Thank you to
Micah Bales for tweeting this.
@micahbales
Occupy Faith
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LECTIONARY
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Queensland - in God's hands and its own resourceful abilities #qldfloods #resilience
I want us to remember who we are.
We are Queenslanders.
We're the people that they breed tough,
north of the border.
We're the ones that they knock down,
and we get up again.
Anna Bligh,
Premier of Queensland.
She said this on the morning
of 13 January 2011
as she held back tears.
Monday, January 10, 2011
The day after the Tucson tragedy #prayer via @zacbailes
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Words cannot fully express the compassion and sympathy
that goes out to the people of Tucson.
It is, therefore, wonderful when someone does find some
good words.
Mark Sandlin over at The God Article has done so.
Saturday, January 08, 2011
Desert women's business 25-29 March 2011 #desert #women #indigenous #Aboriginal #NT
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INVITATION TO
DESERT WOMEN'S BUSINESS UMUTJA
25-29 March 2011
Nellie Patterson and the Pitjantjatjara elders
in Central Australia
invite you to share in Women's Business
at a very sacred healing area
approximately 150 kms from Uluru.
(This is a long drive on a desert track).
Cost: $1500.00
Pickup: The Outback Pioneer Motel, Yulara. Tel: (08) 8957 7888
Deposit: $500 by 31st January, 2011
Balance: $1000 by 28th February, 2011
SORRY NO REFUNDS AFTER 28th FEBRUARY
Fee covers transport to and from Yulara
(also there is a free shuttle bus from Yulara Airport to the Outback Pioneer),
all meals, swag and cultural fees.
DETAILS:
We are travelling to very powerful land and we are asked to come with deep respect for the law and culture of this area bringing only an open attitude and willingness to be guided by the elders.
- We meet at the Outback Pioneer at around 12 noon on 25 March. Please be ready to load up into the Troopies by then so that we can reach our destination early. We will return to the Yulara Ceremonial site as usual for rest and integration of our experience at Umutja and then return to the Outback Pioneer around Noon on 29 March but earlier times can be arranged for flights if necessary.
- We travel in 4x4 Troopies. Space is very limited so luggage must be kept to an absolute minimum (additional items for before and after the event can be stored at the Outback)
- You will need to bring 10 litres water for personal use - can be purchased at Yulara when you arrive.
- We provide swags but please let us know if you are bringing your own so that we do not double up.
WHAT TO BRING:
- warm sleeping bag, small pillow and sheet
- large tarp for over and under swag – approx 3 metre x 4 metre
- soft bag for clothes etc - keep it very small for transport
- water and drinking bottle
- torch – headlights are easier and best
- black skirt, knee length or longer. You will spend most of your time in this and will need very little additional clothing for the site other than some warm covering clothes for the evenings and early mornings and maybe socks and beanie for bed if nights get cool. A sarong or two comes in handy too.
- wipes like wet-ones, for washing
- toilet paper and small trowel
- zip lock bags for your own rubbish (incl. used toilet paper!!)
- small towel
- sunscreen and hat
- insect repellent
- Gastrolyte or other electrolyte drink
- additional food for snacking on if you need it. MEALS ARE SIMPLE, VEGETARIAN, AND NUTRICIOUS. (Let us know if you have special dietary needs and we will see what we can do, e.g. gluten free).
- willingness to assist in the kitchen for preparation & clean-up at meal times (a roster will be available for you to sign up on)
- willingness to assist with serving our Aboriginal sisters at meal times.
- we are asked not to bring any recreational drugs, alcohol, drums and other instruments, jewellery, healing items like crystals, etc. as they interfere with the way the women work with the land in ceremony. Photography is not allowed and we are asked to keep our writing, artwork for later.
- it is important for you to know that you will be responsible for yourself and your experience at this event as it is not covered by insurance.
ADDITIONAL ITEMS AS GIVE-AWAYS IF YOU WANT:
- the ladies love and need black skirts - mostly large size
- wool - red, white, black and yellow
- white feathers
- paints, brushes
- canvas
Please send deposit or full fee to:
St George Bank
Account Name: Lorraine Moses
BSB: 112-879
Acct No. 473807023
Or: Mail a cheque/money order to:
Lorraine Moses
PO Box 88,
Alice Springs NT 0871
VERY IMPORTANT
PLEASE BE SURE TO ADD YOUR NAME WITH YOUR DEPOSIT
AND LET ME KNOW BY EMAIL WHEN YOU DO THAT,
OTHERWISE IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL
WHO HAS PAID WHAT - MAMMOTH TASK!
THANKS.
Please feel free to phone me if you have any questions 0428 406009.
Love and blessings, Lorraine
Further reading:
Egypt's Muslims serve as human shields for Coptic Christmas Mass #christianity #islam #egypt
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Site sources of religious symbols:-
Islam's Crescent from
St Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church, Portland, Oregon
The article below has come to me via Steve Hayes, my long time 'net friend in South Africa. Its original source is here.
Egypt's Muslims attend Coptic Christmas mass, serving as "human shields"
Muslims turned up in droves for the Coptic Christmas mass Thursday night, offering their bodies, and lives, as “shields” to Egypt’s threatened Christian community
Yasmine El-Rashidi , Friday 7 Jan 2011
In Egypt, ministers and movie stars turn out for trouble-free Christmas mass. Egypt’s majority Muslim population stuck to its word Thursday night. What had been a promise of solidarity to the weary Coptic community, was honoured, when thousands of Muslims showed up at Coptic Christmas eve mass services in churches around the country and at candle light vigils held outside.
From the well-known to the unknown, Muslims had offered their bodies as “human shields” for last night’s mass, making a pledge to collectively fight the threat of Islamic militants and towards an Egypt free from sectarian strife.
“We either live together, or we die together,” was the sloganeering genius of Mohamed El-Sawy, a Muslim arts tycoon whose cultural centre distributed flyers at churches in Cairo Thursday night, and who has been credited with first floating the “human shield” idea.
Among those shields were movie stars Adel Imam and Yousra, popular preacher Amr Khaled, the two sons of President Hosni Mubarak, and thousands of citizens who have said they consider the attack one on Egypt as a whole.
“This is not about us and them,” said Dalia Mustafa, a student who attended mass at Virgin Mary Church on Maraashly. “We are one. This was an attack on Egypt as a whole, and I am standing with the Copts because the only way things will change in this country is if we come together.”
In the days following the brutal attack on Saints Church in Alexandria, which left 21 dead on New Year’ eve, solidarity between Muslims and Copts has seen an unprecedented peak. Millions of Egyptians changed their Facebook profile pictures to the image of a cross within a crescent – the symbol of an “Egypt for All”. Around the city, banners went up calling for unity, and depicting mosques and churches, crosses and crescents, together as one.
The attack has rocked a nation that is no stranger to acts of terror, against all of Muslims, Jews and Copts. In January of last year, on the eve of Coptic Christmas, a drive-by shooting in the southern town of Nag Hammadi killed eight Copts as they were leaving Church following mass. In 2004 and 2005, bombings in the Red Sea resorts of Taba and Sharm El-Sheikh claimed over 100 lives, and in the late 90’s, Islamic militants executed a series of bombings and massacres that left dozens dead.
This attack though comes after a series of more recent incidents that have left Egyptians feeling left out in the cold by a government meant to protect them.
Last summer, 28-year-old businessman Khaled Said was beaten to death by police, also in Alexandria, causing a local and international uproar. Around his death, there have been numerous other reports of police brutality, random arrests and torture.
Last year was also witness to a brutal parliamentary election process in which the government’s security apparatus and thugs seemed to spiral out of control. The result, aside from injuries and deaths, was a sweeping win by the ruling party thanks to its own carefully-orchestrated campaign that included vote-rigging, corruption and rife brutality. The opposition was essentially annihilated. And just days before the elections, Copts - who make up 10 percent of the population - were once again the subject of persecution, when a government moratorium on construction of a Christian community centre resulted in clashes between police and protestors. Two people were left dead and over 100 were detained, facing sentences of up to life in jail.
The economic woes of a country that favours the rich have only exacerbated the frustration of a population of 80 million whose majority struggle each day to survive. Accounts of thefts, drugs, and violence have surged in recent years, and the chorus of voices of discontent has continued to grow.
The terror attack that struck the country on New Year’s eve is in many ways a final straw – a breaking point, not just for the Coptic community, but for Muslims as well, who too feel marginalized, persecuted, and overlooked, by a government that fails to address their needs. On this Coptic Christmas eve, the solidarity was not just one of religion, but of a desperate and
collective plea for a better life and a government with accountability.
http://su.pr/5VmSc1
http://tumblr.com/xne17rnkmv
--
Steve Hayes
E-mail: shayes@dunelm.org.uk
Web: http://hayesstw.tumblr.com/ (follow me on Tumblr)
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
Past, Present, Future - truths for all times and seasons #quotes
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
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