Saugatuck Vacation

A Day-to-Day Recap

This is a collection of my daily reflections from our trip to Saugatuck. I’ll be writing more about Holy Poverty and the joys of late capitalism from this particular Franciscan lens. Suffice it to say that it’s complicated…and simple. It is the radical implosion of consumerism. Yay!

Here are the reflections.

Saugatuck: Monday

We arrived late yesterday afternoon. The drive to Michigan felt longer this time and I do not know why. But we made it and it is glorious to be with such good friends.

Right now, everyone else is sleeping. I awoke at five o’clock ready to begin my day. I’m pondering various understandings of autoethnography. The underlying issue is where one finds the presence of the researcher within the ethnography itself. Since such a presence is unavoidable, can it become one of the foci of research? If so, how?

This morning’s reading took me to Maria Guarino’s stellar ethnography of Weston Priory. A Benedictine community of musician monks in rural Vermont, they are a great subject to study…and to participate in. Hers is a “contemplative ethnography,” a reflexive ethnography constantly returning to itself as a form of research and as spiritual discipline: //conversatio//. It is Benedictine to the core.

I cannot tell you how much I love this book and how much I wish I had written it. Ha! Maria is brilliant, creative, and insightful. She somehow found permission to write the thing. I believe it is the monograph of her dissertation. It is also hard to read for the same reasons.

This morning, I am drinking from a Michigan mug. We are on the shore of Lake Michigan. There will be peaches and blueberries, strong coffee and morning quiet…until the boys wake up. Then there will be chaos and debates about how much screen time one is allowed while on vacation. EP is a proponent of endless screentime. I know. You are as shocked as I was to hear it.

It is supposed to be cool all weekend long. I will need a new hoodie. We all will, I think. There is also a chance of rain today. Don’t worry. We brought a ton of games for us all to play. Also: screens.

Today’s Franciscan Nugget:

The Second Aim - To spread the spirit of love and harmony. The Order sets out, in the name of Christ, to break down barriers between people and to seek equality for all. We accept as our second aim the spreading of a spirit of love and harmony among all people. We are pledged to fight against the ignorance, pride, and prejudice that breed injustice or partiality of any kind.

Tall order, but I dig it.

Saugatuck: Tuesday

I slept in. It is vacation after all. Seven o’clock always feels luxurious.

Trish is sitting next to me. EP is with the boys (Stephen, Jay, and Maxwell) in the den watching some cartoon on the television. It sounds like the minions are up to something. I’m on my first cup of coffee having read an essay on ecomusicology and other “applied ethnomusicologies.” Then there was an article on how stars vibrate and produce sounds as their brightness shifts. Let me put that another way, stars sing as they twinkle. But we knew that already.

Today will be a beach day. Then we’ll come home and grill out.

Here is today’s Franciscan Nugget:

“Members of the Third Order fight against all such injustice in the name of Christ, in whom there can be neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for in him all are one. Our chief object is to reflect that openness to all which was characteristic of Jesus. This can only be achieved in a spirit of chastity, which sees others as belonging to God and not as a means of self-fulfillment.”

Knowing this intellectually and actually doing it are very different things. The ego, my ego, rises up and screams “Mine!” at every opportunity. “Fulfill me!” But you are not put on this earth to fulfill me. You are put on this earth because you are beloved. You are here for the same reason I am: to be. The rest is gravy.

There’s always more to say, of course, about being beloved and loving the Beloved and how that is revealed in how well we love one another. I encourage you to elaborate in the comments.

Be excellent to each other.

Saugatuck: Wednesday

It’s already Wednesday.

This exercise of daily reflection while on vacation is a good one. It’s keeping me grounded. But it’s also making me more aware of the passage of time. I’m just trying to soak it all in. We’ll be driving back to Virginia soon enough.

Yesterday, we went to the beach. The water was…cold. Ha! I still managed to get sunburned. At least I know how I will die.

Last night we had a lovely dinner party and Nurya Love Parish joined us. We spoke of Plainsong Farm, life in Saugatuck, intentional community, and the complexities of diocesan life. The diocese of Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan are attempting to unify. It’s a complicated process with complex issues. It was good to see her.

Today we will go out on a boat…a pontoon boat. We’ll go to Farmhouse Deli for sandwiches. It’s going to be a good day. I am hoping to get downtown to find a little Saugatuck swag. I don’t need another coffee mug, but a hoodie might be nice.

Today’s Franciscan Nugget:

“As Tertiaries, we are prepared not only to speak out for social justice and international peace, but to put these principles into practice in our own lives, cheerfully facing any scorn or persecution to which this may lead.”

Yesterday, I wrote about the universality of belovedness. Today we are reminded that belovedness is more than an ontological claim, it has social implications. We are to defend God’s beloved who are trampled upon. Abject poverty, for example, is the result of human choices. God is with the poor and downtrodden. God is with the abused, neglected, and oppressed. We are to be as well. How do we order our lives as Tertiaries to reflect this call to justice? I’m working on that.

Y’all enjoy your day. Be excellent to each other.

Saugatuck: Thursday

We’re off to breakfast in a short while. Ida Red’s. Today will be a relatively slow day and I want to go shopping because late capitalism, vacation, and sentimentality combine to form a potent potion of desire unfulfilled. Translation: I need a hoodie that says something about Saugatuck.

Today’s Franciscan Nugget:

“The first Christians surrendered completely to our Lord and recklessly gave all that they had, offering the world a new vision of a society in which a fresh attitude was taken towards material possessions. This vision was renewed by Saint Francis when he chose Lady Poverty as his bride, desiring that all barriers set up by privilege based on wealth should be overcome by love. This is the inspiration for the third aim of the Society, to live simply.”

Well…shit.

Saugatuck: Friday

Today we have a rather large Franciscan Nugget.

“On Palm Sunday of 1212, 17-year-old Clare escaped from the home of her noble parents in Assisi to join St. Francis. After receiving her vows in religion, cutting off her hair, and giving her a habit to replace her satin finery, Francis placed her in a Benedictine convent. Soon he was able to establish her in the church and convent of San Damiano, where she lived for more than 40 years as head of a community of contemplative nuns. Her sister Agnes and her mother became part of her religious order, which spread even in Clare’s lifetime to Germany and Bohemia. Clare is said to have routed the soldiers of Frederick II by her faith in the Blessed Sacrament.”

“The bond of love between Francis and Clare was strong and significant, though they saw each other only rarely. The example of their love for God, each other, and the whole family of God informs and inspires all Franciscan orders to this day. Clare died two days after receiving the Pope’s approval of her rule binding the Poor Clares to the Franciscan ideal of complete poverty.”

So, today is the Feast Day of St. Clare. It just happens to coincide with this little nugget from The Principles.

“Although we possess property and earn money to support ourselves and our families, we show ourselves to be true followers of Christ and of Saint Francis by our readiness to live simply and to share with others. We recognize that some of our members may be called to a literal following of Saint Francis in a life of extreme simplicity. All of us, however, accept that we avoid luxury and waste, and regard our possessions as being held in trust for God.”

Much to ponder.

Saugatuck: Saturday

We leave today. We will begin the two-day trek back to Virginia after breakfast. Tonight, we’ll stay in Ohio. Tomorrow, we’ll drive the rest of the way back to Richmond. #RVA

It’s been a good week full of food, conversation, and adventure. There was also parenting. There is no vacation from that job.

I love staying with Jay for a week, seeing our good friends from Parish House days. Stephan and Holly are the real deal. There have been hugs and kindness and love. Oh, and playful snark. We love snark up in here.

Yesterday we went out on the Friends Good Will, a sloop with a very long history. It is a replica of a ship that sailed the lakes in the early eighteen hundreds. It’s such a beautiful boat. I love the feel of it on the waves. Unlike a pitching motor boat, a sailboat rides the waves. It’s a glorious sensation. We enjoyed a cruise last year, too. Last year, we encountered pirates. This year, there was a thief aboard the vessel. Billy Bones! Maxwell (and Trish) discovered her lurking above decks. EP negotiated terms with the captain for the reward. It was a grand time.

Today’s Franciscan Nugget:

“Personal spending is limited to what is necessary for our health and well-being and that of our dependents. We aim to stay free from all attachment to wealth, keeping ourselves constantly aware of the poverty in the world and its claim on us. We are concerned more for the generosity that gives all, rather than the value of poverty in itself. In this way we reflect in spirit the acceptance of Jesus' challenge to sell all, give to the poor, and follow him.”

Again, much to ponder.