Monthly Archives: October 2013

October 16, 2013 · 10:44 pm

Tomorrow, I wear purple

I will not be alone.

Millions will wear purple on Spirit Day in a stand against bullying and to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Observed annually since 2010, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, and public figures wear purple, which symbolizes ‘spirit’ on the rainbow flag.

Getting involved is easy: Wear purple or go purple online on October 17th and help create a world in which LGBT youth are celebrated and accepted for who they are. Learn more.

See you, in purple, along the Trail.

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October 16, 2013 · 8:25 pm

Moon shines; hope lives

photo (52) (599x800)

Reflecting light,
the moon shines.

Between buildings,
the moon shines.

Through clouds,
the moon shines.

The moon shines,
hope rises.

The moon shines,
hope abides.

The moon shines,
hope lives.

16 October 2013
Manhattan, New York

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October 15, 2013 · 8:51 pm

12 Corners

I wrote my first Yelp review today. I know I should have written reviews in the past, but they never happened. For some reason, today’s came out.

12 CornersA friend and I planned to meet for coffee. She asked if I minded coming downtown and suggested a couple options.

I chose 12 Corners and am glad I did.

I was a first time customer. My friend has a frequent caffeinater card. It is clear why.

The coffee is great. I need to learn if it is fair trade.

The blackberry bran muffin was amazing.

But what really set 12 Corners apart for me was the service. The friendly staff treated everyone with kindness and went out of their way to create an atmosphere of hospitality and welcome.

A good day. I will be back.

See you along the Trail.

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October 15, 2013 · 8:16 pm

Purple flowers, Hyde Park 5

Purple Flowers Hyde Park 5 15 October 2012 (1024x683)

 

A purple tower
climbs toward the sun.

Hyde Park, Chicago
15 October 2012

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October 14, 2013 · 12:46 am

Living the past in the present

Fifty-eight years ago, on Thursday, October 13, 1960, my father took a day off and took me out of my first-grade class.

From Neville Island we journeyed to Forbes Field in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood.

There we watched the Pittsburgh Pirates take on the New York Yankees in Game 7 of that year’s World Series (an interesting name now, but even more so at that time when all the teams vying for the title were located in the United States).

The heavily favored Yankees had won 10 pennants in 12 years. They won three games in this series: 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. The Pirates won the other three games by much closer scores: 6-4, 3-2, and 5-2.

Game 7 proved  a classic. The Pirates took the lead. The Yankees came back and went ahead. The Pirates regained the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Yankees tied it in the ninth.

Bill Mazeroski led off the bottom of the ninth inning for the Pirates. He took the first pitch for a ball. Then he drove the second pitch over the left-field wall. And the Pirates were the champions.

How much do I remember because I saw the game in person? How much do I remember because I have seen the pictures and the film and heard the stories? I will never know.

On the anniversary of the game, Pirates fans gather in Pittsburgh to relieve, remember, and recreate.

In 2009, a kinescope of the telecast was discovered in Bing Crosby’s wine cellar. Crosby owned a portion of the Pirates. A DVD appeared with the game. Tricia gave me a copy as a gift.

Tonight I celebrated the past in the present as on the anniversary, I watched the game all the way until, “There’s a drive into deep left field, look out now… that ball is going, going gone! And the World Series is over! Mazeroski… hits it over the left field fence, and the Pirates win it 10–9 and win the World Series!” Mel Allen on NBC TV

And I remembered my father. And my spirit warmed. And the smile has not left my face or my heart.

See you along the Trail.

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October 10, 2013 · 11:37 pm

Stand with Jagjeet Singh against religious discrimination

Sign a petition to the Mississippi Department of Transportation officials calling for an investigation into their treatment of Jagjeet Singh.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) reports that officers of the Mississippi Department of Transportation harassed Jagjeet, an observant Sikh, calling him a “terrorist” and then arresting him when he refused to remove his turban.

The judge who heard the case compounded the discrimination. According to the ACLU, ” he ordered that Jagjeet be removed from the courtroom and said he wouldn’t let Jagjeet return until he removed ‘that rag’ from his head.”

The United Sikhs have filed a complaint on Jagjeet’s behalf about Judge Rimes with the Department of Justice, the ACLU notes.

Concerned for the actions of the transportation officers, the ACLU has created a petition to Commissioner King and Director McGrath of the Mississippi DOT.

The petition asks: “Investigate and discipline the MDOT officers for their unacceptable treatment of Jagjeet Singh, and train officers on religious diversity so violations like this don’t happen again.”

I believe that all people and religions should receive respect and be treated with dignity. I signed the petition. You can too.

See you along the Trail.

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October 10, 2013 · 11:20 pm

Purple flowers, Hyde Park 4

Purple Flowers Hyde Park 4 15 October 2012 (1024x683)

Some yellow centers,
some brown,
all  surrounded by purple
in a sea of green.

Hyde Park, Chicago
15 October 2012

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October 10, 2013 · 11:14 pm

Standing and sitting in the rain for justice

My friend Tim Luttermoser wrote this. He granted permission to post his words and photo.

TimHey Francis,

The past few days on campus, a conservative preacher (Tom the Preacher, you can google him) has been on campus doing… well, the typical conservative preacher things. But with larger displays and more professionally, unfortunately. Over the last two days I designed a poster (you can see it, sort of, in my profile picture) of welcoming congregations in the area, including Episcopals, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians (I’m happy to say), UUs, and a Reform Judaism temple, and today I stood across the way from their display for several hours, providing people with an alternative perspective and reminding them that this wasn’t the only face of Christianity or religion in general. I’m happy to say that, for the most part, Tom and Grace Campus Ministry (which invited him to campus) left me alone when I made it clear I was not interested in engaging.

I’m telling you all this because, if you have a minute on Sunday, I’d like you to pass along my thanks to Noble Road Presbyterian Church for me. I can say with confidence that being raised in that particular community has shaped me into who I am today, and I am grateful for the influence. Even as I’ve personally moved on to other religious and spiritual traditions, I always remember the loving and welcoming community of Noble Road, and when faced with hatred and bigotry, I can always draw on my history there and be reminded that there are wonderful religious communities with better approaches. Noble Road did a fantastic job modeling not only acceptance of LGBTQ people, but actively fighting for them, particularly within the religious community, a fight I still consider absolutely essential. While I’m fairly confident I would be supportive of LGBTQ people regardless of where I grew up, I know that growing up in NRPC specifically was what gave me the energy and the passion to contact these congregations, create this display, and stand through the two brief rainstorms to keep making my point all afternoon.

Thank you for all you have done and continue to do, both you in particular and NRPC as a whole.

Mark Koenig and Tricia Dykers Koenig – this thanks LARGELY goes to you as well, don’t forget.

Francis Miller, to whom Tim wrote, is currently the pastor at Noble Road Presbyterian Church. Tim lived in South Euclid and attended the church before he went to school. Tricia and I were co-pastors there at the time.

See you along the Trail.

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October 6, 2013 · 10:25 pm

Fathers, friends, Pirates

photo (48)Tomorrow night, the Pittsburgh Pirates host the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Baseball Division Series. A Pirates win captures the series for them and moves them into the League Championship series for the first time since 1992.
When the Pirates take the field to begin the game, my high school friend Lois will be there with her father.
Lois and I attended Grove City High School in Western Pennsylvania. We had many classes together, including band where she played clarinet and I played the baritone horn. Upon graduation, Lois went to Penn State. I went to Westminster. She has landed in the field of library science. I followed a call into ministry. We lost touch fairly quickly after that.
Our class celebrated its 40th anniversary last year and Lois found me on Facebook. Through that medium, we have discovered that we both still bleed black and gold. The Pirates. The Steelers. They were our teams in high school. They are our teams now.
We each shared our support for the Pittsburgh teams with our fathers. Each of our fathers worked for the public school system.
My dad was the Assistant Superintendent of schools until his death in 1974. And a very good musician. He started his career as a public school instrumental music teacher.
Mr. Thompson, Lois’ father, was our band director. And a very good musician. 

Mr. Thompson and my father were good friends. As in any work situation, friendships form. There was a whole group of folks who were friends with my dad. But my dad was especially close to all the instrumental musicians in the system, Mr. Thompson among them. My father played for them when they needed help. Mr. Thompson played in the town band when my dad directed it.

My father and I went to Pirates games – along with my mother, brother, aunt, and grandfather. We made it a family affair. I know now that something similar happened in the Thompson household.

After the Pirates won on Friday, Lois sent me a message saying that she has tickets for Game 4 in Pittsburgh and that she will take her dad along. He is 87.

While that pricks my heart a little thinking of all the games my dad and I never saw, it also brings back a whole host of great memories. And I am really thrilled for Lois and Mr. Thompson. His first name is Grant but I can’t call him anything else but Mr. Thompson even after all these years.

Pretty cool. I count on Lois and Mr. Thompson to bring the Pirates home.

See you along the Trail.

A word about the photo. Yes. My father and I attended Game 7 of the 1960 World Series. We lived on Neville Island at the time. Dad took a vacation day and took me out of my first grade class. We were there for the Kubek hop, for Hal Smith’s three-run home run that put the Pirates ahead in the 8th inning and for Bill Mazeroski’s game-winning home run in the 9th inning. We saw history. And the most important word in that sentence then, and now, is “we.”

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October 3, 2013 · 8:09 pm

Simple words

On September, 22, hate struck Dr. Prabjhot Singh, a Sikh and a community activist, in New York City, near Central Park. Dr. Singh sustained a number of injuries in this hate crime attack. His response? Dr. Singh wants to talk to his attackers, to invite them to worship, to make sure they have the opportunity to heal and grow and move past this attack as well.

My colleague Christine Hong wrote a blog which has moved me to seek ways to respond. Today, Simran Jeet Singh, a friend of Dr. Singh, joined Christine and me in a conversation about possible responses.

Here’s a very simple one.

A petition on Groundswell allows people to send messages of support to Dr. Prabjhot Singh. I sent some simple words of support and thanks earlier this evening. I invite you to do so as well.

See you along the Trail.

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