Wall St & the Global Financial Crisis
From Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Wall Street in the Wake of the Financial Crisis: A Religious Perspective 16 May 2011
Rev Dr James Cooper, Rector, Trinity Church, Wall St, New York http://wellingtoncathedral.org.nz/index.php/Sermons
Thank you, Dean Nelson and Dr. Boston for the generous invitation to speak here today. I’m happy to be here at Victoria University and to meet so many of you in person today. I’ve enjoyed my time in Wellington. I made the journey because I am part of a group of rectors and deans from churches and cathedrals located in major financial centers of the world. We meet yearly to share ideas and offer support to one another, and Dean Nelson was this week our host. I have looked forward to this visit for some time.
I bring with me the greetings and well-wishes of Trinity Wall Street in New York City, especially after the earthquakes that have had such devastating effect in Christchurch. Earlier this month, Trinity’s bell ringers had a special ring and engaged in parish fundraising to help with repair work on Christ Church Cathedral. As you cope with relief and recovery efforts in the coming months, know that you are in our hearts and our prayers.
Trinity Wall Street, with its location near the World Trade Center site, knows disaster all too well. Trinity’s St. Paul’s Chapel, across the street from ground zero, was the site of a remarkable volunteer ministry to recovery workers for nine months after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Nearly a decade later, Lower Manhattan is undergoing a period of revitalization as young professionals and families move into the neighborhoods around the trade center site. The message I hope to convey in this regard is that living through and rebuilding lives after disaster is terribly hard, but it can be done.
In addition to neighboring ground zero, Trinity is of course also a neighbor of Wall Street in New York’s financial district. And this I suppose is a major reason you’ve invited me to speak here today. In order to share with you Trinity’s religious perspective on the financial crisis, a few facts are important to communicate. To this end, forgive me a brief history lesson.
Trinity Wall Street was founded by Royal Charter of England in 1697. It comes by its name honestly, as Trinity Church stands at the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street. At the time of its founding, New York was a bustling center of maritime commerce, full of the people of the world: the Dutch and British, Portuguese. People from the West Indies and South America. Africans both free and enslaved, and of course Native Americans, primarily the Lenape, who were settled in the land around what we now call the New York Bay and the Hudson and East Rivers for centuries.
For most of Trinity’s history, the church building was the tallest structure in New York. Sailors navigated by its spire. It was eclipsed in height as recently as 1883, by the Brooklyn Bridge. Then came skyscraper after skyscraper, dwarfing the church. From my office I can see the towers built by the American business magnates of the early 20th century.
In 1705, something important in the life of the parish occurred: England’s Queen Anne granted Trinity a huge gift of real estate: a swath of open farmland stretching up the city’s west side that I’m sure makes politician Donald Trump jealous to this day. The land was called the Queen’s Farm, and it had lasting effect. Over the years, Trinity gave away 96 percent of its land holdings to support other institutions: churches, hospitals, schools, and missions to the poor. One land grant was used to found Kings College, which later became Columbia University.
Historians estimate that the parish had a role in founding more than 1,500 such institutions in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Now fast forward to the present day. On the remaining four percent of land, located in Hudson Square, Trinity owns and manages nearly 30 commercial properties, and a home for low-income elderly and disabled people. The parish employs nearly 180 staff.
And I suppose this is another reason I was invited here today. Not only is Trinity a parish with deep roots in the nation’s history. It is also an institution that employs a significant number of people in Lower Manhattan, and that plays an important role as landlord to 200 companies that employ more than 15,000 people.
And so when I think of Trinity’s response to the financial crisis, I think of three interrelated areas. The first involves how we deepened our relationship with existing tenants – how we chose to act as landlord. The second involves the fundamental decision not to cut our staff head count – how we acted as an employer. The third is how Trinity used its voice to encourage a higher ethic in the financial industry – how we acted pastorally.
Trinity was in a unique position. As a church that owned significant real estate, it both addressed best practices for supporting employees and tenants, and also influenced the course of conversation about ethics and morality in the marketplaces of the world.
The majority of Trinity’s commercial properties are clustered in the Hudson Square neighborhood in Downtown Manhattan. For many years, these buildings were the center of Manhattan’s printing industry. Picture buildings with huge open floor plans and enough structural support to hold the weight of massive printing machines. Renovations have made them appealing to tenants from what we are calling the “creative collar” industry. Trinity tenants now include advertising firms, a children’s museum, publishing houses, caterers, and a museum honoring Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball.
Hudson Square is surrounded by three well known and fashionable neighborhoods: Tribeca, SoHo, and Greenwich Village, and is about two subway stops from Trinity Church and St. Paul’s Chapel. Trinity’s Rectory, where I live, is in Hudson Square, and the neighborhood is continuing its transformation. The goal is to create a 24/7 neighborhood in which people are clamoring to work and live.
I suppose you could characterize Trinity’s strategy as a landlord during the economic crisis as one guided by enlightened self-interest. By this I mean that we realized our flourishing as an institution is directly tied to the flourishing of the Hudson Square neighborhood – that our well-being as an institution doing its best to understand and implement the work of God is tied to our tenants. We see the people who spend significant portions of the week in Trinity-owned buildings not as monthly bank account digits, but as people with goals, aspirations, creative drives, passions, and hopes – not to mention the need to work to earn a living.
In determining what this means for the bottom line, Trinity has the gift of history. In American terms, Trinity Wall Street is very old. Ancient you might say. In European terms, the parish is just a baby. But 300 years old in America safely qualifies you as elderly. During the crisis, we were able to take the long view. We redrew the bottom line, so to speak, by saying to some of our tenants who were struggling, we understand that times are hard right now. We looked at renegotiating payment for a period of time, until we were all through this.
We decided in many cases to take less money now, because we realize we are in this together with our tenants, and that we need each other.
I am aware that some have described enlightened self interest as “doing well by doing good.” This is consistent with Trinity’s outlook on the world, whether the world is in a state of economic recession or not. Our summary of parish mission objectives says “Love of God, Love of Neighbor … for a world of good.”
This is business, yes. But it’s also good theology. And don’t let anyone fool you. Theology – a coherent system of beliefs – is meant to be practised in the real world, because our internal beliefs are tied to our actions. Theology is not just for classroom discussion, ordination exams, or those mysterious rituals of candlelight and processing we do inside church walls.
Theologically, I don’t know whether or not those who caused the crisis would want to hear what I have to say, because I’m going to say it very bluntly. What I would say is that your sins will come back to haunt you. I used the word sin – it is a loaded word, the definition of which is, “… missing the mark, distortion, alienation, separation…” Those are the aspects of what occurs in “sin.” I like to think that Trinity modeled a fundamental best practice in its dealings with tenants during the peak of the crisis. Again, note this idea of enlightened self interest – doing well by doing good. And it seems that this best practice is the opposite of what so many did to pull the rug out from under the worldwide economy.
In the mortgage crisis, people ruined their own clients, taking their money under false pretenses, and failing to see the big picture – that we rely upon each other in this world. That if I am stealing from you the foundation upon which you stand financially, then I am stealing from myself the foundation upon which I stand financially. Those are harsh words to hear. This doesn’t make them any less true.
The second way we responded to the crisis was to keep the staff head count even. That is, there were no salary increases for three years. This was discussed at the large staff meetings to allow for a response. In the same way that we expressed our value of tenants, we did the same for staff. This was accomplished through some difficult programming cuts, by taking a hard look at what could be saved and how, and by asking staff to look for opportunities to do more with less. A period of asking this question is, I would argue, healthy for staff members and for the institution as a whole.
Throughout the crisis, Trinity also acted pastorally, and used its voice to encourage the practice of a higher ethic in the financial industry.
There is a widely accepted perception that the Church is being the Church when it is merely responding to the needs of the world and not actively trying to change the systems and norms of behavior that diminish the full flourishing of humanity. In this scenario, the church is a bit kindly and meek, a benign and quaint tradition.
Yet if we look at a famous Scriptural picture we all might here be familiar with, we see that the church has been interested in changing the way society is run for a very long time indeed.
When Jesus made his presence known in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and those who were selling animals for the required sacrifices, he was making the point that ordinary people who were seeking a relationship with God were being cheated – an economic reality of the day.
The story of Jesus in the temple is as much an economics lesson as it is a Bible lesson, illustrating that the Church has been involved in issues of economics – which are fundamental to human flourishing – for a long time.
As the economic crisis in the United States deepened, Trinity noticed an uptick in media requests. We began hearing more and more from journalists who were interested in whether or not the employees of the big Wall Street financial firms were coming through our doors looking for the comfort and solace of a church, the chance to pray in a sacred space, or to speak to a priest.
In many respects, it’s interesting to look at why. In some respects, we were low-hanging fruit. Reporters were intrigued by our location, seeing us as a holy oasis for those in the financial industry who found themselves shaken and worried about their livelihoods. We tried to convey pastoral messages through the press, saying that God never promises everything will be okay, that nothing goes wrong. What God promises is companionship. As we see in Psalm 23 “Yea I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for you are with me …”
We were deeply engaged in the pastoral role, but we were also doing more. My perspective on the reporters’ questions is that these are fine questions that indicate the essential role churches play during this economic downturn, or in any crisis for that matter. Yet it would be a different world, and a different church, if reporters rushed in to ask questions such as these: • What is the church’s role in shaping an ethical economy? • Are the economic principles by which we structure our daily lives part of our relationship to God’s creation? • Is capitalism a belief system?
Trinity and other churches do in fact play a role in providing both the pastoral and economic support envisioned by the reporters. But in addition to providing employment and pastoral counseling, and grants funding for job-creation endeavors, Trinity also convened forums on economic themes during the crisis.
These were timely and thought-provoking conversations. Well before the crisis became widespread, preacher and activist Jesse Jackson brought his radio show to Trinity Church. That day’s show was looking at how poor African-Americans were being encouraged to sign mortgages that were beyond their means. Later on, as the crisis gained momentum, Trinity convened church leaders and policy makers in Washington, D.C. to explore the ethical implications of the subprime mortgage crisis.
There, a representative of a leading mortgage lender was certain the bottom would soon fall out of the mortgage market – a dire prediction that indeed came true a few months later. This year, as the economy began to show signs of improvement, we convened a new forum through Trinity Institute, to discuss the role of theology in the marketplace, including behavior, beliefs, ethical norms, sustainability. (These can be found on the Trinity website http://www.trinitywallstreet.org/ )
Fundamentally, these events were both an opportunity for discussion and reflection. They were also an assertion that the Church has a duty to influence economic reforms, and an affirmation that the Church indeed has a role in the public sphere. People of faith have a contribution to make in creating the new economy, as Jesus did centuries ago. Yes, the Church can and should be part of discussions on fiscal responsibility, because such discussions inevitably touch on fairness and justice.
Interestingly enough - one of the reporters visiting the parish asking whether or not Wall Street’s workers were looking for divine assistance in our church asked if anyone had confessed to me acting greedily. I said that pastoral details are privileged, but also that in my four decades as a priest, I have never had someone come to me confessing the sin of greed.
Greed is so disguised and subtle that we don’t even know it’s there. That is one truth about greed – it is camouflaged. The other truth about greed is that it will bleed us dry. Living in the grip of greed will squeeze the life from our souls.
So if greed is a powerful force and often disguised, what would I say to someone who confessed it (if such were to occur)? What are the tools we have at our disposal to put us on the path away from it?
Naturally, we might think carefully about possessions. I am not a priest who will tell you to drop everything you own and to keep only the clothes on your back. I will say that we live fuller lives when we are not possessed by possessions – either what we own or by the pursuit of what we do not own. For instance, I have a boat. If you any of you have ever owned a boat you know that you don’t own the boat, the boat owns you.
There are also three questions that I have found helpful in making sure greed does not run and ruin our lives. Ask yourself, What would please God? What would please a generous person? And finally, what would please me?
Almighty God, to You all hearts are open, all desires known, and from You no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love You, and worthily magnify Your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Greed is so powerful a force in this life, there is no quick fix. But taken together, these questions can make clear which pathway is greed’s and which is God’s.
So where are we now?
The heart of Trinity’s ministry is no different from the heart of the ministries of churches around the world, be they big or small, urban or rural. Quirks of history, from the settling of what Manhattan by the British, to Queen Anne’s gift, to the astounding growth of New York as a world city brought Trinity to its current goal: to be a dynamic and vital presence in Lower Manhattan, and to be for a world of good where it can across the globe. It does seem that the idea of enlightened self interest undergirds both the real estate and pastoral efforts of the church.
It also seems that enlightened self interest is not unlike the metaphor St. Paul used to describe humanity – that we are all members of one body. Or the assertion of John Donne that no man is an island, send not to know for whom the bell tolls …
Presently, media attention is turning from questions of the financial crisis to questions around the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the death of Osama Bin Laden. Here the parish stresses the role of reconciliation.
We continue to pray for those whose lives were lost on September 11, their families, and those in the Armed Forces who have sacrificed so much to bring a measure of justice to this terrible tragedy. We also reflect on the wisdom of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who said that justice requires reconciliation, and while we seek the end of violence, we work and pray for reconciliation and peace.
We still counsel those who are out of work, and there is a new program initiated by a parishioner that provides advice free of charge to local small businesses. Trinity also grants money to small banks and credit unions that support neighborhood job development.
And I still haven’t had a single person come into my office to confess the sin of greed.
Instead we at Trinity continue to hold out the themes of: Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation. These are the themes that we hold in common with my colleagues here today from Hong Kong, Sydney, London, Wellington, Toronto, and Capetown.
