Catching glimpses of the New Jerusalem

Text and photographs by Marilyn Jones Senior Writer

On one of the first warm days of spring, the basketball court on the grounds of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City vibrates with the shouts of local kids in an after-school pick-up game of hoops. Peacocks meander about the gardens, red and orange tulips catch the breeze in the late afternoon sun, and the Reverend Lyndon Harris and I catch up from our last visit, almost two years ago.

Lyndon was one of the two Episcopal priests at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City who coordinated the volunteer effort at Ground Zero, ministering to the cleanup crews, police, fire, and emergency personnel who for nine months spent their days and nights at the site of the World Trade Center Towers, destroyed on September 11, 2001 (see March 4, and September 9, 2002, Christian Science Sentinels).

The hundreds of volunteers who came through St. Paul's during those intense months of service brought healing, nourishment, solace, music, art, and compassion to the workers at Ground Zero. Yet, ironically, as a result of their service to others, it was the volunteers who transformed their own lives in ways they are still experiencing. That's why, when the Sentinel began planning this issue on volunteering, Lyndon was one of the first people we thought of. If anyone knew about the spiritual impetus to volunteer—and how church could be a part of that effort—it would be Lyndon Harris.

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