Week 1 in February this year involved the bdays of both my son Chris and my mom ( sarah's also, but she's off in Berkeley blazing new paths in the area of gender studies ), and also, Chris' band played last weekend. In the crazy mix of working at Sheetz and the new full-time church gig, my head has lost track of time, as there is not a lot of regularity in the schedule. Well, there is more of it in the church gig; parts of it remain predictable, but others not so much. We had Ash Wednesday, a snow storm which caused a glitch in the rehearsal schedule. This week we have a staff meeting on Monday, and Tuesday I meet with a couple regarding music for their wedding, and a liturgy committee meeting as well, the same day.
I like the irregularity of it all.
And I like keeping busy. It helps me to stay focused.....though on what I am not sure. Just keeps me outta trouble, cause God knows, with time on my hands, I get into things that don't need gettin into. Nuff said.
Checked out the old church gig back in minnesota recently and looked at several of their last bulletins. The finances don't look as promising as they once were under the previous pastor. The weekly collections have been falling consistently under budget, and at this point in the year ( 7 weeks into it) they are 44,000 behind.
I am not surprised, and I know many of the parishioners are very chagrined at the style of the current leader. Point in fact: this guy loves to point to himself and pat himself on the back every chance he gets. It may not be obvious to himself....but at any rate the most recent example was found in a recent bulletin where he wrote in his notes from the pastors desk, about a letter he received from one of the students in the grade school about how nice he was as a priest. I mean, yes, he actually broadcasted that to the whole community. As if to say, "I am worthy" (at least in the eyes of someone who does not know any better).
This from the guy who stands whispering in the shadows of the darkened halls with his 'buddies'; the man is a sneak, and to think that he is the 'spiritual leader' of a whole community. It is just mind boggling. But there it is. Reality.
I guess I am thinking about all of this because we are coming up on the year of my anniversary of being suspended from my ministry there. Remembering the Wednesday after Easter when I reported to work and he called me into his office and suspended me because, according to him, he had received '3' calls about a blog post where I talked about masturbation. Well, since I had been preparing to leave for the monastery in two weeks from that date, I was pretty much packed and ready to go, I loaded up my car and took off. I had had enough of his crap by then. Within the hour he had my email disconnected, and the website which I set up for the music ministry torn down.
This guy hated me from the start. And before that even....before he even became pastor there. He had his little friend Tina who is one of his schmoozers (and now on staff as the wedding coordinator) and a member of the music ministry who had not approved of many decisions I had made as music director. And they were/are buddies---tight. Him hanging around her house, calling her to go cantor for funerals at his old church. No, he came to St John's with a chip on his shoulder against me. And when I tried to retire the year he came there as 'pastor', and after the outcry of the community at the announcement ( I was hired to work at a cathedral in Florida) he said to me 'well, would you want to stay here?' and I caved in because of my love for the community. But when he announced I was remaining there, he said "Ron came into my office and said he decided to stay'. This man is a liar and will do anything to manipulate and deceive. Sad because the community deserves so much better.
Anyway, after I was suspended, and subsequently left two weeks earlier than planned, there was a plan for the Savage Pacer to interview me about my monastery vocation. He actually called the Pacer and told them not to interview me! I am happy to report that they ignored his request.
In the meantime, the other deceit, is that Geogre Behr, the assistant organist who I hired the year prior to my being canned, is in a rainbow relationship with his parter Glenn, and they are raising their children as a family. George is a former member of One Voice Mixed chorus, so you can check it out....I am not making this up. The first year George worked for St John's his employment was delayed because he had planned to attend the PFLAG conference. Tix is aware of the nature of their relationship, and I'll just bet he barely sleeps at night wondering when the archdiocese is going to make THAT phone call.
And while I'm on the subject abut George and Tix.... they definitely had me between a rock and hard place last year. When George out of the blue, quite his post just weeks before Easter and our annual performance of the Stainer Crucifixion Oratorio, knowing that I would be leaving at the end of April saying that 'he would return when I was gone'. Seems he was pissed at being reprimanded for not fulfilling the terms of his agreement as organist accompanist. The unfathomable thing is that Tix backed him up and approved his 'leave of absence'. How unethical is that? Had I not been going to the monastery, I could have created a serious world of shit for St John's and filed a grievance to the American Guild of Organists against both George AND the parish for what was basically an unethical situation. If I had done that, any plans to hire a new director there would have been stalled until an investigation ensued. Unfortunately, becuase I was due to report to the monastery, I did not have the time to devote to such an endeavor, and decided to just forget it. Easier said than done. There was a grave injustice done to me.
In the meantime, Tix has looked the other way, regarding George and Glenn's relationship.
Something very small in me wants to kick the legs out from under these fuckers. My finger is so close to pushing the 'destruct' button. Karma is a good and necessary thing.
1 comment:
you know, i'm not very charitable towards father tix-me-off, but i did hear something at the life in the spirit seminar that makes me think perhaps divine retribution is there.
sandy said that she ran into fr one afternoon walking back to his house and she could tell he was really down so she asked. he broke down and cried and said that a big group of parishioners had confronted him and called him un-christian and other bad things.
now, i'm not saying whether he deserved it or not and the retelling of this is 4th hand at best and very tainted by various perceptions.
however, it does go to show he's not getting away with all bad behavior being simply accepted.
i hope and pray that he just learns compassion, humility and that our roles are about serving not power in leadership.
and i pray that you find peace to let this be too. ultimately, god used it for part of his plan to bring you to where you need to be and go, even if it was painful.
Post a Comment