears Christmas Wish Book and Why Do Men Have Nipples by Mark Leyner.
Your two favorite cd's: Anything Big band.
Why you are interested in spirituality? Because it's like the Hokey Pokey, it's what it's all about.
Your favorite quote: This is from an elderly lady in rural Iowa, " Whyyyy, there's just no sense in that." (Think about it...you can use it in just about any situation)
Your favorite web sites: You Tube.
Your hero? My parents
A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? Why don't all humans come with an instructional manual?
A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" Lake Superior

Oriah, Interview #40

Name: Oriah
Where you live: I live in the country, about two hours north of Toronto, on five acres of land surrounded by four hundred acres of conservation authority forest.
What you do as a vocation or avocation?
I write- books, poems, thoughts, dreams, analysis, commentary, mulling, musings and memories. But mostly I write stories that help me understand, see, shape, celebrate and continue the life I have been given.
When I am not writing, I sit and watch the brilliant red cardinal feed his mate bird seed and let my paying attention be my prayer. I listen deeply and hear the divine ask me to move slowly and to soften. I forget, and I speed up and start to get sharp edges. And then I remember. . . . and I slow down again and I soften. . .. and then I forget and start running and get prickly. . . . and then I remember again to listen and slow down and soften. . . .
Your two favorite books: Hmmm. . . . two fantastic novels come to mind:
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Your two favorite cd's: in this moment:
Chill Out Classics (a collection)
Anything by Keith Urban. There- the secret is out- I like (and sing along with) country music!
Why you are interested in spirituality?I am interested in life, in living fully, in offering something to the world in my brief time here and in learning to love well so that I and those around me can be happy. Spirituality- the practise of going to essence, of cultivating a connection with that which can be experienced as the divine and sacred core of who and what all things are- helps me open to the possibility of love and life more fully.
Your favorite quote:"Everyone does the best they can with what they have to work with at any given time." Don House (my father)
Your favorite web sites: Oh no. My age is showing. Do I have a favourite website? Well. . . .I bookmark the local cinema site, the weather sites and my bank sites- but I don't think these count. Sorry.
Your hero?
I had trouble with this one. "Hero" is an archetype that has much more juice in the US than it does in Canada- so my "heros" tend to be smaller, everyday folks. My husband is my hero because, at 55 he has had to courage to go back to the core of who he is and is creating the music that is his soul's offering to the world. My father is my hero because despite being raised in a horribly abusive household he took full responsibility for his own life and became a loving father and caring husband. My friend Linda is my hero because she quit the job that was kiling her despite her fear, and because she is always open to learning. The men and women who get up every day and do what needs to be done to feed the children are my heros.The elderly who continue to be open to life and learning despite the cultural disrespect and physical limitations they suffer are my heros. Immigrants who leave all that is familiar to them and come thousands of miles to a strange culture and the snowy landscape of Canada to build a new life, often knowing no one here, are my heros. . . . .I find myself surrounded by heros everyday.
A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
To remember to listen and slow down and soften a little more often. :-)
A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
In the wilderness, on the granite rocks of the Canadian Shield, amidst the lakes and pines of northern Ontario.

David B. Parker, Interview #41

Name: David B. Parker

Where you live: Galesburg, IL

What you do as a vocation or avocation? Presbyterian minister, father of three, and husband to one amazing woman.

Your two favorite books: A New Kind of Christian: The Story We Find Ourselves In by Brian D. McLaren, and Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss--my son's first book he learned to read.

Your two favorite cd's: Legend, by Bob Marley & U2's best of 1980-1990.

Why you are interested in spirituality? While many people know that we need each other in this ever-connected world, I believe in One that we need to be connected to in just as deep a way. Your favorite quote: "If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it."--I use it all the time with my kids!

Your favorite web sites: Facebook, ESPN, and many other blogs I check out.

Your hero? Martin Luther King, Jr.

A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? Meditation-- I can't stand sitting still!

A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"

1) By any body of water2) and Jamaica (which falls under #1)

our church website: http://www.fpcgalesburg.com/

my weak (not weekly) blog: http://revdad.blogspot.com/

Paige Blair, Interview #39

Name: Paige Blair

Where you live: York Harbor, Maine

What you do as a vocation or avocation? I am an Episcopal priest, an iconographer, dog lover and Ashtanga yoga student
Your two favorite books: Only two?
Your two favorite songs: Where the Streets Have No Name
Why you are interested in spirituality? Living into the truth that we are spiritual beings is a crucial part of our human journey

Your favorite quote: "In the Global Village, distance no longer decides who is your neighbor, and 'Love thy neighbor' is not advice, it's a command."--Bono
Your favorite web sites: http://www.e4gr.org/
Your hero? Only one? Ghandi, Beatrix Potter, Martin Luther King Jr, Oscar Romero, Nelson Mandela, the Rt. Rev. Barbara Harris
A spiritual lesson you hope to learn? Surrender
A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?" Alaska
Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation www.e4gr.org
Feel the Power of what One can do!

(editor's addition, Paige's very cool blog is http://www.transformationiconography.blogspot.com/

Pat Loughery, Interview #38

Name: Pat Loughery
Where you live: North Bend, Washington (a commuter town of Seattle)
What you do as a vocation or avocation?
I manage software testing projects for a living. I also am a Doctor of Ministry student at Bakke Graduate University, and I enjoy my family and being outdoors, photography, riding motorcycles and bicycles, playing music, traveling and exploring new restaurants.
Your two favorite books:
Well, that's an impossible question, limiting me to just two. I'm not going to do the lame Christian thing and say "The Bible" (though I would pick Psalms and Matthew). How about A Cloister Walk by Kathleen Norris, and Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. I could live with those two books forever and not grow tired.
Your two favorite cd's:
This is at least as hard. Two that come to mind are Stevie Ray Vaughan - The Sky is Crying and Eric Clapton - Unplugged. Both are deeply spiritual to me.
Why you are interested in spirituality?
We are spiritual beings, and our deepest desires, hopes and fears are spiritual. We long for connection with something greater than us. Our pursuit of love, joy, hope, beauty, all are spiritual journeys. And we're always being spiritually formed, whether we're doing it intentionally or not. I'm interested in intentional spiritual formation, especially as it happens in relationship with others.
Your favorite quote:
"In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone."-- John of the Cross

"Hope is passion for what is possible."-- Soren Kierkegaard

"You pay God a great compliment by asking great things of Him."-- Teresa of Avila

"Music can change the world because it can change people."-- Bono

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens."-- Jimi Hendrix

"The way of Jesus is always local and ordinary."-- Eugene Peterson
Your favorite web sites:
I blog at http://patloughery.com/.

For sites I visit all the time:http://pandora.com/ - Streaming music that tailors playlists based on what you like.

http://google.com/reader - Google Reader. I've got lots of stuff in my RSS feeds, and I love being able to share items I like with my friends

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/ - Heartbreaking, funny, deeply troubling and deeply powerful.

http://www.northumbriacommunity.org/PraytheOffice/index.html - Celtic Daily Prayer on the web

http://www.flickr.com/photos/patl/ - I love flickr as a photo community. There's my photostream link.
Your hero?
St. Patrick of Ireland, St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
A spiritual lesson you hope to learn?
Right now? What does it mean to live simply, while in an upper middle class neighborhood.
A place in the world where you feel spiritually "connected?"
Lindisfarne and Iona. Actually, mountains and undeveloped waterfront pretty much anywhere.