Welcome to
The Church of St. Paul and Incarnation!
in the Heart of Jersey City
“Remediating the Soil”
Jesus went out of the house and sat
beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat
and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many
things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed,
some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds
fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up
quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were
scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell
among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good
soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let
anyone with ears listen!”
(Matthew 13:1-9)
I grew up in Country Village, a housing
development built in the early 1960s at the southern end of Jersey City. Back
then it was sort of a little slice of suburbia in the city, its curving streets
teeming with kids riding bikes, playing ball, and the outdoor activities that
were popular before the advent of video games, cellphones, and all of the other
gadgets that capture our attention. The homes had small backyards, and most of
the residents took great pride in their little patches of lawn and flowers. Of
course, as with all with neighborhoods, there were some problems, but for the
most part it was a very safe and nurturing place to grow up.
Country Village was and still is
somewhat isolated from the rest of the city. When I was growing up, a rail line
that we all called “The Tracks” marked the eastern edge of the development,
while on the west there was busy Route 440. Today the highway looks about the
same as it did back then but the scenery around it sure has changed! Roosevelt
Stadium stood where Society Hill is today. By the 1970’s the decrepit stadium
was long past its glory days but still hosted rock concerts (with the sound
easily reaching our house), an ice skating rink, and for a few years, a minor
league baseball team. All around the stadium there were factories, some
shuttered and decaying and others still in use. It was a gritty industrial
area, not easy on the eyes or the nose. But, worst of all was what we usually
couldn’t see or smell: the soil was poisoned.
And, by the 1990s, it was discovered
that these poisons (especially chromium) had spread far and were making many
residents terribly sick. In response, a determined group of local lay people
(including our own Diane Maxon) and clergy created the ICO (Interfaith
Community Organization) to force the responsible (and stubbornly resistant)
corporations to clean up their mess. It wasn’t easy, but like David long ago,
these persistent people knocked down Goliath. It took many years of protests
and a drawn-out and complicated court case, but at last that land along the
highway has been transformed. It is now good soil, ready for new life.
The Bible opens with the insistence
that God’s creation is good, very good. We are good, very good. The fundamental
human problem is that sin pollutes our goodness. And, our sinfulness – our
greed, selfishness, and deceit – ends up polluting God’s good creation as we
spread poison into the ground and into the air, polluting the earth and
polluting other people.
Back in the 1990s, people around here
uncovered the poisons that were just beneath the surface of daily life. And,
now, for the past few months many of us white people have been in the midst of
a much more widespread and challenging uncovering as we discover the pollution of
racism and white privilege that is in our own hearts and lives, as we finally see that all of our our systems,
including law enforcement, education, the economy, the church, politics, all of
them are contaminated and in desperate need of remediation.
A few decades back, the good people of
the ICO faced a herculean battle against powerful corporations and pollution
that had seeped into the ground. May their courage and persistence inspire us
as we face a greater challenge of uncovering and remediating what’s even worse
than chromium, the pollution that is killing our society.
As always, Jersey City Together (part
of the expanding New Jersey Together) has been hard at work researching,
learning, planning, and uncovering some startling facts about just how deeply
the poison has seeped into our life in this state. For example, we have the
worst racial disparities in our prisons. African-Americans are twelve times
more likely as whites to be incarcerated in state prison. Hispanics are twice
as likely to be incarcerated as whites. And, here’s the statistic that really
shocked me: median wealth (the value of all assets) for white families in New
Jersey is $352,000 (the highest in the nation) while the median wealth for
African-American families and Latino families is $6,100 and $7,300,
respectively. Just look at those numbers and realize what that vast disparity
means for people all across the state, for us and our parishioners and
neighbors.
Just as in the past, the only way to
remediate these deep inequities is to work together. So, I hope that you
will join us on Monday, July 27, 7:30pm to 8:30pm on Zoom, when we begin to
prepare for a statewide action in August. Please register here:
njtogether.org/july27.
On Sunday we will hear one of Jesus’
best-known parables. Although commonly called the “Parable of the Sower,” the
focus of the parable is not so much on the sower but on the seeds and the soil.
From the very beginning, God has been spreading the good seeds of love and
health and justice but, unfortunately, our soil has been poisoned for so long,
and many of those seeds have died. But, God is still at work and still offers
us the chance to remediate the soil of our hearts and the soil of our society.
With God’s help, we have the chance to finally be good soil, ready for new
life.
Prayers:
Please
pray for all those on our parish prayer list, especially Jean, Andy, Angelo, Richard,
Kit, and Anthony.
Please
also remember in your prayers those who have died, and those who grieve their
loss:
Tyeah
Garner, 17, shot and killed on Rutgers Ave.
Pamela
Aloo, sister of Josephine Odhiambo
All of
those who have died as a result of Covid -19.
Supporting Our Church:
We are
aware that, unfortunately, some parishioners have been laid off or furloughed
and others are in danger of losing their jobs. Please know that you are in our
prayers and we are here to help any way we can. In these extremely challenging
economic times, we are especially grateful to those of you who have been able
to keep up with your pledges. You can still mail checks to the church or you
can use online giving. Visit stpaulsjc.org and click on "Online
Giving." We also have a Venmo account. Call the office or email me for more
information.
Worship Schedule:
Monday through Friday: "Church By Phone"
Morning
Prayer, 7:30
Noonday
Prayer, 12:00
Evening
Prayer, 5:30
Call 201-433-4922 for more information.
Sunday at 10:00am
Join us
on Facebook Live for a celebration of Holy Eucharist
www.facebook.com/StPaulsJC
From the Diocese:
Read
The Voice Online for all the latest news, including a message from
Bishop Hughes about “training to be the church that God needs us to be,” Cross
Roads Camp Sunday (this Sunday!), a check-in with the Bishop on Tuesday,
July 21, Summer Regional Zoom calls focusing on our mental health (our region
meets on Thursday, July 30, at 6:00pm.
BIG NEWS from
New Jersey Together:
Over
the last few months, faith and non-profit leaders from across New Jersey,
working with New Jersey Together, have been meeting to talk about this current
moment and the deep racial inequities we see across our state. New Jersey has some of the worst racial
disparities in the country…around wealth, prison population, and more.
On July
27th, we’ll lay the groundwork for action as 300+ people from across
the state come together virtually to ratify a non-partisan agenda focused on
racial equity and criminal justice. We’ll lay the groundwork for a virtual
action in August with 1000+ across the state.
We’re asking at least FIVE of
you from our congregation to be part of our team on July 27. All you need to do
is let Fr. Tom know and register at www.njtogether.org/july27.
North Porch at
Triangle Park Community Center
As many of
you know, North Porch offers diapers, formula, and other assistance to families
with infants and young children. Since the need continues to grow, North Porch
is asking for financial donations through a GoFundMe campaign. Please consider
supporting this beautiful ministry:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/north-porch-mom-amp-infant-program?utm_source=customer&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&fbclid=IwAR2tibm9cDTU2k9BqFh-dtWMCn77qrsNaNBpNeMh7gcaW_M_reC03IdJpi4
DJ’s Free Market
Subscribe to
the DJ’s Newsletter to stay informed about this exciting new ministry led by
Deacon Jill:
On July 15th, DJ's will host "Freewheeling Wednesday" at Triangle Park
Community Center - a bicycle giveaway for the neighborhood children of
Greenville, Jersey City. So far we have over 50 children who've signed up - and
we hope to give each child who attends their own set of wheels! For some, it
will be the first set of wheels they get to call their own. We will also be
teaching a mini-workshop on bike safety at this fun event. Please let Fr. Tom
know if you would like to donate a bike!
Free Covid-19 Testing
Jersey City Together is co-sponsoring free Covid-19 testing.
Pre-registration is requested: njtogether.org/testing
Saturday, July 12, 9am-1pm (St. John’s Lutheran Church, 155 North
Street)
Thursday & Friday, July 16 & 17, 12pm-7pm (Heavenly Temple
Church, 15 MLK Drive)
Saturday, July 18, 11am-4pm, (Heavenly Temple Church, 15 MLK
Drive)
Tuesday – Thursday, July 21-23, 1pm-7pm (St. Aedan’s RC Church, in
Tuers Ave. parking lot behind church)
Help for Renters and Homeowners:
There
is help available for renters and homeowners suffering because of the pandemic.
One is the website for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency: www.njhousing.gov. You can also call
1-800-NJ-HOUSE (1-800-654-6873).
Helpful Resources:
State
of New Jersey Covid-19 Information Hub:
https://covid19.nj.gov
The
Diocese of Newark posts Covid-19 resources here:
https://dioceseofnewark.org/covid-19
You can
subscribe to diocesan newsletters here:
https://dioceseofnewark.org/subscribe
The
Episcopal Church has collected Covid-19 resources here:
https://episcopalchurch.org/concerning-covid19
"Habits
of Grace," weekly reflections from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry:
https://episcopalchurch.org/habits-of-grace
The
Church of England has some wonderful prayers and other materials here:
https://www.churchofengland.org/more/media-centre/coronavirus-covid-19-liturgy-and-prayer-resources
Fr. Tom's sermons can be found here:
http://tommurphe.blogspot.com