Here is an example of two people who are doing their part to make our world better. A couple in Oregon wanted to get married and went to a shop to get their wedding cake made. The "Christian" owners refused because the couple was lesbian. In response to the coverage, a nationally known Baltimore cake maker Duff Goldman, known as the "Ace of Cakes" on the Food Network, decided he would offer to make them a cake for free and drive it out to Oregon for them. My hat is off to both Duff for doing the cake, and to my dear wife for the following email she sent to the owners gently but firmly calling them out on their un-Christian behavior. Rosa Parks and my mom (my previous post) would be proud.
Dear Aaron and Melissa,
You look like a lovely Christian couple and your cakes look absolutely scrumptious!
Therefore, I was extremely disappointed to learn that you refused to make a cake for a lesbian couple’s wedding. As a Christian myself, I think this is just the wrong way to go about things. In everything we do, Christians should be sharing and demonstrating the love of God by our words and behavior. How does it show God’s love to this couple to deny your services to bake them a cake for their special day? They are not asking you to officiate their wedding. They apparently have been previous customers so they liked your cakes and baked items enough to want *you* to make their cake, and not someone else. Denying them your services was like slapping them in the face.
Instead, the “Ace of Cakes”, Duff Goldman, has stepped up to the plate with an offer to do the cake for this couple at no cost. He is showing love, where you only showed rejection.
As Christians, we need to be bringing people *into* the circle of God’s love, not shutting them out. My husband and I have a gay nephew who resides in Gresham. When his time comes to marry, I seriously doubt he will be patronizing your shop. If nothing else, this is costing you business. But more than that, every time you turn a customer away because they are gay or lesbian, you are missing the opportunity to share a little bit of God’s love with them, and to help make their day special.
I would ask that you would seriously consider what Jesus would do in your situation. He embraced the tax collectors and other outcasts of society; I certainly believe that He would make wedding cakes for gay couples.
Sincerely,
Debbie King
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
doing the little things
Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of Rosa Parks' birth. She died in 2005 but her legacy lives on. She is remembered for doing a small thing with a big impact, and it is important that we remember that. We often feel that nothing we do really matters, or that we can only do small things, but we must remember that all we do really does matter even though we may never know exactly how it will.
Rosa Parks lived in Montgomery Alabama in a time of segregation. People of color like her were supposed to sit in the back of the bus and even give up their seat in the "colored" section to a white person when the "white" section was filled . One day in 1955 she refused and was arrested. She and others like her became the inspiration for a citywide bus boycott which lasted 381 days and resulted ultimately in a Supreme Court decision overturning the bus segregation. It also helped launch the career of Martin Luther King Jr, and that led to a host of changes for people of color as well as the enriching of America.
I am continually amazed, and ashamed, of what my country allowed and promoted in terms of racial segregation and discrimination during those years. It was about the time when I was born (1956) and I guess being in Oregon and young I was not aware during my childhood of the climate in the South. But over the years I have become much more aware and try to do my part to combat similar things from happening today. As a country we have come far, but there is still so much to do to combat prejudice.
I learned two big lessons from my mother. One was that you treat everybody with the same kindness and respect, no matter who they are, where they are from, what their "status" is. It is basic human decency. She really believed that we were all created equal, not just saying it, but living it out every day. And she believed that every day you should do what you can to make this world better. She didn't have a "high" position in the eyes of most, just a mom raising my four sisters and I. But she delighted in doing the many small things that she could. My sisters and I grew up to do as she did and that is her legacy.
You may not be a Rosa Parks, or a mom with a family to raise, but you can make a difference even though you may see your efforts as small. Do whatever you can to make this world better, to make someone's life better today, and I will do the same.
Rosa Parks lived in Montgomery Alabama in a time of segregation. People of color like her were supposed to sit in the back of the bus and even give up their seat in the "colored" section to a white person when the "white" section was filled . One day in 1955 she refused and was arrested. She and others like her became the inspiration for a citywide bus boycott which lasted 381 days and resulted ultimately in a Supreme Court decision overturning the bus segregation. It also helped launch the career of Martin Luther King Jr, and that led to a host of changes for people of color as well as the enriching of America.
I am continually amazed, and ashamed, of what my country allowed and promoted in terms of racial segregation and discrimination during those years. It was about the time when I was born (1956) and I guess being in Oregon and young I was not aware during my childhood of the climate in the South. But over the years I have become much more aware and try to do my part to combat similar things from happening today. As a country we have come far, but there is still so much to do to combat prejudice.
I learned two big lessons from my mother. One was that you treat everybody with the same kindness and respect, no matter who they are, where they are from, what their "status" is. It is basic human decency. She really believed that we were all created equal, not just saying it, but living it out every day. And she believed that every day you should do what you can to make this world better. She didn't have a "high" position in the eyes of most, just a mom raising my four sisters and I. But she delighted in doing the many small things that she could. My sisters and I grew up to do as she did and that is her legacy.
You may not be a Rosa Parks, or a mom with a family to raise, but you can make a difference even though you may see your efforts as small. Do whatever you can to make this world better, to make someone's life better today, and I will do the same.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Abraham, Martin, and John
Abraham, Martin, and John...what do these three names have in common and why should we be thinking about them today? If you are a baby boomer like me you probably remember the 1968 song by Dion whose title was simply these three names. If you aren't a baby boomer you may not have a clue. Regardless we all need to understand the stories behind the names in the song. Especially on Inauguration Day... since two of the names refer to US Presidents.
The Abraham is Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, who in 1865 gave one of the most memorable Inaugural Addresses in our history. The country was nearing the end of the Civil War and many were calling for harsh measures against the South even after victory was assured. After fighting to keep the Union together physically Lincoln wanted to restore the unity of our country and so urged "with malice toward none and charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds".
Martin is Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights activist whose birthday we celebrate today. In 1963, the same year as the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. He called for action to "make real the promises of democracy"so as to "live out the true meaning of the creed ...we hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal" He appealed to faith and hope, and dreamed of a day when his "four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character"
And John is John Fitzgerald Kennedy who, having survived combat in WWII and religious prejudice (Catholics were still viewed with suspicion in his day), became our 35th President. He came into office in a time of transition and in his Inaugural Address he stated "the torch has been passed to a new generation" committed to "explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us". He encouraged public service as a duty to the nation and to the world and through his efforts created the Peace Corps which to this day does just that.
All three of these were guided by faith and hope, unity and compassion, service and sacrifice for the common good. All three were gunned down in their prime by other men guided only by hatred and a violent opposition to their ideals. But their ideals live on. They have a legacy greater than their killers and their words are etched in our hearts as well as in stone. We have made progress on their dreams but there is much more work to be done.
I urge all to re-read their words today and take them to heart. If you can I would also encourage you to visit their memorials. Lincoln's and MLK's are close together on the National Mall and JFK's is in Arlington National Cemetery just across the Potomac River. I have stood on the spot where Martin gave his "Dream" speech (his memorial was not yet built then) and have read the words etched in stone for Abraham and John....my eyes were not dry long that day.
And there is one more name in that Dion song--Bobby. Bobby is Robert F Kennedy, brother of John, who served his country as US Attorney General and Senator. His words live on long after him as well, at least for me. He once said "there are those that look at things the way they are and ask why? I dream of things that never were and ask why not?" It's time to work, to pray, to debate ....and yes, to dream... along with Abraham, Martin, and John.
(p.s. - I have included the links to lyrics and texts below so that you may read the full version of each)
Abraham, Martin, and John lyrics
Lincoln Second Inaugural Address text
JFK Inaugural Address text
MLK I Have a Dream speech text
The Abraham is Abraham Lincoln, our 16th President, who in 1865 gave one of the most memorable Inaugural Addresses in our history. The country was nearing the end of the Civil War and many were calling for harsh measures against the South even after victory was assured. After fighting to keep the Union together physically Lincoln wanted to restore the unity of our country and so urged "with malice toward none and charity for all, let us bind up the nation's wounds".
Martin is Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights activist whose birthday we celebrate today. In 1963, the same year as the centennial of the Emancipation Proclamation, he gave his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. He called for action to "make real the promises of democracy"so as to "live out the true meaning of the creed ...we hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal" He appealed to faith and hope, and dreamed of a day when his "four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character"
And John is John Fitzgerald Kennedy who, having survived combat in WWII and religious prejudice (Catholics were still viewed with suspicion in his day), became our 35th President. He came into office in a time of transition and in his Inaugural Address he stated "the torch has been passed to a new generation" committed to "explore what problems unite us instead of belaboring those problems which divide us". He encouraged public service as a duty to the nation and to the world and through his efforts created the Peace Corps which to this day does just that.
All three of these were guided by faith and hope, unity and compassion, service and sacrifice for the common good. All three were gunned down in their prime by other men guided only by hatred and a violent opposition to their ideals. But their ideals live on. They have a legacy greater than their killers and their words are etched in our hearts as well as in stone. We have made progress on their dreams but there is much more work to be done.
I urge all to re-read their words today and take them to heart. If you can I would also encourage you to visit their memorials. Lincoln's and MLK's are close together on the National Mall and JFK's is in Arlington National Cemetery just across the Potomac River. I have stood on the spot where Martin gave his "Dream" speech (his memorial was not yet built then) and have read the words etched in stone for Abraham and John....my eyes were not dry long that day.
And there is one more name in that Dion song--Bobby. Bobby is Robert F Kennedy, brother of John, who served his country as US Attorney General and Senator. His words live on long after him as well, at least for me. He once said "there are those that look at things the way they are and ask why? I dream of things that never were and ask why not?" It's time to work, to pray, to debate ....and yes, to dream... along with Abraham, Martin, and John.
(p.s. - I have included the links to lyrics and texts below so that you may read the full version of each)
Abraham, Martin, and John lyrics
Lincoln Second Inaugural Address text
JFK Inaugural Address text
MLK I Have a Dream speech text
Monday, January 7, 2013
new year's gratitude
After this past grueling political campaign year we need to pause and reflect in gratitude for all we have in this land we call home. We have had harsh words, and endless political ads on radio and TV and billboards. But we had no military hardware involved, no social upheavals, no threat to public safety caused by uncertainty over legitimacy. I know... we do have the birthers still, but they are marginalized ....a laughing stock to most.
It is not the same in the rest of the world. I can illustrate by citing three countries and their current crises:
In light of that we should be thankful that we have a system of government that, while it is not perfect, has served us well for over 200 years. We have peaceful transitions from one administration to the next. We have established procedures that all agree on, both for who governs and how they do it. We fight our political battles with words, not guns. Our conflicts are in Congress, not in the streets. And at the end of the day, the losers swallow their pride, instead of bandaging their wounds or burying their dead.
We have a new year and a renewed government. There are many issues to discuss and debate. We will not agree on everything, and we will not like all the outcomes. But at the end of the day we are all Americans and we are committed to peaceful resolution, not painful revolution. We have been given a great gift. Let us not squander the opportunity we have to participate in the political process, nor neglect to remember how blessed we are to be able to do so in peace.
It is not the same in the rest of the world. I can illustrate by citing three countries and their current crises:
- In Egypt there is contention over a new constitution and new president Morsi.
- In Venezuela there is uncertainty over who will replace Hugo Chavez, should he die, and what will happen in the power vacuum that most likely will occur.
- And in Syria there is open civil war, with a power vacuum most likely developing as well, since President Assad's days are clearly numbered. The citizens of that country have been repeatedly bombarded by their own government and many thousands are refugees in other countries.
In light of that we should be thankful that we have a system of government that, while it is not perfect, has served us well for over 200 years. We have peaceful transitions from one administration to the next. We have established procedures that all agree on, both for who governs and how they do it. We fight our political battles with words, not guns. Our conflicts are in Congress, not in the streets. And at the end of the day, the losers swallow their pride, instead of bandaging their wounds or burying their dead.
We have a new year and a renewed government. There are many issues to discuss and debate. We will not agree on everything, and we will not like all the outcomes. But at the end of the day we are all Americans and we are committed to peaceful resolution, not painful revolution. We have been given a great gift. Let us not squander the opportunity we have to participate in the political process, nor neglect to remember how blessed we are to be able to do so in peace.
Monday, December 31, 2012
for a better new year
Well, we made it to the end of the year...no apocalypse yet. We all look forward to the new year with a mix of anticipation and dread sometimes. We remember the good years and the bad years, and wonder which one this will be. Usually they are a mix of good and bad, successes and failures. But just like each day, each year is an opportunity for growth and progress. There are plenty of things we can't control but there are things we can and should do. How about we make a point of trying to be better on one thing like being a positive influence on others?
One thing that stood out in this past election year was the nastiness of the rhetoric. This isn't anything new, but still it bugged me. No, it saddened me. There are many people, including candidates, who couldn't just differ... they had to bicker. They couldn't just say they disagreed with someone else's position, they had to label it as destructive or un-American... or even evil. They had to malign the character of an opponent, question their morals, attack their family, etc.
For example, recently Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caught the flu and became dehydrated, then fell and suffered a concussion -- something that is stressful and dangerous for anyone, but more so for someone who is in her 60's. Rather than express concern for her welfare and recovery, which would be the decent thing to do, many commentators questioned the report of her illness and asserted that she was using it as a ruse to get out of testifying about her department's handling of an international incident (Benghazi). Besides the question of whether Clinton would duck a controversy (I think it unlikely), there is the question of why people are so quick to assume the worst about someone and refuse to extend kindness? And considering that she now is being treated in the hospital for a blood clot near her brain, there are a number of vocal people out there who need to offer a sincere apology... it is common decency.
In contrast, when former President George H.W. Bush went into the hospital with a high fever (high enough to necessitate an ICU stay), there were many extensions of well wishes for his health, including many from those who didn't share his politics. I read one article where the comments were very encouraging (with the exception of one or two negative comments). That is how it should be.
I guess it is part in how we were raised. My mom's favorite phrase was "accentuate the positive". I was raised to believe the best and expect the best of people. If they behaved badly then they got criticism, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, especially in matters of health. I do not like to see anyone suffer, regardless of their politics.
What do you say? Can we make this a year of doing our best to try and make others' lives better...Even if it is just a kind word, a hello, a thank you. We can't control the future, but we can infuse our surroundings with the light of our smiles and the warmth of our hugs. Thanks, and a Happy New year to everyone. May it be the best one ever!
One thing that stood out in this past election year was the nastiness of the rhetoric. This isn't anything new, but still it bugged me. No, it saddened me. There are many people, including candidates, who couldn't just differ... they had to bicker. They couldn't just say they disagreed with someone else's position, they had to label it as destructive or un-American... or even evil. They had to malign the character of an opponent, question their morals, attack their family, etc.
For example, recently Secretary of State Hillary Clinton caught the flu and became dehydrated, then fell and suffered a concussion -- something that is stressful and dangerous for anyone, but more so for someone who is in her 60's. Rather than express concern for her welfare and recovery, which would be the decent thing to do, many commentators questioned the report of her illness and asserted that she was using it as a ruse to get out of testifying about her department's handling of an international incident (Benghazi). Besides the question of whether Clinton would duck a controversy (I think it unlikely), there is the question of why people are so quick to assume the worst about someone and refuse to extend kindness? And considering that she now is being treated in the hospital for a blood clot near her brain, there are a number of vocal people out there who need to offer a sincere apology... it is common decency.
In contrast, when former President George H.W. Bush went into the hospital with a high fever (high enough to necessitate an ICU stay), there were many extensions of well wishes for his health, including many from those who didn't share his politics. I read one article where the comments were very encouraging (with the exception of one or two negative comments). That is how it should be.
I guess it is part in how we were raised. My mom's favorite phrase was "accentuate the positive". I was raised to believe the best and expect the best of people. If they behaved badly then they got criticism, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, especially in matters of health. I do not like to see anyone suffer, regardless of their politics.
What do you say? Can we make this a year of doing our best to try and make others' lives better...Even if it is just a kind word, a hello, a thank you. We can't control the future, but we can infuse our surroundings with the light of our smiles and the warmth of our hugs. Thanks, and a Happy New year to everyone. May it be the best one ever!
Monday, December 17, 2012
Too Much
We live in a world of too many guns and too much fear. That is my take on the recent shootings in theater, mall, and now elementary school. Too many opportunities for those in fear or instability or anger to do great harm to others. We have cultivated a climate where violence is seen as the answer to all our problems and where peace, compromise, and diplomacy are scorned as weak and ineffective.
We have even now many who really think that the answer to gun violence is more guns? Those who would arm teachers, make every meeting place and public gathering an armed camp. And that is supposed to make us safer? They would dare others, in the words of Charlton Heston, to pry (their guns) from (our) cold dead hands". They swear allegiance to the America, but at the same time spread rumors of conspiracies by the same government to take away their precious guns.
Many of these same people who are so committed to their ownership of guns proclaim faith and trust in God. Yet their white-knuckled grip on their weapons and their eagerness to believe every plot rumor that comes down the pike I think speaks against it. It would seem to me that they are placing their security in guns, not in God. There is nothing wrong with careful planning and reasonable precautions against potential danger. But when you hold onto something, anything, to the detriment of friendship and peace, something is seriously wrong.
Those who would put limits on weapons , or call for improvements to our mental health system, are addressing part of the problem. But the solution does not reside solely in these improvements. We must combat our fears and foster peaceful resolutions, so that people are less likely to seek violent answers to their beefs, whether or not they are armed. There must be an active spreading of the message of peace and modeling of it. We must make sure that we are not the cause of conflict, as much as it is in our power to do so.
And we must combat the myths that surround us. We do not have freedom in this country due to armed force alone. We are free because we have been committed, down through the generations, to preserving liberty for all and standing for a unique blend of liberty and law. Remember that the first duty of the President of the US, in the words of the presidential oath, is to " preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States". Without that and the rights inshrined within it, we are no different than any other nation in the world, and security is simply self-preservation, not protection of liberty.
So what have you done, or what will you do today to spread peace instead of war, love instead of hate, and hope instead of fear? Blessed are the peacemakers, it is said. Wise words indeed.
We have even now many who really think that the answer to gun violence is more guns? Those who would arm teachers, make every meeting place and public gathering an armed camp. And that is supposed to make us safer? They would dare others, in the words of Charlton Heston, to pry (their guns) from (our) cold dead hands". They swear allegiance to the America, but at the same time spread rumors of conspiracies by the same government to take away their precious guns.
Many of these same people who are so committed to their ownership of guns proclaim faith and trust in God. Yet their white-knuckled grip on their weapons and their eagerness to believe every plot rumor that comes down the pike I think speaks against it. It would seem to me that they are placing their security in guns, not in God. There is nothing wrong with careful planning and reasonable precautions against potential danger. But when you hold onto something, anything, to the detriment of friendship and peace, something is seriously wrong.
Those who would put limits on weapons , or call for improvements to our mental health system, are addressing part of the problem. But the solution does not reside solely in these improvements. We must combat our fears and foster peaceful resolutions, so that people are less likely to seek violent answers to their beefs, whether or not they are armed. There must be an active spreading of the message of peace and modeling of it. We must make sure that we are not the cause of conflict, as much as it is in our power to do so.
And we must combat the myths that surround us. We do not have freedom in this country due to armed force alone. We are free because we have been committed, down through the generations, to preserving liberty for all and standing for a unique blend of liberty and law. Remember that the first duty of the President of the US, in the words of the presidential oath, is to " preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States". Without that and the rights inshrined within it, we are no different than any other nation in the world, and security is simply self-preservation, not protection of liberty.
So what have you done, or what will you do today to spread peace instead of war, love instead of hate, and hope instead of fear? Blessed are the peacemakers, it is said. Wise words indeed.
Monday, December 3, 2012
end of the world as we know it
Do you remember the story of Chicken Little, who thought the sky was falling when an acorn fell on its head? We laugh at the silliness of the chick, but many times there are people around us who are doing much the same thing. December 21st, 2012 is just around the corner and there aren't that many who still take the end of the world predictions for that date (based on a misread Mayan calendar) very seriously anymore. We all dismissed our fears about 1984, made it through Y2K just fine, and made jokes about Harold Camping's apocalyptic predictions last year.
Yet another kind of end of the world hysteria , all too common as these, has arisen again. The specter of loser hysteria, doom and gloom because of election loss, the hand-wringing by those who can't just accept that their candidate lost (or that the other side won). Those on the right were mad enough that Barack Obama won in 2008. They became unhinged when he won re-election last month. They talked about "the death of my country" , the end of Western civilization, the loss of freedom and the rising of tyranny. And, as often happens, they threatened to leave the US if the results were not reversed. Not that that will happen of course.
There are two big problems with this. One is that they are, like Chicken Little, vastly over-reacting to changes they don't like. They can't deal with thought that their candidate lost and they are pulling the "I'll hold my breath till I turn blue,if you won't do what I want" -kind of juvenile behavior. Losing is not easy, adapting to change can be hard, but it is necessary to grow. Real character is shown in how you deal with loss, even more sometimes than with winning. And there are a lot of people on the right who are showing a woeful lack of character.
The other problem is that the people who are going bonkers in fear are the ones who should be fearing the least - if they only lived what they said they believed. They claim to be people of faith yet have so much doubt. At this time of remembering the first advent of Christ, we recall from scripture that the second coming is supposed to usher in a time of peace, harmony, and healing for the world. The "end of the world as we know it" should be welcomed , as it becomes the" start of the world as it should be". At least to those who truly look for it and believe in hope. These people, however, are by their words and actions exposed as religious frauds.
So celebrate December 21st, 2012....it is the Winter Solstice....when the days start getting longer, the nights shorter, and the New Year beckons:)
Yet another kind of end of the world hysteria , all too common as these, has arisen again. The specter of loser hysteria, doom and gloom because of election loss, the hand-wringing by those who can't just accept that their candidate lost (or that the other side won). Those on the right were mad enough that Barack Obama won in 2008. They became unhinged when he won re-election last month. They talked about "the death of my country" , the end of Western civilization, the loss of freedom and the rising of tyranny. And, as often happens, they threatened to leave the US if the results were not reversed. Not that that will happen of course.
There are two big problems with this. One is that they are, like Chicken Little, vastly over-reacting to changes they don't like. They can't deal with thought that their candidate lost and they are pulling the "I'll hold my breath till I turn blue,if you won't do what I want" -kind of juvenile behavior. Losing is not easy, adapting to change can be hard, but it is necessary to grow. Real character is shown in how you deal with loss, even more sometimes than with winning. And there are a lot of people on the right who are showing a woeful lack of character.
The other problem is that the people who are going bonkers in fear are the ones who should be fearing the least - if they only lived what they said they believed. They claim to be people of faith yet have so much doubt. At this time of remembering the first advent of Christ, we recall from scripture that the second coming is supposed to usher in a time of peace, harmony, and healing for the world. The "end of the world as we know it" should be welcomed , as it becomes the" start of the world as it should be". At least to those who truly look for it and believe in hope. These people, however, are by their words and actions exposed as religious frauds.
So celebrate December 21st, 2012....it is the Winter Solstice....when the days start getting longer, the nights shorter, and the New Year beckons:)
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