thoughts on the news of the day: bumper stickers

hmmm…..

            You don’t see many bumper stickers on cars and trucks anymore.  Plastic bumpers and special paint finishes have all but rendered them obsolete.  The new vehicle for bumper stickers has now become facebook.  Placards, pictures and status statements all succinctly voice a point of view on topics common and current. 

            Most of the statements reflect this week’s events:  Steve Jobs death, the march on Wall Street, Yom Kippur and the budget cuts that state and federal governments face.      Here are a few I gleaned from my facebook postings today:

            “Those who can teach, those who cannot pass laws about teaching.”

            “Judging a person does not define who they are.  It defines who you are.”

            “Steve (Jobs) made choices.  I once asked him if he was glad that he had kids, and he said, ‘It’s 10,000 times better than anything I’ve ever done.’”

            “99% of the world’s cookies are consumed by 1% of the monsters.  #occupy sesame street”

            “In 1776 we separated our government from England.  In 2012 we will separate Government from the corporations”

            “If you judge people you don’t have time to love them” –Mother Theresa

            “You know things are messed up when librarians start marching”

            It’s what I found on my facebook page today.  I don’t know if I agree with any or all of them, but I know I agree with this one:

            “I love people watching.”

            hmmm…..

           

thoughts on the news of the day: yom kippur

hmmm…..

            Tonight at sundown the Jewish High Holy Day of Yom Kippur begins.  It is commonly called the Day of Atonement.  It is a day to ask for forgiveness from God and to be cleansed from all sin.  “For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you that you be cleansed from all of your sins before God” is from Leviticus 16:30 and this scripture passage gives the basis for Yom Kippur. 

            A Day of Atonement – a day when we ask for forgiveness for our sins. Wonder what it would be like if everyone took a day out of their life to acknowledge their sin and ask for forgiveness for it.  Roman Catholics have the sacrament of confession.  It is a private acknowledgement of wrong doings and has a prescriptive for atoning for those sins.  In the Presbyterian Church we have what we call a corporate prayer of confession during the Sunday morning worship service.  This is a time when we confess together the shortcomings of the larger world. 

            But what if there was one day set aside for the whole world – for people of all faiths and for people of no faith where we say, “I was wrong, and I need forgiveness in order to put my life back on track.”  What if friends, family, neighbors, and leaders of all kinds in our cities and in our world looked at their lives, their behavior and their policies and then asked forgiveness for them?   Wow!  What if?

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: nobel prize

hmmm…..

            The 2011 Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to Tomas Transtromer, a Swedish poet.  The Swedish Academy that awards the prize said of Traontromer:  “through his condensed, translucent images, he gives us fresh access to reality.”  Mr. Transtromer, also known as a psychologist was stricken with a stroke in 1990 which render him unable to speak. In spite of this infirmity, he went on to publish a collection of poems titled, “The Great Enigma.”

            Transtromer wrote:

            Mission: to be where I am.

            even in that ridiculous, deadly serious

            role – I am the place

            where creation is working itself out.

            It is a brilliant quote to me because it is so much where we all are.  Creation is working itself in each one of us daily.  And we can choose whether we want to be a part of that creation, or reject it and suffer the consequences of that rejection.

            Each day is a new one in which we can be a part of the creation which God provides.  So go out there and create!  You may not win the Nobel Prize, but our world will be all the better for it.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: etiquette

hmmm…..

            It was bound to happen.  Some might say it was way over due.  Dale Carnegie’s long time classic, “How to Win Friends and Influence People” has now embraced the digital age.  In fact, new the revised edition is named, “How to Win Friends and Influence People in the Digital Age”.  Isn’t it ironic that the original book used “friends” in the title, and, thanks to facebook, “friends” has a whole new meaning these days.  The book gives information about how to behave in an eWorld which, in my opinion is long overdue.

            Another classic self-help classic has also been revised.  “Emily Post’s Etiquette: Manners for a New World” addresses electronic communication of all kinds.  For example, the book encourages readers not to text in theaters because the light from the phone is distracting to other patrons.   It also reminds us to remember that our boss owns our email, so it is wise to take care what we say there.  A lot of what she says in the book is common sense, but it is valid, nonetheless.  

            I think it is important to watch what we say in email because it can easily be misinterpreted.  Abrupt, terse emails can be construed as distant and insensitive when really the writer might have just been in a hurry.  But still, the damage has been done.  I make it a rule never to write an email in response to an emotional issue.  It’s better to pick up the phone and talk; or even better yet, walk down the hall and talk to the person face to face.

            All that to say; it’s never too late to learn good manners.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: trials

hmmm.....

            Amanda Knox is all over the news today.  The Italian courts overthrew the murder verdict and she will go free.  She is traveling back to her home in Seattle and will begin the rest of her life.  Meanwhile, the Michael Jackson trial is in full swing with lawyers jockeying for position and judges making rulings in the murder case. 

            Why are we so fascinated with murder trials?  Remember the O.J. Simpson trial?  People were glued to their televisions as O.J. tried to put on the glove.  The Casey Anthony trial was all over the news this summer and then the trial of Amanda Knox.   Dr. Conrad Murray is now being tried in the death of Michael Jackson.  We all watch in anticipation of the outcome – you know we do.

            Is it the murder mystery entangled in each trial that ignites our imagination?  Do we evaluate the clues as if it were a CSI story?  Are we hoping to out smart the lawyers and the judges in our critique of the evidence? 

            Or maybe it is the desire for justice to be done.  Whether it is conviction or acquittal, we want justice to be served.  We want the bad guys to go to jail and the good guys to go free.  And do we wonder, what if I was in the same situation, how would I react?

            In all of the excitement and drama of the court room, I hope that someone out there is praying for the victim and their families.  Perhaps someone is praying for those accused and their lawyers.  Maybe the judges and juries get lifted up in prayer by someone.  Maybe that someone is you.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: cyber stuff

hmmm.....

Today at 2:35 p.m. EST. George Stephanopoulos of ABC news will interview President Obama and viewers are invited to ask questions. What is unusual about this interview is that it will be streamed live on yahoo.com.  In other words, you can ask the president questions and he will answer them right on the internet.  Cyber communication is being used more and more by newsmakes as a tool to get the word out about them.  Sure, we all know about texting, skype, iPhones and iPads (which by the way are still red lined on my Microsoft Word program).  But this different, the conversation is with a national figure.

We are bring communion to our shut-ins today.  This means that the people who are not able to make it to church on Sunday are visited and offered the elements from yesterday's service.  We have a long list of those who cannot come.  People who are in nursing homes, assisted living and home bound because of illness are all candidates for this service.  The problem is that we have so many who are in need of communion that we will be hard pressed to get to all of them today.

Bue we will do the best we can.  There is nothing to substitute for receiving the elements together.  Cyber communion is just not an option.  Hopefully, for our church, it never will be.
hmmm.....

thoughts on the news of the day: doctors

hmmm…..

            If you have your PhD. in Nursing and you are a nurse, would you be called “Doctor”?  If you are a medical doctor (M.D.) would you resent others in the medical profession being called “Doctor”?   This is becoming an issue as more pharmacists, nurses and physicals therapists earn doctorate degrees. 

            It would be confusing, wouldn’t it?  How would you know who was a medical doctor and who wasn’t?  And does it matter?  More and more nurse practitioners are making diagnoses and prescribing medications.  Certainly they can identify an earache and prescribe medications, but what about more serious ailments that have similar symptoms?  And do MDs have that much better ability to ferret out those diseases?  Isn’t it more or less instinct anyway?

            I think if you have earned the degree you have the right to be called the name assigned to that particular degree.  However, I also think that people who are not MD’s should not in any way disguise the fact that they are not bona fide medical doctors.

            It’s a problem and it’s not going away.  A lot of it has to do with ego.  In our Presbyterian system, more and more Certified Lay Pastors are being called to serve churches who can’t afford full time ordained ministers. I spent three long hard years and a bucket load of money to obtain my degree and ordination and now am called Rev. for a reason.  But maybe my ego is getting in the way, too.

            We are here to serve.  Ministers, Doctors and Nurses are each called in their own way to do the work that God has for them to do.  Perhaps we should keep that first and foremost and leave our egos at the door.

            hmmm…..