The day starts with Bobby and Kristen, my Spanish Harlem couple.
A wedding rehearsal. And quite frankly, pretty strange in the presence of
gigantic puppets filling the sanctuary. This is the most traditional
weddingI will have done in over 20
years.
Yes, the bride will actually be given away by a father.Yes, I will actually have to ask the question
if anyone knows why this marriage should
take place, speak now…or forever hold your peace…And there will be a veiled
bride up until the final kiss. At least there’s no love, honor and obey….
By the time I get back at the end of the day, another Bread and Puppet performance has ended.
I have a service to prepare
for and words to write. As I am writing, one of the B&Pcrew, Katherine, stops in. She’s not only one of the company, she’s the one who runs thecheap
art sale after every performance.
She’s trying to figure out why the church feels so familiar.
Katherine recalls #OWS and those heady days following the
eviction from Zucottti. She recalls how they performed for the people at Union Square then someone told themthat what they really needed to do was to go
to West-Park Church, which of course they did, and a performance for our people
that became part of the #OWS history here. . The connection was made. The relationship begun. And now what we do is one. Katherine and her bread and Puppet circle has returned home. To this home.
Joe and the family, including Rob, filling the steps. I’ve got to get them gone.
Sophie and Carlos from the National Movement Against Sweatshops are here to talk with me about the coalition to get a real minimum wage. Seems to be growing building up steam. Has to include tip workers too. Need to go after Governor Cuomo. I talk about my contacts with the fast food workers. There seems to be some connections growing there, but as always, ideological issues keep allies apart when the fight needs to be together. I talk about my recent experiences with the carwasheros. (I love that word.) Sophie takes some notes. Will reach out. I’ll try to see what I can do from my end.
A woman brings in another woman, kind of wild eyed. Wants to do some volunteer work. OK, a job for Danielle.
All afternoon Piano Dan is tuning the Bechstein. Something comforting hearing him perfecting note by note, hearing the change, increment by increment.
Anna is in for a visit with puppy and a report on happening is in the world around us.
Walking back from a visit with Hugo, i see three former occupiers sitting at a table outside Slightly Oliver’s. Jonah, who I never did quite get, Ted, the trust fund kid who somehow always carried that sense of privilege along with him, and Sean, quiet stable African-American who often served as facilitator. I’m working for a union now as an organizer, he says, living at that church, being part of it changed my life, even with all the craziness, I saw what I needed to do. Thank you....
I needed to hear that.
At the door, there are two very large bags of clothes. And a pair of shoes.
A crew of Irish construction guys in to do an evaluation/assessment of work to be done.
Ramon is in again, dancing by himself, off in his own world.
A woman comes in.Looking to do a two day wedding. One day for a Hindu ceremony and the other for a Christian ceremony. A destination wedding. (New word for me). In Cancun.
Have my talk with the precinct about the steps. More complicated than I imagined. Has to involve the District Attorney's office. Cops city wide concerned about ripple effects of the two year anniversary of #OWS. While some mainstream #OWS folks have narrowed foci and are working to promote issues like the Robin Hood tax proposed by mayor candidate Di Blasio, there are others lurking about as free floating bands calling themselves #OWS like gangs of Confederate raiders roaming the countryside long after the Civil War was over.
I head out to meet Zoran at an at opening and then to Milica’s season launch at her gallery. Later, I’ll come back to the church in time to catch Dion’s set and Pat and Piano Dan's and to do my own. Actually feels good. Two originals and finally do I still miss someone the way I want to do it. A new guy, Alex, here for his second time. RL calls up Alex and Marc to join him and finishes out the evening. Now can I catch up with Zoran on the Lower East Side?
The day begins with a visit from a contingent from the Crenshaw Center East, a non-denominational church in the prosperity gospel tradition that has been holding forth in the old First Church of Christian Science building on 96th Street. I know the building well from visiting it for B’nai Jeshurun high holy day services back in the day.Crenshaw bought it from the Christian Scientists when their membership had dwindled to a couple of dozen.
The surprise here is that they’re looking for a new place. Seems like their landmarked building needs around 13-15 million in repairs. We tell them that not only are we not for sale, but even if they came here there’d be no bargain. One of their reps tells me that he was born and raised Presbyterian and his education was thanks to them. I think and where are you now?
When they leave, Danielle and I have an extended conversation about Pentecostal vs charismatic vs prosperity. Look the same on the surface, but different.
Overly simplified, Pentecostals are a church of the poor. Or at least they don’t relate wealth to salvation. The new charismatics in practice tended to see wealth as proof of blessing. And the prosperity gospel takes it all the way. What Danielle calls magical thinking. I tell her about Rev. send your money to me and you’ll get rich Ike. And Jim PTL Bakker. And how Tammy Faye became an icon to the gay community and how what started out as gay ironic humor became a true friendship and of her son Jay’s radical inclusive edgy tattooed bar ministry. And how I kind of liked Oral Roberts in his own crafty way because he never forgot his roots but how his son Richard was a self-entitled jerk. (There are other words I’d rather use, but...)
And how as much as I get the you get back what you send out message, like Oprah and the Secret, it can lead to blaming the victim when things don’t go well. And how in the hospital people say to me I don’t know what I must have done that God would do this to me. That if they could answer that, there would still be order in the universe.
Is that how you’ve handled all this? She asks. I look at her puzzled. That you accept the chaos? Yes, I say, perhaps even embrace it.
Dennis B is in and I hear his voice get loud on the phone. Apparently one of the life skills mentors has issues with the building. How will this get resolved? It is what it is, we are what we are.
RL passing through. Anna in for a chat. It’s the anniversary of the occupation of Zucotti by #OWS.
See Marty on the street. He speaks! First time in months. He was silent all summer. Is it cooler weather or a meds remix? I say Have a sweet New Year.
Marty says, It’s like the Jewish St.Patrick’s day. St.Patrick drove the snakes out of the Bronx.
I laugh.
See, made you laugh. I made your day. Were you ever a chaplain?
Not military,just police and fire.
My father had a friend who was a chaplain. Said he left part of himself at Flanders Field. It’s history. When I was at CCNY, my world history final, the professor told me if I’d written more, he’d have given me an A, not a B+. Said I had the finest handwriting he’d ever seen. I had beautiful hand writing. My father said, if you’ve got a problem, wrote it all down. Let it sit. Come back to it a week later. You’ll see the solution. I had beautiful hand writing.
Sweet New Year, Marty. He’s talking again.
Jeremy stops in. Just back from Switzerland. The conversation about chaos picks up again. I say that the Genesis creation story was based on the Babylonian creation myth. The world was tohu v bohu, without form and void, chaos. God brings order out of chaos. Tiamat, the sea monster, is defeated. But as my friend pastor Heidi says, yes, but Tiamat’s always there, just waiting. And despite our desire to believe all is ordered, we see her when she lifts her ugly head.
I have trouble with the God’s plan business, he says. I think you guy have it right when you say, you never know for sure. Only God knows. His theology was Calvin’s way f embracing,accepting the chaos. Knowing that for all we know, we don’t.
We head down to Madison Square. Awaiting the #OWS march from Zucotti. They’re, of course, running late. Jeremy goes off to find and join the march. I head to the Players’ Club to see Frog and Peach's 12th Night.
At West-Park, Jamie has just led another group on a tour. Sigh.
I talk to Jamie and Danielle about the screening last night. How I was in the lobby, having a glass of wine, thinking the people around me looked familiar. Then I realized, it was most of the surviving cast members of the Sopranos. Mostly looking like people you’d see at the Gate. Or maybe Carmine’s. So you do the New York thing, act like you’ve been there before. That’s what we do. Neighbors, that’s all. The film was based on a Pete Hamill story and directed by Bob Giraldi starring Steve Schirripa and Boris McGuyver.
Steve Schirripa, Boris McGuyver, Bob Giraldi at the screening
As I’m finishing the story, RL walks in. Introduced to Jamie. Max, Jamie’s son will soon be working for RL. Massive clean up ahead.
I check my text messages. As of 3:40 AM, Christopher has moved out. Looking for a permanent job. Place to stay. The last of the occupiers has finally left.
Karen is in the sanctuary, playing her music.
After 604 days, the Occupation of West-Park is over.
* * * *
Occupy lasted at West-Park longer than Zucotti. From the first emergency four in November to the two dozen who came in from the rain to the massive invasion in January.
The baptismal font incident that was spread around wherever Murdoch touches. And the amends. And the first exodus. Then the construction of the intentional cooperative community and the t-shirt production. The the end of the coop. The final four. And then one.
For awhile we hosted the chaotic democratic experiment of the spokescouncil. And the Occupy TownSquare. And the amazing Occupocalypse production by the multi talented Kanaska Carter with it’s recreation of Liberty Square and Zucotti including a reproduction of Calder’s Joie de vivre conceived by Kanaska and executed by famous Soho sculptor Forrest Meyer. We were the location of the post M17 San Patricio party with Irish and Mexican bands. The takeoff point for the Mayday buses to Chicago. And the National Nurses Union free clinic.
Over the time we were visited by Michael Moore. Rosario Dawson. Ben and Jerry. Fulbright winner and Woman and War project photographer Elizabeth Herman and her stunning portraits. Portland singer song-writer Catherine Feeny. A crew of volunteer chaplains from Union Seminary. Multiple visits by the NYPD. The FBI. And as it turns out some undercover Homeland Security intel plants.
Our occupiers were witnesses for a gay wedding for two guys from Alabama. Support staff for a symphony concert. Security for Cornell West.
They brought Jamie here. And Cara. And Stephen and Teddy joined. And Teddy became our sextant. And died. And Stephen got ordained and Cara became a member.
So....
Jason and others have become part of New York City and are engaged in ongoing social change work and even electoral politics.
Another Jason got a tech job.
Jay is in college in Colorado.
George and Amin embedded themselves in Staten Island and worked arm in arm with retired police and fire in Occupy Sandy.
Kakaska is a tattoo artist, body artist, recording artist and model.
Rafael is doing security and living in a beach house in Baja California.
Dan is a chef in Colorado.
Rose and Requiem went to the Berkshires and had a baby.
Chris and Runi back home to Portland.
Others went to their homes. Some to squats. Or the piers. Or disappeared in the homeless/addiction/mental illness underground.
What remains? Memories. A beautiful ceramic baptismal font cover by Sheryl Jaffe. Zejko’s short film of Teddy. Elizabeth’s portraits. Stephen’s leadership. Jamie’s presence and support. A t-shirt or two.
What have we learned? That’s another reflection.
After 604 days, the Occupation is over. * * * *
Going down 86th late at night, I see the wheel chair, and know Sean is there tucked in against the wall. My heart sinks.
On the way to church, I get a text from Stephen. He and Cara will be late to church. So I will be on my own to set up. Depressing.
But when I arrive, I find Sergeant Keith and los Rodriguez and the lost boy all still there. There seems to have been some kind of rapprochement between Keith and the others. So we talk.
I learn my lost boy’s name is Rob. He wants help to get it together. They all join in to help me get it together for this morning. Keith and Joe help roll the heavy baptismal font to the center of the sanctuary. Rob sweeps the steps and takes out the garbage. Soon we’ll be ready for worship.
I learn that Keith believes either Dick Cheyney or Texas governor Rick Perry should be President. Well, all right, then. I understand where’s he’s coming from. He talks to me bout the appropriate display of the American flag in the sanctuary.
Sheryl Jaffe
My congregants are beginning to arrive. And soon Sheryl arrives as well. She has come down from Massachusetts with a very special gift. A new cover for our baptismal font that went missing during the peek of the #OWS days. OWS promised it’s replacement. Sheryl, an #OWS mom, made it happen. Almost a year and a half later.
on the wheel
We begin with Desmond Tutu’s Goodness is stronger than evil, kindness is stronger than hate...in honor of Nelson Mandela.
After we read the story of the Elijah being carried away, we sing Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
And today we do our Psalm 77 People’s mic style as we recall #OWS.
ready for glazing
As my sermon begins, I note that there’s lots to talk about today:
*We are ordaining and installing officers
* It's LGBT pride Sunday
And we are receiving a gift that brings an end to a story
To help us reflect on these things, what do our scriptures tell us?
First we have Elijah (2 Kings 2: 1-2, 6-14) passing on the mantle ( that's where that expression comes from) And he's carried away by chariots....without really being dead. Which is why in the Jewish tradition, he always still seems to be around. Or just around the corner. There’s always an empty chair for him. At a bris. (Circumcision celebration.) Or at Passover. And he seems to appear at moments and bring small miracles.
When we ordain and install new people, we are passing on the mantle. Just like when Elijah passed it on to Elisha who struck the Jordan and parted the waters. Perhaps the best biography of Martin Luther King, Jr., was Parting the Waters, not referring to the parting of the Red Sea by Moses,
Moses parting the water by Angelo Romano
but to this parting of the Jordan by means of Elijah’s mantle. King picking u the mantle of Moses, the mantle of Elijah and parting the waters. And now the mantle is being passed on. To us.
Today we join our hearts with the people of South Africa...and all around the world... as they pray for Nelson Mandela. We celebrate his life and witness among us. A beacon of a tireless fight for justice and peace and relentless in the pursuit of reconciliation.
In Luke (9: 51-62), we find Jesus setting his face to Jerusalem. Being clear and single minded as to where he was going and why. He asks those near him to follow me, and many respond, I will follow you without really understanding what that means. We need to know exactly what that means before making promises.
His comments about the birds of the air and foxes gives us an image of a homeless savior. One whose home is the journey itself.
The key here is a single minded focus. There can be no distractions. When one asked to follow asks to first bury his father,sounds reasonable but Jesus responds that the dead should bury the dead. On reflection, it’s not really clear just how long the father would live....it comes down to let me wait until...I get my new job, I get my degree, my children are raised .There is no waiting until...if you want to follow, you must follow now. What’s dead must be left for dead...what was is not what will be. ideas, theologies, forms, all....let the dead bury the dead.
No, it must be now.
We just can’t say we 'll wait until our deal is done...we need to do it now.
As we ordain and install new leaders today, we are passing on the mantle. And to symbolize that, we will use these More Light stoles. They were originally symbols of resistance. Originally stoles were only for ordained clergy. But during the years when ordination was denied to LGBTQ elders and deacons as well, people from the More Light movementfrom across the country knitted stoles for use at General Assemblies (Presbyterian legislative meetings) to symbolize those whose ministries were denied. Finally, in July 2011, 33 years later, the ban was lifted. Now these stoles symbolize welcome, acceptance, the power of the ordination of elders and deacons. The power of the people. To those who are being ordained today, this mantle is passed to you....
Whoopi Goldberg sings I Will Follow Him
As we pass our collection plates, I play I will follow him from Sister Act. (And does anyone remember Little Peggy March?)
And then I invite Sheryl to come forward to explain her offering, her gift. Her son Dan was one of the first Occupiers to come to West-Park. His time here was not always easy. in fact, sometimes deeply troubled. But Dan’s inherent goodness was always evident, even at the most difficult moments.And he persevered. And we all rejoiced when he went home, set his face to his own Jerusalem and wound up a chef again. We celebrate the fact that he is now a chef in Colorado.
Stephen, Sheryl and Bob
Sheryl shows the cover it took months to create. The size itself was a challenge. Then a crack appeared and she had to reglaze and seal it. But I thought, she said, that’s what you do, fix the cracks in the world, the cracked lives...Sheryl has brought an end to a story. Her new creation joined to the florid late Victoriana of the original Tiffany font. She even echoed its water lily/lotus theme, a symbol that transcends Christianity for rebirth. In the inside of her cover, the words for peace from many languages are transcribed. And in tiny letters, right under Shalom, OWS 2012 is inscribed. The time that OWS lived here will always be remembered. Sadly this part of the story will not spread through Murdochland and beyond the way the disappearance did.
Stephen responds that it was the church’s response to that incident that drew him close. The compassion. Clear speaking, but compassion. The vision of a permanent reminder of #OWS presence. How that led to a journey to his ordination today. And of Marsha thanking OWS the morning amends were made. Money for the missing computer paid back. You took responsibility, even though you didn’t have to, she said. The people who wrecked the economy never did. You paid us back. The banks never did. We thank you...
And so as we receive the cover, we give thanks, sing our doxology. Remember as Breuggeman said, resistance begins in doxology.
OWS 2012
Soon it is the moment to ordain and install our new officers. I explain how in our tradition, all ordinations are equal. As Stephen and Don are ordained to be ruling elders, so I serve as a teaching elder. And John is ordained to a ministry of compassion, justice and service. More Light stoles are placed on the shoulders of each. Passing on the mantle.
Following the ancient tradition, all the way back to Elijah and the company of prophets, all in the congregation who are ordained lay their hands on our new ordinands. And the the mantle is passed on.
Ordained deacons and elders
After in singing Siyahamba, a song of South African resistance that became an important song for the More Light Movement,
We are marching in the light of God, we are marching in the light of God..we go to the chapel.
There we gather to refine the language of the our resolution to sell our manse. To build a sense of stability. It has been a good day together. Much to give thanks for. To celebrate.
More Light Stoles
* * * *
I’m getting ready to leave to head downtown with Presbyterian Welcome, to serve water at the Evelyn Davidson Memorial Water Table, named for the wife of Bob, the former pastor of West-Park. Her idea...to give a cup of cool water in Jesus’ name to hot marchers in the Pride parade. But I hear Pastor Jane say the word Lot, and I realize she’s preaching about Sodom and Gomorrah. So I look in. She sees me and says isn’t that right pastor Bob? And I say yes.
Many of her Sanctuary NYC people have chosen to be here instead of at the Pride parade. Rainbow colored balloons mark the day. She’s preaching about how the sin at Sodom wasn’t about same sex love but abuse of the stranger.The crowd’s desire to rape the strangers (angels) has nothing to do with sex and everything to do with domination, she says. She goes on to bring out the often forgotten part when Lot offers up his virgin daughters to the crowd instead. (No, I don’t get it either...)
She speaks of the importance of acknowledging your shadow, naming it, incorporating its power. How that applies to some of the more outre displays and activities of pride weekend. Taking that part of you that wants to remain hidden and transforming it, using its power to be who you are called to be. At the conclusion of her sermon, she asks me to photograph them in a Pride Sunday portrait. After all have named their personal quality to be claimed and transformed.
And then I speak. How I was on my way out when I heard a word and had to stay. I remembered my friend Howard Warren.Founder of Presbyterian ACT UP. How he stood up to the Presbyterian power elite and accused the the executive director, and thereby the whole Church, of the sin of sodomy. That is refusing to welcome, accept and honor the stranger. And then I explained how this very place was the birthplace of the More Light movement. A movement that has spread across the country and across all denominations. How this place was, in reality, the religious Stonewall. So it’s good to be here on Pride Sunday. It all began here.
I join them for their final songs. Glad I stayed. Proud to have passed on the mantle of the religious Stonewall prophets.
* * * *
Finishing up work. Late at night. Marc says it’s time to get the garbage out. Can’t the people who live here do it? I remind him that no one lives here anymore. And so we go down together Take the garbage out together. The day is over.
