In shock, still processing,
Giving thanks for the life and love and faith and witness of Robina Winbush … for her vision of what the Church could be and her work to help us live into that vision …for her commitment and work for justice.
Grieving with Robina’s family, friends, colleagues in the Office of the General Assembly and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), and ecumenical and interfaith partners.
Grateful to have been Robina’s colleague and to have learned from her and to have been guided and shaped by her.
We come from dust; we return to dust.
And in between … Robina Winbush made such a difference.
Thanks be to God.
In between
7 March 2019
Gym at the Shire. Treadmill. Stretching. Rolling foot with lacrosse ball.
Eternal Flame – Susanna Hoffs
Ice Age – Adina Nyree
Hold Up – Beyonce
Avondale – Anne Byrne
Weepin’ Willow Blues – Bessie Smith
Cherokee Morning Song – Walela
I Cover the Waterfront – Billie Holiday
Call Me – Blondie
The First Person on Earth – Tracy Chapman
I’ll Fly Away – Alison Krauss & Gillian Welch
Babaloo – Angelique Kidjo
Woke up This Morning with My Mind Stayed on Freedom – Sweet Honey in the Rock
Chain of Fools – Aretha Franklin
Mayor Bloomberg – Awkwafina
Hear Me Lord – Bonnie Raitt
An Raibh Tu Ag An Gcarraig? – Sissel
Filed under Uncategorized
Are you from Pittsburgh?
“Excuse me. Are you from Pittsburgh?” the woman spoke gently.
“Lenore is,” Charles replied.
“We heard you talking about Pittsburgh,” the woman said, gesturing to the radiant, bald, younger woman with whom she shared the table.
Of course they heard us. It’s New York. Restaurants put tables pretty much on top of one another.
Lenore had come from Pittsburgh to New York. She arranged to meet Charles and me to talk about the Presbyterian Church’s Freedom Rising Initiative to address the impact of racism on African-American men.
We met at the TGI Friday’s in Penn Station. Charles’ son is playing in one of the New Jersey state basketball championship semifinal games tonight. This location made it easy for him to join us and then to get home for the game.
We talked about the work being done by the Presbytery of Pittsburgh and by the Presbytery of New York City. We explored how the presbyteries might support one another and partner for effective ministry.
Our conversation touched on the city of Pittsburgh. Lenore lived there almost all her life; Charles had recently been there for a meeting; part of my childhood was spent on Neville Island.
After a fruitful conversation, and when we finished our meal, Charles stood to leave for his son’s basketball game. That’s when the woman stood, took the half step needed to cross the aisle in the restaurant and spoke.
“My daughter Erin goes to school outside Pittsburgh,” she informed us. We smiled at Erin who sat with her back to the wall. Erin smiled at us. It appeared she was returning to Pittsburgh. She had her suitcase with her.
“We heard you praying,” the woman stated. “Erin has cancer. We were wondering. Would you pray with her?”
We would. We did.
Lenore and I stood beside Charles. Erin and her mother stood. We joined hands and prayed.
We prayed for Erin. For healing. For strength. For courage. For grace.
We prayed for Erin’s mother and family. For Erin’s friends. For the medical personnel who care for her.
When we finished, we realized we had blocked the aisle. We moved so others who had waited patiently, at least outwardly, could get by.
A woman stepped around us toward the exit. Our eyes locked for a moment. She must have been allergic to something in the restaurant because moisture rimmed her eyes, a little bit leaking out of one corner.
The restaurant’s host came from the other direction. He had been a tad grumpy when we asked for more napkins. Now a grin stretched from ear to ear. “Thank you,” he said. “That was wonderful. Thank you.”
Erin and her mother thanked us. Hugs and smiles were shared.
We are made from dust. And to the dust we will all return. But until we do, moments of grace will find us. Thanks be to God.
New York, New York
7 March 2019
Filed under Food, Friends, Lent, Presbytery of New York City
5 March 2019
Gym at the Shire. Treadmill. Stretching. At the same time as NK Body Philosophy.
Stairway to the Stars – Ella Fitzgerald
Grandmother’s Ways – Sharon Burch
Harriet Tubman – Holly Near
I Used to Love You – Adina Nyree
Why – Annie Lennox
The Calling – Sera
A Brand New Me – Aretha Franklin
Women on the Tier – Suzanne Vega
Reckless Blues – Bessie Smith
This Little Light of Mine – Sweet Honey in the Rock
Most of the Time – Bettye LaVette
The Whippoorwill – Walela
God Bless the Child – Billie Holiday
Talkin’ Bout a Revolution – Tracy Chapman
Gnawin’ on It – Bonnie Raitt
Filed under Exercise, Music, New York, playlist, Uncategorized
Surprises 3
There was a meeting today at the Madison Square Boys and Girls Club in the Bronx to discuss a teen forum for young men. I boarded the 2 train and headed uptown. Surprises followed.
Surprise 1. The train ran slowly. Very slowly. All right, that is not necessarily a huge surprise. But it led to …
Surpise 2. At the 3rd Avenue – 139th Street Station, the announcement was made that the train would next stop at E. 180th Street. Two stops beyond 174th Street where I wanted to get off. I decided I would go ahead and ride to E. 180th and then catch a downtown train. I am glad I did because it led to …
Surprise 3. The mosaic seen above. Amazing work.
4 March 2019
Starting again.
Gym at the Shire. Treadmill. Elliptical. Strength work with NK Body Philosophy.
Off Beat Blues – Adina Nyree
Circle of Light – Walela
I Aint Gonna Play No Second Fiddle – Bessie Smith
Show Some Emotion – Joan Armatrading
Eyes on the Price – Sweet Honey in the Rock
Rock Steady – Aretha Franklin
If You Miss Me from the Back of the Bus – Bettie Mae Fikes
Solitude – Billie Holliday
I Can’t Help You Now – Bonnie Raitt
Rock in This Pocket – Suzanne Vega
America – Tracy Chapman
September Moon – Thunder Bird Sisters
Ithemba – Sister Phumi
Heart Like a Wheel – Linda Ronstadt
Hooghan – Sharon Burch
26 February 2019
10,000 steps.
No focused work.
Therefore no playlist.
Sore foot.
Wondering what is up.
Filed under Exercise, New York, Uncategorized
25 February 2019
Treadmill. Strength work with NK Body Philosopy. Stretching. Gym at the Shire.
Love Revolution – Lenny Kravitz
Three Miles Down – Gil Scott-Heron
Harriet Tubman/Steal Away – Kim & Reggie Harris
Freedome Road – The Blind Boys of Alabama
Complexion – Kendrick Lamar
A Love Supreme, Pt. 2: Resolution – John Coltrane
John Henry – Paul Robeson
The Love I Never Had – Mary J. Blige
Tutti Frutti – Little Richard
So – Tracy Chapman
I Was Doing All Right – Louis Armstrong & Oscar Peterson
Set the Night to Music – Roberta Flack
A Song for Assata – Common
After – Albuquerque 1996
After the prayers had been said
and the motions had been made;
after the rulings had been dispensed
and the speeches had been delivered;
after the instructions had been given
and the buttons had been pushed;
after the votes had been tallied
and the results announced;
after the passion
and the decent order;
after . . .
. . . the assembly sat in quiet contemplation,
pondering who had won
and who had lost,
considering what was gained
and what the cost.
My heart sundered the silence,
breaking, softly breaking,
for those, who by official action,
had been denied their full humanity,
and, whose gifts, but that same official action,
had been rejected.
A tear slid down my check,
coming to rest in tangled whiskers.
A single tear
shed for those beloved of God
who the vote would exclude
and for those
who out of fear
or prejudice
or lack of love
or for whatever reason
sought to shut doors –
and build walls –
and keep out –
and settle once and for all;
and in so doing
lost an opportunity
to join in
God’s amazing,
welcoming,
including,
affirming,
door-opening,
wall-smashing,
never-ending
love.
This was written after the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s 208th General Assembly (1996). That assembly met in Albuquerque, New Mexico and took action to recommend a change the church’s constitution that would ban LGBTQ individuals from serving in ordained offices. I attended that assembly as an observer. As the United Methodist Church meets to wrestle with similar questions, I remembered this piece and choose to share it.
Filed under Current Events, Family, Friends, Human Rights, Poem, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
