Caput apri defero. Reddens laudes Domino

It's been a dizzying day.  So much going on, but not much actually happening.  As one of those statistics regarding the unemployed for over two years now, I'm thrilled that I've even been contacted by a potential employer.  I've had a few interviews, but lots of positive comments about the wonderful experience and qualifications that I have.  And yet, no job offer.  Sigh.

So, every once in a while, I try to do something special for myself to keep the emotional and psychological aspects of unemployment from overwhelming me.  I've been good about keeping myself busy with a variety of activities (baking, DIY projects, hanging with the niece and nephew, photography), but sometimes, it has to be just me, for me.

One special thing I did was to take a trip to Ann Arbor, MI in December.  I returned to my alma mater, Concordia College, Ann Arbor (now known as Concordia University - Ann Arbor) for a performance of The Boar's Head Festival.  I was a student at C2A2 (as we called it back in the dark ages) when the first performance was executed, and am very pleased that it continues an unmentioned number of years later.  It's an emotional experience that pretty much defies classification into a single pigeon-hole, one of the reasons I like it so much.  As a student, when tasked with photographing the performance, I would become so involved in the performance I would forget to take pictures!  I usually had to attend at least two performances to get representative pictures of the entire performance.

The first thing anyone needs to know about the campus and the university, is that the chapel is the central point of campus.  Most of my years at C2A2 I lived on the East side of campus and derided those Western dwellers; they returned the favor in equal fervor.  The school motto is:  Christ first in everything.  And, true to that motto, the chapel was the one place where we all met and were one.   

I was taken aback by this structure at first.  It's new since my days there, and while it's interesting architecturally, I kind of miss the old square end of the cafeteria/basement.  But, not for long!  The inside was an even nicer improvement over our concrete floor and mailbox wall.  I also preferred the new location for the bookstore - upstairs!  Had to make sure I stopped to buy a CD of a previous Boar's Head performance before I headed back home.

I liked how they wrapped some trees in the strings of lights; I had seen this on a much larger scale at a well known Ann Arbor business headquarters when I worked there, and loved it then.

Inside the chapel at the west entrance, looking toward the organ and choir/orchestra seating.  Yes, hard wood pews, but amazingly not as uncomfortable as you would think!  

This is another shot of the organ, or really the pipes . . . had to take it with the cell phone, so the quality isn't so great.  It's an amazing organ, and to hear organists who could handle the pedals and stops was nothing short of breath taking.  

Looking toward the altar and pulpit.  The stained glass windows are beautiful.  I think I'm partial to them because there's a lot of blue, but the design and significance of the designs is a feast for the soul as well as the eyes.

Some of the decorations for the medieval portion of the performance.

 

My favorite piece of music from the performance.  I get goose bumps and cry every time I hear it.

 

 

The boar's head, pre-processional.  It's a much nicer more realistic looking boar's head than the original!

Yes, I had to go early because I wanted to spend some time strolling around campus and taking pictures.  The shot above is where I lived for most of my years at C2A2 - Stephen Dorm.  I met some of the most wonderful ladies who are to this day wonderful Christian role models.  There was a lot of laughter, some tears, many a prank, but mostly encouragement and God's love shared within those walls.  

The campus was built on land that formerly belonged to the Earhart family, pretty significant folk to Ann Arbor back in the day.  Rumors were that the house was part of the Underground Railroad, but since construction wasn't begun until the late 1920s (if I remember correctly), that wasn't possible.  There are a lot of "secret" passageways that were used by the staff (servants) to move less noticeably through the house during parties.  The view above is actually the back of the house, but the entrance most of us living on campus used.  The house was ahead of its time with a sound system piped into rooms; the music either came from records or a few radio stations.  The master bath still amazes me - it has a round shower and 12 (I think) shower heads!  Indulgent is the word that comes to mind.

While I loved being back on campus and remembering so many fun times with some great friends (and meeting back up with a few of them), what really renewed me was the Boar's Head performance.  The spiritual journey it takes me on every time I participate (yes, the audience has some participation, but it's more than singing along that I'm referring to) in this amazing celebration is humbling, uplifting, and often beyond words.  I have yet to leave a performance without a handful of used tissues and a heart filled with awe for the love God has shared with us.

Flashback

Earlier today, I posted a picture on my college alum group page on facebook.  It's not one of the better pics I took, but it is of the central point of campus.

The quality definitely could be better, and this is the scanned version of a very old picture.  But the memories it brings back are pretty vivid.  This is where I learned so much about life (laundry, sharing a room and a bathroom, working several jobs, and getting an education).

I went to a small Lutheran college in Ann Arbor, MI.  My freshman year at Concordia Lutheran College, Ann Arbor was the first year BAs were awarded (the college began as a 2 year college in 1963; the majority of students transferred to larger Lutheran colleges to complete their education).  My high school graduating class was approximately 600 students; the entire student population at Concordia my freshman year was approximately 600.

When I arrived at Concordia as a freshman, I was painfully shy and knew two people on campus.  I think I cried the first two weeks there, and then never looked back.  I was blessed to live in a dorm filled with wonderful Christian women each of my years Con-U (as we called it then), and was surrounded by people who encouraged (and sometimes dragged me into) my Christian growth.  Professors and staff members are very fondly remembered for the Christian example they lived.  By the time I finally graduated, I had been editor of the yearbook, Resident Assistant, worked on the Campus Security Department, and had worked three summers on campus in a variety of roles.

It has been amazing to get back in touch w/ many of my fellow students via facebook.  We've shared stories of the crazier things we did as students, helped other friends re-connect, prayed for each other, and helped get information from the right source at the right time.  It's been a few decades since I've seen some of these beautiful lights in my life, but almost without exception, we've picked up as if there had been no interruption.  Not where we left off, but where we each are now, recognizing we are not the same 22-23 year olds who were sure they knew everything, but more experienced in both blessings and sadness and aware of the millions of things we don't know.

Am I idealizing the situation?  Maybe a little, but not much.  I hear the refrain from one of Michael W. Smith's songs almost every time I visit the alum group page . . . Friends ARE friends forever If the Lord's the Lord of them . . .