Living in cornavirusworld 27: Not yet

4/18

ubiquitous

My friend Susan is the Director of Operations for the Fellowship Of Reconciliation (https://www.forusa.org/) based at the Stony Point Conference Center.    (https://stonypointcenter.org/).   She is also a member fo the Stony Point based Community of Living Traditions, three separate but linked together intentional communities from the three Abrahamic traditions, Christian, Muslim and Jewish, living their own unique and distinct community  lives while also internally linked one with one another.(https://stonypointcenter.org/multifaith-community/multifaith-residency) We serve together on the leadership team of the International Sanctuary Declaration leadership team, working for internationally recognized protocols for just migration. We spent a wonderful day traveling to a quiet fishing  village while waiting  to travel to Berlin after checking out the situation with refugees in Sicily.  We are meeting discuss Monday’s ISD meeting.  This coronavirusworld has been hard on Stony Point. When you’re a conference center, your income depends on conferences and with this reality , that means you are closed for the duration.  And as the CLT served staff functions at the Center and were paid from that income, they are clearly in an extremely vulnerable position. There is a question as to how long the national Presbyterian Church (ultimately the owners of Stony Point) can carry the CLT people financially. It’s hard.

Normally, I would have shaved on Easter ending  my Lenten beard.  But this year I can’t do it. As long as I feel stuck in Saturday the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I can’t do it, Not yet.

My friend Stephen calls from Florida to ask about me serving on a panel for his continuing ed program for medical professionals. I would be  reflecting on the spiritual aspects of our struggle with the virus. I agree, as it should be  a good conversation.,

Harlem’s "Lee Lee" Rugelach stop is still open.

"..by a brother..".

One unique touch of normalcy:

Tony Shalhoub and his wife Brooke Adam do a live online performance of Steve Sachs’ Bakersfield Mist, a two hander perfect for residential theatre companies. Basic story: a woman who lives in a trailer camp, thinks she’s got an authentic Jackson Pollack. A former Metropolitan Museum director comes to check it out. We get probably the best expression of what Pollock is all about and an entertaining classic conflict between two very different personalities around the question of what is authentic, in art and life. 

                                                             Safety Dance

                                                                    Lean on Me

The night ends with One Word Together at Home, one of those star studded events to celebrate the  workers who are keeping us going…Lady Gaga curated, Jimmy,Jimmy and Stephen hosted. There was Paul Mc Carttney and Elton John and Billie Eilish and a host of others. Jimmy Fallon and the Roots did “Safety Dance” and doctors and nurses joined in. the dance from  hospitals all across the country. Stevie Wonder did Lean on Me.   Seeing the medical workers choked me up as did the finale  wit  Lady Gag, Celine Dion, Lang Lang, John. Legend  and Andrea Bocelli with the Prayer. I felt it one more time. Over $50 million was raised. 

                                                        Prayer

We're all doing what we can.....