by Rev. Susan J. Murtha
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| Rachel Garcia |
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| Silver Lake |
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| Guilford First |
GUILFORD (04/12/2010) -- “Do you have a spiritual home?” was the question asked to hundreds at the opening of a community-wide auction in Guilford on March 13, held in memory of a girl who did and in hope that all people will find theirs. The mission of this Live Auction was to strengthen the two spiritual homes of Rachel Chung Garcia: Silver Lake Camp and Conference Center and First Congregational Church of Guilford, UCC.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us that in between our coming from God and our return to God, we have not only a birth from the womb, but we must also have a second birth – a spiritual birth. He says we do not know when that Spirit will come or from where. Last summer, while at Silver Lake, that Spirit came to Rachel Garcia.
At the tender age of 12, Rachel had a profound and beautiful spiritual awakening: God, faith, and spiritual community all came to her as Real Presence. Each day I would see Rachel walking to the camp mailbox with a stamped envelope in her hand. As Chaplain that week, as well as a mother, I fretted just a bit: “I hope she isn’t writing, ‘Dear Mom and Dad, I’m homesick.’”
No. She was writing to tell her parents that grace and God had come to her. Having had that experience, she could say from where it came. And she did, each day. It came, she said, in the morning worship at the waterfall chapel. It came in evening devotions. It came in the spoken prayer of a counselor. It came in the songs she wrote for the camp during their week dedicated to reflecting on peace.
Tragically, Rachel Garcia’s earthly life ended on November 24, 2009, due to an unsuspected heart defect. A family, a church, and a town grieve deeply. But this we know: what Rachel found at the age of 12 is something many spend a lifetime seeking. Many people long for a spiritual home, and just as many long for this spiritual birth, even if they can’t quite name it as such.
It was so clear that these deep places were touched as this auction grew or, should I say, swelled – that quiet but deep longing to be touched as Rachel was. Hundreds of people in the community donated their time, talent and treasures. On auction night at the Community Center, it was a full house.
This auction was a novel one. Bidders weren’t going after antiques and rugs. What was donated and what was bid on were pieces of each person – something of themselves. A carpenter gave a day of work at your house. A woodsman gave a cord of firewood. An artist gave a painting. A teacher gave tutoring. A sailor gave a tour of the Thimble Islands. A mother gave a children’s tie-dye party. A cellist gave tickets to her New Haven Symphony. A retired couple gave a ride to and from the airport. The full list was 300 long and its benefits could not be quantified. Everyone shared their goods in common and everyone came out richer than when they went in. If we did well, some found their spiritual home in our midst.
Thank you to every spiritual home – to every church and to Silver Lake. Being touched by God’s love in spiritual community is a profound, formative experience that shapes the core of a person and directs the course of their life. I want everyone to have it. Tell the story. Spread the word. Share the good news of the second birth.
The Rev. Susan Murtha is associate pastor at the First Congregational Church UCC of Guilford, and a volunteer Chaplain at Silver Lake Conference Center.
