Hi,
I just signed a petition asking the G8 take urgent action against extreme poverty, and I'm hoping that you'll join me.
Sign the petition now at: http://www.one.org/international/g8
There has been a lot of progress against extreme poverty in recent years, but, as recent headlines about the global food crisis and natural disasters like Cyclone Nargis in Burma will tell you, there is still much to be done.
When we unite with one voice and call upon our leaders to take action, we can and will solve these problems.
Thanks
LH
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/
http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/
James Dobson doesn't speak for me.
He doesn't speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide;
He doesn't speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible;
James Dobson doesn't speak for me when he uses the beliefs of others as a line of attack;
He doesn't speak for me when he denigrates his neighbor's views when they don't line up with his;
He doesn't speak for me when he seeks to confine the values of my faith to two or three issues alone;
What does speak for me is David's psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity;
Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him;
The prophet Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of the vulnerable;
The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our communities;
The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those that curse you and pray for those who persecute you;
The words of the apostle Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love amount to nothing.
The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus' command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that love.
He doesn't speak for me when he uses religion as a wedge to divide;
He doesn't speak for me when he speaks as the final arbiter on the meaning of the Bible;
James Dobson doesn't speak for me when he uses the beliefs of others as a line of attack;
He doesn't speak for me when he denigrates his neighbor's views when they don't line up with his;
He doesn't speak for me when he seeks to confine the values of my faith to two or three issues alone;
What does speak for me is David's psalm celebrating how good and pleasant it is when we come together in unity;
Micah speaks for me in reminding us that the Lord requires us to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him;
The prophet Isaiah speaks for me in his call for all to come and reason together and also to seek justice, encourage the oppressed and to defend the cause of the vulnerable;
The book of Nehemiah speaks for me in its example to work with our neighbors, not against them, to restore what was broken in our communities;
The book of Matthew speaks for me in saying to bless those that curse you and pray for those who persecute you;
The words of the apostle Paul speak for me in saying that words spoken and deeds done without love amount to nothing.
The apostle John speaks for me in reminding us of Jesus' command to love one another. The world will know His disciples by that love.
perhaps you would like to go to the website
http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/
to sign the document and to let the Right Wing of our faith know that they don't speak for many of us.
http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/
to sign the document and to let the Right Wing of our faith know that they don't speak for many of us.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Future Wisdom.
The Future always looks impossible when viewed from the present.
George Gilder
Wealth and Poverty
George Gilder
Wealth and Poverty
Friday, June 13, 2008
Give Me Christ Or Give Me Hiroshima (hyperbole?, probably?). Love's The Only Engine Of Survival(Straight up? I think?)
Leonard Cohen
The Future (1992)
The Future
"Give Me Back My Broken Night
My Secret Room, My Secret Life
It's Lonely Here
There's No One Left To Torture
Give Me Absolute Control
Over Every Living Soul
And Lie Beside Me, Baby
That's An Order!
Give Me Crack And Anal Sex
Take The Only Tree That's Left
And Stuff It Up The Hole
In Your Culture
Give Back The Berlin Wall
Give Me Stalin And St. Paul
I've Seen The Future, Brother
It Is Murder
CHORUS
Things Are Going To Slide In All Directions
Won't Be Nothing
Nothing You Can Measure Anymore
The Blizzard Of The World
Has Crossed The Threshold
And It Has Overturned
The Order Of The Soul
When They Said Repent
I Wonder What They Meant
When They Said Repent
I Wonder What They Meant
When They Said Repent
I Wonder What They Meant
You Don't Know Me From The Wind
You Never Will, You Never Did
I'm The Little Jew
Who Wrote The Bible
I've Seen Nations Rise And Fall
I've Heard Their Stories, Heard Them All
But Love's The Only Engine Of Survival
Your Servant Here, He Has Been Told
To Say It Clear, To Say It Cold
It's Over, It Ain't Going
Any Further
And Now The Wheels Of Heaven Stop
You Feel The Devil's Riding Crop
Get Ready For The Future
It Is Murder
CHORUS
There'll Be The Breaking Of The Ancient
Western Code
Your Private Life Will Suddenly Explode
There'll Be Phantoms
There'll Be Fires In The Road
And The White Man Dancing
You'll See The Woman
Hanging Upside Down
Her Features Covered By Her Fallen Gown
And All The Lousy Little Poets
Coming Round
Trying To Sound Like Charlie Manson
Give Me Back The Berlin Wall
Give Me Stalin And St. Paul
Give Me Christ
Or Give Me Hiroshima
Destroy Another Fetus Now
We Don't Like Children Anyhow
I've Seen The Future, Baby
It Is Murder"
I love what this guy does.
He is a Jewish Mystic,
a Bhuddist Monk,
a Christ Loving poetic genius
and
a Sensulaist (who aches in the places he used to play)....
which makes it hard for me not to be intrigued by him.
The Future (1992)
The Future
"Give Me Back My Broken Night
My Secret Room, My Secret Life
It's Lonely Here
There's No One Left To Torture
Give Me Absolute Control
Over Every Living Soul
And Lie Beside Me, Baby
That's An Order!
Give Me Crack And Anal Sex
Take The Only Tree That's Left
And Stuff It Up The Hole
In Your Culture
Give Back The Berlin Wall
Give Me Stalin And St. Paul
I've Seen The Future, Brother
It Is Murder
CHORUS
Things Are Going To Slide In All Directions
Won't Be Nothing
Nothing You Can Measure Anymore
The Blizzard Of The World
Has Crossed The Threshold
And It Has Overturned
The Order Of The Soul
When They Said Repent
I Wonder What They Meant
When They Said Repent
I Wonder What They Meant
When They Said Repent
I Wonder What They Meant
You Don't Know Me From The Wind
You Never Will, You Never Did
I'm The Little Jew
Who Wrote The Bible
I've Seen Nations Rise And Fall
I've Heard Their Stories, Heard Them All
But Love's The Only Engine Of Survival
Your Servant Here, He Has Been Told
To Say It Clear, To Say It Cold
It's Over, It Ain't Going
Any Further
And Now The Wheels Of Heaven Stop
You Feel The Devil's Riding Crop
Get Ready For The Future
It Is Murder
CHORUS
There'll Be The Breaking Of The Ancient
Western Code
Your Private Life Will Suddenly Explode
There'll Be Phantoms
There'll Be Fires In The Road
And The White Man Dancing
You'll See The Woman
Hanging Upside Down
Her Features Covered By Her Fallen Gown
And All The Lousy Little Poets
Coming Round
Trying To Sound Like Charlie Manson
Give Me Back The Berlin Wall
Give Me Stalin And St. Paul
Give Me Christ
Or Give Me Hiroshima
Destroy Another Fetus Now
We Don't Like Children Anyhow
I've Seen The Future, Baby
It Is Murder"
I love what this guy does.
He is a Jewish Mystic,
a Bhuddist Monk,
a Christ Loving poetic genius
and
a Sensulaist (who aches in the places he used to play)....
which makes it hard for me not to be intrigued by him.
The Future
Our faithfulness will depend on our willingness to go where there is brokenness, loneliness, and human need. If the church has a future it is a future with the poor in whatever form.
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
Sabbatical Journey
- Henri J.M. Nouwen
Sabbatical Journey
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Hopeful Healing in Him whose "name" is both Love and Justice
Psalm 72:
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Malachi 4:2
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
8 He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.
Malachi 4:2
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.
Dealing with the past, healing the future.
Some Long Unfinished business is finally addressed.
A shameful legacy in Canadian history is being acknowledged today. Let's hope it leads to reconciliation and new future for Canada and its aboriginal peoples.
From Cape Breton Post
11/06/08
Canada apologizes for trying to ’kill the Indian in the child’
After more than a century of torment that saw the federal government strive to silence their languages and snuff their culture, aboriginal people packed Parliament to hear the prime minister say it for all Canadians: “We are sorry.”
Stephen Harper made the historic apology Wednesday in the House of Commons for generations of racist policy meant to “kill the Indian in the child.”
Eleven aboriginal guests of honour sat before him on chairs arranged in a native restitution circle, some trembling with emotion.
Above them, survivors of unspeakable abuse in federal schools geared to “Christianize” them clasped each other’s hands, bowed their heads, and cried.
“The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history,” Harper told the extraordinary session of the Commons, reading from a text he helped draft with input from native advisers.
“The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal Peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry.”
Applause repeatedly rained down on aging survivors of the church-run schools as they sat a few steps from Harper.
But the most thunderous ovation was reserved for Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine, who endured repeated sexual attacks as a little boy at the Fort Alexander residential school in Manitoba.
Wearing full Ojibway regalia and headdress, Fontaine was belatedly allowed to respond to the apology in the Commons after days of contentious resistance by the Conservatives. He made it one of his finest moments.
“Brave survivors, through telling their stories, have stripped white supremacy of its legitimacy,” he said to jubilant shouts and the rhythm of drumbeats. “Never again will this House consider us the Indian Problem just for being who we are.
“We are, and always have been, an indispensable part of the Canadian identity.”"Finally, we heard Canada say it is sorry," Fontaine said.
Fontaine said. "We heard the government of Canada take full responsibility."
He said the apology will go a long way toward repairing the relationship between aboriginals and the rest of Canada.
11/06/08
Canada apologizes for trying to ’kill the Indian in the child’
After more than a century of torment that saw the federal government strive to silence their languages and snuff their culture, aboriginal people packed Parliament to hear the prime minister say it for all Canadians: “We are sorry.”
Stephen Harper made the historic apology Wednesday in the House of Commons for generations of racist policy meant to “kill the Indian in the child.”
Eleven aboriginal guests of honour sat before him on chairs arranged in a native restitution circle, some trembling with emotion.
Above them, survivors of unspeakable abuse in federal schools geared to “Christianize” them clasped each other’s hands, bowed their heads, and cried.
“The treatment of children in Indian residential schools is a sad chapter in our history,” Harper told the extraordinary session of the Commons, reading from a text he helped draft with input from native advisers.
“The government of Canada sincerely apologizes and asks the forgiveness of the Aboriginal Peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly. We are sorry.”
Applause repeatedly rained down on aging survivors of the church-run schools as they sat a few steps from Harper.
But the most thunderous ovation was reserved for Assembly of First Nations national chief Phil Fontaine, who endured repeated sexual attacks as a little boy at the Fort Alexander residential school in Manitoba.
Wearing full Ojibway regalia and headdress, Fontaine was belatedly allowed to respond to the apology in the Commons after days of contentious resistance by the Conservatives. He made it one of his finest moments.
“Brave survivors, through telling their stories, have stripped white supremacy of its legitimacy,” he said to jubilant shouts and the rhythm of drumbeats. “Never again will this House consider us the Indian Problem just for being who we are.
“We are, and always have been, an indispensable part of the Canadian identity.”"Finally, we heard Canada say it is sorry," Fontaine said.
Fontaine said. "We heard the government of Canada take full responsibility."
He said the apology will go a long way toward repairing the relationship between aboriginals and the rest of Canada.
"Prime Minister, Chief Justice, members of the House, elders, survivors, Canadians, for our parents, our grandparents, great grandparents, indeed for all of the generations which have preceded us, this day testifies to nothing less than the achievement of the impossible."
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
The End is Nigh!
One day Sven & Ollie, local pastors, were seen pounding a sign into the ground, that said: "DA END ISS NEAR! TURN YERSELF AROUND NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE"
As a car sped past them, the driver leaned out his window and yelled, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"
From the curve we heard screeching tires and a big splash...
Rev. Ole turns to Pastor Sven and asks, "Do ya tink maybe da sign should yust say 'Bridge Out'?"
As a car sped past them, the driver leaned out his window and yelled, "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"
From the curve we heard screeching tires and a big splash...
Rev. Ole turns to Pastor Sven and asks, "Do ya tink maybe da sign should yust say 'Bridge Out'?"
Monday, June 09, 2008
The yearbook entry for these guys said "Most Unlikely to Succeed."
What a bunch of low draft picks
Henrik Zetterberg#40Left WingDetroit Red Wings Height: 5-11
Weight: 195
Shoots: Left
Born: Oct 9, 1980 - Njurunda, Sweden
Draft: 1999 - 7th round (210th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
Pavel Datsyuk#13CenterDetroit Red Wings Height: 5-11
Weight: 197
Shoots: Left
Born: Jul 20, 1978 - Sverdlovsk, USSR
Draft: 1998 - 6th round (171st overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
Valtteri Filppula#51CenterDetroit Red Wings Height: 6-0
Weight: 189
Shoots: Left
Born: Mar 20, 1984 - Vantaa, Finland
Draft: 2002 - 3rd round (95th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
Nicklas Lidstrom#5DefenseDetroit Red Wings Height: 6-1
Weight: 193
Shoots: Left
Born: Apr 28, 1970 - Vasteras, Sweden
Draft: 1989 - 3rd round (53rd overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
Johan Franzen#93CenterDetroit Red Wings Height: 6-3
Weight: 218
Shoots: Left
Born: Dec 23, 1979 - Vetlanda, Sweden
Draft: 2004 - 3rd round (97th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
Tomas Holmstrom#96Right WingDetroit Red Wings Height: 6-0
Weight: 202
Shoots: Left
Born: Jan 23, 1973 - Pitea, Sweden
Draft: 1994 - 10th round (257th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
And retreads and prodigal sons who had hit bottom
Darren McCarty#25Right WingDetroit Red Wings Height: 6-1
Weight: 210
Shoots: Right
Born: Apr 1, 1972 - Burnaby, British Columbia
Draft: 1992 - 2nd round (46th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
(Addicted, Broke and Divorced...he was given a second chance)
Daniel Cleary#11Right WingDetroit Red Wings Height: 6-0
Weight: 210
Shoots: Left
Born: Dec 18, 1978 - Carbonear, Newfoundland
Draft: 1997 - 1st round (13th overall) by the Chicago Blackhawks
(high draft pick that some said was washed up and uncomitted...he was given a second chance)
Kris Draper#33CenterDetroit Red Wings Height: 5-10
Weight: 190
Shoots: Left
Born: May 24, 1971 - Toronto, Ontario
Draft: 1989 - 3rd round (62nd overall) by the Winnipeg Jets
(purchased for the princely sum of $1 from the Winnipeg Jets...how humiliating)
Chris Osgood#30GoaltenderDetroit Red Wings Height: 5-10
Weight: 176
Shoots: Left
Born: Nov 26, 1972 - Peace River, Alberta
Draft: 1991 - 3rd round (54th overall) by the Detroit Red Wings
(underrated, underappreciated, seldom respected...this 3 time Cup Winner may yet be a Hall of Fame Goalie)
Humble beginnings for many and almost humble endings for others
yet they all found a way to make it happen for themselves and their fans.
What a Team.
According to some this is the house that love and humility built (by an unassuming Papa Ken Hollands).
Long may she stand.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
THE YEAR'S BEST [actual] HEADLINES OF 2007:
Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says
[No, really?]
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
[Now that's taking things a bit far!]
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
[No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so!]
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
[See if that works any better than a fair trial!]
War Dims Hope for Peace
[I can see where it might have that effect!]
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
[You think ?]
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
[Who would have thought!]
Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
[They may be on to something!]
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
[You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?]
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
[he probably IS the battery charge!]
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
[Weren't they fat enough?!]
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas
in Spacecraft
[That's what he gets for eating those beans!]
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
[Taste like chicken?]
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
[Chainsaw Massacre all over again!]
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
[Boy, are they tall!]
And the winner is....
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
[I wasn't much good in Biology but I think my teacher made it perfectly clear that this just isn't going to work.)]
[No, really?]
Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers
[Now that's taking things a bit far!]
Miners Refuse to Work after Death
[No-good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so!]
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
[See if that works any better than a fair trial!]
War Dims Hope for Peace
[I can see where it might have that effect!]
If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
[You think ?]
Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures
[Who would have thought!]
Enfield ( London ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide
[They may be on to something!]
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges
[You mean there's something stronger than duct tape?]
Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge
[he probably IS the battery charge!]
New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group
[Weren't they fat enough?!]
Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas
in Spacecraft
[That's what he gets for eating those beans!]
Kids Make Nutritious Snacks
[Taste like chicken?]
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
[Chainsaw Massacre all over again!]
Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
[Boy, are they tall!]
And the winner is....
Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over
[I wasn't much good in Biology but I think my teacher made it perfectly clear that this just isn't going to work.)]
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Victory is reconciliation not destruction
The world is overcome not through destruction, but through reconciliation. Not ideals, nor programs, nor conscience, nor duty, nor responsibility, nor virtue, but only God's perfect love can encounter reality and overcome it. Nor is it some universal idea of love, but rather the love of God in Jesus Christ, a love genuinely lived, that does this.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Meditations on the Cross
This love of God for the world does not withdraw from a reality into noble souls detached from the world, but experiences and suffers the reality of the world in the harshest possible fashion. The world takes out its rage on the body of Jesus Christ. But he, tormented, forgives the world its sins. Thus does reconciliation come about.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Meditations on the Cross
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Meditations on the Cross
This love of God for the world does not withdraw from a reality into noble souls detached from the world, but experiences and suffers the reality of the world in the harshest possible fashion. The world takes out its rage on the body of Jesus Christ. But he, tormented, forgives the world its sins. Thus does reconciliation come about.
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Meditations on the Cross
Monday, June 02, 2008
Healing for our time.
I sense that a new spirituality is being born in the church today, flowing from the wounded hearts of the weak and broken who are crying out for friendship. This friendship is also a source of healing for those who answer their cry.
- Jean Vanier
Spiritual Journeys
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