2/18
Ash Wednesday. In the middle of a deep freeze tat doesn’t want
to let go. I don’t even want to do my usual walk after lectionary and take the
bus to the church.
Time to get ready for
Ash Wednesday. I open the communion table. Take out the dried palms from last
Palm Sunday. Find my metal pot. Take them out to the front steps..yes freezing
cold…and light the palms…they hesitate a moment then burst into flame. When they
die down, the pot cools, I take olive oil and mix it in to make the paste we
use for imposing ashes. Like that phrase….imposition
of ashes….
At noon, I bless the
ashes and wait. I always look forward to this day. One of my favorites. It’s
supposed to remind us of our mortality. And that is what it does. Through the steady stream of people who come
through seeking ashes. Mostly people I don’t know. Some members, like Deacon
James who comes in late in the day and gets his cross right beneath his African
cap.
There’s the African nanny
and the little girl in her charge who gets ashes too. The college girl on her
way back to Connecticut. Latinos young and old. People waiting for the bus who
stop in. People from the projects. I ask their name. I read the prayer over the
ashes from the Book of Common Worship. Place my hands on their head and say
their name and then ..remember that you
are dust and to dust you shall return…As Jeremy sings in his song, ..and we all got to die…Mortality. We’re
all in this together.
****
Jed and his creative
partner Mima. It’s great to be working with him again after lo these many
years. Remembering his year as guest musician in residence and the liturgies we
created. He’s got some intriguing projects coming up. And will do Make Music New York for us. And some
Sundays.
Martin comes in. We’re
getting close to putting this contract to bed. But we will.
The Center board meets.
Yes, we’re coming close to getting enough groups in to close the budget gap,
but some are not good ideas. Do we really want to be identified with a groaner
of a French comedy piece permanently in our sanctuary? If every inch is rented, how do we live out a vision?
And there’s this catch 22…West-Park cannot afford the upkeep of the building. The
only way to do this is a community coalition that sees the building as part of the
community’s cultural heritage. But they would only do that if they see a
vision, an identity to the building beyond the church. And to establish that
identity in a public way takes money which….Again, the pieces are there, where’s
the plan? That is the question…And also to get session to agree…
Pat asks if I can go out
for a drink, or if I’ve got an Ash Wednesday prohibition. Well, I’ll stick with
wine tonight when we head to the B. As
we’re leaving, we run into the producer of tonight’s fashion show in the
chapel. He’s brimming with happiness over his night. He loved the venue with
its distressed chic. (Sigh). So we stop to share a glass of wine with him
before heading out into the cold. Wish I could have seen the show.
