The gospel this weekend talked about the demons. Jesus called out a number of demons named “Legion” and sent them into a herd of pigs that then went over a cliff.

We all have demons. They are the voices in our heads that we’ve heard since we were little. We get the message that we aren’t good enough. Some of the advice is well-meaning. An older adult might say, you can’t make money writing novels. There are only a few authors that become best-selling authors. (You aren’t good enough). You can’t be a doctor and a mother. (You aren’t good enough). You can’t be a priest in the church you grew up in. (You aren’t a man and therefore you aren’t good enough).

These demons peck away at our psyche. Messages we get over the years accumulate and form themselves into the voice in our heads that get louder and louder. We may try to ignore them but the feelings they produce can cause bad behavior on our part. We drink too much, eat too much, become critical of others, and feel depressed and sad without even knowing why.

There are societal demons that pile on – racism, homophobia, and misogyny, all telling us we are not enough because of our race, our sexual preferences, or our gender.

But we are enough.

We are the beloved children of God who loves us as we are. Really embracing the love of God for ourselves can take time. We have to open ourselves up through prayer and allow the love to penetrate and heal the layers of messaging we have received through time. I spent years hearing a priest tell the congregation that God loves us and made us who we are. That we are enough. It took years for me to believe it but I believe it now.

I still have the thoughts that I’m not good enough but I don’t entertain them. The thoughts enter my mind unbidden like a bird that lands on a tree branch. I refuse to let the thought build a nest in my mind. I shoo it away by praying and renewing my sense of God’s love for me. I repeat my affirmation – I am a beloved child of God and I am enough.

There are times when I lose my faith in humanity and then something happens that restores it. Lately, most of my grace-filled moments come from my experience with “Buy Nothing FaceBook.” My husband and I are cleaning out our house. We have so much stuff that we no longer need but is still in good condition. Our kids don’t need or want what we are trying to give away. Since we try to be conscious of the planet and not just throw usable items away, I was stumped. Of course, I know about GoodWill but I’m not sure what they throw away. Then someone told me about “Buy Nothing Facebook”

There are multiple pages of Buy Nothing Facebook. I belong to the West Webster page. You have to join the page that is local to you. This way when you put your items up on the page to give away, the person that wants them is a short drive away. Your items have to be free. There is no selling on this page. It works like this. You post your item. “Give, a crib with attached changing table in good condition. Used for babies staying or napping at Grandma’s house.” People who are interested post a comment “Interested”. The person giving away the item sends a Facebook direct message (DM) to whoever they pick to receive the item.

You can also ask for things on the page. We wanted to paint some fences in our church gardens. We asked for paint and people were happy to give us half-filled cans of paint from their basement!

I have met the nicest people who live just a few miles away by posting on the page. We had thirty-year-old outdoor furniture that a couple took to refinish. They live a mile from our house and we knew people in common but had never met them.

There was a family who live close by who took some furniture for a refugee family.

There was the woman who took my old rocking chair. She was young and moving into her first apartment. She told me she was going to paint it white and put plants on it.

And there was the woman who was struggling with a baby born with a cleft palate. She had nothing. A woman in my Facebook group was collecting baby furniture for her. She got our crib with the attached changing table.

This has been a wonderful way to meet people who live fairly close by and find out how they are helping others. Who knew getting rid of stuff could provide such grace-filled moments of connection?

Deaveon Davis rode his bike to work almost every day. He was biking to his girlfriend’s house to get his car keys one early morning in March and he was struck and killed by an SUV at the corner of Linden Ave and Glen Road in Brighton. His friends and family were devastated.

The cycling community in Rochester decided to take action. There have been too many cyclists killed by cars in our community. The installation of a Ghost Bike serves two purposes. The first is to honor and memorialize the dead. Deaveon’s family gathered to pray at the corner where he was killed. His name was written on the white ghost bike. The second purpose of this installation is to raise the level of awareness of cyclists on the road. We need to learn to share the road and look out for cyclists. Drivers are distracted by cell phone notifications, trying to text and drive, trying to make calls and drive, and a myriad of other little things that use up the instant they need to avoid a fatal collision. Since we don’t have bike lanes, we tend not to expect to see cyclists on the road, especially at multi-lane busy intersections.

In the Netherlands, the pedestrian is King, the cyclists are queens, and the car comes in as a lowly commoner. Bike lanes are everywhere and they have their own stop lights.

Most people ride their bikes to work, school, the store, and even to the golf course. For all the months we were there, I never saw an accident. Drivers are vigilant.

I officiated at the installation of the ghost bike for Deaveon. I have done countless funerals but the devastation of his friends and family was intense. They were still trying to fathom how a young man with everything going for him in the prime of his life was gone. His life was snuffed out in a matter of seconds.

My son rides a bike to work because it’s fun and he’s trying to help save the planet. I worry about him. I would love to see our community embrace this wonderful mode of transportation. If you want to help in this endeavor, check out Reconnect Rochester. https://reconnectrochester.org/

Nothing will happen unless we do something.

I couldn’t sleep after the mass shooting in Buffalo or Texas. The tragedy was horrific and we all have spent time picturing our loved ones or ourselves suffering through it. That alone is enough to keep us up at night but the idea that nothing will change as a result is truly heart-wrenching.

We have a voice and our voice matters. For years, I have worked with Rural and Migrant Ministry to address the unjust laws for farmworkers. Farmworkers did not have the same rights as the rest of us in New York State. They were not given overtime or even a day off. They were denied the right to organize. It wasn’t until 1996 that a law was passed requiring employees to provide drinking water to workers and it was 1998 before toilets were mandated for workers. (https://documentedny.com/2021/10/13/12-workers-make-history-forming-new-yorks-first-farmworkers-union/)

Finally, in 2021, farmworkers were given most of the rights the rest of us take for granted but they still need to work 60 hours before receiving overtime pay. We are still working to change that law.

I tell you about farmworkers because I know firsthand how long it takes and what has to happen to get the attention of our elected officials. But it can be done.

We all have to make our views known to our elected officials. I am against assault weapons being sold to the general public. There should be red flag checks. I am planning on starting with my town officials, then my state representatives, and my federal representatives. I’ve had their offices on speed dial for the last twenty years.

Here’s what to expect, when you contact the office you may get lucky and speak to a staffer. If you call often enough, they will come to know you. If you write, you might receive a form letter from their office. If you email, you will get an acknowledgment email. This can be discouraging but it takes time and repetition.

If only a few people take action by contacting their representatives, nothing will happen. It will be business as usual, both sides not listening to the other side. Meanwhile, 20 more mass shootings have happened since TX.

But if we ALL take action and rally our friends and family and thousands of letters, emails, and phone calls start happening, something might happen. If we all get out and vote, things could change.

Identify your representatives and contact them. https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative, https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-

contact.htmhttps://www.nysenate.gov/registration/nojs/form/start/find-my-senator. If you are outside of New York State, google “How do I find my state senator”

https://nyassembly.gov/mem/search/. (If you are outside of NY, google “How do I find my state representative)

If you are a teacher, organize and barrage your representatives with pleas to make changes! How many more deaths will it take? Use your VOICE!!!!!!

I can’t imagine why that young man shot ten people in the Top’s.

I know what the reporters say. He drove from just outside of Binghamton and targeted African Americans. It was a racist act of hate. I’m sure it was.

I can’t imagine what happened to this person that made him drive hundreds of miles to shoot innocent people at a grocery store,

I know there are people who encourage violence and use every means of communication to inflame young minds generating the emotions that cause them to take heinous actions.

I can’t imagine what he was thinking as he drove.

I know we need to all work together to take action. We need to decide what action to take. Everyone needs to get involved.

I can’t imagine what the victims families are going through today. How does a trip to the grocery store result in death?

I know the lives of the people in the community are changed forever. The horror of not feeling safe. The idea of being targeted.

I can’t imagine how he went from someone’s baby boy to a toddler, to a boy, and then a shooter.

I know I will support anti racism training, leadership development for youth, and policies that work toward creating a peaceful and just society. We need to work together. We have to stop the rhetoric that tears us apart. We need to be open to hearing one another. We can’t just write about it.

What specific action will we take?

We had to empty out our kitchen recently since we are having it remodeled. It’s humbling to realize how much stuff we have.

I’ve watched both seasons of the “Home Edit” on Netflix. We are a nation with too much stuff. No matter how large the home, closets, and cupboards are bulging. Mine included.

This remodeling of the kitchen presented an opportunity to let stuff go, give it away, or repurpose it. The first step is the edit step and the majority of people have trouble with this step. I keep thinking about the one piece of clothing I gave away because I never wore it and then the perfect event happened six months later and I really wanted that dress back. Just that one experience makes me second-guess giving anything away. The second reason, I don’t want to let anything go is the sentimental value I attach to objects. For example, I bought this pitcher in the Netherlands because I needed a pitcher. At home, I have six pitchers. How many do I need? All the others have memories attached as well. Which one do I get rid of? I’ve been told to keep the one that sparks the most joy but none of the pitchers spark joy for me but I do need a pitcher! Round and round I go.

I have made a discovery about myself. It takes me two iterations to edit. On the first pass, I am quick and decisive. My husband watches me fill boxes and as soon as they seem full he runs them out to the truck and he’s off to the donation sites.

I’ve met some wonderful people on “Buy Nothing West Webster” Facebook page. They come and take away my stuff and are elated. It’s easy to offer up my 40-year-old furniture that is still in great shape.

The second pass is tough. I hem and haw over little things that I haven’t touched or used in the past two years. I just like having some of this stuff.

On the Home Edit show, they have a saying, you can have the stuff or you can have the space. I want space.

Life is less stressful when there is space. I had four sets of measuring cups, 6 scotch tape dispensers, lids that had no matching pots, and don’t get me started on the plastic storage containers and lids. I consolidated and found out that I might enjoy cooking.

My son and daughter-in-law are getting rid of all their stuff. They sold their house and they bought a twenty-two-foot trailer. They plan on living in it indefinitely with their five-year-old daughter and two dogs. They are letting go of everything they own from their house except what will fit in a 5′ X 5′ storage container and their trailer.

My husband and I lived in a 30-foot RV for five months. I told my son, you’ll figure out what is most important to you. It’s not the stuff.

This is a picture of Bobo at his 70th birthday party.

I took him to Wegmans a few days after he had gotten out of prison. He had to sit down after he walked through the chip aisle. “There are so many different kinds it makes my head spin,” he said. He was stuck in the men’s room trying to figure out how to turn on a faucet that had no handles until he saw another man stick his hands underneath and the water magically appeared.

It took forever to find him an apartment. No one wanted an ex-con in their building. Finding a job was even harder. He interviews fine, my friend said, he just looks bad on paper. I guess thirty years behind bars for felony murder is a tough hurdle for most employers.

But the Bobo who went into prison was different than the man who came out. The man who came out had changed the lives of more than ten thousand kids. This was not the scared straight program, this was Bobo’s program.

It started because he decided to attend Bible study. The scripture worked on him like rain on a rock. He began to feel a call. He didn’t want others like him to end up in prison.

He got sponsors like Xerox and other corporations to pay to bring kids from inner-city Rochester to Attica. Bobo said, he would sit them down and start telling his story, how he robbed banks and how he got caught and how someone lost their life because of his robbery. I didn’t shoot him but my actions caused him to get shot. He told the kids.

The corporate sponsor would provide a bag lunch for the kids. Bobo would grab a sandwich out of one kid’s hand and start eating it. He would give his prison meal to the kid. It was effective.

I had Bobo talk to our Summer of Opportunities high school youth. The boys were riveted. Bobo talked about how difficult prison is and how there is no freedom. He did not volunteer any details about his bank robberies but he did tell the youth that they could ask him any question they wanted. They were more curious about prison.

Bobo was one of the most authentic people I ever met. He was open about his life, he was incredibly sorry about the pain he caused others, and even though he was granted his freedom, his life didn’t get easier. His only daughter died from a drug overdose. Bobo’s kidneys failed and although he got a transplant, the kidneys didn’t last long.

I went to see him in the hospital when he was dying. He was so gracious and in awe that I had taken the time to visit. He had no real inclination of how he had transformed me.

It doesn’t matter who we are or what we may have done in our lives, once we say yes to God, God will open up a way to minister to others.

https://13wham.com/news/local/after-serving-time-he-served-others?fbclid=IwAR3KNPFIY_Vc3yjrSSLyHPnfbag8FbcAxVjEfUvvJP4e2R0XDXdqKh0VP0U