Easter on Hawthorne in Portland
Writer Author Richard S. Adams
Christian Article
:
Holidays
- Fiction No
I thought Friday was cold and very breezy as I waited for a media producer and director to meet me at Hawthorne and 136th.
Since I was early and she was detained I had plenty of time to walk up and down Hawthorne; checking out the old buildings, home to shops counter-cultural to what we find in malls, saying hello to whoever I passed on the sidewalk. More people made eye contact and smiled back than I am used too. How different from the empty looks or quick silent peeks I've grown used too. People were curious and bold enough to look back and speak back. Yeah, I like that.
Finally the cold drove me into Cup and Saucer to wait for Carrie. I had a couple of cups of coffee before she arrived. Cream, the friendly waiter asked? I told him only if the coffee wasn't good. He said I wouldn't need it. He was right.
I'm getting used to noting that most people I see could be my son or daughter. I saw a couple of exceptions, but for the most part Cup and Saucer, and the street it calls home, appears to be a place for generation x and y. It has a friendly, almost family like atmosphere. People linger and there is no rush to make folks hurry. A young woman sat by the window reading. She was there before I came and she was there after I left; likewise there were others.
When Carrie arrived she told me her plans for asking folks on the street their thoughts on Easter; what they thought it meant, what it brings to mind, did they practice it when they were young, etc.
I have not forgotten a seminary project that required I ask folks their thoughts on Jesus Christ, the church and Christians. No one confuses the Rose Garden with Hawthorne and 136th, but I expected similar answers.
That experience convinced me the church, Christians and this writer have done a very poor job being an extension of God's life, an expression of God's love and an exhibition of God's power, as I once heard a pastor say. If that was practiced more than it's preached our world would be so different.
Belief and practice were divorced long ago when the church stopped being known for its love. Today the church is known for what it is against and its own agendas. The church is being assimilated by the culture it was called to love.
Carrie asked young people, older people, people of color, those with resources and those clearly without. As you expect the answers varied, and although there were exceptions, retailers would be mostly pleased with the answers. Easter reminds most people of Easter egg hunts, Easter bunnies, and candy. I felt there was a tint of sadness in most folks as they said they don't celebrate it anymore, it being a holiday and a happier time. Some said family, some said church, one said Easter is the day that Jesus supposedly rose from the grave. No one said God's love. No one said my Lord.
Driving home thinking about what I'd heard I guess my sadness is best expressed by the young man sitting on the cold sidewalk playing his guitar for money. When asked what he would do this Easter he said he would call home and tell his Mom he loves her.
Editor's Comment:
About the Writer Author
State:
Portland
Country:
Oregon
Email:
rsaofyap@yahoo.com
Website:
www.yukonangelproductions.com
Profile:
Click here!
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