One soul's 'movin' on'

Jesus taught us how to live, not what to think. Of course, as people began to gather in his name, the “what to think” group seemed to have the greater say.

That’s perhaps understandable and is an essential part of our Catholic heritage. However, it becomes a problem when the “thinkers” become so rigid they edge out the “living” message – how we act in our daily lives. When this happens the Catholic tent shrinks, for two reasons. Some people are told to leave; others, no longer feeling comfortable, decide they no longer want to stay.

I was pondering these dynamics after I received an email over the weekend from John Chuchman, a name familiar with anyone who’s spent more than a few minutes in the Catholic blogosphere. Chuchman’s the author of a number of books and blogs, including “Is God Laughing or Crying??? Speaking My Truth?? and John Chuchman Events??.

Loss, grief, and care giving counselor, this is one empathetic soul. Poet, illustrator, writer and speaker, he has more than one creative center. A graduate of John Carroll University, his first career was as a Ford Motor Company executive. After nearly a quarter century in the auto business, he switched gears and started a ministry to the bereaved by volunteering with Hospice.

He started by working with men who had lost their wives. Chuchman went on to help Hospices train new volunteers, conduct staff and volunteer in-service programs, and organize retreats. He has also helped churches and dioceses organize bereavement programs while conducting workshops and parish missions. He once said he works to “help grievers, caregivers or anyone on a spiritual quest.”

Affable and open-minded, an explorer of the Spirit, it must be said he has not always precisely towed the line of strict contemporary church orthodoxy. In July, 2010, for example, he took a leap and was ordained a priest by the Catholic Diocese of One Spirit. Today he is pretty much persona non grata on Catholic properties. This is sad because Chuchman has a lot to offer.

I asked him recently to sum up his life’s journey. His response:

Twenty-two years of formal education in Catholic Institutions.
Thirty-two years with Ford.
Twenty-two years of Bereavement Ministry.
Fifty-four years of marriage with four children, one deceased.
Twenty years of awakening and anger and disgust at what the hierarchs have done to my Church.
Too many years of Paying, Praying, Obeying.
Seventy-five years of Spiritual Growth.

Spiritual expansion, we know well, can spill over the limits of acceptable church orthodoxy, especially “orthodoxy” in matters not tied to the creed, such as, say, priestly celibacy or preferences for birth control.

Two months ago Chuchman lamented online that nearly everyone in his close family had left the church. “The American Catholic exodus is gathering momentum,” he wrote. “Dioceses are closing parishes across the country.”

When he brought this to the attention of an archbishop friend, the prelate told him it is “a necessary purification.” Oh, Sure.

Chuchman now says he, too, is, “Movin’ On.” What’s sad here is a person with so much to give to others finds our church too unbearably small-minded to stay within.

I don’t suspect we’ll stop hearing from the “poetman.” But he has removed the “Roman” before the “Catholic” in his identity. Maybe this represents growth for our friend, but I feel sadness nevertheless.

Here’s how he shared the sad news, as he often does, in the form of poem.

For those not familiar with Chuchman's writing you can find some of his books on Amazon