"COUNTING TIME LIKE PEOPLE COUNT STARS"

New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care
11.30.2017

Marie Howe, Nick Flynn, Martin Moran, Sharon Olds, Padraig O Tuama, Greg Parolo and others reading Poems by the girls of Our Little Roses, San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Over twenty-five years ago two Americans, Dr. Diana Frade and her husband, Episcopalian Bishop Leo Frade, founded Our Little Roses Home for Girls in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. Until then abandoned girls were often given to prisoners since no such homes existed. Now Our Little Roses has some 60 rescued or orphaned girls in a city once considered the “murder capital of the world.” Poverty and violence—especially in the past 25 years attributed to deported Los Angeles–based gangs—has affected the lives of all in the poorest Spanish-speaking country of the hemisphere. Unaccompanied youth from Honduras were among the 100,000 refugees, which also included children and youth from El Salvador and Guatemala, arriving to the United States between 2013 and 2015. American poet and Episcopalian priest Spencer Reece spent two years at Our Little Roses teaching poetry to girls who have lost family due to poverty, violence, and disasters like Hurricane Mitch that struck Honduras, Nicaragua, and Guatemala in 1998, resulting in 22,000 people dead or missing, 2.7 million homeless, and $6 billion in damages.
~*~

https://youtu.be/Doueod9sX1s
~*~

LINKS

http://www.nupress.northwestern.edu/content/counting-time-people-count-stars

http://ourlittleroses.org

***

a SUBWAY RIDE, TWO CHURCHES, a MUSEUM and the RESERVOIR

The sun came out and so did I

There was poetry in the subway

Brightness on reentry above ground

Selfie through the door of St. Thomas More's Church

(see link)

East 89th Street, off Madison Avenue

It is the second-oldest church on the Upper East Side

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was a parishioner there until her death

A resident child drives her own mini-Porche

Ah, the sky, the glorious sky

Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest

2 East 90th Street

(behind the altar)

Concert by the 'Amuse Singers'

"A small ensemble founded by Lee Ryder in the fall of 2003 to bring music written for women’s voices to New York audiences. An often overlooked area of choral literature, this repertory comprises serious works by a wide variety of composers throughout the last twelve centuries. "Northern Exposure" is a mix of works from across Scandinavia including traditional folksongs along with contemporary works by Kostiainen, Rautavaara, Nystedt, Gjeilo, Grimsdottir, Rehnqvist, Norholm, Kankainen and more."

Here they are taking the final bow

My friend Michael with Our Lady

~*~

After, we had coffee at the Cooper Hewitt

(These caught my eye)

"The Book Club"

 ~*~

Then, across Fifth Avenue to the reservoir

 to watch the sun descend

 and chilly night approaching to the sound of lapping water

Michael calling the holy spirit in.

~*~

Links

St Thomas More
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Thomas_More_Church_(New_York_City)

The Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest
http://heavenlyrest.org/

Amuse Singers
http://www.amusesingers.org/