Denver Zoo
Denver, Colorado
1 September, 2010
Spiders are not the only creatures
that enjoy the purple flowers of
the Denver Zoo.
The Denver Zoo
is not the only place where
bees enjoy purple flowers.
See you along the Trail.
Monthly Archives: July 2012
Purple flowers, Denver Zoo 2
Filed under Photo
Music flows
Shall we gather at the river,
Where bright angel feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God?
Robert Lowry’s words seemed quite apt as the commissioners and delegates gathered along with staff members of the six agencies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and visitors for the closing worship of the 220th General Assembly (2012) today. For over a week, this group had met inside the David L. Lawrence Convention Center along the Allegheny River. Adventurous participants and observers, unafraid to go into the heat and humidity, made short walks to see the Monongahela and its confluence with the Allegheny where the Ohio flows to life.
Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river;
Gather with the saints at the river
That flows by the throne of God.
I stood and sang the words. And with that amazing power that allows music to transcend time and place, I suddenly found myself standing beside Ward Bond as an extra in one of John Ford‘s films. It felt a tad irreverent. But as does a river, music flows – and it flows where it flows – and we are swept along to times past, to times present, to times yet to come. We are swept along to places profane, to places profound, to places beyond our imagining.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Music, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Worship
Comfort comes
Slowly
comfort
comes.
Comfort comes in hearing the guitar wail
and
comfort comes in watching the river flow.
Slowly
comfort
comes.
Comfort comes in shedding tears
and
comfort comes in consuming chocolate.
Slowly
comfort
comes.
Comfort comes in talking with friends
and
comfort comes in having work to do.
Slowly
comfort
comes.
Slowly
comfort
comes.
6-7 July 2012
Pittsburgh and Cleveland Heights
Too absolute, too irreversible
On 3 July 2012, United Nations Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon today called on Member States which use the death penalty to abolish this practice. Mr. Ban spoke at a panel organized by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on ‘Moving away from the death penalty – Lessons from national experiences’ at UN Headquarters in New York.
“The taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process,” Mr. Ban said.
Mr. Ban lifted up a number of signs of the growing international movement away from the death penalty.
There are now 74 Parties to the Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
More than 150 States have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it.
In 2011, only 20 Member States conducted executions.
In the United States, Illinois and Connecticut became the 16th and 17th states to reject death as a punishment.
Mr. Ban acknowledged that 32 UN Member States retain the death penalty for drug-related offenses. He voiced his concern that “some countries still allow juvenile offenders under the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offence to be sentenced to death and executed.”
But he lifted up international efforts to abolish the death penalty:
- The United Nations system has long advocated for abolition.
- The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution “calling for a global moratorium on executions with a view to eventually abolishing the death penalty entirely” in 2007. In the years since, Argentina, Burundi, Gabon, Latvia, Togo and Uzbekistan have abolished the death penalty.
- International and hybrid criminal tribunals for Cambodia, the former Yugoslavia, Lebanon, Rwanda and Sierra Leone do not provide for capital punishment.
- The International Criminal Court does not provide for capital punishment.
- The Guidance Note of 2008 on the UN Approach to Rule of Law Assistance (by Mr. Ban) stated that “the UN will not establish or directly participate in any tribunal that allows for capital punishment.”
Mr. Ban closed with an appeal that Member States “do our utmost to put a final end to this practice.”
May it be so.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Capital Punishment, Current Events, Death Penalty
Ice cream, anyone?
Find the deal at the bottom of the page.
Today brought my first trip to Sweetie Fry ice cream shop in Cleveland Heights. On a hot and humid day, the peanut butter, coffee with caramel swirl, and French toast provided wonderful refreshment even if they did make for a fairly boring picture.
A variety of traditional and unique flavors fill the menu. Sorbets and sherbets also appear. The heat proved a bit much to order the fries although all reports affirm them as quite fine.
Sweetie Fry recently made it to the semi-finals of The Plain Dealer’s Ice Cream Playoffs. Friends of the owner voted – friends of mine voted.
That brings me to the deal. Should you and I ever be in Cleveland Heights at the same time, let me know. I will get you to Sweetie Fry and allow you the pleasure of buying me some great ice cream.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Cleveland Heights, Food, Photo
Purple flowers, Denver Zoo
Denver Zoo
Denver, Colorado
1 September 2010
The Denver Zoo marked the beginning of
the 2010 trek Tricia and I made to
the Great Plains.
We enjoyed viewing the flowers:
the spiders enjoyed living in them.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Photo
Down by (or near) the Riverside
Saturday 30 June brought Riverside Conversations (the convention center is on the Allegheny) at the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Commissioners, advisory delegates, and others gathered to consider a range of topics. Some conversations looked at issues before the assembly, some at broader topics in the life of the church.
My friend and colleague Irene Pak and I (our mutual friend and colleague Bruce Reyes-Chow took the photo for us) led an introductory conversation on the church’s need to address racism if we wish to live into the wondrous diversity God creates.
We started with prayer and then had participants (somewhere near 50 in number) introduce themselves and share an experience of diversity. A brief reflection on diversity, race (social construct built on the diversity God creates) and racism (people with power granting themselves privilege based on that construct) followed. We acknowledged that the Presbyterian Church has a mixed record on race and racism – as do all churches and institutions. We have helped create racism – we help perpetuate racism – and we help dismantle racism. A litany affirming God’s intention that we live together in diversity and reminding us of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s commitment followed.
The group then heard three remarkable stories of efforts to dismantle racism: the work of the Presbytery of Pittsburgh that began with a focus on slavery in Western Pennsylvania; the New Beginning Initiative toward reconciliation between the Alaska Natives and Presbyterians; and a range of efforts that focus on racism in the criminal justice system.
Participants then used Mutual Invitation to engage in conversations about what they had heard. The event closed with the song “I’m Going to Live So God Can Use Me” as our prayer.
In my closing observations, I noted that working to dismantle racism is a calling for a life-time. It is ongoing work. It is challenging work. It involves us in encountering other systems of oppression, privilege, and domination. It is a journey. But it is a journey God calls us to make. And it is a journey on which we have wonderful traveling companions.
See you along the Trail.
Filed under Antiracism, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Gee, but it’s good to be back home – in a sense
The Trail has brought me to Pittsburgh for the meeting of the 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The PC(USA), as it is known, is my employer.
I lived on Neville Island – seven miles downstream from the Point in Pittsburgh – where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers give birth to the Ohio River – until I was 9 or 10 years old (memory fades). In a sense, this is home.
Here’s what’s up with the Assembly:
The 220th General Assembly (2012) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) began yesterday in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Find a variety of ways to follow the business of the General Assembly (the next few days are spent in committees – we are Presbyterian).
The General Assembly consists of commissioners elected by presbyteries. Half of the commissioners will be Ministers of Word and Sacrament, half will be elders. Few will ever have been commissioners to the General Assembly before, but most will have served in one of the other governing bodies of our church: the session, which provides care and oversight of a local congregation; the presbytery, which provides care and oversight of a group of congregations; or the synod which provides care and oversight of several presbyteries.
It reviews the work of synods, resolves controversies in the church, is responsible for matters of common concern for the whole church, and serves as a symbol of unity for the church.
The General Assembly has several specific responsibilities outlined in Chapter 3 of the Book of Order. The assembly seeks to protect our church from errors in faith and practice, is responsible for assuring that the expression of our theology remains true to the biblical standards in our historic confessions. The General Assembly presents a witness for truth and justice in our community and in the world community. It sets priorities for the church and establishes relationships with other churches or ecumenical bodies.
What this does not say is how much of my life this event has consumed and will consume. It is so consuming that it will likely slow down my blogging some.
See you around the Trail.
Filed under Presbyterian Ministry at the United Nations
Along the Graybeard Trail 