Vulnerability on Vashon
This past weekend I spent four days at a men’s retreat at the All-Merciful Savior Monastery in Washington
State partly in preparation for the youth trip I have planned for June
6th. Driving down I had no idea what to expect. I had
only met Abbot Tryphon twice previously, and although he was a cordial and friendly fellow, I
didn’t really know him.
As I boarded the ferry from Seattle to Vashon
Island I thought about the young people who I’d be taking with me in a few
short weeks. Would they find it strange? Interesting? Would they encounter God?
As I arrived and drove up the long gravel road
through the woods toward the monastery grounds it was as if I had entered another
world. The church with its blue onion dome, the vegetable gardens, the chicken
coop, the stone fountain, the tall cedars encircling it all. It was beautiful
and pristinely quiet. The kind of quiet that gets inside of you.
I was greeted warmly by Abbot Tryphon, who has the
other worldliness of Gandalf and the jolliness of Santa Clause. Other guys
began to arrive and we unpacked and set up our tents as we got to know each
other. We spent our mornings and evenings in the church,
praying by candlelight, and our nights by the campfire, discussing theology over bad
jokes. There was much silence, but even more laughter. And there was something
else I didn’t expect. Vulnerability and affection.
By the end there were many hugs and ‘I love you
guys.’ Truth be told, I wasn’t sure what to do with it. I don’t generally give or receive a lot of
affection from men. I’m a strong believer in relationship and community - it’s
what I try to create for the youth I work with - and here I was, needing to
take my own advice. I have to learn to be vulnerable. Because that’s
the only way to be real.
- Chris Hawthorne
- Chris Hawthorne
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