Tanya Atwood-Adams opened with a reading from Sophy Burnham, who has written a number of books about angels. The word ‘angel’ means messenger; they bring messages and warnings; they guard; they help; they heal.
There are stories about angels in many ancient and modern faith traditions although under various names. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam share a common belief in angels, as well as Vikings, Greeks, Hindus, Persians, Zoroastrians, Taoism, Buddhism. Angels sometimes come in disguises such as visions, voices, dreams, and coincidences. We are each of us angels with one wing, and can only fly when we are embracing one another.
Our first speaker was Ariana Buechel. She has her Master of Arts degree in Counseling Psychology from Lewis & Clark University in Portland, Oregon. For 15 years she has studied and practiced the Raphaelite Work, named after Raphael, the archangel of healing and science. The Raphaelite Work is spiritual healing with presence to the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual bodies. Ariana is a leader in the Sufi Order International and has guided spiritual retreats for over 30 years. She and her husband recently moved to Ithaca, New York to be more involved in the lives of their three grandsons, now 2, 4, and 6 years old.
Ariana opened with a Sufi invocation/meditation, speaking slowly, pausing after each line so that we could feel its depth in our own beings:
Toward the One,
the Perfection of Love, Harmony, and beauty,
the Only Being,
United with all the Illuminated souls,
Who form the Embodiment of the Master,
the spirit of Guidance.
Since she usually guides people individually, Ariana was initially reluctant to speak to us. But remembering that everyone has a view peculiar to her divine inheritance, as well as her experiences on earth, she consented. Referring to everyone’s unique perspective, Ariana said we are like bubbles in an ocean of truth. When we share, we can open to greater understanding.
Ariana grew up with no religious practice at home. Her mother was an atheist. As a child, her father had been required to go to church almost every day, and as an adult he rebelled, refusing to set foot inside a church. However, invited by a friend, Ariana went to a Lutheran church and was deeply moved by the communion service. It seemed to change the atmosphere of the church; for them it was a sacred time when they were in touch with their innermost being. Later at Bible camp, Ariana, surrounded by the beauty and harmony of nature –mountains, towering trees, clear streams, fresh air, by day the warmth of the sun and at night unending stars above – felt “at home”. In a study group a leader wanted the children to draw a picture of God. She didn’t know how to do this because she felt that God is not limited, but in everything and everyone. The leader called this response Pantheistic. This felt wrong; she felt that the divine message could come to us through nature, through humans, or through angels.
In her twenties, Ariana was drawn to Sufism, and a new community east of Albany , New York called The Abode of the Message. She lived in this community for five years as a seeker, guiding retreats. Eventually a young man arrived with whom she felt a spiritual connection. Although he proposed, she wouldn’t marry him until she could be sure that she trusted him. Unfortunately she became pregnant, then found out that he had betrayed her. Her pain was intense, and increased when she realized that she was miscarrying. Recognizing her despair, a friend asked what she could do. She came with music, and played “Evensong for Ash Wednesday”; the music and the caring lifted her to another dimension, a plane of peace and healing. Ariana said that this friend was one of the angels in her life. When we feel most deeply, that is when a divine message comes as an answer.
Nina Hanson was raised in Philadelphia and came to Syracuse to finish her college education. She stayed in Syracuse since then due to the friendly people and wonderful summers. She’s had several careers, but currently is a local massage therapist who helps folks in chronic pain. Nina said that her father called intuition “fake nonsense” but she knows that intuition is real as she and her brother and two nephews all have a heightened sense of intuition. Nina had spent most of her childhood challenging priests and bishops of the various churches that her family attended, never getting satisfactory answers to her questions. In college she took an intensive course on Buddhism, which did have satisfactory answers to her questions and she has followed this path ever since.
Nina has a few talents that many find unusual. She has always been aware of when folks were going to die. She knew enough not to tell her parents, but her school friends found this both cool and spooky. At 15 she had a near-death experience that adults chalked up to a wild imagination, but she was confident of her experience. She is able to “read” houses, cars and other objects for their qualities and their past and future. She is aware of the presence of “spiritual helpers” during the day. She hears guidance when she is doing her work. She can sometimes see either folks who have passed and/or guides/angels. She can smell odors that indicate the presence of these guides.
Nina related several stories to show how angels have worked in her life. As a college student she was cold to the bone as she waited to board a city bus. Most of the passengers were exiting, followed by the driver who told her “Don’t get on the bus; there is a man with a knife.” She felt compelled to get on anyway, she sat down and was soon threatened by a young man holding a knife to her neck. Three times she placidly told the man to put the knife away, gently pushing away his arm. She doesn’t know what made her so peaceful and determined, but she refused to be intimidated. Eventually the young man went to the back of the bus to confer with his buddies, who had been watching. They decided she was crazy and left the bus. This was her experience of being used as an angel to let these young men know that this is not what they were supposed to be doing.
Nina had a friend who absolutely loved the Archangel Michael and wished she could talk to him. One day when she and the friend were together, Nina suddenly saw a short stocky well-dressed young man, and asked his name. “Michael,” he replied. Nina asked, “Archangel Michael?” He replied, “Well, she called me and I’m here.” Her friend refused to believe Nina that Archangel Michael was there, so Nina had to tell him, “Sorry.” Michael said, “It happens, people call and then don’t recognize us. But why are you so calm with me?” Nina said, “Well I’m getting used to people like you appearing to me.” And Michael disappeared.
Reflecting on this encounter, Nina said that she should have been amazed, or awestruck, or overwhelmed, or burned to a crisp. But Michael had controlled his energy so that she could stand next to him, and he could get his message through.
At the funeral of a friend’s mother, Nina saw a light blue shimmery something near her friend and alerted her. The friend asked if Nina could smell the flowers, but Nina could not. Her friend recognized this as a sign of Presence and said “Mother Mary is here.” Nina was not familiar with the Mother Mary story, but she watched as this phenomenon helped her friend go from painfully distraught to totally peaceful.
Nina believes that everyone has personal angel guides, and credits hers with creating a bubble of calm within a severe snowstorm. Nina owned a Vega, which she described as an engine surrounded by aluminum foil, the vehicle of choice if one was poor. She was driving from Philadelphia through Binghamton in a blizzard, and was buffeted by passing tractor-trailers. Her dog was terrified, but she had faith that she would get through.
She became aware of the smell of cherry pipe and a voice that said to drive at the same speed. The snow storm seemed to clear in a bubble 200 feet in front of and behind her, and the bubble traveled with her all the way to her destination, while the storm continued unabated. She has smelled that cherry pipe other times as well, and occasionally people getting into her car will ask about the cherry pipe scent that they detect.
Some time after her brother’s death, Nina was traveling on a usually busy highway, but there was no traffic that day. A large bird stood in the road, watching her approach. She stopped, and the bird hopped onto her car’s hood and pecked at the windshield. She said, “ Sandy, is it you?” The bird danced in front of her, and then flew away. The next thing she noticed is that suddenly there were cars on the road.
As a young woman, Nina was a victim of domestic violence and living in a shelter. Her husband was sending friends to rape her, saying that she deserved it. A man showed up in her room and offered to be her bodyguard. She didn’t trust him, until she learned that he was a Jesuit priest, there to help her through her difficult times. He taught her what she was worth, because, as Nina said, she obviously didn’t know or she wouldn’t have been in that situation. Angels can be the people who support us, and those suffering from domestic violence particularly need that support.
Nina never knows when these abilities will happen or what form they will take. She sees this all as a gift from the universe that she respects. However, she is very comfortable with the whole process and is lucky enough to have women friends who also respect that these things happen, and that is very soothing.
Our next speaker was Patricia Schmidt. She earned her doctorate at Syracuse University ’s Reading and Language Arts Center. Her research on culturally responsive literacy learning is found in her books and journal articles. Presently, she is working on trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific grants based on her model known as the ABC’s of Cultural Understanding and Communication. During the last three years she has worked with Cathedral Academy at Pompei and The Guardian Angel Society. She says that angels have guided her life.
When she was young, Patty visited Sophie, a psychic, who told her that she is a very protected person. Patty agreed, saying that she has always felt hugged, surrounded, cared for, and her life has been a wonderful trip.
Patty said that she first met Father Champlin at a Lenten retreat in the 70s and said that his spirit was so strong that it took her aback. Years later Father Champlin was working to meld two Catholic schools with different ethic backgrounds into one new school. At the same time, he was determined to improve the high school graduation rates of these elementary school students, and motivate them to excel. Forty percent of the students at the combined school are the children of recent immigrants to the United States all from different faiths and cultural backgrounds. Father Champlin created the Guardian Angel Society to provide tuition assistance and tutoring support for the students in the Cathedral Academy at Pompei (CAP)(grades K to 6). In addition, financial and academic support is provided to the students as they move through middle and high school grades.
Patti was asked by her dean at LeMoyne to volunteer at CAP serving to develop lessons that meet New York State standards and meet the needs of the student body that is diverse in linguistic, economic, religious, and cultural backgrounds. She continues to provide teacher training so that staff is comfortable working with English as a Second Language children. The school’s scores on standardized tests last year were significantly higher than local, state and national averages, and Patti is convinced that the training that classroom teachers are receiving has made a difference.
In addition, LeMoyne students serve as one-on-one mentors, and other LeMoyne faculty and staff teach or mentor at CAP. Patti has developed grants for the school that has funded outreach to the parents, learning about the parents’ hopes and dreams for their children, and asking how the school can help to make the hopes and dreams a reality. Unexpectedly, Patti began hearing powerful stories about the parents’ lives as refugees, sometimes deciding in difficult circumstances whether they wanted to live or die. Though most of the refugees are not Catholic, they say that in their countries of origin, the best schools are Catholic, so they trust the education that their children get at CAP. The parents feel their children are being taught universal values common to all religions, including their own.
Of the 150 students at CAP, 128 receive financial assistance for tuition. The parents are active in the school, and regularly share their cultural customs in the classrooms, and connect this learning to the NYS standards. Patti feels that CAP can become a model for urban education across the country.
Discussion
Tanya Atwood-Adams shared a story from her past. Unpacking in a new home, she realized that she had no food and would have to go to a grocery store before feeding her family. After gathering a cartful of basics, she realized at the checkout that she hadn’t brought her wallet. The clerk said it was ok, take the groceries and come back to pay in the next couple of days. Grateful, Tanya took the groceries and with the help of a grocery employee was loading everything into her car. The employee, a slight African-American teen, muttered, “They wouldn’t let MY mama do this.” Tanya was shocked, and decided to return all of the groceries to the store until she could return an hour later. Two years later she had parked at the far end of a parking lot and realized that a group of large boys were following her. She was terrified. As the group closed around her, the same slight young man stepped between her and the menacing boys. He faced them and said, “Leave her alone, she’s my friend.” The group melted away, and afterwards she couldn’t find her ‘angel’ and she has never seen him since.
Betty Lamb told the story of three angels who came to her rescue. She was the caregiver for her mother who lived independently in an apartment. Her mother became ill and was taken to the hospital. Betty had been called to come to the hospital on a day off from work. First she had to get gas, but after her fill-up her car wouldn’t start. After calling the dealership for help, she remembered her prayer group and called on the Lord to send an angel. Immediately three middle-aged men approached and asked if she had a problem. Two men promptly started checking under the hood, while another sat in the driver’s seat, and they soon had the car started. Thanking them, Betty got into the car, then turned to thank them again, but the men, her angels, were gone.
Betsy Wiggins related a story that happened in church two weeks earlier. Although they usually sat near the front, she and her husband sat at the back of the church because they would be distributing communion. During the usual greetings at the beginning of the service, Jim shook hands with someone that they did not recognize. The woman had attended the church years before, but was attending only for that Sunday while she was visiting in town. She now lived in Athens, Greece. When Betsy and Jim revealed that they had a trip to Greece planned for next month, the woman invited them to dinner in Athens! Betsy is sure that such wonderful experiences are evidence of angels.
Sabra Reichardt commented that serendipity is God’s way of staying anonymous. Her own encounter with angels occurred in a forest in Innsbruck. She and her husband were walking to a nearby town, but it was late, and becoming dark. Two men appeared, spoke in English, and gave the couple directions to their destination. Reassured, they continued on their way, but when they turned to wave good-bye, the men were gone. She is still grateful for their sweet, angelic help. Later Sabra added this quote from Bahá’í Scriptures: “I beg of God that ye will be bringers of joy even as are the angels in heaven.”
Tori De Angelis recently realized that she was noticing the numbers 11:11 rather frequently on digital clocks. She said it was an uncanny number of times. Tori looked the numbers up on the web and learned that it is a spiritual number, indicating a benevolent portal to another reality. Now when she notices this, she thinks, “Hi, angels,” and it makes her feel really good. She feels that angels help with little things, like finding keys and convenient parking spaces. Tori likes the feeling that angels are around and here to help us.
Danya Wellmon told us of the song that her daughter Sarah always sang to her own daughter, Michaela, as she danced with her in her arms. Michaela was seven months old when Sarah died in a tragic accident. Last year Danya was shopping, looking at a toy bear in ballerina costume, which played that same song. A lady standing next to Danya said, “You need to buy that bear for your granddaughter.” Danya was amazed that this stranger knew she had a granddaughter, and asked how she knew. The woman replied, “I was just supposed to tell you that.” Almost immediately the woman was lost in the crowd, but Danya could smell her daughter’s perfume, and knew that the message had come from her daughter.
Another woman told us that we’ll think she is nuts, but there really is a pipe-smoking angel. Many times people who encounter an angel in closed spaces like a car tell of smelling a cherry pipe. (Open spaces dissipate the smell). Just today a man had told Georgia of an experience in an ice storm, when he saw a massive accident downhill ahead of him. He was convinced that he wouldn’t be able to stop, and was going to die. The man smelled a pipe and heard a voice say, “Let go of the wheel, lie down on the seat, don’t look.” He did as he was told, and waited for the crash. But too much time passed without a crash, and when the man looked, he was past the accident, safe on the road.
Gay Montague stopped at a playground in an unfamiliar neighborhood with her grandson several years ago. A girl of about five was being hit by an older girl who seemed to be her caretaker. Being concerned but not comfortable with intervening, Gay prayed to St. Michael for guidance. The girl ran to Gay, and plopping down in the sand at her feet, the child made a sand angel. Gay was relieved that some being was with this child and was protecting her.
To avoid being late to church, Jody Brown was sorely tempted to run a red light. However a police car appeared and she considered it an angel telling her not to do it. Another time Jody was driving on black ice with her granddaughter in the car, and she prayed, “Goddess, keep us on the road.” Although a serious accident ensued, the car did stay on the road. When Jody later saw the extreme damage to her car, she told her grandchild, “Angels were watching over us.”
Stephany Richardson’s brother was dying. She had felt the aura of his approaching death, and was unsure that she could get to the hospital in time. A voice told her to be at peace, but come immediately. When she reached him, Stephany said a prayer and released him into the light. She felt the presence of peace and felt elevated, content that there were angels waiting to take him.
As we were ready to close, Betsy Wiggins reminded us that today is Earth Day. In celebration, she asked us each to take a cup planted with marigold seeds. Tanya told us these would be the guardian angels of our gardens.
Ariana closed with music from the CD All is Forgiven by Ashana; then we shared an interactive activity. We each paired with a woman near us to use words and gestures of sharing:
From you I receive (partners facing each other with palms up)
To you I give (hands raised in giving)
Together we share (clasping each other’s hands
In this we live. (looking into the other’s eyes)
Then we recited this Khatum together:
O Thou, Who art the Perfection
Of Love, Harmony, and Beauty,
The Lord of heaven and earth,
Open our hearts, that we may hear Thy Voice,
Which constantly cometh from within.
Disclose to us Thy Divine Light,
Which is hidden in our souls,
That we may know and understand life better.
Most Merciful and Compassionate God,
Give us Thy great Goodness,
Teach us Thy loving Forgiveness,
Raise us above the distinctions and differences which divide us,
Send us the Peace of Thy Divine Spirit,
And unite us all in Thy Perfect Being.
Amen.