The Rev. Daniel Simons, Priest for Liturgy, Hospitality & Pilgrimage of Trinity Wall Street, writes on his blog on the occasion of the three-month mark of the Occupy Wall Street movement from a perspective of “close proximity”:
The early days of any movement are first vivid and then obscure. The first couple of months here were a euphoric blend of high energy and creative output for many. This past month, post-Zucotti Park, has been one of re-visioning, with the young movement trying on different voices and different plans of action as it seeks to move forward.
Some of the principal organizers have focused the substantial money they are raising on rented indoor office space to advance the movement. Many of those who had been attracted by the camp’s utopian promise took what they had gained back home with them, to let their self-transformation catalyze others. And one wing of the protest has begun speaking of the occupation of private property as an act of prophetic liberation, including a square of private land owned by Trinity, a mile north of Wall Street.
Trinity got engaged in pastoral and material support of the movement from the start, and our involvement was not just as an unaffected donor: surprising to many, the Trinity congregation is not comprised of financial types, but rather is a socially and racially diverse group struggling through economic hard times, job loss, layoff, etc. Along with many of the OWS participants, we are wrestling with, what “movement” really means – how to move a vision forward – around obstacles, with incredible divergence of opinion and agendas, and without a clear action plan yet formed. It’s pretty gritty and non-utopian, but it feels truthful and real.
The rest of the post can be read here