The Sometimes Maligned DNR--Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

Some of my friends and I often lament the content and tone of our Harrisonburg paper's editorials, but in all fairness I have to express appreciation today for editorial page editor Cort Kirkwood's cooperation in posting my piece "Brethren Resisted Resistance".

First of all, he was willing to do this in record time--knowing I that I preferred that it be in for Black History Month--even though I didn't get it in until Monday. Second, the story was published even though it could be read as putting some of the Byrd family (the publishers of the newspaper) in an unfavorable light.

So I commend the DNR for its willingness to post opinion pieces with which it may not always fully agree. An open press helps promote a healthy community conversation.

If you aren't an online or regular subscriber, here's the link to a November12, 2014, blog with essentially the same story.

A Couple Of Questions For The CCJB

Nearly fifty observers attended the meeting of the 18-member Community Criminal Justice Board yesterday, hoping to hear some spirited discussion on the part of the 14 members of this advisory group present. We were especially interested in knowing what their various perspectives were regarding a proposed $21.5 million deal with nearby Middle River Jail, one  that could eventually give us 250 additional jail beds.

We heard little from the members, but there were two actual actions taken: 1) The minutes of the December 8 meeting were approved, and 2) the work of a committee designated to develop alternatives to incarceration was officially authorized (one led by Judge John Paul that had been approved by consensus rather than by an actual voice vote at the December meeting).

Scott Kizner, Harrisonburg Schools superintendent, did make a strong case for the CCJB to promote better ways to prevent young people from getting into negative behaviors that lead to crime, and suggested that Judge Paul's committee include some educators, but no action was taken. Don Driver, head of Social Services, also expressed the concern that the Board take seriously the interest of increased numbers of citizens who are currently speaking out on criminal justice issues.

Two attendees made a motion to request that public input be allowed. When this was denied, a dozen observers associated with a local group called "Moving Beyond Jails" walked out, leaving signs on their empty chairs with the words, "My name is _______, and I have no voice in the Community Criminal Justice Board."

The chair explained that there would likely be opportunity for such comments at a later date, and Judge John Paul, not an actual member of the CCJB, went out of his way to meet with them in the hall to hear their concerns.

The rest of us heard brief reports about the state of negotiations with the Middle River Jail Authority, the goals of Judge John Paul's study group on alternatives to incarceration, and the need for citizens to be understanding and patient regarding the CCJB's work.

Here are some of my questions for the group:

-  How often will you meet, and what mission or purpose statement might you adopt for yourselves?

- As an advisory body, exactly who, or what agencies, do you see yourselves advising, and what might be some examples of the kinds of future recommendations you might be in a position to make?

- How will you conduct your meetings in order to get the optimal benefit of the considerable wisdom and experience represented by members of the group (mostly well educated professionals in local government, law enforcement, education and social services)?

- How might you create a mix of members that more accurately reflects the racial, ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of our community?

- In light of your expressed willingness to receive citizen input and feedback, would it be reasonble to allow for 15-20 minutes of public comment at the beginning of future meetings?

I was glad for the opportunity to be present, and especially appreciated the willingness of CCJB members like Pablo Cuevas, Joe Paxton, and Kai Degner (as well as John Paul) to talk with some of us some after the meeting was adjourned.

I believe everyone will benefit by working together to help make ours a safer and more just community.

(Satire Alert) Invitation To Join My New Church

I'm hoping this building will hold everyone!

Splitting off and creating new churches seems to be very popular these days. In my denomination alone we've gone from having one united conference for Mennonites in Rockingham County to having over a dozen different varieties to choose from--all in just the past century.

But since there's always room for one more spin-off, I figured I should come up with my own brand of church, one I might call the "United Harvyterian Church Of The Completely Pure And Altogether Right", or UHCCPAR for short.

I used to think there were just two kinds of Christians, the liberal ones and the conservative ones, two kinds of folks who, like oil and water, must regularly separate from each other in order to stay pure and right. But I've since realized that members are at many different places along a progressive/traditionalist continuum, and depending on the issue, each individual may be at different points between these two poles. This means that at any time there are nearly an infinite number of interesting possibilities for forming pure and separate coalitions of like-minded and right thinking people, not just two.

In the interest of maintaining absolute truth and utmost purity in my new church I'm considering coming up with a written application everyone who wants to join. Here are some sample items, each to be ranked on a scale of 0-10.

Choose a number between 0 (totally left) and 10 (altogether right) for each of the following:

___ 1. The earth as we know it, created in six 24-hour days, came into being in the year 6004 BC.

___ 2. Since every word in the King James Bible is directly inspired by God, each text is to be interpreted literally (which means exactly the way I, the founder of UHCCPAR, interpret it).

___ 3. Since there are scriptural examples of Gentiles, women and slaves being considered inferior and unequal to others, we maintain the right and duty to continue such discrimination.

___ 4. Churches should divide whenever differences and disagreements occur, the exception being the UHCCPAR, which will finally have gotten it right.

This is just the start of a list that would include many more. In order to qualify for membership (and to create true purity), applicants would need to have a score indicating at least a 95% agreement with my views (or on second thought, maybe 100%).

Let me know if you want to apply for charter membership. Otherwise, without the indisputable truths of Harvyterianism, you may need to start some new churches of your own to accommodate your own changing views over time.

Here's a link to some non-satirical posts on church unity.

Knowing When To Give Up Hope

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When I first ran across the "I feel much better now..." statement in the graphic (on a bumper sticker) I dismissed it as just another funny one-line absurdity.

But sometimes we are better off selectively "giving up hope" for things we are powerless to do anything about. Another term for this is acceptance, as in the well known Serenity Prayer, where one asks for the grace to "accept the things I cannot change".

Or as in this piece by author Amy Carmichael:

IN ACCEPTANCE LIES PEACE

He said, "I will forget the dying faces;
The empty places,
They shall be filed again.
O voices moaning deep within me, cease,"
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in forgetting lieth peace. 

He said, "I will crowd action upon action,
The strife of faction shall stir me and sustain;
O tears that drown the fire of manhood, cease."
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in endeavor lieth peace.

He said, "I will withdraw me and be quiet,
Why meddle in life's riot?
Shut be my door to pain.
Desire, thou dost befool me, thou shalt cease."
Not in aloofness lieth peace.

He said, "I will submit; I am defeated.
God hath depleted My life of its rich gain.
O futile murmurings, why will ye not cease?"
But vain the word; vain, vain:
Not in submission lieth peace.

He said, "I will accept the breaking sorrow
Which God tomorrow will to His Son explain."
Then did the turmoil deep within him cease.
Not vain the word, not vain;
For in Acceptance lieth peace.

 -Amy Carmichael

 
I feel so much better now.

Songmaker Son Helps Students Compose Some Cool Songs

Brad

For the past two years our singer-songwriter son Brad Yoder has been asked to spend a week as  a musician-in-residence at one of Pittsburgh's public elementary schools. This year he led extensive brainstorming sessions with each of six classes at Kerr Elementary and came up with the following entertaining results. 

Here are the lyrics:

KINDERGARTEN:  "Treats"

CH:  We love treats, they’re so yummy,
Awesome sweetness in my tummy!
VS 1:  Ice cream is delicious, you can lick it on a cone,
or eat it in a bowl with a spoon,
chocolate or vanilla, cherry or banana, (or mango!)
different flavors taste super-good! (like sherbet!)
VS 2: Candy is spectacular, lollipops and gummi bears
licorice and marshmallows,
chocolate bars and chewing gum, jelly beans, “can I have some?”
Cotton candy's soft like pillows!
VS 3: cookies are for everyone, gingerbread and M&M,
oatmeal, chocolate chip and Oreos,
some are round and some are square, everybody likes to share,
we even like to eat cookie dough!

1st GRADE:  "Summer Vacation"

CH:  It’s summer vacation, I’m so excited that school’s out,
the sun is bright and we get to play all day,
it’s summer vacation, we drink lemonade in the hot sun,
we swim and ride bikes and have fun, we say “hurray!”..
VS1: would like to climb a tree? we can see the bright green leaves,
would you like to find a snail and put it in a pail? (567176)  ½CH:
VS2: We can jump into the pool, and the water’s very cool,
ride our bikes to the zoo and see the kangaroos…  ½CH:
VS3:  We can go to Kennywood, the games and rides and food are good, we can visit family and friends in New Jersey!  ½CH:
VS4:  Read a book in bed all day, sleep in late or celebrate,
paint a heart or draw a bird, or bake a chocolate cake!  CH:

2nd GRADE:  "Playing in the Snow"

VS1: wake up, look out the window, let’s go play in the snow,
school is closed, it’s Winter Break, everybody knows,
it’s time to put on snow clothes, coats and gloves and boots,
scarves, earmuffs, mittens and hats, warm socks and snow suits..
CH: let’s go hop outside, let’s jump in a pile of snow, (brr)
it’s cold and wet, but really fun, catching snowflakes on our tongues,
then we’ll go inside, take off our boots, and have some hot cocoa..
VS2:  Let’s go and build a snowman, let’s find a carrot nose,
a scarf, 2 sticks, and rocks as eyes, he can wear old clothes,
a snowball fight’s exciting, we’ll build a big snow fort,
We’ll stay outside, we’ll play all day, and then we’ll play some more,
CH:
BRIDGE:  Sledding, tubing, ice skating, what shall we do first,
I think we should make snow angels (before the weather turns),
the next day I slept in, and then we played again!
VS1:
CH:

3rd GRADE:  "Gym Class"

VS 1: up and down the climbing wall, kick a home run in kickball,
running, jumping, it’s so fun, we can play with everyone
CH: in gym class, in gym class, when the thinking work is done,
in gym class, in gym class, we have tons of fun..
VS 2:  it is not a big surprise we get lots of exercise,
Mr. S. and Mrs. A., please let us play Ricochet, in gym class (CH2)
VS 3:  we ride scooters all around, the scooters make a squeaky sound,
we like playing castle ball, when the balls make castles fall, (CH3)
BR:  We’ll have a blast, c’mon let’s play, while it lasts, we yell “hurray!”
VS4:  bowling, hockey, soccer, tag, we can play “capture the flag”
Hula hoops and basketball, we try not to trip and fall.. (CH4)

4th GRADE:  "Sleep"

VS 1: After a long day, I go upstairs and hit the hay,
brush my teeth and jump in bed, counting sheep over my head,
I start to close my eyes, stars twinkle in the night,
floating on a cozy cloud, Mama please don’t wake me now,
CH:  tired people all around are sleeping in a sleepy town,
tired people go to sleep while children’s dreams are at their peak!
VS 2:  My Dad’s tucking me in, and I say goodnight to him,
dreaming of a different land, and cake with sprinkles in my hand,
Warm under my sheets, stuffed animals are guarding me
from monsters underneath my bed, I grab for my stuffed bear instead
CH:  tired people all around are sleeping in a sleepy town,
tired people go to sleep while children’s dreams are at their peak!
BR:  What time is it?  How much more sleep can I get?
VS 1 TAG: After a long day, I go upstairs and hit the hay,
brush my teeth and jump in bed, counting sheep over my head…

5th GRADE:  "Road Trip Song"
CH:  a long way to go, and a long time to get there,
why won’t the road move faster,
vacation is here, our destination is clear,
adventure is what we’re after!
VS1:  everywhere you go there’s a sunset,
and everywhere you go there’s a moon,
every day we ask, “are we there yet?”
and every time mom says, “pretty soon”  (CH)
VS2: Speeding down the road while I’m gazing,
trying to write the words for this song,
driving through the plains, cows are grazing,
I think I’ll see those cows all day long! (CH)
BR:  Gift shops, fast food, rest stops, toll booths,
traffic, turnpikes, crossing state lines!..
CH:

All rights reserved

Which God? Whose Country?

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"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for emperors and all who are in high positions, so that we (all) may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity.  

"This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  

"For there is one God;

there is also one mediator 
between God and (all) humankind,
Christ Jesus, himself human, 
who gave himself a ransom for all."

 - Paul, to believers under Nero (I Timothy 2:1-5, NRSV, emphases mine)

Throughout time, individual nations have claimed that God is on their side, fighting their battles, defending their principles and elevating their importance.

I dearly love the country of my birth, regularly pray for its well being (and well doing) and appreciate its many benefits, much as I hope people in other nations feel about their own native land.

I also want to be aware of my country's flaws and will always urge it to live up to its own best ideals.

Abraham Lincoln is alleged to have said, "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side." Whether or not that is an actual quote, we all need to be humble about claiming any special favor with the Almighty, and avoid the idolatries of exceptionalism and hyper-nationalism.

From a Biblical perspective, nations are a temporary necessity, a "drop in a bucket" of minor importance. God's ultimate goal is one of having the whole earth become one great kingdom of justice and peace, where warring nations will beat their swords into plowshares and study war no more.

Until then, we do well to heed the words of Thomas Jefferson, who wrote the following in the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom in 1977, enacted into law in January 16, 1786:

"That the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who, being themselves but fallible and uninspired men have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavoring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world and through all time."

(2nd paragraph, Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom)

Here's a link to more posts on God and government.

Night Of Infamy In Dresden, February 13-14, 1945

Dresden, Germany, after four Allied bombing raids, February 13-15

On this night 70 years ago one of the most intense Allied air strikes ever waged against a German city was launched.

According to the History.com website, the target, Dresden, was known as "the Florence of the Elbe" one the world's most beautiful cities. Less industrialized than most, it had contributed only marginally to the war effort compared to many other German cities, and since it was also less well defended, it would not have been able to put up much resistance to advancing Russian forces from the east at this stage of World War II.

Here is a section of the History.com article:

On the night of February 13, hundreds of RAF bombers descended on Dresden in two waves, dropping their lethal cargo indiscriminately over the city. The city's air defenses were so weak that only six Lancaster bombers were shot down. By the morning, some 800 British bombers had dropped 1,478 tons of high-explosive bombs and 1,182 tons of incendiaries on Dresden, creating a great firestorm that destroyed most of the city and killed numerous civilians. Later that day, as survivors made their way out of the smoldering city, over 300 U.S. bombers began bombing Dresden's railways, bridges, and transportation facilities, killing thousands more. On February 15, another 200 U.S. bombers continued their assault on the city's infrastructure. All told, the bombers of the U.S. Eighth Air Force dropped 954 tons of high-explosive bombs and 294 tons of incendiaries on Dresden. Later, the Eighth Air Force would drop 2,800 more tons of bombs on Dresden in three other attacks before the war's end.

The fires that resulted were so intense that they literally sucked the oxygen from the air, causing horrible deaths by asphyxiation and the superheated air as well as from burning men, women and children alive.

Here is a link to a graphic Youtube depiction of that terrible event, and this one to some other blogs on aerial bombings as a modern form of holocaust.