COMMON CONCERN


THE NEWSLETTER OF THE INTERFAITH COUNCIL OF BOULDER APRIL 1998


WHEN GOD MADE MOM..... When the Good Lord was creating mothers, he was into his sixth day of overtime when the angel appeared and said, "You're doing a lot of fiddling around on this one." And the Lord said, "Have you read the spec on this order? She has to be completely washable, but not plastic; have 180 movable parts, all replaceable; run on black coffee and leftovers; have a lap that disappears when she stands up; a kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair; and six pairs of hands." The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands... no way." "It's not the hands that are causing me problems," said the Lord. "It's the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have." "That's on the standard model?" asked the angel. The Lord nodded. "One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, 'What are you kids doing in there?' when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that see what she shouldn't but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at children when they goof up and say, 'I understand and I love you' without so much as uttering a word." "Lord," said the angel touching his sleeve gently, "come to bed; finish tomorrow...." "I can't," said the Lord. "I'm so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick, can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger and can get a 9-year-old to stand under a shower." The angel circled the mother very slowly. "It's too soft," she sighed. "But tough!" said the Lord excitedly. "You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure." "Can it think?" "Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise," said the Creator. Finally the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. "There's a leak," she pronounced. "I told you were trying to put too much into this model." "It's not a leak," said the Lord, "it's a tear." "What's it for?" "It's for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride." "You're a genius!" said the angel. The Lord looked somber. "I didn't put it there."


The next Interfaith Council meeting will be held on Sunday, May 17 from 2:00 to 4:00 pm at Unitarian Universalist Church, 5001 Pennsylvania. Sara-Jane Cohen from Har Hashem will host a panel on "Serving the Community". Panelists from Project Work Together, Community Food Share and Emergency Family Assistance will share information about their programs and volunteer opportunities that may be of interest to your congregations. Please plan to participate in this exploration of the services provided by these organizations and see how you can make a difference.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE LAST COUNCIL MEETING: "Asset Building for Youth" was presented by Hayden Williamson who shared the 40 developmental assets which are used as building blocks to support healthy development of young people. Youth who have received mentoring, guidance, and support in developing these assets are much more likely to do well in school, continue on to higher education, maintain a healthy social interaction with others, and avoid high-risk behaviors such as substance abuse and violence. Asset Building is a program which can be used by parents, churches, community organizations or businesses to work with children and youth to bring out their best. If you would like to know more about Asset Building, you may contact Hayden Williamson at the Boulder County Prevention Connection, 402-9383 ext. 12.
A report was given by Bob Mann on discussions with downtown service providers for homeless and hungry in light of recent changes in current services. The Salvation Army has sold their facility and the weekday noon meal program will soon be discontinued. The Day Shelter closes at the end of May for the season which means that additional services will also be discontinued. The search is on for a replacement for the noon meal program and support services to accommodate "summer visitors" to Boulder. Community Table is exploring the possibility of overseeing the noon meal program and would need the help of volunteers from local churches to meet its needs. If you are interested in more information about how you can help meet this need, please contact Steve Rohrbach at (303)823-9303.
REFLECTIONS: The other day I tripped over the word 'doctrine'. Oh, no real harm was done. Just a small embarrassment and a helpful reminder that words are mysterious little treasures that call for careful, attentive use. 'Doctrine' has become one of those boxy, 'out-of-fashion' words; certainly not 'end-of-the-nineties' or 'politically correct'. Yet, me thinks it wrongfully abused! A trip to the Oxford Annotated confirmed that it has a long and pure pedigree. It simply means 'teachings', sharing the same root as 'doctor'. In a little act of propitiation to the muses of language, I felt drawn to muse out a little list of my own doctrines. It is incomplete and in process, raising no claim to universal acceptability. The greatest benefit is the implied challenge it offers the reader to work out your own. "Love your neighbor as your self" is both immensely difficult and immensely important. The sacred, 'that of God', is to be found in ordinary, daily life, and if we 'have eyes to see' it is as common as dirt. Truth has many voices and faces, yet it has an underlying, unitary ground. That life is best lived which weaves together reality (facts), and imagination. Either one without the other is impoverished. We did not give ourselves life, yet there is something within us all that participates in our on-going creation. We are not pre-cast bricks! Our religions ought not be airless boxes, but open to the stirrings of 'the souls east window of divine surprise'. A happy summer to you all, and may the muses be with you. Doctrine on! (Stan Grotegut)
Be a part of Hearts, Hands and Voices!! Join us for the third annual Hearts, Hands and Voices to be held this year on Sunday, September 13 from noon till 6:00 PM at Chautauqua Park. We welcome your participation in our educational exhibits. This is an opportunity for you to share the exciting programs sponsored by your church. We also encourage your congregations to participate as volunteers at the festival. We have many opportunities for work prior to the event and on the day of the festival. If you would like to know more, please contact Steve Rohrbach @ 303 832-9303.
There once was a man who found a magic lamp. He rubbed it, and a genie appeared and bestowed on him the Midas Touch. And for the rest of his life everything he touched turned into a muffler.
Judges have fined a 50-year old Italian driver for dangerous driving after he handed the controls of his car over to God. A judge heard how the man let go of his steering wheel and cried, "God, can you drive?" The man's car ended up in a ditch, and his lawyer cited "religious dilemma" as the reason for the bizarre action. The man could have been acquitted, but the prosecution lawyer correctly pointed out that "God is not a legally insured driver and has never passed an official test." From a Munich newspaper
YOUR WAY, MY WAY, THE WAY The venerable Zen Master Susuki Roshi, whose book Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, has been a profound religious document for many American students of Buddhism, once said: "Each of us must make our own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way". How are we to make sense of such a statement, coming as it does from out of a tradition that is extremely structured in its religious practices? My sense of his words applies, I think, to our interfaith concerns. "Make our own true way" to me means responding to that within us which seems most true. Standing with conviction in the truth, as it reveals itself to us in our own hearts, seems to be one of the most powerful tests, if it is not the most powerful test, of the validity of our personal choice of a religion or a religious path. We each choose out of complex life experiences, conditions, teachings and personal temperaments. Those choices bring us both joys and sorrows, liabilities and gifts no matter what the religion (or non-religion) we choose to call home. It is the gift of the interfaith community to celebrate (and not just tolerate) the choices other individuals make to live out what is deepest in them, regardless of whether it is the same religious path as ours. It is the gift of the interfaith community to honor the belief that the size of the G-d we seek is so large, it is inevitable that many paths will be created/discovered to find our way home to His/Her presence. It is the gift of the interfaith community to affirm that the desire to live life within the orbit of the sacred s not only the most intimate and personal desire we can have, it is also, at our depths, the most universal. May the life of what is most universal within us, guide all our choices, our work and our religious partnerships. Namaste, Kurt
SACRED PLACES WALKING TOUR A walking tour of eleven sacred places downtown is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Summer, July 26, from 1-5 p.m. The co-sponsor for this event is Historic Boulder! It is up to each individual group how they will present their house of worship. Admission is free and informational booklets will be available for %4.00 Marilyn Bland is coordinating this project. There are many opportunities for service and she would love some help. Please contact Marilyn at 530-4924 or email (Mkbcs@aol.com). If you want more information about Historic Boulder, please contact Sandy Priester at (303) 444-5192. Watch for more information in the Daily Camera or call Marilyn.
Wesak, May 10, is the most important day of the year for Buddhists. Coming on the full moon, it marks the triple celebration of the Buddha's Birth; Enlightenment, and Parinibbana/Nirvana (Final Passing Away). Some traditions celebrate the three events on separate days.
May 25 is a day of renewed hope for the safe return of children who are missing. -------------- O God, scatterer of ignorance and darkness, grant me your strength. May all beings regard me with the eye of a friend, and I all beings! With the eye of a friend may each single being regard all others! Yojht Veda, xxxvi, 18


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