newSpin 101129
November 29, 2010
The newSpin newsletter, Nov. 29, 2010
By Bill Lewellis
Published Mondays and Thursdays
Diocese of Bethlehem
• My Father's House at St. Luke's Lebanon ... dedicated for transitional housing. More here.
• Advent speaks to us of longing, darkness and hope ... Read Bishop Paul's Advent message appears on page 2 of the December issue of Diocesan Life, and may be downloaded here.
• St. Brigid's Episcopal Youth Community ... (1) The Episcopal Youth Community of St Brigid's Nazareth collected food items for a Thanksgiving meal which was delivered to POWER, a wellness and recovery program in Lehighton which has at least 20 consumers undergoing dire circumstances. For EYC were Matt Potter, Andrew Potter, Michelle Potter and Kathy Potter, John Bernardo, Ekaterina Riefkohl, Brad Tintle and Sebastian Riefkohl. EYC is forming a long term commitment to their friends in POWER. (2) St. Brigid's is holding its EYC Annual Advent Lock-In, December 10-11 from 7:30p.m. to 11a.m. All Episcopal youth grades 6 to 12 are welcome. Reply by Dec. 5 to Alvia Riefkohl at (908)451-0556.
• Vocare retreat venue changed to St. Francis Retreat Center, Bethlehem. More here.
• New Hope's Faith Journey ... A photo story in the Oct-Dec newsletter of Kajo Keji. Download it here.
• Paying homage to the New World's 'illegal immigrants' ... [By Brian Pavlac, chair of the History Department at King’s College in Wilkes-Barre and a priest of the Diocese of Bethlehem, is the author of “Witch Hunts in the Western World: Persecution and Punishment from the Inquisition through the Salem Trials.”] Our “Pilgrim fathers” were some of the first illegal immigrants to arrive in what is now the United States. Read all of Brian's Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, column here.
• Thanks on the Threes ... Read a column by Bill Lewellis here.
• December/January Diocesan Life ... Download it here.
• Calendar of Events ... in and around the Diocese of Bethlehem, updated Nov. 10.
• 12 Days of Christmas for Kajo Keji ... [From Jo Trepagnier, 610-434-0155] The Diocese of Kajo Keji supports eight primary schools (of which five are New Hope Schools) Currently, these schools have very little support from the government of Sudan and rely on volunteer teachers and donations. You can support one of these classrooms by adopting a classroom for $150. Your support will buy stationery, pencils, and test books. Your donation will change these children's lives. There are many other options from scholarships, solar lanterns, goats and fruit trees. Thank you for your support and please feel free to call me if you have any questions. Download a pdf file here. An ad appears also in December's Diocesan Life which should arrive in homes toward the end of November. In the meantime, you may download December's Diocesan Life here, and see page 3.
• Montrose Crafters Corners and Holiday Bazaar ... Dec. 4. Here.
• A free children's music experience at Trinity West Pittston ... [From John Major, rector] Trinity Episcopal Church of West Pittston will host a free pre-holiday children's music experience. On Wednesday, December 8 at 5:15 p.m., children from infant through age 5 and their parent or other adult caregiver will have a chance to experience the joy of making music in a playful, age-appropriate way. The event will include a free demonstration of Music Together ®, a relaxed music program where infants, toddlers, preschoolers and the grown-ups who love them learn to share and appreciate songs, rhythms and simple instruments in a fun, interactive way. Santa Claus will also stop by for a sing-a-long and visit with the children. The evening of fun and music is free and open to the public, but reservations are requested. Trinity Episcopal Church is located at the corner of Spring Street and Montgomery Avenue in West Pittston. For more information or reservations, call 570-654-3261. For more information on Trinity's MUSICare Project featuring Music Together visit www.trinityepiscopalchurchwestpittston.org.
• Christmas Cookie Sale at St. Andrew's ... Dec. 18. See the parish website.
• News/Info/Commentary sources from The Diocese of Bethlehem ... (1) The newSpin blog. (2) The Diobeth website. Enter your name and email address in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side of the website. You will find quite a few public news and info lists there. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of them. "Bakery" is the diocesan interactive list. (3) Twitter
• Find earlier issues of the newSpin newsletter here and recent ones in the left column here.
Worship and Prayer
• Advent speaks to us of longing, darkness and hope ... Bishop Paul's column appears on page 2 of the December issue of Diocesan Life, and may be downloaded here.
• Presiding Bishop's Advent message ... Two-minute video here.
• d365.org, a daily online devotional series created and produced by a student ministry organization focused on creating meaningful experiences and resources for students, is sponsored by three denominational partners.
• World AIDS Day Service at the Cathedral ... Wednesday, Dec. 1, 6p.m. A candlelight service of hope and healing. The service will include readings and healing prayers for all those whose lives have been touched by HIV/AIDS, and takes full advantage of the Cathedral’s extensive music program. The evening’s worship will include Bach’s Partita in A Minor for flute, with soloist Justin Holguin, a Fantasie by Telemann, and traditional Anglican music for choir and organ under the direction of Canon Precentor Russell Jackson. This is the second annual service for World AIDS Day at the Cathedral, and the tradition grew out of a sense that, with advances in treatment, the disease is no longer seen by society as a health crisis- even as rates of infection climb, particularly among young women of color, who account for more than 25% of all new infections. A staggering 20% of the estimated 1 million Americans living with HIV/AIDS are unaware of their infection status. The service is open to the public.
• Advent Meditation and Prayers from Seminary of the Southwest ... Here.
• Trinity Wall Street's online Advent Calendar ... Here.
• Before saying Grace, consider what you're thankful for ... "Gratitude is a discipline," said Hulitt Gloer, professor at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. "It is something that we learn so we are able to practice it in the good times and in the difficult times." "The small things are really the big things," Sarason said. In some ways, focusing on the so-called "small things" is the key to finding gratitude. Thomas Troeger, professor of Christian communication at Yale Divinity School, calls them "the elemental simplicities of life." "They are extraordinary gifts that we take for granted, that we have a heartbeat, that we breathe, that we have water to drink, that there is air to breathe." Finding gratitude for these things requires us to recognize a power greater than our own, he said. More here.
• See "Thanks on the Threes" above ...
The Episcopal Church/The Anglican Communion
• A pie in the face for Rowan? Or an opportunity? ... [Andrew Gerns, at Episcopal Café] The General Synod sent the Covenant out to the dioceses of the Church of England to debate. This was supposed to be Rowan's last gasp but timing of the GAFCON statement --right after the vote -- was a pie in the face for him and the whole idea. It appears that the very people for whom he spent all his spiritual capital have left him holding the bag. But it does not have to be. Lesley Fellows, the Church of England convener and international moderator of the No Anglican Covenant Coalition suggests an alternative. More here.
• Arson in the Diocese of Northern California ... Sacramento fire officials have determined that a fire that destroyed offices of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California was deliberately set. ENS story here.
• The Episcopal Church Women ... Find the latest eCommuniqué here.
• Weekly roundup of Anglican news ... Nov. 13-18, Nov. 20-26.
• News/Info/Commentary sources from The Episcopal Church ... (1) NewsLine (2) News & Notices (3) Infoline (4) Episcopal News Service (5) Website (6) Twitter (7) Facebook (8) YouTube
• News/Info/Commentary sources from other Episcopal sources ... (1) The Lead, Episcopal Cafe (2) Daily Episcopalian, Episcopal Cafe (3) AngicansOnline
• ENS Weekly bulletin inserts ... Inserts for December 2, feature an Advent message from the Presiding Bishop and her meeting with Sudanese refugees in Salt Lake City and their longing for eace in their native land. Full text of inserts may be found and downloaded here.
Beyond the Bounds
• Wrong scientific beliefs that were held for long periods ... [John B. Chilton, Episcopal Café] Richard Thaler is writing a new book and sought the help of Edge contributors: "I am doing research for a new book and would hope to elicit informed responses to the following question: The flat earth and geocentric world are examples of wrong scientific beliefs that were held for long periods. Can you name your favorite example and for extra credit why it was believed to be true? Please note that I am interested in things we once thought were true and took forever to unlearn. I am looking for wrong scientific beliefs that we've already learned were wrong, rather than those the respondent is predicting will be wrong which makes it different from the usual Edge prediction sort of question." More here.
• Pope Benedict XVI sought to "kick-start a debate" when he said condom use may sometimes be justified, Vatican insiders told the AP, and boy did he ever. On Tuesday, the Vatican said using condoms to prevent the greater evil of HIV transmission also applies to women - even if that means averting a potential pregnancy, according to the AP - a significant philosophical shift since just last year for the pontiff. Africans, who are beset by an AIDS crisis, are listening closely. Moral theologians, health care workers, and other Catholics continue to try to parse Pope Benedict XVI's condom comments. Conservatives are generally taking the nothing-new-to-see-here-move-along-folks line, while more progressive Catholics call the comments a "game changer" for the church. "It's a mess," the president of the National Catholic Bioethics Center tells the AP's Rachel Zoll. The Washington Post takes a look at how the Vatican's arguments on contraception have shifted over time. [From RNS daily blog]
• Suffering Haitians turn to charismatic prayer ... [Anne Barnard, NYTimes] Many Haitians in their home country and in the United States answered the suffering from January's earthquake by embracing charismatic Catholicism. More here.
Leadership
• Andy Crouch: Love and the risk of innovation ... Real innovation requires risk, which requires trust, says journalist and author Andy Crouch. And trust, he adds, doesn’t happen without love. Interview and Video.
• Where do ideas come from? ... Read Seth Godin's blog here. [H/T to Peter Carey, Episcopal Cafe]
Opinion/Commentary
• Evangelizing this Christmas ... Remember Gary Nicolosi, onetime assistant at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity? Back in Canada, Gary is rector of St James Westminster Anglican Church in London, Ontario. He has written a "guest opinion" in The Anglican Journal on "What can your church do to evangelize this Christmas?" Read it here. [H/T to Ann Fontaine at Episcopal Cafe]
• Where donations go astray ... [Nicholas Kristof, NYTimes] Read here.
• God won't let us get too hot ... Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) is running to be the head of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which has a key role in climate policy. And he created a stir a couple weeks ago after he reiterated his belief that global warming is not a problem because God has promised he wouldn't destroy the Earth again after Noah's flood. More here.
• Church of England must relinguish its association with power and pomp ... [The Guardian, United Kingdom] This week, and with it the Queen's visit to the General Synod, has been a chance for high-ranking Anglicans to imagine they still matter. And they have another thrill to come, playing host to the biggest royal wedding in a generation – another occasion for silk and grandeur. More here.
• Winning the class war ... [Bob Herbert, NYTimes] The class war that no one wants to talk about continues unabated. Even as millions of out-of-work and otherwise struggling Americans are tightening their belts for the holidays, the nation’s elite are lacing up their dancing shoes and partying like royalty as the millions and billions keep rolling in. Recessions are for the little people, not for the corporate chiefs and the titans of Wall Street who are at the heart of the American aristocracy. They have waged economic warfare against everybody else and are winning big time. More here.
Health
• Noisy Toys ... [Center for Hearing and Communication] Some toys are not as much fun as they look. Many toys designed to stimulate children can be dangerously loud. For the infant or child whose arms are shorter than those of an adult and most typically listens to these toys close to the small, sensitive ear, the risk is even greater. More here. [H/T Diana Marshall]
• Radiation worries for children in dentists' chairs ... [NYTimes] Because children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to radiation, doctors three years ago mounted a national campaign to protect them by reducing diagnostic radiation to only those levels seen as absolutely necessary. It is a message that has resonated in many clinics and hospitals. Yet there is one busy place where it has not: the dental office. More here.
Media
• 'Imagine Better': Can Harry Potter change the world? ... Stories are dangerous. They have the ability to re-make the world; to take us outside of ourselves, and make real the experiences, feelings, and situations of other people in other places. Stories activate our imaginations and rearrange the furniture of our minds. This is why narrative—may it take the form of myth, folklore, parable, or history—has always been such an integral part of religious life and the formation of religious imagination. More here.
• On Faith ... [Washington Post] A conversation on Religion and Politics with Sally Quinn. Here.
• Muhammad: A Story of the Last Prophet ... [Spencer Bailey, The Daily Beast] Deepak Chopra’s semi-fictionalized biography of the founder of Islam, is an intricate, deeply considered depiction of the Prophet’s life. At a time when Muhammad is largely misunderstood outside (and sometimes inside) of the Muslim world, the novel gives a vivid voice to his story. “Islam has been branded with barbarity in a unique way, in part because, in its zeal to maintain the Prophet’s world as well as his word, the customs of antiquity have been preserved into modern times,” writes Chopra in the introduction. “I portray Mecca as it really was, which means in all its hardness and brutality.” Through various narrators—a slave, a merchant, a Jewish writer, a nurse, the Prophet’s wife and children, and others—Chopra reveals that holiness in the seventh century was, just as it is today, all at once complicated, frightening, and thrilling. Muhammad, most of all, tells the inspirational—and epic!—story of how the Prophet, by turning inward, transformed the world forever.
• Men of Words ... [NYTimes Magazine] In 2010, we lost four towering figures in the world of words. They all shared a deep and abiding love of the English language, though they expressed that love in distinctly different ways. Two made impassioned public cries against perceived abuses of English, while two others worked meticulously behind the scenes to record the ever-evolving richness of the linguistic landscape. More here.
Tech
• The Google iPhone app, free ... You can find Google through your mobile browser, but the app is a major time-saver. The voice search function is seamless. A recent update put the "Goggles" service within the app, so you can snap a photo and let Google search for information on that object. And given Google’s emphasis on mobile, the app will continue to improve. [H/T to the NYTimes Personal Tech by Bob Tedeschi]
• Star Walk iPhone app, $3 ... Point your phone toward the heavens and this app identifies all you see — constellations, planets, individual stars — in brilliant clarity. If you pivot in another direction, the app follows. You needn’t have a clear view of the sky to experience the starry night. [H/T to the NYTimes Personal Tech by Bob Tedeschi]
• Redlaser iPhone app, free ... Scan a bar code and it retrieves product information, including prices at online merchants and local stores. The app’s scans sometimes fail, but more often than not RedLaser works smoothly. [H/T to the NYTimes Personal Tech by Bob Tedeschi]
Spinning
• "Conversation is a game with some hard rules: say only what you mean; say it as accurately as you can; listen to and respect what the other says, however different or other; be willing to correct or defend your opinions if challenged by the conversation partner; be willing to argue if necessary, to confront if demanded, to endure necessary conflict, to change your mind if the evidence suggests it." –David Tracy, in Plurality and Ambiguity, p. 19. Compare this with my signature line, "Be attentive, be intelligent, etc."
• "I get paid to be paranoid, and so do you." Philip Burdette, federal security director at the Baltimore airport, giving a pep talk to security workers.
• View a three-minute fictional argument on the Anglican Covenant here.
• The Pope is not coming to the Tea Party.
• "We are the front lines of climate change. No one who has a house here is a skeptic." [Norfolk VA where tidal flooding is a growing problem.] More here.
• No need to kvetch, Yiddish lives on in Catskills. More here.
• Michael Vick: A lesson in public redemption ... Here.
• A dollar ain't what it used to be ... See this inflation calculator. [H/T Joe Jackloski]
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Send info about newSpin to friends you think may be interested ... newSpin is an electronic newsletter that includes news, information and commentary related to the Diocese of Bethlehem, the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion and the world of religion ... with some spin, of course, from the editor. It is edited by retired communication minister Bill Lewellis and ordinarily published twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday. The newSpin newsletter is currently received by some 1,200 people, many of whom forward it to many others. To have it emailed directly to you, subscribe at the "Get Connected" box on the right column of www.diobeth.org. Select newSpin under the groups. You may find samples of the newSpin newsletter on the left column of the newSpin blog, www.diobeth.typepad.com.
About the newSpin newsletter ... Composed at least weekly (usually twice a week) by Bill Lewellis, the newSpin newsletter appears as a post within the newSpin blog, but newsletter and blog are not identical. The newsletter comes, of course, with some spin from the editor, but the views expressed, implied or inferred in items or links contained in the newsletter or the blog do not represent the official view of the Diocese of Bethlehem unless expressed by or forwarded from the Bishop or the Archdeacon as an official communication. Comments may be addressed to Bill.
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