Jobs

I have recently become intrigued with jobs. Jobs, so simple a word kind of spurned by the philosophers and deep thinkers who might tell us it's more important to sit, to meditate, to think, do nothing, etc. This kind of flies in the face of some recent experiences I have had. So even before I exercise my thinker too much, here are those recent experiences ....

Just yesterday I took a little drive across town to meet with a friend at his request. He is from South Sudan, a new immigrant to this country, and we have become close friends, need each other’s presence periodically. He lives with the trauma of the genocide he experienced at hands of ‘those on the other side’and an unending passion to help those who suffer in that endlessly troubled country now also dealing with spillover from renewed fighting in Sudan. This he never forgets and it can become overwhelming especially for me, this white ‘problem solver.’ Yesterday, however, his eyes sparkled, he was dressed up just for the occasion of coffee with me at a local Tim Horton’s. It was time for catch-up. He has been working long hours during Calgary Stampede, at one of the casinos, not managing one of the gambling tables or that type of job. Nope, he’s been on garbage detail, long hours, huge bags of garbage created by wealthy partyers and gamblers, many of them inebriated and generous tippers. Rich people seem to enjoy good looking cheerful black men coming around to take care of disposal needs. I cannot but marvel at my friend’s cheery disposition even as I restrain my judgmental attitude to the party show which characterizes this sin city.

I think of another recent scenario. Some members of our extended family have recently arrived in this city. A couple with three children, one has landed a good job in this oil fueled economy, the other partner still looking. As they land in Calgary alongside our challenging housing market, it has become obvious they will need not one but two jobs. Yes, lots of income needed. Almost immediately he gets a job in the service industry – temporary and not in the profession he is trained for – but it's better than sitting around in a hot house and they are thankful. Now in this household there is banter, happiness; there is faith and hope. It almost reminds me of Genesis 12, which my wife and I read this morning. Abram instructed to go “to a land I will show you” (:1) not all details in place, but it was a required move.

Last night we had dinner, special guests of a young man we have become acquainted with this last year.  Our evening conversation included much description of the job which he has recently landed after a considerable stretch of painful unemployment. He loves his job, knows his trade, and is happy to work long hours as carpenter on a huge project. We are buoyed up in presence of his cheery generous spirit, proud of his ambition and his good attitude as his career resumes. The self-confidence is a joy to behold.

I notice jobs are also quite common among some high-school kids I know. Seems to me this is a good way of learning to receive instructions in exchange for a wage, definitely better than attitudes of entitlement which can come from the allowance option of 'high-end' kids. Especially among those not too enthused about studies, jobs are an excellent way to learn focus and the satisfaction of a job well done. According to some of their parents, it also helps to improve the grades in school.

Needless to say one might now extrapolate at length about employment and or unemployment. Canada’s current unemployment rate is 5.4%, and this our city at present is above that at 6.6%. Surprise! I do recall Premier Danielle Smith saying in her victory speech on May 29 that Alberta is open for business, obviously not providing lots of jobs just yet! Needless to say many factors are in play. I shall not wax political here. Nonetheless image and hype cannot be ignored even as we must take responsibility for education and training and yes, personal motivation of each and every one of us, our place in the workforce.

Work is no stranger to me. My lifelong challenge has been and still is to learn to relax – as my friends, family, and my doctor all know! So even as I acknowledge the importance of learning to do nothing I still have a "yes but." I maintain work is a joy; it is good for us even if jobs not always ideal. This vantage is perhaps because I come from a lineage of Mennonite rackere (a term close to slavery). My dad regularly referred to idol hands or an idol mind as the devil's workshop. Slightly overstated, his hyperbole is probably still a contributor to my own value system. 😉  

Obviously I have an appreciation for a working attitude. These days there is another side to this coin, and I observe it every day. In this city there are many young people and even worn-out middle agers, some with heads hanging to their chest, unfocused eyes, standing at traffic light intersections, receiving either abuse or handouts, whatever drivers see fit to dole out. There are reasons, many struggling with addictions and mental health, and some of them simply have not had anybody love them enough to teach the value of work. A Bible reference also I cannot ignore.  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Hmm.

Jobs are a valuable thing, especially if fueled by the desire to work. There are also those with jobs but little motivation to work. They hang unto jobs because they know not what else to do, or they need the income. In those cases they are abusers, of themselves and of their employers. Last weekend I spent some time in company of a business owner. One of his laments, and he was not speaking negatively at all, was this, “We can’t find enough workers, people who want to work, or at least want to learn how to work.”

That, I believe, is food for thought for all of us retirees, the parents and grandparents of those on one side or other of the employment statistics in this day.

 

Solutions Outside the Lines

I remember with some fondness a light-hearted quote oft-used by one of my friends. A long long time ago before the Coronavirus pandemic -  correction, a few years ago - several of us would do acquasize workouts at a local swimming pool, and then 'assemble' at nearby Tim Hortons to solve the world's problems. Now with several of these friends no longer in circulation and the remaining two of us living in different cities, our main communication is the trusty email. John ends most of these tomes with, “We need another world problem solving session.” We both know the likelihood of those meetings is perhaps over (almost)?

Beyond the fact that we no longer live near each other, I think we also know that ‘problem solving’ for us oldtimers was mainly axe grinding or spinning yarns or even self-reminders on what not to say in presence of so and so, etc. So even all by itself my thinker has not yet stopped thinking! I proceed on topic similar to my last post, still on my mind, the one about God’s continuing unchanging eternal presence regardless of times and seasons. That one I dared to write as a theologian, even quoting considerable scriptures. This time it’s also theological, but I’ll keep it more in coffee shop parlance, or watering hole patter, or even truckers’ lingo if need be. After all, I’ve been in all these places, very inspiring sometimes and totally exasperating other times. One of the benefits of my trucking chapter was that in those problem solving sessions (or bs as often the case) at the height of irritation I could always get up and walk away, a privilege not quite availed during my years of pastoral ministry. The topic still: How is God present here, there and everywhere, even outside the lines of the picture I think I'm drawing?

A number of scenarios come to mind. Uppermost is a group of South Sudanese Christians in our city. It is a part of some committee work I do, walking alongside a local congregation desiring to be hospitable to all in their neighborhood including these people immigrated from Africa. In spite of common claims of Christian faith, I am fascinated by differing ways of worship and communication. Ironically, even though these immigrant Africans also ‘solve world problems’ in coffee shops or watering holes, I confess that the greatest gift I receive here is the heartfelt requests to meet just because! That is a legitimate reason to get together. Friendship in this case is not about problem solving. And yet, even as appreciation is expressed and conversation continues, usually there is also a query about some kind of connection I may have perhaps to offer some support for a needy relative or a charity cause back in Africa. No pressure of course, and then to add just a touch of personal loneliness I notice that among my longtime local coffeeshop and church friends there is an avoidance of international relations type conversations because we’re not all on the same page about that one. Yes, the good old liberal – conservative fellowship.😓

Another example, this one from my reading. Recently it's been about Enneagrams - a personality analysis system which I was introduced to a long time ago in Clinical Pastoral Education in Seminary, and now recently reappeared as a newsy topic not only in our denomination’s news magazine,[i] but also a feature article in Sojourners, a U.S. based christian social justice magazine.[ii] Seems like a tried and true psychology tool emerging with new possibilities, possibly a valuable way to facilitate greater self-awareness to help us participate in community especially in today’s hyper-individualism. We need all the help we can get. However, this also being hailed with some hesitation. Some say it may be just another tool boxed and wrapped for us consumers until its glitter passes on. Maybe they’re right.

Another sample. I belong to what is sometimes labeled as the most liberal of the Mennonite churches, some referring to us as the United Church of the Mennonites. 😑 Our denominational publications put considerable emphasis on good journalism, good balanced coverage in a professional manner. Even within this niche we are quite image conscious, or should I say image anxious. Given some things not quite right in the populace, like reduced interest in church attendance, I am surprised at how many in our midst still refer to us as not being among ‘those evangelicals.’ And horrors, neither are we those horse and buggy people of rural Ontario or Indiana. Oh no; we are educated, smart and very well intentioned, and secretly we probably often wonder whether God ‘gets it’ or not. Even among this recent wokism, I cannot but notice that some of the more interesting writers in our periodicals do push the envelope a bit, easily writing about some old important questions. In our efforts to be credible and sensible, says Troy Watson, a Mennonite pastor from Stratford, ON, we are vulnerable to making secondary things the main things. In a recent column he reminds us that most important relationships are with God, with one another and our neighbors, including our enemies! Too often, says Watson, we focus on what and who we stand for and what and who we stand against. Our enemy is not human: our enemy has already been defeated; and the real battle is internal, in our hearts and minds.[iii]

 

Back to the down home vernacular, and I conclude with this. Two days ago I was privileged to visit several colonies of conservative Mennonites in and around Two Hills, Alberta. Our group of learned urbanites was treated with utmost hospitality by folks of the Old Colony, the Rheinlander, and the Kleine Gemeinde churches. These folks were not at all posting their knowledge; just doing what they believe to be God’s call on their life. The O.C. have come to rural Alberta because they need land for their large families. The Rheinlander and Kleine Gemeinde for similar reasons, even with their experience of new life in Jesus also need space that might feature a livelihood for their also large families. They need jobs, and worship and teaching space, lots of it. Church leaders do not have MDivs or DMins, and their accents grind pretty flat, especially among the most recent immigrants. However, the authority and confidence of these unpaid leaders is palpable. They are rural Alberta farmers, construction workers and business people, and every Sunday the people fill their churches to hear what they have to say!

My previous blog provides a strong case for God over and beyond all cultures and nations. I cannot but still rave on that conviction. God is indeed among the farmers, the immigrants, the weak and the strong, among the educated and uneducated, among environmentalists, affirming, progressives and fundamentalists, all invited to faith in the living God. It is now two weeks after Pentecost, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as recorded in the book of Acts, each participant in that worship heard the message in their own language (2:6). There are many languages and accents even among us learned and unlearned ones, and also immigrants and visitors as the world repopulates in many places.

How is God present here, there, and everywhere? I say God is present in all of these, and also not exclusively in any one of these. I may well have an issue with an Old Colony elder, and possibly also with some fundamentalist leanings among the Kleine Gemeinde. And of course, given latest Alberta election, in all churches we have the privilege of freely sitting side by side with those who voted NDP, UCP or otherwise, all of us worshiping God! These are my kin, brothers and sisters. Does that mean I am neutral? Not at all. Always there is need for conversation and confession. It means I look for ever increasing experience of God’s Spirit in me and among all in this huge fascinating back to the future world. Quite important this, extending grace instead of labeling enemies.

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[i] Canadian Mennonite (Vol.27, no 8).

[ii] Josiah R. Daniels interviews three Enneagram experts in, “Self-obsession or Tool for Change,” Sojourners (Vol.52, no.5), p.24.

[iii] Troy Watson, “Extending grace instead of labeling enemies,” Canadian Mennonite (Vol 27, no 9), p.12.