Greetings to you on a dark dreary Sunday here in the Burgh. Those of us who gathered for worship this afternoon gave thanks for the covered porch . . . A couple of dozen of us gathered 'round at Our House on Christmas Eve to mark the occasion with food, fun, carols, a reading and presents. Then, on Christmas Day, we hosted 43 folks for dinner at the drop-in center where our guests feasted on meatloaf, oven fried potatoes and onions and other delicacies whipped up by Ruth. But, other than that, it's been pretty quiet here at Hope this week. Below, you'll find an announcement about the beginning of a conversation that will lead to action . . . and Steve's reflection on God with us. We hope you enjoy!
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Jim Crow is alive and well . . .
 Roughly 50 percent of all the people in the criminal justice system here in New York State are African Americans. That's a stunning figure when you consider that African Americans account for about 15 percent of the state's population. Ever wonder why that is? Well, Michelle Alexander has found the answer and lays it all out for the rest of us in her 2010 best seller The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in an Age of Colorblindness. It is one of the most compelling books I've ever read. That may be because so many of our friends who visit the drop-in center have spent time behind bars and, in a city where there are no jobs for people with clean records, they're stuck in a system that almost guarantees that they'll be sent away again. And, it may be because between 70 and 75 percent of our neighbors are African Americans and Hispanics threatened by a system that is designed to keep them down. And, it is why Ecclesia has signed on as a sponsor and participant in a "Who is Jim Crow" film series which kicks off at 1 p.m., Saturday, January 18th, at the Newburgh Free Library, 124 Grand Street. The first event will be the showing of a video in which Ms. Alexander presents her compelling argument during a 2012 presentation at Harlem's Abyssinian Baptist Church. Join us if you can. If you can't make it, you can still watch the video by clicking here. |
And, God moved into the neighborhood
About a dozen homeless men had already gathered outside Our House around noon on Christmas Day. Most of them had been at Grace United Methodist Church for a breakfast feast, but now there was no place to go and nothing to do except wait. It's easy for us indoor people to forget that public buildings, churches, and not-for-profits close on holidays. It's easy to forget that, here in the Burgh, if you're homeless and need to warm up or use the bathroom on a day like Christmas the police station and the hospital emergency room lobby are about your only choices.  So we tried to practice what we preach. We opened the drop-in center and told the guys they were on their own until we officially opened. I walked back into the main building here at Hope reminding myself that we need to find a way to be open more hours especially on holidays and other days when the weather's crummy and the library's closed. I haven't figured that out yet, but part of the solution requires that we engage our guests in not only caring for the place but in running it. Last week I responded to the Christmas story with a story of my own about a man named Sunday. In it, I said that the story of Jesus' birth reminds me that you never know how Jesus will present himself when he knocks on the door seeking shelter of one sort or another. In one of next Sunday's gospel lessons (there are choices), we read the magnificent prologue to John's gospel - John 1:1-18. It's a beautiful and brillian t mystical piece that sets the tone for John's entire gospel - Jesus, the Word, the Light who was in the beginning and became a person to bring us grace and truth. As much as I love the King James version (see the link), The Message version of the text bowled me over. The Message takes verse 14 - "the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" - and turned it into "The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood." It drives home the message that God is not just somewhere "up there" in heaven or waiting for me deep inside my soul where the Divine DNA keeps a candle lit and calls me to connect. God is also alive and well and living in my neighborhood where God is touching my life and the lives of my neighbors calling us to connect, to be and to do and to know we are loved. If that's not enough, I also take John 1:14 to be a call to us, as disciples, to go with Jesus into our neighborhoods, to bring good news, to work for justice and healing and fr eedom for all of God's children.
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