Through the unremarkable, beautiful gate

Posted on July 19, 2011 by doradueck

Twice this past week I’ve been drawn to St. Benedict’s, a short drive from my home, to walk and pray the labyrinth there. Both times I found myself completely alone, basking in the quiet and in the use of this simple prayer tool cut into the grass. It’s a little dry now, because of the current heat wave, but still dotted with tiny white clover. There’s one large tree at the edge of the labyrinth and others further back and all of them carry the sound of the wind when it blows.

Once it was “help” and “please” all the way into the heart of it, and “thank you” on the way out. The next time it was slowing down to become aware of God’s presence, and the images that kept coming to me concerned Following: a cloud, a fire, a shield, the cross, and Christ.

The gate into the labyrinth is simple. Unremarkable, really. It marks a place to start and to finish. It’s a measurement of time — the time to pray and listen. Unremarkable, but somehow beautiful too, in the way that a good invitation can feel so wondrous to our spirits. Jesus spoke of himself as a gate, and seeing this one, I can’t help but think of his call:

Come to me, all that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (Matthew 11:28-29)

Museums like sunflowers

Posted on July 17, 2011 by doradueck

“Mennonite museums are opening up like sunflowers in Southeastern Ukraine,” write Ben and Linda Stobbe, currently serving as North American directors of the Mennonite Centre in Molochansk, Ukraine. (The Centre provides practical assistance of various kinds, part of a reconciliation process in a region marked by historical trauma.) Very interesting, what’s showing up in these museums! Read the details here.

Another “presence” on the web

Posted on July 14, 2011 by doradueck

In the crowded, changing world of publishing today, it’s imperative — at least, so writers are told (as for example, here) — to have a “presence” on the web. When I started this blog at the end of 2009, I knew that my novel, This Hidden Thing, would be published the following spring and I supposed that I would also talk about it — as I did, when it happened. I put up pages (above) devoted to my books and to that new one in particular.

I never visualized “Borrowing Bones” as being primarily a promotional vehicle for my work, however. I have found it a bit awkward, in fact, to bring my book — reviews, sightings, reader letters, book club discussions, and more — into the conversation, and so I haven’t done so much. I have no hesitation in saying that I would love for “Borrowing Bones” readers to order and read my work, especially the award-winning This Hidden Thing, if they haven’t done so already, and I will also be bold enough to say that I’m quite certain they (you) will like it a lot — because those who stop here (readers I know and readers I imagine) just seem like the kind who would!

I want to keep “Borrowing Bones” eclectic and wide-ranging and personal; I don’t want it to feel as if I’m sneaking in “sell.”

But I need a venue where I’m more fully present in my professional self.

So, I’m trying this: a new blog, a place where my work will be the focus. I invite you to take a look at Dora Dueck, and hope you’ll visit often. Thank you!