Obama resigns from controversial church

ABERDEEN, South Dakota (Reuters) - Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama has resigned from Trinity United Church of Christ, his spokesman said on Saturday, further distancing himself from a source of controversy as he gears up for the general election.

Controversial sermons at Obama's longtime church in Chicago have plagued the Illinois senator, who is close to clinching the Democratic nomination to run against Republican John McCain in the November election.

Obama's spokesman, Robert Gibbs, gave no details, but said Obama had sent a letter resigning from the church he has attended for 16 years. Obama, who would be the first black U.S. president, was expected to make some comments on his decision later in the day, Gibbs said.
Last month, Obama cut ties with his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, who angered many with anti-American and racially charged sermons.

Just as controversy over Wright had died down, a Roman Catholic priest mocked Obama's rival Hillary Clinton during a guest appearance at Trinity United.

In his sermon the priest, Michael Pfleger, screamed and imitated Clinton and accused her of espousing "white entitlement." Pfleger later apologized for his comments and was condemned by Obama and the archbishop of Chicago.

The decision to quit the church appeared to be a sign that Obama wants to put the issue behind him ahead of the November general election.

Obama has attended Trinity United since 1992 and Wright presided over Obama's marriage and baptized his two daughters.

In an effort to quell the controversy over Wright, Obama gave a widely praised speech in March calling for racial healing and offering a nuanced view of Wright, denouncing the pastor's remarks but declining to disown him.

But then Wright made a series of public appearances and stood by his inflammatory comments. He has blamed the U.S. government for the spread of the AIDS virus, declared "God damn America" and blasted the country's history of racism.

Obama was reportedly furious and finally cut ties with Wright last month. He condemned the minister's comments as "outrageous" and "appalling."

Wright's comments posed problems for Obama because they contradicted one of his campaign's central messages -- that he can transcend past divisions such as those involving race.

Obama, the son of a white woman from Kansas and a black man from Kenya, has attracted strong support in some heavily white states such including Wyoming, Iowa and Wisconsin.
Political analysts questioned whether Obama's links to Wright might hurt him in the general election.

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Soldier suicide rate hits record high

WASHINGTON - Army soldiers committed suicide in 2007 at the highest rate on record, and the toll is climbing ever higher this year as long war deployments stretch on.

At least 115 soldiers killed themselves last year, up from 102 the previous year, the Army said yesterday.

Nearly a third of them died at the battlefront, 32 in Iraq and four in Afghanistan. But 26 percent had never been deployed to either conflict.

The Rest of the Story

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BOOK REVIEW: Here if You Need Me

Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (August 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0316066303
ISBN-13: 978-0316066303
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches

Available from Amazon

I started to read this book because the author was coming to the annual fire chaplains retreat/meeting. I bought it and then it sat on my to be read pile for about a month or so before I started to read it. When I began, I could not put it down. This book is wonderful and if you are in the helping professions you need to read this book.

Kate Braestrup is the chaplain for the Maine Warden Service and she takes you thorough many of the cases that she deals with on a regular basis. The hitch in the story is that she lost her husband, a Maine State Trooper, in a car accident and went to seminary after the funeral. She is a Unitarian Universilist Minister and ministers to her flock as well as her family is ways that go beyond description.

She does an amazing job weaving her story in with stories of rescue missions and search and rescue missions as well as riding along with the Wardens as they do their job on a day to day basis all while caring for her young family.

The book does not end but is in fact a continuing story that really does not have an end. As a fire chaplain I find many things in this book that I can relate too but one does not need to be a chaplain to understand where she is coming from and what she is all about. She is all about helping people regardless of their faith orientation. She is what it means to be a chaplain. The book is an easy read and would be great for beach reading this summer.

I also had the opportunity to hear her speak and tell the stories first hand and she is truly an amazing person and writer. I highly recommend her book. Sphere: Related Content

Spike in PTSD Cases Among Returning Veterans

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) cases among veterans returning from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars rose 46.4 percent in 2007, Reuters reported May 27.

The U.S. military reported 13,891 new PTSD cases in 2007, up from 9,549 in 2006. In the past five years, more than 38,000 PTSD cases have been documented among U.S. military personnel, mostly among the Army and Marines.

Longer, multiple tours of combat duty ordered by the Bush administration received blame for the trend, although experts also said that the military is doing a better job of identifying individuals with PTSD.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently ordered a policy change that allows soldiers to seek help for PTSD without jeopardizing their military careers.

A Rand Corp. study estimated that 18.5 percent of military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan showed signs of PTSD or depression.

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Nothing is Simple

Today I had to go and renew my car insurance. Usually you don't have to do anything. The registry of Motor Vehicles sends you a little form in the mail and you send in your $41 and they send you a new little sticker for your tag. Well I needed a stamp from my insurance agent who is 2 hours away. I never changed agents when I came here, how often do you need to go to your agent for anything? So I drove to Worcester to the agent that does the church insurance and took care of that, then 1 hour at the registry. All done for 2 more years.

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Facing East #21

Episode #21 of the Facing East podcast is now online.

PODCAST

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Lifelong illnesses feared for children in Katrina trailers

First the wind, then the water, now the Goverment is here to help! These poor people.

BAY ST. LOUIS, MISS. - The anguish of Hurricane Katrina should have ended for Gina Bouffanie and her daughter when they left their FEMA trailer. But with each hospital visit and each labored breath her child takes, the young mother fears it has just begun.

"It's just the sickness. I can't get rid of it. It just keeps coming back," said Bouffanie, 27, who was pregnant with her now 15-month-old daughter, Lexi, while living in the trailer. "I'm just like, Oh God, I wish like this would stop.' If I had known it would get her sick, I wouldn't have stayed in the trailer for so long."

The girl, diagnosed with severe asthma, must inhale medicine from a breathing device.

The Rest of the Story

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With aid of technology, preaching to the wired

Now we just need to move the Orthodox Church into the 21st century, oh wait let's move into the 20th century first!

NEWTON - Saying evangelicals have gotten too far ahead of mainline Protestants in the use of technology to reach out to the unchurched, a liberal Protestant seminary here is launching a new program to train future clergy in high-tech evangelization.

The seminary, Andover Newton Theological School, is joining the Massachusetts Bible Society in establishing a media center that will also coach pastors on creating better websites and podcasts, train seminarians on the liturgical uses of video, and offer material on biblical interpretation to congregations and clergy around the country.

The two venerable organizations - Andover Newton says it is the oldest graduate theological institution in the nation, while the Massachusetts Bible Society has been distributing Bibles for 199 years - are trying to reinvent themselves for the modern era.

The Rest of the Story

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Peacekeepers accused of sexual abuse of children

So if things were not bad enough for these poor people now we have this!

UNITED NATIONS - The British-based aid agency Save the Children UK said in a report released yesterday that it has uncovered evidence of widespread sexual abuse of children at the hands of peacekeepers and international aid workers in war zones and disaster areas.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, expressing "deep concern," said the United Nations will investigate the allegations that its peacekeepers are involved in the abuse.

The report, based on field research in southern Sudan, Ivory Coast, and Haiti, describes a litany of sexual crimes committed by peacekeepers and relief workers against children as young as 6.
It said some children were denied food aid unless they granted sexual favors; others were forced to have sex or to take part in child pornography; many more were subjected to improper touching or kissing.

The Rest of the Story

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Orthodox bishop shares Communion with Catholics

Timisoara , May. 27, 2008 (CWNews.com) - A Romanian Orthodox bishop has shared Communion with Catholics, causing a sensation in a country where Byzantine Catholics and Orthodox have a history of tense relations.

At the consecration of the Queen of Peace parish church in Timisoara on May 25, Orthodox Metropolitan Nicolae Corneanu of Banat asked to share Communion. The Orthodox metropolitan approached the altar and received the Eucharist from his own hand.

Romanian Catholic Bishop Alexandru Mesian of Lugoj was the celebrant of the Divine Liturgy in the Byzantine Catholic church; Archbishop Francisco-Javier Lozano, the apostolic nuncio to Romania, was also present.

Although Orthodox and Catholic bishops often join in ecumenical services, and occasionally participate in each other's liturgical ceremonies, they do not share Communion-- an indication of the breach in ecclesial communion between the Orthodox churches and the Holy See. In Romania, tensions between the Orthodox Church and the Eastern-rite Romanian Catholic Church have been pronounced, adding to the surprise created by Metropolitan Corneanu's action.

With some Orthodox believers outraged by the metropolitan's sharing Communion with Catholic bishops, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Romania issued a statement saying that at the next meeting of the Orthodox synod, in July, Metropolitan Corneanu "may be asked to give an appropriate explanation" for his action.

The statement from the Orthodox patriarchate went on to say that ecumenical relations with the Catholic Church, "already quite fragile, cannot be helped, but are rather complicated," by sharing in Communion.

Metropolitan Corneanu-- who was one of the first Orthodox bishops to admit that he had cooperated with the secret police under the Communist regime-- has a record of friendship with Romanian Catholics. He was among the few Orthodox leaders prepared to return church properties that had been seized by the Communist government from Catholic ownership in 1948 and handed over to Orthodox control.

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Memorial Day

Today in the US we celebrate Memorial Day so I thought I would do a little post on that theme. Today is not a day for me to rail on about the political side of war or to protest what is being done by the US around the world. Today we pause to remember those who served us by serving us and paid the ultimate price, their own life. Veterans are afraid that Memorial Day is becoming just another day off for people and they are forgetting what the day is all about. I am off in a few to go to the local parade in honor of the day and I am sure the crowd will be very thin. I am driving one of the fire trucks in the parade and we have had a hard time getting people to come in and work today. Put the beer down, leave the hamburger on the plate and remember for a moment those who have gone before us.

Memorial Day was started as Decoration Day after the Civil War since everyone in the country was affected by this war in one way or another. 620,000 died in that war and was the war where more Americans have been lost in history.

25,000 dead in the Revolutionary War
20,000 in the War of 1812
116,000 in World War I (the war to end all wars)
105,000 in World War II
36,000 in the Korean War (the forgotten war, thanks Dad for serving)
58,000 in Vietnam
300 in the first Gulf War
506 in Afghanistan (thanks Mike we miss you!)

4081 (so far) in the Iraq War

Those are the ones that this day is for! Those are the ones we should remember! It is not about hamburgers and hot dogs and beer. It is about remembrance. On the POW/MIA flag is the statement We Will Never Forget! Well it seems we have forgotten, or some of us have.

I found this prayer in the Air Force Prayer Book and thought I would reprint it here if you want to use it to pray:

O God our strength and redeemer, by your leading our ancestors brought forth on this continent a great nation, born of faith and struggle, dedicated to liberty and freedom, characterized by justice and courage, and committed to promotion of the common good. A changing world continually challenges these time-honored values, proving the temper of their metal in American lives. In such moments, we seek your blessing, O Father. Enable us through the maze of temptations by lesser gods. Prosper each initiative for human freedom, for peace and justice in our land, and for the common good of our global village. Refresh us in eternal values, and inspire our hearts and lives to fulfill the potential you've placed in each one of us. Amen.

The tradition is to pause at 3pm and remember those who have gone before. I will ask all my readers to do just that.

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Rosaries Iraq-bound

Mother hopes prayer will end war

By Thomas Caywood TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER— Cecelia M. Mason has a plan to end the Iraq war. She organized a group of fellow parishioners at Our Lady of the Angels Church on Main Street to make rosaries for the troops and hopes to expand the effort to include sending Bibles and even religious items for people of other faiths.

“With enough prayer over there, we’re hoping that something will happen where this war will end,” Ms. Mason said over the Memorial Day weekend.

And that couldn’t come soon enough for her, especially since her son, U.S. Navy Reserve Petty Officer 1st Class Raymond R. Mason, 39, of Worcester, is scheduled to return to the war zone this summer.

His last deployment to the region, during the 1991 Gulf War, gave Mrs. Mason and her husband, Raymond Sr., a shock they may never fully recover from.

Her son, a Navy electrician, had finished work at a barracks in Kuwait and left shortly before an incoming Iraqi Scud missile struck the building killing scores of American troops, she said.

But in the resulting confusion, military authorities didn’t immediately realize her son wasn’t in the building at the time of the attack. They notified Mrs. Mason that her son likely was killed and told her there was little hope of recovering remains from the smoldering wreckage, she said.

“We found out three days later, when his commanding officer in California, where he was based, called us. They were trying to break the news to me that my son was alive when his voice came over the phone,” Ms. Mason said, breaking down in tears with the memory.

“That still gets to me. You have no idea how happy I’ve been that my boy came back to me alive,” she added. “All I could picture was having him home in a flag-draped coffin.”

So when she heard about projects in other states to make military-appropriate rosaries out of nylon parachute cord and tan plastic beads — so they don’t jingle and so they blend in with desert uniforms — Mrs. Mason decided to launch a similar effort here.

After a few notices in the church bulletin, she assembled a group of roughly 20 volunteers to help her out, and Mrs. Mason said she would welcome more hands.

“Our purpose is to promote inspiration for the troops. Our military is equipped physically and mentally, and we’re going to equip them spiritually,” she said.

The group, dubbed Operation Ranger Rosary, hopes to send the first batch of handmade rosaries to Iraq in late June.

Ms. Mason has made contacts with a high-level chaplain in Iraq, who has pledged to makes sure the rosaries are distributed to soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen in the field. Ms. Mason said she can make about four rosaries per hour.

“You string a bead, tie a knot, string a bead, tie a knot until you have the 59 beads,” she said.

So far the group has assembled roughly 150 rosaries from supplies they bought with private donations. They hope to make 500 before they send the first shipment in late June.

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Suicide

If you have been following me on Twitter then you know I have been watching the West Wing the last few days. I love this show and when there is nothing on the tube I like to throw a DVD in and watch a few episodes.

In one of the episodes I watched last night the issue of suicide came up. Actually it was Physician Assisted Suicide that came up. Do we have the right to die? The Constitution of the United States says that we have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness it says nothing about death. So do we have a constitutional right to end our life? Do we have the right to choose the kind of death we will have? We are all going to die the only question is how and when.

I know there is a religious argument to be made here about suicide and the churches position on this. SCOBA released a statement last year on this and I am going to use that as the basis for this discussion I hope we will be able to have. I am not challenging the churches position on this just asking the question.

I have had pets in my life, and I have one right now. If something was to happen to him we would not hesitate to spare him great suffering and put him to sleep. Why is it that when this same question comes up regrading humans we get all jiggy about it? (jiggy is a technical theological term)

As always I am looking for comments but please be kind or you will face the delete button. I would be interested in hearing from people who know of one who has committed suicide and is willing to share their thoughts on the issue. Anonymous comments are always welcome but please use your first name at least when leaving a comment.

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Yesterday

For some reason I just could not motivate myself yesterday. It was raining in the morning and after I did some reading and office work I ended up in front of the tube watching the West Wing on DVD. I have seen all of the episodes before but I do like the show so when I need to just veg I plop myself down and tune in. I did go out and walk the dog for about a half hour so that was nice. I guess it ended up being a rather nice day, a little cool but nice after all was said and done. So now I am a day behind all that needs to be done for the weekend. Since the weather looks nice for the weekend I am going to try and get all things done today so I can head to the lake tomorrow and spend the day there working and maybe get some writing done. I am working on two book reviews but I have to finish the books first, that is always a good thing to do by the way... So off to begin the day.

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McCain rebukes controversial pastor

By Joseph Williams, Globe Staff

WASHINGTON -- After winning the backing of an influential Texas televangelist, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain today abruptly rejected the pastor's endorsement after more of his controversial remarks became public -- including a sermon in which he says the Nazis "operated on God's behalf" to drive Jews from Europe to Israel.

McCain had distanced himself from the Rev. John Hagee's anti-Catholic remarks describing the church as a "great whore," a statement for which Hagee apologized earlier this month. But the Arizona senator, who wanted Hagee's support to shore up his uncertain standing among evangelical conservatives, had not repudiated the endorsement until today.

"Obviously, I find these remarks and others deeply offensive and indefensible, and I repudiate them," McCain said in a statement today. "I did not know of them before Reverend Hagee's endorsement, and I feel I must reject his endorsement as well."

The controversy is the latest intersection of faith and politics in this year's presidential race.
Democratic front-runner Barack Obama's association with the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr., the former pastor at his home church in Chicago, threatened to derail his candidacy after videos surfaced of Wright making a series of remarks that many viewed as anti-American and racially divisive. Among them, Wright condemned the country for past racism, said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were the fruit of unjust US foreign policies and suggested he agrees with rumors that the US government had developed and used the AIDS virus as an act of genocide against black people.After rejecting Wright's remarks but likening the fiery minister to family, Obama formally cut his ties to Wright last month -- after Wright defended himself in a lengthy TV interview and two defiant, high-profile appearances.

McCain has said he is sure that Obama does not share Wright's views, but scolded Obama for not severing his long ties with the minister. But in his statement today, McCain distinguished his relationship with Hagee from Obama's with Wright, saying, "let me also be clear, Reverend Hagee was not and is not my pastor or spiritual advisor, and I did not attend his church for twenty years."

Soon after McCain's rejection, Hagee withdrew his support and said he would sit out the 2008 campaign.

"Ever since I endorsed John McCain for president, people seeking to attack Senator McCain have combed my records for statements they can use for political gain," Hagee said in a statement. "They have had no qualms about grossly misrepresenting my position on issues most near and dear to my heart if it serves their political ambitions. I am tired of these baseless attacks and fear that they have become a distraction in what should be a national debate about important issues."

McCain's strongly-worded rebuff, however, could hurt him among some evangelical voters, whose support he needs in November, said John C. Green, a senior fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

But McCain, Green added, had little choice because Hagee had become a political liability.
"There's only so many controversial statements that someone who has endorsed a candidate can make," Green said. Hagee's anti-Catholic comments were one thing, Green added, but "the second set [about Jews] creates big problems."

The leader of the 19,000-member, non-demonimational Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Tex., Hagee also runs a substantial communications empire with national reach. His televised sermons are well known among evangelicals -- as are his controversial views on homosexuality, the Roman Catholic Church, and his fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible.

In sermons and in statements, Hagee has called Catholicism a "false cult system." The minister also has suggested that Hitler's anti-Semitism was shaped by the church, and said the devastation of Hurricane Katrina was God's response to homosexual sin.

Nevertheless, McCain -- along with other GOP presidential rivals -- sought Hagee's endorsement and the voters he could bring with him. McCain accepted his endorsement at a news conference Feb. 27 in San Antonio, shortly before he won the Texas presidential primary and clinched the nomination.

Though McCain did not disavow Hagee after his anti-Catholic statements surfaced, the remarks on Judaism and Hitler were too much to ignore. In a late 1990s sermon, disclosed online today by the Huffington Post and others, Hagee quoted the Bible and said that “the Nazis had operated on God's behalf to chase the Jews from Europe and shepherd them to Palestine,” the promised land.

Green said the political uproars over Hagee and Wright "just reveals how controversial religion can be when it comes into the political arena" and is taken out of the church.

The Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister who is president of the Interfaith Alliance, which called for McCain to repudiate McCain, agreed. "While I’m happy Sen. McCain is disassociating himself from Pastor Hagee, this action should have come much sooner and not simply because of public outcry," he said in a statement. "Any time that religious leaders and politicians attempt to use each other, both of them get hurt."

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Gas tops $3.83 as early holiday travelers hit road

By John Wilen, AP Business Writer May 22, 2008

NEW YORK --Americans getting an early start on the Memorial Day weekend found that gasoline prices again sprinted to a new record high overnight, reaching a national average above $3.83 a gallon. Some analysts predict gas will break past $4 as early as next week.

Oil prices, meanwhile, fell Thursday after setting a new trading record of $135.09 overnight. A stronger dollar gave some investors reason to sell oil futures to lock in profits from crude's record run. But concerns about falling supplies and rising demand are expected to keep propelling prices higher in the days and weeks to come.

Oil's surge is contributing directly to the pain consumers feel every time they fill up. At the pump, the average national price of a gallon of regular gas rose 2.4 cents overnight to $3.831, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Prices are 61 cents higher than a year ago.

Unlike last year, oil prices are setting new record highs on a daily basis. That's pushing gas prices higher, and analysts see no reason for gas not to follow.

"We're going to blast past $4," said James Cordier, president of Tampa, Fla.-based trading firms Liberty Trading Group and OptionSellers.com.

Prices may rise as high as $3.90 on a national basis by this weekend, he said. Prices are already above $4 a gallon at many stations around the country, and are averaging more than $4 in California, New York and Illinois, among other states.

Oil prices rose to $135.09 a barrel in overnight electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before retreating to settle down $2.36 at $130.81 a barrel by afternoon in New York.
Analysts said oil futures are caught between the supply and demand concerns that boosted crude to its latest record, and a desire by some investors to cash in some profits. The dollar, one of the factors that has fed oil's rally from about $65 a year ago, strengthened against the euro Thursday. When the greenback gains ground, commodities such as oil lose their value as hedges against inflation. Also, a stronger dollar makes oil more expensive to investors overseas.

At times in a price runup that's added nearly $9 to a price of crude this week, and almost $16 over the past month, investors will sell to take profits, analysts said. Crude rose $4.19 a barrel on Wednesday alone.

The Paris-based International Energy Agency on Thursday said it is worried about whether there is enough oil to meet global demand, and is working on a review of the world's 400 largest oil fields that could lead to a major revision in its closely-watched forecasts.

"The market is really structurally tight ... oil demand is not growing that fast but supply is constrained," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

Some analysts say crude has been boosted in recent days by especially strong demand for diesel in China, where power plants in some areas are running desperately short of coal after last week's earthquake, Kevin Norrish, an analyst with Barclays Capital PLC, said new data from China shows demand for diesel was already rising quickly before the disaster. Chinese diesel imports rose 9.2 percent in April compared to last year, Norrish wrote.

Still, many analysts argue that oil prices have risen far beyond levels that can be justified by supply and demand. This school of thought believes the dollar's decline has attracted speculators to oil and other commodities, artificially inflating prices. Some analysts see signs in the prices differences between the current July crude contract and contracts for delivery in future months that could mean oil prices are set to decline in coming months.

In other Nymex trading Thursday, June heating oil futures rose 4.59 cents to settle at a record $3.9543 a gallon after earlier rising to a trading record of $4.0153. Heating oil, which is closely related to diesel, is often traded as a proxy for diesel.

June gasoline futures fell 6.68 cents to settle at $3.3297 a gallon after rising earlier to their own trading record of $3.438. June natural gas futures rose 5.7 cents to settle at $11.697 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department said natural gas inventories rose last week by 85 billion cubic feet, in line with analyst estimates.

In London, July Brent crude futures fell $2.19 to settle at $130.51 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

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Associated Press Writer Pablo Gorondi in Budapest and AP Business Writer Thomas Hogue in Bangkok, Thailand, contributed to this report.

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UN: Global rice prices set to fall but food prices will remain high for years to come; millions more could go hungry

AP / May 22, 2008

Rome—World rice prices that have tripled in Asia over the course of the year may come down but overall food prices will remain high for years to come, leaving millions more hungry, a U.N. food agency warned Thursday.

High oil prices, growing demand, flawed trade policies, panic buying and speculation have sent food prices soaring worldwide, trigging protests from Africa to Asia and raising fears that millions more suffer malnutrition.

On Thursday, tens of thousands of workers in Senegal -- from teachers to tax officials, fishery and port workers -- stayed home as part of a strike staged by unions to protest the spiraling cost of rice, fuel and other basic goods.

Surging food prices have also sparked riots in Haiti and fed worries about supplies in the Philippines.

The Food and Agriculture Organization said it had some good news: The world prices of most agriculture commodities have started to drop.

The bad news: The prices are unlikely to fall back to pre-2007 levels, the agency said in a report Thursday.

"We are facing the risk that the number of hungry will increase by many more millions of people," said Hafez Ghanem, assistant director-general of the FAO.

Conditions on the global rice market could ease as new crops are harvested around the world. But price pressures will remain high until at least October or November, when the bulk of this year's paddy crops reach the market, the report said.

"Stock levels are low and you need several good seasons to replenish them," Ghanem said. "There will be some improvement, but we don't expect a major change."

Internationally, rice prices skyrocketed by about 76 percent from December to April while overall food prices have risen 83 percent in three years, according to the World Bank.

In Asia, rice prices have tripled this year, with the regional benchmark hitting $1,038 a ton Wednesday for Thai 100 percent grade B white rice.

The FAO said the price pressure could ease further if producing countries such as India relax export restrictions on rice.

Recent natural disasters such as the cyclone in Myanmar and the earthquake in China are likely to have a domestic impact, rather than on international markets, FAO experts said.
In Geneva, the U.N. Human Rights Council debated a Cuban resolution expressing "grave concern at the worsening of the world food crisis."

The resolution, co-signed by most members of the 47-nation council, said nations "have a primary obligation to make their best efforts to meet the vital food needs of their population."
The international community, meanwhile, must provide poorer nations with food aid and assistance so that farmers can increase food production and improve "food crop rehabilitation," the draft resolution says.

In Japan, a government official announced Thursday that his nation would release some of its huge stockpile of rice to help ease the crisis, sending some 20,000 tons to five African nations in coming weeks.

That step is part of a $50 million emergency food aid plan to be endorsed by Japan's Cabinet on Friday, said Shigeru Kondo, a Foreign Ministry aid official.

The total aid package -- which includes grains, beans and other foods in addition to rice -- will be distributed in 12 countries, including Afghanistan, by international relief agencies such as the World Food Program.

Thailand's prime minister assured the Philippines during a visit there Thursday that his government was willing to increase Manila's rice inventories, an official said.

The FAO is forecasting an increase of 3.8 percent in this year's cereal production compared with last year, assuming favorable weather. Tight wheat supply is likely to improve the most, the agency said. Global milk, sugar and meat production are also expected to grow.

Recently, FAO said rice production is expected to hit a new record of 666 million tons worldwide, a global increase of 2.3 percent.

Production in Asia is forecast to rise to 605 million tons from 600 million tons, with particularly large increases in Bangladesh, China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, the agency has said.
African production is forecast to grow nearly 4 percent to 23.2 million tons and in Latin America by 7.4 percent to 26 million tons, while production is expected to be down in Australia, the United States and Europe.

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Associated Press writers Bradley S. Klapper in Geneva, Switzerland, and Sadibou Marone in Senegal, Dakar, contributed to this report

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IOCC Emergency Appeal: China Earthquake

Chinese state media is reporting that more than 13,000 people were killed in Monday’s earthquake, China’s worst natural disaster in decades. A massive search and rescue operation is underway in Sichuan province, in southwest China, to free people trapped beneath the rubble. According to the BBC, in one nearby town of Manzhu, at least 4,800 people are still trapped and landslides have buried roads to outlying villages.

IOCC will provide cash support to its ecumenical partners who are on the ground and evaluating the damage throughout the affected areas. IOCC’s cash grant will help provide emergency relief supplies for the survivors.

Contributions to IOCC’s China Emergency Appeal can be made online (www.iocc.org), by calling IOCC’s donation hotline toll-free at 1-877-803-4622, or by mailing a check or money order payable to “IOCC” (include “China Earthquake” in memo line) to: IOCC, P.O. Box 630225, Baltimore, Md. 21263-0225.

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I'm Back

I am back from my conference and it was wonderful. My fellow chaplains gathered on Monday night to get things set up and then out for a little dinner and social time. On Tuesday we began with prayer and a little business and then our speak began her presentation. I have written about her before and her book is listed on the right side under books I am reading. I am almost finished with the book by the way so look for a review soon but I can say that if you work in the helping professions, or have lost a loved one you need to read this book.

So the day progressed with some time for rest and then we had our annual meeting and dinner. This is a time for us to review the activities of the Corps of Chaplains this past year and see how we can improve what we do. I was unaware that I was about to receive an award. Each year the Corps of Chaplains gives two chaplains the Mychal Judge Award. This award is given in memory of Fr. Mychal Judge of the FDNY who was killed at ground zero ministering to a person who had fallen. I was very surprised by this award and I join the ranks of BIG names. I mentioned to our speaker that I have a lot to live up to with this award. She reminded me that I do not need to be under a building to serve my people. My chief was there and he spoke about my work with the fire department and then it was my turn to speak. I am not sure if any of you have ever been honored by your colleagues in such a way but it is very difficult to speak after such and honor. I am not usually at a loss for words but I was this time. However I did come up with a few things to say. One thing I thought of on the ride home yesterday that I did not mention was that of all the titles I have, Father, Pastor, Doctor, Professor the one I am most honored to have is Chaplain. I am honored that the guys and girls of the Dudley Fire Department allow Me to minister to them and that I am their chaplain. Thanks Guys!

The citation reads as follows:

The Massachusetts Corps of Fire Chaplains

The Mychal Judge Award

Given each year to a fire department chaplain

whose selfless dedication and sacrifice promotes

the creed of the Corps of Fire Chaplains,

"Serving those who serve"

In grateful acknowledgement of the time, energy

and faithfulness given to the men and women of

the Fire Service, this award is

Presented to

The Rev. Peter Preble

Dudley Fire Department

So now it is back to the office and work. I need to catch up on some reading and get a podcast or two done to keep up with all of that, and Sunday is coming again so there needs to be a homily made ready.

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Off to a Conference

I am off to a conference so blogging will be non existent until I return on Thursday. Sphere: Related Content

Food Stamps and the Cost of Food

Listening to my local NPR radio station today there was a report that food stamp usage in Massachusetts has risen 9% in the last year. Half a million people in the state are using food stamps and that is only 40% of those who are eligible to use them. However as with non food stamp users, food prices are rising and food stamps are worth less and less each day. So once again we see the poor suffering. Latter this summer the Feds will change the food stamp calculation to take into consideration inflation and thing might get a little better but food prices continue to rise. Sounds like we need to invade a country that produces a lot of food so we can have it sent here at low prices like oil from the Iraq. Of wait gas prices are going up as well and the gas companies are posting record profits. Hmmmmm

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Sunday Round Up

I was up earlier than usual today as there is much to prepare for Liturgy. Well not actually Liturgy but after. Today we have our General Assembly to vote on some spending issues here at the Church. We need to replace all of the windows to make the church more energy efficient. The ones that are there now are original and leak both air and water. It is an expensive proposition but the pay off should be better in the long run. I don't see a problem of it passing just getting enough people there to have the meeting. We need 25% of the membership to be present, that's 17.5 people. I know of 5 couples not coming to church today for various reasons but I hope we can still pull in the ones we need.

After church I am off to my parents to celebrate my father's 75th birthday. Actually it was last week but got transferred to this Sunday because of mother's day. So I will roll on out to the coast and stay overnight. I will return to the office tomorrow after noon but then head out again for the annual fire chaplains retreat/conference.

This year we have, what I hope is, a good speaker. Rev. Kate Braestrup will be speaking with out group this year. She is chaplain to the Maine State Warden Service. She lost her husband, a Maine State Trooper, a few years back and went to seminary and now serves as chaplain. Her book is listen over on the right hand side of this blog. I hope to review it soon, after I finish reading it that is.

So that lasts until Wednesday then Wednesday night I begin a series of lectures here in the church on American Orthodox History. So busy days here but I am looking forward to all of it. Some where in there need to get out to the lake and check on things there and maybe rest a bit. I do some of my best writing out there and it is a good quiet place to pray and just hang out.

That is all for now.

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Edwards rules out possibility of vice presidential run with Obama

This must be a blow to Obama. This would have made things a little easier for him at the convention. Oh well it will be good TV if they fight it out on the floor of the convention.

***

When John Edwards and Barack Obama appeared on stage together Wednesday night in Michigan for the former North Carolina senator's official blessing of the Democratic front-runner, some pundits and Democrats wondered aloud whether they were seeing the Democratic ticket.

But yesterday Edwards seemed to rule out a sequel of his 2004 vice presidential run.
"No, no, no, won't happen," he said on NBC's "Today" show.

Pressed further, he replied, "It is not something I'm interested in."

Asked about whether he has talked to Obama about a job in his administration, Edwards said "only in the abstract way," and refused to say whether he was interested in being attorney general.

From www.boston.com

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16 May ~ St. Brendan of Clonfert

St. Brendan of Ardfert and Clonfert, known also as Brendan the Voyager, was born in Ciarraighe Luachra, near the present city of Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, in 484; he died at Enachduin, now Annaghdown, in 577. He was baptized at Tubrid, near Ardfert, by Bishop Erc. For five years he was educated under St. Ita, "the Brigid of Munster", and he completed his studies under St. Erc, who ordained him priest in 512. Between the years 512 and 530 St. Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and at Shanakeel or Baalynevinoorach, at the foot of Brandon Hill. It was from here that he set out on his famous voyage for the Land of Delight. The old Irish Calendars assigned a special feast for the "Egressio familiae S. Brendani", on 22 March; and St Aengus the Culdee, in his Litany, at the close of the eighth century, invokes "the sixty who accompanied St. Brendan in his quest of the Land of Promise". Naturally, the story of the seven years' voyage was carried about, and, soon, crowds of pilgrims and students flocked to Ardfert. Thus, in a few years, many religious houses were formed at Gallerus, Kilmalchedor, Brandon Hill, and the Blasquet Islands, in order to meet the wants of those who came for spiritual guidance to St. Brendan.

Having established the See of Ardfert, St. Brendan proceeded to Thomond, and founded a monastery at Inis-da-druim (now Coney Island, County Clare), in the present parish of Killadysert, about the year 550. He then journeyed to Wales, and thence to Iona, and left traces of his apostolic zeal at Kilbrandon (near Oban) and Kilbrennan Sound. After a three years' mission in Britain he returned to Ireland, and did much good work in various parts of Leinster, especially at Dysart (Co. Kilkenny), Killiney (Tubberboe), and Brandon Hill. He founded the Sees of Ardfert, and of Annaghdown, and established churches at Inchiquin, County Galway, and at Inishglora, County Mayo. His most celebrated foundation was Clonfert, in 557, over which he appointed St. Moinenn as Prior and Head Master. St. Brendan was interred in Clonfert, and his feast is kept on 16 May.

The Akathist and Office to St Brendan can be found here.

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Same Gender Marriage

Yesterday we saw the Supreme Court of California rule or actually overturn a decision of a lower court that denying same gender folks to marry is non-constitutional. The teaching of the church on this issue seems to be clear, or as clear as it can be although I have not seen anything in writing by any Orthodox bishop on the issue so I am actually not sure where the church stands on the marriage of folks of the same gender. (If anyone has a link to a statement on this issue from an Orthodox Bishop in the US please let me know) Sex is a different story.

My issue with the whole thing is this. I was listening to NPR this morning reporting on the issue and the reporter said that the court ignored the will of the people. Now I am no scholar of the California Constitution but I believe the courts are not supposed to up hold the will of the people but rule on cases based on the law and the law alone. If there is nothing in the constitution banning this or that thing then it is ruled as unconstitutional regardless of how the people feel about it. If you want the issue changed, change the constitution.

Now this brings us the whole issue of the Federal Government getting involved in the issue. All I have to say is marriage is a local, state issue and not a Federal issue and the Feds should keep their hands off. I am not sure of the exact quote but I believe the Constitution of the US says that anything not in here the states get to decide. I am not quoting word for word.

Marriage of two people of the same gender is an issue that is not going to go away. If you don't want it in your state then launch a campaign to amend the constitution of your state. Judges are not supposed to rule based on anything other than the law. Now I am not so naive that I believe this happens all the time, but there has to be some basis to how they rule. I have not read the decision but I am sure it is true to the law in California. This is our system, not great, but it is the only one we have.

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Facing East Podcast

Fr. Greg and I put another podcast online today for your enjoyment. Episode 20 is available on iTunes or here:

PODCAST

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Round Up

This is the third time I have attempted to try this post let us see how far we can get. Busy weekend has passed. On Saturday graduation at the college where I teach. It was great to see so many embark on the next phase of their lives. I remember my first graduation like it was yesterday and how nervous I was the next day.

Sunday was Mother's day and my father's 75th birthday so I went home to my parent's house after Liturgy and spent a few days there relaxing and reading. Hence no personal posts during that time.

This morning the Fire Department ran their annual pre-prom drill. This has become an annual event and two cars are placed in the parking lot at the high school with some of the kids in them made up to look like an accident has taken place. Two of them are dead and the funeral home comes and picks them up. The fire department responds and cuts the victims out of the car. At the end some one explains what happens and what not to do on prom night. Very positive drill I think. I was looking around at the kids and they were all paying attention and no one was talking and that is a good sign with kids.

Tomorrow I have a podcasting session with Fr. Greg in the morning an then a visit by the iPadre in the afternoon. Fr. Jay and I have been trying to get together for some time and we seem to be able to do it tomorrow. So Fr. Jay is coming here to the village for a church tour and then off to get some food. Maybe we will podcast together, who knows.

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Edwards Backs Obama

Well it looks like the long election season might be coming to a close. John Edwards is backing Obama, well the Associated Press says so anyway. I had been waiting to see what he was going to do. I think he is wrangling for the VP slot or maybe a good spot at the convention. We will see.

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Archbishop Hilarion of Sydney elected ROCOR head

New York, May 12, Interfax - Archbishop Hilarion (Kapral) of Sydney, Australia and New Zealand has been elected the new hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR), secretary of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Nikolay Balashov told Interfax-Religion.

The election took place during a session of ROCOR's Archbishop Council in New York.
Archbishop Hilarion became acting Chairman of ROCOR's Synod after the death of ROCOR's top hierarch Metropolitan Laurus of East America and New York and was seen as his likeliest successor.

Under the new order, his candidacy requires the approval of Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Alexy II.

Archbishop Hilarion (Igor Kapral) was born on January 6, 1948, in Canada.

In 1972, he graduated from the Holy Trinity Seminary in Jordanville.

On December 1974, he was tonsured as a Ryassofor monk with the name of Hilarion. In December 1975, he was ordained to the deaconate. In 1976, he became a hierodeacon. The following year he graduated from Syracuse University with a master's degree in Slavic Studies and Russian Literature and was ordained to priesthood.

In December 1984, at the age of 36, Father Hilarion was appointed bishop of Manhattan. In June 1996, he was transferred to the diocese of Australia and New Zealand and raised to the rank of archbishop.

In 2006, he was elected first deputy chairman of ROCOR's Synod.

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Breaking News ~ 7.8 earthquake hits China

UPDATE: 11:46 CNN reporting death toll at 7,500

UPDATE: From the Scotsman

I am just hearing word of a 7.8 earthquake in China and it appears that a school has collapsed and up to 900 students are trapped inside. Let us pause and remember them in our prayers... More updates as I hear.

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And They Will Know We are Christians...

The Moscow Patriarchate once again confirms its intent to refrain from common prayers with non-Orthodox Churches

May 12, Interfax -
The Russian Church has once again reassured that it thinks impossible for the Orthodox believers to conduct services together with members of other Christian confessions.

"We would like once again to confirm our intention to refrain from participating in communal prayers with unorthodox believers," said a member of the secretary for interchristian relations of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Priest Alexander Vasyutin to Interfax-Religion.

According to the priest, this issue becomes important again in the process of organization of the 13th General Assembly of the Conference of European Churches which is scheduled to be held in July, 2009 in Lyon, France.

Fr. Alexander, who is also a member of the organization committee of the Assembly, said that "the standpoint of the Russian Orthodox Church unfortunately finds little understanding with members of other local Orthodox Churches."

As a case in point, Fr. Alexander told us that at the recent meeting of the committee Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (the Patriarchate of Constantinople) replied answering to the proposal to keep from interconfessional prayers during the Assembly that "the standpoint of the Moscow Patriarchate on this matter reminds him of a husband who has a wife, but does not sleep with her."

Besides, this Constantinople representative asked a question: "Why do members of the Moscow Patriarchate always refuse to participate in common prayers with unorthodox believers, while Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia conducted the common service with the Catholic clergy in the Notre Dame de Paris during his stay in Paris in October, 2007."

"There is no need to repeat information distributed by many church and secular media that the Notre Dame de Paris held the Orthodox service where members of the Catholic Church were only present, including the Archbishop of Paris Andre Vingt-Trois. So, any common service or prayer is definitely out of the question," said Fr. Alexander.

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Gas Price

AAA is reporting that gas prices have risen again and the average is $3.72/ gallon. Just to put this in perspective I heard on the BBC yesterday that Diesel Fuel in the Highlands of Scotland cost 1.40 (that's one Pound 40) per liter. Now I believe there are 4 liters to the gallon and the dollar is twice as much as the pound. So we are looking at $2.40 per liter times 4 equal $11.20 per gallon. Now my truck has a 14 gallon tank (gas mind you) it would cost $156.80 to fill my tank! Dang! So I guess $3.72 per gallon is not that bad after all.

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10 May ~ St. Gordian

At the head of the long and beautiful valley of the Manor Water in Peeblesshire there stood, until the eighteenth century, a seemly little parish kirk dedicated to an obscure Roman saint and martyr of the second or third century. This was the lad Gordianus or Gorgham whose name appeared as a martyr alongside St. Epimachus but about whom nothing seemed to be known. It was said they were victims of the apostate Emperor Julian. The surviving acts of these saints, Forbes suggests, are legendary and worthless. He even suggests the dedication of the church in Manor Valley might have been to a different figure, the eunuch of the palace, Gorgon.

The old church survived till the eighteenth century when no other then Walter Scott's father was instrumental in having it demolished to provide road material. A few furnishings, it was said, were removed to the new church down the valley.

Saints of Scotland, Edwin Sprott Towill

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Myanmar junta hands out aid boxes with generals' names

I guess this is why it took so long for them to get the aid out. They could not find ink for their printers to print labels with their names on it!

Myanmar's military regime distributed international aid Saturday but plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.

The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid, though the junta took over its first two shipments. The government agreed to let a U.S. cargo plane bring in supplies Monday, but foreign disaster experts were still being barred entry.

State-run television continuously ran images of top generals — including the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe — handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.

One box bore the name of Lt. Gen. Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."

"We have already seen regional commanders putting their names on the side of aid shipments from Asia, saying this was a gift from them and then distributing it in their region," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, which campaigns for human rights and democracy in the country.

"It is not going to areas where it is most in need," he said in London.

State media say 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions worsen.

The U.N. estimates that 1.5 million to 2 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies.

With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid workers and equipment.

But the junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments, and then will deliver the aid on its own.

Farmaner said the world needs to move to deliver aid directly to victims in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

"People we are speaking to in Burma say aid must be delivered anyway even if the regime doesn't give permission," he said. "We have had a week to convince the regime to behave reasonably, and they are still blocking aid. So the international community needs to wake up and take bolder steps."

However, aid providers are unlikely to pursue unilateral deliveries like airdrops because of the diplomatic firestorm that it could set off.

So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed Friday without incident.

But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits — enough to feed 95,000 people — sent by the U.N. World Food Program. Despite the seizure, the WFP was sending three more planes Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy, even though those could be confiscated, too.

"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.

Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said an international presence is needed in Myanmar to look at the logistics of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.

"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he said in Bangkok.
He warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading because of the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.

"We are running out of time here. This could be a huge problem and this could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone," he said.

Heavy rain forecast in the next week was certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.

Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.

"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit May 3.

The government's abilities are limited. It has only a few dozen helicopters, most of which are small and old. It also has about 15 transport planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of tons of supplies.

"Not only don't they have the capacity to deliver assistance, they don't have experience," said Farmaner, the British aid worker. "It's already too late for many people. Every day of delays is costing thousands of lives."

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Food Price

Yesterday I went to the market to get a few things that I needed and I spent $62 on two small bags of groceries that is crazy I think. The food prices are not going to come down anytime soon and we are not yet into the farm stand season for stuff. I had a thought about community gardens and how the church could play a roll in this.

Here in the village the church has a great piece of property and I was thinking we could use some of that land for a community garden. Here is how I would see it work. Gather a few folks how would be interested and pool resources and plant the garden with all sorts of things that we would eat. We would take turns tending to the garden, and at the same time building community. At harvest time we would spread out the bounty between those that worked the garden.

First off the area I am thinking off is all grass and we have to pay someone to mow it, so if we turned it under and planted it it could save the church money. As I just mentioned it would also build community, something we can use here for sure. Any left over could be given to the food bank for distribution. Of course I would want it to be organic.

I mentioned this to someone yesterday and they thought it was a very communist idea, well we have to do something...

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Cinnamon Walnut Scones

This recipe comes from the book, Scottish Family Cookbook published by the St. Andrew's Society of Massachusetts. I modified this recipe a little from what is in the book and it came out great.

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts
4 1/2 tsp. sugar
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. cold margarine
2 eggs


1/3 c. milk

1/4 c. buttermilk

In a bowl, combine flour, chopped walnuts, sugar, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon. Cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine eggs and milk; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Turn onto a floured surface, gently pat into a 7 inch circle, 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 wedges. Separate wedges, place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with buttermilk and let rest for 15 minutes. Bake at 450 degrees for 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Yield 8 servings.

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Facing East Podcast

A new Episode of The Facing East Podcast is now online for your listening enjoyment. You can find a link here for the episode or you can subscribe in iTunes.

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Scripture of the Day

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with ever form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God for gave you.

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Burmese Americans try to help, but have few options

By Gregg Aamot and Verena Dobnik, Associated Press Writers May 7, 2008

ST. PAUL, Minn. --In the days since Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, Eh Taw Dwe has heard only snippets about the villages he left behind when he fled the country.

Zin Moe has lived with the anguish of not knowing whether his mother and five siblings are alive -- and not being able to help directly.

They are among thousands of Burmese immigrants around the United States who are desperately scrambling to organize relief to their ravaged homeland. In the process, they are hearing about a bleak situation: No electricity. Dirty water. Rampant diarrhea and malaria.

"Some people here, they have their family member over there, and they lose their family member or their house was totally destroyed," Dwe said Wednesday. One of Dwe's friends is stranded with his family in a village that was cut off from rescue workers. Nobody knows the family's fate.

The challenge of providing relief has been magnified by the sheer desperation of the situation in Myanmar and a ruling military regime that is hostile to U.S. citizens and supplies. The United Nations and other agencies have said they are trying to persuade the government to issue more visas to speed the aid to sites where it is most needed.

"It's difficult, because even if we collect things, how are we going to send them?" asked Moe Chan, a Burmese New Yorker.

He is one of more than 10,000 Burmese residents of New York City. Thousands more live in nearby New Jersey and Connecticut, forming the second largest U.S. Burmese community. California has as many as 100,000 residents of Burmese descent.

Dr. Kyaw Htyte, a New York cardiologist and president of the National Burma Action Committee, said that if he could, he would go to Myanmar himself, but it's impossible to get an entry visa.

Instead, he said his organization relies on "an underground group" of people who enter the country in ways he would not disclose, for security reasons, and bring in money, medicine and other supplies.

These are only stopgap measures against a need for massive relief.

Four days after the cyclone hit, the best way for Americans to help was still through large international organizations with access to Myanmar, such as the International Red Cross, UNICEF, the International Rescue Committee and the International Medical Corps.

Moe has been using prepaid phone cards every day, calling home during rushed breaks from his job as manager of a restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side.

His family phones in Myanmar sound dead.

As he waits, he's raising money among dozens of Burmese friends in New York "for the villages, where people are really poor," said Moe, who has a friend he hopes will somehow enter Myanmar before the end of May.

Dwe (pronounced DEW-ee), 31, is one of perhaps 1,500 refugees from Myanmar who live in Minnesota, many of them from the ethnic Karen rebel group that has been fighting for autonomy in eastern Myanmar for a half-century.

He fears ethnic Karen will be left out of the aid effort.

"It's the worst disaster in Burma and we need the assistance from the American government and we need the assistance from any country who has humanitarian support," he said.

A local aid organization, the Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee, has helped many Burmese in its refugee camp in Thailand, including some who now live in Minnesota. The agency hoped to get passports for two workers so they could enter the country in the next few days to evaluate what kind of help it could offer, spokeswoman Therese Gales said.

The Karen Community of Minnesota, a fraternal group of refugees like Dwe, contacted the agency to see how it could help, realizing that its contribution would be modest.

"If there's anything we can do, even a dollar, even, you know, a piece of bread, we will do whatever we could," Dwe said. "I can see the children and the women crying in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the storm and ... it's really sad."

--------
Verena Dobnik contributed to this report from New York.

From the Boston Globe

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Atlantic Theological Conference

I am attending the Atlantic Theological Conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia this June. The topic is Christian Psychology - Formation of the Soul and sounds like it should be a good conference. I have also decided that I will take a little vacation after the conference and head on up to Cape Breton for a few days. So I will take the Cat Ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine and then drive on up after the conference and then drive back down through Maine back to the Village.

I am going to stay at a little camp ground in Sydney in a little cabin. I am amazed at how expensive lodging is, I guess I don't travel much. Anyway I am looking forward to taking some time off and exploring Nova Scotia.

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Why Not a United American Orthodox Church?

May 6, 2008
by George Patsourakos

Can you picture America being comprised of 50 states with no federal government and no president? This is a frightening thought, isn't it?

Nonetheless, a similar situation exists in which nine Eastern Orthodox ethnic jurisdictions have been functioning independently in America for several decades with no American administrative leader.

Eight of these jurisdictions are of the following ethnicities: Albanian, Antiochian, Bulgarian, Carpatho-Russian, Greek, Romanian, Serbian, and Ukrainian. The ninth one is the Orthodox Church in America (OCA) which is "autocephalous" or self-headed.

Read the Rest Here

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US diplomat: 100,000 may have died in Myanmar cyclone

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Bodies floated in flood waters and survivors tried to reach dry ground on boats using blankets as sails, while the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar said Wednesday that up to 100,000 people may have died in the devastating cyclone.

Hungry crowds stormed the few shops that opened in the country's stricken Irrawaddy delta, sparking fist fights, according to Paul Risley, a spokesman for the U.N. World Food Program in neighboring Thailand.

Shari Villarosa, who heads the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar, said food and water are running short in the delta area and called the situation there "increasingly horrendous."

"There is a very real risk of disease outbreaks as long as this continues," Villarosa told reporters.
State media in Myanmar, also known as Burma, reported that nearly 23,000 people died when Cyclone Nargis blasted the country's western coast on Saturday and more than 42,000 others were missing.

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said Thursday that the cyclone's death toll may rise "very significantly."

The military junta normally restricts the access of foreign officials and organizations to the country, and aid groups were struggling to deliver relief goods.

Internal U.N. documents obtained by The Associated Press showed growing frustrations at foot-dragging by the junta, which has kept the impoverished nation isolated for five decades to maintain its iron-fisted control.

"Visas are still a problem. It is not clear when it will be sorted out," according to the minutes of a meeting of the U.N. task force coordinating relief for Myanmar in Bangkok, Thailand on Wednesday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar's government to speed up the arrival of aid workers and relief supplies "in every way possible."

State television in military-ruled Myanmar, though, said that the government would accept aid from any country and that help had arrived Wednesday from Japan, Bangladesh, Laos, Thailand, China, India and Singapore.

Local aid workers started distributing water purification tablets, mosquito nets, plastic sheeting and basic medical supplies.

But heavily flooded areas were accessible only by boat, with helicopters unable to deliver relief supplies there, said Richard Horsey, Bangkok-based spokesman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid.

"Most urgent need is food and water," said Andrew Kirkwood, head of Save the Children in Yangon. "Many people are getting sick. The whole place is under salt water and there is nothing to drink. They can't use tablets to purify salt water," he said.

Save the Children distributed food, plastic sheeting, cooking utensils and chlorine tablets to 230,000 people in Yangon area. Trucks were sent to the delta on Wednesday, carrying rice, salt, sugar and tarpaulin.

A Yangon resident who returned home from the area said people are drinking coconut water because of lack of safe drinking water. He said many people were on boats using blankets as sails.

Local aid groups were distributing rice porridge, which people were collecting in dirty plastic shopping bags. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared getting into trouble with authorities for talking to a foreign news agency.

Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for U.N. relief efforts in Geneva, said the U.N. received permission to send nonfood supplies and that a cargo plane was being loaded in Brindisi, Italy, but it might be two days before it leaves.

The U.N. is trying to get permission for its experts to accompany the shipment, Byrs said. She said U.N. staff in Thailand were also awaiting visas so they could enter Myanmar to assess the damage.

Some aid workers have told the AP that the government wants the aid to be distributed by relief workers already in place, rather than through foreign staff brought into the country.

Relief teams and aid material are waiting to deploy from Thailand, Singapore, Italy, France, Sweden, Britain, South Korea, Australia, Israel, U.S., Poland and Japan, according to minutes from a U.N. relief meeting in Geneva that were obtained by the AP.

However, Myanmar state-run television said Wednesday that Japan had sent tents, while planes from Bangladesh and India brought medicine and clothing. China sent 1,300 pounds of dried bacon, while Thailand sent 1.2 million packets of noodles.

Britain has offered about $9.8 million to help the crisis, and the U.S. offered more than $3 million in aid. President Bush said Washington was prepared to use the U.S. Navy to help search for the dead and missing.

However, the Myanmar military, which regularly accuses the United States of trying to subvert its rule, was unlikely to accept U.S. military presence in its territory.

The U.S. military started positioning people and equipment as it awaited word from Myanmar's government. An Air Force C-130 cargo plane landed in Thailand and another was on the way, Air Force spokeswoman Megan Orton said Wednesday morning at the Pentagon.

"When they accept, or if they accept — and we know what supplies they need — those planes will be there to transport those," she said.

The Navy also has three ships participating in an exercise in the Gulf of Thailand that could help in any relief effort — the USS Essex, the USS Juneau and the USS Harper's Ferry — but Navy officials said they are still in a holding pattern.

The Essex is an amphibious assault ship with 23 helicopters aboard, including 19 that are capable of lifting cargo from ship to shore, as well as more than 1,500 Marines.

Because it would take the Essex more than four days to get into position for the relief effort, the Navy is considering sending some of its helicopters ahead, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because it was still in the planning stages. The aircraft would be able to arrive in a matter of hours, and the Essex could follow, he said.

In Yangon, many angry residents say they were given vague and incorrect information about the approaching storm and no instructions on how to cope when it struck.

Officials in India said they had warned Myanmar that Cyclone Nargis was headed for the country two days before it made landfall there.

The state-run Indian Meteorological Department had been keeping a close watch on the depression in the Bay of Bengal since it was first spotted on April 28 and sent regular updates to all the countries in its path, department spokesman B. P. Yadav said.

Myanmar told the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva that it warned people in newspapers, television and radio broadcasts of the impending storm, said Dieter Schiessl, director of the WMO's disaster risk reduction unit.

State television news quoted Yangon official Gen. Tha Aye on Wednesday as reassuring people that the situation was "returning to normal."

But city residents faced new challenges as markets doubled prices of rice, charcoal and bottled water.

At a market in the suburb of Kyimyindaing, a fish monger shouted to shoppers: "Come, come the fish is very fresh." But an angry woman snapped back: "Even if the fish is fresh, I have no water to cook it!"

Electricity was restored in a small portion of Yangon but most city residents, who rely on wells with electric pumps, had no water. Vendors sold bottled water at more than double the normal price. Price of rice and cooking oil also skyrocketed.

The cyclone came a week before a key referendum on a proposed constitution backed by the junta.

State radio said Saturday's vote would be delayed until May 24 in 40 of 45 townships in the Yangon area and seven in the Irrawaddy delta. But it indicated the balloting would proceed in other areas as scheduled.
A top U.S. envoy to Southeast Asia said Wednesday that Myanmar's military junta should be focusing all its efforts on helping victims of a devastating cyclone, not pressing forward with a planned constitutional referendum.

"It's a huge crisis and it just seems odd to me that the government would go ahead with the referendum in this circumstance," said Scot Marciel, who was appointed last week as the first U.S. ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Its government has been widely criticized for suppressing pro-democracy parties such as the one led by Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has been under house arrest for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

At least 31 people were killed and thousands more were detained in September when the military cracked down on peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks and democracy advocates

From the AP

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The Keys

So it is a good thing Jesus did not give the keys to this Peter. Last night I had a training session with my fire department. All went well until I got back to the fire house. You see I have my own vehicle that I drive on fire department business and when I returned I was moving things back to my truck and some how I locked my keys in my truck. Of course my spare key was... wait for it... it the arm rest between the seats.

So I tried a few things and then called the police to come. They have this amazing little device and in like 2 seconds they were in and I had my keys back. I did not like that feeling of not having access to my keys at all. Thanks to the guys at the firehouse and the police for helping me out.

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Church is one body, many voices

The subject line of this post is the title of a new article on the Washington Post blog On Faith. Written by Bishop T.D. Jakes this is a great view of what church should be and I think how we can make it happen. Give it a read.

Bishop Jakes has been on the Dr. Phil show and I think he has an amazing grasp on our Country and the direction it is heading.

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2nd Sunday of Pascha ~ Sunday of St. Thomas

Apolytikion in the Grave

Christ our God, You are the Life that dawned from the grave, though the tomb was sealed. Through closed doors You came to the Apostles. You are the Resurrection of all. And, You renewed us through them with an upright spirit, according to Your great mercy.

Kontakion in the Plagal of the Fourth Tone

Thomas examined Your life-giving side with his probing right hand, O Christ our God. As You entered, though the doors were closed, he cried out to You, with the other Apostles "You are my Lord and my God."

Reading:

Though the doors were shut at the dwelling where the disciples were gathered for fear of the Jews on the evening of the Sunday after the Passover, our Saviour wondrously entered and stood in their midst, and greeted them with His customary words, "Peace be unto you." Then He showed unto them His hands and feet and side; furthermore, in their presence, He took some fish and a honeycomb and ate before them, and thus assured them of His bodily Resurrection. But Thomas, who was not then present with the others, did not believe their testimony concerning Christ's Resurrection, but said in a decisive manner, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." Wherefore after eight days, that is, on this day, when the disciples were again gathered together and Thomas was with them, the Lord Jesus came while the doors were shut, as He did formerly. Standing in their midst, He said, "Peace be unto you"; then He said to Thomas, "Bring hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and bring hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not unbelieving, but believing."

And Thomas, beholding and examining carefully the hands and side of the Master, cried out with faith, "My Lord and my God." Thus he clearly proclaimed the two natures - human and divine - of the God-man (Luke 24:36-49; John 20:19-29).

This day is called Antipascha (meaning "in the stead of Pascha," not "in opposition to Pascha") because with this day, the first Sunday after Pascha, the Church consecrates every Sunday of the year to the commemoration of Pascha, that is, the Resurrection.

From www.goarch.org

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Language in Church

I hate to wade into these waters again because it is a very delicate topic but I think I must. First off if you must post anonymously please put your name at the end of the post!

Okay with that said, language in church is a very delicate issue for many people. Right or wrong, if you understand Orthodox Church history in the country then you will understand that Churches were primarily founded as social clubs where people from the same place could come together and speak the language the left behind when they came here. In this little village I live in we have four Roman Catholic Churches. One was the French Church, one the Italian Church, One Polish, and one Irish. Now I believe that the Polish Church is the only one that does not worship in entirely in English and people still seem to go. The Church of Rome as recently loosened up the reigns on the Latin Mass of the Pre-Vatican II days. In some places where this Mass has begun they do not have enough room for all the people that attend, and guess what folks, no one speaks Latin anymore.

Language is not keeping people away, we are! That's right we are. How welcoming are we when people show up for church? Do we show them to a seat, give them a liturgy book, of we have such a thing, invite them to coffee hour, if we have such a thing, and smile at them once in a while. Or when someone new comes in the door do we look at them like they have three heads. What are our churches doing for outreach? Do we have bible studies for adults? Are we involved in our local communities? Do we reach out to those who have stopped coming? Have we converted ourselves? Ahhhh the last one is key. How many of the "members" of the parish actually come to the church? How many of those same people avail themselves of the Sacraments of the Church to include Confession and Eucharist more than once a year, which is an abomination by the way. How much time does the priest spend in preparation for preaching or does he just throw it together at the last minute? Does the chanter or choir rehearse or does it just sort of happen? how does the church look, the grounds, the vestments, etc?

All of these things are important and it is what people look at. Language will not keep people away nor will it bring them in, neither will putting the Self Ruled Diocese on everything that will hold ink by the way no one cares who rules what!

There are many reasons why people come and do not come to a church and yes language is one of them but there are many others, and we, converts that is, seem to blame everything on language. At the Resurrection service we read the Epistle in Romanian, and by the way read it right after in English. And did a few other things in Romanian. All toll I bet we did 98% of the Liturgy in English and I heard complaints about the amount of Romanian we used. We need to understand that the Orthodox Church is an ethnic Church, there is no such thing as a non ethnic church right Syedna? You coming to the Huffly this weekend? If you understand Orthodoxy then this is clear to you. All of the music we use is ethnic, the eight tones of the church are all ethnic there is no such thing as American tones. Even the Orthodox Church of America is very Russian in it's Liturgy and music.

As the church grows in this country less and less of the original language will be used but for the time being do not blame lack of attendance on language. Take a long hard look at what you do as Church and how you do it. Make sure you know all there is to know about your church and her beliefs. Don't be so concerned with how things are done but rather why things are done. Is the church relevant to society today? That's the big question. Are we relevant to people who are not traditionally Orthodox? Why are people converting? Not because of language or lack of it, they are converting to churches that hold to what they have taught... And I hate to say this but we are not the only game in town folks... Just my 2 cents worth.

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Church Advertising

So how does one advertise the church on a small budget? We have tried all sorts of things to get people in the doors of the church but nothing seems to be working. In February we bought some airtime on the local radio station and began to syndicate the National Radio Program Come Receive the Light. No one has come through the doors. So I am trying something new this week. I just posted an ad on Craig's List for Liturgy tomorrow. Not sure if it will work but it is FREE and that is always good so we will see what happens.

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Churches that hold to original beliefs, traditions growing

By JAMES D. DAVISReligion Editor
April 26, 2008
Cory Dorta tried those big new warehouse churches with rock music and upbeat sermons. He went back to Orthodoxy.

"It was fun and games, but it wasn't church," Dorta, 20, said in the foyer of St. Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church in Davie as incense and ancient hymns filled the air. "I like more discipline."

That solid feel, of clinging to truth in a trend-driven world, is what helps the church keep about 75 percent of its young people attending, according to Bishop Antoun of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese.

"People today are thirsty and hungry to know the truth," Antoun said after a Holy Week service this week at St. Philip's. "Faith and truth — that's what lasts."

Antoun, whose Diocese of Miami and the Southeast covers nine states, has been in South Florida on a round of services.

On Wednesday, he anointed people with oil and wine at St. Philip's. On Thursday night, he led a procession around St. Mary parish in West Palm Beach during the Twelve Gospel Readings of the Passion of Christ. The bishop returned to St. Philip's on Friday for the Funeral and Burial Service of Jesus Christ. And tonight, he'll lead the Resurrectional Service at 10 p.m. at St. George Cathedral in Coral Gables.

The Antiochians are part of the Eastern Orthodox Communion, which includes Greek, Russian and Ukrainian groups. The Orthodox pride themselves on keeping the old-time religion from the oldest times. They still uphold the teachings of the first seven church councils, which ended in the eighth century, before the Eastern and Western churches parted ways.

One such point is the date of Easter, which they're celebrating more than three weeks after their Catholic and Protestant brethren. The Orthodox keep the original standard to observe Easter after Passover, a rule dropped by Western churches in the 16th century.

Most Antiochian Christians are ethnically Syrian and Lebanese, and a few of the prayers are said in Arabic. But the church is rapidly Americanizing and has drawn thousands of converts from Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal and other churches.

Antoun, 77, is the senior among the six Antiochian bishops of Canada and the United States, where a half-million Antiochians live. They're increasing by a thousand or more per year — sometimes by whole congregations, he said.

"They're all just looking for the full truth of the church," the bishop said. "They decided to return to the New Testament religion.

"The church also has made some practical moves, he said. The church runs a camp, school, museum and library on 403 acres in Ligonier, Penn. It all amounts to a lasting home for young people, like Cory Dorta.

"I don't understand why so many churches preach different messages," he said. "Other churches base their beliefs on the Bible. But the Orthodox Church made the Bible.

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Canterbury to meet with Pope, convene 7th Building Bridges Seminar in Rome

[Lambeth Palace] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, will convene the 7th Building Bridges Seminar in Rome next week and will meet privately with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI.

The Building Bridges Seminar is a unique annual series which brings together a range of internationally recognized Christian and Muslim scholars for an intensive study of relevant Biblical and Qur'anic texts.

The seminar, which is organized in partnership with Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., will run from May 6-8. "Communicating the Word: Revelation, Translation and Interpretation in Christianity and Islam," builds on similar events in London, Doha, Sarajevo, Washington, D.C., and Singapore.

On May 7, Williams will preach and preside at a service for the Inauguration of his new Representative to the Holy See and director of the Anglican Centre in Rome, the Rev. David Richardson.

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Archbishop of Canterbury lectures on 'Religious Faith and Human Rights'

[Lambeth Palace] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, delivered a May 1 lecture, titled "Religious Faith and Human Rights," at the London School of Economics.

Williams sets out a fresh and original vision of how religious tradition -- Christianity in particular -- can help ground human rights thinking in ways that protect human life from violence, abuse or inequality.

Williams responded specifically to the challenge laid down by Alastair McIntyre to find a language, or ethics, for human rights which is robust enough to resist moral relativism on the one hand and political utility on the other.

If McIntyre was right to say that the problem with the strict Enlightenment framework of human rights is that it leaves us 'bereaved,' what might religion have to say about the 'most secure foundations' for a universal ethic of inalienable rights? In answering this question, Williams shows how theology can come to the aid of social, political and legal theory.

Human rights cannot be allowed to become just a list of entitlements "dropped into the cradle," he says. "If human rights theory is to be robust enough to rank as 'the only generally intelligible way in modern political ethics of decisively challenging the positive authority of the State to do what it pleases,' it needs to be rooted more deeply than is possible within a purely secular rationale."

Using the development of Christian thinking about slavery as an example, Williams explores how the notion of bodiliness could be a key to a deeper rooting of the notion of inalienable human rights and how "my rights and yours are inextricably linked: 'my liberty not to be silenced, not to have my body reduced to someone else's instrument, is nourished by the equal liberty of the other not to be silenced'."

"Equal liberty is at root inseparable from the equality of being embodied," he says. "Rights belong not to the person who can demonstrate capacity or rationality but to any organism that can be recognized as a human body, at any stage of its organic development."

The full text of the lecture is available here.

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