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On Lights of Joy and Bells of Hope
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When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Matthew 2:3
Happy Epiphany!
Allison Chappell’s funeral was held at St Therese on December 23, the morning that the city was covered in ice. Allison had taken her own life a month earlier. Deacon Greg talked about his own battles with depression and how even when depressed, he put on a performance when awake. “You can’t always tell from the outside what people are dealing with on the inside,” he said.
Jim Valiere gave the homily. He quoted Sekani Hardwick, a classmate of Allison’s, “When I arrived at St. Therese there were some things about me that none of you knew.” Jim continued:
He proceeded to share with us some specific things he had gone through in life that were more than any kid should ever have to deal with. . . On Sekani’s first day at St. T’s he wasn’t picked up after school so he waited under a basketball hoop. There was another kid out on the court after school that day. . . She noticed young Sekani kicking rocks and asked if he wanted to shoot hoops with her. Although the young fellow had been warned about white girls- to Sekani there was something special about this one. (First of all, she wasn’t all white!) Besides being able to hang with him on the court - and Sekani had mad handles - according to Sekani, this beautiful little girl was able to vibe his brokenness and see past his mask. He was definitely NOT one of the kids their teacher thought needed TLC, but Allison somehow knew.
Beautiful, intelligent, funny, compassionate, strong… she was all these things and so much more. She had a gift that led her to become a school counselor. But she was a counselor long before she ever studied to be one.
Allison’s death has also left us, like Herod, deeply troubled for ourselves. If Allison could give up on life, what hope is there for us, for our loved ones?
For Christmas, we published Maya Angelou’s poem, “Amazing Peace.” Some excerpts are apropos to our grief and fear:
We interrogate and worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?
. . .
Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope,
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
. . .
In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft, then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
May the God of All Consolation give the peace of God With Us to those who mourn, and let us stream lights of joy and ring bells of hope!