Ten minutes later, the net-net is that I got some wires cleaned up. Gotta go check my Ooma connections, though. It's a great service, but the setup ios a bit counterintuitive. I was working on this post, trying to update it, when I crashed:
A friend from CT recently posted something about NYC cabbies. When my friends come from out of town, they generally express amazement that I can navigate the streets and hold my own with cabbies. I think driving in the City makes you either very late or a tad aggressive. I'm consciously working on it, but yesterday I tried so hard -- I let this guy get in front of me. He can't decide which of the two imaginary lanes he wants to be in, so he straddles them both. Then he decides to make a right turn. Dude, I'm behind you. I'm going straight. Do you think you could move a bit to the right? But I was good. I didn't lean on the horn, didn't push him, just waited until I had the opportunity, went around him, and went on my merry way.
Across the light were the two pedestrians who wanted to have a conversation in the middle of the street (my light was green). The problem is that if you slow down, they'll just stay there and keep talking; if you speed up they'll move, but then you have to time your vehicle so you don't actually hit them. I was cool. I continued down the street and swerved around them. I think that was only when they noticed me, simply because I swerved so sharply.
This is all completely within normal limits for NYC driving (and mind you, this is in the Bx; in midtown, everybody has a luxury car, so they actually take a little bit of care with their driving -- if they're not too busy on the phone, texting, or otherwise being distracted). But I'd only gone a few blocks. Then this guy comes out of nowhere, zooms up on my left, pulls in front of me, and STOPS. Even though I'm a typically aggressive NYC driver (though I'm not like some of the guys I know (Amit, Avi, Brian, and Chris come to mind...)-- even though I'm a typically aggressive NYC driver, I was taught to drive defensively. So what could have been an insurance setup just resulted in me pulling up beside him and looking at him. For a while. I didn't dare glare at him, I just looked at him like he was from Mars. How do you rush to pull up in front of someone and then stop short? He was a cab driver, of course. They live in a completely different world.
Cabbies and bicycle delivery guys. NYC has a law that says businesses must provide a helmet and a reflective vest for bicycle delivery guys. You'd never know it by the way these guys ride their bicycles. I watched two tonight nearly collide with each other, I always have to check before making a right turn or opening a door if I'm parked with the passenger side to the curb, because they ride along at about 20 mph, sometimes texting while listening to headsets, sometimes talking on the phone -- I don't know. For me, biking in NYC is as much a mental as a physical workout, but these guys seem completely unconcerned with the fact that they are often barely visible and are virtually defenseless against tons of metal coming at them.
God bless em. God bless all of us who commute in NYC. It's not normal.
So I had to write a bio for our church's web page. While my current resume isn't completely up to date, a bio isn't as detailed as a resume, and sort of paints your life in broad sweeps. I guess it's like my obituary, except that hopefully about half of it's been left out...
As I read it (and reflected on the parts that have already been lived out but omitted from this writing), I was reminded of the lyrics to Eddie James's video. Although this particular recording seems to drag a bit, you can hear the words pretty clearly. I like the pitch progression on the "I can never repay" parts. Here are the words:
As I look back over my life
I can see how Your love has guided me
Even though I’ve done wrong
You never left me alone
But You forgave me
And You kept on blessing
This I recall to my mind
Therefore I have hope
It’s because of Your mercy that we are not consumed
Because thy compassions fail not,
they are new every morning
Great is Thyfaithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
You’ve been, Lord You’ve been so faithful
(Even though sometimes I didn’t do what You wanted me to do)
You’ve been, Lord You’ve been so faithful
(Even though sometimes I didn’t say what You wanted me to say)
I can never repay You Lord for what You done for me
How You loosed my shackles and you set me free.
How You made a way out of no way
Turned my darkness into day
You’ve been my joy in the time of sorrow
Hope for my tomorrow
Peace in the time of storm
Strength when I’m weak and worn
You’ve been, Lord
You’ve been so faithful
(Even though sometimes I didn’t do what You wanted me to do)
You’ve been, Lord You’ve been so faithful
(Even though sometimes I didn’t say what You wanted me to say)
It's been a minute since I embedded a video, huh? I used to be able to put them directly on the page. I think that's like this:
I know the lyrics and video will deter most of the people who read this. If by chance you are still here, then you're one of my old faithfuls, so it's ok for me to share the below with you. You also know the stories that aren't written here. It was pretty humbling to put my life into this sort of perspective, but at the same time, it's kinda cool. The ending's a little weak; then again, the journey's not yet completed.
So if you're still reading, here's the text for my church's website. Feel free to inbox me with your comments. And no, this doesn't mean you can call me by my middle name.
Cassandra G. Perry
Cassandra Gayle Perry is the only child born to the union of (deleting my parents' names for security), though she is blessed to have other siblings from each parent. She was born in Chapel Hill, NC and is a daughter of St. Joseph CME Church, where the Rev. Wylie Edward Wilson was Pastor at the time of her birth. She accepted Christ at a young age, and was active in St. Joseph as a member of the Sunday School, the Youth Usher Board, the CYF and the Youth Choir. Perhaps that child’s faith and training gave her the strength to endure as she was on the frontlines in the battle against Jim Crow. She was among a small number of African American students to desegregate the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Public school system in 1962.
Pastors who continued to nurture Cassandra’s spiritual development at St. Joseph included the late Rev. Marion Foushee, the late Rev. Dr. Alex A. Chambers, the late Bishop Charles Helton, and current Senior Bishop of the CME Church, Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr. Cassandra continued her education, going on to graduate from the prestigious Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts. She then returned to North Carolina where, after studying in Spain and at the University of Oxford in England, she graduated from Duke University as an Angier B. Duke Scholar. She earned an MBA in International Marketing from the Garvin School of International Management in Glendale, AZ; then worked in the private sector for companies such as Honeywell, Pfizer, and Goldman-Sachs.
The newly emerging AIDS crisis had a profound impact on Ms. Perry, who left the corporate world to work with non-profit AIDS Service Organizations in Harlem. After a decade in AIDS Service, Ms. Perry finally accepted her call to ministry at Williams Institutional CME Church in Harlem, under the spiritual guidance of the Rev. Dr. H. Patricia Jones. Ms. Perry was licensed as an Exhorter in November, 1998; Licensed to Preach in July 1999; ordained Deacon in August 2001; ordained Itinerant Elder in August 2006; and admitted into Full Connection in the CME Church in August 2010. Reverend Perry earned her M. Div. degree from New York Theological Seminary in 2003. In addition to missions trips to Africa and the Caribbean, during her seminary experience Rev. Perry participated in a number of History of the World Christian Movement Consultations. The HWCM Consultation was a multinational, diverse group of academics who came together to render a non-Eurocentric, gender-inclusive telling of the Christian story. This group, formed in 2001, was a precursor to a style of historical inquiry that has subsequently become the academic norm.
As a result of her studies and her ministry, Rev. Perry has since traveled to Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, and the Holy Lands of Israel, Jordan, and Egypt, all in the exploration of a more accurate, more diverse telling of the story of the Christian movement. Additionally, since 2004 she has served as Adjunct Professor / Teaching Fellow at New York Theological Seminary. There she assists Dr. Dale Irvin, co-author of the text, History of the World Christian Movement, vol. 1 (Orbis, 2002), President of New York Theological Seminary, and Professor of World Christianity. Rev. Perry also teaches a class on World Christianity.
In 2010, Rev. Perry was appointed by Bishop Thomas L. Hoyt, Jr. as the Associate Pastor of Williams Institutional CME Church. Her ministry interests are Youth, Women’s Ministry, Bible Studies, and Liturgy. She teaches a popular and innovative Bible study. Additionally, Rev. Perry often teaches on the District and Annual Conference level in the NY-New England Region of the NY-Washington Annual Conference, in the Seventh Episcopal District of the CME Church.
Since 2010, Rev. Perry has served as Executive Director of the 163rd Street Improvement Council, a non-profit organization in the South Bronx, NY. The Council has undergone a renaissance under Rev. Perry’s leadership. In the South Bronx, one of the most economically challenged neighborhoods in New York State, the 163rd Street Improvement Council owns five buildings with 73 units of low-income housing, and three additional buildings with 145 units of housing and supportive services for individuals with Special Needs. The Council also provides neighborhood outreach, Summer Youth Employment, job readiness, and employment training programs.
A cancer survivor, Rev. Perry is deeply concerned with matters of nutrition and health, especially their impact in economically disadvantaged communities. She believes that humans are tripartite beings with an obligation to develop our bodies, minds, AND our spirits. Those who know her have come to realize that Rev. Perry is as comfortable in a swimming pool as she is in a baptismal pool. She continually strives to exercise and discipline her body, mind, and spirit. Rev. Perry says she counts every day as a blessing from God, and even in the most challenging moments, recognizes that she is privileged to serve God’s people. Her favorite Scripture is Philippians 4:13. While she will always call North Carolina “home,” Rev. Perry has resided in New York City for over 30 years.
No comments:
Post a Comment