I mentioned that there was a “six degrees” story about myself and Fr. Winance (look under Convent Blog).
Many, many decades ago, a young man attended Pomona College where he met Fr. Winance. Fr. Winance was teaching a class at the Claremont Graduate School which is just up the street from Pomona College. (The Graduate School is now called Claremont Graduate University). This student’s name was Robert Hale.
Robert Hale was an Episcopalian at the time, I believe. He was drawn to the religious life, particularly Benedictine spirituality. But at that time, the Episcopal/Anglican communion did not have Benedictine monks. So Robert Hale became a Roman Catholic. Eventually he became abbot of a Benedictine monastery in Big Sur, New Camaldoli Hermitage. He’s written some books and give talks on Benedictine spirituality.
Fast forward another few decades from Robert Hale’s transition. At one point one of my spiritual director’s own spiritual director was Robert Hale. (At the time I was contemplating — pun intended! — entering a religious order. Being the “bookish”, thoughtful type, she thought the Benedictine model might fit me best.) By this point the Episcopal church did have Benedictine orders. I eventually visited the Benedictine monastery, Incarnation Monastery, in Berkeley, which was a joint Anglican-Catholic house.
I may have met Br. Robert there. I certainly met him when I went on retreat at the monastery in Big Sur.
Fast forward another decade. I’ve graduated from SF State. I’m at the Claremont Graduate School working on my PhD. (Where tuition is now $35K a year; Stanford is $24K a year.) I’m minding my own business. I’m standing inside the Philosophy Department. Who do I see getting out of a car parked across the street? Br. Robert!
I could not believe me eyes! I run outside calling his name. He kind of remembers me. We’d only met once or twice and at that, many, many years prior. I tell him of our two degrees of separation (my spiritual director and his directee).
It was then that I discovered that he’d gone to Pomona College! He was back for alumni day! And it was then that I also heard about how taking a class and talking with Fr. Winance, with whom I was currently taking a class, was pivotal in his becoming a Benedictine monk.
“Six degrees” of separation. Kind of freaky, but in a nice way.