April 2018 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

8/11/16, Spong: The Unlikely Honored Guest at the Democratic National Convention
by Ellie Stock via OE 01 Aug '18

01 Aug '18

<div id="AOLMsgPart_2_1c149769-41d3-4c3b-8300-eaccdde19ae7"> <style type="text/css" scoped="">#AOLMsgPart_2_1c149769-41d3-4c3b-8300-eaccdde19ae7 td{color: black;} .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_outlook a{ padding:0; } .aolReplacedBody { width:100% !important; } .aolReplacedBody { -webkit-text-size-adjust:none; } .aolReplacedBody { margin:0; padding:0; } .aolReplacedBody img{ border:none; font-size:14px; font-weight:bold; height:auto; line-height:100%; outline:none; text-decoration:none; text-transform:capitalize; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_backgroundTable{ height:100% !important; margin:0; padding:0; width:100% !important; } .aolReplacedBody ,.aolReplacedBody #aolmail_backgroundTable{ background-color:#FAFAFA; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_templateContainer{ border:1px solid #4487cf; } .aolReplacedBody h1,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h1{ color:#202020; display:block; font-family:Arial; font-size:34px; font-weight:bold; line-height:100%; margin-top:0; margin-right:0; margin-bottom:10px; margin-left:0; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody h2,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h2{ color:#202020; display:block; font-family:Arial; font-size:30px; font-weight:bold; line-height:100%; margin-top:0; margin-right:0; margin-bottom:10px; margin-left:0; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody h3,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h3{ color:#202020; display:block; font-family:Arial; font-size:26px; font-weight:bold; line-height:100%; margin-top:0; margin-right:0; margin-bottom:10px; margin-left:0; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody h4,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h4{ color:#202020; display:block; font-family:Arial; font-size:22px; font-weight:bold; line-height:100%; margin-top:0; margin-right:0; margin-bottom:10px; margin-left:0; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody h5,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h5{ color:#202020; display:block; font-family:Arial; font-size:12px; font-weight:bold; line-height:100%; margin-top:15px; margin-right:0; margin-bottom:10px; margin-left:0; text-align:left; text-transform:uppercase; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_templatePreheader{ background-color:#ffffff; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_preheaderContent div{ color:#505050; font-family:Arial; font-size:10px; line-height:100%; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_preheaderContent div a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_preheaderContent div a:visited{ color:#336699; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_templateHeader{ background-color:#D8E2EA; border-bottom:0; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerContent{ color:#202020; font-family:Arial; font-size:34px; font-weight:bold; line-height:100%; padding:0; text-align:center; vertical-align:middle; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerContent a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerContent a:visited{ color:#336699; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_headerImage{ height:auto; max-width:600px !important; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_templateContainer,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent{ background-color:#FDFDFD; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent div{ color:#000000; font-family:Georgia; font-size:16px; line-height:150%; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent div a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent div a:visited{ color:#336699; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent img{ display:inline; height:auto; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_templateFooter{ background-color:#FDFDFD; border-top:0; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_footerContent div{ color:#707070; font-family:Arial; font-size:12px; line-height:125%; text-align:left; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_footerContent div a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_footerContent div a:visited{ color:#336699; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_footerContent img{ display:inline; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_social{ background-color:#FAFAFA; border:0; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_social div{ text-align:center; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_utility{ background-color:#FDFDFD; border:1px dashed #d3d3d3; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_utility div{ text-align:center; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_monkeyRewards img{ max-width:190px; } .aolReplacedBody ,.aolReplacedBody #aolmail_backgroundTable{ background-color:#ffffff; } .aolReplacedBody h1,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h1{ color:#003d4a; font-family:Georgia; font-weight:normal; } .aolReplacedBody h2,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h2{ color:#4487cf; font-family:Georgia; font-weight:normal; } .aolReplacedBody h3,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h3{ color:#4487cf; font-family:Georgia; font-weight:normal; } .aolReplacedBody h4,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_h4{ color:#4487cf; font-family:Georgia; font-weight:normal; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_preheaderContent div a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_preheaderContent div a:visited{ color:#4487cf; text-decoration:none; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerNavigation div a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerNavigation div a:visited{ color:#4487cf; text-decoration:none; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerContent a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_headerContent a:visited{ text-decoration:none; } .aolReplacedBody #aolmail_templateContainer,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent{ background-color:#ffffff; } .aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent div a:link,.aolReplacedBody .aolmail_bodyContent div a:visited{ color:#4487cf; }</style><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none;margin: 0;padding: 0;background-color: #ffffff;width: 100% !important;" class="aolReplacedBody"> <center> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" width="100%" id="aolmail_backgroundTable" style="margin: 0;padding: 0;background-color: #ffffff;height: 100% !important;width: 100% !important;"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templatePreheader" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_preheaderContent"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"><div style="color: #505050;font-family: Arial;font-size: 10px;line-height: 100%;text-align: left;"> </div></td> <td valign="top" width="190"> <div style="color: #505050;font-family: Arial;font-size: 10px;line-height: 100%;text-align: left;"><a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: none;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img style="border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;height: auto;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/print.png"></a></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateContainer" style="border: 1px solid #4487cf;background-color: #ffffff;"> <tbody><tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateHeader" style="background-color: #D8E2EA;border-bottom: 0;"> <tbody><tr> <td class="aolmail_headerContent" style="color: #202020;font-family: Arial;font-size: 34px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;padding: 0;text-align: center;vertical-align: middle;"> <img alt="" border="0" style="margin: 0;padding: 0;max-width: 600px;border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;height: auto;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;" src="http://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/newsletter_he…"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_headerNavigation"> <h5 style="color: #202020;display: block;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 15px;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;text-transform: uppercase;"> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Homepage</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">My Profile</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Essay Archive</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">Message Boards</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Calendar</a></h5></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateBody"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_bodyContent" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h1 style="color: #003d4a;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 34px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">The Unlikely Honored Guest at the Democratic National Convention</h1> <p>He was seated in the VIP box at the Democratic National Convention, held during the last week of July, 2016, in Philadelphia. He was surrounded in that reserved and exclusive seating area by the power-elite of the Democratic Party: A former President, the sitting Vice-President and the “second lady,” the spouses and children of the nominees, as well as those especially invited guests, who were uniquely and politically related to the convention’s eventual nominee. This unlikely guest was in his own way quite unique. He was a Republican, one who had been elected to a state-wide office as a candidate of the opposition party. He served as the governor of Virginia from 1970 – 1974 and was the first Republican governor of Virginia since 1869 in the last days of reconstruction. Later he sought his party’s nomination to the Senate of the United States, losing to another Republican, John Warner, who served with distinction from 1979 until he retired in 2008. The name of this mystery quest is Abner Linwood Holton. He is now, and has been since the day I first met him, an extraordinary man. People, unaware of the history of the Democratic Party in Virginia, find it strange that the man I regarded as the best governor of Virginia during the years I lived in that state would be a Republican. Let me tell you his story.</p> <p>Linwood Holton was born in 1923 in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, a town deep in the heart of Appalachia. He was a Republican from the moment of his birth. He was also bright and ambitious. Being a Republican in Virginia in those days was to be part of a distinct minority, perhaps even an endangered one! The Democrats of Virginia were the only cohesive political force in the state. This majority party was run by Virginia’s senior United States Senator, Harry Flood Byrd, who after serving a term as governor from 1926 to 1930, effectively ran the state until he died in 1966. It was said of Harry Byrd that he and a few of his closest political advisors would sit on the porch at his home in Berryville, Virginia, and pick the candidates for every political vacancy in Virginia from governor on down. The electorate was deliberately kept small by poll taxes, which effectively discouraged both blacks and poor whites from voting. A Byrd loyalist was in every county seat in Virginia to run the party. Racism was deep and “States Rights” was a holy slogan designed to make racism seem socially acceptable. Virginia was a one party state. Frequently the Republicans would not even nominate candidates and, even when they did, no one paid much attention to them because whoever won the Democratic primary seldom even campaigned in the general election, since Republicans simply did not win in this state! Linwood Holton made it his life’s ambition to establish two-party politics in Virginia.</p> <p>He graduated from Washington and Lee in Lexington, Virginia, and then entered the law school at Harvard University. Along the way he married a Roanoke girl, named Virginia Rogers, who went by the name of Jinks. She was the daughter of Frank Rogers, an upright, but ultra-conservative, successful and well-connected Roanoke citizen, who was the grandson of the first Episcopal Bishop in Southwestern Virginia. In his mind, the two greatest virtues were to be a conservative Episcopalian and a loyal Byrd Democrat. Jinks, the more rebellious of Rogers’ two daughters, chose to marry a Republican and a Presbyterian! Supported by this remarkable woman, Linwood began his life’s task of strengthening Virginia’s Republican Party. This party’s base, such as it was, had always been in the mountains of the western part of Virginia. As a force in opposition to Byrd Democrats, the Virginia Republican party tilted slightly leftward. There was no room to the right of the Byrd machine. The Virginia Republicans were known for their party’s efforts to improve education statewide and to develop better state mental health facilities. Linwood’s organizational efforts were so successful that in 1965 he was the Republican nominee for governor opposing the Southside, Virginia, Byrd Democrat, Mills Godwin, who had emerged as the new leader of the Democratic Party. The sickness, retirement and subsequently the death of Senator Byrd meant that the torch of party leadership had to be passed to the next generation. It is interesting that Harry Byrd, Jr., always known as “Little Harry,” who was appointed to succeed his father in the Senate, did not succeed him in the leadership of the statewide Democratic Party. Holton was defeated in that first run for the governor’s office, but he garnered a respectable total of votes and succeeded in introducing himself to the state. The day after the defeat, he began planning for his second run in 1969. The governorship in Virginia, we need to note, is limited by the Constitution to a single term.</p> <p>National issues soon began to erode the Byrd majorities. Poll taxes were declared unconstitutional in 1964. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 opened the ballot to people of color. The feminist movement began to galvanize women into an effective political force. A national- thinking Virginia Democrat, named Henry Howell, began to build a liberal political base made up of labor unions, blacks, women and young people. His challenge to the Byrd machine resulted ultimately in his election as Lt. Governor in 1971, but he could go no farther. He remained anathema to Byrd Democrats. In the Democratic Primary of 1969, the Byrd candidate, William Battle, the son of former Governor John Battle, defeated Henry Howell in a bitter contest. The party could not heal this division, so in the General Election, Linwood Holton, supported by many of Howell’s still angry voters, rode to victory with a 65,000 vote majority.</p> <p>In his inaugural address, Holton called for an end to Virginia’s pattern of racial discrimination and its racist politics. No Virginia Governor had ever uttered such words before. Words, however, were not enough. People looked for actions. They would follow soon.</p> <p>In the most dramatic step imaginable, the new governor and his wife made the decision not to put their children in the church-related or independent private schools of Richmond, where all governors’ children had previously attended, but to enroll them in Richmond’s public schools which were at that time about 80% black. It was such a startling action for a Virginia politician that the New York Times covered it with a front page story and a picture of Virginia’s Governor Holton escorting one of his daughters into a school surrounded by a host of black faces smiling broadly. In a state where the official response of the ruling Democratic machine to “Brown vs. the Board of Education,” had been to call for “massive resistance to the law of the land,” a state in which some counties chose to close their public schools rather than to integrate them, here was the highest elected official in the state escorting his children into the majority black public schools of Richmond, Virginia. No action could have announced better that a new day was dawning in what had once been the capital of the Confederacy. One of those Holton children entering those public schools on that day was their oldest daughter, Anne.</p> <p>The white population of Virginia was shocked. They believed and stated that their new governor was sacrificing his children on the “altar of integration.” Many suggested that the “inferior education” that his children would receive in those heavily black schools would cripple them for life. It was a strange argument that gave the lie to the previous white claim that all of its racially segregated schools were “separate, <em>but equal</em>.” Anne, in her early teens, would be an exemplary student. She received a fine education and upon graduation from high school would be admitted to Princeton University, from which she graduated <em>magna cum laude</em>. She seemed not to have been penalized at all in her educational achievements. After Princeton she was accepted into the class of 1983 at the Harvard Law School, from which she now holds a doctor of Jurisprudence degree. From there she went into a legal career that in time would include being a domestic relations judge and Virginia’s Education Secretary.</p> <p>While at Harvard she met, fell in love with and married a fellow law student, who was born in Minnesota and educated at the University of Missouri. His name was Tim Kaine. She lured him back to Richmond, where his earlier life experiences, including his Jesuit high school education, his year as a volunteer missionary to Honduras and his mastery of the Spanish language, prepared him to begin his Richmond law practice as a civil rights attorney. Then responding to an expressed community need, he entered politics at the most local of levels, running for a seat on Richmond’s nine-member City Council. In a majority black city, Tim not only won that seat, but was also later elected by that majority-black city council to be Richmond’s Mayor. Two years later, in 2001 he moved to the state level, being elected Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor. In 2005, he won the governor’s office. His wife, Anne Holton, became the first person to be at one time living in the governor’s mansion as the child of a Republican governor and then a second time as the state’s first lady and wife of a Democratic governor. In 2012, Tim Kaine won a seat in the United States Senate. In 2016, with two years remaining in his first term as senator, he was chosen by the presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, to be her vice-presidential running mate. Anne Holton was there with him, waving to the crowd on the final night. As Hillary Clinton raised Tim Kaine’s hand high, former president Bill Clinton was at her side and Anne Holton was at Tim Kaine’s side. The crowd roared with approval.</p> <p>In the VIP section of that vast Philadelphia arena sat the former Republican Governor Linwood Holton, now 92 years old, with his wife Jinks, both still vibrant and attractive, watching their daughter being introduced to the nation. There is sometimes a reward for integrity. Linwood and Jinks Holton, who would not allow their lives to be twisted by the prejudice of racism, challenged the distorting and debilitating social structures of his generation in Richmond, Virginia. Doing what is right sometimes carries with it intimations of transcendence and even immortality. To this day he remains one of my heroes.</p> <p>John Shelby Spong</p> <p>Read the essay online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">here</a>.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Alberto Mejia Aguilera from Mexico writes via the internet:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"> Question:</h4> <p>I am from Mexico and I would like to know your opinion about Liberation Theology. Do you think that this theology is still an inspiration for the struggle against the social injustice?</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer:</h4> <p>Dear Alberto,</p> <p>Liberation theology was, I believe, was born in Latin America, so you should be especially proud of it. I associate the name of Leonardo Boff, primarily, with it, but there were others like the murdered Bishop Oscar Romero. It was born in an attempt to apply the principles of the gospel not just to individuals, but also to the structures of our society, which so often drive the masses into poverty. It identifies God with the poor. For those reasons it tended to be resisted in ecclesiastical circles, especially by the leaders of the Roman Catholic during the years of Popes John Paul II and Benedict, both of whom were so politically conservative that they saw it as another manifestation of Communism. I think they were both wrong in this judgment. Liberation theology, I believe, constituted a call to Christianity to see that its alliance with power, both in Europe and the new world, had corrupted the essential justice that Christianity requires.</p> <p>Christianity was born among the poor and the outcasts. It rose to dominate society and so became the religion of kings. Liberation Theology was a necessary correction.</p> <p>I wish you well.</p> <p>John Shelby Spong <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Read and Share Online Here</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…"><img align="none" height="262" style="width: 350px;height: 262px;margin: 0px;border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="350" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/e67ac6a0-334…"></a></div> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:26px"><span style="color:#000000">Bishop Spong at the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan September 10th & 11th</span></span></h2> <strong>Schedule:</strong> Saturday, September 10, 2016 1:00 pm at the Reynolds Recital Hall, Northern Michigan University 7:00 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Marquette Sunday, September 11, 2016 2:00 pm at the Memorial Union Building , Michigan Technological University At each location, there will be an opportunity for Q&A and book signing.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="aolmail_canspamBarWrapper" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:1px solid #E5E5E5;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px; padding-bottom:20px;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> </div> <style type="text/css">#AOLMsgPart_2_1c149769-41d3-4c3b-8300-eaccdde19ae7 td{color: black;} @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .aolReplacedBody table[id="canspamBar"] td{font-size:14px !important;} .aolReplacedBody table[id="canspamBar"] td a{display:block !important; margin-top:10px !important;} } </style>

3 2

MLK weekend in Chicago
by Linda Barnes 07 Jun '18

07 Jun '18

Memories: I remember being seated next to JWM on the Thursday night in College ?? (Maundy Thursday is my recollection). Charles Lingo passed the news to Matthews. On Friday Rupert Barnes and I were taking the train from University of Chicago back to the West Side and could see the smoke billowing in the distance. I was 4th teacher in an RS-1 that weekend on the West Side. I remember, at one point Abednego Barnes (now 51!) being in the apartment of the Bezansons on 1st floor and, at some point, I was informed that he along with a number of young ones had been put on the Eisenhower Expressway train headed west; I really don't recall where those kids ended up...I think on church benches at whatever town was at the end of the line. The RS-1 under the tutelage of Donna McClesky went on...all cool! Linda Barnes -- *Linda Rolfing Barnes*

3 2

Global Buzz reminder for May
by ICA International 26 Apr '18

26 Apr '18

Reminder for entries This reminder is for the Global Buzz that will be published May 5th. 2018 (Please send your entries at least a day or more ahead) Please send all your entries by regular e-mail to: inform(a)ica-international.org with your entry as an attatchment. Send details of news items, training programmes, your peer to peer connections with other ICAs, any concerns you may have and of any events that are coming up at your location. Your report can be long or short, but remember that all other ICAs would really like to know about the things that matter where you are, and what you are doing as an ICA. Peter, for ICAI Communications Pour les entrées de rappel Ce rappel est à la Global Buzz qui sera publié le 5 Mai 2018 (Veuillez envoyer vos entrées au moins une journée à l'avance) Veuillez envoyer toutes vos entrées maintenant par courriel ordinaire à : inform(a)ica-international.org avec votre entrée comme un attatchment. Envoyer les détails des articles de nouvelles, des programmes de formation, vos connexions peer to peer avec d'autres CIAS, de toute préoccupation que vous pourriez avoir et de tous les événements qui sont à venir à votre emplacement. Votre rapport peut être longue ou courte, mais rappelez-vous que toutes les autres CIAS aimerait vraiment savoir à propos de choses qui importe où vous êtes et ce que vous faites comme une ICA. Recordatorio de las entradas Este aviso es para el Global Buzz que se publicarán 5 Mayo 2018 (Favor de enviar sus entradas al menos con un día de antelación) Por favor envíe todos sus entradas ahora por correo electrónico a: inform(a)ica-international.org con su entrada como un archivo adjunto. Enviar detalles de noticias, programas de capacitación, el peer to peer las conexiones con otros convenios o acuerdos internacionales, las preocupaciones que usted pueda tener y de los eventos que se aproximan en su ubicación. El informe puede ser a corto o largo, pero hay que recordar que todos los demás convenios quisiera saber realmente sobre lo que realmente importa, y lo que están haciendo una ICA.

1 0

4/26/18, Progressing Spirit: Plumer, What is God?; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 26 Apr '18

26 Apr '18

View this email in your browser What is God? Essay by Fred C. Plumer on April 26, 2018 A few weeks ago, I recommended to our Progressing Spirit writers that we should all write articles that responded to Bishop Spong’s book, Unbelievable. Then it hit me. I was going to be doing the article this week and as I had suggested to our writers, I would have to start with Spong’s first thesis. “Holy moly,” what was I thinking? For Spong’s first thesis is “God.” Now, I am a student of the Bible. I have been studying it for over forty years. Nearly thirty years ago I came to the dramatic conclusion that the vast majority, if not the entire Bible, was written as metaphor by people who may have been very bright for their time in history but were largely ignorant of the world that inherited this book. We really do not understand the world they lived in, and obviously, they did not understand the world we live in today. Many of their sincere beliefs would be considered, at best, superstitions today. That is one of the reasons it has always amazed me people can argue for an inerrant interpretation of the Bible, using the Bible to “prove” their own interpretation. And then there is the issue of God. I know of no subject that is more challenging to discuss then the subject of God. Does this God answer our prayers? If not, why are we still saying them in most of our churches? I sincerely believe if we could poll the members of a two hundred member church, and ask them if they believed in God, we would get two hundred different answers. Spong suggest that this is largely the result of thinking of God as a “being.” He writes, “What we must do is find the meaning to which the word ‘God’ points.” Now I am not overly concerned about the readers of this column. Most of us have not believed in a “God-being” sitting up in the skies waiting to hear our prayers. Most of us, I suspect, get a strange feeling when we say the Lord’s Prayer, whichever version we use, when we get to the “forgive us our sins” or frankly any part of the famous prayer. Do we really believe that “God” is even listening or is going to forgive us? Do we really believe that “God” will answer our petitions? Do we believe in a God? If so, what is God? Spong continues, “God is not a being, not even a supreme being. A being is something that exists in time and space, but we are trying to describe that which is ultimate, unbound, meaning that such terminology-the category of existence –cannot be used.” This is apparently harder than it sounds. That may be one of the reasons several well-known theologians have suggested that we give up using the term “God” at least for an extended period of time until people of the next generation can “reconceive” its true meaning. Paul Tillich suggested something similar several decades ago. “We must abandon the external height images in which the theistic God has historically been perceived and replace them with internal depth images of a deity who is not apart from us, but who is the very core and ground of all that is.” Spong starts his thesis by stating once you are thinking of God not as a being then you begin to think of God as a “doorway” of a new experience of life. He writes, “My doorway into God is to take my God experience seriously and then to live it as deeply as I can…How do I experience God? First, I experience God as Life.” So what do we do with this? How do I approach the subject while offending the fewest number of people? I suppose I could dazzle you with something like Tillich wrote, but I am not Paul Tillich, or Bishop Spong for that matter. So I suggest we look at a few of the ideas that are out there right now. Certainly one of the best ways to approach this is to give some concrete examples. One is the Oasis Communities. Oasis communities started around 2012 in this country. At last count they have to over 12 communities across the States and two in Canada. They started as an alternative, atheist “church” but they have grown-up since then. Their anti-attitude toward a god has transitioned a bit since they first started. They now say they do not believe in an intercessory god or a being. They gather on Sunday mornings because the leaders ascertained that this was the time that most folks had the least commitments. Their core values that are stated on the website are: 1. People are more important than beliefs. 2. Reality is known through reason. 3. Meaning comes from making a difference. 4. Human hands solve human problems. 5. Be accepting and be accepted. Another organization you might find interesting is called The Clergy Project. It is growing rapidly. The organization works with clergy who want to “come out of the closet,” meaning to proclaim to their congregations that they no longer can in good conscious use the term God. They consider themselves atheist. None of them believe in a theistic god and have given up trying to “fake” it in church. The Clergy Project was started to help these people either by learning how to reconfigure their ministry by becoming more honest in their churches or through helping them find another profession. You may want to look them up on the web. (clergyproject.org) If you do, you might be interested in reading the story by John Harkey Gibbs, currently on the front page of the Clergy Project. One of our regular writers, Gretta Vosper, is part of this organization and is a very effective pastor in her own church. A couple of you have notified us that you have stopped reading her articles because you do not like the term “atheist.” I suggest you take another look at what Ms. Vosper is writing. She does not believe in an intervening God, and does not believe there is anything “up there” or “out there” that she would call “godlike.” Vosper has been challenged by a few of her former church members, but far more by her denominational hierarchy. And yet she has a vital church that works very well for a lot of people. The congregation has no desire to “please” God, and most of the congregants are better for that. Their focus is about caring and pleasing each other as a community. If someone has a problem they may be more comfortable discussing it with a peer rather than with clergy or more importantly, asking “God” to fix it. I suggest you read her first book, With or Without God. She makes a solid argument that we should remove the term god from our vocabulary in the church. Vosper writes, “It is time for the church to give up that truth-testing role. Those in leadership positions in the church are fully aware that whatever god is, it is not described by the church’s doctrines. They are even aware that there may be no such thing as god.” Perhaps John Robinson, Ph.D., D.Min who is a clinical psychologist with a second doctorate in ministry, has the right idea. Robinson believes that God exists and it is “us.” In his most recent book, The Divine Human: The Final Transformation of Sacred Aging, he writes; “The Divine Human is someone who experiences body, self and the world as literally divine. It’s a state of consciousness free of identity, time and story, and the whole problem-ridden labyrinth of left brain thinking that dominates our lives. In mystical awareness, we experience our “own” consciousness and being as the consciousness and being of God.” Robinson says the answer is less religion and more mysticism. He suggests that we have been looking in all the wrong places for God. He explains that Jesus was a mystic first and foremost. When Jesus said we live in a sacred and divine world he meant something more than, “this is a beautiful world.” This beautiful world is actually an opportunity to discover who and what we are. He quotes Jesus, “The father’s kingdom is spread out upon the earth and people do not see it…What you look for has come, but you do not know it.”(Gospel of Thomas, Marvin Meyer and Harold Bloom p65, 113) And in Robinson’s same book he also quotes Joseph Campbell, “This is it. This is Eden. When you see the kingdom spread upon the earth, the old way of living in the world is annihilated. That is the end of the world. The end of the world is not an event to come, it is an event of psychological transformation, of visionary transformation. You see not the world of solid things but a world of radiance.” Once we “wake up” and see this reality, according to Robinson, we will also realize that we are gods or godlike. It is something we can experience any time…but we have to do the work. In part we have to learn how to become mystics through meditation, changing our attitudes and opening our eyes. Robinson may have a point here. If we really began to see the world as sacred and our lives as a divine experience, how would that change our vison of the world and the way we experience it? How would that change the world? Can we even imagine the sense of becoming godly as we work through our lives? It is an intriguing idea. And finally, for years now, I have wondered about the string theory. In short, it is the idea that the entire universe is connected with some kind of invisible string and this “string” moves in large waves. It brings me back to the Buddhist saying, when a butterfly flaps its wings, the world is changed. Is that something we could refer to as god or God? Just the idea of being interconnected to each other, let alone to things we do not even think of or know about, is tantalizing to me. The bottom line with this way of reasoning is that we still are responsible for our lives. Yes, other people, animals, plants, whatever, may be “pulling on our string” or strings, but we still have to decide how we are going to live our lives. So I bring you back to Bishop Spong’s explanation of God. In short he says God is explainable only through experience. And how do we experience God, according to Spong? “I experience God as Life.” Maybe another good start would be to keep the wisdom of naturalist John Burroughs in mind when we are entering that doorway: the more we allow science, reason and wonder to lead us forward down the trail, the more we find ourselves “at home in the universe.” ~ Fred C. Plumer Click here to read online and to share your thoughts About the Author In 1986 Rev. Plumer was called to the Irvine United Congregational Church in Irvine, CA to lead a UCC new start church, where he remained until he retired in 2004. The church became known throughout the denomination as one of the more exciting and progressive mid-size congregations in the nation. He served on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) for five years, and chaired the Commission for Church Development and Evangelism for three of those years. In 2006 Fred was elected President of ProgressiveChristianity.org (originally called The Center for Progressive Christianity – TCPC) when it’s founder Jim Adams retired. As a member of the Executive Council for TCPC he wrote The Study Guide for The 8 Points by which we define: Progressive Christianity. He has had several articles published on church development, building faith communities and redefining the purpose of the enlightened Christian Church. His book Drink from the Well is an anthology from speeches, articles in eBulletins, and numerous publications that define the progressive Christianity movement as it evolves to meet new challenges in a rapidly changing world. Question & Answer Q: By Ralf from Oklahoma Recently, while in the middle of a difficult and tragic event in my life, a friend told me not to worry because God has a hand in everything that happens and that means that everything that happen is meant for good. He even suggested I read Romans 8:28. Do you think that's what the verse actually means? A: By Rev. Mark Sandlin Dear Ralph, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28 This verse is so chock full of issues I barely know where to start. Considering there are so many issues, I think I'll just focus on the overarching problem – certainty. When folks quote this they tend to say it loaded with a bunch of theological perspectives that they hold to strongly simply because they were told to, or want to, or they have blind faith in them. The thing is, even scholars who spend their careers looking at these theological issues find it hard to say, with certainty, that they definitely have one “correct” understanding of Romans 8:28. Let’s just look at one piece of the verse: “in all things God works for the good…”. Most folks who like to quote this scripture hear it as saying “all things are meant for good by God.” But, that way of seeing the world elevates tragedy into blessing and dismisses human grief as an inability to understand God’s “larger plan” or the “mystery of God.” >From the holocaust, to Rwanda, to child abuse, to the 21,000 people who die every day due to hunger related causes, this take on the providence of God paints a picture of a God who creates death and suffering in order to achieve some supposed greater good. That’s no god. It’s not even what the verse says. It says, “in all things God works for the good.” Perhaps what is being said is that in all things (even things humanity creates that are horrible and tragic)God is endeavoring to create something good. And perhaps the reason God struggles to do so, is that the only tools he has available are us – God’s people. So, no. I definitely don't think that's what the verse actually means. PEACE!  ~ Rev. Mark Sandlin Click here to read and share online About the Author Rev. Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He currently serves at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. He is a co-founder of The Christian Left. His blog, has been named as one of the “Top Ten Christian Blogs.” Mark received The Associated Church Press' Award of Excellence in 2012. His work has been published on "The Huffington Post," "Sojourners," "Time," "Church World Services," and even the "Richard Dawkins Foundation." He's been featured on PBS's "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly" and NPR's "The Story with Dick Gordon.” Follow Mark on Facebook and Twitter @marksandlin Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Debating with Evangelicals Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong on June 22, 2005 Twice recently, I have had the opportunity to engage in public debate two people who identify themselves as evangelicals, the Rev. Dr. Albert Mohler, the President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Rev. Dr. William Craig, a non-residential “Research Professor of Philosophy” at the Talbot School of Theology, an evangelical school in La Mirada, California. The venues for these debates were quite different. Dr. Mohler and I were in two studios in different cities so we never actually met, nor could I see him. Dr. Craig and I shared the stage before a live audience in an auditorium at Bethel College in Ohio. The subject matter was also different. With Dr. Mohler, it was the Bible and how one is to approach the sacred text, while with Dr. Craig we limited our subject to the resurrection of Jesus as the gospels describe it. These two gentlemen differed greatly in personality. Dr. Mohler was overtly aggressive, while Dr. Craig was quite civil, despite slipping occasionally into ‘cuteness.’ There was, however, little to distinguish their perspectives. In typical evangelical style both validated their points of view by describing the time when each “gave myself to the Lord,” suggesting in subtle ways that without this saving moment, rational conversation about the Bible had little relevance. Yet both of these guardians of the literal Bible appeared to me to be highly defensive. Their defensiveness was apparent first in their constant citing of the names of those biblical authorities they quoted to justify their evangelical conclusions. They worked hard to build up the credibility of these ‘scholars’, listing their degrees and publications and stating that they represented a new wave of learning. That was, they suggested, why I might never have heard of them. It was an argument not dissimilar from the way evangelicals also quote certain ‘scientists’ who, they claim “challenge Darwin and evolution in the name of science.” An investigation of the credentials of these authorities, however, reveals that the majority of their degrees come from evangelical schools and that their books are published by evangelical publishers. When these facts are raised to consciousness, the response is typically that “liberals do not take evangelical scholarship seriously because of an intellectual bias.” I confess that I plead guilty to that charge to this degree. I can read two or three pages of the work of someone described as an “evangelical scholar” and tell you quickly why I have no desire to read more. What they call scholarship is always in the service of the evangelical agenda. There is in fact no such thing as “conservative” biblical scholarship, any more than there is something called “liberal” biblical scholarship. Scholarship is by definition neither liberal nor conservative, it is, rather, competent or incompetent. The nature of scholarship is to go wherever the search for truth leads; it does not exist to buttress pre-conceived evangelical conclusions. That is to confuse both education and scholarship with propaganda. Most of the evangelical “scholars” that these two gentlemen cited are unknown in the academic circles I inhabit not, as they claim, because of a liberal bias but because their work is not regarded as academic at all. It, therefore, stands at odds with the great tradition of biblical scholarship that broke upon the Western world in the late 18th century, and that continues to challenge, deeply and successfully, the literal assumptions made by most evangelicals. When Dr. Mohler asserted in our debate, “that every word of the Bible is the inerrant word of God,” it was obvious that this critical work of the last 200 years has never engaged his mind. The inerrancy he claimed for “the Word of God” requires one to live in a pre-Copernican, pre-Darwinian world. To pretend that the earth is still the center of the universe is simply no longer credible. Old Testament narratives from the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis, to the story of manna raining down from heaven on the Israelites in the wilderness reflect that now-rejected world view, as do the New Testament accounts of a star being dragged across the heavens slowly enough to allow wise men to keep up with it and Jesus returning to God by ascending into the sky. DNA evidence also makes the idea of a separate creation for human life laughable. The people who wrote the Bible, knew nothing about germs, viruses or tumors, and assumed that sickness was punishment for sinfulness, that epilepsy resulted from demon possession and deaf muteness derived from the devil tying the victim’s tongue. One does not want to attribute such ignorance to God. Furthermore, evangelicals do not face the fact that a book which says quite literally that homosexuals should be put to death, women are inferior to men, slavery is legitimate or Jews deserve God’s wrath, should never be called “the Word of God.” When Dr. Craig proclaimed that the gospels were “biographies of Jesus,” reflecting “eye witness accounts that go back into the first decade following the life of Jesus,” it was apparent that he was either unaware of or had deliberately rejected the conclusions of two centuries of biblical studies. Then he stated that the Book of Acts was written in the early sixties, a date reputable scholars find incredible. To debate such ideas as if they are competent is like debating with members of the flat earth society. It is universally attested today that Acts is volume two of Luke and that Luke has copied into his gospel about fifty percent of the Gospel of Mark. If Dr. Craig were correct that would force us to date Luke and Mark early in the 50’s. Both gospels reflect a much later structure of church life and appear to be cognizant of such external events as the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., each of which makes Dr. Craig’s dating impossible. I have no desire to impugn the integrity of either of these gentlemen, but I can say that their level of learning is at best naive. Like most evangelicals, they know much about the literal content of the Bible and can cite its proof texts with alacrity, but they seem to know nothing about the Bible’s formation, its clear conflicts, or anything else that threatens their primary presuppositions. Neither man understood a basic distinction, which is that while all people are welcome to their own opinions, none are welcome to their own facts. Facts can be tested. Evangelicals also do not seem to recognize that there is a time-honored method by which new thoughts enter the public debate. The one with the challenging insight writes a book or a paper and allows it to be circulated among those judged to be experts in that field so that they might react to it. If the insight opens new doors into truth it will ultimately win its way to acceptance. If it does not, it will receive the treatment it deserves and be roundly dismissed. Insights that are saluted only by evangelicals do not meet that test and all the rhetoric, designed to make credible that which has no academic merit, will avail nothing. The major problem with those who read the Bible literally is that they do not understand how the world has changed since the Bible was written. Propositional statements made in any time frame reflect the worldview of the one speaking. Language is always a dialogue between truth and time. Ultimate truth may be timeless but all articulations of truth are time bound and time warped. That distinction is still foreign to the conservative religious mind. My debating partners became quite contentious when trying to maintain their intellectually indefensible positions. Dr. Mohler revealed this by going into a full-scale attack. He suggested that I had rejected “every tenet of traditional Christianity.” He checked them off: the Virgin Birth, the blood atonement, the physical nature of the Resurrection, the supernatural God, and the reality of miracles. As he fired his fundamentalist artillery, he slipped quickly into character assassination. The oldest trick in debating is to attack the messenger when you can no longer deal with the message. What I do reject is not the basic ‘tenets of Christianity’ but the literal interpretations and dated world view that have been imposed on traditional Christianity by those who think they are ‘defending the faith.’ That is a distinction that those who identify Christianity with their own narrow definitions of it cannot make. Dr. Mohler’s assertions were almost identical with those things outlined by evangelicals in a series of early 20th century tracts called “The Fundamentals,” every one of which has been dismissed by the academic world of Christian scholarship. No scholar of world rank today, treats the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke as literal biology, the resurrection as physical resuscitation or envisions God as a deity who requires a blood offering and a human sacrifice as the means of achieving salvation. Such literalizations have become nothing less than a source of Christian embarrassment. Dr. Craig sought to distance himself from such strict fundamentalism by announcing that he was not an absolute literalist. When the Bible suggested that the hills clapped their hands, he explained, he did not believe that “hills actually had hands that could clap.” If that’s the mentality that tempers his literalism, he has a long way to go before he can enter the contemporary theological dialogue. His wife actually articulated the real problem at the end of the debate. I had related the story of how my evangelical church had taught me as a child that segregation, patriarchy, anti-Semitism and homophobia were the will of God, quoting the literal words of the Bible to ‘prove’ it. She expressed her sorrow “for the way I had been treated as a child by evangelicals.” If I had just had a wise and loving evangelical as my childhood pastor, perhaps someone like Dr. Craig, none of these dreadful things would have happened and, presumably, I would be a good evangelical today. I smiled inwardly, for clearly her comment revealed no insight at all into the things we had been discussing for two hours. Christianity is in desperate need of reformation but dialogue with evangelicals is not the way to pursue that task. As the old love song suggests, ‘we live in two different worlds.’ ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements Events and Updates Pilgrimage as a Journey of the Heart Online eCourse offered by Spiritual & Practice April 30th - May 25th Pilgrimage transcends religious, national, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. This e-course will explore the many dimensions of pilgrimages as a spiritual practice and offer resources to aid those called to the journey today. We will look specifically at the value of pilgrimages in Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and psychology. Click here for more information/registration ..

2 1

Bruce Lanphear: Link to Earth Justice article; Bruche's short videos re toxins/environment
by Ellie Stock 25 Apr '18

25 Apr '18

Hi Folks, A follow up from my previous email re the Earth Justice article about Bruce Lanphear and his work regarding the harmful affects of lead contamination. Below is a link to that article. Also below is a link to excellent short (3-4 minutes) videos he and his brother Bob produced on harmful effects of toxins and health and the environment, prevention vs. cure of disease, etc. Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com Judges to EPA: Get the Lead Out (on Protecting Children’s ... earthjustice.org/blog/2018-march/judges-to-epa-get-the... Bruce Lanphear's scientific work showed the dangers of low-level lead exposure. His work with Earthjustice helped ensure safer homes for our children. Videos. You can view them here: www.littlethingsmatter.ca

1 0

Stop, Look and Listen!
by Dawn Collins 24 Apr '18

24 Apr '18

Dear Colleagues, I've had the occasion to tarry in my journey of late over three passages of Scripture discussed in our recent House Church worship service this Sunday after Easter here in Denver. Would appreciate any ruminations you care to add to this reflective stew. I admit and give fair warning I have not been taken up into the wisdom of Proverbs over the years as I have with the Psalms. Yet I think there are nuggets of wisdom to be mined for reflection in our meditative study of the Bible. ........................................................................ The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.- Proverbs 10:7 A faithful one will abound with blessings, but s/he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished. - Proverbs 28:20 ...and the base (insignificant or lowly) things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are...- I Corinthians1:28 And two tangential messages on the pages reviewed that captured my attention: Happy are those who are always reverent, but those who harden their hearts will fall into calamity.- Proverbs 28:19 ...as it is written, "Let all who glory, glory in the LORD.I Corinthians 1:31 Your thoughts? G&P, Dawn Collins We love the Creator/Source because the Source/Creator loved us first.- 1 John 4:`19

4 6

Article: "Bruce Lanphear, Scientist and Physician" (Earth Justice Magazine)
by Ellie Stock 24 Apr '18

24 Apr '18

Hi Folks, If receive or see quarterly magazines from Earth Justice, check out the spring issue which has an article on p. 30 "Bruce Lanphear--Scientist and Physician"--about lead standards and Bruce Lanphear--the work he has done to hold EPA accountable to the truth that no lead blood level is safe, forcing EPA to update its standards on allowable lead levels in paint and dust. His work has been instrumental in our work in Missouri and Peru re chronic lead contamination pollution from industry as well as contamination from paint, etc. Thanks to Bruce for his commitment, leadership and work re this and other toxins harmful to our health. Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com

3 2

So, I was riding my bicycle to the food bank
by James Wiegel 21 Apr '18

21 Apr '18

About 5 am yesterday, and is often the case with me, a song was going through my head, in this case, Amazing Grace. I had googled the book The Shaking of the Foundations, on Thursday and discovered that Tillich's You Are Accepted was included as a chapter. Back to the bike ride: the lyrics of Amazing Grace were wandering through my head . . . And the line came "Twas grace that taught my heart to fear". and I wondered what that line was pointing to . . . Jim Wiegel 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com Loneliness does not come from having no people around you. But from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you. Carl Jung > On Apr 21, 2018, at 00:37, Isobel and Jim Bishop via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > Dear Dawn, > > Thank you for your bravery in writing this, I am enjoying the conversation.! > > > Keep on keeping on, as the saying goes…. > > > with love from > > Isobel. xx > > Isobel and Jim Bishop > isobeljimbish(a)optusnet.com.au > > > > > >> On 21/04/2018, at 4:59 PM, Dawn Collins via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: >> >> Hi, Mary! >> >> Try this on by way of an explanation: The Creator/Source sometimes uses the most unlikely of choices (to us) to impact wayward souls who have no thought of believing in a Source/Creator and devote their lives to temporal, materialistic things. Take the apostles for instance, what a motley crew! From lowly fishermen with one a despised tax collector, (seen as lackeys of the Roman occupation); they weren't exactly the creme de la creme of society. >> >> In the Old Testament, the Source/Creator used enemies of the Hebrew nation to defeat them in warfare as a means to remind them to be faithful to their Covenant with the Creator/Source and not follow the ways of the temporal world where idol worship was the rule of the day. Serious stuff, eh? >> >> Reluctant prophets also bore the responsibility of reminding the Israelites of being obedient to putting the Source/Creator as their ultimate priority. Needless to say, they were not only unpopular but spoke their message even when in fear of their lives. >> >> I hope for a future where we are past the point in our history as a nation in the U.S.and around the world where our social prophets e.g., activists, young or mature, journalists, and religious leaders are rendered violently expendable to the more radical elements in our society. >> >> One of my big thoughts has been to compare the plight of Israel through its history to the timeline of my life as a human being. Questions I ask are: What can we learn from their history? Was and is it universal? What is the role of a Word Bearer In the community and the world? >> >> I often listen to music as meditation. Tracy Chapman's New Beginning album speaks to me of creating a heaven here on earth with a new beginning creating new symbols, new signs, and, a new language.I think she's a social pioneer and prophet. >> >> Anyway, I'm glad to be on the planet and actively participating in the struggle dealing with the moral issue affecting the spirit of our times... >> >> G&P, >> >> The struggle continues, >> >> Dawn >> >> >> We love the Creator/Source because the Source/Creator first loved us. >> 1 John 4:19 >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> OE mailing list >> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net >> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

6 7

Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Stop, Look and Listen!
by Dawn Collins 21 Apr '18

21 Apr '18

Hi, Mary! Try this on by way of an explanation: The Creator/Source sometimes uses the most unlikely of choices (to us) to impact wayward souls who have no thought of believing in a Source/Creator and devote their lives to temporal, materialistic things. Take the apostles for instance, what a motley crew! From lowly fishermen with one a despised tax collector, (seen as lackeys of the Roman occupation); they weren't exactly the creme de la creme of society. In the Old Testament, the Source/Creator used enemies of the Hebrew nation to defeat them in warfare as a means to remind them to be faithful to their Covenant with the Creator/Source and not follow the ways of the temporal world where idol worship was the rule of the day. Serious stuff, eh? Reluctant prophets also bore the responsibility of reminding the Israelites of being obedient to putting the Source/Creator as their ultimate priority. Needless to say, they were not only unpopular but spoke their message even when in fear of their lives. I hope for a future where we are past the point in our history as a nation in the U.S.and around the world where our social prophets e.g., activists, young or mature, journalists, and religious leaders are rendered violently expendable to the more radical elements in our society. One of my big thoughts has been to compare the plight of Israel through its history to the timeline of my life as a human being. Questions I ask are: What can we learn from their history? Was and is it universal? What is the role of a Word Bearer In the community and the world? I often listen to music as meditation. Tracy Chapman's New Beginning album speaks to me of creating a heaven here on earth with a new beginning creating new symbols, new signs, and, a new language.I think she's a social pioneer and prophet. Anyway, I'm glad to be on the planet and actively participating in the struggle dealing with the moral issue affecting the spirit of our times... G&P, The struggle continues, Dawn We love the Creator/Source because the Source/Creator first loved us.1 John 4:19

2 1

My report on running the Boston Marathon
by Herman Greene 20 Apr '18

20 Apr '18

*Background: The race was on April 16. The temperature was in the 30s at the beginning and in the mid-40s at the end. Rain was constant and sometimes came down in sheets. Wind was in our face at 10-20 mph with gusts to 32 mph. This marathon, as all others, was 26.2 miles long. The Boston Marathon has been run since 1897. It's the granddaddy and the most prestigious of all. It's a metro-wide festival. The run is from Hopkinton, MA, to Copley Square in Boston. 2800 racers sought medical help. 59 were taken to the hospital, mostly from hypothermia. Thirty-two thousand were registered for the race. Seven thousand failed to finish or didn't run. I was toward the end of the finishers as explained below.* *The Report:* * Every race you learn something. The conditions I ran in were totally new. Not only was the weather bad during the race, but because the ground was soaking in the "athlete's village" I had to stand for over an hour before the race and then walk a kilometer to the starting line. This was my 21st marathon. I'm very satisfied with my race, but it was my second slowest ever, about 5:48. My slowest was when I tore a muscle and walked the last 12 miles. My time then was 6:15. I could say I'm just getting old, but I ran a 4:30 marathon in November 2017, so I don't think I've declined that much.Much of my slowness this time came from having something happen to my left groin at mile 7. I had to shorten my stride from there on. From mile 7 on I ran about 13 minute miles most of the way but even slower toward the end. I didn't walk!. So my achievement was putting one foot in front of the other and staying with it.The weather was a huge factor. The wind and rain drop body temperature and I read that with hypothermia comes shortened breath. I never felt I could breath well and that makes all the difference. I didn't have serious hypothermia because fortunately I did decide to wear a gore-tex type suit, but the weather was still a factor.The injury came out of nowhere. I didn't take a wrong step or anything and I have never had an injury in my left groin. I thought it might have been a groin pull but I think it must have been a spasm of some kind, possibly with some tendon strain. At the expo, a person handed out a homeopathic cream for cramps as well as homeopathic pills for cramps. I think they saved my day. Without that medication I would have had to walk and walking beginning at 7 miles which would really have been bad. I'm changing my mind about the tapering. I think the most important training ends about three weeks out and that one should taper more than I did the last two weeks. I was pushing because an injury kept me from running in weeks 5 and 4 before the race. Tens of thousands of people run marathons each year. They are all heroes in a way. Training for a marathon is hard and running one is hard . . . and you never know what might be coming at you in a race in terms of weather or injury.Aside from all this, the day was perfect. That strange logic of the marathoner takes over . . . the more grueling the experience, the more the spirit rages within. Pain is good! When's the next race?!Well, for me this really may be my last. It's been glorious and I feel I had a glorious ending. Plus it was great having Sandi and her brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Kristen Strong, as my team. We had a grand time.Herman * -- __________________________________________________ Herman F. Greene 2516 Winningham Road Chapel Hill, NC 27516 919-942-4358 (ph & fax) hfgreenenc(a)gmail.com

12 14