In memory of José Julio Sarria ...

My thoughts and prayers are with new San Franciscan friends, and the city of San Francisco, as they gather later today to mourn the passing, and to celebrate the life, of José Julio Sarria (#JoséSarria); WWII Army Veteran, Drag Queen, Gay Activist & First Empress of San Francisco and founder of the International Imperial Court System, a fundraising network that has raised millions for charitable causes through costume-ball fundraisers and remains one of the oldest LGBT organisations in the world.

You may read an obituary here or here.

José's funeral will take place in Grace Cathedral at 11am (Pacific Time).

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Dear God, you who cried when you lost a friend,who wept over Jerusalem,who asked friends to stay with you while you struggled with your life,please stay with us now, holding us in your love.Cover our lives with the fragrant oil of your healing,send your Spirit to comfort us in our grief,and fill our emptiness with new things.Gather our scattered lives into a community of love,where loss can be shared and gifts can be given for the easing of mourning.We pray these prayers in confidence,for you are our restoration and the renewal of our hope.Amen.

- McRae-McMahon, D. 2001. In this Hour. Liturgies for Pausing. London: SPCK

San Fran, a city on the edge ...

Before arriving in San Francisco, I was a bit concerned that living here for a month would leave me a little bit like a fish out of water, as it's very different to visiting a place, to immerse yourself in the culture.  But I've had a lovely time, and all being told, it seems to be a city that's used to embracing strangers.

I suppose the city has a history of embracing people who had fled as far away from government authority as they could, and San Fran is as far West as they could get, without actually donning some swimming trunks.  The city has a history of picking people up, welcoming them, and including them.

Most people here are friendly, which is interesting to a cynic like me. I was originally worried that I would find people's enthusiasm and friendliness a bit much, and didn't want to be a killjoy, but that hasn't been the case, either.  It's felt perfectly natural to be responding to people's friendliness and warmth with the same.

The city's attitude to inclusion is astounding, and you can see elements of it everywhere ... in the 'LGBT Safe Zone' poster in the Mission SFPD station window, to the 'End the hate' posters in people's windows, the rainbow flags displayed in all sorts of public establishments, big brand stores and private residences, and the "Equality for all" messages displayed on the LED screens on the outside of Muni buses.  It seems to be a city that acknowledges all citizens as equals, with rights and as part of the community.

It seems even the resident's attitude to the homeless is friendly, and reciprocal. Time and again, when I've not had any change to give to a homeless person, this is met by a courteous, "Thank you, and God bless you."  The only aggression I've seen so far is in arguments between homeless people on the street, which have appeared to be alcohol-fuelled (or some other substance).

I know there is a hard edge to the city ... the degree of homelessness, the drug culture and the strong odour in certain parts gives testimony to that.  But, there's a hard edge to just about every city.  But it feels like what San Fran is doing right, is it's regard for all it's citizens, even those who would fall through the cracks, and in many cases, have already fallen through the cracks.  The challenge in what I have seen is that being friendly and welcoming, although so much better than in other cities, still leaves room for improvement.  True inclusion should extend to affirming the humanity in each person, and in giving them the opportunities for self-improvement, so that they can regain and retain a sense of pride in themselves.  This may be very well be happening, and I wouldn't want to offend anyone by suggesting that it isn't ... it's merely an observation.  I wouldn't want it to detract from the fact that I've been blown away by the level of inclusion in this city that is on the edge in more ways than one ... On the edge of the USA, on the edge of social thinking, on the edge of current policy, on the edge of both poverty and wealth, and more.

I've already made mention here of how the Church here has blown me away in terms of how active they are in seeking inclusion, and can certainly give churches in the UK a run for their money. In particular, my observations refer to the Episcopalian Church, and I've seen how they don't just operate an open-doors policy here, but they actively go out to recruit from minority groups, and then include and affirm them. The local Bishop has also been quite instrumental in fighting to get the government to repeal DOMA and to bring back Equal Marriage.  So, it was quite something to march in Pride with a group of Episcopalians who could genuinely show Pride in their ministry, themselves, and their LGBT brothers & sisters.  In my visit so far, I've visited Grace Cathedral (which there's more about in previous posts ... here, and - in particular, my impressions about their current art installation - here) and St. Gregory of Nyssa, both a vibrant ministry to the whole community, including the homeless, the LGBT community, and others (St Gregory's even hosts a weekly food pantry, which offers fresh produce and groceries to over 1,000 families). Grace Cathedral have released a public statement, rejoicing in the decision to allow Equal Marriage in California, and inviting couples to book their same-sex marriages in the Cathedral.  These are good examples of how church should defend the minorities, support equality, be a voice for the voiceless, and affirm the humanity of all!

I should add that there have been other churches ... The Sierra Pacific Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America shared in our Eucharist at Pride and have a very important ministry around issues of social justice & minority groups. There was even a group of Catholic worshippers, marching in support of Equal Marriage (although, sadly, by all accounts, this does not extend to their senior clergy or diocese, which seems to be quite active in opposing equal marriage ... here and here ).  However, it seems the call for Marriage Equality amongst Catholic worshippers is growing, and hopefully their leadership heed it sooner or later!)

I hope to attend worship at St Gregory's this Sunday, and may even stop by afterwards at a Bring & Share picnic in Dolores Park.  I've even spotted that there's an open photo shoot for the NOH8 campaign next weekend, which I'll go to and try and join in!

That's about as much as I can manage in terms of an update today.  San Francisco is turning out to be quite an exciting city to get to grips with ministry and inclusivity ... what felt like a long month in the city is rapidly turning out to be a rather short space of time to fit everything in.  I'll just have to visit regularly. ;)

Reflections on "Graced with light" by Anne Patterson, in Grace Cathedral, SFO

I've already reflected on my experience of a service at Grace Cathedral, and a little bit about the art installation they have there at the moment.  You can see that here.

Yesterday, I went back to Grace Cathedral, to see the finished artwork. Art is interesting ... hubby will tell you I'm not much of an art connoisseur (euphemism is strong in that statement). With me, all art falls into one of only two categories; Art I like, and art I dislike.

When Mike & I go to galleries, we have to agree to divide and conquer, and we meet up in the café at the end, as we proceed at very different paces. Mike likes to admire, digest, study, understand and remember the art ... he can often instinctively tell who an artist's influences were, what techniques they're using, and whether they were ground-breaking in their techniques, style or subject. I, on the other hand, only know if I like it or not. If I like it, I'll go over and admire it ... occasionally, I may even study it.  If, however, I don't like a piece, I'll move immediately on.  I can't spend time looking at something I don't like, regardless of who it's by, how important it is as a piece, or how much it's worth.

I wouldn't dream of rushing anybody through a gallery or museum at my pace, so Mike gives me the freedom to rush through, and I give him the freedom to take his time.  If either of us sees a piece we want to show the other one, we'll go back and find the other.  Often, I enjoy the galleries themselves more than the art they contain, and I'll spend time watching the flow of people, looking at the architecture and the lighting.  Occasionally, because I'm fascinated by security (thanks to my Dad's former career), I'll study the security measures in place, and see if I can find any improvements that can be made.

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Anyway ... that's all a massive aside.  Getting back to art I like vs. art I dislike. Art, like liturgy, speaks in different ways to different people, and what the artist intended isn't necessarily what the viewer perceives.

'Graced with light', by Anne Patterson, spoke to me in many ways. I don't know if any of them are as she intended, but I offer my impressions of it as a piece.  In short, I loved it. I spent hours studying it, photographing it from different angles (I even tried a little video with sound, but couldn't figure out that function on instagram). I've been to study it twice now, and will probably visit it again before I leave.

One of the reasons I love it is because it's made up of so many thousands of individual strands, which speak to me of community, of the strength of the whole being made up of it's individual parts, rather than about a single piece of art.  This is even more the case, because the community has been involved in putting the piece together, in helping to cut and hang each piece of ribbon.  All of this speaks about the value of each individual in the community, rather than the value of the artwork.

Looking up at the individual ribbons making up the completed piece.

Another reason I love it, is because it contains a range of different colours, mixed together.  There is no segregation, no separation into order, no attempt at conformity.  This speaks to me about the beauty that diversity brings to the whole. It speaks to me of the value of diversity, inclusivity & affirmation, and how the community is richer and more beautiful for it.  The fact that the ribbons are constantly fluttering with the airflow around them speaks to me about the freedom of each individual (ribbon) to be and having the freedom to move.

The third reason the installation particularly spoke to me, was the title "Graced with light," combined with the light shining on the ribbons from above.  This highlighted their differences and their beauty, rather than attempting to hide it in a dim space.  This particularly spoke to me of the value of celebrating differences and diversity, rather than hiding them, or expecting them to conform.  In particular, one phrase that entered my mind was, "If you see the world in terms of black and white, you need to step into the light".

I love it as a piece, and as a community project. I love what it says to me, and I love that it's backed up by what we experienced when we attended the Sunday service.

This is, however, just a blog post, and I encourage you to go and see the real thing while it's up.  It may not speak to you in the same way as it spoke to me ... there's much here that is about my personal journey.  But it is very much worth seeing.

To close, two montages of images I collected during the day.

Grace in Grace cathedral

Mike and I went to the 11.00 service at Grace cathedral on Sunday, 23 June.

The cathedral, a replica of Notre Dame, currently has thousands of 84 foot lengths of ribbon suspended from the ceiling, which have been prepared by the local community, and present a visual image of inclusivity and equality. The ribbons will have shades of red added this week, expanding even more on this theme, as all the colours of the rainbow hang from the rafters, in time for Pride weekend.

This equality is further represented in the congregation, which included a range of shapes, incomes, colours and sizes, and also a number of same-sex couples, which both felt and looked perfectly natural. The importance of this cannot be underestimated, as it meant that we didn't feel out of place, or that we had to pretend we were friends in case it offended somebody. We could attend a service together, like any other couple, we could worship together, hold hands and receive communion together, and this was just a normal thing. We had the freedom to be a "couple that pray together"!

The sermon was given by Revd Winnie Varghese, and made reference to equality and equal marriage.  It felt both perfectly natural and totally right to be hearing about Equality for all human beings in a church setting, and it struck me how wrong the Church (with a capital 'C') has got it, when it's only in a small number of communities and congregations that all people are welcomed, included, affirmed and blessed.

It's such a small thing, but it made a big impact on us to be able to feel at home, not as two individuals, but as a couple, together ... even moreso because it was the first anniversary of our Civil Partnership registration.

With thanks to the Very Revd. Dr. Jane Shaw for her and the cathedral's hospitality, and to Revd. Winnie Varghese for an inclusive sermon.