We have many ways to measure time. Many devices. Varied measurements. I spotted this one while walking in Central Park yesterday. How many years has it seen?
See you along the Trail.
Purple flowers, Broadway Mall at 118th Street 1
Purple megaphones
trumpet beauty
Manhattan, New York
19 August 2012
Why I like New York 32: the wonder of Central Park 2
It started as a walk.
It became a quest.
It ended in success.
I preached this morning at the United Presbyterian Church of Ozone Park. Upon my return to the Shire near the Hudson, I faced a decision about what to do with the afternoon. Several options lay before me: work, a nap, or a walk in Central Park, my second favorite place, after the Shire, in New York.
My original thought was to visit the park, but I felt tired and sluggish so I opted for the nap. Except, I could not fall asleep. I decided to go with Plan A.
I entered the park at the Frederick Douglass Circle gate and made my way across to Harlem Meer. Then I turned south. I decided I would walk down to see Strawberry Fields before I exited. I watched an inning of softball and then an inning of baseball. The more I walked, the better I felt.
After about two hours, I looked at my pedometer and noticed that I had topped 16,000 steps for the day. I started at about 6,000 when I arrived at the park. I pondered for a few moments and realized that I could well top 20,000 steps for the day.
And the walk morphed into a quest.
And shortly after I left Central Park, the pedometer topped 20,000. It stands at 21,412; I may take a few more steps before the night ends. Success.
See you along the Trail.
Tolkien moment in Central Park
While walking in Central Park today, I had a Lord of the Rings moment. Of a sort. There are two. They are types of towers.
See you along the Trail.
Commissioned
A wonderful, joy-filled afternoon!
The Presbytery of New York City commissioned Peng Leong for ministry at First Chinese Presbyterian Church in New York. Peng will work with children. Her ministry will focus on growing both the Mandarin and Cantonese Sunday School classes. Peng will also work with recreation and tutoring programs for you. And she will assist in the outreach program to the Chinatown community.
The requirements to become a Commissioned Ruling Elder include serving in a ministerial placement. Peng chose to serve with the Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations. We had a blessed year together.
Peng completed all the requirements in decency and orderliness. In May, the presbytery voted to commission her. And today, in an act involving Peng, First Chinese Presbyterian Church, and the Presbytery of New York City, the commissioning took place.
Adolfo Griffith and Sera Chung sang. Anne Conroy and Joseph Collazo provided the charges. Dr. David Ofori moderated. Nathan Lim, Betty Jones, James Tse, and Polly Lewis helped lead the service. Ryan Smith and Ricky Velez-Negron from our office attended along with many of Peng’s family members and members of the congregation and presbytery. It was a great day!
Me? Peng honored me with an invitation to preach.
Thanks to Ryan for the photo.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Friends, New York, Photo, Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
Self-care week 1
Ate well – seven days
30+ minutes of exercise – seven days
Weekly steps: 87,317
Weight change: 3 pounds lost
It’s a start.
See you along the Trail.
I trimmed
Each sport has its own tradition. Some have many.
In hockey, when teams make the playoffs, the players grow “playoff beards.” National Hockey League players stop shaving when their team enters the playoffs and does not shave until the team is eliminated from the playoffs or wins the Stanley Cup.
Reports indicate that the New York Islanders started the tradition in the 1980s. The practice has grown and spread to other hockey leagues and to fans.
I am among them. When the Pittsburgh Penguins make the playoffs, I let my beard grow. I have not shaved for over 25 years. Never one to take things to an extreme, I don’t shave for the playoffs. I simply stop trimming my beard until Pittsburgh loses. That gives me a bit of a head start on some of the players, but as a fan, their guidelines do not fully apply to me.
The Penguins had a great season and entered this year’s chase for Lord Stanley’s Cup as one of the favorites. My beard grew as they progressed. I had hopes of not trimming until the Pens reclaimed the Cup. It did not happen.
Pittsburgh lost tonight. They left the playoffs, swept out by the Boston Bruins.
I trimmed.
See you along the Trail.
WCC Assemby in Korea to Urge Pursuit of Peace, Justice
My friend Grace Ji-Sun Kim recently went to a planning meeting for the World Council of Churches Assembly that will take place in Korea in October. I wish I were going to the Assembly – I have fond memories of Korea.
This is my latest post for Ethicsdaily.com. It is a reflection of my recent participation at a World Council of Churches Meeting in Geneva.
Many mainline denominational churches, such as the Lutherans, Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists, are struggling to survive in North America.
View original post 860 more words
Filed under Current Events, Friends, Human Rights
Wheels down
The plane sits
on the tarmac
tethered to the ground
by air control.
The metal tube
surrounds us
as we sit
and wonder
and fume
and fuss
our privileged journey
interrupted,
inconvenienced,
for a moment.
In the cabin
the pilot awaits
the word that
will start us
on our way again.
DCA
6 June 2013
Filed under Travel
Why I like New York 31: the bridge between terminals C and D at LaGuardia
Today the Trail led to Louisville. Again. At least that was the plan. It may still happen.
I arrived at LaGuardia – perhaps my least favorite place in New York – at around 4:30 for a 6:00 flight to Washington. There I would connect with a flight to Louisville.
Shortly after I arrived in Terminal C, the attendants announced that the 5:00 flight would be delayed. About 5:15, they announced that the 6:00 flight, my flight, would be delayed. I jumped into the line to check connections because I did not have much time in Washington.
Shortly after I got in line, they announced that my flight would be further delayed. Then came the news that they had cancelled the 5:00 flight. Oddly enough no one cheered this announcement.
When I reached the counter, Ricardo had bad news and good news and bad news for me. I would miss my connection. He could book me on another flight – a direct flight on another airline. It would not leave until 8:45. I took the flight.
Ricardo sent me around the corner to the other airline’s help desk. There I learned that the plane would depart from a gate in Terminal D.
Having almost three hours I asked if I could walk to the new gate. Told that I could, I did.
And I discovered the bridge between the terminals. And I realized that it made, if not a perfect, at least a very good place to walk and an opportunity to keep up my efforts at self-care.
In the spirit of making Irish whiskey when life gives one barley, I have spent an hour walking on the bridge. And since my flight is now delayed until 10:00, I may walk some more.
See you along the Trail.
