God in New York
Churches can be seen everywhere here. Large, impressive, ugly (large, impressive and ugly are not mutually exclusive), small, beautiful, dilapidated, simple – the buildings are probably just as diverse as the spiritual lives of the people who gather there.
Yesterday I was with my friends at the North Brooklyn Vineyard congregation, a small congregation with around 40 people attending yesterday’s morning service. It was relaxed and informal. Coffee and bagels, which are free, can also be taken out to your seat. In the mornings, the meeting place is a small school hall (which is more the size of a very large living room); in the evenings, it’s a bar.
After the sermon, there was a time when those present could express their love or trust in God, either together or individually. This really moved me. One man sensed that God wanted to say something to a woman in a very specific situation and passed on this message. The situation he described corresponded exactly to a particular situation that has been weighing heavily on my mind. Hearing the words „God sees you!“ in the context of that situation moved me deeply.
I’ve no idea why God sometimes chooses to speak to you through other people… perhaps that way you’re less likely to doubt it… and to see it merely as a figment of your own imagination.
After lunch at IKEA… – same furniture, same food; in the eyes of God and IKEA, all people are equal – I let my friends go and buy their furniture whilst I took the water taxi to the southern tip of Manhattan, which is free at the weekend. There were lots of Orthodox families who had dressed their children – up to seven of them – partly in matching clothes, presumably so they could find them more quickly in the IKEA crowds.
Strolling through the Wall Street area and later Soho, which is almost as busy at the weekend as it is during the week. On the pavement, a Muslim was praying on a cardboard box. I wonder if Allah would accept that as a „prayer mat“. It’s certainly practical.
My highlight: one gallery was selling original lithographs by Chagall, Picasso and Dalí – some of them were absolutely stunning. And not that expensive at all. Prices started at 3,000 dollars. There were even new prints made from the old printing plates that Rembrandt had used. I didn’t find them quite as beautiful as the originals I’d seen in an exhibition, though. A bit of patina is a must with Rembrandt.
One more hot chocolate in a café… then home for a Turkish dinner… on the way, I stood for ages at the door of a bar where they were playing some wonderful live jazz… absolutely marvellous.
On the first day of the month, I usually set aside some time to read through my notes from the previous month, to plan, to pray… but as I wanted to spend yesterday with friends, I’ve postponed it until today.
