Whirled Peas

Christmas in West Bank

From Sister Paulette Schroeder:

It strikes me as strange that in the midst of soldiers, guns, checkpoints, detentions and humiliations, in the face of the occupation and all its flagrant dehumanization of the Palestinians, I have come to see the occupation’s spotlight illuminating the beauty of Jesus’ incarnation.

Call it a curious cause and effect.

The occupation degrades, pushes the vulnerability buttons in human nature: anger, rage, intense sadness, a temptation to hopelessness, a fierce need to survive, and to protect.

The incarnation, on the other hand, celebrates life, lifts up human nature, elevates all that is possible for human beings to be for the other: service, sacrifice for the welfare of the other, thinking well of oneself and of one’s body with all its amazing functions, including its eyes on the world.

The joyous proclamation of our Christian incarnational faith makes all that is truly human both beautiful and profoundly holy.

Jesus enjoyed his humanity and upheld the dignity of all. He experienced and preached about everyday aspects of life: the birds, the flowers, bread and wine, and sickness.

I shall be here in the West Bank for Christmas this year. The contrasts I see intensify my desire to work diligently to undo occupation through media, through friends, through writing.

The reality here pushes me to celebrate passionately, to give generous thanks for Jesus, Emmanuel.

This real incarnational faith sustains, leads all Christians to live life abundantly, to work for justice and to open the doors for those denied their humanity.

Evangelist Oral Roberts Dies

TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Oral Roberts, a pioneer in televangelism who founded a multimillion-dollar ministry and a university that bears his name, died Tuesday. He was 91. Roberts died of complications from pneumonia in Newport Beach, Calif., according to his spokesman, A. Larry Ross. The evangelist was hospitalized after a fall on Saturday. He had survived two heart attacks in the 1990s and a broken hip in 2006.

Roberts was a pioneer who broadcast his spirit-filled revivals on television, a new frontier for religion when he started in the 1950s. He was also a forerunner of the controversial "prosperity gospel" that has come to dominate televangelism. The evangelist's "Seed-Faith" theology held that those who give to God will get things in return.

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The 3/50 Project

Not only was the Women's Leadership Forum at the Findlay Country Club a worthwhile way for me to spend two hours today, but I won the centerpiece!

Nestled in a basket of evergreens from Kaleidoscope Farms was a card for "The 3/50 Project," a realized vision of retail consultant and professional speaker Cinda Baxter to promote independently owned businesses.

The card offered some figures to encourage shoppers to "save the brick and mortars our nation is built on":

3:
Think about which three independently owned businesses you'd miss most if they were gone. Stop in and say hello. Pick up a little something that will make someone smile. Your contribution is what keeps those businesses around.

50:
If just half the employed U.S. population spent $50 each month in independently owned businesses, their purchases would generate more than $42.6 billion in revenue.* Imagine the positive impact if 3/4 of the employed population did that.

68:
For every $100 spent in independently owned stores, $68 returns to the community through taxes, payroll and other expenditures. If you spend that in a national chain, only $43 stays here. Spend it online and nothing comes home.

1:
The number of people it takes to start the trend ... you.

*U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics; 68/43 Civic Economics study

I appreciated that these suggestions did not say to never shop at a national chain. Just $50 at local shops makes a difference.

Between Brinkman's Country Corner, a grocery store operated by Brinkman's Turkey Farms, Dietsch Bros. chocolate and ice cream shop, and any number of local restaurants, I'm sure I make the $50 a month mark.

Being a "locavore" is a step in the right direction, eating what is produced and sold locally. Taking on the 3/50 challenge is another great benefit to your community.

If You're Gonna Kill It, Do Good with It

Division of Wildlife Chief Dave Graham challenges all deer hunters to make this year special for Ohio’s hungry by designating Saturday, Dec. 5, as Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) Day.

 

Last year, hunters showed they cared by donating nearly 220,000 meals to Ohioans in need.

Hunters who give their deer to a food bank are not required to pay the processing cost as long as the deer are taken to a participating processor and funding for the effort lasts.

Counties being served by this program can be found online at www.fhfh.org.