Trouver Ma Voie

Thank you for visiting God's Acre. Please join me at Trouver Ma Voie where I'm continuing to find my way.

© 2010 J. Dana Trent

Birthday

Birthdays. The cliche is true - as you age, they do become (seemingly) less and less important.

However, this year's birthday is more prominent, compelling, and motivating. Given the personal events of the past ten days (a hospital stay and emergency gallbladder surgery), I feel a greater urge to cherish family, friends, and the opportunity to work and serve.

So here's to you, birthday - old buddy, old pal! Thanks for reminding me of all I should be grateful for!

Photo credit: stock.xchng

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

The Center for Child & Family Health

In recent months, while freelance writing and working for Duke Divinity School, I've been in prayer for a full-time position as a writer/communicator.

My prayer has been answered in the form of a transition within Duke - from the Divinity School to the Center for Child & Family Health, a collaborative endeavor of Duke, UNC, and NCCU. CCFH provides trauma treatment and prevention services to local children and families. I have been appointed as the annual giving officer for the center, coordinating its print media pieces, annual giving materials, foundation proposals, and web content. I practice a different kind of writing now - my craft is focused on drawing awareness to local children and families who have been experienced trauma, and cultivating resources for their journey of healing.

Transitions are difficult: beginning new adventures and feeling the anxiousness of new challenges. Further along, that anxiety seems minimal compared to the great joy we found (or that found us!) in the new journey.

http://www.ccfhnc.org/

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

"Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return"

An Ash Wednesday reflection by Dr. Jason Byassee, Executive Director, Faith & Leadership

http://www.faithandleadership.com/content/the-humility-dust

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Stingy Givers

The massive economic crises of recent months have led to drastic cuts in the American family budget. These crises are sure to have financial implications on what is, according to Christian Smith, Michael Emerson, and Patricia Snell, already less-than-generous church giving.

To read a review of Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don't Give Away More Money, by Christian Smith and Michael O. Emerson, with Patricia Snell, click here

Image credit: http://www.amazon.com/Passing-Plate-American-Christians-Money/dp/0195337115

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

Christ in Glory

For artist Kathryn Carrington, creating an icon is more prayer than painting. “The icon is my prayer,” says Carrington, who was commissioned by the Divinity School to create “Christ in Glory” for its new worship space. “It’s all about gazing and growing.”

To read more about this icon in the latest issue of Divinity magazine, click here.

Photo: "Christ in Glory", 2008, written by Kathryn Carrington, Divinity magazine, Spring 2009, Volume 8, Number 2

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

Faith and Leadership

Leadership Education at Duke Divinity recently launched its website Faith & Leadership . The site features profiles in leadership, news of the day, opinion pieces, sermons, and general resources on the topic. I have yet to browse through the entire site, but I find my initial visits fascinating. This is a topic that current church leaders will embrace and access, and that I believe the future generation of theologians/church leaders will find helpful as well. What do you make of the intersection of faith and leadership? What is "Christian about Christian leadership?"

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

I Wish You Love

I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all
When snowflakes fall
I wish you love

"I Wish You Love" is a popular love song featured in many films and covered by numerous artists throughout the decades. The music was originally written by Leo Chauliac, with French lyrics under the title "Que reste-t-il de nos amours?" by Charles Tenet. The English lyrics were written by Albert A. Beach, and while they are not a translation of the French, both the English and French poetry capture the nostalgia of love. Though typically considered a 'break-up song' - "I Wish You Love" is a delightful way to usher in the New Year and a gentle snow storm - reminding us of romance and hope during the coldest days of the calendar.

I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
And then a kiss
But more than this
I wish you love

And in July a lemonade
To cool you in some leafy glade
I wish you health
And more than wealth
I wish you love

Lyrics: http://www.lyricsmode.com/

Photo: a curve on a North Carolina mountain road - reminding us of life's twists and turns. We never know what surprises will unfold on the road ahead. Photo credit: http://www.gotocarolina.com/

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

Doubt

Update:
Doubt has been nominated for five academy awards, including best actress (Meryl Streep) and best adapted screenplay.

John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize winning play comes to life on the big screen in the film Doubt. Father Flynn (Phillip Seymour Hoffman), a Roman Catholic priest in the Bronx, is confronted by Sister Aloysius (Meryl Streep), a nun determined to bring to light Flynn’s possible indiscretions with a young male student. Sister Aloysius is convinced of an inappropriate relationship between the priest and the boy, though her character foil, Sister James (Amy Adams) is not. The result: an odd dramatic triangle between Flynn, Aloysius, and James in which the viewer easily feels the push and pull of guilt and innocence, doubt and certainty, confession and concealment. One leaves the theatre utterly not convinced of anything - which is, after all, the point.

http://www.doubt-themovie.com/

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

Facebook Dropout

Facebook has become so popular in American culture that the term is now used as a noun AND a verb.

I confess: I'm a Facebook dropout. I closed my account a few weeks ago, when the energy it took to manage it became overwhelming. Sure, I could have limited my Facebook time; but it seemed seemed important (and addictive?) to to receive my friends' frequent status/photo/profile updates.

I don't miss the online social network, save for keeping in touch with a few cherished friends I haven't seen since high school. Now, I contact them via email, telephone/cell phone, and there's always the ancient sentimental virtue of letter writing! (Gaze at Fragonard's portrait of a glowing young girl with a love letter, and it will inspire you to rediscover the lost practice)

For now, I'll continue my Facebook-free journey along with several friends who have also become recent dropouts ... support group, anyone?

NB: Dean of Duke Divinity School L. Gregory Jones wrote an insightful piece on Facebook friends for The Christian Century.
http://www.christiancentury.org/article.lasso?id=4964

Photo: The Love Letter, by Fragonard, c. 1770, oil on canvas. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
Photo credit: http://www.abcgallery.com/

© 2009 J. Dana Trent

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve was first celebrated by the ancient Babylonians 4000 years ago (Redbook, January 2009).

This is the day we craft our personal year-in-review; remembering events, milestones, losses, and resolutions made and broken.

How has God been at work in our lives this year? Better yet, what have we done for God this year?

Photo: New Year's Eve in Times Square, 1907
Photo credit: http://www.vintageculture.net/

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Christmas at the Beach

I'd never traveled to the beach for the Christmas holiday until this year. It was a renewing experience - one I'd like to repeat. By the shore, I focused my energy on family, the season, and nature.

A reflection from one of my nightly beach walks:

Enveloped in complete quiet, I walked along with shore nightly with pink clouds rushing above, breaking just enough to reveal quick glimpses of soft stars. I felt renewed by the sound of the waves crashing, the feel of soft sand, and motion of the water that never ceases. Walking the beach in the quiet night, one catches a glimpse of what it may have been like before hectic seasons and Christmas lights - when it was only God and the waves - a true glimpse of the divine.


© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Moravian Christmas

When Advent arrives and candles dress the churches and homes of America, I remember Moravian Christmases. My mind floods with the colorful traditions of beeswax candles, Moravian stars and love feasts, candle teas, fresh greens, carols, and brass instruments. They serve as simple reminders of gentle people whose quiet love for creation is welcomed in the frenzy of a consumer Christmas.

Painting by Marie Brewer Nifong

http://www.oldsalem.org/

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

January Term in Washington, D.C.

Adams Morgan: a month of Heaven
The Northwest Current
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Volume XLI, No. 49

He looked dashing in his business shirt, drink in hand, standing in the center window of Club Heaven and Hell on 18th Street. We’d spent one delightful month together, and this night seemed like the culmination. I was leaving soon to return to North Carolina, and he would continue his exhilarating city life without me. Eager to relish the moment, I etched his image solidly in my memory. I watched him from the sidewalk for a few seconds, savoring the lines of his face and shape of his figure. He saw me, and the black light of the club lit his smile. He rushed out the door, and even though I was there to rescue him from the loneliness of the city, he was rescuing me. He had liberated me from my isolated women’s college for a month of bliss.

I began the journey to Adams Morgan on a brisk New Year’s Day. I was an undergraduate, pre-law student at Salem College, a small school in North Carolina. I felt brave traveling from the sheltered Moravian village of Old Salem to the buzz of a city I didn’t know. My adventure was time-limited; it was my school’s January Term, a four-week investment in the future careers of Salem College women.

That January, I served as an intern with the American BarAssociation. Upon arrival at my Argonne Place apartment, I explored Adams Morgan, sampling the eclectic cuisine, used-book store and fancy drinks. There were many reasons for young adults to spend money and time in Adams Morgan, and the short walk from my apartment to 18th Street was always brimming with the anticipation of new food, new people and new adventures. During that month, friends from the American Bar Association fled 15th Street with me at 5 p.m. on the dot, ready to sample the sumptuous food and drink that “my” neighborhood had to offer. We were young undergraduates without a care in the world, laughing in smoky bars with dark walls and lush couches, feeling like this fantasy world would never come to an end.

And what big-city experience would be complete without love? In January, I met Dave, a handsome journalist. He was raspy and sharp, successful and romantic. I was the young student, and he was the accomplished professional. He taught me what it was like to indulge in the city, read Jack Kerouac novels and be so infatuated with someone it hurts. The month flew by. I gained great experience at the bar association, had more fun than I could have ever imagined and absorbed nearly each inch of the neighborhood.

Years later, I still think about the adventure. When the air turns frigid and frost dresses the North Carolina grass, I remember my January in Adams Morgan. I can feel the crisp nights, the closeness of friends and the excitement of cozy restaurants, dancing and Dave. The image of him standing in the center window of the club is fresh and haunting. I recall his smile and the month of fantasy city life that he gave me. January in Adams Morgan was a holiday, a winter oasis in the midst of routine.

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Three Months

November 27th marks three months of blogging on God's Acre. It's been an insightful journey; in these months, I've posted on various topics, most of which are related to the themes I set out with in the beginning:

- geography/journey

- cultivation/growth

- narrative/journey

- community/family

- Salem College

- working as a freelance writer

We began at the Old Salem cemetery, God's Acre - where stories and people rest. From there, may we continue to travel together - reflecting on community, culture, people, poetry, and challenges.

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Slush Pile

On an ordinary winter morning, a savvy New York City editor’s assistant, in fashionable Prada glasses and armed with discerning eyes, sits before a massive pile of unread query letters. Her job is to cull through this slush pile: the heap of unsolicited manuscripts that have been sent to her editor. Piece after piece, she reads the first sentence, groans, and tosses the paper off into oblivion. It’s a dramatic scene: she is the gate-keeper.

For any writer who wants to craft for public consumption, the ultimate is charming/energizing/alluring this gatekeeper.

As a writer, once you have the courage to admit that what you’ve written has some credibility - you realize that you’re competing with a large, bloodthirsty mass. Being prepared for a steady stream of rejection (having your work tossed off into oblivion) is healthy.

Writing is amorphous; what you thought was informative and carefully crafted today seems ridiculous tomorrow. Reminding yourself of your unique voice is a constant task. Praying too – is the other task at hand - praying that some savvy, Prada-wearing editor’s assistant reads the first sentence of your writing, and joyfully exclaims to the Heavens, "I've got the next big thing!" Or least, "Hmmm this looks interesting." That will do!

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Adams Morgan

The white flag waves
And calls me to surrender
To Kerouac and Fitzgerald
Valentine kisses and failure

A raspy voice warmed frosty days
With strong arms and masculine mystique
Heaven and Hell
In Adams Morgan

Connect – vanish – reconnect
Left haunts so deep
Strong hands pierced the crowded space
And melted the frozen night

The white flag waves
And calls me to surrender
While Kerouac tells me that
"Men have loved women without telling them"

Autumn greets winter
And winter breeds surrender
What if I had realized that
"Men have loved women without telling them"

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Prayer for an Election

Almighty God, to whom we must account for all our powers and privileges: Guide the people of the United States (or of this community) in the election of officials and representatives; that, by faithful administration and wise laws, the rights of all may be protected and our nation be enabled to fulfill your purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

- The Book of Common Prayer, 1979

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Shrimp Boats and Daydreams

During a recent trip to South Carolina, I took a detour with my aunts and mother for an adventure in Calabash, North Carolina (just at the NC/SC border).

Calabash is home to 'calabash' style shrimp, shopping (Callahan's), and family vacations. Its neighboring beaches, Sunset and Ocean Isle, serve as the get-a-way spots for many American families.

While strolling the Calabash dock, we noticed that the shrimp boats had just come in. Excited, we wondered if they had yet unloaded their 'gold?'

It turns out that we were just in time to see their treasure. As we watched, the fishermen unloaded coolers of freshly frozen shrimp (caught out at sea and immediately frozen to preserve the 'just caught' taste) and prepared for business. They measured the shrimp in ten pound lots, cut their heads off, and put them in plastic grocery sacks for patiently waiting customers.

As I watched the fishermen, I wondered if they found joy in their profession. What was it like it to faithfully travel out to sea, catch something, and fill the (many) bellies of anticipating locals and tourists? I admired their lives and work as I watched them diligently weigh these sea creatures in the glistening sun.

Photo: Shrimp boat at sea

Photo credit: http://www.townofcalabashnc.com/

© 2008 J. Dana Trent

Perfectly Gratuitous

With hopes of lightening your load and starting your day off well - here's something that's perfectly gratuitous ...

I listen to music when I write. It inspires me, and I associate words and melodies with people, moments, and places.

A few favorites ...

Crossroads, will you ever let him go?
Will you hide the dead man’s ghost
Or will he lie, beneath the clay,
Or will his spirit roll away?
- The Allman Brothers, "Melissa"
www.peomhunter.com

I've heard newborn babies wailin' like a mournin' dove
And old men with broken teeth stranded without love.
Do I understand your question, man, is it hopeless and forlorn?
"Come in," she said,"I'll give you shelter from the storm."
- Bob Dylan, "Shelter from the Storm"
www.bobdylan.com

If I said I love you would it be too soon?
Cause timing is everything in this old familiar tune
I would spend my life underneath a wandering moon
If every time i said goodbye
I could come back home to you
- Christopher Williams, "Every Time I Say Goodbye"
www.christopherw.com

There's a light at each end of this tunnel you shout
Cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made
You'll just make them again if you'll only try turnin' around
- Anna Nalick, "Breathe (2 AM)"
www.lyricsmode.com

What words/melodies have inspired you lately?

© 2008 J. Dana Trent