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while in the colloquium I suddenly remembered that Karen Bryner, a 2nd year student in the anthro colloquium, had told us that she is a practicing Mormon. So, on the chance that she could introduce us, I asked her where she attended and she told me that she is very active in the Harlem "chapel" (she explained that there are only very few "temples" and that, in face, the word "church" is now commonly used) that was started 8 years ago. She was very forthcoming and said that she would gladly introduce us to the current "bishop" (the title for the lay person in charge of the overall church). The church in Harlem has two "wards" (the Mormon word for "congregation"), one for English speakers and one for Spanish speakers. Without prompting she started sketching the administrative organization of the church on a pad (see attached). There were people around us and it was noisy. So I could have gotten certain details wrong. In brief, the "bishop" is a layman. He has just been in charge for a few weeks, replacing the one who started the church and who is now in Idaho. The new bishop is "quite different" in that he is a driver (?) owner(?) of a car service (I am sure about "car service" not his role there). Both the Spanish and English wards are organized in the same way as far as educational programs are concerned with four sets of programs oriented for
The church started as a mission and now has several hundred members (300? 800?) about half of whom are whites, including many students from Columbia, and the other converts from the neighborhood. They are used to being studied as several people/projects have been interested in their work. Karen Bryner was quite willing to talk, indeed eager I felt. After we have contacted the bishop and talked to him, I think we should also interview her further about her work with adult women. I told her that we would contact the bishop as soon as she had mentioned to him that we would call, and I gave her the address of the web site. |
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