BACK ON THE BLOCK

Wow! I can’t believe it is August 2010 and I haven’t submitted an article on my own blog since January. Quite a few exciting things have occurred since then. This past Spring I completed all of the required courses to become a Commissioned Lay Pastor. July 28th was the one year anniversary of my heart attack. My son Raymond got married in February. My wife, Dora retired July 9th. Kairos Outside NYC had its Weekend #2 in July. I finished writing a book. And more.
As far as becoming a Lay Pastor is concerned, I presented my Statement of Faith to the Committee on Preparation for Lay Ministry. Remaining requirements are an examination by that committee, examinations by the Committee on Ministry and by the Presbytery. Then I can be commissioned to pastor one of our congregations or assist a pastor in a congregation.

The heart attack anniversary passed uneventful. Praise God! I’ve been watching my diet (haven’t tasted ice cream). I go for a brisk walk most mornings and Dora and I recently joined Silver Sneakers.

Raymond and Nikki’s wedding was televised on TLC’s “Four Weddings.” (Wedding Pictures) The wedding was held at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Brooklyn, NY on February 22, 2010 and was televised on TLC in March. My new daughter-in-law was competing with three other brides. They had to vote on each other’s wedding in several categories. We won. That is, Ray and Nikki won. They won a week at an all-inclusive resort on Grand Cayman Island in the Caribbean (More wedding pictures).

* Hats off to Raymond for another accomplishment ... Raymond graduated from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work at Yeshiva University with his Master of Social Work degree on July 22, 2010.  Congratulations Raymond S. Johnson, MSW.

Dora retired July 9th. It’s taking some getting used to by both of us. I’ve been retired for five and a half years. We have been busy. There’s no rocking in the rocking chair around here.

Both of us served on the Kairos Prison Ministry Weekend, Kairos Outside NYC #2. That was the weekend of July 16, 17 & 18, 2010. Dora was music director for the weekend. KO NYC is a Christian ministry for women whose lives have been impacted by incarceration. The ministry team consists of about thirty women and 6 men. The men prepare and serve the meals and pray. There are approximately twenty-four guests on the weekend. Several women on the ministry team give talks and meditations on various topics. The men are in another room praying during the talks.

We attended the Dyson Family Reunion in Petersburg, VA the weekend of July 23, 24 & 25, 2010. That's Dora's family on her mother's side. Her mother, Vivian (Mary Vivian Dyson Robinson), is the matriarch of the family and her uncle, Joseph Dyson, is the patriarch. It was a wonderful gathering. Family members came from all over the country and Toronto, Canada.

I finished a book I’ve been writing for over a year. I finally sent the manuscript to a publisher two weeks ago. The book is a humorous memoir about my father. It’s not very long and I hope a few folks will enjoy it. Now I can get back to the blog and other things.

Watch for the book later this year. I’ll send out announcements via email, snail mail, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Can I have a book signing at your place? I told the publisher that I was originally looking to present something for family members to enjoy. I also wanted to create something for our children and grandchildren to cherish. If there is even a modicum of commercial success, I’ll be greatly surprised. What’s the title? It might change, but right now it’s, “Fools Never Raise Their Thoughts So High.” That’ll keep you guessing for a while.

It’s good to be back on the block. Thank you for checking in and God bless you. <>
*Added 8/15/2010

I Woke Up

At the New Year’s Eve Watch Night Worship Service at our church, I was among those asked to give a testimony during the worship. This is what I used:

This is an excerpt from the book, “Same Kind of Different as Me,” by Ron Hall & Denver Moore with Lyn Vincent. It’s a true story and a modern day story. The story is about a Black man who used to be homeless and a wealthy White man who was an international art dealer and how they became genuine best of friends. It’s a book I highly recommend. Actually, I’d like more people to read it so that I can join a discussion group on the book.

Here is what Mrs. Barbara Bush, former First Lady, said about the book, “Denver Moore and Ron Hall’s story is one that moved me to tears. The friendship that forms between these two men at a time when both were in great need is an inspiration to all of us to be more compassionate to everyone we come in contact with. This is truly a wonderful book!” –

I read from the bottom of page119 through page120;

There, under the giant and ancient elm that shaded the benches, she always found some pearls hidden below the amber sea of crushed beer bottles and syringes.

The pearl she found one day glistened in the smile of a grizzled street veteran who lived under a railroad trestle in a cardboard box shaped like a casket. This man ate from garbage cans, an unpleasant truth you knew automatically if you had a nose. His beard was matted with dried vomit and the remains of his last few meals, and he reeked so strongly of booze that it seemed he might explode if someone got too close and struck a match.

Here was a man whose life seemed disposable. Yet he found a reason to smile. Drawn to him, Deborah offered him a plate of home-cooked food and a prayer. Then, truly puzzled, she asked him, “Why are you so happy?”

“I woke up!” he replied, eyes twinkling in his haggard face, “and that’s reason enough to be happy!”

Deborah rushed home to tell me what he’d said, as though she’d been given a treasure that needed to be deposited immediately in my memory bank. From that day on, three words – “We woke up!” – were the first to come out of our mouths, a tiny prayer of thanksgiving for something we’d always taken for granted, but that a derelict had had the wisdom to see as a blessing fundamental to all others.

We greeted each other that way every morning, never suspecting that each morning would soon be a precious gift we could count on one hand.

Then I said to the congregation, “When I originally finished reading that page I cried and I prayed. You see, this past summer on Tuesday night, July 28th I suffered a heart attack. On Wednesday morning, July 29th … I woke up! I said a prayer and called Dora, my wife. Most people would say, “Well, Lloyd, you survived because God isn’t finished with you yet.” I actually reread that page about five times before I moved on.

What most people miss is the FACT that God isn’t finished with the street veteran (homeless person) yet either. Even from his seemingly low position, this man was able to impart wisdom to a wealthy American and the wisdom was appreciated. When I finished reading the book, I realized that the authors caused me to look at homeless people through the eyes of Jesus. As one of the co-authors, Denver Moore, said, “You never know through whose eyes God is watching you.”

We all have our lists of things we will do in 2010 … our New Year’s resolutions. Let me make this suggestion. Every morning when you wake up … say, “I woke up,” and say a prayer of thanksgiving. Some people woke up today in a cardboard box clutching a plastic bag that holds all of his or her worldly possessions. Others woke up between satin sheets to the aroma of freshly brewed Columbian coffee prepared by Jeeves. Most of us woke up somewhere in between. God is not finished with you, me, Jeeves, or our neighbor currently living on the street … not yet anyway.

What will you do with the largest denomination of money you have in your wallet the next time you pass your neighbor who lives on the street? Really? Why? Is it because he’s not exactly like you? He’s different … same kind of different as me. Read the book, then come back to this blog and comment.