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Fwd: GMCA June 27
by David Zahrt via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

*FRI Jun 27* It was a Rest Day In Yuma, CO. We had French toast for breakfast. After breakfast cleanup we had some time before a camp meeting began. We started at 10:30 and spent ‘til noon working on a statement using Chris’ model of the 5-D Cycle of Appreciative Inquiry. 1. DESIGN—co-creating what will be 2. DESTINY—living and sustaining the change 3. DEFINE—what to learn about; create the inquiry process 4. DISCOVER—the best of what is 5. DREAM—visualizing what could be I think Chris, the Colorado logistics coordinator, kept us focused on what I would call a mission statement. We went over and over the statement. Chris was not ready to get a consensus. At one point I suggested that we move ahead to the next step and come back to the statement we had created to evaluate it and add to it if need be. This was because I think it was a waste of time since we’ve already had this group conversation and created a mission statement. After the meeting I got John J to help me mend the bike seat. Then I collected all that had gotten damp in the tent and hung my clothes up to dry. I had lunch and went to the library to use the computer and WiFi. I came back took my clothes off the line. By 4:30 it was thundering. We had an early dinner and as soon as it began to sprinkle, I got my sleeping gear over to the church. There was no further camp meeting so I caught up on my journaling and went to sleep in the church. Peace, David

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7/3/14, Spong: Part XXIV Matthew - Interpreting Atonement Theology, Part II
by Ellie Stock via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Part XXIV Matthew Interpreting Atonement Theology, Part II “Atonement Theology” assumes that human life, though created in the image of God, is now both fallen and evil. It assumes that God is a being who can be “offended” by human disobedience, is incapable of forgiving and must, therefore, exact the deserved punishment on the sinful human life. It assumes that Jesus’ death was the punishment that God required and that Jesus’ willingness to satisfy God’s anger on our behalf has brought us the reconciliation for which we yearned. Consequently, it assumes that salvation comes to us through the suffering and death of Jesus, enabling us to reclaim the status for which we had originally been created. When one strips away the piety of the ages and states its premise boldly, as I have sought to do above, “Atonement Theology” is revealed as a barbaric idea, hardly worthy of a deity whose nature is supposed to be that of love. “Atonement Theology” needs to be seen for what it is and purged from Christianity. It is not about grace, as is so often claimed; it is about wrath. “Atonement Theology” is wrong at every point. In this column I want to expand on just why a Christianity that still speaks in the language of “Atonement Theology” has no future. First, I begin by looking at what “Atonement Theology” does to our concept of God. It is not only an expression of dated theism in that it defines God as an external, supernatural being, but it also turns God into a monster. The God of “Atonement Theology” is a deity intent upon punishment. The God of “Atonement Theology” lacks the qualities of both love and compassion and is more concerned with guilt than with grace; with punishment than with forgiveness. Salvation, according to “Atonement Theology” requires the suffering, sacrifice and death of the divine Son, which means that “Atonement Theology” portrays God as the ultimate child abuser. Why anyone would be drawn to worship such a sadistic deity is beyond me, yet this concept is at the heart of the Christianity in which I was raised and the religion that has permeated my culture. Our hymns proclaim it, our liturgies reflect it, our sermons are based on it and that ever present mantra of traditional Christianity, “Jesus died for my sins,” proclaims it. This is the God before whom we are taught to kneel like slaves might do before a king. This is the God whom we are taught to beg for mercy. This is the God who proclaims us to be “wretches,” “miserable offenders,” people in whom there is “no health” or wholeness. Will an enlightened world continue to worship, to say nothing of continuing to believe in such a deity? I do not think so unless we are willing to accept a definition of human life that borders on being pathological. Second, look next at what “Atonement Theology” does to Jesus. It reduces him to the status of a perpetual victim. Maybe he is a masochist, eager to suffer, eager to mount his cross, constantly reminding us of the pain that we have forced him to endure. Perhaps this is the reason that the primary symbol of Christianity through the ages has been, not the cross, but the crucifix. The crucifix was a constant reminder of the suffering that Jesus was forced to endure “for us and for our salvation.” The crucifix adorned the cell of every monk and nun in Christian history, reminding him or her constantly of the debt each of us owes this Christ. The church was apparently not aware in those days of the psychological truth that one never really loves the one upon whom we are made to be both dependent and constantly grateful. Who then needs the Christ of “Atonement Theology?” This Christ becomes an object only of our mental sickness. Finally, look at what “Atonement Theology” does to you and me. It fills us with a debilitating guilt. Guilt indeed becomes the coin of the realm in Christianity itself. In every way possible, the church encourages us to feel guilty. We are controlled by guilt. We are taught to wallow in it. That is why our worthlessness is proclaimed so frequently in our worship. That is why we are taught to beg God for mercy over and over and over again. That is why the dignity of our humanity is systematically stripped from us in liturgy in the name of Christianity. Guilt, “the gift that keeps on giving,” is instilled in us daily. Can one imagine a more effective guilt producer than to proclaim to all of Jesus’ followers that it is our sins that are the cause of Christ’s suffering and death? The Christian Church made sado-masochism a virtue in worship, extolling whips and nails as Christ absorbs the pain due us and because of us. We even wrote sado-masochism into our hymns. What else could be the meaning of these words? “Before thy throne, O Lord, we kneel, Give us the conscience quick to feel. “A ready mind to understand the meaning of thy chastening hand; “Wean us and train us with thy rod; teach us to know our faults, O God.” This God is not urged to “spare the rod” and thus “to spoil the child,” but to use it! Another of the Lenten hymns of my church also makes this guilt message very clear: “Who was the guilty, who brought this upon you? Alas my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee; ‘Twas I Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee, I crucified thee!” Is guilt ever a positive or healthy emotion? If not, why are we taught to wallow in it? Has any one of us ever known another to be helped by being told how evil he or she is? Would a parent do that to a child? Can any one of us imagine this parent-child conversation: “Look, child, you were born in sin! You can do nothing good without God. You deserve nothing but God’s wrath.” Would such a style of parenting ever produce a healthy adult? If, however, that is deemed to be an unhealthy way to raise a child, why have we Christians ever thought that this is the proper way to treat worshipers in liturgy? Is controlling behavior ever a pathway to holiness? It is, however, not just in this life that the guilt message of “Atonement Theology” has been both projected and practiced. The Christian Church’s traditional understanding of life after death has simply extended this theology into eternity. “Be a good boy or girl and you will be rewarded with heaven. Be a bad boy or girl and you will be sentenced to the eternal punishment of hell.” Does that not sound familiar? How do these things give us the abundant life about which the Fourth Gospel’s Jesus is said to have spoken? If that is the essence and meaning of Christianity, then why does anyone think it will appeal to another? Is there any wonder that as consciousness grows and people begin to see that the Christian message really has been psychologically abusive, that more and more Christians are walking away from the church? What once was a trickle has today become a flood. In our generation Christianity is dividing into two mutually repelling camps. First there are those who do not wish to escape the message of “Atonement Theology.” They have grown comfortable with this theology of abuse. They believe its only weakness is that it has not been proclaimed more stridently in the words of militant, hysterical fundamentalism. As the traditional adherents and yes, the victims of “Atonement Theology,” they do not see their own limited tribal mentality, causing them to fear racial differences. They seek to force women back into submissive pattern as the victims of male domination. They seek to reinstate male control over female bodies by not including birth control coverage in health insurance. Both by political vote and the establishment of new laws, they seek to force even those women who are pregnant by rape or incest not to abort the fetus. It is also hard not to notice that the primary source of negativity expressed in our society today toward gay and lesbian people comes from the institutional Christian Church. Those are the ones who seem intent on reducing the Christian Church to the theology of yesterday, seeking to recover that security they think they once had in their “unchanging church.” It is an appealing fantasy to many and those congregations that live this message out are filled with worshipers. Everyone recognizes, however, that a church built on dehumanizing people of color, women or homosexual persons will not survive into the next generation. Does anyone really think that black people will stop clamoring for the power long denied them? Does anyone really believe that women will resubmit to male authority? Can anyone really believe that homosexual persons will be content to return to their closets of denial, fear and shame? Such tactics at best are a pitiful quest for security. It will not endure. The other camp into which Christians are flowing in ever widening streams is made up of those who leave organized religion in general and Christianity in particular, to become members of the “Church Alumni Association.” That is the fastest growing organization today in the Christian West. The largest single “Christian” group in America now is made up of secularized former Roman Catholics. Exiled Christians are not always sure why they have left their churches. They have only a vague sense that what they hear in church no longer relates to the world in which they live. They are mostly subconsciously, though sometimes it rises to a conscious awareness, that the words they hear or the words their liturgy requires them to say are no longer believable and they are tired of being told that they should feel chronically guilty. If “Atonement Theology” is the meaning of Christianity then the “millenials” are correct and their massive abandonment of religion is actually a step into health and wholeness. There is no future in a Christianity that is still bound to “Atonement Theology.” The real questions are “Can Christianity step out of those concepts which, in the past, have so totally defined it, and still have something of value to offer the world? Can Christianity still be Christian outside of “Atonement Theology?” My conclusion is that every precept underlying “Atonement Theology” is now inoperative. So is Christianity if we cannot extricate ourselves from this theological pattern of the past. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Robert Pike, via the Internet, writes: Question: I read your article on homophobia. I know that the topic is the immorality of homophobia and I agree with you on this topic. Concerning slavery and the Civil War, there is an additional moral question rarely mentioned. That is, what was the best means to end slavery? Yes, slavery is immoral, but so is war. The defeat of the South resulted in slaves being freed; while at the same time the Confederate veterans lost their right to vote. This resulted in much racial hatred and the birth of the KKK. It would have been better to kick the South out of the Union and refuse to readmit them until they abolished slavery. In Utah, polygamy was legal before Utah became a state. Utah was not allowed to become a state until polygamy was abolished. It worked for Utah and would have worked for the South. Because of the violent way in which slavery was ended, it took 100 years until the Civil Rights movement and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. peacefully ended the Jim Crow era. Answer: Dear Robert, Thanks for your letter, but I must tell you that I regard it as a rather weak attempt to do some revisionist history. I am a child of the South, raised in segregation in North Carolina and I think your assumptions are incredibly naive. You do not seem to recognize that the South decided they would rather have slavery than remain in the Union. Utah was willing to give up polygamy so that they could join the Union. I suppose that if slavery had not been ended on the battlefields of Gettysburg, Harpers Ferry, Antietam, and Appomattox, that economic pressure on a slave-owning confederacy, might have forced them to give up slavery in another 100 years or so. Economic pressure from the world did force the Republic of South Africa to give up Apartheid in 1994. You seem to assume that to achieve a peaceful end to slavery legitimizes that inhumane institution lasting for another hundred years or so; that is a moral compromise I would never be willing to accommodate. Slavery is wrong, it is inhumane and it violates everything I believe about the Christian faith. Its end had to be achieved and the hidden racism that still lives just below the surface in the world and in our nation today also needs to be confronted openly. Listen to the racist voices that still speak in our world. Watch those states where Republicans control both the governor’s office and the state legislature where overt efforts are still being made to prevent people of color from voting. I am not willing to countenance a system of government that will compromise the freedom and dignity of black people, to give white people more time to adjust to required changes or to enable changes to take place at a pace white people can tolerate. Justice delayed is not morally neutral, it is justice denied. It must be condemned, confronted and rooted out. Yes, I think war was a dreadful alternative and the Civil War brought great suffering on a lot of innocent people, but if slave owners were not willing to give up slavery voluntarily and immediately, I will not say that that war was somehow unnecessary. When Adolph Hitler burned Jews in the crematoriums, I believe that act warranted a war to force the Nazi government out of power. So I regard your analysis as simply wrong. The Arc of the Universe bends toward justice and when justice is systematically denied to people because of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or religion, I believe the power of an ultimate force must be brought to bear on those who think their behavior should be tolerated, I would be quite prepared for Confederate veterans to lose their right to vote as punishment for supporting a state that sought to enslave human beings legally. Racial hatred is a disease that must be rooted out; it is not an attitude that anyone should support because changing it might upset some of the slave owners. Racial hatred needs to become so expensive that the racists are forced to give it up in order to continue to live. Slavery itself is violent; to remove it from life is not to increase violence. I enjoyed a church sign board recently that read, “I have made some of you black and some of you gay. Get over it!” It was signed “God.” I do not just want to “get over it,” I want to celebrate it. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements This month at ProgressiveChristianity.org we delve into the topic of Music in Sacred Community. Join in the discussion, sign up for our free monthly eBulletin, today!

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Charles Moore info
by Mary Hampton via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

Who ever is monitoring, Please remove all addressees I inadvertently left in with Alison Dieter letter. ty! mary

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Re: [Oe List ...] Rev. Charles Moore. Self-immolation in protest for injustice - perpetrated or allowed by our government
by Mary Hampton via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

Alison, thank you for information. I also knew Charles and will miss his presence in this plane. I am passing the letter from his son-in-law on to other friends and colleagues of his. Love, Light, Mary Hampton > On Jul 3, 2014, at 2:18 PM, Alison Dieter <popmomdieter(a)aol.com> wrote: > > Charles Moore was a good friend. We stood outside the Gov's mansion for many years, protesting executions. Often, he stood by himself. I feel as he did about the injustices being heaped on the tired, the poor, the dispossessed . And understand why he did what he did. It is up to us to make his life and death meaningful. I cannot stop crying. Alison Dieter > > His stepson-in-law, the Rev. Bill Renfro, provided the Tyler Morning Telegraph with a letter he hopes might provide some perspective: > > -------- > > In the middle of the night, Monday, June 23rd, my wife, Kathy, and I had to drive to Allen (just north of Dallas) to be with her mother. Kathy's stepfather, Charles Moore, a retired United Methodist minister, chose Monday to self-immolate in the Grand Saline town square, the town in which he grew up. Monday was the 50th anniversary of the discovery in Mississippi of the burned automobile that belonged to three young civil rights workers who had been missing since June 21st and found later to have been murdered by members of the KKK. The three students had gone to Mississippi to help blacks register to vote. Charles sacrificed his life in this manner as a statement that he was dying on behalf of others to call attention to the plight of the powerless people struggling to live who are being denied justice, equality, constitutional rights, health and quality education. He gave his life on behalf of the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned, and the jobless as well. > > Charles wrote that he was concerned that the programs that were developed for those who don't have enough for food and adequate nutrition are being cut; that health care for millions is being denied with no reason except spite toward the President; that racism is rampant; that the performance of a same-sex union by a minister of the United Methodist Church is considered to be on a par with crimes such as rape, pedophilia, extortion, etc.; that LGBTQ persons still suffer discriminatory practices; that the death penalty is still used as a supreme punishment without deterrent effect; that cuts are being made in quality public education for all children; that voting rights are being taken away by discriminatory laws; that justice is unbalanced for the minorities and the poor; that tax cuts are proposed for the wealthy; that leaders and lawmakers enjoy social injustice. Charles Moore considered his act to be a supreme sacrifice for the sake of others, for all, including the powerful and the powerless. He believed that the memory of his act would allow healing to evolve. > > As written in the notes that were left behind, Charles Moore determined that he had not done enough in his life to alleviate these problems. He had not gone to Mississippi to register black voters fifty years ago; he had not participated in the Selma march; he had not fought enough for justice nor had he acted enough to erase the specter of segregation because he feared for his life or for the possibility of removal from a church or from the ministry. (His inaction is debatable since, as a young minister, he was kicked out of churches in East Texas for standing up for integration and since he went on a hunger strike to bring attention to the polity of the United Methodist Church that would not allow gays or lesbians to hold any office within the Annual Conference or in Local Churches. These rules were relaxed some later. These are only a few of his many acts for justice during his life.) He decided that his final act would be the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of others in an attempt to fulfill in death where he had failed in life. > > Time will tell what effects and affects his death will have on society. > > Rev. Bill Renfro > > / / / / / > > http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-Religion/202014/up-in-flames-selfimmolation-da… > Wednesday, 2 July 2014 - 22:31 | Tyler Morning Telegraph > > Up in flames: Self-immolation dates to political, religious figures inworld history > by Rebecca Hoeffner | rhoeffner(a)tylerpaper.com > > On June 23, a retired minister drove to his hometown of Grand Saline, parked his car in a Dollar General lot, doused himself in gasoline and set himself ablaze. > > The note he left behind explained that he committed the act as a protest of what he saw as Grand Saline’s long-standing unrepentant racist culture. > > The Rev. Charles Moore died later that day from his injuries. > > “A light in the fight for justice has expired,” wrote Kathy Renfro, Moore’s stepdaughter, on his online obituary page. > > According to a letter written to friends and family by Kathy’s husband, Bill Renfro, Moore was concerned about more than racism. > > “Charles sacrificed his life in this manner as a statement that he was dying on behalf of others to call attention to the plight of the powerless people struggling to live who are being denied justice, equality, constitutional rights, health and quality education,” reads the letter. “He gave his life on behalf of the hungry, the poor, the imprisoned, and the jobless as well. > > “As written in the notes that were left behind, Charles Moore determined that he had not done enough in his life to alleviate these problems. He had not gone to Mississippi to register black voters 50 years ago; he had not participated in the Selma march; he had not fought enough for justice nor had he acted enough to erase the specter of segregation because he feared for his life or for the possibility of removal from a church or from the ministry. (His inaction is debatable since, as a young minister, he was kicked out of churches in East Texas for standing up for integration, and since he went on a hunger strike to bring attention to the polity of the United Methodist Church that would not allow gays or lesbians to hold any office within the annual conference or in local churches. These rules were relaxed some later. These are only a few of his many acts for justice during his life.) He decided that his final act would be the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of others in an attempt to fulfill in death where he had failed in life.” > > Self-immolation has a long religious and political history, and usually has been used to protest injustice. The practice dates back in Chinese Buddhist tradition to the late fourth century, according to a CNN article. People of other faiths have embraced the practice, although most faiths forbid suicide. Though self-immolation has the longest history in the Buddhist tradition, it is still controversial within the faith; some see it as the ultimate self-sacrifice, while others condemn the practice. > > Other religious have different roots to the practice. > > “Though outlawed in India for nearly two centuries, some Hindu communities practiced the ritual of sati — in which a widowed Hindu woman would throw herself, or be thrown, on her husband’s funeral pyre,” reads the CNN article, named after a Hindu goddess of the same name. > > In the mid-1800s, a Russian sect of Christians known as the Soshigateli, or the “self-burners,” burned an estimated 1,700 or more of themselves. They believed it was the only way to be purified of their sins, according to the book “The Secret Societies of All Ages & Countries” by Charles Heckethorn. > > Other acts of self-immolation have been in protest of political actions. Several Vietnam protesters in the United States in 1965 and 1966 — of several different faiths, including Christian and Jewish denominations — used the practice. And, “Malachi Ritscher, 52, lit himself on fire near a downtown Chicago, Illinois, expressway in 2006,” according to the CNN article. “The musician and activist was said to be protesting the war in Iraq, but he was also reportedly a recovering alcoholic who battled depression.” > > The uprising that crumbled the Tunisia government began in December 2010 with Mohamed Bouazizi setting himself ablaze. Others followed suit shortly after in Egypt, Algeria and Mauritania. > > But friends and family say that Moore’s actions may have been motivated by his own misplaced guilt as much as they were a protest against the culture. > > The Rev. Sid Hall, pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Austin, became friends with Moore when he was pastor of Grace United Methodist in Austin. Hall recalled when Moore went on a hunger strike in protest of the exclusion of the LBGTQ community from the church. > > “He walked the talk of social justice in his life,” Hall said. “He understood that his privilege as a straight, white male created obligations. He didn’t feel like he ever lived up to that obligation. That’s where we disagreed. No one can live up to that. ... He did nothing without serious reflection. He had a brilliant mind, and I think he was in that mindset a lot. There will be those who want to paint him as a nutcase, but Charles was someone who really stewed about issues of conscience. ... If I’d known he was planning something like this, I would have tried to talk to him. If nothing else, Methodism is about grace. And even though Charles certainly preached that for other people, I’m not sure if he accepted it for himself.” > > / / / / / > Steve Hall > The StandDown Texas Project > PO Box 13475 > Austin, TX 78711 > > 512.879.1675 (o

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Charles Moore
by via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

Charles Moore is an impressive man whose life remains in the sphere of "eternity" in my baggage of Christian metaphors. We had his young teenage son at the Saskatoon House. Like many of our Order youth, he was not at ease with assigned "authority" figures, Duncan Holmes nor I. But I liked the son probably because he was "rebellious" enough to be assertive. Being an SMU/Perkins grad myself, Charles is a brother! Will light up a candle here in Canada (will most likely just turn on a LED flashlight) as Calgary goes on a Stampede, and I take five couples to Lake Louise in Banff on a three day tour. Canada Day was a big deal, and tennis bonne femme Bouchard just made the Wimbledon Finals. Charles lit a bigger fire. He remains aflame in me. Jaime

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Tyler Morning Telegraph - Madman or Martyr? Retired minister sets self on fire, dies
by rcwmbw via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

Here is a story that appeared in the Tyler, Texas Morning Telegraph regarding Charles Moore's death, along with a copy of the note he left on the windshield of his car. The note is, well, moving, to say the least. Randy http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/201968/madman-or-martyr-retired-min… Madman or Martyr? Retired minister sets self on fire, dies Published on Tuesday, 1 July 2014 22:40 - Written by KENNETH DEAN kdean(a)tylerpaper.com Graphic copy alert: Accompanying this story is an image of Charles Robert Moore's suicide note, provided by Grand Saline Police. It contains graphic language. GRAND SALINE – A 79-year-old Methodist minister who died after setting himself on fire on a busy street in this town of about 3,100 residents left behind a suicide letter asking the community to repent for its racism. Charles Robert Moore, who had addresses in Allen and Sunnyvale, drove to Grand Saline on June 23, parked his vehicle in a Dollar General lot in the 500 block of East Garland Street, doused himself in gasoline and committed self-immolation, Police Chief Larry Compton said Tuesday. “I have never seen anything like this in my entire career in law enforcement, which includes my years as an arson investigator for the Mesquite Fire Department," the 66-year-old chief said. Horrified witnesses ran to the man and tried to put out the fire. Another witness then arrived with a fire extinguisher. "They got the fire put out, and the man was transported to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, where he later died of his injuries," Compton said. Moore put a typed suicide note on his car windshield before he set himself on fire, the chief said. In the note, which Compton provided to the Tyler Morning Telegraph, Moore – who is white - stated he was born in Grand Saline and grew up around racial discrimination. His letter claimed that the community shunned blacks and resorted to violence, including hangings, burnings and decapitations. "I will soon be 80 years old, and my heart is broken over this,” Morris wrote. “America, and Grand Saline … have never really repented for the atrocities of slavery and its aftermath. What my hometown needs to do is open its heart and its doors to black people as a sign of the rejection of past sins.” Moore wrote that visions of violence haunted him greatly. "So at this late date, I have decided to join them by giving my body to be burned,” he wrote. “With love in my heart not only for them but also of the perpetrators of such horror ... " Morris signed the letter, which was dated June 23. Angi McPherson, 44, was working in the Sophistikutz hair salon when she saw the man walking around the parking lot. "He had been walking around the parking lot for a while, but he didn't seem like anything was wrong,” Ms. McPherson said. “After awhile we saw him grab something square (police report would show it was a 2-by-3-foot piece of foam) and knelt down. Then we saw him grab a gas can and begin pouring something all over him. We were like, ‘Is that gas?’” Ms. McPherson said she will never forget the next few moments. “He suddenly burst into flames, and he stood up and started screaming,” she said. “One of the guys ran and tried to put him out with his shirt, while my boyfriend ran to him with a fire extinguisher and finally put him out.” Ms. McPherson called the incident troubling. "I have never seen anything like that, and it was like watching some kind of a horror movie. Who sets them self on fire?" she said. Compton said the preacher’s death disturbed him. He added that while Grand Saline might once have been racially divided, today it is a community of acceptance. "It might have been that way in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s like a lot of places, but today we are a community of different ethnicities and racial makeups," he said. According to citydata.com, whites compose about 76 percent of the population, while Hispanics make up about 21 percent. The black population – at 20 people - numbers fewer than 1 percent. Ms. McPherson said she has lived in the town all of her life and she knew there was still racial divide in the small community. "It's not as big as it used to be, but it is here. It is everywhere," she said. By comparison, the East Texas town of Gilmer, which has about 5,000 residents, is 65.3 percent white, 15.7 percent Hispanic and 15.5 percent black. Of Gladewater’s population of about 6,500, about 76 percent are white, 15 percent are black and 5.1 percent are Hispanic. Mineola has a population of about 4,500, of which about 61 percent are white, 23.4 percent are Hispanic and 13 percent are black. Blacks compose about 10 percent of Winnsboro’s population of about 3,250, with whites numbering at about 84 percent and Hispanics at 4.3 percent. According to the U.S. Census bureau’s figures, Texas’ population in 2013 was about 26.4 million, with the nation at 316.1 million. The state’s population was 80.6 percent white, compared to 77.9 percent nationally. Blacks numbered 12.3 percent for Texas and 13.1 percent for the United States. Hispanics numbered 38.2 percent for the state and 16.9 percent for the nation. James Chase Sanchez, a Texas Christian University Rafford Research Fellow working on his doctorate in racial rhetoric, said self immolation is the second most symbolic form of suicide only behind self-crucifixion. "When someone sets themselves on fire in order to commit suicide, they have something to say," he said. Sanchez said he is from Grand Saline and knows there is a history of racism in the town. "We all want to think that there is no racism among us today and that any racism is on an individual level, but our past memories can affect us as a community,” he said. “Everyone in Grand Saline knows there is a history, but no one wants to talk about it." Sent from my iPad

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FW: [Dialogue] death of Charles Moore
by Del Morril via OE 03 Jul '14

03 Jul '14

Can you imagine what this act has done to his family?! He may think it was sacrificial, but I think, like any open suicide for any reason, it is totally self-serving, regardless of his philosophy! An insane demonstration, from my perspective, and yet, in some ways, understandable. I just don't think it will make a bit of difference in changing the social conscience. That's the truly sad part of this act. -----Original Message----- From: Dialogue [mailto:dialogue-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of George Holcombe via Dialogue Sent: Thursday, July 03, 2014 12:19 AM To: ICA/OE List Serves; ICA/OE List Serves Subject: Re: [Dialogue] death of Charles Moore Our colleague Charles immolated himself June 23, see article at http://www.umc.org/news-and-media/retired-pastor-saw-destiny-in-self-immolat ion Memorial service will be held July 12 at Faith Presbyterian Church in Austin. George Holcombe 14900 Yellowleaf Tr. Austin, TX 78728 Mobile 512/252-2756 "...we have the choice: we can gratefully cultivate the relationships that make us part of a vast network, or we can take them for granted and allow them to wither and die." Brother David Steindl-Rast, Deeper than Words Sent from my iPad _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------- Text inserted by Panda IS 2014: This message has NOT been classified as spam. If it is unsolicited mail (spam), click on the following link to reclassify it: http://localhost:6083/Panda?ID=pav_754&SPAM=true&path=C:\Documents%20and%20S ettings\Del%20Morrill\Local%20Settings\Application%20Data\Panda%20Security\P anda%20Internet%20Security%202014\AntiSpam ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------

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Jaime for the Fourth of July at ST
by via OE 30 Jun '14

30 Jun '14

The Fourth of July There is nothing moresacred in the holidays of the United States than the Fourth of July. I am writing from across the northern borderin Calgary, Alberta where we just celebrated the bright red of Canada Day ofJuly 1. The young Canadianvisa officer who welcomed me at the airport asked how long I intended to stay,and had I been in Canada before, so I told him that I planned on being aroundfor a couple of weeks but that I lived in the 70s in Saskatchewan. He gave me a long face and said: “Oh, I feelsorry for you!” Perhaps, he was justshowing me an example of the Canadian understated sense of humor though I foundout later that there is a sporting rivalry and social competition between thetwo provinces. Some comments I madeof late on the U.S. sound anti-American. I do not consider myself a contrarian but it iswell to reflect on my country from outside its borders, particularly from theland of Justin Bieber who delights in the company of American ladies and TorontoMayor Rob Ford who sniffs the white snuff readily available in our streets;there is a sporting but competitive ambience between the two countries. One of the things weutter on the Fourth of July is our pledge of allegiance. "I pledgeallegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic forwhich it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justicefor all." A chronology of thepledge with additions in italics shows that the pledge began in 1892 simplyas: "Ipledge allegiance to my Flag and the republic for which it stands, one nationindivisible, with liberty and justice for all." By 1922, “and the republic” became “and to the republic”. By 1923, it became “allegiance to the Flag of the United States,” with “the United States of America” made specific by 1954, and finally, “one Nation under God,” from 1954 to the present. The religious amongstus quarreled over the addition of “under God” inserted during President Eisenhower’swatch, with the non-theist questioning the propriety of a loaded religiousphrase in a secular pronouncement. Thedebate continues, though no longer on the denominational divide in Christendomas it once was, to the issue of religious relevance in the secular, scientificand urban world. “Indivisible” is realityin progress. Satirist Borowitz in theNew Yorker wrote when Kerry urged Maliki to convene a unity government thatIraq might actually get a unity government before the United States gets closeto being one. PM Maliki, of course,junked Kerry’s suggestion since conflict rather than conciliation is the languageof relationship in the region of black gold. At least the Iraqis are forthright without the pretense we go throughcharade in the U.S. political process. On “liberty andjustice for all,” we strain hard to even come close to claiming that we areworking on the project. In 1866, thefirst Civil Rights Act was passed to protect the African-American former slaveswho became citizens to be treated equally under the law. That did not happen. It is now the 50th year of the CivilRights Act of 1964, almost a century after the 1866 Act, outlawingdiscrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. JFKstarted the ’64 Act, and LBJ the consummate Congressional master got it passedwithout much of a hitch, getting it refined in ’65 with the Voting Rights Act, addingequal housing in ’68, and the disabled, mentally ill, and the elderlythereafter. It remains a work inprogress though Obama gave the race issue a major dent from the discrimination Iencountered in ’65. So, “liberty and justice for all” remains a work inprogress, particularly if one lives in Castro District of SF in the Bay Areawith the LGBT crowd appropriately leading the WorldPride March this Fourth ofJuly, now observed as a multi-gender celebration around the world. Some of my colleagues now concede that thelegal status of same-sex marriage is a done deal (more pro States exceed the con), like the way the Civil Rights Act1964 led to the legal emancipation of the African-American from the structuresof racial segregation, but the specifics of the unraveling remain a painfulordeal to many. “Outlawing discrimination based on race, color,religion, sex, or national origin” was the ’64 Civil Rights Act’s intent. New Zealand’s 17 percent Maori made thecountry bilingual, and the 14 percent Asians that include rich Chinese has somefolks talking about a multilingual civil society. There are many in the U.S. who wants to retain an“English” only national character though signage in some States and majorcities are in “Spanish and English”. Werecently commented how many residents are from Asia and Mexico west of theRockies. With the Mongolian NativeAmericans, the west coast of America might just as well be the East Pacificcoast of Asia! So the Fourth of July is no longer just recalling the heroicpatriots and militiamen of Concord and Lexington of pre-1776 declaration ofIndependence. The Fourth of July in ourtime is a celebration of the harmony in diversity that is a possible choice ofcitizens in a landmass shrinking in the digitized world. Nosdejo. Let’s. Soyons. j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Jaime for Thursday ST
by via OE 30 Jun '14

30 Jun '14

Privacy “Opening up and reform” is Deng Xiaoping’s mantra thatopened the economic floodgates of the Chinese market. I ask my Chinese students to leave their“faces” outside the classroom door so that they can meet their authentic selvesin speaking about their objective selves, feelings expressed, thoughtsarticulated, and willful acts openly planned and shared, through a foreignlanguage. I request them to be morepublic and be less private. In the last three months, close associate called my attentionto the issue of privacy. Surfing incyberspace can easily distort personal images. I wrote an article where I mentioned the Chinese word “ni ge” soundinglike the racist word “niggah” in relationship to a widely seen clip of theClippers’ Donald Sterling. I alsomentioned an associate of African descent. He indicated that he preferred his name not be associated with the word,an occurrence known to happen when googling. I wrote a “one year, one page” bioprofile for my grandsons,and ended up sharing the output with the net of my immediate family. One of my relations was not too keen inhaving her children be identified by real names. Last week, I mentioned my four grandsons byname in this column and was quickly reminded that cyberspace has people whotake advantage of real identities, and my narrative could serve my purposes aswell with just fictitious names. I do not think there was disapproval nor reprobationintended by those who expressed their preferences, as another colleague clearlystated that he did not doubt the nature of my intent, but nonetheless, in atime when media bombard us with images of the bogeyman lurking not too farafar, it is not surprising that our reflexes go on defense, and be vigilant onoffense when necessary. The contrast is stark. Chinese culture needs to open up to the value and virtue of being trulya real individual rather than just be a peon in a crowd, or digit in a unit ofa roll call. Conversely, we have adigitized world where one can cheaply access the record of everyone in thepublic domain, on one’s profile and those of others, much to the chagrin ofthose who would rather keep certain information private. As a journalist, I am aware how easily a distortion inperception can be manipulated, if not abused on the printed and broadcastmedia. Many a writer and a broadcastertakes cover behind “reliable sources” to disguise blatant slants for the sakeof favored sensationalized story. It isthereby understandable that many would rather stay away from exposing theirdetails on open public stare. Privacy, however, is an internal state of integrity ratherthan an antiseptic slate of social standing and privileged psychical space. It is not a territory to be guarded by anxiety-filleddefense granted the sordid intents of others. There is the disturbing trend to turn into protected public face, whereprivacy is equal to keeping a socially acceptable, or even safe profile withoutthe gauge of authenticity, truth, and reality. That’s when anxieties override the carefree but authentic living of ourlives, to defending and refurbishing our public image. There are programs in the Internet that provide introductory99 cents’ offer to access all the public record of a bioprofile (civil andcriminal), plus identified relations; they even a list the number of attemptsmade by others to access one’s record. (A disclaimer: I had not availed of the service so I do not know if the offeridentifies WHO accessed my record.) Still, I do not mean to invalidate the fears of many withregards to the perceived invasion of their privacy, nor will I discard theirfears. Privacy is a legally protectedterrain though anything in public record is fair game for the asking. There lies the scare; we teeter between the“public’s need to know” as well as guard “privileged information” as a matterof personal right. Many in the west are gettingused to the objective accessibility of information on public records now madeavailable in the digitized world. With incidences of young children suing their parents sothey can chart the course of their own destiny over and above parental wishes,parents and grandparents can no longer be cavalier in their mention of realnames in their recollections, memoirs, and personal narratives. That’s what this grandpa was called toaccount when I casually mentioned actual names of, inter alia, my children and grandchildren. This column has, however, been clear that we do not writeabout a theme or a topic to inform or conduct a cognitive discussion, or mentionour self so others can know us, but to elicit from readers their ownreflections of their circumstances, personal and social, using my ownexperience and relation to trigger the reflective exercise. Privacy, a slippery slope, heads in many directions. In the west, it is spilling out into thepublic domain with the visualizing capacity of drones equipped with cameras, andfears of invasion of privacy have become rampant. On the other hand, where there is a longtradition of hiding behind veiled doors and great walls, we know that opening-upis the only option for reform. j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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Jaime for Wednesday, July 2
by via OE 30 Jun '14

30 Jun '14

The final copy for Wednesday. Letting go of San Francisco There is nothing inSan Francisco that does not tug on my heartstrings. This city was my entry into the NA continentin ‘65, and after the melodramatic passage under the Golden Gate Bridge in thatAugust morning, I alighted on Embarcadero from a 20-day cross-Pacific sail fromManila to SF via HK, Yokohama, and Honolulu. At sunset, billeted with relations on the foothills of Oaklandoverlooking the Bay, the sight of a fogless bridge and the wharf overlooking mybay window served as the backdrop of the uncontrolled tears that streamed downmy eyes. I was twenty; twenty daysbefore, my mother saw me off South Harbor in Manila Bay, to come halfway aroundthe globe for graduate school. I came back to SF ayear later in ‘66, and spent half a summer when I turned 21 by Union Squaregetting familiar with cable cars, Geary, Stockton, Market and Powel streets. SF has since become the city where thenorthern CA members of INHS60 (my high school class in the Philippines) do nothesitate to find an excuse to get together in South San Francisco. This visiting classmate is treated as a longlost brother. I showed up almost 50years after I last saw a shadow of any of them since I skipped the class’ graduation! More recently, mysecond daughter’s family of Irish husband and two boys, moved to the foothillsof the East Bay in the Oakland area. After being spoiled a week by my eldest daughter, her husband and herfamily (two grandsons, too) in Chicago, it was my second child’s turn to spoilthis old coot on his farewell appearance in North America. They make home in Concord and thanks to theBART (Bay Area Rapid Transit), they are only a 30-minute rail trail from theEmbarcadero and Market train station. A colleague who livesby the Marina had me billeted at the Holiday Inn by the Fisherman’s Wharf one day last week with afamily dinner. My daughter made sure Ihad protection from the evening winds that hit on the unwary out-of-townvisitor, letting me don an Irish Sport’s pullover jacket, and since I waswithin walking distance to the famed Lombard St. zig-zag road, graced withcolorful flower pots this season of the year, I blended well though oddly tothe numerous tourists in town as an Asian Irish sports’ fan. I thought of cracking crab legs at the Fisherman’sWharf but I was informed that the service was expensive and the fare is, atbest, crabby! I was a studenttourist in ’66 when I first came to be a summer resident in the city. It was my first summer in the country after ayear of schooling in Kentucky. I thoughtI would be a bellboy at the Francis Drake Hotel but that summer, the friendlyskies of United went empty when UA employees decided to strike, depriving thecity of more than half of its regular tourists. A dent on the hotel occupancy left me without a summer job in the city. An outfit that preyedon foreign students, who expressed themselves relatively well in English, luredus to conduct “market analysis” in neighborhoods; I joined them (a Norwegian,Swede, Chinese, and I comprised a team) in knocking on doors to “place”Colliers’ Encyclopedia into “qualified” homes. Professor Mortimer Adlerof the Great Books’ fame had a well-crafted sales pitch we used: “Just for theprice of a pack of cigarettes a day (25 cents at the time), a set ofencyclopedia with a wooden bookcase would be sent to qualified families,” wesaid, after an engaging and well-spirited 30-45 minute presentation, leafingthrough the plastic laminated pages of book samples. Bonus books were added if the targeted couple(we knocked on homes that had children’s toys in the yard) wrote a check of$375 for the whole set to cover the yearbooks that followed the next ten years. Our team stayed onwheels and motels during the week as we scoured the suburban landscape for our marksaround UC at Berkeley and the foothills north to Richmond and south to Hayward,even putting on a week around Eureka’s lumber and timber towns, and cruisingalong Stanford U in Palo Alto when a cop gently reminded me that it was illegalto knock on people’s doors to sell something without securing first a permitfrom the local business bureau. That’s when my sanitypinged back and immediately resigned from the sales force. I was never good at closing out a sale anyway,for though I supported the notion of “placing a library into qualifiedfamilies’ homes,” I knew too well that the pitch was a ruse for a well-craftedsale. I was not selling Hoover vacuumcleaners, but the method was the same, so I could just as well have been, andit was illegal. My INHS60 classmates gottogether at an SSF residence and they provided a warm and convivial send-out forme. The Pinoy food added to the 10 lbs.that already girded my girth gained since I landed in North America some four weeksbefore. The voices in Iloko spokenfreely and fluently was music, and when one of our musical talents set herfingers on the piano keyboard, we started belting out what could have beeneasily serenade songs in our youth. Over breakfast, I chattedmerrily with my hosts before I was driven to the airport for my flightout. They were polite by not mentioningthe obvious. I was wearing my shirtinside out. (They said, they did not notice.) Not a fashionstatement. I was old and forgetful (leftbehind my pony tail cap, as well). But itwas time to get out of town. j'aime la vie pinoypanda2031(a)aol.com yesterday, appreciate; tomorrow, anticipate; today. participate. In all, celebrate!

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