In the House - The Newsletter of Canterbury House - Summer 2002


A note from the editor... by Joy Struble

Summer is in full bloom here at Canterbury House and once again we marvel at the abundance of life and love in our midst. We have shared together a spectacular first half of 2002. We've witnessed a moving spring break trip to New York City, a packed house for Easter services, a celebration of our chaplain on 'Matthew Appreciation Sunday', the trials and tribulations of planning a new buidling, and a community of students coming together for worship and exploration week after week. New life is constantly springi ng up, from babies born to friends made to new tenants in our upstairs offices. We are thankful for all these gifts as we plan for an even better start in the fall.


A letter from the chaplain... by Matthew Lawrence

What a year! Never in my ministry have I been so busy, nor so gratified, as I was this academic year. Just a few of the reasons:

The terrifying events of 9/11, which lent a new level of seriousness and grief to our life together, and brought many students back into spiritual community; Taking our Jazz Mass on the road to parishes around the Diocese, and leading workshops in Connecticut, North Carolina, and New Orleans; Working with the rectors of six parishes in our Diocese on innovations in liturgy, and organizing a workshop with them for the Diocesan Ministry Fair; Producing a video and a CD for distribution; Running a workshop on Spirituality for 75 undergraduates at a Student Activities and Leadership retreat; Getting "promoted" to Coordinator for Campus Ministry for Province V, which involves organizing annual conferences and programs in the Midwest on behalf of campus chaplains and students; Working intensely with architects, lawyers, our Bishop and our Board to develop a workable strategy for our future building.

As always, my partnership with Stephen Rush, our Music Director, was the critical factor in many of these events. His commitment to excellence makes it possible for us to offer some of the most exciting liturgies in the Episcopal Church. His generosity inspires him to share what we've learned with the wider church. He understands how hungry the Episcopal Church is for his musical talent, and extends himself far beyond what anyone has a right to expect. In addition, through his leadership we were able to add a new dimension to our Sunday liturgy with the creation of a Vocal Arts Ensemble, which offered avant-garde works from the American repertoire during our Sunday services.

This year we were also blessed by a wonderful staff of talented, creative and resourceful people, including our Seminary Intern Joy Struble and our Office Manager Karen Thomas. Their energy, leadership, and commitment made a huge difference on our lives this year. Joy moves on to hospital chaplaincy this year, while Karen settles into the job of full-time mom. We'll miss them both terribly.

Never before have I been so grateful for the summer to come around! Steve and I are flying to Taiz France next week for spiritual renewal, and to learn more about the music and spirituality there; then I'll be taking vacation with my family in Minnesota. I pray that we all find enough refreshment and rest before the Fall craziness returns.


The Dream Endures, Despite Setback... by Matthew Lawrence

On the evening of March 11, your intrepid chaplain stood before a grim-faced collection of citizens called the Ann Arbor Historic District Commission. His mission: to win approval for our plan to demolish our current building and construct a new, better facility on the same site. The problem: Canterbury House is located within the Old Fourth Ward Historic District, which has a proud heritage of ferociously obstructing any architectural changes in the neighborhood.

Still, we had reason to be cautiously optimistic. A preliminary hearing with the same group two months earlier had elicited promising statements of support. Our argument was a strong one: the current building is not in itself historically significant; demolishing it to create a beautiful new facility for spiritual community, musical performances, and weekly suppers for the hungry would not only enhance the neighborhood architecturally, but meet some very real needs in the community. We presented a petition from local artists supporting our project, a letter of support from the Ann Arbor Hunger Coalition, and a letter from a music professor regarding the need for more and better performance space. But when it came down to a vote, the conservative forces won out big-time, by a vote of 4-1.

After consulting with our pro-bono attorneys and our bishop, we decided to appeal this decision to the state level. If we lose there, we think we may have grounds for a lawsuit against the city, thanks to legislation signed into law by President Clinton which grants religious groups considerable power to win these kinds of battles on the grounds of the Constitutional right to the free exercise of religion. Our legal experts think we have a good shot at winning this battle.

Meantime, our Bishop has been very encouraging about moving ahead with a capital campaign so that if and when we win approval for a new building, we will have the means to move forward. Funding from our bishop has been made available for us to hire a full-time associate chaplain, who can keep the programs going while I commit myself to full-time fundraising.

Stay tuned for more info as we wind our way through the legal maze!


A New York State of Mind... by Joy Struble

In late February a group of five undergrads, one grad student and a seminary intern headed out to the Big Apple for the annual Canterbury House Alternative Spring Break trip. Our trip incorporated worship, service and recreation, as we spent time learning about urban life and a post-September 11th New York City.

Worship: Since this trip was planned by a seminarian, visiting churches was high on the priority list. Our first stop was Sunday morning at Abissyian Baptist Church in Harlem. A traditional African-American Baptist congregation, we listed for the three hours to singing, preaching, and even twenty baptisms! Tuesday at noon we attended the chapel service at Union Theological Seminary, my alma mater. Although the service wasn't riveting, the artwork in the chapel was intriguing. We finished up our worship service with a visit to Riverside Church, attending their Wednesday evening service Space for Grace." We were enthralled by the preaching of their senior minister, Rev. James Forbes. In addition we were treated to a personal tour of the sanctuary and the view from the Riverside tower, where all of upper Manhattan glittered in the darkness.

Service: Our main purpose for this trip was to give of ourselves to those in need. We were able to share with others at three different locations. Monday we spent all day working at St. Mary's Day Care Center, a center dedicated to helping those with AIDS/HIV have a place to spend their time and get more out of life. Some of the students helped the music therapist with a song writing workshop and a music group, while others learned about the benefits of acupuncture for addiction and pain management. Tuesday afternoon we helped serve lunch at St. Luke's Lutheran Soup Kitchen near Times Square. We took turns serving food and talking with the guests, sharing ourselves in the simple meal. Tuesday night at eight pm we began our 12 hour overnight shift at St. Paul's, an Episcopal church right next to the remains of the World Trade Center. This was an incredible experience--we served dinner and then breakfast to tired recovery workers, changed linens and took inventory of donations, and talked to other volunteers, police officers, construction workers, and fire fighters. For one long night we became part of a community, serving and being served, loving and being loved.

Recreation: We did have a chance in the midst of our work for exploring the city. We visited Central Park and window-shopped on 5th Avenue. Some went to the American Museum of Natural History and to see "Les Miserables" on Broadway. We ended the week sharing a great Italian meal on the Upper West Side.

Our home base was Menno House, a Mennonite volunteer house on the lower East Side that provided us a warm place to stay, a kitchen in which to cook our meals, and a loving dog named "Sugar." We shared daily together in debriefing sessions and prayers, and concluded our week by bringing our stories back to Ann Arbor during the Canterbury House Sunday evening mass. Our theme was "Unexpected Blessings"--each of us was touched in unexpected ways by this week in the city.


Life in the House... by Kate Eakin, Peer Minister

Wednesday Nights at Canterbury House
Vocal Arts Ensemble (aka "Choir") and Undergrad Group, reported by Kate Eakin, peer minister

This year our choir has taken off with a change in leadership and a move to a time slot right before undergrad group. This past winter term, Tim Hanson led us through some of the lesser-known and more bizarre numbers in the classical repertoire. We sang a little Ives, a little Britten, and a few numbers from Leonard Bernstein's musical Mass. We also worked on our linguistics, tackling songs in German, Russian, and Middle English. Despite tangled tongues and bad translations, a good time was had by all. The choir had a great mix of music students and "regular" Canterbury House attendees, all who loved to sing.

The undergraduate discussion group has continued with the "chocolate-chip-cookies-and-random-movies" motif. We all come in on Wednesday night and stand around in the kitchen waiting for the cookies to finish baking while we catch up with each other and share the latest "big news." Eventually, we start in on the munchies and settle down for the film. Among the several flicks we screened this semester were With Honors and The Laramie Project, both of which spurred discussion about some pretty heavy stuff. Then again, so did StarTrek III: The Search for Spock, which got us talking about the whole idea of the soul. In this case, as in most, we determined that none of us have any answers, but there was much debate, and we collectively thought about a lot of things we hadn't before. Then again, that's why we're here... that and cookies right out of the oven.

Friday (or Saturday) nights once a month (or so) Grad Group

Although somewhat sporadic in the past 6 months, the grad group has met about once a month to share a potluck meal and deep conversation together. We meet in studentÕs homes and after enjoying good food, discussion ensues about topics ranging from communion to art to prayer. We have been excited to see new faces joining us this year and are looking forward to renewed interest in the fall.

Saturday Nights at Canterbury House Peformance Series

Most Saturday evenings this winter term you could hear something new and unusual at Catnerubry House--from electronic sounds to oboe recitals to jazz, we've had a little bit of everything. All proceeds go to benefit the Hunger Coalition. We're looking forward to another season of great avant-guarde music starting in the fall. Thanks to Chris Peck and James Ilgenfritz for their organization and leadership.

Good-bye and God Bless!

For 10 months Canterbury House was blessed with the presence of Karen Thomas as our office manager and Joy Struble as our Seminary Intern. We will miss them greatly as they go on to pursue further education and goals in life. We also wish all of our graduates the best of luck in their plans and we hope you come back to visit!