Here is to my friend, Kevin Drury

What a day. We began the day in a dismantling racism workshop. What an intense hour. I was reminded that Racism still exists even in the hollows of Holy Hill. Not a blatant racism, but one that is hidden in so many of us. It appears as one of those "tapes" that play in our minds from our past. I was reminded of being the first group of 5th graders to be bussed to the "other" side of town to attend school, in order to de-segregate the Oklahoma City School System. I was quickly pulled out of public school and placed in an Assembly of God private school where we learned, among other things, that Henry Kissinger was the anti-Christ. I did not make the trek across town with my neighborhood friends. My parents were doing the best that they knew how to. The oppression that they felt from the forced bussing was lived out in keeping me from it. I have never thought of myself as a racist person, in any way. Today, I realized that, like the song from Avenue Q..."Everyone's a little bit racist." Oh God, help me find a way to work through the tapes of my past and lead me to liberation, seeing all of God's children as the same.

The evening was filled with an outing to a local club to a drag king show...a first for me. Like I have said, this is a very "special" place. The outing was sponsored by the student association and was great fun...a bunch of seminarians enjoying the art of illusion in a new way for this "slightly on the angle" boy.

The evening ended with some tragic realizations. Many of you know that I used to be one of the owners of a great coffee shop in Las Vegas, called reJAVAnate Coffee Lounge. Everyday for a least a year, a lovely man by the name of Kevin Drury would come in and do computer work while enjoying a chai latte. Kevin was the Youth Minister at the Unitarian Universalist congregation in Las Vegas. He was extra-ordinary. He was the life blood of that church and he taught me alot about this other faith tradition. He was one of the influences in me coming to PSR. During our time together in Vegas, he was taking online courses at the Starr King Seminary here at the GTU. After a semester, he realized that he really needed to be a part of the on campus community of the GTU. Earlier this summer, I connected with Kevin to let him know of my plans to join him in Berkeley. (the Starr King seminary is right down the street.) I left the conversation with...I will see you in late August.

The car that I rode in to the drag king show was driven by a Starr King student who lives in my dorm. I simply asked about Kevin's whereabouts and how to get ahold of him and was told that he had passed away three weeks ago. I was stunned to tears. My tears intensified when Josh Groban came on the radio with his famous recording of "You Raise Me Up." Kevin died from complications due to HIV, and was surrounded by his UU family until the end. One of the PHD students, also in our car pool, asked me to walk her back to her apartment as she had something for me. She presented me with Kevin's Bible Cover. So...more tears. You have to know that my "happy pills" keep me from crying most of the time.

This man, who had such a passion for kids and ministry had, in his own way, affected my new life here at seminary, not only through his extra-ordinary life but in his untimely death. So here is to you Kevin...May your flaming Chalice burn brightly in your new life. May your time with God be one of answers to life long questions, and a true fulfillment of your calling as a MINISTER.