Reflecting from home

It is Wednesday. I have been in a concert, attended FCCB worship, and had three full days of work after returning to Berkeley from New Orleans. On the first day of work, I wore a t-shirt I'd bought in NOLA: In addition to the fleur d'lys that symbolize the French connection and the words "NEW ORLEANS", the shirt proclaims, "Laissez les bons temps roulez - again." The print is quite small, however, and there were fewer people looking closely at my bosom than I got during the trip home, when I was wearing a t-shirt that gave the three drugs used in the lethal injection cocktail, w/ the admonishment, "JUST SAY NO."

Those at my office who recalled why I was away last week have asked that I show some of the pictures from the trip, provided on CD's by Paul Hoy. (Thanks, Paul!) But the needs of New Orleans are quickly consumed by the needs of our clients on death row. If I worked in a trademark law office, I would probably be discouraged. But that my colleagues are focused on our clients on death row, and the performance of their appointed counsel, and our colleague who retired last week -- that is not inappropriate!

One of our last reflection sessions involved contemplating what we would say to those who ask, "How was your trip?" Even with that preparation, I give a different answer each time. "Enlightening" is one; "devastating" is another introduction. What I notice especially is that even in our socially-active church and my socially-conscious office, is the limited attention available for stories about this tragedy.

Now, let me remove my colleagues and friends from this philosophical hook: Attention could not be held on this one subject for long because of the ABUNDANCE of other issues challenging all of us. I am inspired to recognize the vast need in our society and world for caring people, and humbled to be among those who were able to share $$ and sweat to help even a few in just one of the many situations demanding our attention.

I wish to also share the wisdom of one of our younger team members, which travels with me beyond the expedition itself: One of our students (sorry, don't recall which) opined that the gratitude we were receiving was somewhat discomfitting:Instead, it would be better if we were simply acknowledged as doing our duty. It is simply right and proper that we would take steps to help our fellow humans, as in prior eras of barn-raisings. The need for us to recognize, at this practical level, our interconnectedness, is really powerful!!!

Thank you all for your support. The Katrina trip was a privilege for those of us available to make the trip, and Ray & I grew in our relationship as a result. We felt your support, and I am sure Jean and Reneta and the members of Good Shepherd UCC feel it as well. Keep it up -- as the AA people say, it works!

- diva dot

Reflecting...

I’m back in Berkeley and finally able to sit alone in the quiet library and process my experience. “An amazing experience,” I say to all the friends, family members and classmates who have asked. And it really was.
Leaning over a cup of steaming hot coffee one day in my kitchen back home in San Diego, my mom explained to me grace. She described it as what connects people—strangers, even—in an inexplicable way. A beautiful binding force that brings us together. My name, Hannah, means “Grace of God,” and it was in New Orleans that I felt like I was consciously experiencing for the first time this beautiful force after which I am named.
When I asked Pastor Gary of Good Shepherd what he thought was going to turn the situation in New Orleans around, he pointed at me. Then he pointed at all the others in our group, milling around and talking to Church members before the service on Sunday. He told me that people in New Orleans feel like no one cares about them, and he spoke of the need for compassion from those outside of the disaster, the need for advocates for the victims of Katrina.
At some point during the trip I realized that is why we were there. The most important thing that we were able to do in New Orleans was show solidarity with those affected, and to bring back with us the commitment to see through to the finish the rebuilding effort in New Orleans. For me, our trip to New Orleans was filled with vivid images that will remain in my mind. The lower ninth ward, where homes were moved completely off their foundations, entire neighborhoods completely decimated. The black water line on my cousin’s home indicating the 8.9 feet of water that her lake view neighborhood had soaked in for days. The image of Jean’s friend leaning against the doorframe uncomfortably telling Jonell and I of the three days she spent trapped in her home in waist-high water without food or drink until a boat finally came to rescue her. And then there’s the picture I have in my mind of Jean, sitting on the stoop of her porch next to the thorny, dead remnants of her beautiful red and white rose bushes and telling us of days when her now silent neighborhood was a vibrant community full of life.
These images and experiences were too powerful to forget. Going to New Orleans was an amazing experience, one in which I experienced the grace of God through connections with others. It’s an experience that is not yet over, because it was one that implanted in me the resolve to continue in the fight for New Orleans, for as long as it takes.

--Hannah Reed