March 2025 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

Mary Lou Vergara update
by Lynda C 17 Mar '25

17 Mar '25

Mary Lou Vergara in the Raleigh, NC area, is dealing with several challenging health issues and in need of our encouragement and support. Mary Lou, a retired geriatric social worker, was most helpful to us in our efforts to find federal resources for seniors when we began showing "signs of aging.” She even came to visit us to check on us. She was an amazing cheerleader and care assistant for Lauri Miesen Shaw in her recent illness and passing. Now it’s her time to need encouragement. Following a couple of months dealing with a severe back pain, in and out of ER, etc., she was hospitalized and seemed to have something like a small stroke, with confusion before other tests found a cancerous mass in her lower lumbar region. Her daughter Kristina lives nearby but frequently works out of town. Daughter Teresa will arrive next week. Mary Lou was sent to a rehab facility but has now been moved back to hospital. This has happened several times. Mary Lou's hope is that she will recover use of her legs where some nerve damage may have occurred. She said she was not in pain, thankfully, but would enjoy hearing from folks and even phone visiting. Kristina will be taking more time off for a while to be nearer to her mom. Cards may be sent to her home address below and Kristina will deliver them to her mom. Mary Lou Vergara, 2917 Waterford Forest Circle, Cary, North Carolina 27513. Telephone and email are being worked on to be easier for Mary Lou to use. Cell: 404-580-9340. E-mail: vergaramarylou(a)gmail.com. Care to us all as we become ever more aware of our mortality. Ashes to ashes. Our Lenten reminder: to focus on our intentions and our actions in our personal journey and in our care for our Earth community and our life plan and for each other. Grateful for our colleagues, Lynda

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Reprise: How Then Shall We Live? (in such a time as this . . .)
by Ellie Stock 17 Mar '25

17 Mar '25

Reprise: How Then Shall We LIve? (in such a time as this . . .)Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com HOW THEN SHALL WE LIVE? What do we call what calls from the deep, that pulses through stars and quickens heart’s beep,that surges through waves and cleanses with fire,emerges from dust and breathes soul’s desire?What do we name what mocks human pride,that bends the Tree of Life, sustaining being’s tide? How do we greet what calls to our deep,that lasers vulnerabilities and loves us from fear’s sleep,that mourns lost illusions and leaves us defenseless,transforms the present moment and awakens all senses?How do we embrace what eternalizes finitude,that opens wide portals, flooding tears of gratitude? How do we know what calls us to decide,that gives no guarantee and provides no place to hide,that beckons all our care and trumps the doubt within,reckons despair and hope and connects all creature kin?How do we abide in what struggles to create,that explodes time and space, freeing partners with Earth’s fate? How then shall we live what chisels passion’s edge,that re-sculpts past’s confoundings and empowers future’s wedge,that compels us far beyond mind’s strength or comfort zone,propels trusting steps into great work’s bidding unknown?How shall we now journey in vast communitywith that which journeys through us profoundly and boundlessly? ~ ejhs

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Re: [Oe List ...] ICA group on a path forward
by James Wiegel 17 Mar '25

17 Mar '25

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With love for y’all and love for America ...
by Ken Fisher 15 Mar '25

15 Mar '25

Dear Colleagues, Most of you on this Listserv are American. With 16 years in the O:E with so many of you, a decade of which was served in United States, my interior dialogue continues to be profoundly influenced by you and America. Since America’s economic war on Canada has not been mentioned on this List, I ask for the following to be included in your context. Since December, President Trump has been referring to my country as the 51st State, and my Prime Minister and Governor. Since taking office, along with the coup d’état of your own country by Musk et al, he has launched a tariff war on Canada with the objective of destabilizing our economy to the point of collapse, which would then allow the United States to annex Canada. Because we have become impolite about this prosect, he has likened our ingratitude to that of Ukraine’s. In that President Trump’s behaviour is that of Russia’s, and that both countries border Canada, the following headline bears your attention. We are a sovereign nation. We have allies that will help us defend that. As not experienced in years, young folks are enlisting. How crazy is this? It is most real. While it is true that in relation to the rest of the world, like United States, Canada is complicit in issues like Palestine, in the context of our two countries, this active attempt to destabilize Canada for the sake of American expansion - Greenland, Panama, Gaza - is utterly crazy. With love for y’all and love for America, Ken Ken Fisher 1070 Elizabeth Street - Box 75 Sharbot Lake ON K0H 2P0 Canada 613.203.0180 kenfisher1942(a)gmail.com Ken Fisher @KandPtrail Written in 1940 by American humorist, James Thurber.

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Fw: From Canadian citizen
by Ellie Stock 15 Mar '25

15 Mar '25

Following up on Ken Fisher's email re Canada... Ellieelliestock(a)aol.com Brian Joseph March 12 at 10:36 AM · This was deleted from Facebook after being downloaded. Mugsy Margarit was the original author.**Updated to reflect threats made by Trump the morning of March 11th.**One thing I've learned over the past few weeks, and it's been a bit of a sobering lesson, is that a lot of Americans I know don't actually know what's going on between the US and Canada right now, and just how seriously Canadians are taking this. So, against my better judgement, here's a timeline to explain why we're here, and why we're angry.Nov 30th, 2018 - The United States, Canada and Mexico finalize a trade agreement. Trump personally negotiates the terms and signs the document, celebrating it as 'the greatest trade agreement in history". (This is important.)Nov 29th, 2024 - In a face to face meeting, Trump threatens the Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, that he will be imposing 25% tariffs and that if Canada wants to avoid that, it should join the US as a state.Nov 30th, 2024 - Trump publicly calls our Prime Minister 'Governor Trudeau' and instructs his staff to only address him as Governor going forward. He again suggests Canada should join the USA.Dec 3rd, 2024 - Trump remarks that he would split Canada into two states once annexed.Dec 10th, 2024 - Trump posts that the majority of Canadians support annexation, despite public polling that only 13% of Canadians would consider the idea. Dec 18th, 2024 - Trump again falsely states that the majority of Canadians support annexation and that one of his lapdogs, Wayne Gretzky, should have a leadership role in that new scenario. Jan 7th, 2025 - At a press conference, Trump says that he would use economic force to destroy the Canadian economy to annex it. Jan 14, 2025 - Trump again claims that most Canadians want to be American, despite new polls showing only 10% of us are open to the idea. Jan 20th, 2025 - During his inaugural address, Trump says that the U.S. will 'expand its territory' during his second term.Jan 23rd, 2025 - At the World Economic Forum, Trump says that Canada can avoid tariffs and economic collapse if it joins the US. He says this in front of representatives from most countries in the world.Jan 24th, 2025 - Trump states publicly that Canada 'will' become a stateJan 31st, 2025 - Trump announces a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports to begin the next day.Feb 2nd, 2025 - Trump refers to Canada as its 'Cherished 51st state' and that it should join the US to avoid tariffs. Feb 3rd, 2025 - A one month delay is agreed upon. Trump, in a conversation with Trudeau states that he doesn't think existing border treaties with Canada are valid, and need to be revised. Feb 7th, 2025 - In a closed door meeting with his cabinet, Prime Minister Trudeau is recorded, without his knowledge, telling everyone that he believes very strongly that Trump is serious and that he stated his reason for annexation as Canadian resources. Feb 9th, 2025 - In a Super Bowl pre-game interview, Trump says that he's serious about his threats, calling it a 'viable consideration for expanding US territory'Feb 10th, 2025 - Trump announces an additional 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada to come into effect March 12th.Feb 24th, 2025 - Trump publicly remarks that whoever signed the USMCA agreement is an idiot. He was the one that signed it. Feb 27th, 2025 - Reports of American spy planes and reconnaissance aircraft flying over southern Alberta and Saskatchewan.March 4th, 5th, and 6th 2025 - Tariffs come into effect. Canada retaliates with it's own tariffs. Tariffs are again postponed until April 1st after a huge market backlash. March 4th, 2025 - In an address to a joint session of congress, Trump states that the US will own Greenland 'one way or the other'. March 5th, 2025 - US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told Canadian finance minister Dominic LeBlanc that Trump "had come to realize that the relationship between the United States and Canada was governed by a slew of agreements and treaties that were easy to abandon."March 7th, 2025 - Unconfirmed Memorandum and maps leaked on twitter reveal Trump is allegedly planning to annex the entirety of the great lakes and Southern Ontario, home to 13,491,332 Canadians. This amounts to 35.25% of Canada's total population and includes its largest city, Toronto. This region accounts for 38% of the Canadian economy, and its loss would make Canada's independence functionally impossible. March 8th, 2025 - Canada's foreign minister warns European allies that their government considers Canada to be under existential threat. March 9th, 2025 - Mark Carney, the new Canadian Prime Minister, in his acceptance speech, states that Trump is seeking to destroy Canada, and its way of life. March 11, 2025 - President Trump threatens to “permanently shut down the automobile manufacturing business in Canada” if Canada does not drop a 250% to 390% tariff on U.S. dairy products, which he doesn’t state only kicks in after a certain quantity of tariff-free U.S. dairy enters Canada, a quantity that was originally negotiated and agreed to by Trump during the USMCA in 2018. In Trump's own words, "The only thing that makes sense is for Canada to become our cherished Fifty First State. This would make all Tariffs, and everything else, totally disappear. Canadians’ taxes will be very substantially reduced, they will be more secure, militarily and otherwise, than ever before, there would no longer be a Northern Border problem, and the greatest and most powerful nation in the World will be bigger, better and stronger than ever — And Canada will be a big part of that. The artificial line of separation drawn many years ago will finally disappear, and we will have the safest and most beautiful Nation anywhere in the World — And your brilliant anthem, “O Canada,” will continue to play, but now representing a GREAT and POWERFUL STATE within the greatest Nation that the World has ever seen!"To my American friends, I know most of you are amazing and generous people. You didn't ask for this, and I understand that. I hold no ill will towards you, whatsoever. But I must stress, with as much seriousness as I can, the amount of damage this has done. We have viewed you as our closest friend and ally for a century. We thought of you as brothers and sisters. We answered the call, again and again, for any support you needed from us. Most of Canadians visit the USA so much that we've seen more of the US than we have the rest of Canada. American products have been taken off our shelves. Canadians are cancelling travel plans to the US. Photo after photo has been shared on social media of empty flights from Canada to the USA. This isn't a joke to us. We're not overreacting. We don't think he's just saying this shit to cause chaos or negotiate a deal. We wholeheartedly believe that our closest ally and friend is about to bring violence across our border, economically destroy us, and eliminate our way of life. The main driver for Canada's creation in 1867 was SPECIFICALLY to not be part of America, and to end America's very public threats and plans to annex our territory. We're angry. We're really, really fucking angry. Open your eyes to what's happening because we're tired of trying to make you understand why and asking you why it seems like none of you care. **I still hope that there is time to repair this. I still believe that this is the result of one man's plan to burn it all down. But time is running out, and fast.**Note** The hundreds of positive comments and messages I've received from Americans today have restored my faith in you, and humanity. You do care, and I was wrong in assuming you didn't.

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David Brooks again =Seeing and being heard
by Judi White 14 Mar '25

14 Mar '25

https://youtu.be/YwENbKn3tqI?si=a-ka7ZlPh4CUNao_

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A short meditation on new life
by David Dunn 06 Mar '25

06 Mar '25

Tiny Animals I bring four Animal Crackers with me into the study, pick one up and say softly to BuDa-behind-my-eye, “BuDa, this is a tiny hippopotamus.” I offer it carefully to the air. I pick up another Animal Cracker and speak confidentially to BuDa-in-my-memory as if revealing a secret between us, “BuDa, this is a tiny rhinoceros.” I love watching his keen anticipation. He takes each Animal Cracker gently into his mouth and chews it with relish. He knows that I usually offer just two; he hesitates briefly, just in case there is a third, then lies down at my feet. By now I am heart broken and my tears well up and out and down my cheek. Yet I give thanks to the Creator of dogs and humans, especially brindle Boxers who remind me of the Boxer named Gretchen of my childhood, who died chasing a car when I was in fourth grade. She disappeared one day without a trace. It was the only time I remember my mother crying. I don't remember crying, but perhaps my heart has remembered the deep, unattended sadness. I have wanted to own a Boxer for many years; unfinished heart work might have been calling for attention. So I give thanks to the Creator of human emotions, tear glands, the 14,000-year evolution of the human-dog partnership, and BuDa, our barely-young-adult Boxer who died of a broken heart—a congenital heart disease that left him weak and breathless—on January 11, 2025. Sadly, sometimes evolution veers off on mortal tangents. It’s a known thing among Boxers. Thankfully, evolution’s main mission is to find paths that allow all that is to change: for lava to become land, for green leaves to create oxygen, for animals to survive the chaos of evolving and for human beings, the ability to see when it’s time to evolve. When the familiar beloved dies, a broken heart can open to something like light that changes us. Plants reflexively turn toward the light. For human beings, darkness reveals a grand paradox: darkness becomes light and light reveals the way of being made new. I give thanks to the Holy Mysterious Creator for the efficacy of this tiny ritual that has brought tears to my eyes, memories to my mind, life and depth to my heart and the conviction that I can become the one I have always yearned to be. David — David Dunn Creative Companion/Personal Publishing 720-314-5991 dmdunn1(a)gmail.com Skype: dmirror

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DAVID Brooks interview
by Judi White 05 Mar '25

05 Mar '25

Exploring perspectives, Brooks' contributes to historical and spiritual. https://www.youtube.com/live/5csd0WSXr0o?si=NOWCLfzoLOmrrf-_ Judi White, M.Ed. Author Bodhi Leaves *- an unfolding journey of depth reflection* *Available on Amazon in paperback and ebook*

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Marshall's post
by Ken Fisher 05 Mar '25

05 Mar '25

From: OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> On Behalf Of W. J. via OE Sent: Tuesday, March 4, 2025 10:16 AM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)wedgeblade.net> Cc: W. J. <synergi(a)yahoo.com> Subject: [Oe List ...] Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience lectur For thousands of years, Christian and Jewish and Muslim orthodoxy has demonized Queer life experience, specifically the gift of human sexuality that was considered "deviant" or worse. Rev. JJ Warren, a "young prophet" in United Methodism who was a bright light at our last two General Conferences, is now teaching at Colgate Rochester Seminary while he finishes his Ph.D. [Colgate, BTW, was JWM's first teaching gig back in the 1940's.] Today's live Zoom lecture entitled "Queerly Made: From Death-dealing to Life-giving Theologies" will explore how he is 'constructing' a Queer theological reading of Christian tradition and of scripture. Warning: I doubt that the good Christian folks over at MAGA World would want you to know this! So let's not tell them. Marshall Jones ********** FREE webinar hang out with Rev. JJ Warren tonight! Link in the comments to register! (Tuesday, 3/4, 7pm Eastern, via Zoom) Rev. Warren's talk this semester for our Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience lecture is titled, "Queerly Made: From Death-dealing to Life-giving Theologies." He is planning to invite participants to reflect on aspects of their own theologies and faith traditions that have shamed, silenced, and harmed parts of themselves as well as the full diversity of persons within the LGBTQIA+ community. He'll then invite participants to queer — i.e., to subvert and reclaim — narratives, practices, and traditions that foster "abundant life" (Jn 10:10). AND! Special treat: Rev. Warren will debut his current dissertation research, which considers how theology itself is constructed or "made," and how insights from gender and sexuality can inform life-giving re-makings of theology. In other words, how is/could theology (be) queerly made? Rev. JJ Warren is a public theologian, advocate, and the author of two books: Reclaiming Church: A Call to Action for Religious Rejects, and Where Two or Three are Connected: Being the Church in This New Era. After making an impassioned plea for the inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons at The United Methodist Church’s (UMC) top law-making assembly in 2019, Rev. J.J.’s speech went viral, and his advocacy has been covered by HuffPost, NBC, Brut Media, and WXXI Radio. Register to join us!

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Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience lectur
by W. J. 04 Mar '25

04 Mar '25

For thousands of years, Christian and Jewish and Muslim orthodoxy has demonized Queer life experience, specifically the gift of human sexuality that was considered "deviant" or worse.Rev. JJ Warren, a "young prophet" in United Methodism who was a bright light at our last two General Conferences, is now teaching at Colgate Rochester Seminary while he finishes his Ph.D.[Colgate, BTW, was JWM's first teaching gig back in the 1940's.]Today's live Zoom lecture entitled "Queerly Made: From Death-dealing to Life-giving Theologies" will explore how he is 'constructing' a Queer theological reading of Christian tradition and of scripture.Warning: I doubt that the good Christian folks over at MAGA World would want you to know this! So let's not tell them.Marshall Jones **********FREE webinar hang out with Rev. JJ Warren tonight! Link in the comments to register! (Tuesday, 3/4, 7pm Eastern, via Zoom)Rev. Warren's talk this semester for our Christian Faith and LGBTQ+ Experience lecture is titled, "Queerly Made: From Death-dealing to Life-giving Theologies." He is planning to invite participants to reflect on aspects of their own theologies and faith traditions that have shamed, silenced, and harmed parts of themselves as well as the full diversity of persons within the LGBTQIA+ community. He'll then invite participants to queer — i.e., to subvert and reclaim — narratives, practices, and traditions that foster "abundant life" (Jn 10:10). AND! Special treat: Rev. Warren will debut his current dissertation research, which considers how theology itself is constructed or "made," and how insights from gender and sexuality can inform life-giving re-makings of theology. In other words, how is/could theology (be) queerly made? Rev. JJ Warren is a public theologian, advocate, and the author of two books: Reclaiming Church: A Call to Action for Religious Rejects, and Where Two or Three are Connected: Being the Church in This New Era. After making an impassioned plea for the inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons at The United Methodist Church’s (UMC) top law-making assembly in 2019, Rev. J.J.’s speech went viral, and his advocacy has been covered by HuffPost, NBC, Brut Media, and WXXI Radio.Register to join us!https://crcds-edu.zoom.us/.../WN_5OqAc0IYTSaD26CZBuASRQ...

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