Wayside Story 26: Unromantic but hopeful
Dear Inner Circle,
I'm saddened to tell you that a young man lost his life at Wayside last night. Skillful people worked hard to bring him back and he was taken to St Vincents where medical staff continued to make every effort to bring him back, but we lost him. Imagine what some father and mother are feeling right now and the grief and the "if onlys..." that our own staff and volunteers are living through and will continue to struggle with for some time. Wayside is not the place to find much in the way of professional distance. We take such a loss personally. The sadness is keenly felt by everyone. My heart is moved profoundly to witness the grief of our people and I want to thank our amazing staff and volunteers who put themselves in the way of this kind of heartache. We lost this boy, but how many people are alive today because we made the effort to be alongside of many who fell to the depths of despair here. We lost this boy, but he could not have been surrounded by people who cared more or tried harder for him. We will struggle for a while but we will remind each other that we were never superhuman; we were never armed with magic; there was never any secret technique that we had apart from the best care and passionate hearts that jump for joy in victory and shed real tears in losses. We will remind each other that it is our frailty that makes Wayside a place of welcome for people who have often had an overexposure to people who have all the answers. We will remind each other that the life that inspires us, is not fairy land; it is not a cheap buzz that we get from Wayside but rather it is a vision of beauty that does not deny the ugly; it's a hope for victory that does not deny the losses; it's about nursing a belief that we can't prove - that life is worth living.
Last Saturday a man and woman presented themselves at Wayside for baptism. They were 57 and 58 years old. They were a brother and sister and they brought with them their spouses, children and grandchildren. The two that came for baptism were a brother and sister who came from a family of nine children. These two were number eight and number nine. They were the only ones in the family who were not baptized as children. It seems that by the time the last two of the litter arrived, both parents were too tired to worry about such things as a baptism. We had an awesome, hilarious, sacred time as the respective families honoured their parents and grandparents and as they captured a sense that they were just as important to God and all of humanity, as the first and second born in their family. As I placed the water on their heads, I quoted from Isaiah, "you are precious and honoured in my sight and I love you". I anointed their heads with oil which is an ancient sign, indicating royalty. What a fabulous day and what an honour to have been allowed into the life of the family at such a important moment.
The radio this morning discussed yet another opinion poll about State politicians. How many of us would get our jobs done if someone was taking opinion polls among people who didn't understand our roles, and then published them as widely as possible as if the combined ignorance was the final word on our performance? Doesn't it occur to anyone that Hitler was popular or that George Dubya won opinion polls and yet both delivered catastrophe? It bothers me that we honour ambition in politicians above other qualities and find no place for loyalty. As a kid I tried to guide my father into truth by saying, "Dad, everyone at school does this" or "all my friends believe this" to which his reply was always, "Does that make it right?"
Its full on and one of our tougher weeks but it really helps to know that you are there.
Thanks for being part of our inner circle.
Graham
Rev Graham Long, Pastor, The Wayside Chapel, Kings Cross
