Culture – Page 27

The faith-based initiative of the Admin

A Presidential insider takes up the work of faith-based initiatives for the Obama administration, it was announced on February 5th. The 26 year old Princeton grad, Joshua DuBois (also a BU alum) will lead a restructured office which got its sea legs in the Bush administration but had its antecedants in prior administrations of government. He is a Pentecostal pastor. Known to be charismatic and bright, DuBois will be assisting faith groups navigate federal funding policies while having the ear of the President. According to the White House Press Office,

“The Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will focus on four key priorities, to be carried out by working closely with the President’s Cabinet Secretaries and each of the eleven agency offices for faith-based and neighborhood partnerships:

-The Office’s top priority will be making community groups an integral part of our economic recovery and poverty a burden fewer have to bear when recovery is complete.

-It will be one voice among several in the administration that will look at how we support women and children, address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion.

-The Office will strive to support fathers who stand by their families, which involves working to get young men off the streets and into well-paying jobs, and encouraging responsible fatherhood.

-Finally, beyond American shores this Office will work with the National Security Council to foster interfaith dialogue with leaders and scholars around the world.

“The Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships will include a new President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, composed of religious and secular leaders and scholars from different backgrounds. There will be 25 members of the Council, appointed to 1-year terms.

Members of the Council include:

Judith N. Vredenburgh

, President and Chief Executive Officer, Big Brothers / Big Sisters of America
Philadelphia, PA

Rabbi David N. Saperstein

, Director & Counsel, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and noted church/state expert
Washington, DC

Dr. Frank S. Page

, President emeritus, Southern Baptist Convention
Taylors, SC

Father Larry J. Snyder

, President, Catholic Charities USA
Alexandria, VA

Rev. Otis Moss, Jr.

, Pastor emeritus, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
Cleveland, OH

Eboo S. Patel

, Founder & Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Corps
Chicago, IL

Fred Davie

, President, Public / Private Ventures, a secular non-profit intermediary
New York, NY

Dr. William J. Shaw

, President, National Baptist Convention, USA
Philadelphia, PA

Melissa Rogers

, Director, Wake Forest School of Divinity Center for Religion and Public Affairs and expert on church/state issues
Winston-Salem, NC

Pastor Joel C. Hunter

, Senior Pastor, Northland, a Church Distributed
Lakeland, FL

Dr. Arturo Chavez

, Ph.D., President & CEO, Mexican American Cultural Center
San Antonio, TX

Rev. Jim Wallis

, President & Executive Director, Sojourners
Washington, DC

Bishop Vashti M. McKenzie

, Presiding Bishop, 13th Episcopal District, African Methodist Episcopal Church
Knoxville, TN

Diane Baillargeon

, President & CEO, Seedco, a secular national operating intermediary
New York, NY

Richard Stearns

, President, World Vision
Bellevue, WA

All are interesting choices and all seem to be leaders in their respective faith traditions or organizations. I wonder if this group can work with the faith groups across the spectra and not just the people who follow their particular brand of faith. Two members of the Council are Catholics (one being a priest) and they are seemingly on the left side of the Church. THE common thread which unites this group is experience in community organizing, just like the President. I look forward to seeing the fruit of their labors. Dealing with the secularists is not going to be easy even for the theologically left of center people chosen for the Council.

Regarding the mandate to “address teenage pregnancy, and reduce the need for abortion” I wonder just how this goal is going to be accomplished. It sounds fishy to me as I don’t trust the double-speak of President Obama when it comes to protecting life. He certainly has not demonstrated that pro-life matters are part of his makeup. In fact, the opposite is true: Obama has stepped on the pro-life efforts of reasonable people of all faiths.

“Garry & Harry” the story of twin brothers and priests: a story of hope in the face of Alzheimer’s

Fathers Garry and Harry Giroux are twin brothers, both Roman Catholic priests in a small town in upstate New York. In 2004, Father Harry was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and his brother Father Garry has been his caregiver ever since. “Garry and Harry” explores this fascinating story and the relationship of these brothers as they deal with their faith, family, and hope in the face of tragedy.

This film is the work of Steven Madeja, a freelance filmmaker and film festival director in Potsdam, NY. Madeja received a Bachelor’s with honors degree in Film from Vassar College in 2008.

Watch “Garry and Harry“

Thanks to my friend Rachel for sharing this video.

Help the poor by drinking tea

Today’s Zenit posting had an article titled: Nuns Invited to Help Poor by Drinking Tea. Interesting idea, I thought. Help the poor by drinking tea. (I like coffee more.) Sounds easy and given the recent economic problems we’re facing in the USA –and scanning the news services shows problems with the economy are global– I wonder what we are doing about the poor of this country. Granted the poor in the developing world are far poorer and have much less access to resources to fulfill human basic needs than our poor brothers and sisters in the USA. Nonetheless, I think we all need to figure out an adequate plan on how to assist the poor in our own cities and abroad. The Beatitudes quickly come to mind as does the parable of the widow’s mite, and the rich young man. I’d be negligent if I didn’t say the spiritual and corporal works of mercy.

A variety of religious congregations of sisters are leading the charge by making this invitation as concrete as possible by encouraging others to buy tea and coffee sold by Fairtrade workers. Of course, the Franciscans are behind this good work! The Zenit article says: “Springing from a financial vision and a commitment based on the values of the Gospel,” the organizers explained, “new economic relations can arise, challenging men and women religious to make their choices as consumers, beginning with a critical conscience, with bases in the political, economic and social reality.” My challenge: let’s not let the vowed religious do this act of mercy alone.

Are good deeds only left to nuns and priests? I hope not. The Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is for all people and therefore we have to let the words announcing our salvation to cut closely to our human experience. Would it be possible for us, on this side of the ocean, to purchase food products from Fairtrade? Yes, because Fairtrade also operates here in the USA. See the links below. Those unfamilar with the work of Fairtrade should know that it is an organization that represents more than 4,000 groups of workers worldwide.

In early January, the Pope called on Governments to assist the poor: “We need to give new hope to the poor,” he said. “How can we not think of so many individuals and families hard pressed by the difficulties and uncertainties which the current financial and economic crisis has provoked on a global scale? How can we not mention the food crisis and global warming, which make it even more difficult for those living in some of the poorest parts of the planet to have access to nutrition and water?” (Address to Diplomatic Corps, 8 January 2009). Pope Benedict, quoting the First Letter of Saint John, offers us a challenge in this year’s Lenten message: “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet shuts up his bowels of compassion from him — how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).

Fairtrade USA

Fairtrade UK

In Charge of the Fire: a play about Saint Paul

If you are in the greater New Haven, Connecticut area this coming weekend, “In Charge of the Fire” is well worth the effort to see. The writer, actors and director capture the essence of the life of Saint Paul and it reminds us of the salient points of this saint’s life and work for Christ. I think this a wonderful contribution to the celebrations happening in the Year of Saint Paul.

The Pope and the Circus

It’s not every day that the Pope meets with the circus, unless you mean meeting with a long line of clergy and laity on any given subject wanting the pope’s permission, insight or blessing. Nonetheless, it is fun to see the Holy Father having a light moment in his schedule. The Medrano Circus came to the General Audience today.

Ave Maria University on the brink of bankruptcy

The yeast in the pizza dough is dead. The faculty of Ave Maria University (Naples, FL) found out that the financial situation is rather dire and the school could close within 18 months. The once interesting idea is about to go belly up. AND “I am sorry isn’t going to cut it.” One wonders if this seemingly weird idea was based on good, holy discernment focused on Christ, or not. Could the money and intellectual capacities of so many of the good faculty members could have been used more effectively in established universities??? Tom Monaghan wanted to die poor and he’s pretty close to it now. The business acumen of the Domino’s Pizza founder seems to have run out. Ave Maria Law School is selling naming rights for its buildings.

Mozart’s birthday: 253rd!

Happy birthday to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart!

Born on 27 January 1756 & Died on 5 December 1791

Prolific and influential composer –more than 600 works

TS Eliot: RIP 44th anniv.

Thomas Stearns Eliot

26 September 1888 – 4 January 1965

Snow-Bound [The sun that brief December day]


by John Greenleaf Whittier

The sun that brief December day Rose cheerless over hills of gray, And, darkly circled, gave at noon A sadder light than waning moon. Slow tracing down the thickening sky Its mute and ominous prophecy, A portent seeming less than threat, It sank from sight before it set. A chill no coat, however stout, Of homespun stuff could quite shut out, A hard, dull bitterness of cold, That checked, mid-vein, the circling race Of life-blood in the sharpened face, The coming of the snow-storm told. The wind blew east: we heard the roar Of Ocean on his wintry shore, And felt the strong pulse throbbing there Beat with low rhythm our inland air. Meanwhile we did your nightly chores,– Brought in the wood from out of doors, Littered the stalls, and from the mows Raked down the herd’s-grass for the cows; Heard the horse whinnying for his corn; And, sharply clashing horn on horn, Impatient down the stanchion rows The cattle shake their walnut bows; While, peering from his early perch Upon the scaffold’s pole of birch, The cock his crested helmet bent And down his querulous challenge sent. Unwarmed by any sunset light The gray day darkened into night, A night made hoary with the swarm And whirl-dance of the blinding storm, As zigzag, wavering to and fro Crossed and recrossed the wingèd snow: And ere the early bed-time came The white drift piled the window-frame, And through the glass the clothes-line posts Looked in like tall and sheeted ghosts. As night drew on, and, from the crest Of wooded knolls that ridged the west, The sun, a snow-blown traveller, sank From sight beneath the smothering bank, We piled, with care, our nightly stack Of wood against the chimney-back,– The oaken log, green, huge, and thick, And on its top the stout back-stick; The knotty forestick laid apart, And filled between with curious art The ragged brush; then, hovering near, We watched the first red blaze appear, Heard the sharp crackle, caught the gleam On whitewashed wall and sagging beam, Until the old, rude-furnished room Burst, flower-like, into rosy bloom; While radiant with a mimic flame Outside the sparkling drift became, And through the bare-boughed lilac-tree Our own warm hearth seemed blazing free. The crane and pendent trammels showed, The Turks’ heads on the andirons glowed; While childish fancy, prompt to tell The meaning of the miracle, Whispered the old rhyme: “Under the tree, When fire outdoors burns merrily, There the witches are making tea.” The moon above the eastern wood Shone at its full; the hill-range stood Transfigured in the silver flood, Its blown snows flashing cold and keen, Dead white, save where some sharp ravine Took shadow, or the somber green Of hemlocks turned to pitchy black Against the whiteness at their back. For such a world and such a night Most fitting that unwarming light, Which only seemed where’er it fell To make the coldness visible.

Jewish Youth Antagonize Friars in Jerusalem

Our sensibilities are heightened,our sense of peace is frequently threatened. Violence erupts so easily these days that it’s hardly news anymore. Being spat on would likely enrage me and I would hope that I could remain calm. But who knows. I pray for peace in my morning offering, at Mass and whenever I hear a news report revealing any insane act of violence (which is a million times a day). How do we engage pugnacious youth to to live in peace? Do we turn the other cheek? How and why? How do the Franciscan friars live in the Holy Land day after day in the middle of violence and remain at peace with their vocation?

A recent incident is reported by one of the friars.