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July 29 Bits and Pieces

Hope you are all enjoying summer in Wisconsin this year.  Today is another beautiful day – and of course the forecast for tonight is rain.  Seems to be the pattern this year!  Sometimes its felt more like a rain forest weather pattern – but my plants sure are lovin it!

 

Here’s just a few notes and things to think about.  I will have registration materials and information on this year’s GOF out in a couple weeks…………..

 

 

 

St Matthew Repeats as kickball Champs!


On Wednesday, July 21 our high school youth secured their place in history by repeating as Champions in the second annual summer kickball tournament.  See the story on the website…  St. Matthew Repeats

 

 

 

Father Ron Rolheiser: Love in a Time of Opposition

This week Father Ron opens his July 25th column with questions and ends it with a series of very challenging questions. Here are the beginning two paragraphs and the closing two paragraphs. If you are interested in the full column, please go to http://www.ronrolheiser.com.

 

Opening: How do you stay positive, preach hope, and remain loving and big-hearted in the face of opposition, misunderstanding, hostility, and hatred?

This is what Jesus did and that particular quality of his life and teaching constitutes perhaps the greatest personal and moral challenge to all of us who try to follow him. How do you remain loving in the face of hatred? How do you remain empathic in the face of misunderstanding? How do you continue to be warm and gracious in the face of hostility? How do you love your enemies when they want to kill you?

Closing: Very few things, I believe, are more needed today, in both society and the church, than this capacity for understanding and forgiveness. To continue to offer others genuine love and understanding in the face of opposition and hatred constitutes the ultimate social, political, ecclesial, moral, religious, and human challenge. Sometimes church people try to single out one particular moral issue as the litmus test as to whether or not someone is a true follower of Jesus. If there is to be litmus test, let it be this one:

 

Can you continue to love those who misunderstand you, who oppose you, who are hostile to you, who hate you, and who threaten you - without being paralyzed, calloused, or condescending?

 

Full column at http://www.ronrolheiser.com.

 

Virtual Committee

 

Interested in being part of a “virtual committee” for Generations of Faith??  “Virtual” in the sense that it would not require physical meetings – our “meetings” would be ongoing conversations using email and perhaps some other technologies. 

 As we look towards the coming year there are a lot of items I would like input on so we can finalize our schedule and flesh out our plans.   This committee would be a way for me to get your input without requiring you to commit regular meeting time away from home and family.  Your commitment as a member of the committee would be to respond and contribute your thoughts in a timely manner and be part of an ongoing conversation within the group.

Please let me know if you are interested in serving on this committee.

 

Thou Shalt Unplug Thyself

 

Sounds like an 11th Commandment for our times doesn’t it?  Well, there is an intruiging movement out there promoting that we all start taking a “tech Sabbath”……

 

Dan Rollman recently noticed a disturbing trend in his social interactions. “I was starting to get more birthday wishes on my Facebook Wall than phone calls and handwritten cards from family and friends.” This inspired him to create the Sabbath Manifesto, which encourages people to enjoy time with loved ones, silence, the outdoors, and other pleasures they may remember from the time before the Internet took over every free moment.


And it’s not just Rollman. Across the country, Americans are starting to think about how a constant stream of electronic communication affects the quality of their lives—many of whom are consciously unplugging every once in a while, and encouraging others to do the same.


Dan Rollman's Sabbath Manifesto offers ten principles for observing such a weekly day of rest. He developed it in collaboration with Reboot, a nonprofit organization working to make traditional Jewish rituals relevant in modern life. “You don't have to be religious or even be Jewish to participate in the Sabbath Manifesto,” says Amelia Klein, Reboot's program director. “I don't want to push people to follow the Sabbath Manifesto in a letter of the law manner,” says Rollman. “I just want to spark some dialogue about the pace of life and our societal relationship with technology.” You can read the full article from YES! Magazine at http://www.yesmagazine.org/happiness/time-for-a-tech-sabbath 


The Sabbath Manifesto—10 Ways to Take a Day Off
1.     Avoid technology
2.    Connect with loved ones
3.    Nurture your health
4.    Get outside
5.    Avoid commerce
6.    Light candles
7.    Drink wine
8.    Eat bread
9.    Find silence
10.  Give back

 

 

 

Summer Church Support

Finally, just a request that you don’t take the summer off from your financial Church Support. 

The tight economy makes our tight budget here at the parish even tighter. 

We do our best to be fiscally responsible – we’ve frozen everyones wages, we’ve cut our non-salary budgets, but costs go up and when all is said and done, we depend on your support and generosity.    

 

 

See you in Church!

Mike

 


 

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