Resilient Improvisation

Reverend Marvin Chandler

I just finished a book, Type R: Transformative Resilience for Thriving in a Turbulent World.  It was one of many books addressing the realities of what seems like in an increasingly chaotic world.   The name of the chaos changes depending on the context, but in healthcare it is usually described as “burnout”.    Is it the pace of change?  Is it “moral injury”?  What ever it is called, we all have seen and lived it.  

One week later, I heard another voice, Mary Ann McBidden Dana, the author of God, Improv, and the Art of Living.  There is a similarity to Type R in looking for answers but the approach and the basis of the response is different.  It is “improvisation”!  How could that be in world of plans and schedules?

I recalled a wonder filled moment in 2006, when I met Rev. Marvin Chandler in Indianapolis, Indiana.  It was on a Sunday evening at 6 pm when I visited Second Presbyterian Church.   It was The Jack Gilfoy Trio with Rev. Marvin Chandler playing effortlessly at the piano.   It was awesome.  I really didn’t know his story, but found it in a recent PBS documentary that revealed a life of improvisation   Other people had been moved by his life story.  Check out the documentary, “Reverend Marvin Chandler: Open to the Moment”.

What is central is a search for meaning and purpose in our lives.  The answers are as complex as our lives.  There are “BIG” ideas and real lived experiences as we all look to “connect the dots” and create some beautiful music in the moments of our lives.  We  need to connect our lives to these larger ideas and the lives around us. Those responses are more improv than planned.  

Marvin

References:

Marston, A., & Marston, S. (2018). Type R: Transformative Resilience for Thriving in a Turbulent World. PublicAffairs.

Dana, M. M. (2018). God, Improv, and the Art of Living, Eerdmans.

Reverend Marvin Chandler: Open to the Moment 

https://www.pbs.org/video/reverend-marvin-chandler-open-to-the-moment-cial78/

Hage, M. L. (2013). Resistance/Resilience.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2013/08/resistanceresilience.html

Special Needs

Special Needs Clinic, Tenwek Hospital, Bomet, Kenya

Friendship House at Western Theological  Seminary, Holland, Michigan

Much of my professional life has been devoted to prevention of death and disability.  It has been done from a western scientific model of medical care.  I have paid less attention to the care of the disabled.  It is difficult to move from our Western cure model to a healing model.

John Swinton’s book, Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship (Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability  helps all of us embrace a deeper level of friendship with the disabled.  I was able to reflect on my experiences with this kind of care provided at Tenwek Hospital.  What I observed was a skillful and embracing care that doesn’t cure but in real ways brings healing to these children and their families.  This same dynamic is at work at the Friendship House at Western Seminary.. You can see for yourself in the videos from both of these organizations by clicking on the titles.

According to John Swinton, what is critical is our understanding of “time”.  He introduces us to a slower time that builds on the understanding of the ministry of presence and creates a community of belonging.   This kind of “time” is what we all need in our lives.  

We all have “special needs” as we consider our time together.

Marvin

References:

Friendship House, Western Seminary, Holland Michigan

https://www.westernsem.edu/welcome-friendship-house/

Swinton, J. (2018). Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship (Studies in Religion, Theology, and Disability. Baylor University Press.

Friends of Tenwek - Special Needs Clinic

friendsoftenwek.org/special-needs-clinic/

Hage, M. L. (2013). Healing Presence.

http://healingagents.blogspot.com/2013/01/healing-presence.html