I enjoyed blogging when I was in Mississippi. I found a certain amount of fulfillment being able to collect my thoughts and express my musings. Though I often thought about restarting my blog, I never got to it this past year as I settled into my new role as minister in Staten Island. So here I am in August of 2009, intent on blogging again.
There have been a few transitions to make in moving from Wilmington, NC and Gulfport, MS to New York City. Some claim that Staten Island is not really a part of the city--it's really a little provincial island unto itself; a bit of extended suburbia. Yet when I go through the neighborhoods with their diverse communities and take the bus, there is no mistaking that this small land mass called Staten Island, home to half a million people, is part of the city. Though we are one of the five boroughs of New York City, we have no public hospital here and I know that many people have to spend days in the emergency room waiting for a bed. We are often labeled "the forgotten borough" and I often find this to be true--in terms of health care, exorbitant tolls to get to work or to get home, and the underfunded mass transit here on Staten Island.
Like other parts of New York City, we are part of a diverse community that calls to me. Down the street there is a Spanish speaking church, and a local Catholic church provides meals every week. In the church I serve, we provide a safe and comfortable haven each and every night of the week to ten to fifteen men. We provide performance space to community theatre groups of all ages and art exhibit space often during the year. We hold services on Gay Pride and Marriage Equality. We address universal health care, immigration, prison ministry, and the high price of war and tough economic times. We hold Summer Forums on what it's like to be a Muslim on Staten Island, ethical eating, and Hiroshima and Nagasaki. These programs are not unlike those held by other Unitarian Universalist congregations or many other denominations. This borough is known for its pushback on people of color, immigrants, people with different sexual orientations and its amazing ability to retain the status quo despite thousands of people moving here and calling this island "home."
When I ride the bus or engage in one of my favorite pastimes, people watching, I see a different Staten Island. I remember riding home on the bus one late night. A man stood on the bus with his grocery bag leaking. Someone casually pointed this out to him while another passenger gave him one of her bags to put his groceries in. I have witnessed young men so often stereotyped as not caring about anyone else, move over so someone else can sit down and they have this unmistakable look of compassion and care on their face that just makes me smile. I have seen countless acts of mercy and good will walking or riding down the streets. I have seen the rudeness and heard the honks and the cursing too but that doesn't undo my love for this city and my hope that we can transform it with a spirit of feisty love, dedication and commitment.
A new church year begins in two weeks. We will start the year off with a Blessing of the Animals and our annual church picnic, a water ceremony, ingathering and Staff Appreciation Sunday. We have a new Religious Education Coordinator, Board, and Chairs of various committees. I had several wonderful trips this summer--to our Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in Salt Lake City, to San Francisco and Pt. Reyes National Seashore and to an Adaptive Leadership conference in Boston, Massachusetts. I approach this September inspired and rested and ready to begin again!
Blessings on your journey,
Susan
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