On the Lake to Under the Highway

I have visited several churches so far. One kind woman said she had a service in mind for me, but it turns out it was contemporary worship music, reminiscent of an older generation bringing what were once their youthful music tastes to the altar, in an evangelical summer campy kind of way. I guess the stereotype carries into seminary that younger folks are spiritually fed by a drum set at Eucharist. The view from St. Luke's on the Lake was impressive, but for me I prefer to stay local- and the 25 minute drive (all within what is considered Austin) is a bit far for me.

Instead St. Lukes on the Lake, this week I went to St. Georges under the highway. It is not actually named that, but it would be appropriate, highway 35 casts a shadow over the church yard. Lynn at the catholic worker recommended St. Georges, as she put it "Father David, will be an ally for you in the Episcopal Church" It is encouraging when episcopal/catholic worker connections already exists! St. Georges is small quirky bunch. The liturgy was of course familiar, no surprises there- which I prefer to weak attempts at creatively altering liturgy or trying to make it 'relevant'. Father David's sermon was what sold me, at least to come back and visit; In light of persistent racism, he challenged us to consider our roles in society not just our personal beliefs or feelings. We may, he suggests, not feel racist but still sit on a search committee that fails to consider anyone who is not white, and so we need to view racism as larger than our own personal beliefs, but examine our lives and what we may be supporting. Like the old testament reading for today we may be called to be the voice of reprimand like Nathan, or we may be on the receiving side, like David, and need to hear that voice telling us we have sinned against God for how we have treated our neighbor. Just a note: St. George's Episcopal Church is on the "bad" (east) side of Hwy 35, where I was told to stay away from.

During coffee hour at St. George's I met a suspender wearing man who had lived with Dorothy Day at the worker in NYC. He described to me his conversion to Christianity at the worker. He said morning prayers with Dorothy and attended mass with her and the other workers and came to understand what liturgy was. He said he came to understand why they needed liturgy, and these words stuck a cord in me. In the face of the world's injustice, especially while working 'on the ground' at the worker, I needed liturgy to help ground me in God's work and presence. My episcopal, catholic worker friend also let me know it is national biker poetry month! I laughed very hard at this- but he was quite serious, as his business card identifies him, he is an "aspiring poet" and let me know he is very connected. St. George's may be a home for me.

The third church that I visited is St. David's, which was described to me as the mega-style Episcopal Church downtown with lots of "old money". Their sanctuary, chapel, cafe, bookstore, and school is impressive and they seem to have a ministry for many different walks of life. My connection to St. David's is volunteering at their drop-in center for homeless folks (they call them neighbors) at Trinity Center. Trinity Center offers a space to eat a light meal, watch a movie, access resources like phone, mail, eye glasses, AIDS testing, and computers. They are open several days a week, and one day just for women. My first day volunteering I cut up apples for the 60 meals they serve everyday (many more people show up, but food and space is limited), served popcorn, gave a bloody guy a new t-shirt, hung out with the guests and swept the floor. I asked one of the employees at Trinity about social service funding cut backs in Texas and she said it is not a problem- the state barely funds social services to begin with, so there is not much to cut. The Trinity Center may be another home for me away from the seminary, as a place to serve others and be served through relationship and a reminder of those in need right here in Austin.