Page 246 - Creating Spiritual and Psychological Resilience

Reaching Out to Create Moments of Communal Healing 215

work with hundreds of government employees working blocks from the
fallen Twin Towers. His blending of the psychospiritual with aroma ther-
apy and cognitive group and individual counseling helped people recover.
With this said, it became clear that the broader religious community was
not equipped to launch a citywide effort like NYC Recovers. The sad real-
ity for many leaders of houses of worship was the fact that they too needed
to recover.
I am much wiser and more determined as a result of 9/11 to live a mean-
ingful life in service to others and not allow fear to reign over hope. While
I miss the random acts of love and kindness extended to strangers, I will
covenant with myself and other love warriors to do what has been placed
in our hearts by a loving and good God.
The Spirit of the Lord is on me because he has anointed me to preach good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery
of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor. (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)

Hope Is Not Fundable

I remember a conversation with a foundation executive concerning my
work with individuals and organizations (mostly secular) impacted by
the World Trade Center tragedy. I was telling the program officer how
important it was that I present hope to individuals. The person responded
matter-of-factly, “HOPE IS NOT FUNDABLE.” I was crushed inside, but
I willed my outside not to betray me. Surely this person who asked me to
bring a word of hope to members of her grant-funded agencies could not
be saying this to me. I believe that the separation of church and state has
caused a great misunderstanding about the role of the faith community in
nonreligious matters. It is lost on many people that the nonprofit commu-
nity in this country was largely a direct outgrowth of the faith community
at the time. It was clear that the attacks on buildings also did damage to the
mind, body, and spirit of people. It was also clear that people needed hope
to rise up like the proverbial Phoenix from the ashes of despair. This is
not religion—far from it. This is the essence of being creatures having the
ability to hope even when all seems hopeless. Hope may not be fundable
or quantifiable, but it is absolute. Our mind may want facts yet our soul
craves hope and therein lays the separation between one’s state and hope.
I began petitioning (inquisition is more like it) God as to how I was
supposed to do this job He assigned to me without the proper resources.