I'm grateful to Ken Godshall for his wise and heart-felt remarks at the congregational meeting after church this Sunday. Before we approved the motion to ask Presbytery to dissolve the relationship with Rev. Jim Poinsett as Associate Pastor, Ken spoke these words. I thank Ken for allowing me to share them.
--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
I support the motion to dissolve the pastoral relationship with Jim Poinsett and would like to share a few comments before we vote.
Jim’s assignment at Mt. Kisco has been challenging over the last year. He was appointed acting head of staff and moderator of session during a period of serious church conflict. Jim did a good job by remaining calm, by offering reconciliation to those who were hurt, and by supporting the difficult but appropriate decisions that Session made. This responsibility was probably more than Jim expected when he accepted our call as associate pastor over three years ago. I am grateful to Jim for setting a tone in the church and in the pulpit that helped the church move forward.
Jim performed those duties while grieving over the death of his wife Robin and commuting 90 minutes each day to and from work. Although Jim has been ably supported by other pastors in the Presbytery, the grieving process is still not over, so it’s appropriate that he take a sabbatical before accepting another call. Keep in mind that Robin was not only Jim’s wife, but the person at seminary who encouraged him to continue to pursue ordained ministry at a low point when he almost gave up. His relationship with Robin’s family after death has not been ideal.
Jim’s departure today as a matter of polity is the dissolution of a pastoral relationship. But it would also be accurate to describe what is happening as a job elimination. We are losing Jim today because the church lacks the financial resources to pay for an associate pastor for the first time in several decades. I’m pleased that Jack and Janice Lohr have joined us today for the next year or two, but regret that recent church conflict and the Great Recession have cost Jim his first call after seminary. It’s a real loss.
Throughout this difficult period Jim has led worship and confidently proclaimed the Word at a time when the congregation needed to hear it. His sermons have provided a message of hope for this church.
I am glad to know Jim and grateful for his leadership during an important moment in the life of the church. Thanks be to God for his ministry among us.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
THE TELEGRAPH: UK consumer confidence bounced back sharply in August despite the austerity onslaught and rising fears of a double-dip recession, confouding those who thought fiscal tightening would set off a self-feeding downward spiral.
The GfK/NOP index rose four points to -18, breaking the steady downward trend since February. Nick Moon, head of GfK NOP Social Research, said this flicker of optimism comes just in time.
"Consumer confidence has been in constant decline for the past five months and a further fall would have made a double-dip recession seem a very real prospect. The Government will undoubtedly read these figures with a great deal of relief," he said.
A susbstantial chunk of the country thinks the overall economic situation will improve over the next year even if their own affairs will not, suggesting broad acceptance that austerity is the right course.
Mr Moon cautioned against reading too much into a single month's data and said the index remains very low by historical standards. "This gain merely reverses a large drop in July. Confidence in the economy's future prospects remains below its June level and similar to May 2009 when we were still in the grips of recession," he said. The index is hovering near levels seen during the credit crisis, the ERM debacle in the early 1990s, and the three-day working week in the 1970s.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) warns today that Britain's job's market will remain "extremely weak" over the next five years, with unemployment breaching 10pc in much of the North, the Midlands, Wales and Ulster. >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor | Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Roger Clemens A Wake-Up Call? by Suzannah B. Troy
Roger Clemens in his most natural pure state is a great athlete who needed no extra boosts although he convinced himself he did. His mental strength on the pitching mound can be seen in the court house as described in a well written piece by Mike Vaccaro in The New York Post. I point this out because in The New York Daily News there is a piece with the words "voluminous evidence". Actually the title is, "Ex-Yankee pitcher Roger Clemens pleads not guilty to perjury but Feds have 'voluminous evidence' and sums up the entire story.
Roger Clemens needs to make a very long list of all the good deeds he has done and I am sure there are many and throw himself at the mercy the powers that be. Clemens needs a wake-up, a reality check but all the tools that helped me to be a great pitcher like steely calm on the mound and mental toughness are helping him to dig a hole so deep he won't be able to wiggle out of. I wrote in my Naomi Campbell post on the Blood Diamonds, super models don't go to jail. Roger Clemens does not have have the Naomi Campbell luck and at the rate she is going she is going to run out of luck.
When celebrity believe their own celebrity and that they are above the law at some point they are in for a harsh awakening and Roger Clemens has clearly not hit that point yet.
Babe Ruth, Thurmon Munson are among my favorite Yankees and I can't imagine either of them doing anything foolish to have a competitive edge. In fact Babe Ruth seemed to do just the opposite. His Yankee coaches had to ask him to stop eating in the dug-out as I recall reading a biography. Babe Ruth hardly ate the breakfast of champions, trained like an obsessed athlete trying to break records at the Olympics.
I do think that baseball statistics will have to be reported differently with an "S" after any athlete that has been proven to have used steroids any other letters to indicate any other enhancing edge that was not kosher. Looking around at a lot of professional athletes and Hollywood actors it appears to me that they are using illegal substances to make their bodies look and perform beyond Mother Nature's gifts and for me it is creepy.
I have even greater admirations for athletes male and female who achieved their goals naturally and honestly and did not crack to the pressure of wanting to win so badly they would cheat.
Getting back to Clemens....he hold hard and fast to his "not guilty" plea to perjury and this is the worse pitch of his life.
Japan Airlines Cuts Manpower
By MALILA Harris
The struggling Japan Airline (JAL) has announced that it will slash workforce to compensate the unprofitable business. The airline is believed to restructure after filing for bankruptcy protection 19 January.
The Airlines for many years fighting unprofitable business and forced to cut manpower twice. This is the third time when more than 16,000 jobs are in a hanging position. The flight has been suffering from unprofitable domestic and international routes.
Some of the job cut is indirect, retiring early and the sale of subsidiaries.
The company is also planning to curtail by 103 aircraft. JAL is a member of the One World alliance, which includes some renowned airlines like American Airlines and British Airways.
The fall of passenger list hit in the time of global economic downturn where most of the airlines suffered from similar fate. In addition, the rival Nippon Airways considerably does well in recent times that also poses threat to the JAL.
"By fully implementing these measures, the JAL Group will aim to become profitable from the first fiscal year of the plan and thus rehabilitate quickly," the airline said in a statement.
It is reported that workforce cut from 48,714 at the end of 2009 to 32,600 by the end of this year.
The Japan government also helps out the airlines after JAL's bankruptcy in January and caught in debt of $25bn.
The analysts have said that the fall of Japan Airlines was the countries one of the worst corporate failures.
War News for Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The DND/CF is reporting the death of a Canadian soldier at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany on Monday, August 30th. He was wounded from a roadside bombing in the Panjwa’i District, southwest of Kandahar City, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on Sunday, August 22nd.
NATO is reporting the deaths of five ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th. News reports that a roadside bombing killed five American soldiers in Helmand province.
NATO is reporting the deaths of two additional soldiers in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th. This will be the Estonian soldier.
NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31st.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31st.
Restoring Names to Iraq War’s Unknown Casualties
Petraeus Finishes Rules for Afghan Security Transition
Leader Says Iraq Independent as U.S. Ends Combat
Obama speech on Iraq has risks
Civil liberties groups challenge constitutionality of secret U.S. program to target terror suspects for killing
"Non-combat" Iraq troops still get combat pay
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Two mortar rounds slammed into the Green Zone late Sunday. No casualties were reported.
Mosul:
#1: Two brothers were killed and one civilian man was wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on them in western Mosul city. “The incident occurred last night in the al-Isslah al-Zeraee neighborhood, western Mosul,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Tuesday. He explained that the two brothers work as truck drivers.
Tal Afar:
#1: Army forces killed on Monday a suicide bomber in eastern Talafar, a security source said. “Acting on a tip-off on the presence of a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt in al-Mazraa village in eastern Talafar, a force from the 3rd division of the Iraqi army rushed to the area and killed him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol near a mosque in central Fallujah, at 11.15 p.m. Monday. The vehicle sustained a direct hit and was destroyed and all five policemen inside it were critically injured.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A rocket fired by militants slammed close to the office of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kandahar province south of Afghanistan, injuring a guard, spokesman for provincial administration Zalmai Ayubi said Tuesday. "The rocket was fired at 10:00 p.m. Monday night. As a result, one Afghan guard of the UNAMA compound was injured," Zalmai Ayubi told Xinhua.
#2: Suspected Islamist militants attacked an army intelligence office Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, setting off a gunbattle that paralyzed parts of the city. Captured militant suspects were being questioned in the office at the time of the attack, two local police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. It was not clear, though, if the attack was tied to the questioning. Bashir Bilour, a senior minister in the province, said the shooting began when militants tried to enter the building, but security forces fended off the attack. "They have been surrounded and so far there are no casualties," he told reporters. The area around the office was sealed off soon after the attack, which began about 6 a.m. Sporadic gunfire could still be heard more than five hours later, shutting down blocks of the city. Peshawar is the capital of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militants often target police and security forces. The area where the assault happened is near the American Consulate, but police said that building was not the target. TV footage showed commandos and police surrounding the consulate and checking vehicles.
#3: The shooting began hours after suspected U.S. missiles struck two vehicles carrying militants in northwest Pakistan and killed four of them. The overnight missile attack happened in the troubled Kurram tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The slain men were from Taliban's Haqqani network, which is blamed for launching attacks across the border against the American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, two intelligence officials said. The spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
#4: Meanwhile, on the southern outskirts of the capital, Kabul, a gunman opened fire on a busload of Afghan Supreme Court clerks, killing three and wounding 12, the Interior Ministry reported. Assailants on two motorcycles halted the bus Tuesday morning in the Musayi district, an area where insurgents are active, court spokesman Abdul Malik Kamawi said. One gunman then boarded the bus and opened fire with an automatic weapon, killing two people, Kamawi said. A third died later in a hospital.
#5: Also Tuesday, the coalition said it killed two insurgents and wounded a third in an airstrike Monday on a Taliban commander in charge of logistics in Kandahar, including the coordination of homemade bomb attacks. A number of Taliban and allied Haqqani Network commanders were also detained in operations Monday, including one recently returned from teaching bomb-making techniques in Pakistan, NATO said.
#6: In Zabul province bordering Kandahar, insurgents on Monday night ambushed a convoy carrying food and other supplies, killing two private security guards and wounding five others, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar said.
#7: Afghan and foreign troops killed 18 insurgents during a gun battle in the Manogai district of northeastern Kunar province on Monday, provincial governor Fazlullah Wahedi said. Four Afghan troops were wounded, he said.
#8: Two Afghan children were killed when militants attacked an ISAF outpost in the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province, west of Kabul on Monday, ISAF said. Insurgents fired three rounds at the outpost, one of which landed in the nearby village of Adamkhel, killing the children, it said.
#9: Three aid workers were killed and two others sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Afghanistan's northeast Badakhshan province, Mohammad Amin Sohail the spokesman for provincial administration said Tuesday. "The tragic incident happened in Shahr-e-Buzarg district on Monday afternoon. As a result, Mohammad Javed the office in-charge of OXFAM and two of his colleagues were killed," Sohail told Xinhua. All the victims are Afghans, he asserted. Another two people, including an employee of the office, were injured, he further said.
#10: At least six suspected militants were killed and another three were injured Tuesday as Pakistani military jets and gunship helicopters pounded heavy artillery on militants hideouts in Khyber tribal agency in northwest Pakistan, local sources told Xinhua. The air strikes targeted Ghaibee Baba and Sandane tribe's Sipah area in Bara district of Khyber Agency, local sources said.
DoD: Master Sgt. Daniel L. Fedder
DoD: Staff Sgt. James R. Ide
DoD: Spc. James C. Robinson
DoD: Pfc. Chad D. Coleman
DoD: Pvt. Adam J. Novak
DoD: Capt. Ellery R. Wallace
DoD: Pfc. Bryn T. Raver
DoD: Gunnery Sgt. Floyd E. C. Holley
DND/CF: Corporal Brian Pinksen
EST/MoD: Junior Herdis Sikka
NATO is reporting the deaths of five ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th. News reports that a roadside bombing killed five American soldiers in Helmand province.
NATO is reporting the deaths of two additional soldiers in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, August 30th. This will be the Estonian soldier.
NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31st.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 31st.
Restoring Names to Iraq War’s Unknown Casualties
Petraeus Finishes Rules for Afghan Security Transition
Leader Says Iraq Independent as U.S. Ends Combat
Obama speech on Iraq has risks
Civil liberties groups challenge constitutionality of secret U.S. program to target terror suspects for killing
"Non-combat" Iraq troops still get combat pay
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Two mortar rounds slammed into the Green Zone late Sunday. No casualties were reported.
Mosul:
#1: Two brothers were killed and one civilian man was wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on them in western Mosul city. “The incident occurred last night in the al-Isslah al-Zeraee neighborhood, western Mosul,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Tuesday. He explained that the two brothers work as truck drivers.
Tal Afar:
#1: Army forces killed on Monday a suicide bomber in eastern Talafar, a security source said. “Acting on a tip-off on the presence of a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt in al-Mazraa village in eastern Talafar, a force from the 3rd division of the Iraqi army rushed to the area and killed him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted a police patrol near a mosque in central Fallujah, at 11.15 p.m. Monday. The vehicle sustained a direct hit and was destroyed and all five policemen inside it were critically injured.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A rocket fired by militants slammed close to the office of United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) in Kandahar province south of Afghanistan, injuring a guard, spokesman for provincial administration Zalmai Ayubi said Tuesday. "The rocket was fired at 10:00 p.m. Monday night. As a result, one Afghan guard of the UNAMA compound was injured," Zalmai Ayubi told Xinhua.
#2: Suspected Islamist militants attacked an army intelligence office Saturday in northwestern Pakistan, officials said, setting off a gunbattle that paralyzed parts of the city. Captured militant suspects were being questioned in the office at the time of the attack, two local police officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. It was not clear, though, if the attack was tied to the questioning. Bashir Bilour, a senior minister in the province, said the shooting began when militants tried to enter the building, but security forces fended off the attack. "They have been surrounded and so far there are no casualties," he told reporters. The area around the office was sealed off soon after the attack, which began about 6 a.m. Sporadic gunfire could still be heard more than five hours later, shutting down blocks of the city. Peshawar is the capital of troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militants often target police and security forces. The area where the assault happened is near the American Consulate, but police said that building was not the target. TV footage showed commandos and police surrounding the consulate and checking vehicles.
#3: The shooting began hours after suspected U.S. missiles struck two vehicles carrying militants in northwest Pakistan and killed four of them. The overnight missile attack happened in the troubled Kurram tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The slain men were from Taliban's Haqqani network, which is blamed for launching attacks across the border against the American and NATO forces in Afghanistan, two intelligence officials said. The spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
#4: Meanwhile, on the southern outskirts of the capital, Kabul, a gunman opened fire on a busload of Afghan Supreme Court clerks, killing three and wounding 12, the Interior Ministry reported. Assailants on two motorcycles halted the bus Tuesday morning in the Musayi district, an area where insurgents are active, court spokesman Abdul Malik Kamawi said. One gunman then boarded the bus and opened fire with an automatic weapon, killing two people, Kamawi said. A third died later in a hospital.
#5: Also Tuesday, the coalition said it killed two insurgents and wounded a third in an airstrike Monday on a Taliban commander in charge of logistics in Kandahar, including the coordination of homemade bomb attacks. A number of Taliban and allied Haqqani Network commanders were also detained in operations Monday, including one recently returned from teaching bomb-making techniques in Pakistan, NATO said.
#6: In Zabul province bordering Kandahar, insurgents on Monday night ambushed a convoy carrying food and other supplies, killing two private security guards and wounding five others, provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar said.
#7: Afghan and foreign troops killed 18 insurgents during a gun battle in the Manogai district of northeastern Kunar province on Monday, provincial governor Fazlullah Wahedi said. Four Afghan troops were wounded, he said.
#8: Two Afghan children were killed when militants attacked an ISAF outpost in the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province, west of Kabul on Monday, ISAF said. Insurgents fired three rounds at the outpost, one of which landed in the nearby village of Adamkhel, killing the children, it said.
#9: Three aid workers were killed and two others sustained injuries as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Afghanistan's northeast Badakhshan province, Mohammad Amin Sohail the spokesman for provincial administration said Tuesday. "The tragic incident happened in Shahr-e-Buzarg district on Monday afternoon. As a result, Mohammad Javed the office in-charge of OXFAM and two of his colleagues were killed," Sohail told Xinhua. All the victims are Afghans, he asserted. Another two people, including an employee of the office, were injured, he further said.
#10: At least six suspected militants were killed and another three were injured Tuesday as Pakistani military jets and gunship helicopters pounded heavy artillery on militants hideouts in Khyber tribal agency in northwest Pakistan, local sources told Xinhua. The air strikes targeted Ghaibee Baba and Sandane tribe's Sipah area in Bara district of Khyber Agency, local sources said.
DoD: Master Sgt. Daniel L. Fedder
DoD: Staff Sgt. James R. Ide
DoD: Spc. James C. Robinson
DoD: Pfc. Chad D. Coleman
DoD: Pvt. Adam J. Novak
DoD: Capt. Ellery R. Wallace
DoD: Pfc. Bryn T. Raver
DoD: Gunnery Sgt. Floyd E. C. Holley
DND/CF: Corporal Brian Pinksen
EST/MoD: Junior Herdis Sikka
LG Launches The World’s Thinnest 3D OLED TV
Today at the IFA exhibition in Berlin, LG has debuted the world’s thinnest OLED (organic light emitting diode) TV, measuring just 2.9mm, according to Crave Asia. The thin OLED sets have been around while the 2007 introduction of the Sony XEL-1, but the LG model has the added advantage of 3D playback.
There is a catch though. No official price has been given so far for the set, but it will likely be expensive. Jaw droppingly luxurious. The Chaebol 15-inch EL9500 OLED is on sale currently in the U.S. For $2,500.
Boom In China Wheat Market After Australian Deregulation
China, the world's largest grain producer, has shown an amplified interest in Australian wheat.
In the nine months to the end of June, Australian wheat exports to China were triple the sales made in the prior financial year (2008-09).
Commodity analyst Malcolm Bartholomaeus says deregulation of wheat exports has played a main role.
"Under the old arrangements, it would emerge that AWB used to deal with either just one government-backed industry or a very minute number of entities," he says.
"So now I think a larger number of mills can come straight into the Australian market and buy what they need in any smaller bulk parcels or in the container market."
In the nine months to the end of June, Australian wheat exports to China were triple the sales made in the prior financial year (2008-09).Commodity analyst Malcolm Bartholomaeus says deregulation of wheat exports has played a main role.
"Under the old arrangements, it would emerge that AWB used to deal with either just one government-backed industry or a very minute number of entities," he says.
"So now I think a larger number of mills can come straight into the Australian market and buy what they need in any smaller bulk parcels or in the container market."
Tiger Woods won't say he loves his ex? by Suzannah B. Troy
Tiger Woods will not answer questions if the question is "Do you love your ex-wife?" which he was asked quite a bit by Andrea Peyser of The New York Post until she was escorted out of The Barclay Tournament. Lucky for her, she was not stoned but sports bloggers came very close to doing so.
In theory it is none of our business but when Tiger Woods made himself over in to a multi-billion dollar brand and he used photos of his wife and children to express a wholesome family man image than he opens the door to these questions. Acting like a bachelor porn king and not a devoted family man, giving mistresses millions of dollars pay-outs and a very large undisclosed amount to his now ex-wife does leave some people, not me wondering.
As an adult child of divorced parents here is unsolicited advice to Tiger Woods or whom ever his handlers are. Tiger, when reporters or anyone ask you, "Do you love Elin Nordegren?" The answer is a no-brainer.
The answer is "Yes!" She is the mother of our children." That simple. Why would I say that. Not for your world wide audience of fans Tigers but for your kids.
As they grow up their peers may taunt them like throwing DVDs of porn parodies at them or taunt them saying your father did not love your mother.
Tiger tainted his reputation, his career and hurt his family That was all Tiger's doing with the help of his enablers -- alleged friends. My gut feeling is he has still not taken full responsibility and his silence when asked about if he loves Elin is just another clue. Any fan that comes to his defense is not helping him. He put himself in the global media's head lights and that helped fuel his fortune and now he has to take responsibility or not. He could buy Hugh Hefner out and take-over his crown and scepter. It is his call and his choices but Woods can't escape the glare of the media spotlight; I believe it is his cocaine. He could walk away and live a quiet life and he doesn't. If he wants to play golf and be a brand he has to stand up and take responsibility and smarten up.
Tiger, it is a simple answer to a simple question and you answer it for your two children. Yes, I love my ex-wife.
By the way Tiger if you want to pay me for my words of wisdom you would have to pay a lot more than you paid women to be silent. Good luck and err on the side of love for children's sake.
A note of praise for Elin Nordegren. In my blog piece posted here asking if the "old Tiger was back sexually?" I had written I hope she does something good to help others. I read some where she is going to do something wonderful with some of that money and it may be centers to help people that have gone through the trauma of emotional issues from family breaks up, etc. I wish I had a link for you but the center and I hope there will be more than one will be in Florida. Bravo Elin.
If Tiger wants to move the healing process forward share the love and gratitude for the mother of his two children to the world who has looked in from their very birth on.
Monday, August 30, 2010
We’ve extended our existing licensing agreement with the Associated Press that permits us to host its content on Google properties such as Google News. We look forward to future collaborations, including on ways Google and AP can work together to create a better user experience and new revenue opportunities. You can read more about our hosted news agreements in this post and this one.
We’ve extended our existing licensing agreement with the Associated Press that permits us to host its content on Google properties such as Google News. We look forward to future collaborations, including on ways Google and AP can work together to create a better user experience and new revenue opportunities. You can read more about our hosted news agreements in this post and this one.
Jack's FAQs and Sermon Script
Three questions arose Sunday that might be of interest for those who didn't hear the answers. I'll add to these as I go, developing what I'll call "Jack's FAQs" (Frequently Asked Questions)
1. (from the Children's Time) Q: What kind of motorcycle is it? A: Honda Nighthawk 250. It gets 75 miles per gallon.
2. Q: Did you decide to eliminate the bells? A: No, one of the bells has a broken clapper, and we've been advised that ringing them right now could damage them.
3. Q: What were you thinking, quoting from Glenn Beck? A. First, let me thank you for listening! (At least one person yesterday was meditating with closed eyes and deep breathing while I preached.) Just because I disagree with someone's views doesn't mean I can't learn from them. Indeed, when someone whose ideas I dislike says something I can affirm, I value it all the more. I'm trying to model a stance for the church: We don't have to agree on everything in order to be a united congregation.
Below is the text of my sermon (as prepared). If you listen to the audio, you'll see that I cut short the excerpts from my Statement of Faith. And God knows where my illustration about General William Booth and the Salvation Army came from. I didn't plan to use it!
"Fasten your seatbelt!"…
Yesterday on my day off, I attended a zen meditation group at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Westchester on S. Bedford Rd. When I told the leader that I've just moved to Mount Kisco to become Interim Pastor for the Presbyterian Church, he responded, "They've been through some troubles, haven't they?" Already in my first week, I can tell that I'm going to have to come up with an answer to that!
As I've begun visiting and talking with PCMK members, I can see that each of you has a perspective on our church's history. I look forward to learning more from you in the days and months ahead. And I expect you'll help me understand the history of this church so that together we can formulate a shared answer to this challenge. After one week, the response I'm formulating goes like this: "Yes, we've been through it. And we're stronger for the pain, and better able to help others who may be suffering. We don't deny our past. In fact, we affirm everything that was good in it, while recognizing our own part in the hurtful things that happened. We will always be ready to ask forgiveness where we may have wronged others. And we are ready to move forward into a positive future that God intends."
Jesus can help us learn how to do this. His word in this morning's Gospel lesson invites us to be "Shameless Christians." Jesus teaches us that:
1) God's loving grace and forgiveness remove any reason for us to feel shame,
2) We are set free to live so that we have nothing to be ashamed of, and
3) We must never be ashamed to be known as followers of Jesus.
Bible scholars are applying sociologists' insight that all societies organize around three social issues: fear, shame and guilt. Roland Muller calls them "the building blocks of society." …
We are called to grow beyond our history--to be even more than we have been, to serve even more effectively, and to praise God with every gift we have, even more gloriously than we have been able to do until now. I am delighted to be able to join the choir, and to hear how it's growing. I am impressed after just one week to see the mission and caring community that this church embodies.
After choosing my sermon topic, I learned of the “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation called it a time to honor service members who fight to protect our freedoms. Non-profit organizations like the SOWF take care of families of soldiers who risk their lives for our country in the event of an accident or loss of life. I think we can all affirm that spirit! While there was a lot of coded political language, Glenn Beck sounded more like a preacher than talk-show host. He called America to "turn back to God." He said as a nation we have walked in darkness, too much focused on our scars. He invited us "to concentrate on the good things in America, the things we have accomplished and the things we can do tomorrow." He affirmed those with other views. "There's a lot we can disagree on, but our values and our principles can unite us."
On this 47th anniversary of MLK's speech, I too have a dream. I dream of a church unashamed of and unhindered by its past, and able to step boldly into the future. We can focus less on our scars. We can face down the constricting power of shame, and experience the uplifting power of self-affirmation. We can rediscover our mission.
What a joyful week it's been. My wife Janice came home yesterday, I had a delightful dinner at the Kung's, Linda Lewis delivered cookies to me at church. Jim Poinsett listened patiently to all my questions and reduced the number of blunders I would otherwise have committed. Still I know I'll have lots of occasions to ask for your forgiveness. As the old poster said, "Please be patient…"
SoF: I’ve come to express my sense of the boundless love of God in this way: Nothing you ever did would make God love you less. Nothing you could ever do would make God love you more.
Despite its self-interested mistakes, the Church lives in the grace of God, and when we practice the ministry of reconciliation we impart that grace to the world.
Life is a gift of Love, which needs to be nurtured in all its aspects. We can’t legislate others’ choices, but the church must engage the challenges of war, violence, poverty, and injustice. Earth is a gift of the Universe, precious and perhaps unique. We who are destroying Creation must find the discipline to stop, to learn new ways to live, and reverse the damage we have done. Our diverse nation represents the hopes and aspirations of newcomers from many nations, spiritual traditions, and cultures. Scripture reminds us that as former outsiders, we must care for aliens in our midst and establish justice in our laws and treatment of immigrants. The church must speak clearly on issues such as these, but in dialog with others’ views.
Holy Spirit (or Divine Breath/Wind) is Source of our Life and Ground of our Being. From our birth until our death, we are alive with the Breath of God. Spirit gives us wisdom and insight to read Scripture so as to discern the Word of God. From my first religious affiliation as a Quaker, I learned to appreciate this “Inner Light” in every person. I expect to learn from Holy Wisdom present in every person with whom I share in ministry. I celebrate the humanity that unites all people, of every category that might be used to divide us, and I treasure the privilege of serving others.
A statement of faith is not to fight over, and certainly not to kill or die for. May my affirmation may prompt reflection and dialogue, and may I grow in the love of Jesus as I minister with others.
I confess I grew up with shame as a primary motivator. I have learned the exhilaration of stepping out of the shame syndrome. As I've taken to heart Jesus' lessons that lifted up those of low degree, and taught outcasts to stand up for themselves, I've found my voice. I know there are two ways that we may try to live as Shameless Christians. One is to be timid and cautious, and try never to make mistakes. Of course we can't succeed, but even worse--life is no fun! The other way is to follow the advice of Martin Luther: "Trust God and sin boldly."
Luther was writing to his younger protégé Philip Melanchthon who was overly scrupulous and anxious about God's grace. Luther rebuked him for such anxiety about trying to merit God's favor:
If you are a preacher of grace, then preach true grace and not a fictitious grace. If grace is true, you must bear a true and not fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death and the world.
True grace forgives real sins and not just polite or acceptable sins. Even with our own deep sense of sin, frailty and failure, grace liberates us to live fully and freely, with candor and honesty but without obsession or anxiety.
CONCLUSION: Cowardly lion lacked courage, the tin man needed a heart, the scarecrow lacked a brain, Dorothy wanted to go home. It seems to me that we here at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco yearn for all of the above! We want the wisdom and courage to speak from our heart about the glory and pain of our past, so that we can return home to the place that PCMK has been for us and find that the Spirit has never left. Amen.
--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
1. (from the Children's Time) Q: What kind of motorcycle is it? A: Honda Nighthawk 250. It gets 75 miles per gallon.
2. Q: Did you decide to eliminate the bells? A: No, one of the bells has a broken clapper, and we've been advised that ringing them right now could damage them.
3. Q: What were you thinking, quoting from Glenn Beck? A. First, let me thank you for listening! (At least one person yesterday was meditating with closed eyes and deep breathing while I preached.
Below is the text of my sermon (as prepared). If you listen to the audio, you'll see that I cut short the excerpts from my Statement of Faith. And God knows where my illustration about General William Booth and the Salvation Army came from. I didn't plan to use it!
8/29/10 Shameless Christians (Luke 14:1, 7-14)
NOW I understand why Presbyterians never choose front pews at church. We're following Jesus' teaching in Luke 14! We're waiting for the minister to invite us, "Friend, move up higher."…"Fasten your seatbelt!"…
Yesterday on my day off, I attended a zen meditation group at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Westchester on S. Bedford Rd. When I told the leader that I've just moved to Mount Kisco to become Interim Pastor for the Presbyterian Church, he responded, "They've been through some troubles, haven't they?" Already in my first week, I can tell that I'm going to have to come up with an answer to that!
As I've begun visiting and talking with PCMK members, I can see that each of you has a perspective on our church's history. I look forward to learning more from you in the days and months ahead. And I expect you'll help me understand the history of this church so that together we can formulate a shared answer to this challenge. After one week, the response I'm formulating goes like this: "Yes, we've been through it. And we're stronger for the pain, and better able to help others who may be suffering. We don't deny our past. In fact, we affirm everything that was good in it, while recognizing our own part in the hurtful things that happened. We will always be ready to ask forgiveness where we may have wronged others. And we are ready to move forward into a positive future that God intends."
Jesus can help us learn how to do this. His word in this morning's Gospel lesson invites us to be "Shameless Christians." Jesus teaches us that:
1) God's loving grace and forgiveness remove any reason for us to feel shame,
2) We are set free to live so that we have nothing to be ashamed of, and
3) We must never be ashamed to be known as followers of Jesus.
Bible scholars are applying sociologists' insight that all societies organize around three social issues: fear, shame and guilt. Roland Muller calls them "the building blocks of society." …
We are called to grow beyond our history--to be even more than we have been, to serve even more effectively, and to praise God with every gift we have, even more gloriously than we have been able to do until now. I am delighted to be able to join the choir, and to hear how it's growing. I am impressed after just one week to see the mission and caring community that this church embodies.
After choosing my sermon topic, I learned of the “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington. The Special Operations Warrior Foundation called it a time to honor service members who fight to protect our freedoms. Non-profit organizations like the SOWF take care of families of soldiers who risk their lives for our country in the event of an accident or loss of life. I think we can all affirm that spirit! While there was a lot of coded political language, Glenn Beck sounded more like a preacher than talk-show host. He called America to "turn back to God." He said as a nation we have walked in darkness, too much focused on our scars. He invited us "to concentrate on the good things in America, the things we have accomplished and the things we can do tomorrow." He affirmed those with other views. "There's a lot we can disagree on, but our values and our principles can unite us."
On this 47th anniversary of MLK's speech, I too have a dream. I dream of a church unashamed of and unhindered by its past, and able to step boldly into the future. We can focus less on our scars. We can face down the constricting power of shame, and experience the uplifting power of self-affirmation. We can rediscover our mission.
What a joyful week it's been. My wife Janice came home yesterday, I had a delightful dinner at the Kung's, Linda Lewis delivered cookies to me at church. Jim Poinsett listened patiently to all my questions and reduced the number of blunders I would otherwise have committed. Still I know I'll have lots of occasions to ask for your forgiveness. As the old poster said, "Please be patient…"
SoF: I’ve come to express my sense of the boundless love of God in this way: Nothing you ever did would make God love you less. Nothing you could ever do would make God love you more.
Despite its self-interested mistakes, the Church lives in the grace of God, and when we practice the ministry of reconciliation we impart that grace to the world.
Life is a gift of Love, which needs to be nurtured in all its aspects. We can’t legislate others’ choices, but the church must engage the challenges of war, violence, poverty, and injustice. Earth is a gift of the Universe, precious and perhaps unique. We who are destroying Creation must find the discipline to stop, to learn new ways to live, and reverse the damage we have done. Our diverse nation represents the hopes and aspirations of newcomers from many nations, spiritual traditions, and cultures. Scripture reminds us that as former outsiders, we must care for aliens in our midst and establish justice in our laws and treatment of immigrants. The church must speak clearly on issues such as these, but in dialog with others’ views.
Holy Spirit (or Divine Breath/Wind) is Source of our Life and Ground of our Being. From our birth until our death, we are alive with the Breath of God. Spirit gives us wisdom and insight to read Scripture so as to discern the Word of God. From my first religious affiliation as a Quaker, I learned to appreciate this “Inner Light” in every person. I expect to learn from Holy Wisdom present in every person with whom I share in ministry. I celebrate the humanity that unites all people, of every category that might be used to divide us, and I treasure the privilege of serving others.
A statement of faith is not to fight over, and certainly not to kill or die for. May my affirmation may prompt reflection and dialogue, and may I grow in the love of Jesus as I minister with others.
I confess I grew up with shame as a primary motivator. I have learned the exhilaration of stepping out of the shame syndrome. As I've taken to heart Jesus' lessons that lifted up those of low degree, and taught outcasts to stand up for themselves, I've found my voice. I know there are two ways that we may try to live as Shameless Christians. One is to be timid and cautious, and try never to make mistakes. Of course we can't succeed, but even worse--life is no fun! The other way is to follow the advice of Martin Luther: "Trust God and sin boldly."
Luther was writing to his younger protégé Philip Melanchthon who was overly scrupulous and anxious about God's grace. Luther rebuked him for such anxiety about trying to merit God's favor:
If you are a preacher of grace, then preach true grace and not a fictitious grace. If grace is true, you must bear a true and not fictitious sin. God does not save people who are only fictitious sinners. Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly, for he is victorious over sin, death and the world.
True grace forgives real sins and not just polite or acceptable sins. Even with our own deep sense of sin, frailty and failure, grace liberates us to live fully and freely, with candor and honesty but without obsession or anxiety.
CONCLUSION: Cowardly lion lacked courage, the tin man needed a heart, the scarecrow lacked a brain, Dorothy wanted to go home. It seems to me that we here at the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco yearn for all of the above! We want the wisdom and courage to speak from our heart about the glory and pain of our past, so that we can return home to the place that PCMK has been for us and find that the Spirit has never left. Amen.
--Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
War News for Monday, August 30, 2010
NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed area in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, August 28th.
NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an unspecified insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, August 28th.
NATO is also reporting the deaths of two more ISAF soldier from an unspecified insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, August 28th.
NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, August 29th.
NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed area in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, August 29th.
U.S. has blown billions on Iraq reconstruction
Obama Nears Pivotal Mideast Moment
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Hussein Salman, the deputy head of the Shi'ite Endowment, was unharmed when a sticky bomb attached to his car went off in Baghdad's northwestern district of Kadhimiya, an Interior Ministry source said.
Abu Ghraib:
#1: Gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi army and police, killing one soldier and wounding three other people, including one policeman, in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, police said.
Kirkuk:
#1: Two children were killed in a blast from a hand-grenade in Kirkuk on Sunday, according to a senior security official in the city. “Two children – five and six years of age – were killed after they tampered with a hand-grenade they found in the district of al-Riad,” Brig. Sarhad Qader, the director of the Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department (KDPD), told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: Gunmen threw three hand grenades and blew up a wooden cart as a police patrol was passing by, wounding 10 people, including one policeman, in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
#2: One insurgent was killed as he was trying to plant a bomb in a small town west of Mosul, police said.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three gunmen were killed on Monday while booby-trapping a car east of Falluja city, said a local police source. “The incident occurred near a gasoline station in the al-Garma district, east of Falluja,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not mention further details, but said that the gunmen also planted two roadside bombs nearby the area.
#2: Two people were killed when a bomb in their car went off in the town of Garma, 30 km (20 miles) west of Baghdad, police said. Police said they believed the car had been equipped for a suicde mission.
#3: A roadside bomb wounded three policemen when it went off near their police patrol in the city of Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghanistan An Afghan district chief was killed Monday in a bomb blast targeting a security meeting in a key eastern city, the latest in a series of brazen but largely unsuccessful insurgent attacks in the volatile region. Lal Pur district head Syad Mohammad Palawan died when a bomb planted on his car exploded as he was driving into a government compound to attend a meeting of provincial security and political leaders in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, said police spokesman Ghafor Khan. Insurgents apparently planned for the bomb to explode inside the compound where it could potentially have caused far greater destruction, Khan said. Three of Palawan's bodyguards were wounded, Khan said, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at five.
#2: Elsewhere, Afghanistan's Defense Ministry reported four soldiers were killed and another wounded Sunday in a roadside bombing in Wardak province. A fifth Afghan soldier was killed and another hurt in a bombing in Helmand province's Nad Ali district.
#3: In the southeastern province of Zabul, 24 Taliban traveling by truck and motorcycle were captured while trying to cross the border into Pakistan, said provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar.
#4: Fifteen Taliban militants, including a rebel commander, were killed in fighting with security forces in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported Monday. The fighting took place Sunday in Wardak province, 40 km west of Kabul. “Taliban militants attacked a convoy of international troops in Lalam village of Syedabad district Sunday, but the troops retaliated killing 15 insurgents, including their commander Mullah Fazal Rahman,” said Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman of the provincial government. Rahman was a key Taliban commander in the area. There was no casualty among the Afghan and the NATO-led troops.
#5: At least four NATO supply oil tankers were completely destroyed by militants Sunday near Torkham in northwest of Pakistan. Militants attacked NATO tankers supply caravan with rockets turning four of them into ashes in Khyber Agency tribal area near Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Xinhua said, citing local media reports. No casualties were reported in the attack.
#6: Afghan security forces seized two trucks filled with ammunition headed for the airport in the capital Kabul, the Afghan intelligence agency said in a statement. It said the ammunition was illegal and was going to be transported outside the capital to an unknown destination.
DoD: Petty Officer 3rd Class James M. Swink
NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an unspecified insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, August 28th.
NATO is also reporting the deaths of two more ISAF soldier from an unspecified insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, August 28th.
NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, August 29th.
NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed area in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, August 29th.
U.S. has blown billions on Iraq reconstruction
Obama Nears Pivotal Mideast Moment
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Hussein Salman, the deputy head of the Shi'ite Endowment, was unharmed when a sticky bomb attached to his car went off in Baghdad's northwestern district of Kadhimiya, an Interior Ministry source said.
Abu Ghraib:
#1: Gunmen opened fire at a checkpoint manned by Iraqi army and police, killing one soldier and wounding three other people, including one policeman, in Abu Ghraib on the western outskirts of Baghdad, police said.
Kirkuk:
#1: Two children were killed in a blast from a hand-grenade in Kirkuk on Sunday, according to a senior security official in the city. “Two children – five and six years of age – were killed after they tampered with a hand-grenade they found in the district of al-Riad,” Brig. Sarhad Qader, the director of the Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department (KDPD), told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: Gunmen threw three hand grenades and blew up a wooden cart as a police patrol was passing by, wounding 10 people, including one policeman, in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
#2: One insurgent was killed as he was trying to plant a bomb in a small town west of Mosul, police said.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Three gunmen were killed on Monday while booby-trapping a car east of Falluja city, said a local police source. “The incident occurred near a gasoline station in the al-Garma district, east of Falluja,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not mention further details, but said that the gunmen also planted two roadside bombs nearby the area.
#2: Two people were killed when a bomb in their car went off in the town of Garma, 30 km (20 miles) west of Baghdad, police said. Police said they believed the car had been equipped for a suicde mission.
#3: A roadside bomb wounded three policemen when it went off near their police patrol in the city of Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghanistan An Afghan district chief was killed Monday in a bomb blast targeting a security meeting in a key eastern city, the latest in a series of brazen but largely unsuccessful insurgent attacks in the volatile region. Lal Pur district head Syad Mohammad Palawan died when a bomb planted on his car exploded as he was driving into a government compound to attend a meeting of provincial security and political leaders in Jalalabad, capital of Nangarhar province, said police spokesman Ghafor Khan. Insurgents apparently planned for the bomb to explode inside the compound where it could potentially have caused far greater destruction, Khan said. Three of Palawan's bodyguards were wounded, Khan said, while the Interior Ministry put the figure at five.
#2: Elsewhere, Afghanistan's Defense Ministry reported four soldiers were killed and another wounded Sunday in a roadside bombing in Wardak province. A fifth Afghan soldier was killed and another hurt in a bombing in Helmand province's Nad Ali district.
#3: In the southeastern province of Zabul, 24 Taliban traveling by truck and motorcycle were captured while trying to cross the border into Pakistan, said provincial government spokesman Mohammad Jan Rasoolyar.
#4: Fifteen Taliban militants, including a rebel commander, were killed in fighting with security forces in Afghanistan, Xinhua reported Monday. The fighting took place Sunday in Wardak province, 40 km west of Kabul. “Taliban militants attacked a convoy of international troops in Lalam village of Syedabad district Sunday, but the troops retaliated killing 15 insurgents, including their commander Mullah Fazal Rahman,” said Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman of the provincial government. Rahman was a key Taliban commander in the area. There was no casualty among the Afghan and the NATO-led troops.
#5: At least four NATO supply oil tankers were completely destroyed by militants Sunday near Torkham in northwest of Pakistan. Militants attacked NATO tankers supply caravan with rockets turning four of them into ashes in Khyber Agency tribal area near Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Xinhua said, citing local media reports. No casualties were reported in the attack.
#6: Afghan security forces seized two trucks filled with ammunition headed for the airport in the capital Kabul, the Afghan intelligence agency said in a statement. It said the ammunition was illegal and was going to be transported outside the capital to an unknown destination.
DoD: Petty Officer 3rd Class James M. Swink
Match-Fixing Scandal Shocks Pakistan: 'Sunday’s News of the World' Reports
By MALILA Harris
London - A row of unfortunate incidents seem to take a toll on Pakistanis when the nation is facing with occasional violence and worst-ever flood that crumpled up already fragile economy. Even before the dust has been settled down over the mind of people, there is another brewing. A betting scandal that once again pointed finger to the Pakistan cricket team broke over this weekend.
In one hand, the Pakistan team faced a humiliating defeat by England in its last game played in Lords, and on the other Scotland Yard detectives nosed around a betting scandal that probably cast a shadow on Pakistan players. The Scotland Yard detectives interrogated the captain and a younger greenhorn who captured attention in its series with England.
A "spot fixing" scandal was spattered across Britain's most widely circulated tabloid, 'Sunday’s News of the World'. Spot-fixing is considerably notorious in Britain that has plagued sports like cricket, soccer and some others. This is not like a conventional bribery to players to fix matches, instead deals on fixing details of the game. The Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation media owned tabloid splashed the news with a eye-catching headline - "Caught!"
The paper revealed a sting operation where an undercover reporter disguised as a wealthy businessman had paid more than $230,000 to a "fixer" who claimed to deal with seven Pakistani cricketers.
The official website of the tabloid showed a video in which the "fixer", Mazhar Majid, 35, sitting in a London hotel with bundles of British pound sterling notes on a table. Scotland Yard had already arrested Mr. Majid.
In the video Mr. Majid was telling to the reporter that how and when Pakistani player delivered no balls. As the game developed, the no-balls were delivered by the Pakistani team’s star bowlers, Mohammed Amir and Mohammed Asif, at exactly the moments in the game specified by Mr. Majid in his video exchange with the News of the World reporter.
“I’m telling you, if you play this right, you’re going to make a lot of money, believe me,” Mr. Majid told the undercover team, according to the newspaper.
Pakistani fans are absolutely shocked by the revelation and banged on the team's bus when players returned after the game.
“It’s absolutely disgraceful,” one man shouted. Another man, appeared to verge on tears.
“The cricket was only good thing that was happening to us, what with the floods and everything else,” he said.
The captain Salman Butt said postgame news conference that every player on his team gave 100 percent.
Indonesian Volcano Erupts Again For Second Time
Mount Sinabung on the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Monday erupted for a second time, forcing more than 20,000 people to stay in evacuation centres, officials said.
The Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Centre said Sinabung’s second eruption occurred at 6:30 am (2330 GMT Sunday), belching a editorial of smoke up to 2,000 metres into the sky.
The 2,451-metre-high volcano erupted for the first time in more than four centuries early Sunday, prompting the migration of thousands of residents from its slopes.
Sunday’s eruption came only hours after the local government permitted residents to return to their homes, assuring them that the volcano was not dangerous.
The Sinabung volcano, located about 1,300 kilometres north-west of Jakarta, has been seen heating up since late Thursday, causing people living on the slopes to run away.
The number of refugees had reached 21,054 people by Sunday morning, said Jhonson Tarigan, a Karo district public relations official.
“The number is probable to increase if the situation gets worse,” Jhonson said.
Vulcanologists upgraded Sinabung’s danger status to the top level minutes before Sunday’s eruption, and revised its position from a dormant to an active volcano.
“Previously, there was no important activity at the Mount Sinabung volcano, so the monitoring did not take priority since the 1600s,” Surono, the head of the directorate who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said on Sunday.
He recommended the residents stay at the evacuation centres until further notice.
Besides ordering the evacuations, experts also warned residents to wear face masks alongside the volcano’s ash and told people living along rivers to watch out for possible lava-induced floods.
Indonesia has the maximum density of volcanoes in the world with about 500 in the “Belt of Fire” in the 5,000-kilometre-long archipelago nation. Nearly 130 are active and 68 are scheduled as dangerous.
New World Record Likely To Be Created At World Bog Championships
A NEW WORLD record time is thought to have been set at this year’s World Bog Snorkelling Championships in Powys.Dan Morgan, from Brecon, completed the event at Llanwrtyd Wells in 1 minute 30.06 seconds, beating last year’s record of 1 min 38.15 seconds.
The official time will be established by organisers later today.
Up to 140 people from across the world were opposing at the annual event, where contestants have to avoid conventional swimming strokes to get through the 60 yard trenches, using only flippers to push through the mud and water.
Hundreds of people visited the site at 1pm to cheer on the contestants, who took part in a number of diverse categories, from juniors and men and women, to fancy dress
Organizers said they predicted that a new record might be set after the bogs were cleared of remains for the first time in a decade.
Lady Gaga Rainbows Love NYC's her drug by Suzannah B. Troy
"Little monsters heart I keep, and as I lay me down to sleep, I dream of rainbow roads to love, for now New York city's my drug" Tweet or should I say poetry from Lady Gaga. I took a peak at her schedule which is impressive and left me tired....I do not know how she does it! She will be playing at Madison Square Garden Feb. 21 and 22nd.
I don't own an album of Lady Gaga's. Do young people even use the word album anymore but the Vanity Fair article where she also graces the cover really intrigued me! I have written some pieces on her that seem popular like "Lady Gaga was that you?" and her is the first one I wrote about her vachina reference.
Lady Gaga has sky rocketed to fame and that is understating her meteoric success and even if I don't own an album I want to hear what she has to say. It is said she is going to be bigger than Madonna and she has a far better voice.
As someone almost double her age (not quite) I am interested how she evolves....This tweet about rainbow roads and how much she loves NYC and her fans inspired me to follow her on twitter.
best,
Suzannah
True Blood Sunscreen For Vamps Outstanding by Suzannah B. Troy
True Blood outstanding as usual but tonight was somehow even better for me. How about you?
I don't know where to start so I will say the one thing you all aren't thinking about...like Eric's walk in the sun this episode took me to a different place in the True Blood world.... I felt this episode had the most depth of emotion and the best sense of humor. Even the confrontational scene between Eric and Russell which should have ended in a bloody mess had laughs so bravo.
This episode has a pre-show warm up by bidding farewell to the cast of characters that have passed on in the fictional story which was fun. The creators know we are dying with anticipation and upset that this season is drawing to the close so they are giving us a little consolation pre and post the show.
Wow! Tonight amazing!!!!!! Not giving a lot of details but wow!!!!!! The way they (writers, director, great acting) always bring you back to basic human themes we all wrestle with like revealing our true selves to the people we love and the fear they will reject us or Sam letting lose and giving up being "so nice" as so many of us secretly desire.....and those are just a few examples which is why the show is superb!
Russell and Eric are at the forefront of my mind and I can't wait until the next episode. The brief sex scene between Baby Vamp Jessica with Hoyt was outstanding. He gives her permission to go for the gold, rather his throat but she takes the long way to the destination with kisses before fangs...True Love...a running theme in True Blood but with complications or it would not be the best Vampire soap opera on TV.
Hoyt's mom has returned and the actress is superb. She reminds me of a female Devine.
The coming attractions have me terrified the writers are going to go to the extreme like last season which really turned me off big time but so far the writing, directing and new characters continue to be outstanding.
Fangs away!
Suzannah
Judge Schoenfeld Union Sq. restraining order in place? by Suzannah B. Troy
Monday the artists vs. NYC Parks Dept. City of NY -- I believe will be meeting with Judge Schoenfeld who for now has been protecting the artists serving the Parks Dept. with a restraining order regarding the Parks Dept. letting them set up in their usual spots.
Tomorrow artist activists go before the judge and we are all praying he rules in favor of the artists.
If not there will be major protests organized of vendors city wide to fight for the rights of vendors to earn an honest living minus harassment.
City Council should remember vendors besides paying taxes also are voters!!!!!!!!!
Note: The photo above is one of NY Shining Stars Miriam West....here is my YouTube interview with her. I love her jewelry but she can't sell her jewelry which is her art in the park! There are so many rules and they are designed to push out the people who are mostly minority business people and all with a legal right to be there.
I bought her color intensified Coney Island Cyclone Photo!!!!!!!!
I have more postings on her and her art so go to my blog's search engine to check her out....amazing person!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/user/Suzannahartist#p/u/9/ZDSw7kT8eHk
My interview with Miriam West!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TE-sHb3IjR4&feature=related
Here I interview Tony her partner at a protest in the rain at Union Square.
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| These guys have a message for the mayor click on photo |
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| Add caption |
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| Suki Weston and bestest friend! |
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| sukiwest@aol.com if you want custom NYC pet cards |
IPhone 4 Lovers Tips From Suzannah B. Troy
Apple IPhone lovers what ever IPhone model you have here are some basic tips from an Apple lover. I converted to Apple 3 years ago and fell hard.
Tips to save your battery.... Go into your settings and.....
1) Make sure your Wi-Fi is turned off is you are not using it. In NYC if you have it on and walk around you will drain your phone's battery which ever model you have so turn the Wifi off. In NYC walking down the street it can be hilarious to shocking to read the locals Wifi network custom names' all mostly with locks.
2) lower the brightness of your screen...big battery savor.
3) Not using the phone turning it off is a good thing because the phone works best if you give it a rest occasionally but if not just click the button on the right once and the screen goes dark and saves your battery. This is the same button if you hold it down long enough it gives you a prompt to shut off the phone.
4) Mail: If you are really are concerned about your battery than go to mail, click "fetch data" and and switch to manual.
Those are just a fun few tips and for my Mac Book I bought techno-skin at the Apple store and that was a great move. My senior citizen handicap cat walks all over my computer and or has hair balls including on my computer keys so the techno-skin has radically improved my life. All her hair is no longer sinking down in between my computer keys and my cat wants me to tell you no more debris from my Cadbury chocolate bars splatters on my key pad. Highly recommended
I will be back to tell you about my Otter Box Defender for my IPhone 4 soon!
best, peace, love Apple,
Suzannah B. Troy, artist, blogger, YouTuber NYC
also very, very tired but thanks for reading my blogging!!!!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
India's Own Conservative Incest Story
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| Incest Story In Haryana |
Just a few days back India gloriously celebrated its 64th Independence Day but the oxymoron of Indian freedom runs in Indian villages. Nowadays one of the most noted sarcasms is quite in style in national news channels. The noise is quite audible, and annoyance level is also comfortably high. The subject is the most tempting one to mankind – sex.
Haryana, a state in India known for flourishing industrialism and affluent farmers, seems living in the medieval period. The self-proclaimed Haryana’s Khaps are the sham ‘kings’ of the villages. Their “moral judgments” can even make shy to the epitomes of immorality. They do all sort of things – to solve personal problems of family, to give judgment of any conflict, and above all their profound knowledge in ancient gotras, caste system etc. is mind-boggling. A recent example is about a law graduate and resident of Karora village Seema whose brother had been killed for marrying a woman from the same gotra. This is not a new development, but the inside story is more overwhelming. The brave girl revealed another shameful reality of Haryana villages – incest.
"Khaps should look into their homes before passing fatwas on lovers and crying hoarse about honor. Incest is rampant in the state and virtually every home is affected. Where is the honor anyway?" she screamed.
A recent tragedy was about a pregnant girl who brutally murdered by her parents and dumped outskirt of village. Her crime – she had an affair with her brother-in-law.
There are other embarrassing cases found in papers but many lost in oblivion of conservative village shell. The freedom of moral judgment by people is running into license. In yet another gruesome incident that had created much noise in local and national newspapers occurred in Sonepat where two minor girls (12 and 14 years) were murdered for having an “illicit affair” with their cousin. Their bodies flung in a canal by their uncles and grandmother. In Yamunagar, a girl lodged in local police station that her father-in-law had raped her.
The examples of embarrassing incidents and courageous lawlessness go on. In the Kaital district a farmer was alleged for having a sexual relation with his 30 year old daughter-in-law. When the matter went into the ears of village panchayat, they ordered them to separate immediately.
These are not isolated incidents: incest is reportedly a real part of life in rural Haryana.
"It's a menace nobody wants to talk about. Even the elders are setting a bad example, “says D R Chaudhary, member of the Haryana Administrative Reforms Commission.
Some believed that incest is a traditional practice and quite a conditioned phenomenon in rural as well as urban society. However, nowadays due to influence of communication and media nosiness in personal affairs, skeletons are plummeting out of family cupboards. Sociologists, in turn, say that the ethnic history of the region is full of such instances.
There are several factors that make the problem murkier. The skewed sex ratio; 860 girls for 1,000 boys, the conservative society where boys and girls are not meant to speak openly in public, the homeliness of women and social stigma to love marriages are a few of the factors that cause the problem rampant.
As it seems Khap Panchayat keep shifting from the real problem and are more focused on love marriages, or marriages within gotras and villages. A marriage out of choice is not a crime, but incest can be a problem in the society. Khap Panchyat should be more concentrated on incest rather than bullying people who are in love.
News of the Day for Sunday, August 29, 2010
An Iraqi police officers uses a bomb detector at a checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010 (AP Photo/Karim Kadim) Note: These "bomb detectors" are completely fraudulent. The Iraqi government was conned into spending millions of dollars on these worthless devices and refuses to admit it, so they keep using them. See this article from January -- it's the same device. CReported Security Incidents
Note: For whatever reason, news from yesterday seems to have come out late. Most of these incidents occurred on Saturday but were not reported until this morning. Also, they have generally not been reported at all by western media. -- C
al-Djawaana village, south of Mosul
Gunmen attack a police checkpoint late Saturday, killing 2 police and injuring 1. One attacker was also killed.
Mosul
Gunmen attack a police checkpoint in Western Mosul, killing 2.
Tal Afar
A man trying to plant a roadside bomb is killed when it explodes accidentally.
Amara
A U.S. soldier is injured by sniper fire while touring reconstruction projects. At least we can be thankful it wasn't combat related. -- C
Falluja
Security director discovers a bomb attached to his car, police defuse it safely.
Other News of the Day
Asharq Al-Awsat discusses the latest wheeling and dealing. It seems members of Maliki's State of Law Coalition are threatening to bolt in favor of a broad coalition government. However, it is possible these leaks are intended to undermine Maliki. Much of the current infighting concerns efforts to force Maliki out personally while still putting the Shiite bloc in power. According to a source, "'Several leaders in Al-Maliki's coalition aspire to be the second candidate or the alternative to the leader of the SLC in heading the next government. These include Haydar al-Abbadi, a leading member of the Al-Dawa Party, and outgoing Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahrastani.' The source went on to say that 'such aspirations are kept secret or debated in private gatherings.'" This is all quite byzantine, go ahead and read it if you are interested.
Meanwhile, In an interview with Der Spiegel, Ayad Allawi is very worried about overall stability in Iraq, and possible repercussions beyond. I definitely recommend reading this. Here's enough of a taste, I hope, to get you to do so:
SPIEGEL: So your best case prognosis would be …
Allawi: … an Iraq with a balanced and inclusive government, which transcends sectarianism, starts political reconciliation, builds full-blown state institutions and security forces and creates an independent foreign policy.
SPIEGEL: And the pessimistic one?
Allawi: Iraq continues on its downward slide and becomes a failed state. If that happens the Pandora's box will open again and all the violence will reappear.
SPIEGEL: A relapse, in clinical terms, to the bloodiness seen in 2006 and 2007?
Allawi: Yes. But a relapse now would be much more severe, because we do not have multinational forces anymore which could contain a civil war.
snip
SPIEGEL: Are the Americans leaving too early?
Allawi: They have to leave eventually. They have been in Iraq for seven years and we have not achieved anything ourselves. Who can guarantee that this would be different another seven years from now?
snip
SPIEGEL: Your rival, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, claims to have established a strong Iraq and to be a strong leader.
Allawi: He is not strong. How do you define strength? Commanding one square kilometer in the center of Baghdad?
SPIEGEL: You mean the Green Zone, the highly secure government and embassy compound by the Tigris.
Allawi: From Basra in the south to Mosul in the north, demonstrations are raging. Services (like electricity, water and trash collection) are almost on standstill. Even the Green Zone is being bombarded on a daily basis again. We have an army without airplanes and without tanks. What sort of strength is this?
Dr Brian Jones was head of the UK Defence Intelligence Staff's nuclear, biological and chemical branch in 2002, says Tony Blair ignored repeated warnings that there was no concrete evidence Iraq possessed so-called Weapons of Mass Destruction, in the debate over going to war.
Update: This isn't exactly news, but the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction finds the U.S. -- read the Bush "administration" -- squandered more than $5 billion of your money (I'll bet you didn't know you ever had that much) on screwed up "reconstruction" projects. But we already knew that.
Afghanistan Update
Five campaign workers for female parliamentary candidate Fawzia Gilani, abducted on Thursday, are found dead in Herat.
NATO announces that 2 U.S. service members were killed today in Southern Iraq, bringing to 7 the total of Americans killed this weekend.
Roadside bomb kills 7 mercenaries, injures 3, in Salar area of Maidan Wardak province.
Dexter Filkins and Alissa J. Rubin report that Hamid Karzai is blocking investigations of corruption in his government. Well duhhh. Excerpt:
One of the country’s most senior prosecutors said Saturday that President Hamid Karzai fired him last week after he repeatedly refused to block corruption investigations at the highest levels of Mr. Karzai’s government. Fazel Ahmed Faqiryar, the former deputy attorney general, said investigations of more than two dozen senior Afghan officials — including cabinet ministers, ambassadors and provincial governors — were being held up or blocked outright by Mr. Karzai, Attorney General Mohammed Ishaq Aloko and others.
Mr. Faqiryar’s account of the troubles plaguing the anticorruption investigations, which Mr. Karzai’s office disputed, has been largely corroborated in interviews with five Western officials familiar with the cases. They say Mr. Karzai and others in his government have repeatedly thwarted prosecutions against senior Afghan government figures.
Quote of the Day
The Obama administration’s reluctance to discipline senior generals for comments bordering on insubordination seems to have encouraged the generals to believe they can speak their mind with impunity about President Obama's management of the Afghan conflict.
Ray McGovern
True Blood newlyweds pre-Emmy Bash party by Suzannah B. Troy
Hey all you True Blood fans, first the newlyweds Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer showed up for a pre-Emmy bash and the most adorable photo and dish on the hot couple and other celebs is covered by Pop Watch on EW.com
I am looking forward to tomorrow night!!! How about you? Here is a clip from HBO. It is superb, fantastic, beyond thrilling and very, very short so here is the link! It is Eric confronting Russell!!!!!!
The back drop is a painting I wish I could get a closer look at and in a very unusual quiet why the clip made me think of Westerns I used to watch as a little girl when I had a crush on John Wayne. Eric reminds me of a very slender John Wayne but this scene has an odd elegance and beauty packed to the brim with tension! Is tomorrow night going to get very bloody?
I watched several times already in anticipation. I even check TV guide listings to make sure True Blood is on tomorrow. You might want to check out that link if you haven't. The page has all kind of fun True Blood references including an update on the actress Lois Smith who played Sookie and Jason's Granny. Check it out. Enjoy. I will meet you back here tomorrow night after True Blood.
Fangs away!
best,
Suzannah B. Troy
THE TELEGRAPH: The celebrity photographer accused of abusing the trust of L'Oreal [sic] heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France's richest woman, has been written out of her will - depriving him of an estimated 1.25 billion euros.
Mrs Bettencourt's lawyer, Georges Kiejman, said that the 87-year-old billionairess has decided "enough was enough" and that Francois-Marie Banier should no longer be named in the will.
"Liliane Bettencourt feels she had already given a lot to Mr Banier, so she ended the arrangement which made him her sole named heir," he said.
Mr Kiejman said the change had been made in France in mid July, and no one else had been added to the will in his place.
Mr Banier, 63, was Mrs Bettencourt's sole legatee in the will drawn up in December 2007.
He was set to receive around eight percent of Mrs Bettencourt's fortune, or an estimated 1.25 billion euros, a member of Bettencourt's entourage said in July.
Mrs Bettencourt's estranged daughter Françoise Bettencourt-Meyers and grandchildren would have received the rest of her fortune. >>> | Saturday, August 28, 2010
LE POINT: Le photographe François-Marie Banier n'est plus le légataire universel de Liliane Bettencourt, a affirmé samedi à l'AFP l'avocat de la milliardaire, Me Georges Kiejman, confirmant ce qu'il a déclaré au journal Le Monde daté de dimanche-lundi. C'est à la mi-juillet que Mme Bettencourt a mis fin à cette disposition, prévue dans son testament daté du 11 décembre 2007, a ajouté l'avocat. Elle a rédigé cette révocation sur une simple feuille, sans choisir de nouveau légataire, et ce document papier a été remis fin juillet à son notaire, Jean-Michel Normand. >>> Source AFP | Samedi 28 Août 2010
Hospice Care Announcement
Hospice Care to Train Volunteers
Hospice Care in Westchester and Putnam offers comprehensive care for the physical, emotional, spiritual and practical needs of people at the end stage of any life-limiting illness. We are committed to helping our patients and their families to have the best quality of life possible at this Important time in their lives. And afterwards, our bereavement programs for children and adults help families to grieve and to move Into the future with hope.
We seek volunteers who are willing to share in this essential work. Volunteers visit in homes, nursing homes or hospitals, providing a listening ear, a warm voice to read a book, a brief respite for a family caregiver, or help with an errand. Volunteers assist with behind-the-scenes office work and fund-raising efforts for our not-for-profit orrganization. Still other volunteers help children to express their feelings and feel supported through art,and other activities in our Caring Circle bereavement groups.
Our next training sessions for new volunteers will be held on three Saturdays, October 23rd, October 30th and November 6th from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm at our office in Tarrytown.
This is a wonderful opportunity to serve people in our own community! The skills volunteers gain will also be helpful to the ministries of our congregation.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Hospice Care in Westchester & Putnam is accepting applications for volunteers.
There is a need for direct patient & family support,
bereavement care for children and adults,
spiritual comfort, special community events and pffice support.
In-depth training is given to prepare volunteers for this wonderful service.
Don't miss this opportunity to give back to your community
and enrich your life.
Please call (914) 666-4228 if you are interested.
Rev. Mary Ellen Summerville, Coordinator of Spiritual Care and Volunteer Services
Marianne Walsh, AT Caring Circle Coordinator
Hospice Care in Westchester and Putnam
540 White Plains Rd., Suite 300
Tarrytown NY 10591-5132
Tel: 914.666.4228
Fax: 914.666.0378
vnahv.org
Saturday, August 28, 2010
IP's First Column for The Bell Tower
For you who follow my blog, a preview of my first article to be sent out in The Bell Tower...
From the Interim Pastor: "The Future Starts Now!"
What a God we have! And how fortunate we are… Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of …victory. –from 1 Peter 1:3-7 (The Message)
As Christians, we live in an interim time, looking back to the first Easter and ahead to the fulfillment. We may have to put up with a lot of aggravation in the meantime, but we're involved in something that will even outlast us. So we do our work with confidence, trusting God for the result and believing that "The Future Starts Now!"
As your Interim Pastor, I will be working under a contract with the PCMK session which includes these items:
• The agreement is for one year beginning August 23, 2010 and ending August 22, 2011.
• The agreement may be extended [but] the total length of this contract is not to exceed two years.
• The Interim…"may not be called to be the next installed pastor…of [this] church." G-14.0513b
• The Interim…shall not participate in the work of the Pastor Nominating Committee except to provide specific information requested by the PNC chair, and will not assist in the preparation of the Church Information Form.
The Interim Pastor:
• will be… a member of the Presbytery of Hudson River
• will moderate the Session
• will not conduct or edit, but may participate in, the church's Mission Study
• will provide pastoral care and leadership
I'm here for a temporary task. I've brought my "traveling bag" as a reminder that before too long I'll be moving on. When you see me carrying it around, you'll remember that I'm your interim. Since I'm only going to be here a limited time, please don't wait to tell me what I need to know, or how you're feeling about the ministry we share.
Over the next year (or at most two), in addition to being your pastor and regular preacher and teacher, I'll be engaged in these processes with you:
• Join the system (arrive)
• Analyze (research)
• Focus and assume responsibility (report, propose, plan, initiate, respond)
• Connect (develop relationships, engage the system, make a positive difference)
• Evaluate/Exit (report to session, congregation and presbytery; summarize, disengage)
In addition, I'll support you in doing your interim work on the so-called "Developmental Tasks" of a congregation during the interim period. Briefly the tasks are:
• Coming to terms with and re-viewing your history.
• Defining a new identity
• Dealing with changes in congregational leadership and power relations.
• Discovering new connections to denominational structures and relations (esp. presbytery)
• Moving in to the future to welcome new leadership and ministry.
And in the meantime, let's see what we can accomplish together with the Spirit and prayer. God can use this time in surprising ways as you work through your tasks, and I bring my gifts and perspective to help you achieve your vision for the future of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco.
You will be able to travel with me in my work if you can access my "Interim Blog" at http://pcmkinterim.blogspot.com. You can also receive it via e-mail (just let Stephanie know in the office, 914-666-7001). In addition, I'll print out a copy which you'll find on a table in the narthex. Please read and respond. I value your feedback!
--In Christian love,
Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
From the Interim Pastor: "The Future Starts Now!"
What a God we have! And how fortunate we are… Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you'll have it all—life healed and whole.
I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of …victory. –from 1 Peter 1:3-7 (The Message)
As Christians, we live in an interim time, looking back to the first Easter and ahead to the fulfillment. We may have to put up with a lot of aggravation in the meantime, but we're involved in something that will even outlast us. So we do our work with confidence, trusting God for the result and believing that "The Future Starts Now!"
As your Interim Pastor, I will be working under a contract with the PCMK session which includes these items:
• The agreement is for one year beginning August 23, 2010 and ending August 22, 2011.
• The agreement may be extended [but] the total length of this contract is not to exceed two years.
• The Interim…"may not be called to be the next installed pastor…of [this] church." G-14.0513b
• The Interim…shall not participate in the work of the Pastor Nominating Committee except to provide specific information requested by the PNC chair, and will not assist in the preparation of the Church Information Form.
The Interim Pastor:
• will be… a member of the Presbytery of Hudson River
• will moderate the Session
• will not conduct or edit, but may participate in, the church's Mission Study
• will provide pastoral care and leadership
I'm here for a temporary task. I've brought my "traveling bag" as a reminder that before too long I'll be moving on. When you see me carrying it around, you'll remember that I'm your interim. Since I'm only going to be here a limited time, please don't wait to tell me what I need to know, or how you're feeling about the ministry we share.
Over the next year (or at most two), in addition to being your pastor and regular preacher and teacher, I'll be engaged in these processes with you:
• Join the system (arrive)
• Analyze (research)
• Focus and assume responsibility (report, propose, plan, initiate, respond)
• Connect (develop relationships, engage the system, make a positive difference)
• Evaluate/Exit (report to session, congregation and presbytery; summarize, disengage)
In addition, I'll support you in doing your interim work on the so-called "Developmental Tasks" of a congregation during the interim period. Briefly the tasks are:
• Coming to terms with and re-viewing your history.
• Defining a new identity
• Dealing with changes in congregational leadership and power relations.
• Discovering new connections to denominational structures and relations (esp. presbytery)
• Moving in to the future to welcome new leadership and ministry.
And in the meantime, let's see what we can accomplish together with the Spirit and prayer. God can use this time in surprising ways as you work through your tasks, and I bring my gifts and perspective to help you achieve your vision for the future of the Presbyterian Church of Mount Kisco.
You will be able to travel with me in my work if you can access my "Interim Blog" at http://pcmkinterim.blogspot.com. You can also receive it via e-mail (just let Stephanie know in the office, 914-666-7001). In addition, I'll print out a copy which you'll find on a table in the narthex. Please read and respond. I value your feedback!
--In Christian love,
Jack Lohr, Interim Pastor
‘Two World Syndrome’: How Do Handle Kids With Different Temperaments?
 |
| 'Two World Syndrome' |
In Temperament Tools, authors Helen Neville and Diana Clark Johnson classify children according to their innate temperaments: Pulu Puppy – child of moderate temperament; Camber Chameleon – low energy, highly-adaptable child; Tarita Turtle – low energy, easily discouraged child; Fenler Fawn – sensitive, intense, cautious child; Tiganda Tiger – intense, slow adapting child; Bear Cub Combo – active, intense, easily frustrated, slow-adapting child.
According Helen and Diana, most of the parents know that their children are different from the day they are born. Not so long ago, researchers believed that all children were born the same but turned out differently due to how they were brought up. However, recent researches have shown that children are different from birth and, more important, remain indifferent no matter how they are parented.
Leading temperament researchers Dr James Cameroon has studied thousands of babies and concluded that there are only nine temperament traits, and combinations of these traits can explain the behavior of different kinds of kids. Cameroon says that a child’s basic temperament starts to be obvious in the fourth month; the sooner the parents realize it, the easier it is for them to handle the child.
Dr Sandeep Dhingra, consultant psychiatrist, Indraprastha Apollo Medical Center, says that the most important aspect is to understand the emotional reactions of parents towards children. Some parents might prefer a shy, timid child over an enthusiastic, jumpy child because the former are easier to handle. On the other hand, there are parents who prefer gregarious children because they are cheerful and make the house livelier. But doctor cautions: “Between two kids, deep inside, you might have a preference for one. But never express that openly. If the kids understand they are appreciated or deprecated for their behavioral traits, they start building on it. A shy child would get shyer, a jumpy child jumpier! This might lead to extremes later. It’s very important for parents to maintain a balance.”
Often parents inadvertently create imbalances. Kids notice subtle differences in parents’ interactions with them and decide whether they are loved or not. Some parents think that the best way to handle a child is to constantly reassure him or her that he or she is equally good and loved. But there is a catch here – the parents should not overdo this reassurance bit with one child then the other one might feel unloved! It is a tightrope but the parents would have to walk it.
If you can handle the two-kids, two-world syndrome by making a conscious effort to maintain a balance and not openly express your preference for one child’s behavioral trait, you would steer clear of trouble. But don’t wait for everyday problems to hit the danger zone! If you are getting worried about the situation, go to a psychiatrist for professional help and parenting tips.
Sources: 'Temperament Tools', Times of India, Consultant Psychologists from New Delhi, Xplore Mag.
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