22 posts tagged “christian”

I have lost two partners and many friends to HIV/AIDS. I have friends who are still living with HIV/AIDS. All of my thoughts Saturday will be drawn to each of them.

It is a dreadful and still fatal disease. People may be able to better manage it with drugs now, but in the end, most people who have HIV will die due to an AIDS-related illness. Mike (my partner of 17 years) died of PCP in 1994. Ron (my partner of 7 years) died of cancer in 2005.

I don't want your sympathy. I have been very fortunate to have had two great loves in my life. Most people are lucky if they have only one.

Mike's illness was diagnosed incorrectly and late, and he died quickly. Ron was sick when we met. Love knows no boundaries. After having cared for by beloved Mike until he died, I knew Ron would one day get very sick and go to a better place too. After all, Ron had two near-death experiences before we even met.

What I would ask you to do this Saturday is to call, write, or visit someone you know who has HIV/AIDS. Express your friendship or love to them, and do something a little special for them that day. Take them to lunch. Buy a present. Pray or meditate with them. Read to them. If they are bedridden, offer to massage their limbs with lotion. People with AIDS are often starved for human touch.

As a Christian, I believe these are things Jesus would do. But, whatever your faith or non-faith, you can be kind to someone. It will enrich your life. Blessings.

http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/

I used to live in South Carolina. It is stories such as this one from the BBC that will keep me away from there except to visit friends.

Toward the end of this video, State Senator Glenn McConnell, the South Carolina Senate President Pro Tem, seems to dismiss the lack of care of people in SC as unimportant because "there are not that many." Attacking a minority by using the size of the group is something the Nazis did to the Jews and has been done by various hate groups to marginalize the people they hate.

I think Bush's stated plans for helping people around the world with HIV/AIDS is a good thing for the US just as long as we have plans in place to help every American citizen with HIV/AIDS first. And of course, we don't.

People like McConnell will be the first to be offended if you attack religion in public schools or make a pro-choice statement. I think people such as he have no clue as to what it means to be Christian. I will pray for him and the people who have no voice in that backward area of America.

P.S.: This capture of the BBC video is not the best in the world, but many of the news sites are in the bad habit of moving older items around or making you pay to see them. If you want to try this BBC link, I hope it works for you.

This will come as no surprise to most of you. We hear much about the Christian (or religious) Right in the US. We virtually never hear about liberal Christians and other progressive religious communities. Here is a study that shows how the American corporate media fails to present more than one side in debates on the issues of the day. Once again, so much for the myth of the "liberal press." I'm a member of the United Church of Christ, which has about 1.2 million members, and I rarely see our positions represented in stories. We did get some publicity over a year ago when some networks would not air our "ejector pews" ad. Christianity and other religions are diverse. It is unfair for the press to primarily focus on those on one side of the spectrum.

In a 2006 study by the Center for American Values in Public Life, 90 percent of Americans identified themselves as religious. But according to a postelection survey in 2004, only 32 percent of Americans identified themselves as conservative. [Media Matters]

Key findings from the study:

• Combining newspapers and television, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed in news stories 2.8 times as often as were progressive religious leaders.
• On television news -- the three major television networks, the three major cable new channels, and PBS -- conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed almost 3.8 times as often as progressive leaders.
• In major newspapers, conservative religious leaders were quoted, mentioned, or interviewed 2.7 times as often as progressive leaders.

[Left Behind]

Michael Moore seems to be doing more than making movies. Helping the sick and loving your enemies are good Christian (and other faiths too) virtues. Bravo!

Michael Moore is enjoying major buzz at the Cannes Film Festival for his new film, “Sicko,” about the U.S. healthcare system. Meanwhile, one of his staunchest detractors has discovered that the anonymous benefactor who paid off his sick wife’s $12,000 yearly medical insurance bill was none other than the documentary filmmaker. [truthdig.com]

I am unable to attend this because of product deadlines at my job, but would love to hear reports from anyone who does attend. Helping and advocating for "the least of these" was at the heart of Christ's message.

 

Pentecost 2007: Taking Vision to the Streets will be held from June 3 – 6 at National City Christian Church in Washington D.C. [Link

CNNN - Holy Homosexuals

This is either very serious or extremely funny, depending on whether your are a Biblical literalist or not.

But murdering people in an unjustified war is way cool. I guess he doesn't worship the Prince of Peace. What kind of twisted morality is that?

Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Monday that he supports the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" ban on gays serving in the military because homosexuality is "immoral" and on par with having an extramarital affair. [Chicago Tribune]

From the United Church of Christ:

Ricardo Esquivia, an outspoken advocate for creating a culture of peace, will participate in the UCC's all-day "Synod in the City" in Hartford, Conn., on June 23.

As part of the UCC's 50th anniversary General Synod, June 22-26, "Synod in the City" will include dozens of performers, speakers, theologians, musicians, and multimedia events at venues throughout downtown Hartford. The day-long celebration will culminate with the UCC's churchwide birthday party at the Hartford Civic Center.

Esquivia, a Colombian Mennonite of African descent, is a leading advocate for peace in Colombia. As the founder of Justapaz, the just peace center sponsored by the Mennonite Church of Colombia, and Sembrandopaz (Sowing Peace), Esquivia has started more than 150 ecumenical associations of churches in local villages, towns and cities to work together to bring peace and development to the people of Colombia.

"I consider him the Ghandi of Latin America," says the Rev. Davida Foy Crabtree, Conference Minister of the UCC's Connecticut Conference. "He was a judge, and he gave up his law career to devote himself to building a culture of peace."

"We want people to be able to see the tree in the seed," says Esquivia, who has taken part in national and regional dialogues and peace initiatives in the South American country. More than 200,000 people have been killed in Colombia since 1985, and more than two million have been uprooted in one of the Western Hemisphere's worst humanitarian crises.

Though Esquivia has faced death threats from paramilitary forces, he said he wants his people to be able to taste the fruit that will come from the tree of peace.

Read more about Ricardo Esquivia

Learn more about Synod in the City.