My Minister's Editorial Is On Common Dreams!!

[mntleo2]

We may be a small church but we are jam-packed with heart and we are not giving up our fight against oppression and injustice. This man has faced a trial because he went to Iraq in defiance of the sanctions with the Physicians For Social Repsponsibilty, Bert Sachs, a holocaust survivor. They were all fined 10,000.00 for their chutzpah. He is friend of Scott Ritter and Kathy Kelly, and participates in our peace marches. I am SO proud that he is not afraid to stand up and call this administration what it is.
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0825-21.htm

Cat In Seattle

P.S. Pray for Bert. He has been in and out of the hospital and has no health coverage. The Jewish and Christian communities are struggling to support him, and your prayers would be a good thing for this wonderful man. He inspires me as well....

[LunaSea]

1. I've been hoping to hear from real christians for a while now...

I'm sure there are more, and I'm sure they've been outspoken, but they aren't being heard where I live.
A post by another DUer I saw this morning summed up something I've been trying to get a grasp on for a while. Old Mouse said the following:

 Please understand

There is a shift happening in some American evangelical Christian communities. There is a denial or rejection of Christ the crucified first coming in favor of the second coming. To only worship the second coming is to reject the idea of mercy and compassion as Christian values, and instead focus on the concept of the wholesale slaughter of the wicked and unrighteous. With this change of mindset, murder of the unrighteous becomes just as holy as communion. This is the emotional metamorphosis that we need to understand.

You need to understand how this growing movement can justify violence as a Christian value without feeling hypocritical. The more we on the left react to this sort of mentality with ridicule, the more we strengthen their resolve.

Thanks for the link!

[WearyOne]

2. great piece

[mntleo2]

3. We Are Out There...

We just do not have a lot of "shiny" on us like those on the right with their big churches, all that "faith-based" government money, and the haughty rich being their members and coming from that perspective (though there are a few rich with us as well in my community, but not many...). And it is not just Christians speaking out. We work with the mosque, the buddhist temple, and the synagogue as well. We are all saying it, we are just not heard...yet. The miracle to me that is so beautiful is we are all saying it together...God is God in our eyes and the more we stand together, the more we see a peaceful and loving God in all His/Her universal beauty, as well.

Love,
Cat In Seattle

[mntleo2]

4. Update

Rich says he is getting very positive feedback from his article. But then we are in Seattle, lol.

Luna, I will tell Rich of your message, when I see him Sunday. We are all aware we have been voices in the wilderness for a long time now. It is really true that the Truth with a capitol "T" always comes out. We do not need to take credit for telling the Truth because, often the Truth is merely the planting of seeds that take root and well, it takes years for a tree to grow.

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen the Truth come to light even when it is supposedly smothered! Many, if not most, have also paid a high price for speaking out and this is also to be expected, but the ones who take courage from the love of the Universe do not let that stop them. So take heart and believe me there are lots of people out there in religious and social communities who are speaking out, its just that, usually nobody wants to hear us ~ or (more likely) there are powerful people who do not want us to be heard.

Cat In Seattle