Advent I 2015

"Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down” … Luke 21:36

 

Over the past couple of weeks the world has seemed to be turned upside down. : bombings in Paris and Beirut leaving hundreds of lives lost and many more lives changed; cries from politicians at home and abroad seeking to close borders to people fleeing oppression because of  fear that some of them may be seeking to do us harm; armed guards meeting commuters at the ferry terminal and coast guard patrol boats with machine gun toting gunners standing on the bow escorting the ferries across the bay; NY City police practicing in the subway system for a terrorist attack, and a record number of officers patrolling the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  The list of increased security and heightened awareness of the new worldwide threats to the way we have been living our lives is causing many normal folks to become more and more conscious of the real fragility of life, and the realization that the new normal is not at all what normal ought to look like. The hearts of many are indeed weighed down at this point, and many are unable to see how that feeling can be shaken off. The news from most of the usual providers is bleak,  threatening and just plain old scary. And our political leaders appear to be of no help.  Most are spending their time criticizing others for what they claim is faulty and unpatriotic thinking.  Too many are wrapping themselves in the cloak of patriotism and clearly not thinking the current situations through. Rhetoric and bravado will certainly not get us anywhere. And if you really think about it, this is only one of many things we are thinking about this time of year.

This is the time of year when we are bombarded by commercial encouragement to spend, spend, spend on gifts and other memory building events, like lunching with Santa or traveling to a designated Christmas destination for a holiday va-ca with the kids and extended familia.  Do you know that Americans spent over $650 Billion on Christmas related items in 2014? Of that about $1.2 Billion was spent on Christmas trees, and 1.9 billion Christmas Cards were sent last year to people across the United States. Multiply that by the cost of postage. The average American consumer is expecting to receive no fewer than 12 holiday gifts. These numbers are mind boggling. It seems we as a society are wasting and spending more money than is even remotely necessary in celebrating the birth of a child born in a stable in the Middle East to wandering parents who were unwelcomed at the owner’s inn. Perhaps we need to think about how we have weighed down our own hearts at this time of year.

So, in order to just kind of counter those statistics, the Episcopal Church, under the auspices of the United Thank Offering and the Episcopal Migration Ministry has put forth a very modest Advent Challenge. Deemed Advent: Journey from Gratitude to Hope, the United Thank Offering board is challenging Episcopalians to support refugee welcome in the United States.   Sandra Squires, President of the United Thank Offering board has said “Jesus was part of a refugee family, we should be able to relate to the upheaval of today’s refugees through our love of him.” They are asking those of us in the pews and the congregations to donate to the UTO indicating our donations are to be given to the Episcopal Migration Ministries.  This is an arm of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, that has welcomed over 5,000 refugees to more than 30 communities across the United States. These folks arrive here having fled from the most violent and war-torn places on earth. With just a few months of support to get started, refugees become productive, resilient members of our society and economy.

The UTO will match the first $30,000 in donations made to the fund with the indication UTO-EEM in the memo line.  Donation need to be received by the end of December to qualify for this matching grant.

What a simple and convenient way to share our many blessings with others.  I think I can do without a new sweater or scarf from my children or grandchildren, and ask them instead to donate to this campaign. Here is the website where donations can be made: https://episcopalchurch.thankyou4caring.org/

Travel in an Uncertain World

I returned from Europe on Sunday, two days after the terrorist attack in Paris.  To say we were a bit jittery would be an understatement, especially after our flight home was delayed five hours.  We were informed via email of the delay, but were encouraged to get to the airport at the original time of our take off.  We were told that the delay was due to a computer problem in our home city at the air traffic control tower. I have to say, no one really bought that excuse.

The flight home was uneventful, but eerily quiet.  Most of the travelers, I suspect, where thinking about events in Paris, Beirut and on the Russian plane which had departed  from Sharm el Shek.

Now, I am no stranger to terrorist attacks, having lived thorough the destruction of the World Trade Center in 2000. I was teaching at that time, and we could see the smoke emitting from the top floors of the Twin Towers which were visible from the front top floor of our school. Several of us went up to the roof to see what was gong on. We pulled the blinds down in our classrooms.  One of our school aides and three of our teachers had family members who were scheduled to be on one of those buildings.  As life has odd twists, one was late for his meeting, one got stuck on a late ferry, another  very pregnant woman was still waiting for an elevator when the planes struck and the fourth one stopped for coffee on the way to work and lived to tell the story.  But several others, fathers, uncles and brothers of our students did not make it.  Most of these men were either police or firefighters who lost their lives attempting to save others.  Some were aunts and cousins who worked in the buildings as brokers or administrative assistants; regular folks doing regular jobs to support their families.  A friend with Cerebral Palsy, remembering the first time the towers were bombed, walked out of his office, down the stairs and never went back.  He retired the very next day.

Several days after returning home, as I sat on the ferry on my way to my part time job in Brooklyn, I noticed the Coast guard escort on BOTH sides of the boat.  In the past, on occasion, one of the boats would escort the odd boat to and from Manhattan. But on this day EVERY boat had not one, but two escorts, and each boat had an armed machine gunner at the bow. This is our new reality, our new normal.

Today we hear that the group responsible for the violent events in Egypt, France and Lebanon are now making unveiled threats implying they will proudly strike in Washington DC and my own hometown, New York City.

And well, what does this mean for those of us who use various modes of transportation to get back and forth in our daily lives? It means we need to continue living our lives as we always have.  We need to begin trusting in those in our society who are charged with maintaining the social order.  We have to begin trusting that our common humanity will win out over the heartless inhumanity we have witnessed.  And we have to remember that we are all children of the one Creator in whom we live and move and have our being, no matter the name we call that entity: God the Father, YHWH, or Allah.

Going Home

In two days I will be embarking on my fourth journey to Ireland, the land from which my Father's family emigrated in the early twentieth century.



 My grandfather arrived in New York from Galway in 1908.  My grandmother, who also arrived in New York  in 1908, joined her sister, known to us as Aunt Annie, and worked as a domestic servant in Manhattan, something many young Irish women did at the turn of the last century. Now, our family lore indicates that they met on board the immigration ship, but records show she arrived on the 25 of March and he on the 27th, but a shipboard romance seems so very intriguing. Date of meeting not withstanding, they were married in St Francis De La Salle Roman Catholic Church on East 96th Street New York City, in 1913. Their six children were born in 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1925, and 1927.

Elizabeth, Frances, Jack, Nancy, Teresa Redden 1943

My grandfather worked on the subway system and was active in his union.  I know this because he was arrested in July of 1916 in an unauthorized labor action on the NY subway and bus system.  He is probably the only relative I have who had his name published in the New York Times.  Interestingly enough, my father ,brother and I were/are active Union members.  My Father was a Shop Stewart for the Teamsters; I am a member and former chapter leader of the United Federation of Teachers, and my younger brother is a union official with the Operating Engineers. Humm...genetics? Perhaps.

Growing up Irish in New York was certainly interesting. The parish church was the center of our being. And contrary to common belief, the Irish do not love corned beef and cabbage; I do not eat it at all. Most prefer something else. On St. Patrick's Day, for example, I eat salmon.

I also remember certain traditions that were passed on. To this day, I do not drink coffee; I drink strong, fresh, dark tea...with milk, not cream, not half and half. Oatmeal is served with cream, butter and salt...no sugar.  I also now add raisins. No shoes on the table!!!! EVER! Bad luck! On Christmas Eve, put a candle in the window...because Mom said so.

The very first time I went to Ireland was in February 2001. I took my two daughters over Presidents' Week because I got a great price for five days and four nights. I was amazed that everyone I saw looked like someone I knew at home. In Galway, several people stopped me to ask directions, but once I opened my mouth, they knew I was not a local.  This has happened to me over and over again  in Ireland.

And the music...I had heard it all before...at home, at parties, at dances and other events like caeli, which I have witnessed both here in the US and abroad: fiddle, concertina, pipes and guitar with a tenor or alto singing.

And I will go again this Friday. This time I will meet up with some cousins whose Grandparents did not emigrate; they remained behind.

It will be interesting. The family in America has spread far and wide: New England, Middle Atlantic, Southern States.  And we have prospered; Entrepreneurs, Educators, Labor Officials, Accountants, Contractors, Bankers...we have become the American mainstream.

Earlier this year,  I met my second cousin, once removed, in Edinburgh.  We had a great visit.  As I was leaving, I told him I was gong to Ireland in the near future.  He took my hand and said, "When are you going home?" I had never thought of that before.  My own family was rooted in New York, and I thought of that place as home.  But now I know there is another place where I belong. A place across the sea...a very large one...it is called the Atlantic. And when I go there, to Ireland, I will be welcomed as one who is truly coming home.

So....We will meet up with the Irish relatives...it will certainly be interesting.  I will keep you posted.