The Korean pastor has raised some serious questions

1/8

Rev. Sam Anh is in for a visit. He’s with a Korean Presbyterian congregation that is  a member of the literally hundreds of Presbyterian denominations in Korea. …but closer to PCUSA than any other US Presbyterian denominations Sam says. They are interested in some serious space use at West-Park. Multiple services multiple days, multiple spaces. They could help us significantly inn our reconstruction and pick up a big chunk of our annual budget.

But there are, of course, issues. What would it mean identity wise to have a guest congregation with many multiples of members than us? Would we lose our presence, our identity? Although, as I say to him, that’s our problem, not his… They seem to be moving forward regarding women, but we need to talk about lgbtq inclusion. Still an issue. I need to know that  no queer member of West-Park…or visitor…or friend…would ever feel uncomfortable in our house. Ever.

We’ve got clear theological differences here. Although I do detect a gentleness of spirit in him.  We have to face this.

The whole phenomenon of Korean Presbyterianism remains a bit of a mystery. Why, in all the places of the world, did Presbyterianism find such fertile ground in Korea? There is indigenous religion overlaid with Confucianism overlaid with a conservative missionary version of Calvinism. What in Korean culture so connected with what in Presbyterian culture? Maybe it’s worth finding out.

Strangely, this might actually work.

We’ve come a long way from the last relationship with a Korean pastor who when I asked him about this issue responded, No problem. There are no homosexuals in Korea.

Pat O has bad news. Our new work with the boilers has increased the efficiency of our heating system. Radiators that were working at 30% capacity are now cranking out heat at full volume. The sanctuary is a virtual sauna. And now, overworked, they are springing leaks all over. And it has to be dealt with ASAP….Another time when regarding the building, I’m ready to say, that’s it, I’m done, I’m out of here…brick and mortar don’t count no more…

We’ve been going back and forth for awhile with Nairoby, referred to us form Stan with the Representatives. After a lot of conversation, we may be ready to be able to do her origami theatre piece.

A lot is going on here…

There are record breakers in there

11/5

The young Korean pastor and four associates is checking out the building. He currently has four services with over 800 in attendance, three in Korean and one in English. Mainly young adult professional immigrants. The institution of the mainline church may be over, but some sectors of traditional evangelical religion are still going strong. The young pastor tells me they are more closely aligned with the PC(USA) then the more conservative break off from the old Southern church, Presbyterian Church in America. Except on social issues, he says. And I know what that means.  He also tells me that there are close to 200 Korean Presbyterian denominations. Somehow old school       Calvinsim found a receptive home in Confucian culture.

Lupe R from Dos Pueblos, our Nicaraguan solidarity/sister city program is in to work on details of Monday night’s presentation with Juan Gonzalez of the Democracy Now radio show on WBAI. The focus will be on immigration.(http://www.democracynow.org/?gclid=Cj0KEQiA-PGiBRDRz4jH9o39yZwBEiQAWCBZNYx1JLe4I2R-P2gAty3_0Y7hgVQQuUVCE3NcKxkn4OwaAiSj8P8HAQ&utm_campaign=non+)

It’s cold out. Someone comes in and asks for a priest named Pastor Bobby. I’m slightly annoyed but when he mentions wheelchair, I know it’s Sean. I’m not a priest and it’s Bob, I say and then go out to see Sean.

It’s been a cold and rainy all day. Still  feels raw outside. Sean is all bundled up in a hoodie. Needs to make some phone calls to his housing people. So I shiver while he uses my Iphone. I tell him I really need to get his stuff out before the holidays. He’s got some baseball cards he wants me to take a look at. Thinks they might be valuable. I doubt it. There was a day, but that market tanked long ago. He asks me to help him slowly and methodically remove the various bags hung on his chair. In the last one, he digs in and finds his cards.

I take a quick look, see mostly commons, some a bit dog eared. Don’t know Sean, maybe a penny a piece?

But there are record breakers in there, he says. So I agree to take a closer look. Inside, because I am cold. I go online.to check them out. Mainly late ‘80’s, early ‘90’s era. Some are worth 50 cents or so, other 3 to 4 cents. I go back out to tell him. He’s got a passerby to  help reassemble his chair and bags. He carries what’s most important with him.

I give him the news. So how much total? He says.
Maybe, 20, 25 dollars. You’d have to go online. Ebay. Craig’s List. Or go to a store. Not many left any more.

So  Bob, you want to buy them?

No, man, don’t have the time. But we can keep them here for you awhile. See what shakes out.

He shakes his head, wheeling down the street. There’s record breakers in there, he says to himself.

I go get supplies for tonight’s Israel-Palestine  film festival screening. Tonight we have the documentary, The Village under the Forest.( http://www.villageunderforest.com/) Some of the Rev Com folks come downstairs to take a break and join us for the film. This is the first in a series of films we will show on the naqba, or catastrophe, the loss of Palestine with the creation of Israel.

The film addresses the myth of Israel’s greening of the desert.  The narrator, from South Africa, takes us to the South Africa forest in Israel, one of many, like the Canada forest, built by diaspora donations. What we discover is that these forests are built over bulldozed Palestinian villages, over 550 of which have been disappeared. In this case, it was the village Lyra.

The narrator interviews displaced people who once lived in the village. About two-thirds of the way through, our stream goes bad. We never do get it back, so we begin the discussion.

I, like many others, have certificates for the trees that have been planted in Israel in my name. Just always thought it was just a greening thing. It’s painful to know. One person explains a line from the film. When you see cactuses, you know it was a Palestinian home because they were used to mark yard boundaries. The pines are not native to Palestine and were imported because they grow fast and tall and also are an image of Europe transported to the Middle East.

Another person makes with comparisons to the situation with Native Americans, who at least got reservations. (But don’t ask what happened to Indian Territory, aka Oklahoma…)

It’s also common to what empires do, I note. For example, how the building of Central Park buried Seneca Village or the covering over of abolitionist Spring Street Presbyterian Church or the discovery of a forgotten African burial ground downtown. But like the emerging foundation stones of All Angels’ Church in Central Park, it can’t be buried forever. Sometimes the very stones will cry out.

Full house

9/20

The day begins with Kimberley, our new Union intern. It’s our fist intern since before we left for SPSA back in 2008. She’s an experienced arts management person, but wants the opportunity to learn some new things as well. She’ll be helping us with the Center. Steven joins us to work on the website and other social media initiatives. 

Gregory is maintaining his watch on the steps day in and day out.

The conversation with Tracy continues. We pick up on the theme I was exploring with Sarah, as to the difference between organizers and leaders. Tracy had been trained where they talked about advocates and people  in need. I reject the idea of advocates in organizing, insisting that instead of speaking for people, we need to work with people to develop the capacity to speak for themselves. In her training, they wanted to break down the distinction between the two. That advocates or organizers need to understand their own exploitation, their own oppression and feel connected with those they organize. I feel there’s an advantage in being one step removed to better see objectively what needs to be done and to discern who are emerging as leaders. 

Above all, I continue to reject the idea that you cannot allow personal feelings into movement work. I understand that to a point, but again, in work that depends in relationships, the value of the person always has to be respected. And also the person’s right to question. I recall that in the classic model, what is needed is action, reflection, revision. When reflection is set aside in the interest of moving forward, serious errors can happen. When moving ahead takes the highest precedence, damage can be done to people, which in turn damages the movement. In the long run, more important than any individual campaign is creating peoples’ organizations that are built to last through long struggle, not just campaigns.

She shares with me her struggle having come from a Korean Christian tradition that essentially embraces the status quo as sacred and adds immigrant ambition for an ever advancing family on top. I remembered my study partner in my doctoral program, A Korean woman pastor. And how contemporary Korean Christian culture is built upon a Confucian base built upon indigenous religion which enshrines patriarchy. And a  strong emphasis not only on hard work and learning but also the importance of saving face. She knows why she turned away from that expression of Christianity but still feels a spiritual void. Our conversations, the community of West-Park, are opening up some new ideas.

Tracy sticks around to catch up with Teddy. 

My neighbor Gary Greengrass has called with a sense of urgency. His annual Jewish High Holy Day crush is turning into an avalanche and he desperately needs to borrow 5 or 6 tables. I tell him no problem and his crew comes over to pick them up with Teddy’s help.

RL comes in just to stop by and finds Danielle and I sitting in each others’ places and pretends to be startled and we pretend that we did it on purpose to throw him off.

Someone has come to wait for a meeting with Mim. She’s come from the daylong meeting at Union for field supervisors which somehow missed my radar. She filled in for me and we’ll have to catch up. Somehow Kimberley hadn't thought of  it either. 

Jeremy G stops in to continue to  work on details of his upcoming play. And now things are starting to get crazy. The house is completely full and the door to the Session room where Noche has been rehearsing is locked and we don’t have the key. 

We’ve got Jane’s course in miracles, a rehearsal by the Marvell Theatre (they’re doing a season of Burned and Banned...)of their production of God of Vengeance, a 1921 play by Sholem Asch (http://www.marvellrep.com/onstage.asp) There’s a board meeting of the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing and then the next performance of  Zeal of the Zealot. Only Marvell is having an unscheduled (IE, for us) fundraiser and wants to be on the first floor. Danielle and Teddy are trying to work out the puzzle as the IAHH board arrives and I take them into the Sanctuary.

Our IAHH board struggles  with our never ending cash shortfall, worse now in this economy. It can’t just be sustained, we need to keep reorganizing from the ground up. And now we have to find new office space. The church where the current office is being sold to a conservative Korean congregation. They want their building  empty of programs. Our new programs with homeless veterans and formerly incarcerated people, need to go forward as does advocacy to restore the city’s rent subsidy program. The meeting needs to end as the Festival of Fools players enter the balcony theatre for their pre-play warm-ups full of grunts, growls. vocalizations and clashing swords.

I stop by Marvell’s fundraiser in Mc Alpin. A clearly crazy woman has approached Teddy to ask for a place to stay and is now talkig to Jane who with all the activity feels she’s running a gauntlet. Me too.

Rachelle has come in and tracked me down, she too, wants something.