On This Rock

On Sunday, August 21 we worshiped in Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem with about 9 others.  The gospel reading was Matt. 16:13-20 -- Peter's declaration that Jesus was the Messiah and Jesus' proclamation that Peter was the rock upon which the church would be built.  The park we were in has a very large rock formation at its center, a fitting location for the reading of this lesson.  The Rev. Lincoln Miller told those gathered that WE are the rock upon which the church is built, ALL of us.  He assured us that we have the strength, just as Peter did, to be the church, to be the face of Christ in the world.  Later the Rev. Miller and I prayed with a man who was very unstable on his feet from drinking.  Tears rolled down his face as we prayed for freedom from that which prevents each of us from fully accepting God's love and forgiveness and we asked for strength for our journeys.

On Monday and Tuesday we visited two Episcopal Service Corps sites, one in West Harlem and the other on the Upper East Side.  These are programs in which young people take a year to live among the poor, work in social service agencies, discern where God is leading them, and live together in community.  St. John's is well positioned to be an ESC site and plans are progressing for this to happen in the next year or so.  John and I gathered lots of valuable information and insights into the program.  Many thanks to Sarah Nazimova-Baum at the New York Intern Program and to the Rev. R.C. Laird at the Rhinelander Volunteers Project for their hospitality and wisdom.

It wasn't all work, though.  We had a great visit with the Rev. Steven Paulikas who was sponsored for ordination by St. John's.  He is the new Rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn.  His joy in serving this primarily West Indian congregation and his gifts as a priest and preacher made us so proud.  We also had a super evening with Jamie Roberts, daughter of our Senoir Warden, Gay Roberts.  Jamie is a fashion designer in NY, but was able to find time to join us for a huge and delicious meal at Carmines right off of Times Square.