Strange bedfellows...well, just strange everything.

       

I have been trying, really trying, to stay above the political fray, that "sturm und drang"  which has become the stage setting for the primary races in this country.  Up until very recently, I have been able to avoid any involvement in the political process as it has been evolving around these parts.  I embraced my inner creative spirit and began watching a host of crafting and cooking shows on the local Public Television outlet.  I watched as Jacques whipped egg whites into soufflés, Rich gave professional plumbing advice to homeowners, and Rick guided us all over Europe telling us the best things to pack and how to buy a good loaf of bread in Paris, but politics finally caught up with me once the New York Primary came into view.
Feeling a bit guilty that I had not gotten at all involved with the political process, I made a modest donation to a favored candidate (Note: I am not saying which one. Nor will I tell you if you ask me.)
I then volunteered to do some phone calling, mostly because it gave me something to do; I got to see a few friends, and I knew the person running the phone bank needed some help during the day hours. I should have thought again about doing both.  I then began to appear on the political radar.
Suddenly I was on every A-list for fundraising and political action.  I began getting conflicting robo-calls from both major parties and for more candidates than I ever wanted to consider for dog catcher, let alone President of the United States. My name suddenly appeared on the mailing lists of everyone; the vitriol with which this literature is filled is an embarrassment the candidates and their handlers and insult to the intelligence of the American public.

In an attempt to understand what is really gong on in this whole process, I decided to collect my own "data" to help me make meaning out of all the gobbledygook that we have been asked to wade through. So over the past two days I watched six hours of "news" using ten stations: 3 major networks, 6 cable channels and the Public Broadcasting System.  I just "sampled" each watching the station for five to ten minutes noting the gender of the broadcasters, and how many times they mentioned each of the four major candidates. ( Sorry John Kasich, you did not make the cut.) My completely unscientific observations on the numbers are very telling:
Over the six hours I watched the news fifty men and thirty-seven women presented some form of what the networks consider to be "news". During that time Donald Trump was mentioned twenty-three times; Raphael Edward "Ted" Cruz was  mentioned seventeen times, and Sanders and Clinton tied at eight times each.

I also made some observations of my own: 
          1. Donald Trump uses his hands to distraction when he speaks; he also needs help with staying on point.  Perhaps we could find a high school debate coach to work with him...and a foreign policy specialist.
          2. Several powerful Republicans do not really like Ted Cruz, but his law professor liked him because he raised his hand quite a bit and had lots to say. It also seems his fellow law students did not like him either.  Teacher's Pet Syndrome?
          3. Bernie Sanders wife is one of his most trusted advisors who actually seems like a nice person.  Bernie still sounds like he left Brooklyn yesterday, and that's okay by me.  I lived there for seventeen years.
  4. Clinton will have to re-live some very unpleasant memories from her husband's presidency. Should she be held responsible for his bad choices? 

Fourth Sunday of Easter

Beginning last week, our Sunday Bible Study Group started their study of the Book of Acts, my favorite book in the Second Testament.  It was the first Biblical book I ever studied, and, as a history teacher, I really appreciated its flow as the writer described the history of how the Early Church grew and spread to include all kinds of people across the ancient world. Its sequencing was something I immediately understood, since that is the way I understood history as occurring, but Acts is more than the simple listing of events in the early church, it tells the stories of how different people came to know and understand the work of the risen Christ, our Lord and Savior.

The Book of Acts is an interesting piece of biblical writing.  It is the second half of the Gospel of Luke. It describes the spreading of the Church throughout the ancient world, beyond Israel encompassing many different peoples. It was intended to be read to a Greek speaking audience, a sort of sophisticated, well-educated group, telling the story of the establishment of the Church and its growth across the Mediterranean world. Acts has two major forces: the geographic shift from Jerusalem to Rome and the somewhat contentious juxtaposition of Peter and Paul.  Peter representing the traditional view of the Messiah, and Paul’s more global view of Christ’s message to the wider world.

In today’s reading from Acts, we know that Peter is in Joppa, a port city on the Mediterranean.  Joppa was the place where the cedars of Lebanon were delivered to King Solomon and important in the story of Jonah. It is the port from which he departs on his ill-fated journey that ends up with an encounter with a rather large sea creature…you may recall how that ends for him. Joppa is now part of the old quarter of Tel Aviv, a major city in Israel, more worldly and secular that Jerusalem…a bit more hip and modern.

In our reading Peter prays for Tabitha, a believer who has recently died.  It is reminiscent of Jesus’s encounter with Lazarus and Jarius’ daughter. In both of those instances, at Jesus’ command the dead rose again.  But what can this brief description and description of Tabitha/Dorcas tell us about her importance to the early church?

We know that she was a charitable woman; the widows were mourning her passing. Since she was able to help those in need, we can assume she was rather well off. She must have had some sort of prominence in the community since Peter came from another town, Lydda, at the behest of the community of believers at Joppa. We can assume she offered hospitality to the women to whom she ministered, for they made it clear to Peter that he needed to come…right away.

Hospitality was very much a signpost of the early Church.  There were no Hiltons, Marriots or Ramadas…heck, there were no Motel Six’s.  Travelers really did depend …” on the kindness of strangers”, as Tennessee Williams would have put it. People depended on likeminded people to help them find food and shelter.

And the early Christian communities were pretty tight.  Most groups met in private homes to talk about experiences, reflect on their lives and eat together remembering the meal the disciples and Jesus shared the night before he died.

Last Sunday you might have noticed that I was not here. I attended a unique Sunday service at a unique Church in Brooklyn…a block away from the Gowanas Canal. St Lydia’s is a mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America with support form the NY Lutheran Synod and the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island.  Sunday and Monday they have a Supper Church service very much like what Tabitha/Dorcas would have known and been comfortable in attending.  The gathered group brings ingredients and flowers for the meal, prepares and cooks dinner, sets the table and shares prayers, a homily and a Eucharist…then dinner is eaten and all hands clean up and go into the world in peace. 

But on the second Sunday, different things happen.  That is Waffle Church - a time for families with children to come together in the mid-morning to do some art that includes glue and glitter, guitar strings and singing, floor rugs and fooling around, and more fun than you can imagine. Grown-ups make waffles, peel fruit, pour juice, sing silly songs, and enjoy time with the kinder as they learn about faith and community. Kid friendly homilies intertwined with easily remembered songs are intertwined together to create a worship space that is comfortable and welcoming.

So, what can we learn from the experiences of Tabitha, the folks at Waffle Church and our gathered community at Christ Church? Well, I am not sure.  Perhaps we need to be open to the work of the Spirit among us, to be open to new ideas, to new ways of “doing church”, to preserve and honor those things that work for us, that help us in our spiritual journey, and to incorporate both and to keep what is central and holy in what we do.

...For all the saints

As we are fast approaching the most sacred time on the Christian calendar, I am trying to carve out some time to ponder over the past year and the changes it has brought to my life thinking in particular about those companions in mission that I have lost  along the way. It has been a year of loss both personal and congregationally for me and the folks at the parish to which I am assigned here on Staten Island. Friends, fellow clergy members, parishoners, and local folk active in our extended faith community,  have crossed over into the veil.  

Some families have lost a parent at too young an age; another lost both a sibling and a parent in the same year.  Another family lost an adult son in a freak car accident in which he was killed while sitting on a bench waiting for a bus. A patriarch for an extended family lost a heroic battle with debilitating illness and organ transplant. Our parish choir has lost four members in the last year alone. 

Two of my closest spiritual guides have died this year.  One, at a much too young age, the other after an illness left untreated for too long that resulted in a prolonged and difficult death.

And yet, life does move on in the continuum of time and space.  We grieve, and the grief does not leave us.  It scabs over and then falls off leaving a mark that we will carry with us for the rest of our natural life.  Memories become less painful, and we can often laugh at past events shared with our dearly departed ones, that seemed impossible to do in the immediate time surrounding their deaths.

And the year moves on and new  life enters into it. 

Even though the past year brought with it times of deep sorrow and despair, New light and life has seeped into it as well.  Several cousins welcomed new babies into their lives adding another grandchild, or experiencing one for the very first time. A niece gave birth to my brother's first grandchild, a daughter...sort of following a pattern for him: four sisters, two daughters and now a beauty of a grandchild. My daughter-in-law gave us a new grandchild, nephew and cousin that has given my "baby" one of his own. 

And the circle of life continues to roll and roll and roll. We ride it for a time here, and later in eternity.  It is a mysterious, event-filled and scary ride...but not one any of us would change.

This Sunday, those of us who worship in the Western Christian tradition will affirm our belief in the eternity of our lives as we celebrate again the ancient Easter liturgy and greet each other with the words: "Alleluia, Christ is Risen!", holding fast to the belief that those words so true to the apostles and disciples of old, are just as true for us today.

"The Lord is risen, indeed. Alleluia!"

Cuba and spirituality

For many Cubans born after The Revolution, religious spirituality and Cuban culture are emphatically oxymoronic. Christianity in general, and Roman Catholicism in particular were parts of the social and national life that were supposedly erased away by Fidel and his followers.  And on the surface and in conversation with those born post 1960, this is true.  On a recent trip to Cuba I met two young tour guides who informed me that Christmas celebration were again allowed after the visit of Pope John Paul, but only old people actually celebrated it.  The young much preferred celebrating the New Year. We were permitted to visit the Cathedral in Havana, but when I asked who was it dedicated to, neither of my guides could answer me repeating over and over again that it was just "The Cathedral".

We were informed that if religion among the Cuban population could be broken down into groups, the largest number would be Christian, the second group would be followers of Santeria, and the lowest percentage would be Jews.

Walking around in various towns and neighborhoods in Cuba reveals a religious heritage that has not been eradicated by 60 years of Socialist presence.  From the names of the streets and plazas to the not so secret street shrines and lovingly maintained personal religious items of the people, spirituality has been alive, perhaps sub-rosa, but still there in Cuba all these years.

It is easy to identify followers of Santeria on the streets of Havana, Santa Clara, Trinidad or Cienfuegos, the towns we visited.  Many of them are attired completely in white, a sign of their initiation into this religious melding of Catholicism and traditional African worship.

Grand Synagogue

Most of the Jews who live in Cuba reside in the metropolitan area of Havana and attend one of two synagogues: one is the conservative and the other is an orthodox Sephardic congregation. The conservative congregation worships in a mid-century modern building near the Malecon, the wide shore-hugging promenade that holds Havana away from the wild Caribbean Sea. The Sephardic Hebrew Center of Cuba building is in downtown Havana.

La Virgen de Caritas

The squares of Old Havana include San Francisco and Cathedral squares. There is a newly renamed street in honor of Mother Teresa, and a new Greek Orthodox Church has just opened near the Malecon. We passed Baptist, Methodist and Roman Catholic churches that are open and functioning.

La Virgen

Several of these hidden in plain sight symbols are the various street shrines, private statues and altar pieces dedicated to La Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre.  You can see her in churches, on windowsills, in posters, on tiled walls in private homes, in organic street motifs. She is the patroness of Cuba with a long history and many devoted followers both Christian and Santerian. Her presence has been important to them, and her image is important even to many who profess that they have no religious faith.  And she has an interesting and decidedly Cuban story.

Tradition holds that in 1612 two Native American brothers and an African slave set out to collect ocean water to make salt. They are called "the three Juans". They made the salt for preserving meat at  El Cobre. While at sea, a storm arose, rocking their  boat. One of them was wearing a medal with the image of the Virgin Mary, and they began to pray for her protection. Suddenly, the storm was gone. In the distance was an  object floating in the water.  It was a statue of the Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus and a cross. The statue was fastened to a board with an inscription saying "Yo Soy la Virgen de la Caridad" or "I am the Virgin of Charity." Dispite being in the salt water, the statue remained completely dry. This image was enshrined in several places, until it finally rested at El Cobre, a copper mining town, and the place where the first groups of enslaved people were freed in 1801.

So, in reality, the Virgin of Charity of Cobra has been around far longer than Fidel and his crew.  Her image can be seen in the streets of Havana, in the gardens of Santa Clara, in the small apartments of retirees, and in the studio of one of Cuban's most celebrated artists. She has been a symbol of hope for the faithful of Cuba for over 400 years; that is a heck of a lot longer than Fidel's measly 60.

Impressions of Cuba: La Perla del Caribe

I just returned from an eight day trip to Cuba.  I know what you are thinking: How did she go to Cuba?  Aren't American Citizens forbidden to visit Cuba?  The answer is complicated.  "Est complicado" is an expression one hears all over Cuba, and we were all over Cuba in those eight days. Individual American will find it difficult to book a flight to Cuba unless they opt to first fly to Canada, Mexico or the Azores and then to Cuba. You can then go to one of the few resort hotels Cuba has developed to entice residents of northern climes to spend some time at the beautiful beaches at the all-inclusive resorts on the west and south coasts of the island. The folks who go there do not really interact with the locals. Oh, they may speak to their waiter or house maid about the island, or use the occasional taxi driver to get back and forth to a close by paladar...a privately owned restaurant, but that is about as close as they come to interacting with the Cuban people. My trip was a bit different.

It was advertised as a "People to People" event, and we did meet quite a lot of the locals and visited art schools, senior centers, a Boys and Girls Club, attended a Baroque music concert and listened to a chamber music presentation of traditional and modern Cuban music. We went to the Che Guevera Memorial, Ernest Hemingway's house, an old Franciscan Monastery, and Havana's Cathedral.  We went to artists' residences and saw their outrageous work, and spent time in a market where you could buy "Cuba" baseball caps and Che refrigerator magnets.  

Here are some quick observations:
1. The Cuban People love to talk to foreigners, and have opinions about how things should be in Cuba. Many have only learned the "party line".  Be polite and listen to them.  They just want to make you understand their way of life.
2. The infrastructure is horrible.  The roads are rough, and the railroad is unreliable.
3. There are NO beaches in Havana.
4. Che Guvera's grandmother was a Lynch.  She was Irish.
5. The population of Cuba is approximately 11 million.  There are over 11 million people living in the NYC metropolitan tri-state area of NY, NJ and CT.
6. There are 30,000 cars registered in Cuba. They are considered to be a UNESCO Historic treasure and cannot be shipped out of Cuba.
7. The chief source of protein in Cuba is the pig...pork is king.
8. Fishing out in the Caribbean Sea is discouraged.  The Cuban Government does not want anyone to have access to a good fishing boat that might make the 90 mile trip to Key West.
9. Any economic problem is the fault of the "embargo", and thus the United States, but they are gracious to Americans who have dollars to spend.
10.  Bring your own toilet paper, tissues and hand sanitizer.  You will need them.  Several restaurants had brand-spanking new toilets, but no seats....get over yourself: this is Cuba.


Despite the problems, I am glad I went to Cuba.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWlndyXffdE

Just get it right!!!

This afternoon while watching my favorite afternoon soap opera, "General Hospital", several things occurred on the screen before me that had me yelling like a boob at the boob tube," Gentleman, Ladies, can you just get it right?"

Now some people may say that I overreact to what to me are obvious errors on the part of play directors, film crews and others who make what I consider to be bone-headed errors.  I actually sat thorough the ill-fated Broadway musical based on "Saturday Night Fever", that showed two main characters dancing under what was supposed to be the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, except for one glaring error: it had a train chugging over it.  Now, if this show was playing in Iowa, it would make no mind that this error existed, but it had many of us in the audience shaking our heads in disbelief that this blatant mistake happened in the city where said bridge actually was situated, and engineering -wise, could not have a train on it due to its design which mimics the curvature of the earth.

Or when I sat wiping away the tears as Oliver and Jenny rush out of Central Park on the way to the hospital where we all know she will die in the film version of "A Love Story."  Oliver raises his arm to hail down a cab, and one stops immediately. "Oh, yeah", said my soon-to-be spouse, "Like that can really happen." Every guy in the movie theater burst out laughing at his cogent New York observation.

Yesterday during a commercial for medical  insurance, a family is visiting Philadelphia when the father announces, "Here we are in the first capital of the United States."  What?  What I thought to myself.  I am pretty sure New York City was the first capital of the United States.  George Washington took the oath of office on the steps of Federal Hall near on Wall Street.  There is a statue there commemorating that event. I am now shaking my head. I don't think I would buy any kind of insurance from a company that does not check its facts before making a commercial with such a blatant error.

But that is not the thing that stuck in my craw that day.  It was the hot melting mess of a wedding ceremony on GH. Never mind that there is a mob shoot out about to go down during the nuptials, the vestments are all wrong.

Now, I know that most people would not know there is a protocol for religious attire, but  they would know that one would not be wearing pajamas to a business meeting.  And so Christian clergy have special clothes for special occasions as well, and there is a  certain order of what one dons to each event.

Alb and chasuble

Vestments worn by liturgical centered clerics like Roman Catholic, Episcopal and Lutheran ordained folk, are based on everyday clothing of ancient Rome.  At the celebration that includes a Eucharist, the presider wears an alb ( long white robe), a stole indicating their office and a chasuble if she/he is the priest/pastor, and an alb, stole and dalmatic if he/she is a deacon.  These vestments are in different colors depending on the time of year and the reason for the celebration. During Lent, most of these vestments are purple; for Pentecost, red is the color; green is for what is called "Ordinary Time". And white is for celebrations such as weddings, baptisms and funerals (black is seldom if never used anymore, resulting in many, many black vestment sets being offered on E-Bay).  Oh, there is no mix and match in liturgical vestments; the colors matter and one does not swap out different stole colors for the heck of it.

If a wedding is being performed, and there is no Eucharist, the officiant wears what is referred to as "choir attire" black cassock ( long black robe with a long row of buttons on the front), cassock and white stole or tippet (another scarf-like vestment that indicates the person is licensed to preach).
I guess you are wondering why I was so annoyed at the obvious...at least to me...screw up on the set when the "priest" came out to officiate at the wedding in a black cassock, white chasuble and red stole! Just wrong, wrong, wrong on many levels. Cassock...okay, I grant you a pass on that one. Red at a wedding??? I don't think so.  White chasuble and no Eucharist....no can do. This obvious oblivion to liturgical fashion faux pas annoyed me more than the fact that I knew his wedding ceremony was not going to end happily....this is a soap opera, after all.

Choir Attire

Perhaps I should get a resume together and offer my services as fashion consultant for all things clergy on daytime television; I could be a contender, a "clerical consultant".

On being single...again.

People often wonder what times of year or events do people like me, single again, not by choice, but by fate, find most difficult.  Some would say Christmas, but since I still have lots of family around, and many Church obligations during that time of year, I am kept quite busy.  The same holds true for Easter and Thanksgiving, family and faith obligations keep me hopping, and usually running from place to place.

But St. Valentine's Day is different; it is a day for pairs. A bit of a back story on St. Valentine is needed.  There are at least three martyrs with the same name.  The one commemorated on February 14th is Saint Valentine of Terni, third-century Roman saint and associated since the Middle Ages with  courtly love. Just to set the record straight, Valentine is not just the patron saint of love, he is also responsible for overseeing engaged couples, prevention of fainting, bee keepers,  roses,  happy marriages, plague, and, last but not least, epilepsy.  I don't know who assigns areas of patronage, but fainting, epilepsy and plague...that's a lot of responsibility without adding all that love stuff. And how random is the additional task of overseeing beekeepers?

St. Valentine

                                                                                                    
Anyway...Valentine's Day is not for the faint hearted single.  The world is awash in paired bliss.  On any other random Sunday, I might call  married friends inquiring if they wanted to attend an event or grab a lunch or early dinner at some local eatery, but not on the 14th of February.  First of all, you cannot just surreptitiously walk into any restaurant on this island or in this city without having a reservation on that particular day.  And don't expect the normal menu...most places have a special "Dinner for Two" list set up for that day which is different than the normal one. Most of the tables are set for two, so an odd number, like one, is just out of the question. And you really don't want to be the solo act on this day; since your presence will only serve to remind everyone in the restaurant of the fact that a friend shared with me when my husband died " All marriages and relationships end... by divorce, disagreement or death." And if you are someone who is single by choice or chance, why put yourself through the personal angst, just order that pizza or the Chinese food for delivery and be done with it.

The one big thing that really gets under my skin about being single is the dreaded "single supplement" that travel companies impose on solo-travelers. It's like adding insult to injury.  "So you want to continue to travel?  Yippee! We'll take your money, but you don't have someone to share your quarters with?  Okay, you can still come, but you have to pony up an additional fee to do so." That  "Single Supplement"can be anywhere from $300 to $2000 depending on the trip. Some travel companies will pair you up with another single, but that does not appeal to me. I like my space, and at this age, I do not want to have to accommodate a stranger in that space.  These travel companies don't suggest that  partnered people double up with others, so, why do they think I am eager to do so? I don't mind sharing with someone I know, but that is not always possible.

I have begun to seek out travel opportunities where these fees are non-existent or low, and am happy to say I have found two cruise lines that have limited single cabins and a two travel companies that do not charge single supplements on some of their trips. The other alternative is to put together a solo itinerary on one's own, which I have done in the past, and will probably do again. I think the travel industry is really missing out on a huge market by its restrictive policies.

And as for next St Valentine's Day?  Maybe I will spearhead a campaign to start a special event for singles only...no supplement involved.