Saturday, April 7, 2012

Holy Saturday

I am in my hometown of Brooklyn, New York and today I went to the Brooklyn Museum. It has been a favorite place for me from my elementary school days. I saw three powerful exhibitions:
#1. "Newspaper Fiction: The New York Journalism of Djuna Barnes 1913-1919." She was certainly a feminist who helped to transform the news story. She also spent a number of years in Paris, France.

#2. "The Dinner Party" by Judy Chicago. In this large triangular table, there were 39 place settings for some of the most notable women in history including: Eleanor d'Aquitaine, Hildegarde, and Sojourner Truth. One can only imagine the dinner conversation that would take place.

#3. "Question Bridge: Black Males":  a transmedia art project that seeks to represent and redefine Black male identity in America. Through video mediated question and answer exchange, diverse members of this "demographic" bridge economic, political, geographic, and generational divisions. I hope that all people can encounter this exhibition.

The walk through these exhibitions was sobering and powerful. Dealing with race, gender, and power, these exhibitions helped to remind me of the past and the work that still needs to take place for the future.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Good Friday

I went to St. Peter's Lutheran Church in New York this afternoon  with my sister where we attended the Service of Devotion...The Passion According to St. Matthew by J.S. Bach. It was truly a moving afternoon with the congregation invited to sing a number of the chorales. The choir and orchestra are magnificent. It is not a performance but a communal gathering. One's attention is centered on the cross of Jesus as so poignantly stated in the Bass Aria:
Come, healing cross, for me prepare it
My Savior! Lay on me its weight;
Whene'er my burden grows too great,
To thee I look for help to bear it.
Come, healing Cross

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

On Death and Dying

Phyllis McCullough, an Associate in Ministry, gave a presentation on death and dying in my course, "Current Trends in Adult Christian Education." Her presentation prompted good questions and discussion. It was a powerful session. In addition to the presentation, I asked students to read Martin Luther's treatise "On Preparing a Christian to Die." During this Holy Week we are reminded God's promise to us in the resurrection of Jesus.