The Clinton Avenue United Methodist Church

Here’s a Pre Election Playlist from Derek Furr: A friend of mine who lived in the former Soviet Union claims that at the time, there was a saying, "A pessimist is an optimist who is well-informed." I like to believe that I'm well-informed, and that there is nonetheless reason to be optimistic that in a few days, we will see that democracy has not died, that the people are not in favor of hate, that they are not against science and evidence, that the US, despite its many sins... and shortcomings, still has promise. At least, I pray that's the outcome. So the playlist this week includes some rousing songs of optimistic protest. Let us hope that the times they are a changin', and that the people united around inclusion and care will not be defeated by the few united around exclusion and indifference. From Anonymous 4, we have another Southern Harmony piece that seems appropriate for All Saint's Day. Finally the lyrics to the chant by Hildegard also seem appropriate to both the election and All Saints. (The translation is by Nathaniel Campbell, Hildegard Society): O Pastor animarum et O prima vox per quam omnes creati sumus, nunc tibi, tibi placeat ut digneris nos liberare de miseriis et languoribus nostris. O Shepherd of our souls, O primal voice, whose call created all of us: Now hear our plea to thee, to thee, and deign to free us from our miseries and feebleness. ----

Ulster County's Warming Center will open starting on Friday, 10/30 at 7PM.

This week’s Sunday Playlist from Derek Furr: More American folk and bluegrass than usual rose to the surface as I put this list together, and the theme is probably evident enough without my explanation. In the center is a poem that many of us may have first encountered in high school, but the mordant humor and underlying seriousness seemed appropriate to our moment. It contrasts with most of the songs, which encourage hope in an attitude of prayer down by the riverside. At the risk of ending in solemnity, we return for the last piece to a Gregorian Chant of Psalm 130, De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine. Out of the depths, I cried to Thee, O Lord.

Thank you Kingston Y Farm!

For tomorrow's phone church (Pentecost 20, Matthew 22: 15-22.

Friends- Here is Derek Furr Playlist and reflection for this weekend. Hope you enjoy! As we witness increasing numbers of COVID19 cases across the nation, and even in our own state, which has tried so hard to keep them down, I was drawn this week first to a passage about suffering from Chinua Achebe’s novel, Things Fall Apart (1958). Born in colonized Nigeria, Achebe was one of the greatest novelists and thinkers of the 20th century, and that novel was his first and remains h...is most influential. I’ve taught it numerous times, and if you haven’t read it, I urge you to do so! In the video included in this playlist, Achebe reads the passage and then reflects on two letters from readers who found solace in it. Notice how he strikes a balance and finds a way of understanding, or at least accepting, suffering. The music in this week’s list swirled out from this inspired work of literature. On either end of the list are remarkable, live performances of gospel tunes about prayer and healing. However we respond to the literal message, the spirit is clearly alive in these congregations, and faith offers solace. In the middle is a meditative solo passacaglia from Hans Franz von Biber’s series of pieces called The Rosary Sonatas. The panorama of Amsterdam and two guys at a table is distracting, but watch the violinist’s hands and listen to what they’re able to produce.

Rainy day - EMPTY Community Fridge ... 20-25 folks visit this Free Fridge daily hoping for food for selves & families. Will you help? Please post on social media, do a food collection with neighbors, or just drop off a few items on way home from grocery shopping. Share photos of the ways you are helping! We’d to hear from you! #bluefridgekingston #kingstonny

#Repost @lgbtqcenter

This week’s Playlist from Derek Furr: https://www.youtube.com/playlist We begin with another recording from the Lomax archive and the St. James Missionary Baptist Church of Canton, singing Wade In The Water. Notice the children singing in the background. Where are they now?... I imagine the Arvo Pärt setting of the Beatitudes and the Coptic chant of the Psalms as a pairquiet beside exuberance, dissonance and resolution next to bright modal unison. Louse Glück won the Nobel Prize in literature this week. I’ve included the title poem from her collection, The Wild Iris, a mysterious book that sometimes seems like a conversation between a soul and God. Below, I’ve included a transcription of the poem, read in the recording by the poet. I had to end with Nina Simone’s performance of the Billy Taylor tune, I wish I knew how it would feel to be free, because it’s impossible to follow. Notice that at 3:38, she says, The Spirit’s moving now The Wild Iris Louise Glück At the end of my suffering there was a door. Hear me out: that which you call death I remember. Overhead, noises, branches of the pine shifting. Then nothing. The weak sun flickered over the dry surface. It is terrible to survive as consciousness buried in the dark earth. Then it was over: that which you fear, being a soul and unable to speak, ending abruptly, the stiff earth bending a little. And what I took to be birds darting in low shrubs. You who do not remember passage from the other world I tell you I could speak again: whatever returns from oblivion returns to find a voice: from the center of my life came a great fountain, deep blue shadows on azure seawater.

Praying for the world ... #godsword #poweroflove #kingstonny

For tomorrow's phone church service at 1 pm.

NEED MET!! Thank you EVERYONE for donating! God bless you all!

Please donate to the Outdoor Community Fridges! Blue Fridge on 122 Clinton Ave and Beyond the 4 Walls Fridge on Van Buren. High need for Milk, eggs, yogurt and cheese. Blue Fridge could use some help today! Free outdoor Community fridges are springing up across the nation as people struggle to make ends meet and afford healthy food during the pandemic. Community Free Fridges are placed outside of apartment buildings, community centers and shopping areas and accessed by tho...se in need - no questions asked. Neighbors supporting each other - pretty great, right? #kingstonny #communityfridges #mutualaid #spreadthefoodlove #bluefridgekingston

Praying for our world ... (Credits: DL Mayfield; C Wani) #prayersforjustice #sundayprayers... #kingstonny #wordofgod See more