At St. Athanasius Episcopal Church, Echo Park this morning, word had already reached members of the congregation that volunteer firefighter Corey Compertore, killed yesterday by Donald Trump’s would-be assassin in Butler, had Central American roots.
We were talking over breakfast, after the Rev. Rene Barraza said mass. Rene and a number of those present were from El Salvador. On the way to church, I’d heard Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s moving press conference. He said Corey, a Trump supporter, died after throwing his wife and daughter to the ground and shielding their bodies with his. So I thought I had news to share. But around the table on the second floor of St. Paul’s Commons, Echo Park — well, they knew about Corey already. They knew he was a hero, they knew where he was from, and they knew who he was for.
St. Athanasius worshipped twice this morning, in Spanish, then English. “LLevame donde falte la esperanza, la alegria,” we sang, accompanied by Roberto Salazar on guitar. “Send me where hope and joy falter, and give me a sincere heart to sing your glory fearlessly.” In his sermon at the second service, the priest in charge, the Rev. John Watson, grappled fearlessly with a gospel reading featuring the head of John the Baptist on a platter at a royal feast. He construed the grisly story as a sign of “the mess of politics and everyday life” spinning out of control and reminded us that the next meal depicted in Mark’s gospel is the feeding of the 5,000 — a people’s feast, where all were welcome, nourished by the Word to be a better people, people of peace and love in a world forever prone to chaos.
After two services and coffee hours, I ventured across the street to Echo Park Lake for another people’s feast, the annual Lotus Festival, lifting up our Asian-Pacific Islander siblings and, this year especially, our neighbors from the Philippines. A number of our St. Paul’s Commons partners were there — St. Athanasius, IRIS Interfaith Refugee & Immigration Service, Los Angeles, the Immaculate Heart Community, and Nefesh. Angelenos in all their diversity were assembling for a wonderful afternoon and evening, visiting the booths and sampling satay chicken and bacon-wrapped hotdogs. The carnival rides were just getting started, and the lantern launch is coming up.
In church and Echo Park, and in Butler yesterday, one thing was the same. Everybody wants the best for their families, especially their children. As Corey did, most would give all they have for those they love. They all deserve a government as decent as they, devoted to helping them along the way, wherever they’re from and however they’re fashioned, every race and nation, every orientation and identification. Let’s hope they get it, notwithstanding the mess of politics and Saturday’s swerve down the road to chaos. “Por calles predicando, lo bello que es tu amor.” Even walking these dark streets, we’ll be preaching about the beauty of God’s love for all God’s people.
