Christ Church UCC Blog

Give Me Jesus and other spirituals

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Mon, 26 May 2008 03:52:00 +0000

"Give Me Jesus" is the title of the spiritual that the Christ Church Choir sang Sunday May 25. It is a new spiritual to me so I decided to do some research on the back ground of the spiritual. Here is part of what I found:

Give Me Jesus

The spiritual often elects Jesus as the slave’s closest and most reliable friend. He is coming in person to gather up his friends and

take them to heaven. Give Me Jesus shows a touching faith in that relationship.

“You may have all this world. Give me Jesus”.

There are two different versions of this spiritual. this comes from : http://www.negrospirituals.com/history.htm

The choir sang the second version.

GIVE ME JESUS (Second version)

I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
« Give me Jesus »

Give me Jesus,
Give me Jesus
You may have all this world
Give me Jesus

At dark midnight, was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
“Give me Jesus”

In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
In the morning, when I rise
Give me Jesus

And when I come to die
And when I come to die
And when I come to die
Give me Jes(us)

The first version is:

GIVE ME JESUS (First version)

Oh when I come to die
Oh when I come to die
Oh when I come to die
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You may have the world
Give me Jesus

I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
I heard my mother say
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You may have the world
Give me Jesus

Dark midnight was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
Dark midnight was my cry
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You may have the world
Give me Jesus

In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
In the morning when I rise
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You may have the world
Give me Jesus

I heard the mourner say
I heard the mourner say
I heard the mourner say
Give me Jesus
Give me Jesus
You may have the world
Give me Jesus
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Susan Logan sang:
"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"

NOBODY KNOWS DE TROUBLE I’VE SEEN

Nobody knows de trouble I’ve seen
Nobody knows de trouble but Jesus
Nobody knows de trouble I’ve seen
Glory Hallelujah!

Sometimes I’m up, sometimes I’m down
Oh, yes, Lord
Sometimes I’m almost to de groun’
Oh, yes, Lord

Although you see me goin’ ‘long so
Oh, yes, Lord
I have my trials here below
Oh, yes, Lord

If you get there before I do
Oh, yes, Lord
Tell all-a my friends I’m coming too
Oh, yes, Lord

Here is the interpretation by Joe Carter http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/joecarter/gallery.shtml

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen"
The authors of most spirituals are unknown. Various tales, often apocryphal, account for the origins of many songs. One legend has it that upon emancipation, newly freed slaves gathered on a South Carolina island were awaiting promised land grants from the government. "It was a great, wonderful day," says Carter. But when a government agent informed the crowd that no grants were forthcoming, one woman spontaneously began singing this song, making it up as she went.

I usually hum the music that we have sung all week, this week it is "Give Me Jesus". For more information go to the on line resources.
Jeannette Brown

Muhlenberg Hospital Plainfield NJ

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:26:00 +0000

Today in church the plight of the people of Plainfield was discussed because of the pending closing of Mulenberg Hospital. The closing was discussed at the New Jersey Association meeting and a letter was generated and sent to the state.
I figured that you might want some background information about the hospital and its closing.
The first article that I found about the closing was in the Star Ledger Saturday February 23, 2008, 4:15 PM "Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center shutting its doors" : http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/02/muhlenberg_regional_medical_ce.html
The article begins; "Faced with mounting deficits caused mainly by insufficient state aid to cover all its uninsured patients, officials at Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center in Plainfield plan to close the 130-year-old facility later this year." It also said it would temporarily maintain the emergency room service.
The next article is also from the Star Ledger : "500 protest closing of Muhlenberg hospital in Plainfield " Saturday March 15, 2008, 5:02 PM http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/03/500_protest_closing_of_muhlenb.html
That was the second held that month in protest of the hospital's closing. Organizer Lawrence Hamm of the People's of Organization for Progress said the group planed a third rally on April 5 in Trenton.
There is a complete blog about the closing of the hospital that will tell you more than you want to know about the closing. "Save Muhlenberg" http://savemuhlenberg.blogspot.com/2008/03/closings-of-hospitals-such-as.html
For information about the "current" services of the hospital and what would be lost I refer you to the hospital website: http://www.muhlenberg.com/muhlenberg-regional/. There is also information about the Muhlenberg Foundation on that webpage.
I hope this helps.
Jeannette Brown

Sacred Conversation about Race

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 18 May 2008 00:59:00 +0000

You may have heard about the UCC churches having a sacred conversation about race on Sunday May 18th. At Christ Church Chuck will start the process by preaching about it. We will have the whole summer to do some reading and thinking and maybe private conversations before we have our "Sacred Conversation" in early September.

The following is a quote from the UCC web:
"The UCC is holding this national dialogue in order to foster a spirit of healing and unity in our churches and communities. While much has been said during the past few weeks about the Rev. Jeremiah A Wright Jr., this dialogue among our members is intended to be a larger conversation, one not focused directly or exclusively on the recent controversy, but one certainly influenced by it.
Sacred conversations are never easy, especially when honest talk confronts our nation's painful past and speaks directly to the injustices of the present day. Yet sacred conversations can, and often do, honor the value of diverse life experiences, requiring an openness to hear each others' viewpoints. Growth often happens when honest conversations are communicated in a respectful environment."

Over the summer you will hear a lot about race as the media and politicians play the race card because of the first possible African American nominee for President. This would be similar to the gender card if the first woman is the nominee. But the difference between playing the race card and the gender card is that the race card hurts. There is a history of people who have been killed only because of the color of their skin. In this country I don't believe we physically abuse women.

The UCC website http://www.ucc.org/sacred-conversation/ has a number of resources that can be used as you prepare for our conversation about race in the fall. Also as a member of the UCC Anti racism task force I have put a lot of material that can be used on the Christ Church website.

First I believe everyone should read the pastoral letter which is posted on the website. Then go through the steps.

The Pilgrim press has listed some books that can be a part of your summer reading. I will bring the books that I have to display tomorrow. I don't know if we have them in the library.

I would also recommend viewing "Eyes on the Prize I & II" to see the history of the civil rights movement. Most libraries have a copy.

For those of you who would like to start an online dialog you may post comments and information on this blog.

My colleagues on the Anti racism task force want to focus on African American racism, although this might be too broad I think racism of any kind against any people is not to be tolerated.

Here is a segment from the Pastoral Letter of 2008:

"As members of the United Church of Christ, we have a rich history of spirited resistance
to racism that can serve as both a resource and an inspiration for this sacred work. One such
resource is the Pastoral Letter on Racism and
the Role of the Church published in 1991 by the Commission for Racial Justice. The biblical,
theological, and political analysis of this ground-breaking document remains relevant for our day. The Pastoral Letter on Racism boldly names the “sin and idolatry of racism” and calls Christians to renew their commitment to be a people grounded in the love and justice embodied in Jesus Christ and the beloved community that King envisioned.
The Pastoral Letter on Racism documented what it called “a sobering truth” – namely, that despite the meaningful progress achieved during the civil rights era, “quality of life for the majority of racial and ethnic people is worse today in many ways than it was during the 1960s.” The letter went on to name a number of disturbing trends that signaled growing racial intolerance and hostility: increasing inequities between the rich and the poor; charges of “reverse racism”and attacks on affirmative action; a resurgence of racially motivated hate crimes and; fear of “foreigners” surfacing in movements such as “English Only.”
Seventeen years later, in 2008, we might wish to believe that we have made significant progress in addressing and reversing those alarming trends. Lamentably, that claim cannot be substantiated."
It goes on but I think that sums up the reasons for this conversation.
Jeannette Brown

Earth Day Prayers

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:48:00 +0000

These prayers are from the book "Earth Prayers From Around the World"

Suggested for Earth Day

And now we will count to twelve
and we will all keep still.....

For once on the face of the earth
let's not speak in any language,
let's stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment
without rush without engines,
we would all be together
in a sudden strangeness.

Fishermen in the cold sea
would not harm whales
and the man fathering salt
would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victory with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and walk about with their brothers
in the shade, doing nothing

What I want should not be confused
with total inactivity
(Life is what it is about,
I want no truck with death.)

If we were not so single minded
about keeping out lives moving,
and for once could do nothing,
perhaps a huge silence
might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding out selves
and of threatening ourselves with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us
as when everything seems dead
and later proves to be alive

Now I'll count up to twelve
and you keep quiet and I will go

Pablo Neruda

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For the Lord your God
is bringing you
into a good land.

a land
of flowing streams,
with springs and underground waters
welling up in valley and hills.
a land of wheat ad barley,
of vines and fig trees and pomegranates,
a land of olive trees and honey,
a land where you may eat bread without scarcity,
where you will lack nothing.
a land whose stones are iron.
and from whose hills you may mine copper

You shall eat your fill
and bless the Lord your God
for the good land
he has given you.

DEUTERONOMY 8:7-11 NRSV
___________________________________________________________________

Don't destroy the world
I've only nibbled
the grasses of my lover's meadow.
We are early May
and clematis has not yet blossomed.
Alyssum, lady's slipper, buttercups
I want to hold the to her chin as we did childhood summers
shining their yellow reflection.

And the large magnificent trees
rhododendrons, splashed pink as dawn
magnolia, white waxy bowls of purple swooning.
I've waited my lifetime for this.
Plums are yet to come, fat, taut
the fragile bloom misting their skin like breath.

Let there be days of grainy juices
sticky on my face I
want time. There's
plush mango I smear over her.
Let me lick the pit clean, memorize
each crevice with my tongue

Don't
destroy
the world
because my child;s five, because
she crises when she scrapes her knee on gravel' skin shredded, blood beading through the dust
cries pitifully and long
while I envision scenes of devastation
holding her against the clawing pain
her screams, my helplessness.

"I hope nothing really bad ever happens to you," I blurt
the accusation, shield for my own hysteria...
Don't Don't destroy the world.

Ellen Bass

Happy Earth Day

Jeannette

Martin Luther King Holiday Musings

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:20:00 +0000

Today in Christ Church we celebrated Martin Luther King's birthday. It is one of those flexible holidays which are celebrated on Monday even though Dr. King was born on January 15th.

We heard readings from Dr. King's Letter from a Birmingham Jail. As I listened to the selections I was struck by how appropriate they were for today.

Why we can't wait. People keep telling us to wait and things will be better. We African Americans wonder how long shall we wait. I wonder what Dr. King would have said about the photos of people on the Gulf coast and New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. It looked like a third world country and this was America. Our leaders were saying help would arrive. It has been two years and help has still not arrived for some people. How long should they wait?

Brown vs Board of Education was supposed to integrate schools and make education equal for all students. Well the schools have been integrated but white people (in New Jersey) have moved to the suburbs leaving the urban schools to have a majority of African American and Hispanic students. Is the education equal, no not really. How long can we wait?

The new school funding plan will put more money in school districts with large underrepresented populations statewide. This changes the old Abbott schools who were the urban schools and received more funding. Will this work? I really don't know because not all the extra money in the urban school districts was used for education purposes.

But back to MLK. Dr. King spoke about the fact that African Americans would like to be able to order a cup of coffee from a lunch counter. My cousins who live in Springfield Mass drove my grandmother south to Greensboro North Carolina. They had grown up in the north were there was no overt discrimination. The first thing my cousin Robert noted that he could not stop everywhere for gasoline. He was told to go to the "Nigger" gas station. The other thing he found out that some of our cousins who lived in Greensboro and were attending North Carolina A & T were involved in the sit in at the lunch counter in Greensboro. My southern cousins told Robert to stay away from them because they were afraid since he did not know the problems in the south he might get in trouble.

Dr. King also talked about traveling by car and having sleep in his car. This was shown in the Percy Julian DVD on NOVA were Dr. Julian a respected chemist and business man was also forced to sleep in his car on occasion. When my parents and I traveled we consulted the "Red Book" a book that told Negros the names of hotels that would accommodate them. This book was used not only for the south but the north. My parents consulted that book when they went with me to graduate school in Minneapolis Minnesota. They were given the room that overlooked an air shaft near the elevator. I have been back to Minneapolis since and that hotel has been torn down! My father was so excited when the civil rights act was passed because we could now stay in any hotel in Washington DC!. Even when I was traveling for my company in the south I always had my reservation in my hand when I went up to the desk for fear that they would turn me away. That did happen one time when I had a confirmed reservation at a hotel in New Orleans. But they booked us in another hotel and paid that night's rent and the taxi to and from their hotel. We arrived late at night and they had overbooked the hotel. We also got a free night at the hotel that we had originally booked!

MLK sitings.
My mother and father and I were at Riverside Church when Dr. King preached. My father decided we should go and I went along for the ride.
I also went to the second "March on Washington". I stood in front so that I could see the speakers. I happened to be in DC for an American Chemical Society meeting and decided to go. I got on the Metro and arrived at the mall right in front of the speakers platform!

So these are my thoughts about Martin Luther King's birthday 2008.
Jeannette Brown

New Jersey apologizes for slavery

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 23:43:00 +0000

On Sunday I announced in church that New Jersey was considering resolution that would apologize for slavery. The vote was taken today and New Jersey became the first northern state to apologize for slavery. This resolution was sponsored by outgoing Assemblyman William Payne.

As today's article says: "Payne said an apology will comfort black residents, who make up 14.5 percent of New Jersey's 8.7 million residents.

"This apology is not for deceased slaves," Payne said. "It's an apology for their descendants. It's an apology for the ages and all mankind."

"The Assembly voted 59-8 and the Senate 29-2 to approve a resolution expressing "profound regret" for New Jersey's role in slavery. A resolution expresses the Legislature's opinion without requiring action by the governor.

"This resolution does nothing more than say New Jersey is sorry about its shameful past," said Assemblyman William Payne, D-Essex, who sponsored the measure.

The resolution offers an apology "for the wrongs inflicted by slavery and its aftereffects in the United States of America."

It states that in New Jersey, "the vestiges of slavery are ever before African-American citizens, from the overt racism of hate groups to the subtle racism encountered when requesting health care, transacting business, buying a home, seeking quality public education and college admission, and enduring pretextual traffic stops and other indignities." Note: These traffic stops are not limited to African American males although they are the principal target, I have been stopped by a police man who probably thought I was a man, not a little old African American lady. I have never received a ticket on these stops only warnings.)
Note: Taken from the Associated Press article by TOM HESTER Jr. |Associated Press Writer| http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--
slaveryapology0107jan07,0,2453783.story

Here is some information about the slave trade in New Jersey. In 1800 the number of slave in New Jersey was 12,422 second among the northern states with New York at an estimated 20,613 slaves.
For more information about the slave trade in New Jersey here is a link: _slavery_in_New_Jersey#The_Great_Migration

For information about what New Jersey blooggers think about this, here is a link: http://blog.nj.com/jerseyblogs/2008/01/bloggers_react_to_new
_jerseys.html

What do I think? I think it's great. Anything that might help people to think about history and how what happened in the past reflect the present and maybe the future is a good thing. As a newly minted historian I have seen this time and time again.
Jeannette Brown
A little fuzzy from chemo meds today so I hope this makes sense.

Happy New Year & New York Times Op Ed Article worth reading

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 11:56:00 +0000

I managed to make it to the Christmas eve evening service. It was great although I would rather sing in the choir than in the congregation. I am slowly coming back from the reactions to chemo even though I have four more treatments to go, I seem to be tolerating them better.

I would like to point out an Op Ed in today's (December 30, 2007) New York Times about the end of the slave trade in the United states. It is worth reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/opinion/30foner.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Here is a summary of it.:

Forgotten Step Toward Freedom

ERIC FONER

Published: December 30, 2007

WE Americans live in a society awash in historical celebrations. The last few years have witnessed commemorations of the bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase (2003) and the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II (2005). Looming on the horizon are the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth (2009) and the sesquicentennial of the outbreak of the Civil War (2011). But one significant milestone has gone strangely unnoticed: the 200th anniversary of Jan. 1, 1808, when the importation of slaves into the United States was prohibited.

-----"In the United States, however, slavery not only survived the end of the African trade but embarked on an era of unprecedented expansion. Americans have had to look elsewhere for memories that ameliorate our racial discontents, which helps explain our recent focus on the 19th-century Underground Railroad as an example (widely commemorated and often exaggerated) of blacks and whites working together in a common cause.

Nonetheless, the abolition of the slave trade to the United States is well worth remembering. Only a small fraction (perhaps 5 percent) of the estimated 11 million Africans brought to the New World in the four centuries of the slave trade were destined for the area that became the United States. But in the Colonial era, Southern planters regularly purchased imported slaves, and merchants in New York and New England profited handsomely from the trade."

Note: New York City was a center for the slave trade and our Congregational forefathers were actively engaged in the slave trade.

"From 1803 to 1808, between 75,000 and 100,000 Africans entered the United States.
By this time, the international slave trade was widely recognized as a crime against humanity. In 1807, Congress prohibited the importation of slaves from abroad, to take effect the next New Year’s Day, the first date allowed by the Constitution.

For years thereafter, free African-Americans celebrated Jan. 1 as an alternative to July 4, when, in their view, patriotic orators hypocritically proclaimed the slave-owning United States a land of liberty."

OK. Enough I hope you will read the full article in the newspaper today or in the library some time this week.
Jeannette

A Poem for Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 01:12:00 +0000

This is taken for "Earth Prayers From Around the Wold 365 Prayers, Poems and Invocations for Honoring the Earth" edited by Elizabeth Robers and Elias Amidon.

This poem is and adapted from the Gaelic. In the choir we have sung a piece with similar words.

Deep peace of the running wave to you,
of water flowing. rising and falling;
Sometime advancing, sometime receding;
Deep peace of the running wave to you!

Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
which fans your face on a sultry day;
the air which you breathe deeply, rhythmically,
which imparts to you energy, consciousness, life;
Deep peace of the flowing air to you!

Deep peace of the quiet earth to you;
who, herself unmoving, harbours the movements
and facilitates the life of the ten thousand creatures
while resting contented, stable, tranquil;
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you!

Deep peace of the shining stars to you;
which stay invisible till darkness falls
and discloses their pure and shining presence
beaming down in compassion on our turning world
Deep peace of the shining stars to you!

Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you;
of unpretentious folk who, watching and waiting,
spend long hours out on the hillside;
expecting in simplicity some Coming of the Lord
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you!

Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you,
who, swift as the wave and pervasive as the air,
quiet as the earth and shining like a star;
breathes into us His Peace and His Spirit:
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you!

by Mary Rogers Adapted from the Gaelic

Jeannette Brown

No Child Left Behind Reauthorization Bill

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:57:00 +0000

I received two communications about the "No Child Left Behind Reauthorization" which was supposed to happen in 2007 and now has been put off until 2008. This is something which should be of interest to everyone parent, grandparent, and single. How are children are educated reflects on the future of our economy and our political future. How many times have you called someone about a problem and when you finally got a human on the phone, that person was unable to give you any other answer than that which was printed on the sheet in front of him/her. They might have been in a call center in India but even if they were here in the USA students are not being taught to think outside the box. This is the result of standardized testing where teachers spend all their time teaching to the test and not exploring the thoughts of students. Some teachers jobs depend on the students performance on these tests. Schools in New York City are being closed and reorganized because of the "poor" performance of the students.
Science is not one of the subjects being tested and the American Chemical Society's position is that if you can't fight them, join them and want science to be one of the "optional" subjects to be tested. As a chemist I do not agree with this as I would like to do away with the tests and find other ways to "test" student knowledge of a subject. These other methods do exist as I learned them when I took some courses with WestEd in Teacher Leadership, but it involves training the teachers to be able to do this. It is simpler for a teacher to teach by rote to the standardize test.
But enough of my soap box I will copy below the e-mail I received from the Rev Jan Resseger the UCC minister whose sole job is to study Public Education in this country. She is the only minister of any denomination to have this job and as such sits on some important education commissions.
-----------------

On December 5, author Jonathan Kozol finally was able to meet with Senator Ted Kennedy about the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act.

Kozol has made the overwhelming injustices in the federal education law a primary subject in presentations during a recent national promotion tour for his new book, Letters to a Young Teacher.

He has also spent the summer and fall engaged in a partial fast to protest Senator Kennedy's unwillingness to meet about the No Child Left Behind Act.

Here is a link to Kozol's report about his December 5 meeting with Senator Kennedy: http://ed-action.org/news.php?section=letters .

As you know, the law will not be reauthorized in 2007, as scheduled. Jonathan Kozol's fast was a powerful witness to bring attention to the injustices not just in the law's mechanisms but also in its educational philosophy of test-and-punish, a strategy that has increased pressure to intolerable levels for many teachers and children, and that has increased so many unfunded demands for the most vulnerable schools that there is less funding remaining for instruction.

As we enter 2008, it will be up to all of us who care about public education to reflect on ways we too can witness to keep the focus on the need for reform in the No Child Left Behind Act, even during this presidential election year when politics might push the reauthorization even farther into the future.

Wishing you peace in this Advent season.

--Jan

Jan Resseger, Minister for Public Education and Witness
United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries
700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-1100
216-736-3711

----------------------
Not to get political but I also received a letter from Senator Lautenberg in reply to my "form" letter that I sent to him advocating the American Chemical Society's position along with my own. --------------

Dear Ms. Brown :

Thank you for contacting me about the reauthorization of the "No Child Left Behind Act" (NCLB). I appreciate hearing from you on this important issue.

The "No Child Left Behind Act" was enacted in 2002 to increase accountability and raise educational standards in our public schools. While I support the principles upon which NCLB is based, I have concerns about the way this law has been put into practice.

First, I am concerned about the emphasis on standardized testing. The law requires annual math and reading tests in grades three through eight, and once in high school. Schools that miss the set benchmarks face increasingly tough consequences, such as loss of funding or having to replace teachers or principles. While useful in some cases, standardized testing can measure only a small sample of what is learned in school. We should not rely solely on a single test to reflect the achievement of a student or the realities of their school district. I support changes to No Child Left Behind that would grant states flexibility in measuring schools' progress.

I also support implementing a "growth" model when assessing schools. Under this method, changes in test scores are measured over time to determine if students are making strides in their learning. Thus, schools will get credit for student progress. This model is particularly useful when measuring the achievements of schools in poorer districts, which face a more difficult set of circumstances than schools in more affluent areas.

Finally, I believe the reauthorization should place a high priority on a wider number of academic subjects. As it stands, many schools have begun to neglect subjects like science, social studies, and the arts in favor of increased instruction on reading and math - both of which are assessed by standardized tests. While reading and math are important subjects to learn, they should not be taught to the exclusion of other important fields of study. It is imperative that students receive a well-rounded education that will prepare them for a wide variety of professions.

Congress is set to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind law within the next year. Please be assured that I am closely monitoring the progress of this legislation, and will keep your views in mind as this issue comes before the Senate.

Thank you again for writing.
-----------------
This letter appears to be a personal note maybe I am wrong, but we have met because he is also involved with the Amtrak appropriation but that is another soap box.

Merry Christmas
Jeannette

Shawl Ministry

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 16:17:00 +0000

OK. I should be writing my book but when I am sitting having an infusion or bored in a hospital room knitting is fun. So I finished one shawl that I had started. When I took a look at it, I had knitted so much it turned into a blanket and not a shawl. So I remembered that a year ago there was a request from Homeside Hospice in Clark for knitters. I have put a notice about that in the Clarion but I will reproduce that here.

Homeside Hospice

67 Walnut Ave., Suite 205,
Clark, NJ 07066
Phone (732) 381 3444
Fax (732) 381 3445
Email homesidehospice@aol.com

There is a request for volunteer knitters, weavers and sewers to make Lap Blankets, Prayer Shawls and other items. This request came to me a year ago and I finally have something to donate. Please keep this in mind as you are knitting this winter. You can call and contact the volunteer coordinator or just mail the shawls to them. They will give you volunteer hours for your work which might be of interest to teenagers.

I have another shawl to finish and I will start some new ones . I have a lot of yarn left over from other projects.
Anyone is welcome to join the Shawl Ministry. Directions for shawls are on the table in the Atrium or on the web at http://www.shawlministry.com/instructions.html We have virtual meetings although we might meet with the group from Stanely Congregational church in Chatham in the spring. I will try to arrange it.
Jeannette

Christmas Shopping and the UCC

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 09 Dec 2007 10:20:00 +0000

Hi. Because I am mostly confined to my house I am doing my Christmas shopping on line this year. But I notice the ads for Wal Mart and their low prices $15.00 for an I-Pod nano! I was wondering about the UCC position about Wal Mart and their labor relations. I found this most recent post in Justice and Witness Ministries :http://www.ucc.org/ucnews/octnov2005/justice-and-witness.html
I realize this was written in 2005 but I don't beleive the policy has changed.
It starts out by quoting a UCC member"

"I work for Wal-Mart, writes Edward, a UCC member in California.

"If you have studied their practices," he continues, "you will know how unrealistic they are. Unequal pay for men and women, poor insurance for high costs, imported products at about 80 percent of their merchandise. For one of the giants in the retail world, they have not shown any real care and concern for their employees. Please consider looking into this. You will be as distressed as many of us are."

The UCC had a week of action against Wal Mart in 2005, not a boycot because in some markets Wal Mart is the only store in town just an awarness of their employee practices. Here in New Jersey the closest Wal Mart to Summit is on Route 22 in Watchung and there is one in Manville near where I live.

But, as Rasell makes clear, Wal-Mart's low prices come at a high cost to the company's low-wage, non-organized workforce. "The time has come for the UCC to very visibly support the right of [Wal-Mart] workers to organize for a higher standard of pay and benefits," she says.

'The Wal-Mart Movie' This is a documentary film that is available for congregations.

Later in the article they go one to compare the working conditions of Wal Mart employees to those of Costco employess one of Wal Mart's competitiors and they are better.
Here is the end of the article

"Let's give them the credit, but I would also credit the pressure that's been put on Wal-Mart," Smithline says. "Because that's our goal. We know we're not going to put them out of business, but our goal is to make them a better company."

Rasell says, in the end, she's not ready to say whether or not Wal-Mart workers "should" form a union, but she does believe they should be guaranteed their legal rights to organize, if they so choose.

"We simply want Wal-Mart to take care of its employees," she says. "That's the ultimate goal."

"[It is] the responsibility of multinational corporations and international financial institutions to respect and hold themselves accountable to fundamental human rights, particularly with regard to child labor, employment of minorities, and wages that are adequate for local costs of living;

[It is] the responsibility of workers to organize for collective bargaining with employers regarding wages, benefits, and working conditions, and the responsibility of employers to respect not only worker rights but also workers' dignity, and to create and maintain a climate conducive to the workers' autonomous decision to organize… ."

From the 1997 General Synod resolution, "Affirming Democratic Principles in an Emerging Global Economy."

Also on the UCC web are alternative gifts. I know the board of world fellowship takes care of Christ Church giving but if any individual would like to take on a cause there is a list of places around the world that could use money for good purposes.

Alternative Christmas Giving

Looking for a creative way to celebrate Christmas this year? Alternative Christmas gifts are a meaningful way to give a gift that keeps on giving.

With an Alternative Christmas gift, you honor your loved ones and make a difference in the lives of people around the world, all without a trip to the mall. Giving alternative Christmas gifts ensures that your gift won't sit on a shelf gathering dust, leaves no worries about whether you know what size the recipient wears, and won't be part of the next massive product recall. It's perfect for the person who has "everything" and is sure to bring smiles - it can also make all the difference in the world.

List of giving opportunities for individuals http://www.globalministries.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=839&Itemid=32

Just some ideas for the reason for the season.
Jeannette Brown

The Extravagant Welcome of a UCC Church

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 11:11:00 +0000

No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here!
I am currently on the road in San Diego traveling to see my second opinion doctor. Whenever I travel I usually take the time on Sunday to go to church. So I looked up a church on the UCC website and decided to attend the Mission Hills UCC since it was not far from where I was staying.
I arrived early because "I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus". The latter is the title of a negro spiritual which is in the New Century Hymnal and has become one of my favorite hymns. I suspect we will sing it some time in Christ Church.
When I got to the church at 9:45 for a 10:am service, the greeters were already at the door and getting ready to great members and visitors. They filled out a name tag for me, members name tags were at the door. I went in and sat down in time to catch the choir rehearsing. They have both a choir director and an organist, I suspect because the organ console is up in the balcony in the back of the church. While I was sitting the the pew the minister came over to greet me and introduce himself, although I knew who he was from the photo on the website.
They had a guest preacher that Sunday because they had run a workshop on the Open and Affirming process. This church is O & A. The guest preacher was Dr. Mary Tolbert Professor of Biblical studies and Director Center of Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley CA. She preached on Mark 4:33-41 titled "Risking Faith in the World of Fear" This is the story of Jesus resting in a boat after a day of preaching and a storm came up and the disciples were afraid and woke Jesus who calmed the storm and told them not to be afraid. As Dr. Tolbert said the Greek translation was "Why are you such cowards have you no faith". Well this sermon hit home because I am facing cancer treatment and it scares me. Dr. Tolbert said most people say "I don't mind taking a risk as long as I know what the results will be" But she also said "Fear is banished by faith" therefore we should put our trust in God.
After the service I went to the coffee hour. They had a lot of food left over from the weekend conference so they served it. I was invited to sit at a table with some people and I recognized Ron Bufford who was responsible for the UCC television ads and the God is still speaking campaign. He was in California visiting with the senior minister. As I sat and talked to a woman at the table, I mentioned I needed a ride back to my hotel. When I travel I usually take a taxi to the church but I always get a ride back to my hotel. Well Ron had volunteered to drive me back to the hotel, but this woman and her husband volunteered to take me. Not only did they take me to my hotel to pick up my luggage, and then move to another hotel.
Also I had made a prayer request for my visit to my doctor at the Moores Cancer Institute and it turns out that the person who drive me to the hotel is a pharmacologist at UCSD and he volunteered to drive me to my doctors appointment pending on his schedule. A real extravagant welcome. When they drove me to my new hotel they helped me put my luggage in my room.
At church I made a prayer request for my doctor's visit and the minister later said to me they would put me on their Prayer Partners list.
I truly hope and pray that Christ Church members offer this kind of welcome to strangers who come to our church. I guess I know we do.
No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here!
Jeannette Brown
San Diego CA

Concerns put into Action

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 20:23:00 +0000

Yesterday during the concerns time at church I asked the congregation to write to their congress person and senators about cancer funding. I was specifically interested in Leukemia and Lymphoma research because I got the notice from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society about writing letters to the editors of our local newspapers. I did that and tailored the template to fit my situation and sent it off to several local newspapers. The Courier News of Bridgewater printed my letter.
I hope you will send a letter to your congress person and senators now that they are back in session about this. You can tailor it to reflect you opinion.
I will again be fund raising for the LLS on October 6 at Colonial Park in Somerset. You can either walk with me or raise funds for me by donating and getting your friends to donate. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society is a private source for research funds and have been successful in producing Gleevic a drug for CML.
Here is my letter to the editor:

U.S. can't afford to defund work on blood cancers

In the past 20 years we've seen enormous progress in research and discovery of new treatments for blood-related cancers; particularly in childhood leukemia and some adult blood cancers. Despite this progress, the prognosis for many blood cancers remains bleak, with hundreds of thousands of patients facing unnecessary suffering and death.

But our enormous progress is being undermined and could soon be reversed due to inadequate federal funding when we need commitment and conviction the most. Over the last four years, federal funding for cancer research has been flat or declined as research has become more expensive. Reduced support for cancer research could lead to delays in the development of new screenings and treatments that could help detect cancer early and save lives. Some research groups have already terminated lifesaving clinical trials.

As a cancer survivor with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common adult leukemia, and as a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society volunteer, I don't understand how anyone would think our country can afford to curb its investment in blood cancer research. Currently, there is no cure for CLL. I am on watch and wait, which means I don't require treatment yet. Doctors do not want to put stable patients like me through the rigors of treatment with all the side effects. Research is being done to find newer treatment options and hopefully some day a cure for this type of cancer.

Leaders in Congress say they are committed to funding the fight against cancer, but so far they have given it a lower priority than hundreds of other programs. The House of Representatives proposed a 1.5 percent increase for the National Cancer Institute, the nation's premier cancer research institution, far less than the average 6.4 percent increase for other health and education programs. With the increased costs associated with medical research, that does not even keep pace with last year, let alone the declining budgets of the last few years.

I urge Rep. Mike Ferguson and Senators Lautenberg and Menendez to support residents here in New Jersey living with blood-related cancer and those who will be diagnosed with the disease by committing to increase funding for cancer research at a minimum at the rate of medical inflation. Simply put: The greater our investment, the more lives we will save.

JEANNETTE E. BROWN

Hillsborough

Inviting Bill Moyers to come to Christ Church Correction

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:48:00 +0000

Julie Yarborough informed me today that I misunderstood her. She said the Chuck Rush has invited Bill Moyers to attend Christ Church and not to speak.
It has always been my idea and I have made this suggestion when I was on the adult education committee that Bill Moyers be invited to preach a sermon at Christ Church and lead an adult education program or an ecumenical program for Summit. I now believe that maybe the invitation should be extended by the NJ Association of the UCC for one of our meetings or the Central Atlantic Conference for their annual meeting. I will make that suggestion on the New Jersey Association Yahoo Group as I know that it is monitored by the CAC Conference minister.
Jeannette Brown

Re: Public Education and the Supreme Court

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 17:30:00 +0000

The New Jersey Association of the UCC has a Yahoo group. There has been a lively discussion about my post about the recent Supreme Court decision. Here is a continuation of this post. I hope that someone is reading this stuff. Remember these are my ideas and you are welcome to comment on them at any time. Just hit the comment on the bottom of the post.
Here is my recent post:
I "spoke" to Jan Ressenger UCC minster for Public Education. I asked her what we can do now she replied: "I think what we have to do now is "keep on keeping on." The Supreme Court, a far-right wing Supreme Court, doesn't speak for me or, I suspect, for you. In the church we
are called to name what we believe is right. We will have to find a way to continue to do that."
At Synod we were given a lot of ways to help support children which is the bottom line. They can go to segregated schools IF THEY ARE TRULY EQUAL. They have teachers who love and support them. They have teachers who teach them in the way they need to learn not just one way as we all have different learning styles. They have teachers who have the interest in the child in mind. As Marion Wright Edleman said" "If you don't like children don't go into teaching!" Or something like that. There is the old expression those who can't do teach! This has got to stop!
As a chemist we want high school teachers to have the equivalent of a Master degree in chemistry to teach. Which means teacher education should be a five year degree! We would like
elementary and middle school teachers to have a minor in science education. We also want high school and middle school chemistry and science teachers to be paid what they are worth. Which means to be paid the equivalent of an entry level scientist. I know the union will protest especially English teachers. (As you can see I did not take my English lessons seriously but that's what editors are for!)
As for my personal history:
My father worked two jobs,one as a superintendent of an apartment house so that we could live in the white neighborhood so that I could go to the neighborhood school. New York City education was de-facto segregated because of neighborhood schools. All teaching was not
equal although I had a great first and second grade teacher in a black school, not all teachers were like that.

Even in our New Jersey suburban high schools where all students meet the education is not equal. Again my chemistry teachers tell me they have the low achieving classes, the regular classes and the AP classes. Guess who is NOT in the AP classes. Is this by design?
So we and our church should investigate the schools and get the class demographics. They should be available from your school board. We have members of our congregation who work in urban school districts and with urban students, we should use them as a resource.

When I was working as a science educator, we helped teachers go through the demographic sheets and wanted them to be disaggregated by race. I believe No Child Left Behind Act mandates that. You need to study NCLB as it is now being reauthorized. You see this is a very sore point with me especially after Synod.

Sister chemist

The UCC Pastoral Letter Calling Upon and End to the Iraq War

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 22:09:00 +0000

You can now take action and sign the UCC Pastoral Letter to end the Iraq War. Below is the UCC take action e-mail that I received today;

Last week in Hartford, nearly 10,000 United Church of Christ members
and clergy gathered for the General Synod, where the Collegium's
pastoral letter on the Iraq war was read to an audience united in its
opposition to five years of bloodshed. The voice of the church was
clear that day: Now is the time tojoin protest to prayer and
call for an end to the war.

In less than a week, 2,500 people have signed a pledge
supporting this statement. It is a strong call for the end to violence
as the first, rather than the last resort, and for the beginning of a
lasting peace in the Middle East.
Join the church officers, seminary presidents, conference
ministers and members of the General Synod who have added
their names -
add your name and your voice to ours.

We need your witness. Please sign this petition today.

Sincerely,

The Rev. John H. Thomas
General Minister and President
United Church of Christ

.Jeannette Brown

.....

Public Education and the Supreme Court Decision

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 00:17:00 +0000

Today the Supreme Court made a decision about using race to integrate schools that I consider a setback for "Brown vs Board of Education. But since it was done by such a narrow margin there is an opening for race still to be considered in school integration. The UCC reaction of to the decision is posted on the UCC website, but in case you have a hard time finding it I have copied it here.

"Justice and Witness Ministries regrets Supreme Court's 'turn from school integration'

Written by staff reports
June 28, 2007

Justice and Witness Ministries released a statement regretting U.S. Supreme Court's June 28 decision on school integration.

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST JUSTICE AND WITNESS MINISTRIES REGRETS THAT U.S. SUPREME COURT TURNS AWAY FROM SCHOOL INTEGRATION, BUT AFFIRMS THAT COURT MAJORITY FINDS RACIAL DIVERSITY A COMPELLING INTEREST

Cleveland, Ohio —While, in the United Church of Christ Justice and Witness Ministries, we regret that, in a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court today struck down Seattle's and Louisville's voluntary programs promoting school integration and opportunity, we are pleased that in a separate opinion Justice Kennedy joined the four dissenters to recognize our nation's compelling need for diverse and integrated schools.

While it struck down the programs in Louisville and Seattle, today a majority of the Court made clear that diverse and inclusive schools are important to the future of our country, and that communities have a clear stake in overcoming the isolation and marginalization of children.

We disagree with the Supreme Court decision to strike down these voluntary programs that promote inclusion and opportunity. We believe those programs were consistent with the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which is intended to provide opportunities, not deny them. Unfortunately the Court's decision will make it harder for school districts to tailor programs to serve particular demographic groups of children, many of whom have been underserved for generations.

In a dissent, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Souter, and Stevens, Justice Breyer laments that today's decision by the majority will make it harder for school districts to design programs that bring children together across racial lines: "Many parents… want their children to attend schools with children of different races. Indeed, the very school districts that once spurned integration now strive for it. The long history of their efforts reveals the complexities and difficulties they have faced. And in light of those challenges, they have asked us not to take from their hands the instruments they have used to rid their schools of racial segregation, instruments that they believe are needed to overcome the problems of cities divided by race and poverty. The plurality would decline their modest request. The plurality is wrong to do so."

The UCC's Justice and Witness Ministries was party to an amicus brief in these cases that supported the right of the Louisville and Seattle school districts to use race as one of a number of factors to promote schooling children in demographically diverse settings at a time when our nation's schools and housing patterns have grown increasingly segregated. Research continues to demonstrate that all children benefit from learning with and from children whose backgrounds are different from their own. Serious achievement gaps demonstrate that racially separate schools remain unequal across the United States, and school finance data confirms that high spending schools continue to outspend low-spending schools by at least three to one in most states.

"We hope school districts will not give up on the ideals of opportunity, diversity, and inclusion, and that their leaders will analyze carefully this Court's ruling to discern any and all remaining ways communities can create diverse and inclusive schools in a constitutionally permissible way," said Jan Resseger, Minister for Public Education and Witness.

In 1991, the UCC's General Synod, its national governing body, proclaimed a truth that remains relevant sixteen years later: "Because the poor and their children are disproportionately people of color, the educational inequities in our public schools reinforce the racial/ethnic injustices of our society."

As an expression of long support in the United Church of Christ for integrated public schools, last week at the denomination's 26th General Synod in Hartford, Connecticut, participants were given an opportunity to learn about and celebrate the efforts of lifetime UCC member, Elizabeth Horton Sheff, mother of the named plaintiff in Sheff v. O'Neill, Connecticut's 18 year school integration case. Sheff v. O'Neill was decided by Connecticut's supreme court in 1996 under state constitutional language that prohibits "segregation or discrimination" on the basis of race or color. This case has resulted in a series of remedies involving city-suburban magnet schools and opportunities for children to participate in Project Choice, that provides places for children in neighboring districts to enhance integration. Because the state has lagged in meeting the requirements of a 2003 settlement, Connecticut's legislature has been meeting to strengthen the remedy.

The United Church of Christ's Justice and Witness Ministries, based in Cleveland, coordinates and implements the denomination's peace and justice advocacy mandates on behalf of 1.2 million members in over 5,700 congregations in the United States."

Reminder we have done two adult education programs on the subject of Brown vs Board of Education and the UCC Public Education concerns. The UCC minister for public education

Jan Resseger, is ready willing and able to come and do an adult education program again about public education

During our Service Program at General Synod we learned about the Connectuct school integration case in which there has been a partial solution. We saw the schools which had been bulit with the aide of Trinity College...

UCC 50th Anniversary Synod -2

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 09:38:00 +0000

Monday June 25 Contd
Service Project: Today I participated in the service project which began by waiting for the bus. We traveled to a Hartford magnet school first. This series of schools were set up by Hartford as a way of integrating the schools. There is a Montessori school, a middle school and two high schools, one for science and the other for the arts. Students from the suburbs are bussed in for half a day to go to one of the two high schools. The schools are called "The Learning Corridor" www.learningcorridor.org. It is a partnership between the Hartford Public schools and Trinity College. I was built to be the prototype for other schools in the district.
Next we went to a neighborhood middle school where we assembled the bags of materials, some of which was supplied by some of you, for the teachers. Unfortunately unlike Atlanta where the local churches supplied the bulk of the materials, we did not have enough materials for all the bags, but the huge group of workers managed to pack 400 bags in one hour. I have photos of this which I will post soon. We had three bus loads of works many were high school youth. To keep the youth busy, they were asked to clean up he grounds of the school as well by picking up the trash. After lunch we returned to the arena.

Transition from Visitor to Delegate: That afternoon I chose a seat where I could run down and sign up for "Speak Outs" Speak Outs are a time where anyone can talk for 2 mins about anything. I happened to sit near the new director of education for Riverside Church Rev. Gerald Thomas. He is African American and came from he Vermont Conference. We struck up a conversation and I told him what I do and he said he would invite me to speak to his youth some time.
While I was sitting there watching the delegates, knitting a shawl and napping, John Deckenback the Central Atlantic Conference Minister spotted me and asked me to become a substitute delegate! It seems that Ruth Sykes ( Plainfield UCC) had an emergency so she had to go home. So now I am a delegate!
Resolutions passed: (for details see the resolutions on www.ucc.org)
Super fund Site
Green Churches
Support for Smithfield Ham workers in North Carolina
Cali Witte and Edith Guffey were reelected to serve on the Ministerium of the UCC.

Marion Wright Edleman
She is President of the Children's Defense Fund and she spoke in support of the children of the world and especially of these United states
Sound Bites:

SCHIP is up for re authorizations this is the bill that provides health care for poor children. Contact your congressman and senators about increasing the amount of money for this so that all children will have health care. This needs to be done THIS WEEK. You can send a letter to your senators on line on The Children's Defense Fund site. http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer
Cradle to Prison we are dooming many poor and minority children to enter the Justice system by the way we treat them in school and fail to teach them to read at an early age.
She said about some teachers: "If you don't love children don't go into teaching!"
Children watch and do what adults do so every adult should do a audit of their practices eg drugs, drinking, lying etc.

For more information see the website of the "Children's Defense Fund".

OK More later.

UCC 50th Anniversary Synod

noreply@blogger.com (jeannettebrown) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 08:35:00 +0000

Friday, Saturday and Sunday

All I can say so far is WOW! I have been to many Synod's as a visitor but this one tops them all. On Saturday for the birthday party there were 10,000 people including 1,000 youth and young adults! It was awesome.
I hope you are watching it on the web in streaming video or at least you can watch the archives as they are posted on the web at www.ucc.org.
Bill Moyers talk is posted now. He said he was a member of a UCC church even though he could be a Baptist minister. His talk is worth watching. I ran into Julie Yarborough and told her that Chuck should invite him to speak at Christ Church. She said Chuck has been trying. Maybe we as private citizens should also try. Some sound bites from Bill Moyers speech:

About founding fathers and race "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal..... But some of them had slaves
About Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemming. Upon his death all the slaves were sold except Sally. Sally's children were set free. Moyers said: (Jefferson about the declaration of Independence) got it right --- but lived it wrong"
Moyers also said "(Jefferson) "knew the truth but lived it wrong as we are today."
"Churches of conscience must take the lead (against racism and poverty) or we will lose our democracy"

These are the sound bites that were of interest to me. I urge you to listen to the whole speech to make your own judgement.

Senator Barak Obama spoke that afternoon (Saturday). His speech was billed as a non campaign speech and we were told not to wear campaign tee shirts. He was invited as a member of Trinity Church in Chicago to speak about his faith journey. He started out that way but then launched into a campaign speech. His speech is posted now on the web. The sound bites are:

He would start universal health program.
About poverty "If you work a 40 hour week you should not be living in poverty."
About immigration "we must secure our borders, but we can't just walk away from the undocumented immigrants that already here, we must give them a chance to stay here"

On Saturday for Synod in the City it was a wonderful day. Even the weather cooperated, it was not hot in fact I wore a jacket! There we so many things to do that it was hard to chose. I chose to attend two workshops:
Stem Cell Research. The UCC has a science group that cautiously support Stem Cell research and funding by the federal government. If you attend the adult education about Stem Cell Research at Christ Church you have the same information that was given at the workshop.

No Child Left Behind: The UCC is the only denomination that has a staff member who is dedicated to support public education. This is because of it's history of starting schools and colleges especailly in the south after the Civil War. The UCC is working to change the No Child Left Behind Act during this year's re-authorization to be of better service to teachers and children. In fact there is a letter that you can sign and send to your senators and congressman in the UCC take Action. I have already signed this letter and I urge all of you to do so as well. You can read and change the letter before you send it. For more information about UCC and education I urge you to look at the the UCC website. The future of our government depends on an educated workforce for all people not just the few who can afford it.

Sunday June 24
This was an easy day for me. The morning was free so that people could attend community groups or a local church service or just chill, which was my option. Since I was singing in the choir I had to be at the Civic Center at 11:30 for rehearsal. I had not had a chance to review the music and as it turns out, it was not hard to learn on the fly. After two runs through I knew it. Don't tell my voice teacher as she is trying to turn me into a musician! I used my old skill of learning by hearing it. Singing is such a large choir 700 was great! The composers were over whelmed to hear their compositions sung by so large a group!
The church service was great. John Thomas preached and then we had communion. This was the reinactment of Jesus feeding the multitude! Imagine communion for 10,000 people!
In the evening I attended the Wider Church Ministries dinner and then came back to my hotel to chill. Delegates had to work and I could have watched them but bed seemed to be more what I wanted!

Monday June 25.
Today is Service Day for me so more later.