NYC (from Luke)

New York: 6/13-15

We were up again early this morning for around an 8 hour drive to catch a 5 pm bus from Stony Point, NY into downtown NYC. We have two separate places to visit in New York: my buddy Nathan Ballentine is staying at a retreat center in Stony Point, working to gut a house that will later be used for an intentional Muslim community house, and Chrodg and my friend Galaxy Slight and her friend Kinzie are staying at NYU over the summer trying to find jobs in the Big Apple.

We arrived in Stony Point about 4:30 (having missed a turn to Stony Point and being stuck on the turnpike to Albany for a solid half hour…and almost getting run off the road by a crazy New Yorker on the Palisades Parkway) and took off to find the bus stop. We were thrown for a loop, however, when the enormous bridge through town was missing, and we therefore how no way to cross the huge gap to get to our bus stop. We started hiking around, but fortunately met a nice man that told us the new bus stop was in fact behind us, and that he was taking the same bus! What good fortune to run into him! He even shared some sweet cookies with me as we waited for the bus and talked about life. He was just one of those chance meetings that really brightened my day.

The bus into the city took about 2 hours, and the overcast skies didn’t lend themselves to a very climactic view of the New York skyline. We arrived at the Transit Authority right on time, and made our way out to Times Square to meet Galaxy and Kinzie for dinner. We enjoyed a great meal at Dave and Buster’s before we took off walking, seeing the bustling heart of the city before taking off on side streets to make our way to the Empire State Building.

If you ever want to go up in the Empire State Building, do it at night. It is an absolutely gorgeous sight to see the city lit up, stretching on as far as the eye can see. In a way, Chrodg and I felt overwhelmed by the fact that we were absolutely surrounded by a MASS of humanity...we weren’t sure we liked that aspect of it. But really…it was just a beautiful beautiful thing looking out from the highest point in the city…

We ran back to Galaxy and Kinzie’s NYU apartment before heading out to a local pub to enjoy some drinks and get a chance to chat. We tried to stay decently late to make Galaxy happy, but the reality was that Chrodg and I were pooped from a long day and were ready to go to bed relatively early (which we did).

I have to say, though, that New York surprised me. Until January of 2008 my only impressions of the city had been negative, but a visit with Michael Arbogast that January had turned me around a little—I’d gotten to explore a little more and I think honestly I enjoyed the hectic pace of everyone around me. And then Saturday when I stepped out of the bus station onto the streets….I just breathed it in and loved it. There is so much energy, so much life going on…I really enjoyed being back in it. I don’t think I’d ever want to live there…but I do like visiting.

Sunday morning came early for me as I was up at 7 to take an 8:45 bus back out to Stony Point to hang out and go to church with Nathan. I found the bus without trouble and enjoyed the time on the way out to read and sort of get my thoughts together. Nathan called me about halfway out and asked, “How would you feel about going to a Quaker meeting today?” I said…HECK YES. Daniel Clausen had suggested to a group of us at Linfield during my junior year that we might be Quakers, and I really do agree with a lot of what they stand for, so I was stoked for my first official Quaker meeting! I found Nathan back at the Stony Point center and met up with Rick Ufford-Chase (the former moderator of the Presbyterian Church) and his two kids, along with Nathan’s buddy Billy from college.

So...a Quaker meeting (not a service, just to clarify), if you’re not familiar, revolves around slowing down, being quiet, and waiting for God to speak. They sit in silence, seated in a loose semi-circle in an unadorned and unspectacular room, listening for the Spirit. They suggest you meditate, pray, read…anything that helps you slow down enough to listen. After about half an hour, someone finally spoke, leading to around another 4 speaking before the meeting ended. They say you should never come to a meeting expecting to speak, nor come to a meeting determined not to speak. God will move where he does, and it is each participants part to be willing to speak if they feel led.

I loved it. I sat there at the beginning thinking…you know what is great about this? These people actually think God will show up. He has to. Otherwise they’ll sit here for an hour in silence and go home (which, by the way, happens sometime in Quaker meetings and is not viewed in any way as a failure). Sometimes I think we’re scared to be quiet and wait for God, because deep down we’re scared He won’t show up. The Quakers depend on Him to show up. “God is still revealing Himself to us, if we have ears to listen.”

Not only do I like the service at the “Religious Society of Friends,” but I love the structure. There is no pastor, no central figure guiding the spirituality and faith of an entire group. They are all pastors, part of the “priesthood of all believers.” Each has an equal say in the message any given Sunday. Why do we expect a pastor to give the message every Sunday? I told Nathan that I would respect a pastor so much if they came out Sunday morning during sermon time and said, “You know what? I didn’t feel inspired this week. I’m not sure the Holy Spirit spoke to me. Sorry. I don’t have a sermon.” I think it’s kinda ridiculous for us to expect spirit-driven sermons every week from one person…maybe that’s what the church is for.

But anyways. Enough of my musings on Quakers. I spent the rest of the afternoon debriefing on the service, graduation, and plans in life with Nathan and Billy…two guys in similar situations to me, with similar thoughts as me…just good times.

Ok…trying to summarize and keep things short now…Sunday night the young adults working at the retreat center went out with Rick and his wife Kitty to hear stories about their work, travels, and life….which was AWESOME. They’ve done some crazy things. Rick started the organization Borderlinks (check it out) and had ridiculous stories to tell about that, as well as share about an Iraqi war vet that is biking/hiking across America to tell his story (google “the contagious Love experiment”). I cannot say how great it was spending time listening to someone who not only dreamed the dream and prayed for its success, but put it into action and in a way, answered his own prayers.

Monday morning for me was longer than expected because Chrodgers missed the early bus in, so I got to rip out flooring with Nathan and Billy in the house they’re working on. It was SO nice to sweat—after 2 weeks of driving and riding in a car, I love the hard physical labor and satisfaction from seeing progress made. What a great time…AND I felt like I earned my keep a little, after enjoying 4 great meals at Stony Points delicious cafeteria for no cost.

New York…you always surprise me. I always hesitate to go…but love it when I do.