Israel and Palestine: Dear to my heart

This morning I started weeping for my brothers and sisters in Israel and Palestine. Kidnappings, killings, rockets and airstrikes are destroying any hope of even a "fragile" peace. If there is any urge in you for taking sides, I hope you won't do that. Both sides have committed heinous crimes against each other from stripping the land from its owners and making them refugees, to suicide bombings which kill innocent civilians. If there is a part of you that wants to say that "it has always been that way and always will be", I beg you to open your mind to God's power to bring peace. And if there is a part of you that wants to "have no part" of this war, it is too late for that. We are part of this war because our money supports Israel's military.

But there is a deeper reason calling for our concern and prayer. We are related to our Hebrew and Arab brothers and sisters through our ancestor Abraham. We are bound together by God who loves each one of us, and calls us faithfulness in worship of the one God. Fundamentalists of all three religions - Christian, Jewish and Muslim - divide us from one another with words of judgement and hatred. My prayer is that all sides will focus on what unites us. I believe it is that common love of the One we know as God and the family story we share.

There is a crisis in Israel and Palestine and most especially in Gaza. The Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem, Suheil Dawani, reported yesterday that the hospital in Gaza has been seriously damaged by the Israeli airstrikes. The population of Gaza is 1.7 million people, which makes it one of the most densely populated areas of the world. The United Nations has recorded 168 Palestinians killed: 133 civilians, and 36 children. Over 1,140 Palestinians have been wounded. The first Israeli casualty was reported on Tuesday near the border of Israel and Gaza.

When our Presiding Bishop, Katherine Jefferts-Schori visited Gaza in 2013 she told reporters this:
"God weeps at this war between his children. We weep as we watch the destruction; and we should be storming heaven with our prayers for peace."

I hope you will find yourself weeping over Jerusalem, crying out to God for those who suffer in Palestine, Gaza and Israel and praying like you have never prayed before for shalom, al-salam - peace.

Black Bears and City Council

This is NOT a Black Bear!

The above picture is, of course, my sweet dog Bella and my not so sweet cat Pumpkin. Pumpkin has taken over Bella's bed and managed to convince Bella that she should sleep there. Pumpkin has no less than three other "beds" to sleep in but loves to continue her work of being the "household administrator" here on Ivy Lane!

But about that black bear...Yesterday I was driving home from town on Hwy 21 south. I was about a mile north of Pull Tail Road when a black bear, about the size of a refrigerator, loped across the road in front of my car. I stopped and the car behind me also stopped and watched in amazement as the bear continued it's journey into the woods. I have had all sizes of deer cross my path on the roads around here but this is my first bear. Maybe the road construction on Hwy 21 has disturbed the bears...or maybe they just can't resist taking a closer look at those orange barrels along the road!

These pictures are from the hike I took on Tuesday with a friend. We were on the Mountains to Sea Trail near Laurel Fork. We hiked with Bella through this beautiful forest of trees and ferns. Bella is a great trail dog and as you can see from the picture below she loves being outdoors. 

Tuesday evening I attended a Sparta City Council Meeting to support Christ Church's efforts to avoid the placement of a meat processing plant across the highway from us. It was like watching a bad comedy portrayal of small southern town politics. The lack of ability by the Council members to disguise their "need to please" one well known resident over the legal and practical concerns of many was embarrassing. I came home and wrote a letter to the editor of the Alleghany News. Here is an excerpt:

During the “limited time” that the council gave to discussion of this issue, much was made of the connection that each person had to Alleghany County. This small segment of “deeply rooted” Allegheny County residents present at the meeting was however, not representative of the people of this county. I cannot help but believe that the majority of the residents of Sparta and Alleghany County would have reacted negatively to the way that the City Council members dismissed the rights of property owners in this neighborhood to have prior knowledge of a Rezoning Committee’s intention to rezone property in their neighborhood. Most I believe would have shaken their heads in disbelief at the Council’s dismissal of Christ Church’s expressed opposition to the meat processing plant by saying, “your Church is only used once a week”. This said to a Church whose grounds include a Memorial Garden where ashes of loved ones are interred; grounds where a Labyrinth, built by the youth is used for prayer and meditation. Christ Church’s work to help those in need in this county goes well beyond Sunday morning worship. I have no doubt that the residents of Alleghany County who were not present would have been saddened by this City Council’s “good ole boy” rubber stamp of approval for this meat processing plant. Their action was reactive to one resident of the county’s wishes; it showed an enormous lack of planning for the development of Alleghany County; and dismissed as unimportant the care of this county’s residents.

The meat processing plant seems to be a “done deal”. But the residents of Sparta and the citizens of Alleghany County will, I hope, pay attention to the actions of their leaders and remember those actions at election time. It is clearly time for new leadership as we seek to plan for the future of Sparta and Alleghany County. We need forward thinking people who can listen, and who see the need for clear planning in land use issues so that we do not make these same mistakes again. 

No, I am not going to run for City Council but I am sure hoping that the younger citizens of Sparta will step up and offer their gifts of leadership. That's my prayer on this 4th of July....