As I sat waiting for the shuttle to take me from Times Square to Grand Central this morning, I watched a couple of tourists make the mad dash across the station to the train door. They entered the car, smiled and hugged each other. Joy filled their eyes as they pulled maps from their pockets and planned their day. Joy filled my heart as they reminded me how blessed I am to live in this amazing city.
See you along the Trail.
Elon University Seminar, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations, New York
16 January 2013
Filed under Lent, New York, Photo, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
Photo by Ad Meskens
What do you do when your cab driver makes the sign of the cross while the cab is moving?
I confess it befuddles me. When I notice a cabbie make that simple, profound, ancient gesture in that context, I wonder what to think and feel.
Should I feel safer because the driver has reached out to the Divine for guidance and protection?
Should I worry because clearly the driver no longer has confidence in his or her abilities to navigate the situation and has to turn to another source for assistance?
Should I rejoice in the drivers affirmation that we all live and move and have or being in God?
Should I scan the area for danger?
Fall to the cab floor?
Prepare to fling open the door and jump, tuck and roll toward safety?
Join the driver in the action?
Use the situation for an opportunity to write something boring?
The possibilities seem endless.
To help explore them, I ask: “What would you do?”
See you along the Trail.
I sit in warm comfort in Memphis, Tennessee, preparing for speaking gigs over the next two days. But my thoughts turns to New York City and the people of the Northeast.
Snowmageddon, in some form, has struck. Many people are or will be inconvenienced by the storm; some will be threatened: people who have no shelter, people still recovering from Sandy, and people who must, for whatever reason be outside. My heart aches with worry for my sisters and brother.
The invitation to visit Memphis came last fall. I purchased the ticket in December, scheduling the flight for Thursday.
Early last week, I pondered changing the ticket to leave New York today – Friday. The change fee proved more than I was willing to pay.
Only after I had decided not to change my ticket did I start paying attention to the weather. And I realized that I would still be in New York if I had made the change. Airlines had begun cancelling Friday flights by the time I arrived at LaGuardia on Thursday afternoon.
Part of me gives thanks that I made it to Memphis. I am with good people, eating too much good food, and having great opportunities to share about the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations.
Part of me wishes I were in New York – as the city and the region deal with Nemo.
All of me wishes for safety for all people who are in the path of the storm.
All of me gives thanks for all people who care for sisters and brothers – going in harm’s way or providing shelter from the storm.
See you along the Trail.
You smiled.
Across the room,
across the miles,
across the years,
across the veil
between the worlds,
you smiled.
At me
you smiled.
You smiled.
It was, it is,
enough.
Shire on the Hudson
29 January 2013
Today:
I purchased a ticket to go to Korea;
the church there has invited me to come
and speak about engagement in the
public arena.
My heart broke for women who
endure a culture of rape and violence;
for children who cry to sleep
with nothing to eat;
for peoples whose countries are
torn by war;
for sisters and brothers I do not know
who are violated in ways I
cannot imagine.
I raised a glass in memory of my father
who died 39 years ago
this day.
I spent significant time doing laundry and
washing dishes.
Exciting.
Joyful.
Heartbreaking.
Painful.
Grief-filled.
Mundane.
Of such is life.
See you along the Trail.
The news crossed my Facebook page early this afternoon. People in Ohio and in India called for a worldwide blackout and candlelight vigil as a witness for an end to rape – for today – January 26 from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m. T.V.N. Clutch, India, the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence, and the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence sponsored the event.
The word came to late for me to organize participation with anyone else. So I spread the word as widely as I could on social media. And from 6:00 – 9:00 p.m., I turned out the lights and lit candles. It was a tad disorienting. But for those affected, the experience of being raped is more than a tad disorienting.
In the silent darkness, I reflected on how rape is not only a violation, but a means to control. I grieved. I prayed. I pondered what I have done, what I have failed to do, and what I could do. I took a picture of one candle and shared in on Facebook, using my phone, not my computer.
As I turned the lights back on, one of the first things I did was to send a message to my Senators asking them to co-sponsor the Violence Against Women Act. While not the only piece, this legislation represents an important part of the effort to end sexual and intimate partner violence that violates women, and some men, and shames us all.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Current Events, New York, Photo
Some ice is thin.
Some ice is even thinner.
The ice today at The Lake at Central Park was the thinnest I have ever seen.
20 January 2013
The Lake, Central Park
Along the Graybeard Trail 