Revolutionary Love conference - third installment

Although this is the third installment, I am still writing about the second day and I have decided that I can only deal with highlights.

Edgar Villanueva, who was paired with Barry Segal, talked about the power of money.  Segal is a philanthropist, but wasn't that interesting to me.  His talk was pretty traditional.   Villanueva is an indigenous person working in philanthropy and has written a book called Decolonizing Wealth.   He didn't say how he got involved with philanthropy, so I am not sure.  He did talk about his very modest childhood and how he grew up as the son of a single mother who worked three shifts.  She worked at the Department of Motor Vehicles and then 2 shifts working in people's homes as a nursing assistant.  Villanueva would tagged along and so got to go into fancy homes.  On Saturdays and Sundays, his mother worked on outreach for the church and made sure kids got to church on the bus.  She would say that helping kids was her "medicine.  He also talked about, when indigenous people want to get to know you, they ask "who are your people?"  In other words, who do you associate with...not just who you are.  Another idea he put forth was that money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil.  As we have seen in these coronavirus times, some people do value money more than human life.  He explained why he talks about decolonization.  According to his thinking, when societies conquer civilizations, they take resources and leave.  However, when they colonize, they stay and exploit the society.  He put forth the premise that wealth in America today was built through colonialism.  To him, decolonization means that which has been stolen is returned.  There was a lot and some pretty radical ideas, in my view.  But he definitely gave me something to think about.

Another impressive speaker on day 2 was Rabbi Michael Lerner.  His book (it seems like they all have a book) is actually called Revolutionary Love.    He portrayed Revolutionary Love as love for everyone and acceptance that we are interdependent.  It is a little complicated, but he proposes that the capitalism we have come to accept and that we are told is "efficient, rational and productive" is not.  To him, a culture that is "efficient, radical and productive" would actually be based on love and caring.  For those who think this is a great idea, but unrealistic, he has encouraging words.  Major social changes have resulted from people who were told their ideas were unrealistic but persisted.  He had harsh words for the liberals and progressives who portray themselves as being on a higher level than others..  What we need, he says, is REAL caring for people who seek meaning and purpose in their lives.  He says selfishness is learned and is not human nature.  There was more, but these were the highlights for me.  I guess you can see why I found him an inspiring voice.

Revolutionary Love Conference Installment 2

On the second day of the conference, Rob Hardies, the Senior Minister of  All Souls Church, gave a talk that was about voting rights and some history of why All Souls is so committed to this issue.  A former Associate Minister, James Reeb (pictured above), was killed in Selma Alabama in 1965.  He was demonstrating for voting rights for African Americans.  After eating at an integrated restaurant, he was killed by four white men.  Reeb was one of many who have died or were injured fighting for voting rights and yet, today, many (especially minorities) are still denied the right to vote.  We have work to do so that everyone has a vote.

Another highlight of the day was hearing Linda Sansour whose talk was titled "No Time for Bystanders."  If you don't know who she is, she is credited as the co-founder of the 2017 Women's March the day after Trump's inauguration.  The title of her talk was apt--she presented reasons to act for love-driven justice.   She gave several concrete suggestions of what we can do now:

• Write notes to neighbors, saying I am here for you and what can I do to help?
• Volunteer at a food bank or help in deliveries
•  Insist on quality health care for all that is not connected to employment 
• Insist that essential workers get personal protective equipment and a living wage, including hazard pay
• Support the US postal service because small business depends on it, we need the option to vote by mail and many of us just need it.  One way is to buy stamps and send letters.
• Tell your representative that the next stimulus package needs accountability, must get money to marginalized populations

Some of these will work better for some people than for others, but I welcomed at least hearing them.  Even though I am in DC, I don't have much influence on the national scale.  Our Representative doesn't have a vote--she is called a "Delegate."  She has an office and is on committees, but that is it.

That's enough for this post.  I have more about the second day, but will post it separately.  I just can't possibly cover it all.

Revolutionary Love conference, overview and "Preamble"

I recently "went" to a conference called Revolutionary Love.  It was mostly done by "Zoom," though there were a couple of youtube sessions.  The original plan was to have it in Washington DC at All Souls Church (my church), but it was moved on-line because of social distancing in the time of coronavirus.  Middle Collegiate Church in New York City was the organizing congregation, and Jacqui Lewis, minister at Middle College Church was the conference leader.

I'm not sure how to describe it.  It was a call to action to "form a more perfect union;" one that is more inclusive than the framers of the Constitution envisioned.  After all, the "We, the people" at that time did not include indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans, women, poor people, or those who had no land ownership.  We, the people, at that time were the white landowners.

This was a very intense experience and involved about 25 hours over four days.  It was broken into general sessions, breakout groups, workshops, and some meditation and exercise sessions.  I will share parts of it that were meaningful to me and it will be several blog posts.

The " Preamble" on Thursday night was a discussion including Charles Randolph White; Cornelius Smith, Jr.; and Kenneth B.Morris, Jr.  White is a director who will be presenting a play about Frederick Douglass at the Arena Stage here in Washington DC. when we can go to the theater again.  Smith is an actor (he was in Scandal) who will play Douglass in the play and Morris is a descendant of Douglass and Booker T. Washington.  They talked about Douglass, of course.  I was particularly impressed with a quote from what is called the Fourth of July speech by Douglass and was actually delivered on the Fifth of July, "It is not light that we need, but fire."  I've always been inspired by Frederick Douglass and this stoked that inspiration.  Smith also did that quote as a song.

There was also a powerful presentation by Kaitlin Curtice, a Potawatomi Native American and a Christian.   The evening closed with Tituss Burgess (of The Unsinkable Kimmy Schmidt) singing "Count Your Blessings" and discussing the topic of "Revolutionary Love" with Jacqui Lewis.   They also sang a few songs together, including "I Need You to Survive" which resonates with me right now.

May 12---last day in Rome

I began once again by boarding the #64 bus and going to Termini because I wanted to visit the Baths of Diocletian.  The most interesting part, to me, was the church designed by Michelangelo that had been part of the baths.  Today, it is very elaborate, as shown above.  I was there on a Sunday morning so, after a little exploring, I went to the Mass.  It was excellent, and I was glad I sat down a little early as "visitors" were held at the door and not seated in the pews, as I was.  I actually sat next to one of the most interesting features of the church, La Meridiana.  It was laid out in 1702 and points due north.  It acts as a sundial and is also a calendar.  A little ray of sun comes in through a hole cut high in the wall. It was overcast when I was there, so I didn't get to see it as it functions.  Here is a picture of a portion of it:

It is completely roped off as they don't want people walking on it.

After the Mass, I went to another church where I saw a famous Bernini statue showing Saint Teresa in ecstasy.  On a sunny day, the light shines in and illuminates her.  There is a quote printed out that explains Bernini's inspiration.  In that quote, Saint Teresa describes how she was pierced by an angel.  It is all very dramatic.  She felt pain and also ecstasy. I didn't take this picture. It wasn't that well-lit for me, but it is a beautiful statue and I could feel the emotion,

I then walked down the Via XX Septiembre laid out in 1870 to commemorate Italian nationalism.  I saw the Fountain of Moses which was quite dirty.  I didn't take a picture.  I then reached an intersection where there are four fountains.  It was pretty interesting.  I had expected a fountain in the center, but there were four fountains on building surrounding the intersection.  This is one of them:

This one is the goddess Juno.  

I continued on to the Palazzo del Quirinale which is the residence of the President of Italy.  It was open and tourable---but I didn't have reservations!  So I hung out for awhile in the Piazza del Quirinale which was great.  Here's a photo:

I then wound my way back to my favorite restaurant.  It was still pretty early, but Italians eat lunch late....particularly on the weekends.  I didn't write the name of it down, but I had polenta with meat sauce and it was amazing.  I was sitting outside and it started to rain and then hail, so I moved inside.  I had pretty much finished the polenta, but had a little more wine.  I left there and went to throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain since it was my last day in Rome.  It was still raining, but I threw in a euro.   I wandered back and (I love this) my polenta bowl was still on the table.  So Italian--why go out in the rain to clean up?  Just do it when the rain really stops.

I hopped back onto the #64 bus to go to my apartment.  It was very crowded!!!  Sad to say, I think that is when I lost my phone...or it was stolen.  We had been advised to be careful of pickpockets on that bus, so I guess it should have been expected...but it wasn't.  I had planned on taking uber to the airport, but you can't do that without a phone.  I remembered seeing a taxi stand near my apartment, so that is how I got to the airport the next morning and headed for home.

It was a great trip!!!

May 11--Pilgrim's Rome---three churches

Church of Santa Prassede

This is the church I wanted to see a couple of days ago, but it was closed.  I was glad I went back.  The exterior, shown above, was not particularly impressive.  But inside---WOW!  It was originally built in 522 AD, and had been remodeled during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.  What impressed me the most was the mosaics.  They show the Byzantine influence and are similar to those I had seen in Ravenna. I didn't get good pictures and couldn't find ones on the internet that would work.

Another important feature in this church is the Chapel of St. Zeno.  It is only illuminated when you put in a euro.  I had brought euros because I had read about it before arriving, but I still couldn't get a picture. I found this one on-line of the ceiling:

The chapel was small, but impressive and absolutely covered in mosaics.  It also has a relic that is purported to be fragments of a pillar that was used to flagellate Jesus.  Whether one believes that or not, this was a place of peace and serenity..

Church of San Giovanni in Laterno
The next church I went to was the first Christian church in Rome, opened in about 318 AD.  It was the home church of the popes and, until 1870, the popes were crowned here.  There is still a chair that a Pope sits in after election.  For example, Pope Francis sat there on April 7, 2013.

It is a huge church with a statue of Constantine on the portico.  I think that may be original, but not much of the church is now.  It has been remodeled many times.  The ceiling is from the Renaissance.  Statues of the apostles stepping out "to spread the word" are from the Baroque period, as is most of the interior.

It is pretty impressive and the "in Laterno" designation means that it was the seat of the Pope and the original cathedral of Rome.

Oh, I forgot to mention the "holy stairs."  They are near San Giovanni in Laterno and are said to be stairs that Jesus climbed on the day he died.  They were brought to Rome by Emperor Constantine's mother.  They were behind a locked gate when I saw them.  I hadn't planned on going up them anyway as you are supposed to go on your knees and say a prayer at each step.

Basilica of San Clemente
This was by far the most interesting of the churches I saw on this day.  It is a 12th century church built on top of a 5th century church built on top of a pagan temple.  The apse of the church is a mosaic with lots of gold.  Jesus is shown on the cross with the apostles as doves, the circular designs symbolize a Tree of Life, and there are animals and saints.

Another interesting art piece is in a chapel called the Chapel of St. Catherine.  It has frescoes all over it, including one by Masolino showing space perspective and telling a story of the martyred St. Catherine:

These perspectives were innovative at the time.  This blog is too long for me to elaborate on the story that is told.

Going down to the lower church from the fourth century, I saw more frescoes:

What is left of the fourth century church is modest, but beautiful:

And then I went to the Temple of Mithras:

This is another photo taken from the web.  It is a Mithraic temple. The pillar in the center is a reproduction and shows Mithras fighting a bull.  The cult of Mithras believed that he was responsible for bringing new life every Spring.  There were some other smaller rooms, but this is where the men (and it was only men) reclined and ate a ritual meal.  The ruins of this, and the fourth century church, were found by monks who were clearing out debris in the 19th century.   It is a real treasure.

May 10--Museo dei Fori Imperiali, Mortali/Immortali, Trajan

It was great to be part of a Road Scholar tour, but (by necessity) there were things I wanted to see that weren't included.  That is why I took a second week on my own.  I went to the Museo dei Foro Imperiali, which I had passed many times because it was close to the hotel.  I can see why Road Scholars didn't include it.  The museum itself is not that impressive.  There are lots of fragments of statues, columns, etc. and reconstructed statues.  The picture above is the upper interior with original arches.  It was part of Trajan's Forum.   There is a lot of natural light.  The lower floor has display rooms.  While I was there, there was a special exhibit titled "Mortali/Immortali."  It was a little confusing because it was about ancient Chinese treasures...which were not what I had come to see.

The truly spectacular thing is being able to walk out above Trajan's Market and Forum and take in some truly spectacular views....plus, it was a beautiful day.  Here's an example:

The Victor Emmanual Monument dominates the scene.  See that statue of a rider on a horse on the right?  I read that statue is so large that the moustache of the rider is five feet long.  But I was actually more interested in the remains of the Trajan's Market stalls in the foreground.  Trajan was Emporer 98-117 AD. In addition to the Market, there was a huge Forum.  I have to admit that I haven't taken the time to make distinctions of the various Fora---the Roman Forum, Caesar's Forum, and ones created by Augustus, Vespasian, Nerva, and this one by Trajan.

The above view interested me because it shows some of the excavation work going on now and also showcases some of the distinctive Italian pines.

In the view below, Trajan's Column is shown.  It was constructed during Trajan's reign and shows scenes of various military victories in a bas relief spiral going to the top.  It had a statue of Trajan at one time, but now the statue at the top is St. Peter.

May 9 Santa Maria Maggiore

I decided I needed to see more churches and started out using Rick Steves' "Pilgrim's Rome" as a guide.  Once again I boarded the #64 bus to Termini and then I walked from there.  It was a little longer walk than I anticipated but through a beautiful neighborhood.  The photo above is of the main altar.  This is an old church (432 AD) and has amazing mosaics that reminded me of mosaics I had seen in Ravenna.  It was, of course, updated during the Renaissance and Baroque periods.  The ceiling is coffered and gilded, and this only shows part of it.

When you go up to the main altar, you see that there are stairs to something below.  I went there and was treated to what is purported to be relics of the manger in Bethlehem:

It is hard to connect the simplicity of Jesus' birth with this opulent display.  There is also a powerful statue of Pope Pius IX in prayer before these relics:

But look at those floors!  They are throughout the church, and may date back to the 5th century AD.

This church is truly amazing.  Below is an example of the mosaics that are throughout the main sanctuary.  This particular one is in the apse and shows Jesus crowning Mary in heaven:

When I left, I hoped to go to another church, the Church of Santa Pressede.  I had forgotten that many of the churches are closed between 12 noon and 4 pm.  It was closed.  I had lunch at a great little place with lots of locals and it was great.

I walked back to Via Nazionale and did some shopping and then took "my bus" back to my apartment.