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
INTERFAITH COUNCIL OF BOULDER NON-PROFIT ORGAN. 5001 PENNSYLVANIA
AVE. US POSTAGE PAID BOULDER, CO 80303 PERMIT #789 BOULDER, CO 80302
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