The Wild Reed: Out and About

Monday, December 18, 2023

Out and About – Summer 2023

Well, the autumn equinox has long past and the winter solstice and Christmas are fast approaching. A perfect time, then, to look back on the summer of 2023 and the people, places, and experiences that were the most meaningful to me during those months.

I take this look back via the latest installment of The Wild Reed’s “Out and About” series. Enjoy!

The most fulfilling aspect of my life in Minnesota is my work as a spiritual health provider (or chaplain) on the interdisciplinary Palliative Care team at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, a northern suburb of Minneapolis and the second-largest city by population in Anoka County.

Above: With all but one of my Palliative Care team members (Kari was taking the photo). From left: Kate, Nikki, Jenna, Maddie, Steph, and me – Tuesday, June 27, 2023.

I mentioned how fulfilling I find my work as an interfaith chaplain. Here’s some feedback I’ve recently received that speaks to this experience of meaning and fulfilment.

• Michael is a joy to work with and I wish I got to do so more. He knows so many people at the hospital; not only their names but what is going on in their lives. He cares for others. Michael’s humor, compassion, and worldview helps me every day to be a better medical provider.

• During a recent on-call shift, Michael was called into the ED to support the family of a 7-year-old. Later Michael received feedback from the chaplain who visited the family during a later shift. This chaplain reported that the child’s parents had commented on “the divine way people had come alongside them” and mentioned Michael by name. The chaplain also said, “I could tell that Michael was able to help the parents establish a healthier framework to process the immediate trauma that they were experiencing.” Michael, you truly do amazing work!

For the months of July and August, I switched positions with the Palliative Care chaplain at Abbott-Northwestern (ANW) Hospital in Minneapolis. She went to Mercy and I went to ANW. Both hospitals are in the Allina healthcare system, the largest in Minnesota.

I’m pictured above with members of the ANW Palliative Care team. From left: Courtney, me, Mary, Leslie, Emma, and Katelyn – Thursday, August 10, 2023.

Above: Catching up with my colleagues from Mercy Hospital during a retreat day for the entire Allina Palliative Care department – Thursday, August 17, 2023. From left: me, Maddie, Kate, Steph (with Otis), Kari, and Nikki.

Our retreat was held at Como Park in Minneapolis, right next door to the Como Zoo. So of course I had to go visit the giraffes!

Above and below: Adnan in the summer garden.

Above: An August 2023 portrait. I’m wearing my “Marianne 2024” t-shirt in support of author and activist Marianne Williamson’s second shot at the U.S. pesidency. She is challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic party nomination in the 2024 presidential election.

Right: Adnan snapped this picture of me beside my “Marianne 2024” bumper sticker!

For The Wild Reed’s summer 2023 coverage of Marianne’s campaign, see:
• Voters, Not the DNC, Should Choose the Nominee
• Marianne Williamson on The Issue Is with Elex Michaelson – 07/20/23
• Marianne Williamson on Trump’s Day in Court
• Marianne Williamson: “Repairing Our Hearts Is Essential to Repairing Our Country”
• Marianne Williamson on News Nation – 08/25/23
• Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson Joins NYC’s March to End Fossil Fuels

Above: With my friend Deandre, to whom I introduced Marianne and her campaign. Go Team Marianne!

Unfamilar with Marianne Williamson’s 2024 presidential campaign?

The following July 18, 2023 interview that Marianne did with the young Canadian journalist Wyatt Sharpe is as good a place as any to learn about her campaign and its progressive platform.

Above: A visit to the Prayer Tree – Saturday, July 1, 2023. For more images and commentary, click here.

Above and below: The summer of my wildebeest-of-a-bike!

Above and left: At my friends’ George and John’s annual Pride party – Sunday, June 25, 2023.

For The Wild Reed’s 2023 Queer Appreciation series, see:
• Angela Kade Goepferd on the “Manufactured Controversy” Targeting Gender-Affirming Care
• The Bigger Box of Crayons We All Deserve
• Transgender in America Today
• Accounting for the Backlash
• Celebrating Every Body
• Three Radical (Religious) Ideas for Queer Liberation
• In St. Paul Schools, “Trans Advocacy Is Always Advocacy for Everyone”

Above : Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Above: Celebrating my dear friend Carol’s birthday – July 30, 2023. From left: Sue Ann, Carol, Carrie, Lucia and Paul.

Above: My buddy Raul – Sunday, July 23, 2023. He’s pictured in the garden of the Walker Arts Center in Minneapolis.

Above: Raul and I with our fun-loving waiter at Cardamom, the restaurant at the Walker – Sunday, July 23, 2023.

Above: On the weekend of August 19-20 I visited my friends Angie and Bryan at their camper in the Pelican Lake RV Resort.

Located just outside of the town of Glenwood in Pope County, Minnesota, Pelican Lake is about a two hour drive northwest from the Twin Cities.

Angie and I first met in 1995, which was my second year in the U.S. after my relocation to Minnesota from Australia. At the time, both of us were students at the College of St. Catherine (now the St. Catherine University) in the Twin Cities. Angie’s hometown is Montevideo, west of the Twin Cities, and back in the late 1990s and early 2000s I spent many happy summer weekends and Thanksgiving holidays in Montevideo with Angie and her family, who welcomed me as one of their own.

Above: With friends Julia and Pete – Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Above: Friends Babs and Kathleen – Sunday, June 25, 2023.

Above: Breakfast with Pete! – Thursday, July 13, 2023.

Above: My friends Joan and Matt’s “Labor Day / Farewell to Summer” party – Monday, September 4, 2023. From left: John, Zach, Handrick, Joan, and Ian.