kelly and curtis

The Earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof - Psalm 24

Why aren't conservatives conservationists? They may be coming around.

Early next year environmental scientists, who have been campaigning fruitlessly to persuade the administration of US President George W. Bush to take global warming more seriously, hope to gain a very influential source of support.

The National Association of Evangelicals, the largest organisation of "born-again" Christians in the US, is circulating among its leadership a draft policy statement that would demand strong action against the causes of climate change.
link

Landing Place

Thanks to all who made the advent gathering last night at our place. We are truly rich in community.

From Robert Webber’s Ancient-Future Time:

Advent is a time when we ask, even plead with God not to leave us alone, for when God leaves us to our own choices and turns us over to our own ways, we are certain to drift from him. Our indifference to God is soon turned into spiritual boredom, a boredom that leads to spiritual inertia and ultimate death to spiritual realities. Advent is a time to cry, “O God, turn me away from my indifference, create in me a heart of repentence, and lead me to the waters of spiritual refreshment.”
…
Advent is not only about our repentence and conversion, it is also about the expectation of the Messiah who will come to deliver us. During Advent we look for the coming of the Messiah in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2-4) and the coming of the Messiah at the end of history (Isaiah 65:17-25; Revelation 20-22). For Christians both of these Advents are rooted in the paschal mystery. The cross is the goal of the Messiah’s coming. Incarnation and atonement are inseparably linked as are the atonement and the second coming because he came to redeem and rescue creatures and creation. He came to reclaim the creation, to wrest it away from the clutches of evil, to rid it of the presence and power of evil, and to ultimately restore it to a new heavens and a new earth.

In Advent we celebrate the beginning and ending of Christ’s victory over the powers of evil, and we call upon God to accomplish that victory in our own lives, to break in on us, to be born in our hearts, and to create us anew. This is the message of Isaiah to us: a Savior is coming not only to Israel but to the whole world. p. 43-44

My post yesterday was reguarding the sacrifice of a few humanitarian youth type... but both young and old are risking their lives waging peace. my friends amy and phil have some important posts re: the capture of a Christian Peacemaking Team in Iraq.

rebuilding pakistan

From all over the world, and away from the media glare, volunteers have gone to help in the rebuilding of Pakistan since last month's disastrous earthquake. Who are they, why did they go, and what did they find when they were there?

Although the earthquake in Kashmir has dropped out of most of the news, many volunteers are still working in the field, trying to save the lives of villagers who have lost their homes -and may lose more with the onset of winter.

Imran Saithna, a young British-Pakistani, has just returned to London after spending three weeks working in an area of Kashmir that had no contact with the outside world after the earthquake hit.

With no professional background in emergency relief, Imran like many others took a chance on getting a flight to Islamabad to see if agencies could make use of them.
In depth: South Asia quake
Arriving in the country, he quickly found his way to two agencies - the Joint Action Committee and Relief Shelter Drive. There he met a group of like-minded young people from around the world.

Along with the rest of his team, they hired a couple of lorries, filled them with supplies and headed off into the mountains of the Bargh District, one of the high areas the major agencies had not reached.

After six hours of driving and another four hours of back-breaking trekking on foot over mountainous valleys, says Imran, the team found the village of Surrell - a settlement 11,000 feet up and home to perhaps 3,500 people.



>>Volunteers: International teams working in Kashmir

Front row: Cameron Tyers (Australia), Katie Carmichael (Scotland). Back Row: Nick Marten (New Zealand), Xu Mi (Japan), Jenny (Scotland), Petra (Austria), Wesley Olsen (Canada), Ashar Aneel (Pakistan)

"One of the big problems is that these places just don't exist on official maps," says Imran. "The army were telling us that this was uncharted territory, yet everyone knew that there were people living here.

"When we got there we saw that the earthquake had destroyed virtually every structure. The villagers had received no aid at all -no help with food, no help with shelter. There were kids who desperately needed medical help, people with open wounds which had not been treated. No one had been up there at all."

The scenes shocked Imran and the rest of the team. It was not just the scale of the devastation - but also the simple fact that these people effectively did not exist as far as aid efforts go. Bodies had gone unburied, livestock killed by the quake lay rotting in fields. Pneumonia and other disaster-related illnesses were apparent.

But while the media had done its job in the immediate aftermath covering aid efforts in major centres such as Muzzaffrabad, there were countless settlements like Surrell which were receiving no help at all.

With snows of up to three metres expected, many people like the villagers of Surrell remain today in the open. They are caught between freezing to death in what remains of their mountain homes - or losing their livelihoods and means of survival by leaving their settlements behind.

"People desperately needed shelters - they were absolutely scared of anything made of concrete because it had been the concrete that had collapsed and killed so many," says Imran. "Tin or wood roofs and floors had survived - but we had no means to build more of those, so we had to try something else."

In the following days the team began sourcing thousands of "bori bags", essentially very strong, large plastic sacks which can be filled with earth to make insulated, cheap, stable shelters. When Imran left to return home, that effort was continuing.

American Wesley Olson was among the other international volunteers who found his way to the same valley.

Originally from Los Angeles, Wesley had been travelling around India when the quake struck. He headed for Pakistan and is still there, furiously buying up thousands of bori bags to drive up to remote settlements. Like many volunteers, he is frustrated with the drying up of media interest.

"I think there are a lot of people who have arrived here who just want to give something back from their travels," he says via satellite phone. "I know of at least three or four people who came up from India to help out.

"People back home want to know why I'm out there doing what we're doing, they have seen the pictures of the aid in the towns. But we're here because 90% of houses have been flattened. I came here for two weeks thinking I could help out by answering phones but it then really took off."

Warning

But volunteering does have its drawbacks. Mahmood Hassan of British charity Islamic Aid and chairman of the Pakistan Development Network, said the organisation had been flooded with offers of help in the days after the quake. But unless someone has a specific skill to offer, or knowledge of an area, good intentions can be wasted he warns.

"Our official policy is to try as much as possible to use local people," says Mr Hassan. "In these kinds of situations people can spend more than £1,000 getting somewhere to try and help and then find they don't know what they are doing. That £1,000 could be better spent by people in the field with the contacts and the structures to get things done."

The Pakistan earthquake has been different, however, and Mr Hassan says that it is clear that informal assistance far beyond the help on offer from agencies and governments has played a key role in saving lives.

Pakistani families spread around the world, particularly in the UK, have been moved to go because they know the area well and believe they can help, he says.

While this kind of volunteering can be useful, says Mr Hassan, the real problem is when someone flies in for a very short period of time.

"We've had a shortage of doctors and surgeons. But it takes a few days on arrival to acclimatise and get things going. If people with skills volunteer in these situations the situation we must avoid is someone having very little time to do anything on arrival before they have to leave."

"For 24 hours, millions of people around the world do not participate -- in the doomsday economy, the marketing mind-games, and the frantic consumer-binge that's become our culture. We pause. We make a small choice not to shop. We shrink our footprint and gain some calm. Together we say: enough is enough. And we help build this movement to rethink our unsustainable course."... :: Adbuster's Buy Nothing Day


DAY OF ACTIONS
Of course, Nov 25th is when it all really happens, when planning turns to celebration and we hit streets and malls the world over with our creative antics and protest. Each year, people dream up -- and act out -- some amazing schemes. Many play with icons of the consumer landscape; jam the spectacle and routine of daily life; confront corporations like Wal-Mart and Nike. There are thousands of actions to choose from. Here we've profiled three of our favorites:

1. The Credit Card Cut Up
This one's easy. You plant yourselves outside a local shopper's paradise with a full-service debt-help booth. A table, maybe a pamphlet and a solid pair of scissors is all you'll need. "Sir, excuse me, that's a lot of stuff you have there. Did you charge it? I used to charge lots of things, 'till I discovered the perfect way to break out of the debt trap. Can I offer you a snip?" It's amazing, lots of folks are actually game. Note: helps if you have a couple of friends with fake cards break the ice. Or cut up your own if you've got them!

2. Zombie Walk
Theatrics your thing? Put together a team of zombies -- oatmeal masks, ragged clothes, deformities -- and head to the mall. There's nothing like lurching through throngs of consumers, glassy-eyed and mindless, screaming about the living dead all around you.

3. Whirl-Mart
Picture a team of jammers in lab coats, quietly pushing empty shopping carts up and down Wal-Mart aisles. Fun enough; definitely Zen. Or, take it to the next level. Fill the carts with junk and buy it all. "On buy nothing day?" you ask. Yes. Did you know that Wal-Mart has a guaranteed return policy? Get your refund and start again. And again. And again. The line-ups can get a bit long, but hey, it's a great opportunity to talk with shoppers. Caution: Walmart Associates lose their smiles under stress.

Curtis has big balls

eric

i just got a forwarded email from my grandpa saying something of how he was pissed about the ACLU complaining about some soldiers praying on duty. the author of the forward was doing the typical, "one nation under god, we will not be silenced" sort of thing. for some reason i felt really good to write the following paragraphs as i copy and pasted my grandpa's whole forwarded email list into my "To:" box. yes, i sent this email to everyone my grandpa sent his patriotic email to... including him. i guess i just wanted to send it to you because i'm amused at what i did. i really wonder how many hate emails i'm going to get back in response... and it'll be so ironic. or, they'll just look at me as a young idealist.

::::::::::::::::::::

dear all:

In response to this email (about the praying troops) i think i'm going
to pray for all the troops, including the iraqi troops.

I can no longer believe that "God is on our side and not there's."
Religious war has gone on long enough and it's time for religion to be
above wars. If we're going to call ourselves Christians then we'd
better live the person we profess-- Jesus Christ, the Son of God- the
Incarnate God who lived, died and lives again so that we, as one
people, can be with God. The name of Jesus has been used for far too
long in justifying acts of violence and it's time for that name to
become real to us as a person- the person of Jesus Christ. As long as
we are supporting violence and self-promotion/preservation/privilage
in the name of the God of Jesus Christ, we are creating an idol in our
own image while still using, "all the right words." Yes, simply
saying the few letters that make up the name Jesus Christ does not
make what we're saying correct. And simply repeating what is heard
from the pulpit on sunday morning also does not guarantee that what we
are speaking is the truth of the God revealed in Jesus Christ. We can
no longer retreat from our own responsibility to think about and pray
about the words we're actually saying and the deeds we're doing by
passing the blame to an authority or to our plea of "ignorance."
Please join us as we step up and proclaim to the world that we're
stepping down- we give up our power as we die with the Christ who gave
up his whole being, including power. No longer can death be justified
in the name of Jesus Christ-- the Son of God is the incarnation of the
God of Love.

"You have heard it said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I
tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue
you for your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone
forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who
asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from
you."

Words of Jesus according to Matthew 5:38-42 (NIV)

We are not called, as one body- the church, to be selfish and horde
all we have. We are called to the exact opposite: to love one another
and give to those in need. We are not to live tight-fisted and
stingy, "What's mine is mine! And if you try to take it i'm
destroying you!". No, we are to live as those who have nothing, and
the things we do have are only gifts waiting to be given away. That
is the life of the one we call Jesus- the one whom we proclaim to
follow. Let this name no longer be a name, but a real person with a
real story that we can learn the deepest truths of the God of Love
from. Amen.

God bless America
God bless Iraq

(or don't bless anyone at all)

just a poor college student in california,
curtis

I can remember when Riley was about Trey's age and we would go somewhere just to hangout. It was always such a "big deal." I would come close to killing us both in an accident because I would spend most my time looking in the rear-view mirror, turning around to tickle him, or just about wreck my bike trying to talk to him in the bike carrier. This morning, Trey and I had some hang time and it WAS a big deal. I always thought that this overwhelming sense of gratitude toward my children would wear off the more we had... but no, it doesn't. Now, big deal #3 is on the way and I am convinced that my love and enthusiasm for him/er will be no less.

This weekend I am leaving for Cincinnati with big deal Palmer. He is a big deal... in my life and the life of so many others. What can I say to those of you who don't have the privilege know him personally? He is kind... he is an excellent teacher... and spiritual guide. Mark will take you by the hand and go anywhere with you... asking all the right questions. He is patient... in hope, suffering, love, and service. He is big. Palmer's long arms reach around this community called Landing Place and make each one of us feel like his best friend. Mark has cancer. It is a big deal... so pray for his complete healing.

soytoy

So one year ago my parents got me an ipod as a gift. One year later it is dead... beyond repair. They (genius bar) tell me it's the hard drive. So my sights are set on new horizons. It is still sleek, white, and sexy... it's the soytoy! This sweet machine will produce any plant milk I desire for only 4 CENTS/QUART!!! I want one.

saint of the day :: St. Margret of Scotland

There are two ways to be charitable: the "clean way" and the "messy way." The "clean way" is to give money or clothing to organizations that serve the poor. The "messy way" is dirtying your own hands in personal service to the poor. Margaret's outstanding virtue was her love of the poor. Although very generous with material gifts, Margaret also visited the sick and nursed them with her own hands. She and her husband served orphans and the poor on their knees during Advent and Lent. Like Christ, she was charitable the "messy way."

Our community gathered last night and seriously considered our role in narrowing the gap between the rich and poor. We read from the lectionary (Matthew 25:14-15,19-29) and tried to turn our thoughts from the overused interpretation of "make the most of the talents you've got," to a message that is much closer to "care for those whom the world would leave destitute."

I need to find some way to get messy this advent season.

Jesus sends us out to be shepherds, and Jesus promises a life in which we increasingly have to stretch out our hands and be led to places where we would rather not go. He asks us to move from a concern for relevance to a life of prayer, from worries about popularity to communal and mutual ministry, and from a leadership built on power to a leadeship in which we critically discern where God is leading us and our people. - Henri Nouwen

and the family will gather
__________________________________
currently playing:: reggae man, ... reggae

is there anything like this in columbus?

BBC

still reporting the tragic results of the recent earthquake

autumn

today was the most beautiful fall day... strong cool winds blew leaves from trees and sent others swirling along the ground while a warm sunshine kept me warm enough in just a button-up shirt and sandals

i'm reminded of a conversation Henri Nouwen had with Brother Elias, a hermit

".... during the twenty minutes we talked, Elias told me practically everything I needed to hear. He told me how the changes in the often rough climate were good - "goo-o-o-d," he said - because they deepened his longing for God. As the storms made him wish for gentle winds, the clouds for the sun, dryness for rains, so his heart learned to yearn for God and take nothing for granted. "What is so good about this part of the country," he said "is that it makes you realize that all good things are gifts of God - when the sun always shines you forget that it is God's gift, and you don't pay attention anymore." While he said this, his small round bearded face with happy eyes seemed to become transparent." - genesee diary, monday, june 3rd

in a short conversation with the neighbor girl the other day

Jennifer: I like hearing you play your guitar on the front porch

Eric: When did you hear me play on the front porch?

Jennifer: like this past summer

Eric: What was I playing?

Jennifer: Damien Rice.... Delicate... you sound exactly like him!

Eric: well, friend, then you must have me mistaken for one of my most talented friends... His name is curtis and his voice is outstanding... he sounds just like Damien Rice (if he so chooses to) and he is really good at guitar.

Jennifer: oh, wow

The focus on relief efforts after the South Asian earthquake must now shift to providing heating to prevent more deaths, the United Nations says.



Survivors have been let down by the West, President Musharraf says

war, ... it has so many byproducts

The Army now admits that it secretly dumped at least 64 million pounds of chemical warfare agents, as well as more than 400,000 mustard gas-filled bombs and rockets, off the United States - and much more than that off other countries, a Daily Press investigation has found.

The Army can't say where all the dumpsites are. There might be more.

Read more here

And in case you forgot....

FUTURE OF FOOD
This documentary is gaining popularity across America... it is being shown in select independent theatres in other cities... but not in Columbus. So ....

Tonight @ 6:30PM
I will be showing the documentary "The Future of Food" at the
Grandview Heights Public Library
in the "meeting room"... it's on the first floor adjacent to the children's section.

"THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today. "

Nov. 3
6:30 - 9 pm
GHPL
meeting room
some light snacks will be provided
event is free

"If you want to change government, you have to aim at changing corporations, and if you want to change corporations, you first have to change the consumers. Whoa, wait a minute! The consumer? That's me. You mean I'm the one who has to change?
The original definition of consumer is "one who destroys or expends by use; devours, spends wastefully." It would take seven Earths to provide enough raw materials to allow the rest of the world to consume at the same rate Americans do. Ninety percent of what we buy in a mall ends up in the dump within 60 to 90 days."

- Yvon Chouniard, founder and owner of Patagonia

I spent a good portion of my day in a spirit of gratitude for my family... My beautiful wife came to see me at work today with the most adorable trick-or-treater I've ever seen... Jen stopped by to see what needed to go to goodwill, because she has single-handedly remodeled the boys new bunkers... Riley helped me run errands today after work... Mike and Lianne gave us a mattress... and the evening was finished off with trick or treating and prayers with Mark, Amy, Micah, Jen, Kelli, Lianne, Mike, Debby, Mike, Dianna, Kerri, Riley, Trey, and Myself. It was a good day.

"Tyrants and would-be tyrants have always claimed that murder is justified to serve their grand vision and they end up alienating decent people across the globe"

- George W. Bush

Romans 12

In a document that I am preparing for certain religeous officials, I was asked:


2. Identify some of your personal convictions.

so I quickly jotted down a list... wrote out some thoughts... and realized that I had summarized Romans 12 in its entirety. Here's what I came up with...


Holiness (Romans 12:1-2) - I see a great need for the church as a whole to come to terms with what it means to be “set apart." Growing up I was taught that Christians were defined by what they didn't do. Christians were to be marked by an outer piety that refused to participate in certain "wordly" or "secular"” activities. Today, my heart longs for a greater awareness among the people of God of His calling on our lives to be alternative in a variety of ways. He is calling his church out of the ways of this world into a new polis. The world is offering us the chance to call ourselves Christian and still hold to its promises of power, relevance, pride, material wealth, safety, and comfort. Jesus warned against this saying "No servant can serve two masters" (Luke 16:13) and that those who choose to live this way would lack freedom, shackeled in a worldly social purgatory. He goes on to say of the Pharisees, who loved money, "You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of men, but God knows your hearts. What is highly valued among men is detestable in God's sight” Yet God is demanding that his people announce a new way to be human by living under the Reign of God.

The Functioning Body of Christ (Romans 12:3-8) - There are many people in the Body of Christ who have slipped into a slumbering state of apathy, allowing the role and duty of ministry to rest squarely on our well paid, professionally trained ministers. It is a conviction of mine to speak out against this atrophy in the Body of Christ and to energize each member of my local body in their special and unique vocations.

Service (Romans 12:9-13) - Christ demonstrated the way of service in many ways throughout the New Testament. When arguing which of them were the greatest, Jesus taught the disciples saying "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35) Service lived out shows the open hand of Christ to the world. It is an invitation to all who are in need.

Nonviolence (Romans 12: 17-21) - There is no doubt in my mind that Christ called all who would follow him to love their enemies ( Matt.5:38-48). In doing this Christ both energized the alternative way of peace and love and criticized the accepted ways of violence in his culture.

This world will come to know the way of Christ only through our service and love. A counter cultural witness to the world is an authentic and accurate portrait of Kingdom of God.

Pakistan

80,000 Dead

a letter from Trevor

Hope you get this. My computer died on me... hope to have it fixed today. Things here are unimaginable and its freezing cold--rain and hail the last few days. I have a cold already and I have warm clothes. Think of the millions that are sleeping under the sky. There are so many bodies here. The stench is terrible. They can't bury them fast enough because they don't have enough burial shrouds or shovels or people who aren't injured.

-Trevor in Pakistan


The death toll is now reported to be more than 80,000.

3,000,000 Homeless.... and winter is coming


MCC is responding
donate here

pumpkin soup

Spent some time this morning making pumpkin soup from the pumpkin riley and I bought at a farm yesterday. super fresh pumkin dude.... i would love for someone to come critique it. Riley and I also picked 2 peck of apples... so if your in the neighborhood...

garbage land

food politics

teacher: "now, class, which foods are most essential for a healthy, balanced diet?"

student: "OOO - I know... meat and dairy!"

Teacher: "very good Billy... and what is it about those foods that makes them so essential?"

student: "Their Washington lobbyists... who are so influential they can convince the department of agriculture to ignore the advice of nutritionists when presenting itself as an authority on nutrition!"

Teacher: "Very Good! ... because who knows more about nutrition than nutriitonists?"

Student: "anyone with the authority to publish a governmental document?"

Teacher: "yes... exactly! ... and who knows more about which technologies are safe to export and which are dangerous because of their potential "dual-use" in high-tech weaponry,.... weapons experts or the commerce department?"

Student: "The commerce department?"

Teacher: "Excellent! Excellent! Class dismissed!"


a couple of books from the library yesterday...
Food Politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health by Marion Nestle
Selling Sickness: How the world's biggest pharmaceutical companies are turning us all into patients by Ray Moynihan and Alan Cassels

The Future of Food

Let your friends know about it...
This documentary is gaining popularity across America... it is being shown in select independent theatres in other cities... but not in Columbus. So ....

on
Nov,3 @ 6:30PM
I will be showing the documentary "The Future of Food" at the
Grandview Heights Public Library
in the "meeting room"... it's on the first floor adjacent to the children's section.

"THE FUTURE OF FOOD offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.

From the prairies of Saskatchewan, Canada to the fields of Oaxaca, Mexico, this film gives a voice to farmers whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

Shot on location in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, THE FUTURE OF FOOD examines the complex web of market and political forces that are changing what we eat as huge multinational corporations seek to control the world's food system. The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today. "

Nov. 3
6:30 - 9 pm
GHPL
meeting room
some light snacks will be provided

want a flyer... print this out, fill it out and hang it up at work. This event is free.

"When food submerses the body, and through the body the soul, its relish disappears, and then alone does it begin to function in the way nature intended it to."
- Gandhi

"The great law of life is replenishment. If we do not eat, we die. Just as surely, if we do not eat the kind of food which will nourish the body constructively, we not only die prematurely, but we suffer along the way."
- Norman Walker, D.S. (at 100 years of age)

here's the deal

have you read this yet?!?!

Patagonia

Yvon Chouinard has climbed a glacier on the face of Mt. Kenya, survived an avalanche on Minya Konka in Tibet and kayaked down the Yellowstone River through a treacherous rock wall canyon. He has also helped preserve millions of acres of wild lands in the U.S. and South America — all this on top of building an outdoor apparel business with $240 million in sales. read more

bring them home

http://www.boingboing.net/images/babypeace_320.mov
http://www.boingboing.net/images/babypeace.wmv

E. coli

here's one good reason to buy local

Montana de Luz

Doug and Molly (pictured below) are family to Kerri and I. It would mean so much to us if you would read Molly's speech and then donate $5/mo. to the orphanage they will be serving in... or anything really.

send payment to :

815 North High Street Suite GG
Columbus, Ohio 43215


MOLLY's SPEECH
------------------------
It was just six months ago that I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. This was something I had been praying for, desiring and hoping for. And it has changed my life forever. The decision was to move from my comfortable home in Columbus, Ohio – to a small village in Honduras called Nueva Esperanza.

Nueva Esperanza means “New Hope”. It was named this with the purpose of building new homes, a new start, for victims of hurricane Mitch. Hurricane Mitch was absolutely devastating… much like what people in the south are experiencing today… with the exception that the people in Honduras, one of the poorest countries in Central America, couldn’t begin to rebuild. Nueva Esperanza was built with money given from Catholic churches and organizations in the United States. The homes are smaller than most living rooms in the U.S. and tend to hold families of 8 or more. But Nueva Esperanza is special for another reason as well. It is also the home of Montana de Luz where children with HIV and AIDS are given a new hope in their suffering. And this is where I am the new director.

To be poor… feels helpless. To be poor and have AIDS is a life of despair and death. But it doesn’t have to be. Montana de Luz means “Mountain of Light”. It began five years ago as a hospice – a beautiful place for children to die in peace. But with donations from people in the United States and abroad, we are able to provide children with much needed medication, nutritional meals, and a clean stable place in order to continue in life. In five short years Montana de Luz evolved fromm a place to die to a place of life, growth, learning and health. It is a place of hope where our morgue has turned into a library and where Miguel, a 13 year old boy, is president of his school and dreams of being president of his country.

Currently we have 23 children living at the project. We would love to at least double that amount, but it all depends on funding. Honduras holds 60 % of AIDS cases in Central and South America and has the fastest growing rate of children with AIDS. And it is worse off now than Africa was 15 years ago. Most of our children received the HIV virus through the birthing process and from sexual abuse...

Yulisa is just one little girl that has suffered such abuse. She is 10 years old and has been abused for 2 years. Sister Leondarda from Limon has been helping her but without a clinic, Montana de Luz is Yulisa’s only hope of escape from abuse and sickness. When I visited her home, her mother tried to convince me that there was no reason for her to leave Limon. She told me that Yulisa was happy and healthy. This was coming from a single mother of 6. And Yulisa is her only hope. Being the oldest, Yulisa leaves school early every day to help with meals and take care of younger siblings. Yulisa loves school. Math is her favorite subject, she’s beautiful, creative and enjoys playing with friends her own age. When I asked Yulisa if she felt safe in her own home, she told me that she didn’t. She lives in fear from men coming into her home and sickness entering her body. We are currently in the process of rescuing Yulisa to give her a safe haven, good education, and a chance at a healthy childhood.

I also want to tell you about Deybi. He is our most recent child admitted. He is 7 years old with the body of a weak 4 year old. When I met Deybi he had been in the hospital for 3 months. His parents would visit him (both of whom are HIV positive) and since Deybi refused hospital food they would bring him rice, bread and coffee on a daily basis. Deybi was so thin he could barely take a few steps at a time... But Deybi has amazing strength from within. He has hungry brown eyes, long lashes, and rarely smiles… but when he does smile, time stands still as his dimples deepen… and you are invited and able to share in his happiness. This happiness was shared more and more every day that Deybi was at Montana de Luz. Even though he battled through daily fevers, he managed to gain a couple of pounds and begin walking on his own... Unfortunately though, a month after being at Montana de Luz, he had to be readmitted to the hospital where he was poked and prodded as a case study for over a month. Even though we visited every day, brought tv/vcr, books and music to entertain him, he was understandably miserable and longed to return to Montana de Luz, his new home... Today I give glory to God and am excited to say that a week ago Deybi’s wish was granted. He loves being back at Montana de Luz. He never goes to bed hungry, he has clean water to drink and in which to bathe. He has people that love and care for him as well as 24 hour playmates. We had prepared a wheelchair fro Deybi, but he is determined to walk on his won, with hopes to run or ride a bike one day.

Yulisa is one of thousands of children suffering in Honduras. There are only three orphanages that accept children with HIV. Montana de Luz is one of them. Deybi is one of 23 children at Montana de Luz… One of 23 that are living instead of dying. If it weren’t for Montana de Luz, these children would not have a chance at life. Montana de Luz exists due to our loving Father in Heaven and because of people like you who donate time, prayers, money and concern to Montana de Luz.

I urge you to get involved in the lives of Honduran children. Please choose to get involved in Montana de Luz. These children depend on you. Come and visit the children, we have a mission team program set up... or support one in our sponsership program where you can write the children and they can write you. There are many ways to get involved. You can make the difference. You can choose life for a child without a choice. I will be down here in front after the service for those of you that have questions.

Thank you for your time, consideration and prayers.
Thank you.
__________________________________
currently playing:: Denison Whitmer: Are You A Dreamer?

it was perfect. we all felt it.

friends

highlights from the weekend:
la fin de monde and a pipe on the front porch with phil
shared meal with blinn, kelly, bells, palmers @ the house on summit
stone imperial russian stout and thoreau with wharton
boat ride and hang time with mom and dad stetler
blake skidmore and tahini in my kitchen
good time with my beautiful wife and boys

__________________________________
currently playing:: bob dylan

security

is there life beyond....

success
information
security
financial freedom
orthodoxy
responsibility
ownership
401k

...significance?

"the believer's cross must be like that of his Lord's, the price of his social non-conformity" - yoder

post


opts


spot


tops









no more bloody toes

soCal

the journey to azusa (apu) was successful. curtis and i have had much fun. any destination has been by foot. and it has definatly taken it's toll...




at some point during my stay here, we would like to try to visit the beach. It is a considerable distance, but we can take the train. today was spent walking around covina. the weather was beautiful as it is most days. we also took a bus to a small town that was primarily hispanic where we landed a sweet mexican dish

I echo mike in saying that last night's gathering was excellent. we read from the lectionary and prayed the psalms. discussion centered around Matt. 16:13-20:

And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly ordered his disciples
to tell no one that he was the Christ.

We questioned why Jesus would tell his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ. In context of the surrounding verses it seemed to make sense to us that the jewish people (and even his disciples on some level) were expecting the coming messiah to be a violent revolutionary and that he would choose the way of power to overthrow the powers of their age. But Christ immediatly begins to tell his disciples about the way of suffering and servanthood. From that time Jesus went on to make clear to his disciples how he would have to go up to Jerusalem, and undergo much at the hands of those in authority and the chief priests and scribes, and be put to death, and the third day come again from the dead. So much to unpack here about our relationship to the powers of our day...

Discussion also surrounded the part about binding and loosing... and earth and heaven. The body of Christ reveals that the Kingdom of heaven is at hand through binding and loosing, through forgiving one another's sins, offering words of healing, bringing restoration, offering reconcilliation. If one would ask "so then where is this 'heaven' you say has come to earth?" we would offer them the body of Christ in the manifestations of these very tangible tasks of the body. These things are glimpses into the Kingdom... showing very practically that there is a NEW WAY TO BE HUMAN

thanks friends
__________________________________
currently playing::Matisyahu

praying the psalms for the suffering & oppressed

"the psalms support the suffering and oppressed. these texts summon the community to participate with Yahweh in acts of liberation. the contemporary trend to spiritualize the psalms can lead readers to miss the fact that these texts call the worshiping community to create and support just societal structures. the psalms do imply vested interests. considered as a whole, the book's primary interest is fullness of life, a basic component of which is justice. the psalms declare God's support for justice in the human community."

-W.H.Bellinger, JR. from Psalms: Reading and Studying the Book of Praises

Psalm 94

14 For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; 15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. 16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? 17 If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 18 When I thought, "My foot is slipping," your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. 19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. 20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who contrive mischief by statute? 21 They band together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death. 22 But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. 23 He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out.

a note from my new friend pam

Priorities

It is a frequent experience in my line of work to talk to people who are panicked about their health and frightened about whether or not they are going to have a future, or what that future will look like. Cancer patients, people undergoing bypass surgery, diabetics facing amputation, people hospitalized for unknown ailments - these people have several things in common. One is that they do what I call "making deals with God." They pray for an opportunity to live and they'll promise to do anything, even eat tofu, if afforded that chance.

The second thing they do is to develop a certain clarity about what is important in life. They begin to think differently, act differently and appreciate more. Ernestine Bradley, the wife of former New Jersey Senator Bill Bradley and a breast cancer survivor says, "Having had cancer and seeing that there could be an end to what you take for granted has given me a lot of strength to make the life I now have more intense, more conscious, and therefore more wonderful."

The problem is that everyone knows they're going to die some day, but no one thinks about what this really means. And, people never think this is going to happen to them. Especially if they are young. Or athletic. Or successful. Or wealthy. Serious illness is something that is going to happen to someone else at some other time. Not us. Not now.

Addionally, so many people think, "If I indeed develop a medical condition, I'll get treatment." They don't stop to think about all of the people for whom the treatment doesn't work, which is a good percentage, or for whom the treatment completely takes away their quality of life.

The reality is that serious illness is happening to people like us, right now. It's happening at younger and younger ages. And Western Medicine is not curing it. A friend of mine has a good friend whose 22-year-old son is dying of cancer right now, after over a year of unsuccessful traditional treatment. This is right now, today, in my circle of acquaintances. Not some other time to some other people who I don't know.

Another friend has breast cancer and is undergoing chemo and radiation. She's my age. This is today, right now, happening in my life.

I know that these things are happening to the people you know and love and care about too.

So, I'm going to suggest two radical thoughts. First, instead of waiting until you're sick to make a deal with God, make one now that you're going to take excellent care of yourself staring today. Promise you'll set an example for others to follow. Promise you'll do this even if it means you're different from others, or they think that you're strange. Better to be a strange and healthy person than follow others into sickness and degeneration.

And, take a good look at the things you take for granted every day and develop a new appreciation for everything. Ask yourself what is really important to you right now, today. Not some other time, not 20 years from now, but now. Are you living the life you want? If not, make changes. Mend relationships. Renew contacts. Do something different. Take a chance. And for Pete's sake, don't tell yourself you can't, other people wouldn't understand, you're being selfish, or you don't have time.

Remember that we all are dealing with a limited amount of time on this planet. Remember that you can control, to a certain extent, how long you do have by taking great care of yourself. And, remember that the time you have here is precious. Don't waste it!

Dr. Pam Popper

via dan

found this site through dan... thought i'd type in where I work sometimes

Googlism for: starbucks

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starbucks is refusing to brew and serve fair trade
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starbucks is deemed by some as the giant coffee whore that can be found on just about every corner block
starbucks is owned by phillip morris the cigarett co
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starbucks is introducing its new single origin coffee
starbucks is selling great music
starbucks is the second of three new starbucks to open in the reno
starbucks is because it is a relaxing
starbucks is offering the option only on an experimental basis for a year
starbucks is considered expensive in north america
starbucks is popping up everywhere and i think that's probably why a lot of people hate it
starbucks is starting to sell drinks with alcoohol in them?
starbucks is offering free trials of the service on wednesday to customers with wi
starbucks is not for you asian anyway
starbucks is another favourite
starbucks is now open at the convention center
starbucks is the apotheosis of modern consumer society and its management of the pleasure principle
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Chicago

so this is my first time in Chicago... tawd, blake, and I are here for a conference. we are staying in a really nice community living space just outside of downtown. I guess I never realized how big Chicago was. We drove in yesterday along Lake Shore Drive and saw hundreds of Chicago inhabitants enjoying the lake side, riding bikes, rollerblading, etc. The city scape seemed to span for miles. Last night at the conf. I experienced my first ever "footwashing." I was a bit leary at first, not sure if it was something that would be culturally significant in the 21st cent. A powerful message was given on how "washing feet" in our society was a prophetic way to live in opposition to the powers that be. New life was breathed into how I understand servanthood. This sybolic act represented a rejection of power and authority over others. It was amazing how everyone in the room was immediatly on a level plane. Very significant to me... very humbling.

Choosing Poverty

The Gospels clearly indicate that Jesus voluntarily accepted poverty in view of the coming kingdom. He also commanded his disciples to practice the redistribution of their capital. During the time of Jesus, land and flocks were the people’s only wealth, or in today’s terminology, “capital.” Yet Jesus taught, “Seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Luke 12:31–33).

André Trocmé - Jesus and the Nonviolent Revolution
__________________________________
currently playing:: Cat Stevens

Moore

can't wait for this one.

RAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Michael Moore says his next documentary already has HMOs quaking in their boots. Moore has not yet begun shooting the film, "Sicko," but his planned critique of the nation's health care system, he says, is making "freaked-out" HMOs warn employees what to do if approached by the filmmaker....

link

House Party

come view the documentary "the future of food" at 827 NW BLD on AUGUST 1st.

"The Future of Food" provides an in-depth investigation and critique of genetically engineered foods and crops, including interviews with farmer activists such as Percy Schmeiser. According to the Telluride Daily Planet, "This stylish film is not just for food faddists and nutritionists. It is a look at something we might not want to see: Monsanto, Roundup and Roundup-resistant seeds, collectively wreaking havoc on American farmers and our agricultural neighbors around the world. In the end, this documentary is a eloquent call to action."

Click here for more information.

anothergood read along these lines


6:30 - 9 pm

some light snacks will be provided

Benevolence cafe'

The weather was beautiful yesterday morning. Spent some time on my bike running errands (bank, farmers market) I was able to squeeze a bundle of swisschard, 3 beets/greens, 1 head of cabbage, a quart of strawberries, 2 peaches, 4 ears of corn and a small cantaloupe in my small messenger bag. I truly love farmers markets. One of my favorite authors, Wendell Berry, sees the market as the very life source of the local community. I felt that heartbeat while I was there. Smiles, reciprocity... real human interaction.

and when at the north market, so close to benevolence cafe', one must stop. They call themselves a sanctuary in the city. it is. it is hard for me to describe the ethos of a place like this... there's the aroma of fresh baked breads and homemade soups... as you enter the door, there's a "family sized" pine table that spans the length of the entire cafe that begs "meal sharing'...books on every wall with subjects like organic gardening, ecology, economics, spirituality, environmentalism and community living. Green plants, excellent teas, organic vegan foods, excellent music.... I watch as people linger on their way out not really wanting to leave. Kerri and I love this space... and the best thing is, it has to share us with plenty of other excellent columbus attracitons!

Terrorism; the use or threat of force or violence to intimidate, to strike fear or to coerce action

it's freedom time

Everybody knows that they're guilty
Everybody knows that they've lied
Everybody knows that they're guilty
Resting on their conscience eating their inside
It's freedom, I said it's freedom time now
It's freedom, said it's freedom time now
Time to get free, or give your selves up now
It's freedom, said it's free time

There's a war in the mind over territory, for the dominium
Who will dominate the opinions?
Schisms and isms, keeping us in forms of religion
Conforming our vision to the world church of decision
Trapped in a section, submitted to committing election
Moral affection, epidemic lies and deception
Insurrection, of the highest possible order
Distorting our tape recorders from hearin' it like underwater
Beyond the borders, find the sin in disorder
Bound by the strategy of a systemic depravity
Heavy as gravity, head first in the cavity without a bottom
A fate, worst then Sodom,
What's got?em drunk of the spirit?
Truth comes we can't hear it when you've been programmed to fear
it
I had a vision I was falling in indecision
Appalling, calling religious a program on television
How can.. dominate wisdom
Be recognized in the system
Of antichrists'? the majority rules
Intelligent fools
P.H.D.'s in illusion, masters of mass confusion
Bachelors of past illusion
Now who u choosing?
The head or the tail?
The bloodshed of the male or confidence in the veil?
Conferences at Yale discussing doctrines of bail
Causing peoples to fail keeping a third in jail
His words nailed everything to the tree
Severing all of me from all that I use to be
Formless and void, totally paranoid
Enjoyed darkness's, Lord keeping me from the sword
Blocked from mercy, bitterness serves thee
Hungry and thirsty for good meat we would eat
And still dine at the table of deceit
How incomplete, from confrontation to retreat

We belong in true enemies defeat
Destitute a necessity
Causing desperation to get the best of me
Punishment till there was nothing left of me
Realizing the inescapable death of me
No option to the valley of decision
The only doctrine is supernatural circumcision
Inwardly, only water can purge the heart from words to fiery
darts
Thrown by the workers of thee arts
Inequity, shaping in
There's no escaping when
Your whole philosophy is paper thin
In vanity, the wide road is insanity
Could it be all of humanity?
Picture that, scripture that
The origin of a mans heart is black
How can we show up, for an invisible war?
Preoccupied with a shadow, making love with a whore?
Aching in sores
Babylon the great mystery
Mother of human history system of social sorcery
Our present condition needs serious recognition
Where there is no repentance can be no admission
And that sentence more serious then Vietnam
The atom bomb and Sadam administer Farrakhan
What's going on?
What's a priority to you?
By what authority do we do the majority hasn't a clue
We majored in curses searched the chapters check the verses
Recapture the land and remove the mark from off our hand
So we can stand in agreement with his command
Everything else is damned let them with ears understand!
{Heh} everything else is damned let them with ears understand

It's freedom, said its freedom time now
It's freedom, said its freedom time now
It's freedom, I'ma be who I'm am
It's freedom time, said its freedom time
Everybody knows that they've lied
Everybody knows they've perpetrated inside
Everybody knows that their guilty as
Resting on their conscious eating their insides
Get free, be who your suppose to be
Freedom, said its freedom time now
Freedom, said it's freedom time
Freedom, freedom time

lauryn hill - war in the mind - mtv unplugged

check out my wife's blog for pictures of my sister's wedding

my sister got married tonight and i was the officiant. wow. that wasn't as easy as i thought it would be. Rachel was a beautiful bride and Gabe is most definatly the most suitable mate. They asked Riley to be the ring bearer and he was wonderful. he did a great job. It was good to see family and friends from all over the country. i'll be posting pictures as soon as I return to columbus.

tomorrow i will be meeting with sundayscoffee.blogspot.com for coffee on sunday... I miss the old man and it will be good to sit down and share of our lives for he holds a special place in my heart.

my new fixie is so much fun. I finished it about a month or so ago and I've been riding her hard all over columbus!
_______________________________
currently playing:: still sufjan

Bush Urges Less Global Oil Use, as US Guzzles It

While President George W. Bush is urging nations to use less oil, his administration has opposed major increases in US vehicle fuel standards that could save millions of barrels of oil a year and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

Link
__________________________________
currently playing:: sufjan stephens: illinois

update

-my bike is done and it's sexy... watch for bike porn on this site in the future
-watched "the future of food" last night... documentary on GE foods. we will be throwing a house party to raise awareness... details to come
-i was 1 1/2hrs late to work this week
-Taking off to go see my Brother graduate from his residency and then on to fishing with the men of the family. I will miss my wife and my boys
-i start travelling and selling furniture on monday to pay for school because i'm going back.
-went to visit palmer at the James today. To see and hear all his body went through is amazing... pray for a quick healing.
-updatesarestupid.com

for my friend Kyle

How to make an air conditioner

dear world

let me be
let me be me
let me be ordinary .tired .simple .free

let me make mistakes .carve out time .for my family .my wife ...me

PLEASE! be patient with my humanity

you say be good .be strong .be 2000 places at once

He says let love .free .stop .be

still


silence .embrace .belovedness

new email

estetler@gmail.com

rickshaw

dude.... that kicked my ass.

a few thoughts re: the rickshaw

1. OBESITY.... it's a problem. especially in AMERICA. i realize now why not too many rickshaws are on the road here in the states. this definatly convinced me to read the china study as suggested by my mother. you'll find rickshaws in china dude

2. GENTRIFICATION... the event was a showcase of homes in a developing area... historic remodeled homes.. i picked wealthy (and mostly obese) folks up and carried them from house to house. And from one house to the next you saw all ends of the social class spectrum. I felt dirty as the poor raced by in their cars screeming obsenities at me... as if to say "your fucking rickshaw is making our neighborhood lucritive and romantic... go back home!"

3. INDIVIDUALISM and PRIDE... kept most people off the sweet ride. Many were honest with me saying that if their friends saw them on this ride they might think their lazy.... and others wouldn't dare look at me because i might engage them in some form of human interaction...and that can be very unpredictable and often uncomfortable

3. EARNING POTENTIAL... i made some cash... not bad cash either... beets starbucks. I will be riding the rickshaw for more events in the future. Look for me at comfest, osu games, gallery hop, etc.

rickshaw

today I embark on a new adventure... i will carry folks around old town east on a bicycle rickshaw for seven hours. i hope my legs can make it. need a lift? tips only :{)

Celery

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currently playing:: riley singing in the shower

the church at 827 northwest blvd.

We have recently begun a new church in our home. For the past month now we have shared a meal and worked our way through the first 20 verses of the Sermon on the Mount. Evening prayers are read each week. I usually provide the background and historical context to the verses that are to be studied and then each person shares insights or questions. We are experiencing more of the latter than the former because most who come are not followers of the Way. The dialogue to this point has centered around reinterpreting what the bible means to those who don't follow Jesus. It is generally seen as a rule book rather than a narrative. Our friends are excited about what is being shared and I truly believe that they hear a fresh gospel. I'm excited as well to be able to share what my entire world is built around to those who have never heard such craziness.

Nick, my good buddy from work, is a recovering atheist. He is on a journey that I see as very pure, intentional, and natural. He has voiced a trust in our hospitality as being void of hidden adjendas and backhanded evangelism techniques.

Things he knows about us:
-we love the shared meal and he always brings a little something
-this is a Christian spirituality
-we are not out to "prove" anything... no case for Christ here
-he is accepted and loved as is
-we hold a high view of scripture
-our door is always open, to come... or to leave.

pray for nick.
pray for me
pray for our new little infant church

little brothers

lot a shows to catch at little brothers this next month...
starting with m.ward tommorrow night!!
who's coming with me? I have a small crowd already going.

Tue, 04/19/05
08:00 PM
M. Ward (Solo) : Devotchka : Norfolk & Western

Thu, 04/21/05
08:00 PM
Clem Snide

Sun, 04/24/05
06:00 PM
Me Without You

Wed, 05/04/05
08:00 PM
The Wedding Present : the Organ

Sat, 05/07/05
08:00 PM
The Decemberists : Willy Mason

My veggie burrito bowl has 17g of fat, and
425 calories. How about yours?

fixed

i'm pretty excited about switching to a fixed gear bike, but not nearly excited as this Reverend!

you can no longer reach eric stetler or his voicemail at 614.774.5156
try this: 614.571.8723

i won't be the one answering the ph. but the message will most definatly get to me.

ph. appointments can be made via email as well

estetler@columbus.rr.com

"Behold, I have come to make all things new!"

The Crucified

The young men and women who are racing with the torrent of modern civilization will halt today for a moment, and look backward to see the young Magdalene washing with her tears the blood stains from the feet of a Holy Man suspended between heaven and earth; and when their shallow eyes weary of the scene they will depart and soon laugh.
Kahlil Gibran



“To make of his story something that could neither startle, nor shock, nor terrify, nor excite, nor inspire a living soul is to crucify the Son of God afresh.”

Dorothy Sayer

a great guy ... mark knowles, sent me this email. Thought i should probably pass it along to you folks

Just to remind everyone that 25 years ago, on Monday, March 24, 1980, Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, was assassinated. His life and faith truly are among the great ones from recent times, and it wouldn't hurt to spend a moment this day (the 24th--when I'm assuming most of you will get this) and this Holy Week reflecting upon his life. As introductions I highly recommend the movie "Romero," and the book "Oscar Romero: Memories in Mosaic" by María López Vigil, for those of you who haven't already been acquainted with them.
Anyways I trust this Holy Week is good for you.

The Christian wears the sureness of Christ
 and is the seed of salvation.
If there is hope of a new world,
 of a new nation,
 of a more just order,
 of a reflection of God’s kingdom in our society,
brothers and sisters,
 surely you Christians are the ones
 who will bring about this wonder of a new world
Oscar Romero

for a selection of his writings go here

mysticism and the church

the gathered people of God have just left the house. there was was some wonderful revelation happening in our midst. God renewing our minds. mysticism was the hot button. I came across this in my reading

I said I was searching for the roots of Christian mysticism. Now I say unhesitatingly that there are three sources of Christian mystical experience: (1) the Word of God in sacred scripture, (2) the sacraments, particularly the Eucharist, and (3) the Word of God in the community called church.

If then you ask for practical advice on how to enter the Christan mystical life, I do not advise you to take the plane to Tel Aviv and the bus to the Judean desert. I do not tell you to travel to Cairo and thento Sinai or to the desert south of Alexandria. I do not tell you to sit in the lotus and breathe from your abdomen. All this is good, very good, but in the end peripheral. Instead I say:

Listen to the word! Read the Scriptures! Read them again and again wiht faith and love until the word comes to life within you, penetrating the deepest layers of your unconscious.

Again, celebrate the Eucharist! Break bread with the community! Be present to the mystery of faith and partake of the bread of life. This will lead you into that rich inner desert of silence and joy where your life lies hidden with Christ in God. This will lead you to say with Paul: "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" Gal 2:20. This will lead you to cry out with Jesus: "Abba, Father!"

Again listen to the community. Be part of the community. Get guidance from the community; Read the mystical literature the community has produced. Never get isolated. Never go out on a limb. Community!

w.Jonston

the kids are playing together peacefully, so i thought i might be able to steal away and post. i'l type until one of them starts crying. it will most likely be riley, because trey is constantly antagonizing and taunting him. in fact, i doubt it will be long before trey is kicking riley's butt. but for now there is peace in the home. maybe it's because both boys are .... crying ... bye .... ok things are cool. Rested, both boys are rested. riley went to sleep yesterday at 2pm and didn't wake up until today at 7:00 am. what? i dunno.

kerri was able to get out on her own this morning to do some shopping. this is good. for everyone.

just back home from "baby lap time" at the Gview library. met some cool folks and some not so cool folks. not that the "not so cool" were mean or anything... just dorks. those events tend to attract both types... but i would like to think of myself being in the former catagory. no really, everyone there was really nice and somewhat annoying.
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currently playing::ray charles duets

underground seminary

in keeping with my friend phil's posts, here is the notes from monday night. Thanks Jen.
Palmer, great teaching. Thank you.

Session Nine : A Temple Unto God (The People of God as a Dwelling Place For The Spirit)

I. What Happened At Pentecost?
• Acts 2:1-13
• The Jewish Lens
o It was an anticipated event
o The story of God’s new world coming to birth . . . the new covenant
o The renewal of temple and torah
o Renewal of Torah
• Luke tells the story in a way that is reminiscent of the way Moses was given the Law
? The law was the way of the life for the people of the OT
• The Spirit was given as the renewed law . . . as the new way of life
? Not a law written on tablets of stone, but rather a law the was written on the hearts of the people
• Pentecost was always celebrated as the feast of the giving of the law (50 days after Passover)
o Renewal of Temple
• The glory of God returning to the temple
• The nations would be drawn by the glory
• Luke recording of the events in Acts 2 would have awakened these thoughts in the minds of the people
• The new world was set in motion . . .
II. The Spirit of God in the Early Church (Role of Spirit)
• The Spirit of God in the NT is the life giving Spirit and the life sustaining Spirit . . . was and is the creative force behind the new humanity
• Life Giving
o Individual : Creator of the relationship between God and man
o Created reconciliation between Jew and Gentile
o On Pentecost the Spirit welcomed the Gentiles into the people of God
• Life Sustainer
o Through the giving of the gifts
o The Spirit gives gifts to the gathered community (church), to each person in the community, as a means of edifying (to build up) the body. So that we can build each other into the temple of God (Ephesians 2)
III. People of God as a Dwelling Place For The Spirit
• We are the place where heaven and earth meet
• This is why we exist, why we send people out . . . how we are the missional church

my friend mark has cancer. if you don't know that already, this may be your first time on the world wide web. pray for him. pray for him his own words...

Here's what we do...we pray "Your Kingdom come, Your will be done." with a recklessness that we have never had before. We pray it with all of the hope we can summon, and then a little bit more. Now is not a time for practicality, it is not a time for sensibility. It is a time for recklessness and hopefulness and dreaming. I am slowly seeing the Kingdom come in my life. I think we are slowly seeing it come in the life of the LP. But all of us have a responsibility to seek it, to look for it, to fight for it. And in our seeking, we will find. In our looking, we will see. In our fighting, we will win.

playlists

i suck at em'
this one rocks

1. the 6ths - as you turn to go
2. +/- -summer dress (all her winter clothes)
3. camera obscura - let me go home
4. rachel goswell - gather me up
5. azure ray - nothing like a song
6. iron and wine - naked as we came
7. wheat - the beginner
8. big thick skin - track 7
9. unwed sailor - jubilee
10. daniel lanois - san juan
11. ray charles - hallejuah, i love her so
12. mates of state - open book
13. wedding present - come play with me
14. nada surf - blizzard of '77
15. pinback - AFK
16. joanna newsom - "en gallup"
17. vince guaraldi trio - Christmas time is here (vocal)
18. saturday looks good to me - alcohol
19. luna - malibu love nest
20. arcade fire - wake up
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currently playing:: this sweet playlist

Iraq as another Vietnam? Compare election coverage then and now.

Gambier

Kerri and i escaped for a couple days. Every year (starting last year) we stay at the Kenyon Inn and eat a late dinner in their resturaunt. Their is something to the whole eat where you are staying thing that I really like. I also like that this whole community relies on as much locally grown and raised food as possible. with Fredricktown right up the road, I makes alot of sense. We eat here knowing that the local organic markets are being supported. Yesterday we spent some time in the college bookstore. Kerri found a new vegetarian soup cookbook that looks good and I picked up Letters to a Young Poet by Rilke. I love this book and now I own it. Today we are at our favorite coffee shop here.

a snipet from my reading today:

There is no measuring with time, no year matters, and ten years are nothing. Being an artist means, not reckoning and counting, but ripening like the tree which does not force its sap and stands confident in the storms of spring without the fear that after them may come no summer. It does come. But it comes only to the patient, who are there as though eternity lay before them, so unconcernedly still and wide. I learn it daily, learn it with pain to which I am grateful: patience is everything!

i haven't had time to post this recently, but last week riley and I were building a snowman in the commons area where we live and our neighbor came out and started helping us... after snowball fights, eric(his name too) suggested we go sledding. we don't have a sled so he offered us his only one... an old school challenger that had been in the family for over 60 years. solid. here's the after steering his way down a rather large hill all by himself... i was proud...

oh, by the way, he loves to crash!
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currently playing:: willy porter - high wire live

merton, feb.26th 1965

"I must admit that I like my own cooking. Rice and pinto beans today, for instance, with apple sauce from the monastery and some peanuts. A nice supper."

merton makes me smile
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currently playing:: Mozart - symph.#25

my first 2 1/2 hour wilco show

surreal... fantastic imagery... truly a great concourse of phantasmagoric sound
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currently enamored by:: wilco

here are some thoughts from my friend Chris who I miss greatly (he's not dead, we just don't see much of eachother)...
his thoughts on prayer and fasting go right along with what our spiritual community has been contemplating together

I guess I've never really thought about fasting as having a direct and practical impact on meeting others physical needs. I have always thought that fasting was about praying for a need and going without something to "deny" the flesh and show that "man does not live by bread alone."

Then I read this scripture again and realized that our desire to simplify, to get rid of excess, to live on less so as to give more away...is really all about fasting. I never realized that our fasting should take on REAL physical forms of caring for others. The meal(s) I give up should be feeding someone else. The motorcycle I sell should allow me to give someone else what they need.

We should be going on permanent fasts of things in our lives and allow the funds we would normally spend on them to take care of the hungry, naked, and homeless all around us. I think this is what Jesus meant when he talked about the rich giving out of their wealth. If I give away hundreds or even thousands of dollars to help the needy, but it doesn't REALLY cost me anything then what's the point? If I fast something in my life, but never think to meet someone else's need with the resources I've given up, then what's the point in that?

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currently playing:: belle & sebastian

puke

called off from work today. kerri and i each have one puking child to care for. about every half hour there is more laundry to do. sad to say, but it's so bad that this is the first day i've done laundry in maybe 7 years.
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currently playing:: tom waits

brunch

i met mark and kelly one day at stauf's. it was a beautiful spring day and they were enjoying a patio seating. so was i. I've seen him there occasionally since then. last week we sat and talked for about an hour and I invited him and kelly over to our house for brunch today. it was a great time and Kerri made some excellent quiche.
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currently playing:: joseph arther - redemption's son

US Cutting Food Aid

NYT -  In one of the first signs of the effects of the ever tightening federal budget, in the past two months the Bush administration has reduced its contributions to global food aid programs aimed at helping millions of people climb out of poverty.

With the budget deficit growing and President Bush promising to reduce spending, the administration has told representatives of several charities that it was unable to honor some earlier promises and would have money to pay for food only in emergency crises like that in Darfur, in western Sudan. The cutbacks, estimated by some charities at up to $100 million, come at a time when the number of hungry in the world is rising for the first time in years and all food programs are being stretched.

Officials of several charities, some Republican members of Congress and some administration officials say the food aid budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 was at least $600 million less than what charities and aid agencies would need to carry out current programs. Ellen Levinson, head of the Food Aid Coalition, said the best estimate for the amount of food that was not delivered in November and December was ''at least $100 million.''

I read this article a week before I heard the news of the tsunami... that whole week I began thinking of the number of children who die every day of PREVENTABLE hunger and disease.

While the number of the world's people who go hungry is rising for the first time in years, the Bush administration can find no better way to reduce spending than to cut $600 million from global food aid programs aimed at helping millions of people climb out of poverty.

That belt-tightening of $600 million doesn't make much of a dent in a federal discretionary budget of $965 BILLION (it's 0.0001 percent), but in the developing world, it's emergency food to prevent the starvation of millions, and long-term agricultural development to help people feed even more people themselves.

Or put another way, it's 1/60th of the $35 BILLION that remains in the budget to maintain America's Cold War nuclear weapons equivalent to 150,000 of the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima.

This is so outrageous that there's now a BIPARTISAN effort in Congress led by Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Missouri) to convince the administration that global food aid should not be cut.

I am not aware at the amount of money the Bush administration has promised to the tsunami victims in asia. I can only hope that they keep this one. it comes as no surprise to me that the kingdom of this world would offer aid only when something is in the headlines... as a way to save face... so not to appear "stingy", However, I hope that for me at least, this is a wakeup call to the 40,000 preventable deaths happen each day.

That death toll will be 160,000 by Saturday.