“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.”
—Buddha |
| Tina Schlabach with husband Jay Schlabach |
Imagine, if you will, being far away from
home. Separated from everyone that
you love and the only life you have ever known. Let the scene in your mind grow
as you then picture your currently bleak surroundings, sinking into the
realization that you have no way of knowing what your fate will be, when you
will see your family next, or if you will ever be released from the facility you
are being held in. Your crime? Choosing to leave desperate
circumstances in the land that you love and seeking out new opportunities for
work, education, and basic necessities for yourself and your children in the
land of opportunity. The USA
has been a beacon of hope for immigrants for hundreds of years and it is no
less so today. Many come here seeking what those of us who are already citizens
currently enjoy, usually by virtue of our birth to parents already citizens. While worthwhile discussions are being held on the merits and
problems of immigration reform in the USA, and policies are slowly changing,
real human beings are living their day to day lives doing the best they can to
create better lives for themselves and their families and sometimes getting
caught in the maelstrom of numerous forces that affect their journeys in various
ways. When thinking of this issue in our country, I always think it
helpful to stop for moment and think, “what would I do if I were a very poor
Latina woman, a single mother with several children who were hungry? What would I do if I was unable to find
work and a relative who was an American citizen promised me a very good job,
ample food, good educations for my kids and relatively good pay for a hard
days work, if I could somehow make it to Arizona? What would I do if I was currently scavenging for decaying food
to eat and paltry scraps to sell from the giant trash dumps in Nogales?" When I ask myself those questions
the answer is clear. I would do
what any mother would do. I would
do whatever it took to keep my kids safe, fed and would try to give them a
better future even if it meant leaving my home, taking a treacherous journey and taking many risks.
I met Tina Schlabach 15 years ago at
Shalom Mennonite Fellowship where she was the associate pastor. After ten years at Shalom Tina, her
husband Jay, and three children moved to Goshen, Indiana so she could pursue a
Masters Degree of Divinity and fulfill a long time dream of being an ordained
Mennonite Minister. She
received her degree and served the Waterford Mennonite Church in
Goshen for nine years, recently returning to Tucson. Although she
was a congregational pastor in Goshen, Tina now is exploring ways to utilize her
many skills as a community based pastor here. “I am discovering what it means to be a Mennonite
minister in the community. I always
wanted to be in the community more, and now is my chance. It feels very right. It’s not always easy but I’m
grateful. My comfort zone is
expanding.”
Tina is currently involved with three
different pastoral pursuits in Tucson. For the past year she has been regularly visiting
immigrant women, detained at local facilities. These women are
usually separated from their families and children and are very stressed
because of this. Tina feels that
these women are an invisible part of the immigration system. “For me to go into these
facilities and sit with these women and let them know they’re not alone, that
they are remembered is important.”
She tries to visit twice a month, and also writes letters to the women
in detention. “Getting a letter is
a big deal for these women.” Tina
became involved with this ministry through Casa Mariposa, a Tucson interfaith
community and frequently travels with another Casa member for her visits.
From the Casa
Mariposa Website:
Mission Statement:
“Nourished and empowered by the Spirit, the Casa Mariposa community seeks to
live in right relationship with one another, the community, and the earth
through hospitality, simple and sustainable living, playful spirituality, and
peaceful, prophetic action.”
The Restoration Project
is work carried out by the community of Casa Mariposa in support and solidarity
with women and men being held in immigration detention centers in Arizona.
“An immigration attorney told me about Casa Mariposa. I attended one of their Wednesday community dinners and was drawn in
right away. Through Casa Mariposa
I met Beth Riehle, a Catholic working in trauma healing from El Paso, TX, who
invited me to join the Capacitar en la Frontera training going on in El Paso.
She opened the door for me, and I am so grateful to learn the Capacitar
traditional practices for self-care and healing.”
Capacitar is an international movement for trauma healing and
transformation. It draws from both
traditional indigenous practices of many cultures and also Eastern healing
traditions. The focus is
body-centered healing and stress reduction using a variety of holistic
practices including Tai Chi, meditation, visualization and breathwork,
active listening and simple psychotherapeutic skills, acupressure for
alleviating pain and stress, energy tapping modalities, hand massage, seated
massage and other wellness modalities. To become a Capacitar
practitioner requires a minimum one-year commitment of four sessions, an
internship and also a willingness to practice and incorporate these practices
into ones own life. Capacitar is being used extensively now in the border areas
of Juarez and El Paso, the La Frontera movement, Borderlinks, among social
activists in Chiapas, Mexico and in many areas around the world.
Tina is three-quarters of the way through
her initial training and is already facilitating Capacitar practices within her
work at El Rio Clinic within the Life Enhancement Program (LEP). LEP is a ten-week course that serves 20
persons per session every Wednesday morning. The LEP team consists of a: social
worker, fitness professional, nutritionist, doctor, and a spirituality
consultant. This group work can be
life changing for the motivated individuals who come ready to do the work of
making long term changes in their overall health and well being.
Tina hopes to use her
training to lead Capacitar practice groups for immigrant women at detention
facilities as soon as she can obtain the necessary approval to do so. As an ordained minister she must undergo extensive processes, such as background checks, lengthy orientations, and more, to have the ability to provide Capacitar groups for these women in need. She is willing to do whatever is necessary so that she can provide additional tools to women so they can take care of themselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually during this most difficult time in their lives.
When I asked Tina how she found herself called to this work, and what informed her sense of peace and justice she told me that “I knew clearly that I felt called to work on some little piece of justice work in our broken immigration system when we planned to return to Tucson.” Knowing Tina’s Mennonite heritage I was curious if that played into her vocational decisions as well. “The most important biblical insight my Mennonite faith tradition has given to me is that peacemaking was - and is - at the heart of the good news that Jesus embodied. Peacemaking, with its essential elements of justice, forgiveness, mercy, reconciliation, is not an add-on, optional part of the Christian faith. It is the core.”
I knew from my own personal experiences with prison visitation that entering a locked down facility can take a lot out of a
person, and that is with the knowledge that you can leave at the end of the
day. I wondered if it is hard for
Tina to visit detention centers on a regular basis, to walk with women who are
struggling and how she copes with difficult feelings. She said with all of the
work she is doing now in Tucson that it was important for her to be centered,
so she doesn’t get dispersed, and noted that since she is no longer part of a set
ministry team but instead sees a variety of people throughout her week in different settings this
creates a new dynamic for her. It is therefore imperative to keep up
with her own spiritual practices and to be sure that she does community work from
a place of center and balance. “I
am creating as I go along.” I
asked her what she does to create balance in her spiritual and physical life
and she mentioned several things.
1)
Walking and running every morning with her dog
friend Penny. Taking breaks on the
trail for stretching and prayer.
2)
Yoga and Chi Gong,
interspersed with walking above.
3)
Sitting for ten minutes of silence.
4)
Keeping a journal.
5)
Reading Scripture.
6)
Attending Centering
Prayer at the Benedictine Monastery in Tucson on Monday nights.
7)
See her Spiritual
Director once a month.
8)
Attending a women’s
group.
9)
Attending a weekly
community meal at Casa Mariposa.
Tina notes that while
she tries to be disciplined and regular, she does not do every item on the list
every day. In addition to her work with El Rio, women in our local detention
centers, and her daily responsibilities as a mother and householder, Tina also
works as a Spiritual Director out of her home office for two days a week,
providing gentle, skilled support and guidance for those seeking a friend
for the contemplative practice of sacred listening. (see website below for more information)
Tina is faithfully showing up for women
who often have no one else to encourage them or simply be present with
them as a friend and companion. She is boldly exploring and
learning practices new and unfamiliar, with the hope of facilitating
compassionate healing among many persons, most whom she has yet to meet. She continues to quietly do the work
she has been called to do in her community and among friends and family. As we ended our conversation the other day she gave me
these parting words: “All
injustice is related. All
peacemaking is related. We need to
figure out our piece, and figure out where our hearts burn to do
something. We can trust that
others are doing another piece.”
Indeed. I know this to be true, and ask you, where does your heart
burn? What stories would you like
to share? Please send me a note
via the blog contact form or to felicialowery@gmail.com
Namaste,
Felicia
Information and links from this blog entry:
To learn more about Capacitar visit their website and consider getting involved with this very useful and practical work.
Capacitar:
Shalom Mennonite Fellowship:
Spiritual Direction Website with more information about Spiritual Direction and a comprehensive listings of Spiritual Directors in many areas.
Spiritual Direction:
http://sdiworld.org/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Share your thoughts, start a discussion, or ask a question. If you would like to contact me directly use the contact form on any page or email at: felicia@findinghope-now.com