Palm Sunday

Sunday - 03/24/13

After sleeping in and recuperating from a 12+ hour long drive to San Francisco, we headed out of our hostel to walk to our first community partner - Grace Cathedral. Walking around San Fran is so much more than just walking, it's what I like to call "urban hiking". We hiked from the Tenderloin to the top of Nob Hill where the Cathedral is located. Grace Cathedral is a beautiful European-styled cathedral that is not super old (60-100 years). Although Episcopalian, the Cathedral is incredibly open to interdenominational peoples and even has an AIDs Interfaith Chapel. After meeting with Rev. Andy Lobban, we found out that the service project originally planned had fallen through but our team met this with tons of flexibility and positivity. Some participants stayed and observed the Palm Sunday service while others took the time before lunch to explore around the Nob Hill neighborhood.

We then travelled down to the UN Plaza to take part in another Palm Sunday service, however this one was on the streets and not in a Cathedral. Meeting with the San Francisco Night Ministry gave us our first exposure to the reality that people who are in poverty or are homeless deal with. The service was much less formal and I would argue a little more real to an individual's aspect. We heard a sermon on betrayal and hurt, about how we all could identify with both. For me, the thing that stood out the most was when we joined hands in prayer. As we did that, we stood in solidarity with one another with our paper sack hats, harmonics, ragged clothing, flip-flops, blankets, and all. We broke down the societal categories of homeless, prostitute, college student, reverend, beggar, and became human. After the service, Rev. Nancy came up to us with so much excitement, "Can you pass out palms to everyone out in the plaza?" Some of us were taken aback, but we all seized the opportunity. With hands full of palm leaves, we walked into the plaza and asked anyone and everyone if they would like a palm. It was amazing to see responses. One instance that stood out for me was a woman sitting by one of the fountains. She seemed transfixed on something when I first asked her if she would like a palm. The second time, something broke, and she looked up smiling. This reaction happened to many people. Giving a palm to someone, may have been the first time that week they were recognized as a human being. It may have been the first gift, brand new and fresh, they had been given in a very long time. We got to pass out little palms of love to everyone in the UN plaza, whether they were homeless or not. Something was quite unifying in the experience looking out and around in the plaza. Rich, poor, vendor, beggar, everyone had a palm and everyone was smiling a little more because of it.