Introducing Kasee Ellison: Guardian Angel

For those of you interested in the story of Kasee the Kitten:

A week ago today, I awoke to a phone call.  "Did you see Becky's text about the kitten?" Jan asked.  I had vaguely heard the vibration of my phone receiving texts but hadn't picked it up as I was still sleepy.  Jan told me that one of our friends, who is also a SpiritWorks parents, Becky, had found a kitten.  She wanted me to look at the picture.

I reached over the side of the bed to grab my phone and saw the picture of a tiny white kitten peering around the side of a planter.  Along with the picture was a text:  This little kitten was thrown over my fence late last night.  She looks just like Katie's cat.  I can't keep her because I'm allergic but I was wondering if maybe she came here for Lauren.

At 11:00 the night before, Becky had convinced her husband, Eric, to sit outside for awhile.  As they sat by the pool, breathing in the sweet, honeysuckle air, a bright light streaked across the darkness.  "What was that?" Becky asked.  Eric answered, "A meteor."  They sat talking for awhile longer until they heard a loud rustling under the trees near the fence.  At first they thought it was a large bird.  Since it was past midnight, Eric suggested they turn in, but when they heard a crying sound, Becky became convinced it was a kitten.  "That's not a bird.  I'm going to check it out."  She started making meowing sounds and heard an answering cry.  When she got to the fence, she found a little white kitten stranded in the brush.  She tried to pick her up gently, but the kitten was too scared and ran away.

Becky kept meowing and talking to the kitten until she ventured almost to the pool deck.  At that point, Eric decided to head inside, and Becky told him she'd be right in.  Instead she laid down on the ground and talked to her new tiny buddy.  She told her about Katie and then told her about me, sure that the kitten had come to comfort me and help me get well.  Becky fell asleep talking to her and woke around 2:30.  Time to go to bed and see what the morning would bring. 

Early the next morning, Becky and Eric headed to the yard to see if the kitten was still there.  Eric strode quickly to the pool, fearing that the tiny cat might have stumbled into it and drowned.  He didn't want Becky to find the furry being in the skimmer.  Becky made meowing sounds and heard a responding cry.  She fed the kitten some tuna.

Then she texted Jan and me, sending the picture of the little white ball of fluff.  She's going to need someone kind.

I'm kind.  I texted back.

Will you take her?

Yes, Lauren will take her Jan offered.  "I love her," she told me on the phone.  

Katie's kitten, Ouija

We made arrangements to meet Becky and Eric at SpiritWorks.  "Her name can be K.C., Katie's Cat." Jan suggested.  I instantly liked it.

Katie was Becky and Eric's vibrant, fierce, theatre-loving, singing, acting, dancing, twenty-four year old daughter.  The daughter I had gotten to meet only days before she died of a fatal overdose.  Some years ago, Katie had found a kitten named her Ouija who looked nearly identical to this new kitten. Becky knew that Katie had sent her to us.  "Katie always thought I could save any animal that was hurt."

When we arrived at SpiritWorks, all wearing masks, Becky was holding the little cutie all wrapped up in a big white towel.  She transferred her to me, and the bond was instant.  She was adorable, and I knew I'd do what I could to keep her safe and give her a chance at life.

Over the course of the morning, as we drove to PetSmart to pick up kitten supplies and then to the emergency vet to get her checked out since she appeared to have a significant wound on her face, we wondered how this kitten had found her way to Becky.  Was she dumped over the fence by a cruel human?  Was she thrown into Becky's yard because one of Katie's friends knew she would take care of her?  Did a predator hawk or owl steal her away from her mama and then drop her as she fought for her life?  We'll never know, but we're guessing Katie had a hand in it.  This kitten is so like her, fierce, fun-loving, and full of life. 

As we waited at the animal hospital, Jan and I discussed other names - Henrietta, 'Rona, Midnight, Rosa, biblical names, names with special meanings.  We called her Midnight for the vet's record; I couldn't let them put "No Name" on the chart, and she had been discovered at midnight.  We weren't yet sure if she was female. The vet called us as we waited in the car and said the kitten was a she, about 5-6 weeks old, that she had had a rough start and that she was a bit of a fixer-upper.  He had glued together a laceration on her hind leg, and treated her for worms.  She needed surgery to fix her wounded lip because it was hanging into her mouth.  She might have intestinal parasites - don't introduce her to other pets yet. Mostly she needed food, antibiotics, and lots of TLC to stabilize her.

When they brought her out to us, we were so relieved.  "Her name is K.C.," Jan said, and I agreed.  Katie's Cat but with her own spelling of the name - Kasee.  And Ellison after the first African American deaconess, Anna Ellison Butler Alexander.  

Kasee Ellison.  Guardian Angel.  Gift from Katie.  And God.

We looked up Kasee and found a definition in the Urban Dictionary:  Super smart girl... and fun to be with.  Can make anyone laugh, is always smiling.  Can't stand not knowing the answer to anything.  Always wears the crown in a situation.  People wish they were as cool as Kasee, and want to be her every day of their lives.  Seemed we'd chosen the right name.  Becky approved.

Kasee adjusted quickly to her new home.  She's a sweet, loving, curious, purring, cuddly, joyful kitten with an extraordinary will to live.  She was born in this corona virus time and has overcome the odds.  She sailed through her surgery just fine and has been unstoppable - except when she keels over for a nap.  

Coronatide has not stolen my joy, but it had diminished it.  Kasee has restored it, reminding me to stay in the present, to laugh at myself, to take things less seriously, to nap often, and to focus on those who need my love, even if they leave poo-ey foot prints on my clothes and floor.  She fills me with delight.  I do not yet have the energy to keep up with her, and she seems to forgive me for that, but she also fills me with hope that I can be as resilient as she is.  

I don't know why I am so lucky to have this precious little being entrusted to my care, but I am so grateful to Katie, to Becky and Eric, to Jan, her other mama, who fell in love with her first, and especially to God who always blesses me more than I can ask for or imagine.

Belongs to both SpiritWorks and the church!

18 Years Later

I first saw the twin towers just before Christmas in the year, 2000, when I was in NYC for a couple of weeks stage managing a production of Art off-off-off Broadway at a theatre near Shea Stadium. I had tea in the Winter Garden one afternoon with a friend of mine before heading uptown with one of my college roommates for a visit.

On September 11, 2001, I was working at a temp job in Virginia Beach at some kind of computer company where I answered the phone that rarely rang.  On that day I answered more phone calls than most - wives calling their husbands to tell them the news.  I didn't have a cell phone then, so on my lunch break I ran to a pay phone in a nearby parking lot to call my friends at Virginia Stage Company to see if they were okay. They'd been evacuated because the theatre was next door to the Norfolk Federal Building.  I tried to call my parents, but I had forgotten they were on a tour for the day.  I could reach no one, so I headed back in and searched the internet for news.  I emailed everyone I could think of to see if they were okay.  I learned that my church would be holding a service that evening.

Earlier that year I had begun discerning a call to ordination, and I longed to be at the church.  Where I could pray with people, comfort people, be comforted myself.  I longed to be out of the temp job.  It never occurred to the men at the company that it might be a good day to go home.  It didn't occur to me to ask if I could leave.

That night at the prayer service at Christ and St. Luke's, we prayed Psalm 46 and the Prayer for Quiet Confidence.  "Be still and know that I am God."  To this day, I often use that phrase in contemplative prayer.

Eighteen years later, I watched the minute of silence on one of the TV morning shows, and I remembered that day again.  Hard to believe it was 18 years ago.  So much has changed.

After packing my lunch and gathering my work things, I drove to the hospital, where I climbed the stairs to the second floor - maternity ward.  Wearing clericals and carrying my battered travel prayer book with me, I entered the room where a new tiny human slept in a hospital crib beside his mother's bed.  Alexander William, born September 10, 2019.  One of the greatest joys of ministry is getting to bless babies.  For me, today, the experience of leaving the news program detailing the timeline of that terrible morning in order to hold and then bless one of earth's newest inhabitants was a microcosm of the paschal mystery:  life, death, new birth.

At 11am, I presided over the healing Eucharist at Bruton.  In my 11 years as a priest, I have never celebrated the Eucharist on September 11.  We commemorated those who died in the plane crashes and building destruction as well as the first responders who gave their lives to try to save others.  We remembered those who worked so long at Ground Zero digging out, those who ministered to the workers, those who lost their loved ones, those whose lives have been lost to cancers and other diseases that the dust and smoke carried inside their bodies.  We asked God to help us love one another, to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us.  We prayed for healing.

On that day and in the days afterward, so many people asked how God could let this happen.  Where was God?  Then and now I have always thought - God didn't do this.  Human beings did this.  God was with us in it and through it, weeping as we wept, and rejoicing when the good overcame the evil.  

I wonder if God is weeping again today, remembering the destruction caused by those made in God's image.
I wonder if God is weeping over the division and hostility that are devouring our country - a country that had pulled together for a sweet moment after the tragedy.
I wonder if God is weeping that America is turning its back on the people from the Bahamas in their time of tragedy when so many Americans received welcome when we were in the midst of ours.
I wonder if God is weeping because we still can't figure out how to love one another.

"Be still and know that I am God."  We prayed these words in the service today, in Psalm 46, and in the Prayer for Quiet Confidence:
O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and
rest we shall be saved, in quietness and confidence shall be
our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray,
to your presence, where we may be still and know that you
are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eighteen years later, I had a much better day.  I blessed a baby and celebrated the Eucharist and attended a delightful Women of Bruton meeting and offered resources to a woman with addiction and had dinner with Jan Brown.  I turned off the news and snuggled with my kitties and wept for how far we have to go and prayed that one day the good won't have to be a small light shining in the midst of darkness.    

How Do You See God?

On my way to Newport News this morning I saw a sign saying there were wind restrictions on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  Not a problem for me since I wasn't going that far, but it was an indication of weather conditions in the area.  50 degrees with 15-20 mile an hour winds makes for very chilly outdoor sitting.  Brrr...  When I first arrived at CNU I considered sitting inside, but I ran into one of the staff who booed me when I said I thought it was too cold to be outside.  So I decided to give it a try.  I was bundled up in a base layer, clergy shirt and CNU sweatshirt with my down coat, scarf, gloves, and a prayer shawl for a lap blanket.  The blanket made all the difference in keeping my legs warm. 

Breathe in peace.  Breathe out love.  I started the new breathing exercise that my therapist has taught me.  Breathe in peace.  Breathe out love.  As I began praying for the campus, a young woman walked up to me with two beverages in her hand.  "Would you like a hot chocolate?" she said and held out one of the cups.  "Yes, I would," I told her.  "Thank you."  Gratefully I wrapped my gloved hands around the warm drink.  "I heard you say you were cold," she said as she headed off to class.  Wow.  These students are so thoughtful and generous.  I wonder if they are on all campuses, or if there's something special here at CNU.  I certainly wasn't that thoughtful when I was in college.

One of the Canterbury students brought her lunch out to eat with me, and we had a good conversation.  Tonight the group is having dinner together at Scott Baker's house.  When he's not busy priesting, he loves to cook.  I've heard rumors of tortellini soup and lasagna, and I made pumpkin and pecan pies.  It should be a fun evening, and 8 students are coming with me!  We're fortifying them for their exams next week.

One of the students from another campus ministry came over and brought me some more hot chocolate.  The CRU (Campus Crusade) students had a hot chocolate station in the Plaza today, while they were doing an evangelism experience.  My young friend invited me to go over so he could introduce me to the CRU team.  As people sipped hot chocolate, they were invited into conversation about some images that had been attached to a posterboard.  I understand that the images came from mysoularium.com.  The CRU students asked a series of questions about the images including:
Which three images would you choose to describe your life right now?
Which three images describe what you wish were in your life right now?
Which image would you choose to describe God?
and a few more. 
We had a fun time picking our images and saying why we had chosen them.  It was a great way to get conversation going, and I may use it with the Canterbury students or at SpiritWorks.  I talked for awhile with the student who asked me the questions and ended up saying a prayer with him, too.  He and his girlfriend want to be medical missionaries one day.  When I was in college I just wanted to get through exams!

Later on another student I know came up, clearly feeling the stress of the end of the semester.  He didn't have time to linger, so I offered him a hug.  Someone who I think is a professor rode by on a bicycle and asked for prayers for a person suffering with cancer.  For awhile I watched some men in a cherry-picker lift thingy putting up the big Christmas tree in the middle of the Great Lawn and fixing a giant star on the top - it will be lit Sunday night.  I had to keep shifting the station to stay in the sun but the shade rapidly overtook me, and finally I gave up and retreated to the campus coffee shop.  I had made it my full time, though, with a brief break inside for a pit stop and my usual visit to the OSA office.  The student aid there will be studying abroad in London next semester, so I was glad to get a chance to say good-bye to her and offer blessings for her next adventure. 

It may have been chilly and windy at the prayer station today, but the warmth of the students more than made up for it.  Whatever else it may be, Advent is the Season of Hope.  Spending time with the CNU students fills me with hope.