Day 4 Reflection by Pastor Jon

"Gumbo"

Today was all about New Orleans: the culture, the people, the water and Earth here, the music, the food...all New 'Awlins, all the time! After such a rewarding but exhausting day yesterday we needed some space to have fun and get to know the city more, and today we did just that. We saw signs of God's creation, signs of Christ's presence active and alive in this culture, and felt signs of the stirring of the Spirit among the interactions between locals & guests. Among the many gifts that made up today's "Gumbo" experience:

*the animal life in the waters of the Gulf and in the Louisiana wetlands that we saw at the New Orleans aquarium (at worship tonight we learned how they are eroding by a football field every 30 min and need to be restored to act as a barrier to future hurricanes)
*the food of this place that we experienced at a lunch stop in the French Quarter at a place called the "Gumbo Shop" (highly recommended!), including jumbalaya, gumbo, creole, red beans and rice, and praline sundaes
*learning that Louisiana is the birthplace of Tabasco sauce
*the beautiful, colorful murals adorning public spaces all over
*the arists and artisans displaying their wares around Jackson Square
*the buzz of the French Quarter, full of artists, musicians, business people, tourists, homeless, and more

Before leaving for the trip, I watched the first episode of the Ken Burns' documentary "Jazz", the title of which is "Gumbo." Wynton Marsalis, a native of New Orleans, spoke at the beginning of the episode about playing jazz being like making Gumbo--an improvised mix of ingredients taken from diverse places. This week, including today, we have seen that improvisation in action and in person. It is tasty, and it is rich, full of soul that has fed me, at least, with a sense of joy and hope in this city, and in the people here. This is a beautiful place. Katrina did rear a head of ugliness but that could not keep the soul of this place down-- it is alive and well. It's alive and well because Christ is still working his way through this culture--this jazzy culture whose improvisational nature parallels the improvisational nature of our life of discipleship in Christ.

We are ready to give thanks in Eucharist tomorrow morning for these and the many gifts given to us during our time here--including giving thanks for at United who have made this trip possible for us!

I'm looking forward to returning. But until we leave, we'll be taking in as much of this God-Gumbo as we can get.

Peace,
Pastor Jon