"I've never been to a church service like that," says Harry Grayson, referring to a Wednesday evening meeting in May at his Park Avenue church on the Upper East Side (read upper income) of Manhattan. He and fellow members of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, New York City, turned adversity into generosity—and responded by helping their neighbors.
Striking restaurant workers were protesting loudly on 63rd and Park Avenue in front of the church before the 7:30 meeting. Police had cordoned off the area, keeping the crowd of some 30 Hispanic workers under control. "They had big signs that they held up and they had horns that they were yelling through," recalls Betty Bayfield, another member. "The police told them that they couldn't stay in front of the restaurant they were protesting but had to move across the street, which was our corner. So they were on the very corner of the church."
The police banned microphones and amplified sound when the church meeting started. But the protest was still loud. Rather than ignore the situation, or simply sit through an hour-long meeting and pray for peace and quiet, "we all went in there and prayed over it," says Mr. Grayson.
