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    Letters From the Spirit
    Letters From the Spirit
    Letters From the Spirit
    Ebook86 pages56 minutes

    Letters From the Spirit

    By Donald P James, Jr

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    During the spring and summer of 1977, the Office of the Ministry of the Handicapped, renovated the interior of the old building at 323 Main Street in Norwich, CT. The funding to purchase the building was complete and summer was spent amid the chatter of volunteers who had listened to and embraced a dream. During that time, Donald P James Sr. (my father) sat and wrote the first of many letters to Brother Patrick Martin, the ministry’s director. Initially the letters were authored by ‘The Spirit of God’s Gift House’, the name given to the building, and later by ‘The Spirit of the Handicapped’.This collection of his works was published as a handout for the Christmas season of 1981. Any letters written after this point have been lost to time, but these survive.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDonald P James, Jr
    Release dateSep 8, 2019
    ISBN9780463361566
    Letters From the Spirit
    Author

    Donald P James, Jr

    About the Author;Donald was born in 1957 in Albany New YorkIn 1959 his family relocated to ConnecticutMost of his youth was spent in Norwich CT where he attended St Bernard's High School in Uncasville CT. After a couple years of Community College he accepted a position with the Diocese of Norwich, working as an Outreach Director for Home-bound Handicapped.In 1983 he married Susan Malinowsky and since 1985 they have resided in North Franklin CT. He has two beautiful daughters, Ashlee and Kellie and a grandson C.J.Donald has made a living as a Property/Inventory Analyst and Warehouse Specialist.He has played guitar with the St Francis of Assisi Folk Group for 25 years.In 1989 he formed Scarlet Robe Creations and published his first collection of Christian Poetry "The Way to Golgotha"

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      Book preview

      Letters From the Spirit - Donald P James, Jr

      Letters

      From the

      Spirit

      Donald P James Sr

      Letters

      From the

      Spirit

      Published by

      Scarlet Robe Creations

      Copyright 1977, 1981, 2019

      by Donald P. James Sr.

      Edited by Donald P James Jr.

      Cover Photo by Susan M James

      All Rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced in any form

      or by any means without the written permission

      of the Author or Publisher.

      To all those who ever attended a First Saturday Club Mass,

      a Persons are Gifts Retreat,

      or stepped foot into God’s Gift House

      or Ave Maria House

      Original Artwork

      of the booklet printed in 1977

      for the grand opening of

      God’s Gift House

      During the spring and summer of 1977, the Office of the Ministry of the Handicapped, renovated the interior of the old building at 323 Main Street in Norwich, CT. The funding to purchase the building was complete and summer was spent amid the chatter of volunteers who had listened to and embraced a dream.

      During that time, Donald P James Sr. (my father) sat and wrote the first of many letters to Brother Patrick Martin, the ministry’s director. Initially the letters were authored by ‘The Spirit of God’s Gift House’, the name given to the building, and later by ‘The Spirit of the Handicapped’.

      I remember the night when my father read the typed words on nine or ten sheets of paper to Patrick. I don’t believe my father ever imagined that he would continue to write these letters for the next four or five years. I don’t think he ever imagined this letter would be read by all involved in the ministry.

      He gave the old building life, and in doing so gave the ministry a voice. He shared himself through the letters as a personification of the building and later the ministry itself.

      In the years that followed ‘The Spirit’ wrote to the ministry through the monthly newsletter. He expressed joys, doubts and concerns. He expressed victories and defeats, laughter and tears. The ministry grew and the ministry downsized, all the while ‘The Spirit’ documented its course.

      This collection of his works was published as a handout for the Christmas season of 1981. Any letters written after this point have been lost to time, but these survive.

      September 24, 1977

      Dear Brother,

      I do not feel I know you well enough to call you Pat, although you know me very well. I might say that you know me intimately, inside and out. You have studied me very closely for a period of time, so perhaps, being that you know me so well, I could presume to address you as Patrick.

      I can surmise Patrick, that you are wondering who I am, well, I will not keep you in suspense one moment longer. I am the spirit of the building at 323 Main Street, Norwich, Connecticut. You seem surprised, Patrick. Didn’t you know that buildings have spirits? You have, I imagine, you’ve heard it said that a building has character, that it is cold or has warmth, so why not a spirit? I can also tell you that it is very possible to look at a building and be able to tell all about its spirit. There are happy spirits, depressed spirits and very dejected spirits. The use or production, the warmth or coldness, the repair or disrepair of a building have much to do with the well-being of its spirit. I can confess to you now, that when I first saw you and you first saw me, I was a very depressed spirit of a building in a casual state of disrepair and emptiness.

      I can remember very distinctly the first time we met. You came with a group of people, your associates, on a sort of inspection tour. It tweaked my interest a little, but it had happened before---and nothing had happened. My floors remained silent, dusty and empty. My windows, my eyes to your world were still dirty and rain streaked. People came to look, they came to examine, poke and prod, but nothing ever happened.

      But there was something in your manner, Patrick, a strength in your voice, a real conviction as you spoke to the others. And as I was drawn to you, I began to get interested, enough to notice that you were blind. Do you know what my reaction was to that, Patrick? I thought to myself, good, he won’t be able to see all my defects. And as

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