I saw the movie “Fugitive Pieces” last week (trailer below), and have been sitting with it for quite some time now. So poetic and so heartfelt, it is one that truly does offer some amazing insight as to how we can heal from the things that wound us most. Jakob Beer saw his parents killed right in front of him during Nazi Germany. For his entire life, he suffers from these wounds… seeking to heal them through others and only finding that the healing must come from himself as he is loved by others.
Some of my favorite quotes:
The best thing about wood is not that it burns, but that it floats.
Ben: I don’t understand how you could have gone through what you did and still be so generous… still write the things you do. I used to think that if I understood you, I could understand my father better. But it’s like you’re from different worlds.
Jakob: Well… I don’t think so. Your father told me not long ago that he would still dream about his mother and father… smallest things… the detail of his mothers’s coat… a button… his father’s shoes out in the rain… and that when he woke up in the morning, old as he was, he was still crying.
Child I long for, child I dream. If we conceive you, think of us sometimes, your mother and me, when it rains. And one day when you’ve almost forgotten, I pray you’ll let us return. That through an open window, even in the middle of a city, the sea air of our marriage will find you. I pray that one day in a room that only by night’s snow, you will suddenly know how miraculous is your parent’s love for each other. My son… my daughter… if we conceive you know that once I was lost in the forest. I was so afraid, my blood pounded in my chest and I knew my heart’s strength would soon be exhausted. I saved myself without thinking. I grasped the two syllables closest to me and replaced my heartbeat with your name… Bella… now I see that i must give what i most need.
About Nate
Currently, Nate is living in Bend, OR, working as the co-founder for VillageWorks (celebrating abundance | creative connectivity) and the singular Bend|OR advocate of BridgeWorks (an educational 501[c]3). He is connecting and holding space for an emerging community of people, young and old, who are seeking to grow into more sustainable and mature relationships… with self, community and God. The vision on his heart is one of giving people experience of village culture and practice.
Nate can be found connecting people through at The Hub, VillageWorks’ Central Oregon community connection center (www.rockthevillage.com) and making oven pancakes for the biggest regular “village” breakfast in Bend every Saturday morning at 9:30.
Nate went to Bethel College in St Paul, MN (’03), got his BA in Youth Ministry, completed his Masters in Divinity at Bethel Seminary (’06) with an emphasis in Spiritual Formation, and is currently pursuing a certificate in Spiritual Formation at George Fox Seminary in Portland. His hope is to continue to pursue community spiritual formation within the framework of the neighborhood conversation and cross-cultural dialog.
Nate has been connecting people into more authentic community in Bend | OR since June ’07. Since day one of his arrival, Nate has been gifted with the chance to listen and learn about the culture and people of Central Oregon. Because of his passion for conversation and community, he has fallen in love with the people of this wonderful city and is committed to the growth of more intentional and transformational community.
Nate’s particular areas of interest are:
* conversational transformation
* spiritual formation
* relational mentoring and counseling
* small group strengthening
* men’s work (spiritual, emotional, and relational)
* “Village Knowledge” of homecraft, live food, etc
* Intergenerational community
* New visions of the gifts we offer to the community
* teaching for the 21st century, and more.
At this time Nate has not written any books, but hopes to some day have enough material to put into some type of publication. At this point, he is dedicated to building relationships in Bend, Central Oregon, and across the United States to connect people to what is happening in an emerging and evolving paradigm and with those who are seeking to follow God and live more authentically in the transforming presence of the divine.
