Mary Sue's 45th

2019

I have been friends with MarySue Owens since 1985 when I met her at summer camp run through the Sword of the Spirit Communities. The communities formed as people were looking for deeper fellowship, during the charismatic Christain renewal that started in the late 1960's. My family as well as the Kehrman's were members of the Lamb of God Community based in Baltimore and Mary Sue's family was a part of the House of God's Light in Ardmore, PA. The communities offered fellowship, prayer and the opportunity to praise God, but they also dealt with issues of drama and control and crossed over into many cult-like tendencies. The Communities themselves dissolved or got reorganized in the 90's, but there are facets of them remaining.

As kids growing up in the Communities we got different doses of the good and the bad. We all took away different aspects: cynicism and a rejection of authority figures, a deep understanding of God's personal love for us, and daily prayer habits. A mix of good and bad. But for the kids in the communities some of us also came out of the experience with life long friendships. I am very lucky as I feel like I got all of the best parts of being a community kid, with very little of the negative.  My parents chose to keep our Catholic identity the center of our faith experience, they also chose to be involved but just outside. while most of the Community families lived in the same neighborhood and attend a Community school, we didn't. I had great female role models, learned a joy in God I hadn't experienced before, and a had positive social group, without feeling controlled or deceived. For me it was a great influence and I was blessed with an enduring friendship.

1993 - she came to visit me in Colordao

I met Mary Sue at Camp Maria in 6th grade, and looked forward to each summer when I would see her again. Then the high school youth groups did annual winter retreats and we would see each other again. Mary Sue and I would write letters and call of the phone to stay connected. We also helped at summer camp when we were too old to attend and reconnected at Steubenville Retreats. In high school we got licenses and all of a sudden it was possible to just visit. Mary Sue has always taken me as I am, and in high school I was all over the place. She rolled with my melancholy and existentialism, as well as my intense enthusiasm. She saw me make bad decisions as well as hard positive ones, and she made me feel supported. She always made me feel good enough when I was with her and confident when we hadn't seen each other in forever that we would step right back in to that comfortable space. Plus Mary Sue is fun to be around and willing to experience life around her. She finds a yes and embraces whatever comes with it, making good out of it.


We celebrated her 45th birthday with a weekend away at a beach house. She invited a bunch of friends, some I don't know well but because they have been important to MS they are familiar. It was great to hang out with all of them. Originally I was going to stay for just one night, since Jim was working, but I made some car pool arrangements for the girls and stayed both Friday and Saturday. I am so glad that I did. It was a blast. One friend, Maggie brought wigs and was wearing a pink one (just because) We headed out to dinner and the wig came too. By the end of the evening we were all wearing wigs, singing and dancing in the kitchen.  Saturday included a walk on the beach, snacks, games, birthday cake and lots of stories. It was so much fun to celebrate this woman who I have seen take on life with faith, love and dedication.

Cheers to Mary Sue, a friend who finds YES.