It’s been a while since a CLCNW newsletter has gone out.  I hope to send a newsletter either monthly or bi-monthly with a little different format.  It would be nice to have a newsletter that catches everyone up on what’s going on with CLCNW members and groups.  I hope you will send information to me that I can put in future newsletters.
 
Evelyn Brookhyser (Amazing Grace) sent this tribute to Virginia Fisher (October 10, 1947-October 13, 2020)

We miss Virginia Fisher who died from the effects of Alzheimer’s in a care facility locally.  She spent 30 years as a nurse in OB and pediatrics in California.  She also ran a foster home for babies.  Often the babies were born of drug-addicted moms.  She and her husband Mark moved to Newport where she became an expert quilter.  She used her quilting talents for many causes which included creating a quilt for the World Assembly CLC conference in
Africa in 2004, where she incorporated fabrics from many countries.  Virginia was one of the original members of Eagles Wings CLC group in Newport.    She was always willing to share her talents with her friends and parish. 

Some of the activities that Virginia was active in:  Guatemala Faith in Action- 5 years, Made dresses to give to girls in Africa.  Made pillow for hospital auxiliary for patients recovering from surgery.  Made quilts for Samaritan House.  Was a guide for people doing the Spiritual Exercises.

Virginia will be remembered as a loving and giving person.  Heartaches that she was able to bloom through.  How she used her suffering for good.  Her CLC—Enthusiasm, eagerness.  How well-read she was and the books she passed on to others, and her daily meditation.
 
(Two of Virginia's beautiful Quilts)

Linda Ellis and St. Joseph parish were written up in NW Catholic for their work with prisoners:  “Despite wildfire smoke and COVID-19 limitations, Linda Ellis drove on a September morning to a shared housing building in Seattle. Waiting for her was a 29-year-old man, Wes, recently released from the state prison in Shelton after four years of incarceration. Ellis never asked about his crime — ‘an assault of some kind,’ she remembers. Wes began climbing into the back seat. “I’m fine for you to sit up front if we keep our masks on,” Ellis told him, even though it was the first time since March that anyone besides her husband had ridden in the car with her. Ellis, 74, a longtime member of St. Joseph Parish in Seattle, was driving Wes to an appointment with his community corrections officer, a requirement As he began his life outside the prison walls. ‘How’s it going for you?’ is the conversation we had,’ Ellis recounted. “We talked about what a job would be like. He’s been overwhelmed. It’s a slow process. Ellis, a retired high school teacher, met Wes through a ministry called ‘One Parish One Prisoner’ that has been active at St. Joe’s for about two years. Known as OPOP, the ministry helps parishioners build relationships with soon-to-be-released inmates — via letter-writing, phone calls, and prison visits — with the goal of easing their transition back into society. ‘It’s like wrapping yourself around someone, just to let them know they’re not alone,’ said St. Joseph’s Deacon Steve Wodzanowski.” For the complete story go to https://www.nwcatholic.org/features/past-issues.html  and click on the November issue. 

What is Ignatian Spirituality?  There are so many answers.  One article I found: 
 

Contemplatives in Action 

 “Stopping:   This is the first step in being a contemplative in action: stopping.  Stopping gives you a chance to pause and acknowledge what you’ve been doing, whether in your work or personal life. It not only offers needed rest but also helps you move into the next stage, which is Reflection
 
Reflection:  ‘The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.’ (Mark 6:30)Jesus and the apostles spoke to each other about all they did, they prayed and pondered, and examined their
feelings and experiences. Reflecting on our daily experiences and our major ones helps us delve into their deeper meaning. This can be done alone using the Examen prayer, or it can be done as a group in intentional faith sharing. What did you learn from your experiences? What might God be telling you through them?
 
Next the disciples went back to their busy work, as we must do. The key here is letting your reflection and prayer time inform how you approach your work when you return to it. Perhaps you discover the need for more rest time or that you need to focus more on a particular relationship. Or maybe you find that the activity you’ve been up to has become dissatisfying. Or perhaps you discover a desire to reinvigorate your job.
 
Contemplation allows us to renew our active lives (work, play, relationships) so that all we do does not become mindless action but rather glorifies God. Then the cycle repeats. Your activity leads you again into a time of stopping, resting, reflecting, and then returning to activity with greater zeal and purpose. Being a contemplative in action means that your active life feeds your contemplative life and your contemplative life informs your active life. That is what contemplation in action means, and the cycle never ends.” 
 
By  Andy Otto (Andy Otto is the creator and editor of GodInAllThings.com, a website devoted to sharing the treasures of Ignatian spirituality through a blog and podcast. He also founded IgnatianResources.com)

I was asked the question—”what does it mean to make a Commitment to CLC?"  
 
I realized that I’m not sure.  I have read articles that talk about the commitment process but that didn’t really answer the question for me.  I asked a few people and slowly I am making inroads into an answer.  I’d love to hear from others in CLCNW who have made a commitment, are planning to, or have made a temporary commitment.  What are your thoughts?
 
Carol Stone shared a reading called “Act of Commitment in CLC”. by Julián Elizalde, S.J. Rome, May 1st, 2005.  This is one small segment of that article:

Commitment is the arrival goal of a journey and the starting point of a new one. It is the arrival goal in the sense that the decision to make the commitment is the fruit of a journey, of an experience: we want to be Christian and live out our faith with these brothers and sisters in CLC. It is also a starting point: from now on we belong more fully to the community and we assure you of our cooperation with the community's mission; you can count on us!

It is not a commitment to put us at the service of the CLC community, but of the Lord. 
"This is the place where we feel called to serve the Lord and His Church."

Our annual Fall CLCNW retreat was on Zoom this year. It was a wonderful retreat and a chance for many CLCNW people to get together and share.  Pat Carter Anderson is an eloquent speaker who interspersedbeautiful slide shows showing God’s beauty and overwhelming love tied to a retreat helping us to see how to be still, discerning and meditative, so that we reach deep within to where God’s peace and truth reside, and then be guided to see truths of how to reach out to the world bringing this overwhelming love through us to others.  We were all so touched by this retreat. The next year’s fall retreat is October 1 -3, 2021.  We’re hoping that this one will be “in person”, but know that if we still have to, Zoom is a good platform for us to meet.

A Prayer for After the Election

 Healer of Our Every Ill,
Breathe in and among all of us who dwell in this land.
Soothe our wounds. Calm our fears.
Mend our divisions.
Hope of All Tomorrows,
Open our deaf ears and fill us with Compassion.
Tender our hearts.
Inspire creative ideas to address the cries of our sisters, brothers and Earth itself.
Send forth your Spirit of Love and Unity
Transform pointed fingers of blame into hands open in reverence to receive one another.
Fan into flame the gift of our founding
And let us be known again as a people 
United for the goodness, justice and peace of all people forever.
Amen
-Composed by Sister Pat Bergen, CSJ