Living in coronavirusworld 65: Staring into the abyss

5/26

The Garden is ready...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

I like that the woman who runs the local laundromat calls me “joven”…Spanish for young one…even though I’m sure I’m older than her. I guess if you're the dona, and jefe, of la lavandaria local you can call anybody what you want. They've  been an essential business from the start.

In the park I saw a woman taking serious boxing lessons, a police car and a one armed man.

I finally stop to realize  that’s Washington and Lafayette hanging out near Morningside Park.

Washington and Lafayette hanging out in Harlem

A work by M.Bartholdi, famous for the Statue of Liberty,was commissioned by newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer.  The original is in Paris and in 1900, C.B.Rouss commissioned a copy for New York City. Now the two are all but forgotten and no one knows this little plot of land is Lafayette Square. We learn things like this in this coronavirusworld.  I feel they should be wearing masks.

Luigi’s Garden looks ready for visitors. 

What stories this guy could tell....

The Presbytery of New York City Cabinet meets to hear a lengthy report from its Emergency Response Team. They are responding to then Governor’s ok for meetings with 10 people or less and the President’s  demand that churches reopen. While public health and safety are the major concern, another driving force is insurance and liability. Presbytery is greatly concerned that if the churches are open and someone contracts the virus and perhaps even dies, Presbytery will be included in the lawsuit.  After reading the checklist, it becomes readily apparent that few if any churches could actually meet the stringent requirements any time soon. The committee reports on how many institutions have already determined there can be no public meetings until at least January.       

As that reality sinks in, we begin to look at other realities. Over half of our 100 churches do not have installed pastors.  Of the other 50, 32 can not even afford supply preachers. To make matters worse, we are not just talking worship services. We are talking opening the church for any reason, including rentals. Without income from renters, many churches that have been teetering on the brink will go over and under. All the talk about finding new ways to be church, and seeking mergers and regional churches, fine ideas in the long  term, do not help us deal  with the reality that many of our churches will not survive the virus. Cabinet members begin to share the conversation that are being  directed towards them. Anxious phone calls from anxious church reps, Pastors and elders.  The common theme is, if we can’t open up now, we are finished. We feel like we are on the edge of the cliff, staring                                                             into the abyss, wind in our faces.  The near future is painful to contemplate.