Living in coronavirusworld 98: Come you who are weary

6/29

Come you who are weary

General Assembly is not over.  I begin to write my reports to those I feel responsible to, namely New York City Presbytery and the Presbyterian Heath Education and Welfare Association. I find myself struggling to hear the depth of pain experienced by my Black siblings.  Especially black women.  As the day goes on, I begin  to understand  the depth of their anger and concern. Was too caught  up in wanting to celebrate  my own work being approved that I could not hear their work being excluded. And their hurt. One of those over and over again hurts.Words I’d  rather not  hear. But words that needed to be heard. 

Our Bible Study tonight looks at Matthew  11:16-19, 25-36.  It’s part of  a longer section looking  at Jesus as Messiah, servant and son of man. The one who continues his mission to Israel even as opposition mounts. In 16-19, he denounces his generation as corrupt. Calling out the elitism of the Pharisees.”We piped and you would not dance, wailed and you would not  mourn.” Wedding imagery. Funeral imagery. Jesus’,ministry vs. John the Baptist. People want neither one.   As son of man, he’s referring  to the final judge, as in Daniel 7:13-14, the one who must suffer and/or using an Aramaic expression for simply referring to ones’ self as human. The reference to eating and drinking’s comes back to John  again.  John the ascetic, Jesus the one who embraces abundant life, turning water into  wine. People don’t want to accept either one.

There’s a section about Jesus as Wisdom, this is Sophia, a feminine entity . By tradition, almost powerful enough to be part of the Trinity . Or maybe a quad god squad. Sophia the most hidden female side of the tradition. Scary enough to have women  who tried to reawaken interest  in sophia  accused of being idolators and heretics in the’90’s.  West Park had a Sophia group that  went on for years…even after the women members left the church…..

The final part is what everyone’s been waiting  for…

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

What we need …we are weary. Need a place to lay down all kinds of burdens. And simply rest.

                                                   from the Messiah

Russ plays for us that section of the Messiah.  

And I play my own Rest awhile. 

 I go it to get sandwich. My trombone man is just panhandling. Behind my mask I look at him and mime a trombone.  Man I got jumped on 120th. Some guys stole my horn.”

 I know a policeman helped him  get his last one, it’s been a “story. ” (https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2017/12/21/nypd-sergeant-gives-new-trombone-to-homeless-man#:~:text=One%20month%20after%20his%20trombone,was%20sleeping%20on%20the%20train.).  It’s got to be hard. Tim’s been out there awhile. With the trombone, he’s someone special. Without it, just another homeless panhandler who no one sees. And that’s what happens when you are homeless, you become invisible. We need to get Tim a new trombone. 

The seven o’clock cheer sees to be no more.

Matthew 11

16 “To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

17 

“‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.’

18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.”

The Father Revealed in the Son

25 At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. 26 Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.

27 “All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Living in coronavirusworld 97: Pride Sunday

6/28

Pride

.Pride Sunday

Pride Sunday.  Different than any other I’ve  experienced.    

I go to the West Park Sunday shrive and a very happy to see a banner proclaiming Pride Sunday.  The Gospel lesson is  Matthew 10: 40-42, ends with these words

42 and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.” …Dan, the preacher, tells a beautiful story of meeting a young man  in a park in  Pittsburgh who had been rejected by his family after he came out  and then  reconnecting him with a friend whose family took him in. During the prayers, I recount how the wife of the former pastor of West Park had started a  water table during the Pride march to  give a “cup of cold water” in Jesus’ name to hot and tired marchers. It’s good to see my old church worshipping again. 

I meet my family  for our weekly ZOOM get together, some in the Catskills, some in Berlin and me in Harlem. It’s interesting to hear my oldest son, probably the furthest left in the family, speak against “cancel culture.”  I had mentioned that as a young Boy Scout, our troop had done a minstrel show. My son laughed and said, “I hope no one took pictures”,  which led to a conversation about the necessity of grace in people’s lives leading to change and redirecting ones’ life, the total life being what counts. US Grant may have owned one slave, but could not bring himself to order him to work and granted him his freedom at a cost  of $1000 at a time he was without funds. As a General he defeated the South, defied President Johnson in pursuing reconstruction, led military operations against the Ku Klux Klan. What exactly is the message in tearing down his statue? I remember my friend Osagyefo Sekou’s criticism of the so-called Black Bloc white anarchists who with no sense of historic anarchism would  wreak havoc which  always  resulted in Black heads getting cracked. Still the same.  Tear down all the statues. Fire people for dumb mistakes. It's all virtue signaling.  The system remains intact. 

One last General Assembly related event. My friends in the HIV network hold a webinar featuring people working with HIV in Baltimore, where we were supposed to have met. Workers from the Hope Springs project. In Baltimore, the face of HIV is Black. One out of 41 over age 13 will contract HIV. One out of 20 in predominately Black zip codes. One half of Black trans will have HIV and one half of Black men who have sex with men. (MSMs, they say, not gay.) Baltimore is number  5 in the US in total HIV cases. People who have been abandoned by the church. Already marginalized people further marginalized. These are my friends, on the front line. I bring a word on behalf of the Presbyterian Health Educational Welfare Association. Thankful for their work.

Rock stars and prophets

I’m wearing, not seen, my tshirt from the Rock Stars and Prophets event where That All May Freely Serve called together all those who  for decades had fought the fight for full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in the Presbyterian Church, as a reminder to me of that struggle that began in 1978 and finally ended in May 2011. I do this in honor of Pride. 

My friends in Composers Concordance hold another Social Distance Concert. Their  new classic music reflecting the months of quarantine and lockdown. Again I envy them and wish I were there.

double rainbow

I meet a fiend for dinner, wanting to celebrate the new opening. The line at the Tavern is 25 minutes long. The Jamaican seafood restaurant only has uncovered seating. It’s starting to rain. We settle for middle eastern under an awning, beef kebabs and laban yogurt. Before the sun goes down, there’s a double rainbow. 

Living in coronavirusworld 96: Final day GA

6/27

The Final day of the  Presbyterian Church (USA) 224th General Assembly. The first item of business of the day was the (re) election of the Rev. Dr. J. Herbert  Nelson for his second term as Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), our denomination’s highest elected position. Following calls as a congregational pastor and as director of the denomination’s Washington., D.C. office,  he has brought a consistently passionate and resolute commitment to social justice to his call,  bringing a preacher’s approach to what could be a primarily bureaucratic job.

Our Central America work group had one more hoop to get through to be extended until 2022. Unfortunately, the empowering action called for no expenditure of funds and no in person meetings.  I made an amendment to essentially allow for self-funded meetings, but our chair was never able to reagin the floor and we went down in the Assembly’s (til then) closest vote. The work will continue.

The status of  San Francisco Theological Seminary, now part of the University of Redlands remained a sticking point throughout the Assembly, popping up every time a theological institution related issue arose. 

Then we launched into the long slog through budgets.

The last moment of drama had to do with an effort to make specific mention of  Black women and girls, their report put off until 2022.  Rev. Denise Anderson, chair of that committee,  had passionately protested the omission on the floor during debate of our Black lives matter statement.  I learned a new word, noirsogeny(?) the hatred of black women. Our Young Adult Advisory Delegates were particularly aware of this and worked diligently to develop a strategy to get her words on the record. But the moment to introduce new business passed and a late effort “reconsider” the action failed …barely…to reach the 2/3 majority necessary to  reopen the agenda. People were too tired to do any more work. Sigh.  A sense of hurt and sadness remained.  Later during an 8:46 time of silence in memory of George Floyd, a delegate was seen in his ZOOM box holding a sign that said “pre-born lives matter.”  Sigh. 

And so the Assembly came to an end.  In the  need, it’s important to remember that this was slated to be an “essential business only” assembly. It took the pressure of groups like my PHEWA and others, and responsible journalism of the Presbyterian Outlook,  to push that door open and commissioners working long hours cooperatively and creatively to make this, in the end, a real Assembly.  And credit does go to the GA staff tag somehow made a ZOOM meeting with over 500 delegates work somehow.  There were stretches of time that I had to remind myself there was to a real convention hall somewhere.  When I spoke, I felt like I was in a great hall. So all things considered, they did reasonably well.  And commissioners went home having been true to their historic call. 

I was glad to have been part of an historic event. 

And to have actually worked with a minimum of three screens at any moment. Lap top, iPad and phone. Seriously. And I should have had one on Twitter. 

...I tried....

The Voices of Justice were throwing  a virtual dance throughout the event to rep the traditional “Witherspoon Dance.” I never could figure out how it worked. But I left a “calling card” image. 

Exhausted, I went for a walk to unwind.  Came home to join the Peace Fellowship’s closing vigil. There was palpable sadness about where we had fallen short. It is important to remember where we were at the beginning of the Assembly and where we were at the end. Recognizing how far we came but what we missed and how far we have go. 

Exhausted. A hungry. Time to order a wet burrito from Encanto de Lola. 

living in cornavirusworld95 : a church stand for black lives matter

6/25

breaking bread together

The struggle continues

The seventh march for black lives matter moves through my neighborhood. “A people united will never be defeated.” I hear the chants as I enter the Presbyterian (virtual) Assembly. The meeting begins with a “virtual” communion service. I have my own plate, wafer and wine to celebrate at my own table. Strange. But I somehow still feel connected.

This will be our moment to press our motion recognizing black lives matter. Getting the action in front of the body is not easy. It was not clear to the podium that a substitute motion had been made. Small amendments on what we had perceived to be a toothless motion continued. I spent at least 15 minutes with a parliamentarian simply trying to gain entry for our substitute. Moment before the vote would be  taken closing the door, one of our team got recognized and submitted our substitute. Which was approved by the Assembly to  replace the main motion.  And after debate, our motion passed by an overwhelming margin. 

It was a great example of how our church is supposed to work.  A group of elected people from all across the country, working together to make a powerful statement. Even in the context of 500 people in ZOOM meeting.

Later that night, I was able to add “persons living with HIV” to a list of those who were experiencing special trauma from the Covid19 virus. 

After the meeting….feeling exhausted …I stop by the West Park (virtual) open mic. Good to step out of my tunnel. See some friends. Play some songs. 

A hard day’s work. Well done.

    

On the Church in This Moment in History – [Responding to the Sin of Racism and a Call to Action

“Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
      you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
      the restorer of streets to live in.”
-Isaiah 58:12 (NRSV)

This 224th General Assembly of the PC(USA) declares that Black and Brown lives matter; that our country’s most important institutions have been built to sustain white privilege, to protect white lives and white property at the expense of our siblings of color; and that the church, through ignorance, denial, and in some cases deliberate action, has participated in this injustice.  We have been slow to face the reality of systemic racism.  We have been slow to acknowledge the pain of our fellow Presbyterians, of our fellow Christians, of our fellow citizens, and of those who have come to America for a better life, whose value has been judged by the color of their skin.  We pledge to join hands and hearts with our BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) siblings to actively confront and dismantle systemic racism in our church and in society at large, and to work for a more just, merciful, and peaceful country that allows all of God’s children to flourish.]

The Committee on the Office of the General Assembly recommends that the 224th GA (2020)

1. [Call] Urge all Presbyterians to hear and heed the Gospel imperative to love God, neighbor, and self by living out a deeper commitment to active participation with Jesus Christ in the work of building God’s kindom through

1. Personal and corporate repentance, spiritual renewal, and devotion to the Great Ends of the Church. [Repenting, both personally and corporately, for the role we as individuals and as a predominantly White-dominated church played in history and continue to perpetuate today, even if unknowingly, in systemic racism and White Supremacy, especially in terms of our own local silence, silencing those who attempt to speak or act, and our failure to act regarding police brutality, voter suppression, educational and healthcare inequality, and other acts of systemic racism on federal, state, and local levels]

2. Listening and responding to the voices of peoples long silenced through programs such as Hands and Feet: Presbyterians Engaging in Communities, the Poor People’s Campaign, [and Freedom Rising, approved by the 222nd General Assembly]

3. Energetic, intelligent, imaginative, and loving involvement in the Matthew 25 Initiative and its intertwinedfoci: building congregational vitality, dismantling structural racism, and eradicating systemic poverty

2. [Direct the Co-Moderators of the 224th General Assembly (2020) to facilitate a time of silent vigil of 8 minutes and 46 seconds as a symbolic representation in solidarity with our BIPOC siblings, and of corporate lament and personal introspection of our complicity in perpetuating systemic racism and racial injustice before the adjourning of the 224th General Assembly (2020).]

3. Direct the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Mission Agency to review all items of business referred [from the 224th General Assembly (2020)] to the 225th General Assembly (2022) to consider prayerfully whether the recommendations could be enacted under current social witness policy or the authority of agencies and their boards to make programmatic decisions between assemblies.

4. [Call] Encourage congregations, sessions, presbyteries, and synods to review items of business referred [from the 224th General Assembly (2020)] to the 225th General Assembly (2022) and prayerfully consider the call of God to work and witness for the goals and values expressed therein, [in particular the following items as starting points for developing plans for action in dismantling structural racism at every level of the PC(USA):

1. 02-020, “Disparities Experienced by Black Women and Girls Task Force Report” 

2. 02-034-INFO, “Special Committee on Racism, Truth, and Reconciliation Progress Report with Recommendation” 

3. 02-041, “Lazarus is Walking in Baltimore - from the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy” 

4. 02-084, “A Resolution Addressing the Lack of Installed Pastoral Leadership in People of Color Congregations in the PC(USA) - From the Racial Equity Advocacy Committee”

5. 02-100, “Approval of Part 1 of the 2021–2022 Mission Work Plan for the Presbyterian Mission Agency—From the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board,” especially the sections on dismantling structural racism

5. Recommend that PC(USA) congregations, mid-councils, and all General Assembly Entities develop and adopt an antiracism policy in their bylaws by engaging Item 02-137, “On Amending G-3.0106 to Add an Antiracism Policy with Suggested Training for All Members of Each Council.”  This work can be done now at all levels, even in advance of the 225th General Assembly, at which time that General Assembly can act on setting a constitutional requirement to do so if it chooses.

6. Honoring the spirit of Item 02-034-INFO - the Progress Report from the Special Committee on Racism, Truth, and Reconciliation and its conclusions regarding the need to address "institutional racism and oppression within the church" and "to call the church to do the hard work of repair necessary for reconciliation," we direct the Special Committee on Racism, Truth, and Reconciliation to prepare for the 225th General Assembly (2022) a report deconstructing white privilege within our own denomination's (and predecessor denominations') history of involvement in the colonization, enslavement, oppression, and genocide of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), including theological support and benefits to our institutions. The report should also include a study of our denomination’s history of prophetic witness, resistance and abolition, and make recommendations towards proposed amends, reparations, and reconciliation.

7. Thank the Stated Clerk for adding his signature to the Open Letter of the Poor People’s campaign and direct the Presbyterian Mission Agency to commend the use of the learning resources and the Open Letter of the Poor People’s campaign as educational tools for congregations.

8. Commend to the entirety of the PC(USA), its members, congregations, presbyteries, synods, and the GA entities the poem included in the rationale and retyped here for reading, reflection, meditation.

A knee on a neck
laying bare for all to see
the evil of
callous
soulless
entitled
power
choking the life from
God’s beloved
just because. 

We know what must change.
Will we, church? 

We have written many
true, significant,
sometimes even sincere
words.

We have confessed:
Belhar, C’67, Barmen… 

Enough words?
Never enough witness. 

We know we must change.
Will we, church? 

Kairos.

               We believe there is no more core and critical business in this time than attending to the pain, suffering, and long-standing oppression of our BIPOC siblings in Christ. We believe that the work of [attending to the pain, suffering, and long-standing oppression of our BIPOC siblings in Christ is central to our work of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ]. When Black Americans are killed at twice the rate of white Americans (https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/) we have much to lament. We, in particular white people, and as a predominantly white denomination, must confess our complicity in perpetuating systems of oppression against our BIPOC siblings. The church must be the first place seeking racial justice and reconciliation, the dismantling of structural racism, and the healing of our marginalized communities. It has, unfortunately, not often been so. We must have our own denominational and congregational houses in order. We must dare to be an image of hope for those around us.

          While we recognize and honor the work towards justice that has been happening and continues at every level of the PC(USA), we also name that in this time it is not enough. We must become actively antiracist in our theology, policy, and praxis. When our colleagues, siblings, and neighbors protest in the streets to say that being Black should never be an excuse to be targeted and killed, when so many stand in solidarity to say #BlackLivesMatter, and when our own communities are weighed down in grief and anger, it is the time to stand alongside our BIPOC siblings in voice and in action.

           bell hooks, an American author and social activist says this, “Love is an action, never simply a feeling.” If we claim to love our neighbor, especially our BIPOC neighbors, we are called to action. We have said a lot and not done enough. Acknowledging the grief of our siblings in Christ and naming that the Church has a primary calling to be repairers of the breach means nothing without moving towards action. We cannot wait until the 225th General Assembly to begin again to take action.]

_____

Rationale

      

A knee on a neck
laying bare for all to see
the evil of
callous
soulless
entitled
power
choking the life from
God’s beloved
just because.

We know what must change.
Will we, church?

We have written many
true, significant,
sometimes even sincere
words.
We have confessed:
Belhar, C’67, Barmen …

Enough words?
Never enough witness.

We know we must change.
Will we, church?

Kairos.

The Great Ends of the Church

The great ends of the Church are:

the proclamation of the gospel for the salvation of humankind;

the shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the children of God;

the maintenance of divine worship;

the preservation of the truth;

the promotion of social righteousness; and

the exhibition of the Kingdom of Heaven to the world—Book of Order, F-1.0304

Hands and Feet Initiative: https://handsandfeet-pcusa.org/

Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival: https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/

Matthew 25 Initiative: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/matthew-25/

PC(USA) racial justice resources: https://www.pcusa.org/racial-justice-resources/

_____