This morning, we drove over the Claiborne Bridge into the Lower Ninth Ward, watching the houses and the emptiness rise out of the mist. We'd found a radio station that plays gospel music on Sunday mornings, and the five of us in the van all stayed wrapped in our own thoughts. The voices rang slow, honest and raw, singing about seeking comfort in Mary a long way from home. I'm a long way from home. Residents of the Lower Ninth are still a long way from home- even the few who've returned.
Since part of our group attended a gospel service this morning, religion has been a topic of discussion all day. Personally, I've never been much for traditional Christian theology; as a Unitarian Universalist, my beliefs tend towards humanism. As a result, lyrics about reaching out to the Virgin Mary didn't mean so much to me on a personal level. But underlying the religious overtones was a feeling of loneliness and homesickness that is so intensely human that it transcends boundaries of culture, belief and geography. Singing our souls out, unloading our pain together, reaching out for comfort- it doesn't matter the medium, these are all essential parts of being human. The structures slid by, home after abandoned home, new construction, vacant lots, the endless, endless loss. My eyes filled with tears for a moment, and I was glad for the quiet place within the voices where I could take a minute just to grieve.
Sometimes a part of our task here is to let the magnitude of it all wash over us; to grieve. After we've been overwhelmed and come out the other side, we gain the strength we need to fix it.
As the song ended, we arrived at Blair Grocery, where we heard a gospel of a different sort. They believe as strongly as I do in the dignity and value of every person, and their vision and passion for creating a place for that dignity in an unjust world is contagious. Their method of creating social justice through community organizing, education and food was yet again just what the doctor ordered, and I left feeling vitalized.
No comments:
Post a Comment