This week at UCMHE; Blog below
Tuesday: Jackson Katz;
11:15, 4PM & 7PM I the Nebraska Room at MBSC
8:00 PM Inclusive Spiritual Searchers: A group of an inclusive, spiritually focused young adults just helping each other and the community out along the way. A one-hour emerging worship/meditation event. MBSC, Jenkins Room
Wednesday: 7PM Planning for Peace Expo, Jenkins Room MBSC
Thursday: 11:00 AM. Hanging out in the Library cafe
12;30 PM, MBSC Cafeteria, Student Board Meeting, mostly free food and conversation about needs, desires and upcoming events you’d like to see.
Saturday: Work for Habitat for Humanity, as part of our 2nd Saturdays of Service; meet at Caffeine Dreams at 8:30 AM, we’ll carpool and drive to the worksite; we work until noon.
Planning is underway for bringing drumming, a portable labyrinth, a special theological event, and a leadership or service project for spring break. Two new Worship services at area churches look interesting to me: a U2 worship at First Christian Church (you can see this church from the library café) is in mid February, and a Taize` service begins monthly March 4 at 5:30 PM, First United Methodist Church (across the street from the Omaha Community Playhouse. This is all about worship with a long period of silence in the middle. It will be a version of what we do on Tuesday nights.
Blog
The Super Bowl is over and I’m glad for that. Watching my sentimental favorite go down in missed snaps and two picks was disheartening. I wondered how such major mistakes could happen. As usual, the group was with and I called better plays than the coaches and shared our opinions on how to reverse what was happening.
I do that with God, sometimes, too. If God is calling the plays, it may be that God needs to call more blitzes and reduce the number of missed snaps and the number of picks. We can look to the Iraq war as a bumble, as hopes for the future of that country and ours are dashed against the miss-stepping stones of moving the policies of ideologues and iconoclasm ahead of issues of justice. This removes hope on all sides, and the less strong and patient lash out in response. Gathering together over a common future remains remote. Shi’a and Sunni and Kurd are in search of sturdy dignity, honor and hope. How does God allow, or condone that? Or is God fumbling? I don’t believe God operates that way. I think it’s just us.
We are on the same search as other parts of the world. We have the same dream: dignity in our living with one another, honor for our traditions and growing beliefs, and our hopes for the future. I think we’ve got some responsibility for making that all happen for us and for others. God operates in the heart of faith. Why not join that operation? God can use the help.
--Fred
