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Happy Birthday Dear Internet!
10/30/2009 11:14:11 AM
Today is the 40th Birthday of the Internet.  Leonard Kleinrock, a computer science professor of the University of California, is celebrating the event in particular. Kleinrock was the one who, on Oct. 29, 1969, headed a team to send the first message over the ARPANET, which later became the Internet. That event was recognized as "the moment the Internet was born, [and it] ushered in a technological revolution that has transformed communications, education, culture, business and entertainment across the globe, leading to dramatic changes in our social, political and economic lives," the UCLA said in a press release.
 
I wonder if, at the time, they realized what an historic moment it was? As Marc Weber, founding curator of the Computer History Museum says, "The 1969 connection was not just a symbolic milestone in the project that led to the Internet, but in the whole idea of connecting computers -- and eventually billions of people -- to each other,"
 
The online world links nearly a third of the world's population today. It is how I am writing this trusting that someone like you, out there in cyberspace, is able to read it. It has caused a complete change in lifestyle and the way we relate to one another. On some days I curse the speed and expectation that the Internet has introduced into communication. But most often I see it as a gift that enables connection with family and friends and is a source of information and service.
 
I believe that God gave us the gift of intellect and curiosity and it is rewarded in a range of ways. The Internet is one way our generation has used God given gifts to discover a way to enhance human connectivity. Happy Birthday Internet.
 
To our Detriment
10/29/2009 3:52:45 PM
Yesterday morning I attended a Pastoral Care meeting at our hospital. This includes the area ministers and priests as well as members of our Chaplaincy committee, representatives from the hospital and our hospital Chaplain Rosemary. It was a great meeting in many respects. This was a gathering of people highly committed to the pastoral care and spiritual nurture of patients and staff of our hospital.
 
But I did get frustrated at one point and said so. I wasn’t frustrated with the people there but expressed my continuing burden for what is happening in our culture. As political correctness guides us we need to be very careful not to promote denominationalism or even one faith over the other. I totally understand that. I appreciate that there are many that have been hurt, some even destroyed, by organized religion. Christianity has a lot to account for over the years. Even one person at the meeting recounted a time when a “pastoral visitor” came unbidden to her hospital bedside and left her feeling so angry and frustrated she wished the person had never come as the visit left her feeling worse. Religious people are very good at dishing out the guilt and recrimination. We do not have pastoral visitors nor do we talk about religion – even spirituality can be suspect. We are friendly visitors. Ministers are only to visit persons from their own congregation and only those who have requested a visit.
 
While I understand where much of this comes from my frustration is that in order to meet the needs of a suspicious society we have become so bland we are nothing. I believe we deny our spirituality to our detriment; as a society and a culture. We are spiritual beings! People are most vulnerable when in hospital facing a health crisis. It is here, more than anywhere that we need to be in touch with the sacred mystery. I regret that our culture has swung to the extreme of choosing nothing over something. I am not promoting one faith over another or one denomination over another; I am just promoting recognition of the holy in life.
 
Wow – did you know you were going to get a rant when you decided to read this Blog?
 
 
Touchstones
10/29/2009 3:52:01 PM
Every month Kevin or I conduct a service at one of each of the three Seniors/Retirements Residences here in Bracebridge. Today was my turn to lead the service at The Pines. It is always a treat to go there. The bright lobby is inviting and the incredible staff is always welcoming. Each month our Olde Tyme Gospel Band joins us at The Pines for the service.
 
When I walked in yesterday at 10:30 (the service starts at 10:40) the band was all set up and playing for the gathering crowd. Folks ambled in or were wheeled in and there is the chapel-lounge space was a crowd of about 40 people. Walkers and wheelchairs were parked close together to make sure everyone had a good seat. As the Band worked their magic the crowd hummed along, tapping their toes to the beat of each song. Regularly as the next number was announced someone in the congregation would say, “Oh, that’s a good one.” Or “Oh yes, I like that one.” Even the members of the crowd who were slumped over or seemed to be asleep would rouse or tap a finger in time to the music when a favourite hymn came along.
 
At these services I am always reminded of the touchstones of our faith. I read to them the passage from Ecclesiastes 3 “…to everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven … a time to be born…” As I read I could see lips moving as people recited along with me. There were several that obviously knew that passage from memory. When it came time for the Lord’s Prayer there was a tremendous response and most everyone joined in. Favourite hymns, loved passages, rote prayers become touchstones for us in our faith walk. And regardless of our age those known and loved readings or songs can comfort and inspire us.
 
I always leave those services feeling good. The people at the residence always thank me for coming but I am the one who is indebted. To stand before a room filled with people who embody faithful witness and years of wisdom is a humbling experience.
Ten Thousand Villages
10/29/2009 3:51:13 PM
The name itself, Ten Thousand Villages, inspires both curiosity and awe. The organization has its roots in the work begun by Edna Ruth Byler in 1946. Ten Thousand Villages sells handicrafts from “developing” countries through its network of stores in Canada and the USA, as well as hundreds of annual Festival sales, one of which happened this past weekend right here in Bracebridge.
 
Ten Thousand Villages is a program of the Mennonite Central Committee, a relief and development organization working in more than 50 countries around the world. The inspiration for the name came from a Mahatma Gandhi quote: “…India is not to be found in its few cities but in the 700,000 villages…we have hardly ever paused to inquire if these folks get sufficient to eat and clothe themselves with.” For Ten Thousand Villages, each village in the world represents a unique and distinctive people, offering extraordinary products born of their rich cultures and traditions.
 
Products sold by Ten Thousand Villages come from 36 countries in the developing world. Ten Thousand Villages buys from more than 130 artisan groups, which provides work for more than 60,000 individual people. About 70% of the artisans are women. Some artisan groups also seek to employ persons with physical disabilities. Ten Thousand Villages intentionally looks to work with people who are unemployed or underemployed. Products sold by Ten Thousand Villages are often made in small group settings or in homes where artisans also manage household responsibilities or farm work.
 
Every day our choices as consumers make an impact beyond the products we buy. The Fair Trade movement believes that we can make a positive difference in the lives of producers across the globe. As a different way of doing business, Fair Trade ensures that artisans receive respect, dignity, and hope from working hard and earning fair value for their work. This year at our Bracebridge Festival we were just short of $25,000 worth of sales – what an accomplishment. Think of the lives that have been changed by this past weekend. Many thanks to the organizing team and especially to Liz Logie who leads the volunteer committee to make this weekend happen. You have not only provided a service to our community but through your efforts you change the lives of people around the globe.
 
Going, Going, Gone
10/23/2009 9:26:11 AM
Yesterday, I wrote about the Dead Sea Scrolls. We had time to see some other exhibits at the ROM. We spent a bit of time in the First Peoples exhibit, which is marvelous (fabulous displays of canoes and bead work) and then we went on to the Biodiversity exhibit. This one shows fine examples of the many animals, birds, insects and sea life that populate our planet. The exhibit highlights some of the challenges facing our globe as a result of destructive environmental impact. One thing that surprised me was the statement that “99% of all species are smaller than a bee. And 50 new species, mostly insects and plants, are described everyday. Scientists have identified about 10% of all living things.” Can you imagine the teeming life that exists in our world that we don’t even know about – insects and plant species that continue to surprise researchers and biologists?
 
Another exhibit showed samples of animals that have gone extinct or are near extinction. With this came the sobering prediction that “our planet is undergoing a ‘6th Extinction’ with species disappearing at an alarming rate due to human impact.” There in black and white was the prediction that, “by 2100 half the world’s species will be lost.”
 
When standing nose to nose with a beautifully displayed polar bear, underneath a whale suspended from the ceiling and near an aquarium filled with living coral and colorful tropical fish, it moves one to grieve that we are losing so much because of our selfish consumption and misuse of the earth’s resources. According to the Genesis story God asked humanity to be a steward of the earth. I don’t think we are doing a very good job of this these days. Where are you in the discussion on protection of our planet?
 
Dead or Alive?
10/22/2009 4:42:16 PM
I am back! I have several reflections and observations about my trip to Russia but the impact of that time is still settling in so I will save those for another day. Today I want to write about our trip yesterday to see the Dead Sea Scrolls.
 
14 of us made the journey to the ROM in Toronto. It was a great day. But even more than the fun of the conversation and chat on the bus and over lunch was the impact of seeing the scrolls. In an effort to manage the crowds one must get a special ticket for admission to the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit. Our time was 2:30. We could not get into that exhibit until that time. But it was worth the wait. The overall exhibit is large and begins with the history of ancient Israel and some of the archeological treasures that disclose the life the people in the region over two thousand years ago. Then it profiles the community of Qumran where the scrolls were preserved and gives some background about the Bedouins and the shepherd who found the first scroll in a cave in 1947. Finally, we get to see the exhibited scrolls. To call them scrolls is a bit of a misnomer. They are fragments of decaying papyrus with ancient writing on them. Nonetheless it is thrilling to think that, over two thousand years ago, a scribe sat hunched over a table with a flickering oil lantern transcribing these very writings.
 
The Dead Sea Scrolls are considered to be of monumental significance because they are believed to be the oldest writing of scripture we have. They shed light on ancient Israel and the foundation of some of the world’s most prominent religions. And most importantly they provide a link to the ancient world. It was a mystical afternoon to brush against history and to connect to our faith in an archeological way! Have you been to see the scrolls? What did you think?
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