A New Year's Aspiration or Resolution? A Life of Radical Inclusivity

Volume 10 | January 2021

    A New Year’s Aspiration or Resolution?
         A Life of Radical Inclusivity
                                by Cindy Mueller

               “It’s not enough to say, “You are welcome here.”
                      Instead, we say, “You belong here.”

                     – Part of a flyer from the Rashi School,
                   a Jewish Reform school in the Boston area

Many of us are still pondering the “Christmas Star,” that emerged from the
darkness of the winter solstice on December 21st. The scientists are skeptical
about this convergence of Jupiter and Saturn, which we and the media named
the “Christmas Star,” as the phenomenon that guided the Magi to the Christ
child. However, I could not help but believe that we, my neighbors and I who
were all standing in our socially distanced driveways and faces turned towards
the light, were witnessing a moment in time that was deeply sacred. The night
—cold and brisk, silent and still—was broken through with the joyful peels of

the church bells of the old historic Mission in the background. It was the
Holiest of moments. Jesus reminded me once again, “I am here with
you, follow me.” An Epiphany. As the Christmas Star guided the Magi to
Jesus over 2,000 years ago, the Christmas Star of 2020 also leads me anew to
Jesus, the ultimate guide, through His words and actions, as to how to live my
life.

​Usually by January 6th, the Epiphany of the Lord, I have decided upon my New
Year’s “aspiration” for the new year ahead. This year, I am thinking of my
typical aspirations, although all are good for my health, as “small”. If I truly
want to follow Jesus, then I will have to go big. Big, meaning
Resolution with a capital “R”! And, if I truly want to transform myself and
my community by focusing on a current need, such as the divisions and
polarizations that we have witnessed over the past few years, I will need to be
resolute in mirroring the radical inclusivity of Jesus.

I once heard John Shea, a theologian, prolific spiritual writer and storyteller,
describe three overarching characteristics of Jesus’ ministry which were: a
ministry that was radically inclusive; a ministry that healed the whole person,
in body, mind and spirit; and a ministry of accompaniment. It is this concept of
“radical inclusivity” that has inspired me over the past decade as to how I
welcome and want to be with others. However, I am reminded that Jesus not
only restored to wholeness those who lived on the margins, but he went
beyond a warm “welcome” and restored a sense of “belonging” for
others. The Rashi School’s quote noted above is exactly what Jesus was trying
to teach and role model for us, for me that inclusion is more than welcoming. If
we really want to embrace the Golden Rule to “love one another,” then we need
to be radically inclusive first by who we deem to be our neighbor and then
ensuring a sense of belonging.

It is the adverb “radically” that intrigues, inspires and moves me to making a
personal resolution for going deeper in my attempts to be inclusive. If one
Googles the word radically, it is defined as “in an extreme manner,” or “in a
thorough, or complete way.” I think of the two words together as just hard.
Really hard to do. Especially, as I walk through my neighborhood and see lawn
signs that convey differing and opposing viewpoints to my own. I know that it
is these neighbors to which I am being called in 2021 and beyond, to be
radically inclusive. This is a compelling antidote to the divisiveness of our
communities. If I really want to respond to Jesus’ “follow me,” then it demands
of me to live in a radically inclusive way. But how?

The following are the questions that I am reflecting upon to move from a New
Year’s Aspiration of radical inclusivity to one of Resolution and Action:

“When have I experienced a sense of not belonging? How did it feel? What
needed to happen for me to have felt as if I did belong?”

“How might I seek to understand in a deeper way those I tend to exclude?”

Images of God in the Old
Testament: Problems and                    ​JANUARY 16th, 2021
                                            9AM – 12:30PM, PST
Prospects
| OFFERED VIRTUALLY
                                             REGISTER HERE
Presented by: Dr. Daniel Smith-
Christopher and Sr. Christine Hilliard,
CSJ

Wholeness is Holiness: A                   ​MARCH 20th, 2021
Morning of Reflection for                   9AM – 12:30PM, PST
Spiritual Directors
| OFFERED VIRTUALLY                          REGISTER HERE

Presented by: Sr. Karen Clock, CSJ

How the Resurrection                       APRIL 17th, 2021

Energizes the New Normal                         9AM – 12:30PM, PST
| OFFERED VIRTUALLY
                                                    REGISTER HERE
Presented by Sr. Christine Hilliard, CSJ,
and Cindy Mueller

          PROGRAMS FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC

                                      Planting Seeds of Compassion |
                                      ONLINE RETREAT DAY

                                      JANUARY 23rd, 2021 | 9AM – 4PM, PST
                                      Presented by: Sr. Mary Dean Pfahler, SND

                                      Through presentations, small group sharing,
                                      communal prayer, meditation and quiet times, Sister
                                      Mary Dean, a certified Boundless
                                      Compassion facilitator, invites participants to open
                                      their hearts to themselves, to one another, to all
                                      living beings and to earth.

                                        Register Here

                                      Yearning for Jerusalem:
                                      ​Lenten Series 2021| OFFERED VIRTUALLY
                                      Ash Wednesday, February 17th: “Return to Me
                                      with All Your Heart” | 10 – 11:30AM, PST
                                      or 7 – 8:30PM, PST
                                      Presented by: Sr. Karen Clock, CSJ

                                      Saturday, March 6th: “Encounters on the Road”
                                      10 – 11:30AM, PST or 7 – 8:30PM, PST
                                      Presented by: Sr. Christine Hilliard, CSJ

                                      Good Friday, April 2nd: “Watch with Me”
                                      10 – 11:30AM, PST or 7 – 8:30PM, PST
                                      Presented by: Julie Mussché and Sr. Karin
                                      Nürnberg, CSJ

                                      Sign up for either series or individual sessions! "Mix
                                      and match" possible when calling (714) 744-3172.

                                        Register for Morning Series

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Exploring Male Friendship
in the Maori and Oglala
Lakota Traditions
MEN’S SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM SERIES
OFFERED VIRTUALLY

FEBRUARY 27th, 2021 | 9AM – 12:30PM,
PST
Presented by: The Most Reverend Don
Tamihere (Maori) and The Rev. Canon
Robert Two Bulls (Lakota)
Moderated by Steve Bruce
The workshop is for men only.

                                  REGISTER HERE

Friendship in Ancient Israel,
Greece, Rome, and China
MEN’S SPIRITUALITY PROGRAM SERIES
OFFERED VIRTUALLY

APRIL 24th, 2021 | 9AM – 12:30PM, PST
Presented by: Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher
and Jordan Christopher, PhD Candidate
The workshop is for men only.

REGISTER HERE

          We pray for unity in our nation
        and for respect for our democracy!
Let us pray together for peace, unity and compassion in our nation in the
     ​midst of recent events. Click the button below to pray with us:

                            A Prayer for Unity

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