The Mind of an Immigrant to Madeline Island

(Originally published in May, 2019, as "Getting to Know Joe Scarry"  in the newsletter of St. John's UCC on Madeline Island, The Lighthouse.)

Joe Scarry in Berkeley

Can you remember what first stimulated your interest in Madeline Island?

Well, we were definitely both *curious* when we heard about this island in Lake Superior that you could only reach by ferry. I knew something about the Great Lakes, having lived in Chicago for 20 years; and I could picture coastal, and even island, communities, having visited many of them growing up on the East Coast. I think what really captured my imagination was learning that Madeline Island is the traditional spiritual center of the Ojibwe people. That felt very, very significant to me.

Why was that significant?

I guess it's because it seemed like something I would want to learn from. Think about it: Madeline Island is about the size of Manhattan. I've spent a lot of time in Manhattan, I love New York, and it's thrilling to see what happens when a place is treated as a center of finance, commerce, international trade, entertainment, fashion, culture, architecture . . . and yet . . . . I think there is also the potential for it to be thrilling when a place is treated as a center of spiritual life.

And what have you found since you've been here?

I'm just beginning to learn. But in the few chapters that I've had a chance to dip into so far -- the chapter called "Ice," and the chapter called "Sky," for instance -- I'm beginning to get some inklings.

I have high hopes for the upcoming chapter called "Wildflowers"!

Purple Coneflowers - done years ago with my daughter who stipulate at the
time that I indicate on the drawing "drawing by Alanna, coloriong by Daddy."

It sounds like you connect with your spiritual life through Nature?

That's one of the biggest ways for me. I need time and space to focus attention beyond some of my usual hangups -- things like ego, control, fatigue. There's nothing like watching a sparrow to help me get a new perspective on things.

Music is another way. There are certain pieces -- especially "Quartet for the End of Time" by Messaien -- that really transport me.

How does your spiritual life connect with the rest of your life?

You know, it's funny but now that I'm 60 I can pause and look back and say, "I've done a lot of stuff in these years - where did the time and energy come from??" And sometimes I think, "Wow - there's a whole stretch of years that I was running around like the Energizer bunny, and to what end? I wish I had been a little more prayerful about what I was intending. I could have put that time and energy to much better use!"

I often think of the carpenter's maxim, "Measure twice, cut once." So these days I'm trying more to be willing to look around me and say, "Somehow all of this came into being. In the overall scheme of things, nothing I'm doing is so important that I can't take a little extra time and ask, what might I do that could make a difference in this Creation?"

And what might you do?

Mitri Raheb, Faith in the
Face of Empire: The Bible
Through Palestinian Eyes

Well, I think a lot about -- and feel a lot of tension around -- Jesus' proclamation that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. I believe very strongly that he meant, "I'm not talking about the run-of-the-mill, political, Caesar-as-boss type of Kingdom. This is something really new, where everybody lives a full life, fully loved." And I've been very inspired of some people like Mitri Raheb, in Bethlehem, who talks in Faith in the Face of Empire about how Jesus' "organizing strategy" involved giving attention to everybody, even the most "marginal" -- in fact, especially the most marginal.

So part of it is Jesus' simple-and-difficult (simple to hear, difficult to follow) command: "love one another."

And I think he meant it in real terms -- "love the disciple 3 seats down the table from you, even though he chews with his mouth open" -- and not just in general terms of "I love humanity."

At the same time, I really struggle: don't we also need social justice? Doesn't that require us to work for social change? Don't we need to be involved in politics?

C'mon -- "love one another" -- what's so hard about that?

Well, maybe it's just me, but I have to work at it. I mean, I *like* people. And I *get along* with people. (I ADORE my granddaughters!) But after giving it a lot of thought, I've come to the conclusion that the instruction really is to *love* people -- and not just my granddaughters -- all the time. And there are so many of them!

And I think what Jesus would say is, "... so work at it!"

I see your point - that'll keep you busy. Does that leave time for politics?

As I say, I'm really not sure how much Jesus cared about politics. As I sit here right now, I feel convinced that there *are* *some* things that call for taking time and energy and working on. It's becoming pretty clear to everyone that climate is one of them. I think nuclear disarmament is another, because if we mess that one up, there will be no tomorrow in which to practice Jesus' commandments.

Okay, thanks for sharing these thoughts. So I'm guessing, as Pastor Rachel's partner, you've got some strong opinions on a few subjects. Can I ask: what's your favorite bird?

I've gotta say cardinal: on a good day I can imitate their call well enough that they will whistle back and forth with me!

Favorite ice cream flavor?

Pistachio!

Have I missed anything?

How about favorite musical genre? I'm very into classical music these days, but there is a special place in my heart for The Beatles -- definitely the inspiration for the band that I played with in high school and that gave me some very happy days.

But *that's* a story for another day . . . .