When I Find Myself in Times of Trouble...

by Reverend David Dyson

Reverend David Dyson with Michelle Clarke in front of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (LAPC)CONGREGATIONS come in all shapes and sizes, especially in Brooklyn. One thing they all have in common is the sacred duty to stand by their communities in times of trouble. This has been true since the days of the Underground Railroad, the Great Depression, all the way up to the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980's. "Sanctuary" (what many congregations call their main room), actually means a place of refuge and protection, a place of encouragement and hope. In these days of heightened stress and anxiety, congregations seek to provide spiritual strength in a weak economy and tangible help whenever they can.

Clinton Miller, the pastor of the Brown Memorial Baptist Church (Washington and Gates) says, "We have people losing jobs on a regular basis. It's particularly tough because we're in the middle of a major church renovation." For Miller, there are different things a church can do. "In addition to sermons reminding us that God is a providing God and how the Bible has stories like Joseph in the famine, Elijah being fed by a raven, to inspire us even in an economic recession, we're trying to set aside what little money we can to help people in dire situations."

Lately, Miller has been thinking about how Bruce Ratner must be lobbying to receive federal stimulus money. "We're on the battlefield to say at least in these tough times, it would be unjust for those who already have the most to receive the most."

The president of Ibaadu‚ Rrahman Central Mosque on MyrtleRev. Miller points out that many of the newly built condos in our area are vacant. "It would make sense for the government to offer some tax incentives to the developers so that the price can come down. The banks which were bailed out and received (TARP) money should be held accountable by the federal government to restructure some of the mortgages so that prices could come down and make some of the units affordable."

Then, Miller adds, "I think what we do is the traditional 'getting people together' as far as fellowship. While we're going through a tough time, I think it's our job to provide a 'place where people know your name', a familiar space where we could watch the Super Bowl together, eat some food and just kick back as a church family. It seems to me that during tough times, people turn to their faith. I've seen it after 9-11-01.

Although it's a time of crisis, it may also be a great opportunity for people to recognize their true spiritual selves."

greeters at Brown Memorial Church on ClintonAt the other end of Washington Avenue, at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, Rev. Tony Aguilar agrees. "During these hard times, we are reminded of the famine in Egypt during the time of Joseph. One of the lessons we are taught is to be prepared for feast or famine. We believe that we must provide both spiritual and practical disciplines that can sustain us at all times. During our Wednesday night Lenten season, St. Luke's instituted a worship/teaching series designed to deal with issues of stewardship, domestic violence, being in the public square, health and spirituality. All of those things are affected during times such as these." Aguilar says these themes have continued right into the Sunday service. "During the Lenten season on Sundays, we are engaged in a preaching series on doubt, fear and complacency. Doubt and fear can sprout its ugly head especially during times of crisis and complacency during times of plenty." In their Pre-school Academy, St. Luke's has introduced Horizon Broadening Experiences, which provide courses for parents in marriage and financial planning.

Lasting Satisfaction and Permanent Purpose

Worshippers at Queen of All Saints on LafayetteSomeone who was known for his work on economic empowerment even before the current downturn is Rev. Dennis Dillon, the pastor of the Brooklyn Christian Center (Atlantic Avenue) and the publisher of The Christian Times. In addition to his own congregation Dillon sponsors workshops and seminars on everything from bank foreclosures to new business development. The Christian Times, which he founded 20 years ago, is less a religious publication in the traditional sense, and more of a community journal reporting on health issues, personal relationships, immigrant issues, and of course, personal finances. Rev. Dillon adds, "The church must more aggressively move beyond the over-baked cliches and pie-in-the-sky-meet-me-in-the-bye-and-bye theology as more focus is given to financial literacy, homeowner education, job training and apprenticeship programs, business formation and the kind of activities that not only give people food for a day or an emotional hope for the moment but lasting satisfaction and permanent purpose." Speaking more boldly and more forcefully than people expect a pastor to speak, Dillon says, "Whether it's the exploitation of people in the workplace, the unfair targeting of vulnerable consumers or the unjust practices of Wall Street fat cats and corporate and government forces operating in their own self interests and against the interest of the people, the church's mandate is to 'cry aloud and spare not'".

Emphasis on Advocacy

The Rev. Lynne West, the Parish Associate at the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (Lafayette Avenue and So. Oxford Street), agrees with the emphasis on advocacy. She was shocked a few years ago when a survey was done of churches on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, which revealed most of them involved in traditional "service" projects only.

The chairman and celestial mother of the Celestial Church of Christ on Waverly"Service projects are fine and badly needed," she says, "but advocacy is the key to getting anything done that will last. We must maintain the community infrastructure. We have to keep fundraising for it even when times are hard."

To this end, West coordinates the One Great Hour of Sharing campaign at Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church. Monies raised helped support Brooklyn advocacy groups like Make the Road by Walking, Neighbors Together, La Union de la Comunidad, and the Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing.

Timing is important too. It's true that many people get depressed at holiday times because they literally can't get in the spirit of the season. Rabbi Zali Abramowitz of the Chabad of Clinton Hill noticed it at a recent Purim gathering. "There was a lot of emotion and anxiety about the economy," he says. "We are trying to provide additional help to people. We're even trying to make sure that people have everything they need to celebrate Passover."

Capacity to Realize Spiritual Strength

Worshippers at Emmanuel Baptist ChurchThe work of all these congregations and leaders is multi-dimensional. While they try to feed contacts and vital information to their communities they are also in the business of feeding the spirit. When times are hard people need more than just intellectual capacity and good luck, they need spiritual strength as well. That ability to "go deep" and find that "inner strength", that "extra gear", is what they mean when they speak of spirituality. This is the capacity to go beyond where you usually go, and do more than you usually do. This is what Abraham Lincoln meant when he referred to the "better angels of our nature."

For many, community is key. Most people achieve spiritual growth and realize spiritual strength in community. It's not impossible to do it on your own, but it is harder. There is something about the comfort and support of a caring and compassionate community that helps us make it through the night (whatever that "night" might be).

This always brings me back to an inscription placed over the door of a church in Leicester, England in the 17th century. The country was in the midst of civil war and murder and rampage reined. The inscription read:
"In the year 1663, when all things sacred throughout the land were either demolished or profaned, Sir Robert Shirley built this church whose singular praise is this: to have done the best of things in the worst of times."

To do the best of things in the worst of times. No one has ever said it better.

-- Rev. David W. Dyson is Pastor of Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church