Happy New Year Everyone.
Since I last posted on this site over 5 years have past, its not for any specific reason and definitely not due to tardiness, but my absence from The Mouthpiece has been largely due to my presence is LOTS OF OTHER ENDEAVORS.
This gives me an opportunity to gloss over some of those. You would think the global pandemic might have freed up some time to write on here, but it escaped me. The Covid era gave everyone a time to reflect, (lots of time). It also tested us in every area of our lives, none greater than the lives of alcoholics and addicts, and for a while Tabor House was as in flux as every other house in the world. At the time I remember thinking that we may well have to close our doors and shut up shop, I told the men in the community my concerns and asked them to prove mew wrong. Boy oh boy, did they do that! It actually turned out to be an amazing few years, with little relapse and more meetings (zooms) than usual.
By 2023 things were pretty much back to normal and at the time of writing, my own personal life had been confronted by grandfather hood (7 so far). We have settled in a new house and are currently living together spanning ages of 92 down to 18months old. 2023 has been a particular year of ups and downs. I am now 2 1/2 years into my 5 year Diaconate program in the Diocese of Trenton and will, God willing, be ordained in May 2026. We have spent our money renovating and extending our property, so as to continue to live as a growing family in the same home…we still have approx 3 months of Renovation left. Last year Nadine and I got to take a trip back to the homeland, to England, Scotland and to France, where I finally got to meet members who had not yet been born when I left as well as hug my folks for the first time in over 10 years, (way too long).
The big one during the last 12 months is undoubtedly the loss of my best friend, my brother (from another mother) and my partner at Tabor House. Georgie finally succumbed to the lung cancer that had restricted him for almost 7 years (though for 6 of them, you would never have guessed). He passed away in August 2023. While it was in many ways a beautiful experience, lots of visitors, lots of prayers, lots of peace, time has only highlighted the loss of his physical presence from my life and so many others’ lives.
As we embark upon 20 years of our existence, tabor house continues to be filled with new community residents and we have a steady stream of different faces with similar obstacles. The way through all of this is clear. Whether we talk about pandemics, about separation or family community, whether we talk about anniversaries or about death, The Unfailing Presence Of The One Who Loves Us remains crucial to each circumstance. He is The One that matters most and like the Baptist, we must decrease and He must increase.
The Mouth Piece 