Five times four

In 1988, I signed a four-year contract with the CCO, and I remember thinking that June 1992 sounded like it would take forever to arrive. Now it's 2008, and I've spent my entire career thus far working in campus ministry. It's very cool that my earlier dreams of working in writing and editing have been useful to the mission of this ministry which has changed so many lives (including my own) for the better.

Here are some reflections which I sent out in my newsletter a couple months ago.

In May, I was recognized for 20 years of working for the CCO. Twenty years. Two decades. Five times my original four-year contract agreement. I guess those who jokingly predicted that I’d be a “lifer” weren’t so far off the mark. Here is an excerpt of what my friend and colleague Ginger Weeber wrote about me on the occasion of my 20-year recognition:

Amy Maczuzak is a fine writer and editor with a dedicated heart for the mission of the CCO. In all of the work that she does, she is committed to serving our organization and staff members, and to furthering our work.

While Amy would have rather started out writing for the CCO, she did not. She came on staff making a four-year commitment as an intern at Geneva College. From Geneva, she took a position as Director of the Kirk House for First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Erie, Pennsylvania. Her good work and relationship with Gannon administration helped cement the CCO’s relationship with the university. She also directed the Erie Summer Project, a summer internship/discipleship program for college students from CCO schools. While working at Gannon, Amy had three co-workers, three CCO supervisors, and two pastors in four years. Transition was the theme of those years.

Amy left Gannon to work in the CCO office in a dual position, as Project Administrator for our Training and Jubilee Departments, and as Writer for the Communications Department. Many were the battles for her time because she did both jobs so well. Now she has the privilege of focusing on working in the Communications Department, making sure our constituents understand in a clear and compelling way what makes the CCO tick.

As staff people, we see some of what she does when we receive the staff e-news and On Campus, see our staff profiles on the website, and read press releases for various events. What we don’t see are the hours she puts into polishing those very works, into interviewing former students for the website, into reading staff newsletters for stories to tell our donors, and into helping various staff people edit their newsletters. I am just touching the tip of the iceberg of Amy’s work.

What I enjoy about Amy is her kind heart, her sometimes-acerbic wit, or appreciation of such, her thoughtful way of listening and offering insight into situations or books or events, and that she laughs easily, even at herself. She is one of those people that makes true the statement that “still waters run deep.” Part of what I enjoy about working at the CCO is Amy as well as her good work. I hope she stays with the CCO another 20 years.

I thank Ginger for her kind words, and I thank you for your faithful friendship and support throughout these last two decades. I count it a privilege to do work that I love for a mission in which I believe so strongly—and of which I am a product myself. Thank you for making it possible for me to continue to participate in the work of transforming college students to transform the world.

Find your grail

As I'm watching the 2008 Tony Awards show and craving a trip to Broadway, I feel compelled to share my favorite Tony moment ever: this performance from Spamalot, a musical I hope to someday see in person. Enjoy!

Faith and writing

What a wonderful, life-giving day it's been here at Calvin College. Day one of the Festival of Faith & Writing has drawn to a close...well, for me it has, anyway. I think there are still some activities happening back on campus, including a Caedmon's Call concert, a showing of the film version of Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, an a poetry reading. I'm happy to be unwinding and digesting the sessions I did attend today, and am ready for a good night's sleep before a full day of sessions tomorrow.

Besides hearing inspiring messages from likes of Mary Gordon, Mischa Berlinski (whose novel Fieldwork has now been added to my must-read list), Mary Karr (whose memoirs The Liar's Club and Cherry I purchased immediately after), and Michael Chabon, I ran into several friends and acquaintances, in this order: Margie Haack, Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma (editor of catapult magazine), Gregory Wolfe (editor of Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion), Denise Frame Harlan, Erica Young, Lew Klatt, Dennis Dean and Tom McWhertor. I saw Gail and Andrew Heffner from a distance, and I imagine there will be more sightings, and hopefully opportunities to interact, with many of these folks and more tomorrow and Saturday.

If you're interested in reading more about what's happening this weekend at Calvin College, check out these three live blogs: Thoughts on faith and writing, Rebelling Against Indifference, and I've Only Been Wrong Twice. Enjoy!

Festival time!

It's Festival time again, and the road trip from Pennsylvania to Michigan is behind us. (Whew!) My friend Renee and I are settled into our hotel room, enjoying the free wireless connection and listening to Nightline's coverage of the Hillary Clinton/Barack Obama debate in Philadelphia earlier tonight and the Pope's U.S. visit.

This will be my sixth Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin College, and I'm so glad to be back this year. I first attended in 1996, when the conference was much smaller, and I was thrilled at the opportunity to see and hear Madeleine L'Engle and Annie Dillard in person. I've only ever missed one festival since, in 2006, when my mom was battling cancer. I've loved every conference I've attended, and enjoyed hearing from authors like Anne Lamott, David James Duncan, Lee Smith, James McBride, Lauren Winner, Luci Shaw, Katherine Paterson, Barbara Brown Taylor, and so many more. It's a blessing to be back.

Let the Festival begin!

Benediction

Last night, I joined several fellow members of my church community for an evening of prayer. We spent a couple of hours praying for our world, for our nation, our state, our city, our neighborhoods, our church family and each other. We sang and we prayed — silently, out loud, in a chorus (all praying aloud at the same time), in small groups, as a large group. And at the end of our time, we stood in the center of the sanctuary, holding hands as Carmen gave the benediction, which she read from Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible, The Message.

Here is what Carmen read:

So let's go outside, where Jesus is, where the action is—not trying to be privileged insiders, but taking our share in the abuse of Jesus. This "insider world" is not our home. We have our eyes peeled for the City about to come. Let's take our place outside with Jesus, no longer pouring out the sacrificial blood of animals but pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus' name.

Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship—a different kind of "sacrifice"—that take place in kitchen and workplace and on the streets. —Hebrews 13:13-16

April Foolin': Movies an' 'at

I got a voice mail from an old friend yesterday basically daring me to blog again, and since she and my friend Lisa have started this little game, I thought this might be a good way to get back into it. (Another friend has been encouraging me to write more in general, and since she obliges when I make similar requests, I'm going to try. Really.)

But for now, here’s the deal:

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them on your blog for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. Looking them up is cheating, please don’t.

Have fun!

Ed. note (4/16/08): Thanks and congrats to Lisa, Sheryl and TG for playing along. Time now to identify the rest of the quotes, for you readers who have been dying to know...

1. “Whoopsidaisies. It's a disease I've got. It's a clinical thing. I'm taking pills and having injections. It won't last long.” TG got this one right—"Notting Hill." Great chick flick.

2. “…when you're attracted to someone, it just means that your subconscious is attracted to their subconscious, subconsciously. So what we think of as fate is just two neuroses knowing that they are a perfect match.” Sleepless in Seattle

3. “Oh, but ‘baby fish mouth’ is sweeping the nation?” Lisa got it right! "When Harry Met Sally"

4. “You're born into a family. You do not join them like you do the Marines.” While You Were Sleeping

5. “If some lives form a perfect circle, others take shape in ways we cannot predict or always understand.” Lisa got this one, too: "Message in a Bottle"

6. “I just want you to feel you're doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed.” Sheryl got it! "The Princess Bride"

7. “We're not laughing at you—we're laughing near you.” Dead Poets Society

8. “…is it to be at every meal, or merely at dinnertime, that you intend on leading us all through this rare and wonderful new world of... indigestion?” The Sound of Music

9. “Why do I have to be the responsible grown-up who worries? Why can't I be the cute, carefree Irish guy who sings all the time?” P.S. I Love You

10. “In a conspiracy like this, you build from the outer edges and go step by step. If you shoot too high and miss, everybody feels more secure. You've put the investigation back months.” All the President's Men