thoughts on the news of the day: compassion

hmmm…..

                The news today is that nursing homes in California are now taking convicted felons as residents.  I guess in a way that makes sense.  If a prisoner is incapacitated and the prison can’t handle his or her care, then why wouldn’t it be prudent to place them in a facility designed to give that care?

                Well, there are a few problems with that scenario.  First of all, how incapacitated are they really?  Are they still able to do physical harm to someone else?  Are they still able to plot and plan with criminals on the outside to do damage to others?  And what about the other residences of the facility, do they have a right to know that convicted felons live in the next room?

                I am reading a book right now that focuses on the aging population.  Most folks who live in nursing homes are 65+  so challenges and problems with care of the elderly is a non-trivial issue.  Did you know that we spend about as much on Medicare each year as we do at Wal-Mart?  I can’t wrap my head around either of those figures, but they are enormous.   So, we can’t pretend that housing criminals in the same place we care for the aged is not important because it is.

                Which brings me to this point:  In the end, we all need compassion.  Whether we are being punished for our sins, punished for our age, or punished for something else, we deserve the same compassion that Jesus gave to criminals, prostitutes, and tax collectors.  We are created with the gift of compassion, and it is criminal not to use it.

                hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: words

hmmm…..

                So, my daughter gave me a kindle fire for Christmas.  I really wanted one and was excited when I opened the box.  I brought it with me to Austin and to seminary … and I hate to admit it, but the technology eluded me.  Well…. I had also just acquired a new hp computer and  was working on getting it going.  And at my class at seminary, the library was my first source for books and articles. 

                So there I was last night.  I decided that it was THE night I was going to master this new toy and finally download some books on it.  Thanks to my portable WiFi device I got on amazon and found a book I needed for my class.  I downloaded it and guess what?  There it was!!! A font that was large enough to read and a lighted page so I could read in bed instead of having to squint because of poor lighting in my bedroom.  On top of that, I could still highlight sentences and take notes.

                OK, so what is unusual about the last two paragraphs?  On the one hand, not much; in a way, kinda deadly dull.  But as I began to write, it occurred to me, if this blog (there I go again) was catapulted back even ten years, the reader would have no idea what I was talking about.  Our vocabulary has changed and it is changing more and more each day.  Guess my only hope of keeping up is to make sure my New Oxford American Dictionary is close at hand …. The one on my kindle ….  After all, the printed one in my bookcase is dismally out of date.

                hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: signs

hmmm…..

                Really?  I usually try to stay away from controversial issues, but  I could not back away from  this one.  A woman in Cincinnati, OH who owns a duplex there, posted a sign on the property’s swimming pool that said “whites only”.  Really?  Can you feel my outrage pouring out from my screen to yours?  Would that mean that President Obama and his family could not swim in the pool?  The most powerful leader in the world banned from a pool?  Really?  The rest of the story is that the courts ruled that the sign “ violated the Civil Rights Act” and it was taken down.  Thank God. 

                We think those days of discrimination are over.  And then something crazy like this happens.  Guess we were wrong.  In some parts of the country, apparently discrimination is alive and well.

                But I want to say something about other "parts of the country".  I have never been there, but I know for a fact that Ohio is not all bad.  A good friend of mine who is all about freedom for all people,  lives in Cincinnati. 

                I met two women this week at Austin Seminary who are passionate and compassionate.  They each serve as pastors of churches in tiny towns in Ohio.  My guess is that there is no way they would ever support such nonsense as allowing a “whites only” sign anywhere.   So we can’t condemn Ohio on the grounds of one woman’s stupid sign.  But we can condemn racist behavior anywhere we see it.  It’s the right thing to do.

                hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: appreciative inquiry

hmmm…..

                In our seminary classes, this week we are learning about a form of research that is called “appreciative inquiry”.  It’s actually a really good process. It encourages the researcher to focus on the positive aspects of a need, problem or concern.  In other words, instead of asking something like, “Why don’t we have children in our church?”, the researcher asks “What is wonderful about your church?”

                I like to think of myself as a positive person.  An attitude of gratitude has long been a motto of mine and I intend to practice gratitude each day.  I look for the silver lining in a dark cloud and try to trust God that everything will work out.  I think bottom line, that’s probably what most people would like to do most of the time.  Think about movies or television shows.  Virtually all of them have a happy ending.  It is very rare for a movie with a downer ending to be successful at the box office.

                Sometimes, though, putting on a fake smile is a form of denial.  And sometimes insisting that a person who is in pain feign happiness is just plain cruel.  I am not talking about wallowing in grief.  I am not talking about suspending time while you torture yourself with sorrow and sadness.  What I am talking about is honestly facing your fears and your failures, your loves and your losses with courage, bravery and strength.

                That comes from a Source that is bigger than us; if you are in pain, may you find it today.

                hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: william carter

hmmm…..

                Here’s an interesting fact you may not know … today is the feast day of Blessed William Carter.  Catholics mark the day in honor of a man who published books for Catholics in 16^th century England  when no Catholics there were allowed to have them.  Some of his printing presses were so small that he could only print one page at a time, and on occasion, he had to resort to copying the books by hand.  He was imprisoned in the London tower and was tortured when Catholic books were found in his possession. Now he is celebrated as a near Saint of the church.

                I have been doing some research in the library at Austin Presbyterian Seminary.  The first thing that hits you when you walk in the library is the dust and the mold from the thousands of books housed in the building.  But once you settle in, the enormity of the collection can overwhelm you.  The catalogue of books can now only be viewed on line because it is so large and all that remains of the old card catalogue is a small bank of drawers left as a testament of days gone by.

                It’s easy to take for granted the freedom we have to read whatever we want to.  At the punch of a button we can download just about anything on our Kindle.  Millions of books are right at our fingertips; and we don’t have to take our life in our hands to read them.  Budding authors can even present their books for reading as if they were best sellers. I have a friend who is doing that with a novel he wrote.

                Today on William Carter’s feast day would be a good time to be grateful for the freedom we have to learn what we want, to read what we like, to share it with friends and family without fear.  Today is a good day.

                hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: rural

hmmm…..

                To say that I live in a rural area would definitely be an understatement.  My little town is nestled between two pristine lakes and a lovely river that has some of the best trout fishing in the country.  Oh, sure, we have our own Wal-Mart, grocery store and post office; but barely outside the city limits you will find winding country roads with no shoulders, an occasional deer bouncing in front of your car and very little in between.

                Our church is not so rural.  First of all, we are across the street from the city park, so we get lots of traffic passing by.  Our building is not white clapboard, but red brick and white trim with a lovely uptown courtyard in between the sanctuary and the church offices and classrooms.  More importantly, our congregation is cosmopolitan.  It consists of retirees from northern states with big cities.  So the world view is broad and the experience of our members is vast.

                The county is not the same.  There are cabins in the woods with no electricity and no water.  And folks live in them full time, not just when they are on a deer hunting excursion.  The cultures meet at our local free clinic.  Our members actively volunteer there; some of them retired medical personnel, some just compassionate  caregivers.  They assist diabetics who are too able for Medicaid and too young for Medicare.  They make sure that teeth are repaired to present even further damage.  In between, they offer a friendly smile or a kindly hug. 

                Some people might look at our church and say that there is no mission work being done, but I say, look around town, because we are everywhere.

                hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: homesickness

hmmm…..

                It’s like being away at camp.  I have been taking a class in Austin, TX for a graduate program and today marks its second week.  Homesickness has definitely set in.  Seeing my daughter over the weekend helped a lot, but I miss my friends at home.

                It is different now than in year’s past.  When I went to Girl Scout camp, there were no smart phones, internet, facebook or even cheap long distance rates, not mention free long distance on cell phones.  The only mode of communication open to us was letter writing.  I yearned for the letters Mom would write and even though my best friend was usually at camp with me, we both needed that touch of home.

                The communication opportunities of this trip away from home have definitely been different than the days of camp years ago.  This morning I got two welcomed emails from members of my church. They were just chatty notes about things that were happening and people they had seen.  It made me feel a lot closer to them than the hundreds of miles that keep us apart right now.  And then there is my phone.  I can talk to friends and family at the touch of a button and at virtually no cost at all, save the monthly fee that comes regularly.

                All this to say, pick up the phone today, jot off an email or if you are really ambitious, try a card with an actual stamp.  Your friends and family will love it.

                hmmm…..