Dear Ravi,
Most of the world is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today. Nikki and I are celebrating St. Gertrude’s Day. She is the patron saint of cats. I am much more into cats than I am drinking beer and dying large bodies of water green. I am wearing a green sweater today, but I put it on without thinking of what day it is and now I don’t want to take it off because it is cold outside. We got at least a foot of snow over the weekend and now it is bitterly cold. The good news is that it should be in the mid 50s by the end of the week. I would like to say that this is the last of the snow, but we know better, don’t we. April usually has a surprise blizzard for us, just as one final hurrah.
As you know, I dropped in to see you last night. I was at church for our Gather meeting. We are planning an autism and sensory friendly service for Wednesday of Holy Week. We will start out with a simple dinner and the Eucharist at the table, just like Jesus did at the last supper. Then, we will move to different stations around the church as we commemorate the final night and death on the cross of Jesus. We will finish our journey in the chapel/columbarium. As it will not yet be Sunday, we cannot really celebrate the resurrection, but we can pretend what it would be like to find the tomb empty. At the end, we will give each child a box with a coloring sheet inside that says Alleluia, Christ is Risen! The children can open this box, let the Alleluias out and color them on Easter morning. I am very excited about the Gather initiative. There has been so much behind the scenes work in the last year, and now we are finally seeing it come to life. I wish you could be here to celebrate with us, but I know that you are watching us from on high. I wish that you could experience this with us. Our church did not have anything like this when you were young. So, now we do better. The motto of the Episcopal Church is “The Episcopal Church welcomes you.” The mission statement of St. Clement’s is “All are welcome, all are needed.” Do you remember the song that I used to sing to you; all God’s children have a place in the choir? This is our goal, our driving force. At our church, everyone will have a place in the choir, including those who sing without using any words.
Ravi, I miss you, but I think you would be very happy about the work that I am doing for you and for all neurodivergent people like you. You may not walk beside me anymore, but I will always be your advocate. Nikki and I, and all the orange kitties in the world, wish you a blessed St. Gertrude’s Day. If you see a kitty in heaven, and I am certain that there are lots of them, give them a gentle nose boop from me. Love you forever and ever. Mom.
Harriet's Hedgehogs and Autism Advocacy 