Which is sort of something like an artistic home and sort of something like a spiritual home, not that I draw much distinction between those two things.
It's full of lefty-pinkos who tend to couch god-talk in "whatever it is that's out there." And it's full of white-haired little old ladies who wear pearls and scarves. And it's full of old drag queens, and young couples both straight and gay, and lots of single people and people who are dying and people who are rich and people who are broke and some veterans...
And I go there sometimes. Because they say smart stuff that makes me think. And I like to be in a room with a bunch of people who don't have a lot in common except that they wanna be there.
And it's a place that defines itself, in part, by its being "radical."
They sing hymns and have a choir and coffee hour. They have a sermon every week, they pass a collection plate, they visit the sick and dying and comfort each other. And yes, they help occupy Wall Street, but for me, just about everything they do is radical -- and totally traditional -- and totally radical.
Anyway, I was sitting there today, mumbling along with a prayer, saying "What is Radical?"
Yes, as Dietz used to say (probably still says), "a good story well told is always radical" -- which, hell, you could argue the New Testament and Old Testament sure as hell were, right? You could say that performance art is radical. You could say...
That's as far as I've gotten. Or, rather, I'm more interested in ASKING that question right now than I am in ANSWERING it.
What is radical?
What does it mean in the space of Judson church?
What does it mean in the world of theater?
What does it mean in my life?
What does it mean in my community?
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