War is Not Safe For . . . Anyone!

 I hate war, the killing, the oppression, the "victories" OVER others.  I realize each war is different, but the danger and damage continues.  

I am a child of WW II.  Now we hear that Putin's invasion of Ukraine is the largest land war in Europe "since WW II."  We cannot withstand a World War III.  So many deaths in WW II.  I remember hearing a radio broadcast when it was over, and being surprised at age 6 that there was any other news than war news.

That war ended with the beginning of the nuclear age (the U.S. bombing of Japan). WW II was tanks on the ground and airplanes.  Then came Korea. Then the Cuba nuclear crisis. Burton and I had just been married and I remember going to bed and wondering if we would wake up the next morning.

Then drones, and cyber warfare.  And Russia taking control of the nuclear facility in Ukraine.  This is another global war. The world must contain it.  All of us.  War is Not Safe for. . . Anyone.

Little red birds

 Two pairs of little red birds have come back to their home nests.  A little early, I thought, because it's still cold with snow on the ground. But here they are and we welcome them. No borders to cross, no boundaries to invade. 

We Need to Get our Directions Straight

 U.S. News casters talk about the danger of the "Canadian protests" spreading to the Super Bowl and to Washington D.C. But we need to get our directions straight. Listen to the mayor of Windsor, Ontario, across from Detroit, and to the Prime Minister of Canada. They say clearly, that while it began with Canadian truckers and vaccine mandates at border crossings, it was radicalized by U.S. extremists. We see evidence of that with protestors beyond truck drivers, waving Trump and Confederate flags.  These U.S. radical right extremists are a danger here, across the border and abroad.

First Grade Learning

 My husband, Burton, had Miss Wassom for his first grade teacher in Mason City, Iowa  Years later, while doing my student teaching at Mason City Junior College, the same Miss Wassom was my supervisor. She would say when these six-year-olds would stand up to speak in front of the class, "Please begin with saying if this is a true story of a story you made up." The students did.  Ah, that everyone, including particularly leaders today, were taught that in first grade.

City Ordinance Restricts Church From Feeding People

 An Oregon church is suing the coastal city of Brookings, arguing that an ordinance restricting the church's meal program for the unhoused violates its right to religious freedom.

St. Timothy's Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon filed the lawsuit against the city Jan. 28. "We've been serving our community here for decades and picking up the slack where the need exists and no one else is stepping in," said the Rev. James Bernard Lindley, vicar of St.Timothy's.

The lawsuit claims that the ordinance--which limited the church to offering free meals just twice a week--interferes with the church's fundamental beliefs of "feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and sheltering the houseless." St. Timothy's as been serving meals four days a week so that people can have access to at least one hot, nutritious meal." The lawsuit says the city violated the First and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution."

The lawsuit notes that the city received a petition on April 2021 from about 30 residents saying the free meals drew "vagrants or undesirables." St. Timothy parishioners say they are following the teachings of Jesus when they provide food to their community. "Providing hospitality to all who enter St. Timothy's in search of help is integral to out beliefs."