Open Doors Spiritual Matters: Helping others to have the opportunity to be thankful

By REV. ANGELA J. CLUNEY

FALLINGBROOK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

I recently took a trip to Chicago to see it in its glory. I admired its beautiful architecture, walked along the water on the famed River Walk, saw my image in the landmark Cloud Gate (the Bean), and tried deep dish pizza.

It was a beautiful city, definitely worth visiting.

When I look back on the trip, I will have a lot of wonderful memories from my time there.

They will make me smile when I am having one of those days when I need a reminder to be thankful for what I have in my life.

One of the experiences that stands out for me is my discoveries at the Chicago Cultural Center on 78 E. Washington St. which reminded me how blessed I am to live the life that I have.

Sometimes we need that gentle nudge to remind us of those blessings. For it is not always this way for many in our world.

The Cultural Center is filled with exhibits and displays which depict the hardships and realities of life that has affected many over time and continues to daily.

The exhibits I believe are intended as a way of studying the cultural experiences to help us work towards building a better future for all.

We can learn from each other’s experiences if we take the time to learn about each other’s lives, including the life altering ones.

Those times in our lives that we never can fully escape from: including monetary debt, being homeless, fighting hunger or going without a job.

The displays also brought me to faraway places, such as Ukraine and to the nearby alley outside the building. There were depictions of the terror and violence of war, but also that there are wars going on in our own cities, where people are harmed without cause due to societal imbalances.

Some exhibits showed isolation as families were separated, their only connection a secret phone line in a cemetery.

The pain of being excluded from society due to one’s skin colour, one’s gender or one’s sexual orientation was painted showing the diversity of this world which makes us stronger not weaker. All of these, reminders that we are but one amongst the billions in our world.

I walked away from my time at the Chicago Cultural Center thinking not only about my own blessings, but also how can I be involved in doing more for the causes I learned about there in my very own city of Toronto.

My goal as I go into the time of Thanksgiving is to go beyond counting my blessings but by taking time to learn more about my neighbour, my community, my city, my country and my world; so that I can do what I can so that others may also have an opportunity to be thankful just as I do.

— Rev. Angela J. Cluney is the Minister at Fallingbrook Presbyterian Church.