December 06, 2007
Iraq's Million
By Robert C. Koehler
Tribune Media Services (For release 12/6/07)
In the Fantasy Middle East, the troop surge is helping plucky Iraq get its act together; and Iran, as serious a threat as ever and still lusting to start World War III, awaits liberation by the superpower known as "Johnny Democracy."
In the reality version, our legacy is bad water, cancer and social chaos. Iraq has, by one scientific extrapolation, surpassed the million mark in war dead and continues to rack up other numbers (4 million internal and external refugees, for instance, but not to worry, only 133 of them got into the U.S. this year) that . . . I dunno, maybe it's just me . . . seem antithetical to the idea of democracy. And of course, as the latest National Intelligence Estimate has just embarrassingly informed the world, Iran shut down its nuclear weapons program four years ago.
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Posted:12/07
November 22, 2007
Prayers for Somalia
While Americans are celebrating the holidays in a land of plenty, we're reminded of those who live in places where food they need merely to survive is unavailable to them.
This letter is what you might think of as a "Prayer Alert." Tens of thousands of Somalians, victims seeking refuge from the cruel and bitter fighting there, now endure the unimaginable suffering of starvation. Their humanitarian crisis is exacerbated by the fact that, given the violence in the region, no aid organization can safely make it through with food for them. All the world can do is bear witness to the agony of these people. And pray.
For those of us who believe, as it is written in A COURSE IN MIRACLES, that "prayer is the medium of miracles," I ask you to join with me in praying for the suffering, starving refugees of Somalia. May there be a miracle somehow, that food might make its way to them. May the God who parted the waters of the Red Sea now part the waters for all who suffer.
Dear God,
Please help the people of Somalia
and elsewhere
who do not have food,
who watch their children starve,
who face the agony of unimaginable
and unnecessary suffering.
May miracles light the way
and cast this darkness
from the earth.
May our lives be lifted
that we might serve,
and somehow be of use,
dear God,
to You, and to them.
Amen
Posted:11/07
October 30, 2007
They're back! Church Bulletins!
Dear Friends,
A little humor this time....
And Happy Thanksgiving!
Marianne
They're back! Church Bulletins! Thank God for the church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced at church services.
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The Fasting & Prayer Conference includes meals.
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The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water." The sermon tonight:"Searching for Jesus."
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Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
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Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Bring your husbands.
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Posted:10/07
July 29, 2007
No End in Sight
Dear Friends,
I recommend that you run, not walk, to see Charles Ferguson's documentary "NO END IN SIGHT."
A hugely important film....
Marianne
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A New Order of the Ages
There is a principle in A Course in Miracles stating that it is not up to us what we learn, but only whether we learn through joy or through pain. In a universe that is, quite literally, the ongoing evolutionary impulse to love -- the spiritual process through which Love extends itself throughout space and time -- the individual's only true assignment is to learn to actualize the love within.
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Posted:07/07
July 13, 2007
"Fire the Grid" Meditation
Dear Friends,
I'm going to be doing the "Fire the Grid" meditation on July 17th, and hope you'll join in. "Prayer is the medium of miracles," according to A COURSE IN MIRACLES, and this giant global meditation can amount to an extraordinarily powerful prayer for the healing of the world.
I'll "see" you there...
Marianne
Posted:07/07
