It’s customary for people to look back and assess the past year; hence the top ten lists like those I linked to in an earlier post. Episcopalian bloggers have done something similar with lists of the ten most important stories.

Here’s Elizabeth Kaeton’s take. Here’s another try, from Susan B. Snook.

I’m not going to comment on either one. Around here, of course, the big story was the protests. It was a year of protests, beginning in February and continuing through the summer with Walkerville. This blog saw a huge increase in visitors during the protests and in fact the number of visits has continued to stay at a much higher level than before. More than 21,000 unique visits in 2011. The busiest day was February 22, the day of the interfaith clergy press conference.

I’ve not gone back to reread what I wrote during the height of the protests. One of the reasons I like to blog is that it is a contemporary equivalent of a day book or diary in which I take note of what’s going on in mind and in the world around me at particular moments. I think it will provide a very useful resource in future years as I reflect on my ministry. But it’s also quite raw, caught up in the moment, and therefore probably lacking in perspective.

If there are images that dominate 2011 as I reflect on the past year, in addition to the protests, I would cite the interfaith 9-11 service that we held at Grace, and then Christmas Eve, with two glorious services and an encounter with a very ill homeless man on the sidewalk after the 4:00 service. That encounter became the heart of my sermon at the 10:00 service.

That Christmas Eve experience of worship in the context of the daily ministry in an urban church is the most challenging and rewarding part of Grace’s mission. To worship surrounded by marathoners, or protestors, means that our worship can never be only about ourselves and God, it is also about those around us. Sometimes it’s hard to see the connection and sometimes, as on Ash Wednesday, the connection is clear only to us inside the church.

The experience of 2011 as we became more clear on what Grace’s role in the community should be, has provided a solid foundation for more visible outreach in the community, being a witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ amidst the crowds and noise on Capitol Square.

I’ve not been following the #OccupyWallStreet events closely, but I did come across mention of two churches that have been directly affected and involved with the protests. Trinity Church Wall Street is very close to Zuccotti Park, the center of the protests, and has offered hospitality to protestors, and offered as well to be a place of reconciliation. Here’s the official statement. Their community center, Charlotte’s Place, has offered hospitality, respite, and laptop recharging. And they have already begun the work of reconciliation.

In London, St. Paul’s Cathedral has been the scene of protests as well. People have been camping out on the grounds and steps, and protestors entered the building on October 16. Police who entered the church in order to evict the protestors were asked to leave. The presence of protestors has affected the cathedral’s income from tourism, but Cathedral officials deny asking the protestors to leave. Details are available here. The Guardian’s story is here.

#OccupyMadison is rather small and located a block away from Grace Church so it doesn’t directly impact us as the earlier protests did this year, and we’ve not been directly asked to support them in any way. But I’m heartened to see other churches responding to protests outside their doors in ways similar to our response last winter and spring.