Race is just one issue where we've all become more respectful and enlightened. At least I hope that's the case. |
Harvspot
Mennonite pastor and counselor Harvey Yoder blogs on faith, life, family, spirituality, relationships, values, peace and social justice. Views expressed here are his own.
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Some Ways In Which We've All Become "Woke"
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Feel Free To Use My 2024 Christmas Card List
690 Falls Rd
Victoria, VA. 23974-2213
Mr. Brian E. Brubaker 1315055
Dillwyn Correctional Center
P.O. Box 670
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Brian Cable 1198947
River North Correctional Center
329 Dell Brook Lane,
Independence, VA 24348
Mr. Lawrence Davis, 1443841
Keen Mountain
3402 Kennel Gap Road
Oakwood, VA 24631
Franklin A Debrot, 1950673
Coffeewood Correctional Center
PO Box 500
Mitchells, VA 22729
Mr. Stephano Colosi, 1037581
Buckingham Correctional Center
P. O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936-0430
Erich Ferguson 1179348
Lunenberg Correctional Center
690 Falls Road
Victoria, VA 23974
Mr. Branson Fink, 1011319 3
Bland Correctional Center
256 Bland Farm Rd
Bland, VA. 24315
Mr. Robert Davis Fitchett, 1035660
Buckingham Correctional Center
P. O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936-0430
Lloyd Lamont Kip Gaither 1168875
Greensville Correctional Center
901 Corrections Way
Jarrett Va 23870
Mr. Henry Gorham 1158927
Wallens Ridge Prison Sussex I
24414 Musselwhite Drive
Waverly, VA 23891
Mr. M. Steven W. Goodman 1028377
Lawrenceville CC
1607 Planters Road
Lawrenceville, VA 23868
Mr. Robert Vernon Hostetter, 1054419
Nottoway CC
2892 Schutt Road
Burkeville, VA 23922
Mr. Pernell Jefferson 1016207
Buckingham Correctional Center
P. O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Preston King 1485660
Coffeewood CC
12352 Coffeewood Dr
Mitchells, VA. 22729
Mr. John Lafon 1151231
Greensville Correctional Center
901 Corrections Way
Jarratt, VA 23870-6914
Mr. Daniel Leneave 1084415
Lawrenceville CC
1607 Planters Road
Lawrenceville, VA 23868
Mr. John Livesay, 1108120
Baskerville CC
4150 Hayes Mill Road
Baskerville, VA 23915
Mr. Chander Matta, 1171204
Buckingham Correctional Center
P.O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Thomas Melnyczyn, 1007916
Deerfield Correctional Center
21360 Deerfield Drive
Capron, VA 23829
Mr. Ronald Miles, 1067348
Haynesville CC
421 Barnfield Road
Haynesville, VA 22472
Mr. John Nissley, 1148222
Buckingham Correctional Center
P.O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Kenneth R. Pack 1063808
Buckingham Correctional Center
P. O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Larry Patterson 1116462
Deerfield Correctional Center
21360 Deerfield Drive
Capron, VA 23829
Mr. Timothy Rankin 1208262
Lawrenceville CC
1607 Planters Road
Lawrenceville, VA 23868
Mr. Thomas Roberts #1180343
Green Rock CC
475 Green Rock Lane
Chatham, VA 24531
Mr. Khalid A. Shabazz 1157998
Greensville Correctional Center
901 Corrections Way
Jarratt, VA 23870-6914
Mr. Minor Junior Smith, 1158588
Deerfield Correctional Center
21360 Deerfield Drive
Capron, VA 23829
Mr. William Thorpe 2261982
Mr. Jerry Treadway 1021558
Coffeewood CC
12352 Coffeewood Drive
Mitchells, VA. 22729-2046
Mr. Jonathan D. Turner 1941213
Coffeewood CC
12352 Coffeewood Drive
Mitchells, VA. 22729-2046
Mr. Daryl Van Donk, 1681547
Dillwyn Correctional Center
1522 Prison Road
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Michael Wallace 2105386
Lawrenceville CC
1607 Planters Road
Lawrenceville, VA 23868
Mr. Richard Webb 1174188
Buckingham Correctional Center
P. O. Box 430
Dillwyn, VA 23936
Mr. Jonathan D. White 1161021
Lawrenceville CC
1607 Planters Road
Lawrenceville, VA 23868
Mr. Greg Widener 1083217
Bland Correctional Center
256 Bland Farm Rd
Bland, VA. 24315
Mr. John Bennie Williams 1091323 (blind)
Deerfield Correctional Center
21360 Deerfield Drive
Capron, VA 23829
Mr. Charles E. Zellers, Sr. 1036758
Deerfield Correctional Center
21360 Deerfield Drive
Capron, VA 23829
Sunday, November 10, 2024
Why Jude Is My Favorite Roman Catholic Saint
Our daughter Joanna, in good humor, once gave me a St. Jude candle, the apostle Jude being the Saint of Lost Causes and Impossible Cases.
She, like myself, was keenly aware of how many of my efforts over the years have proven to be largely in vain.
Here are just a few examples:
1. I came up with a plan several months ago I thought would help conflicted voters who, like myself, who didn't want to have to choose a lesser of two evils in their choice for president. Not that I didn't feel the character (and record for truth telling) of one of the candidates didn't represent a far greater evil, but in light of the record of both in supporting ever more military aid for human slaughter, for example, I and many others have had a difficult time lending our support to either. So my plan called for finding a conflicted Trump voter willing to join me in abstaining from voting for either presidential candidate this year, thus not adding to their popular vote numbers, while also not adversely affecting the outcome. In other words, we would simply be cancelling each other's vote ahead of time rather than at the ballot box.
After multiple conversations with Trump leaning friends, I finally found one person willing to engage in this plan to trade our votes. Only one. Others either didn't understand the math or felt it sent the wrong message. So while I may have succeeded in terms of my listening my own conscience, my efforts to spread the idea, while leading to some very significant conversations, never gained much traction.
2. As a strong supporter of the Virginia Relief Sale's annual effort to raise raise money to aid war and famine refugees through Mennonite Central Committee, I proposed a special fast and fundraising day for congregations. On some Sunday prior to the Sale, especially for the sake of those unable to attend in person, churches would be encouraged to promote a fast from Saturday evening to Sunday noon (simply skipping breakfast), then join in a simple rice and beans or similar meal after the Sunday service. The goal would be to raise consciousness about the poverty of millions around the world and and to have a special offering to add to the Relief Sale's fundraising effort for MCC.
I was naive enough to think at least a few congregations might at least consider this, but to no avail. In spite of blog posts, emails and sharing the idea with numerous church leaders, not one expressed any interest in actually trying such plan. Not one. So, feasting to raise funds for the hungry appears to be OK, but fasting? Not so much.
3. There have been numerous failed efforts on my part, and on the part of the Valley Interfaith Action and the Valley Justice Coalition (of which I am an active part), to bring about changes in policies in local jails. One issue I've been especially concerned about is the "keep fee" ($1 per day) charged by our local facility on Liberty Street and by the Middle River Regional Jail ($3 a day) which our City and County partly own. This arbitrary fee, permitted but not mandated by the state, places an undue and unjust burden on the families of offenders in the opinion of many of us, and actually adds a relatively small sum to the jail's annual budget.
So far, none of my efforts on this have produced any results, as has been the case with numerous other jail policies that adversely affect struggling families, often with one of its chief breadwinners being behind bars (Fortunately, there have been some modest successes on some other issues).
4. Having worked as an apprentice carpenter in numerous building projects as a young adult, I developed a special appreciation for all of the raw materials and craftsmanship that go into a well constructed building. When I see evidence of what I've come to call "domi-cide" or "home-icide," the demolishing or gutting of well built homes and other buildings primarily for the sake of profit or prestige, I find myself crusading for the preservation of existing construction whenever possible. I feel especially strongly about the "woe and waste of warfare" and its effect on life-sustaining infrastructure so necessary to human communities.
All of this continues to fall on seemingly deaf ears as businesses, government agencies and even congregations and church supported institutions continue to demolish existing buildings at will.
5. After serving twenty years as a pastor of a well established rural congregation that was considering a half million dollar expansion, I made a career change and began to work as a counselor at the faith based Family Life Resource Center and became a pastor of Family of Hope, a living room size house church congregation. Along with a core group of fellow idealists, we had visions of house churches becoming a creative alternative for some marginalized individuals who didn't feel at home in traditional congregations. Like churches in the first century led by Jesus followers like St. Jude, we would simply worship, study, fellowship, serve, and break bread together without being burdened with expensive church real estate and paid staff.
At a 24 year FOH reunion in 2011, former FOH members from as far away as California, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Oregon, some of whom had served in places like Ethiopia, Germany, Guatemala, El Salvador and elsewhere, gathered to remember and renew ties to fellow members pf this enduring experiment. But for whatever reason, the house church model never generated a lot of support.
Meanwhile, I seem to have lost my St. Jude candle, which I could use at this stage in my life.
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
A Silver Lining Around A Seemingly Dark Cloud
Millions of Americans are no doubt feeling devastated and demoralized this morning by the outcome of this year's election. Few ever imagined a Trump-dominated Republican party, already with a majority of Supreme Court appointees, now gaining control of the White House and likely both houses of Congress in one fell swoop.
But might Shakespeare's "It's an ill wind that blows nobody good" apply here?
Along with a host of possible bad consequences, here are some potential good outcomes that could result from yesterday's tally:
1. This should mark the end of the fundamental and widespread lie about the American voting process being untrustworthy. The Democratic half of the nation's voters were already convinced that no elections were being stolen, and now skeptical Republicans will no longer be able to claim that the system was rigged against them.
2. The almost cult-like veneration surrounding the newly elected president is almost sure to fade. The candidate who promised to "fix everything about our country" plus instantly end all wars around the world will find himself unable to deliver. And this time there may be no opposition party to blame when food prices go up for lack of sufficient immigrant farm workers, the national debt soars (as predicted) due to tax policies favoring the already favored, and consumers feel the effect of rising prices as a result of increased tariffs.
3. There is a strong likelihood of a peaceful transfer of power this time, with losing candidates making their customary and timely concession speeches. Had Harris and the Democrats won we could have seen multiple January 6 kinds of insurrections happening all over the country, led by outraged Trump supporters.
4. In the inevitable decline of the American empire (under any future administration) believers who have put their faith in political systems to bring about a Golden Age of America may come to realize that without serious repentance, no nation will be spared God's judgment.
May we all humble ourselves, do justice, love mercy and pray that God's will and God's ways may eventually prevail throughout the world.
Saturday, November 2, 2024
A New Hymn for All Saints Sunday
"O God, We Give Thanks for the Saints Gone Before Us" is a new hymn celebrating faithful Christians in the past and present; it is also a prayer that we will follow Jesus in the world today. In a time when competing voices in society encourage us to abandon the way of Jesus, we need to remember how he taught us to live.
ASH GROVE 6.6.11.6.6.11 D ("Let All Things Now Living")
O God, we give thanks for the saints gone before us —
remembering well how they walked Jesus' Way.
They valued the truth and would rise to defend it.
They knelt to be kind to the poor day by day.
They welcomed in immigrants, honored new neighbors,
put love before greed, and sought peace over strife.
May we in our homes and our churches and nations
recall Jesus' teachings and welcome this life.
O God, we give thanks for the saints now among us —
for teachers and helpers and activists, too,
for those in our families and those who work with us
to make the world better, to make the world new.
We thank you for those who seek justice for others,
for those who seek Jesus and live by his grace.
May we in our homes and our churches and nations
give thanks for their witness of love in this place.
O God, we give thanks for the Way Jesus shows us;
may we seek to follow his reign from above.
The world often calls us to hatred and violence,
but Christ's Way is welcome and mercy and love.
Like prophets, apostles, and martyrs before us,
like those who bear witness to you every day,
may we in our homes and our churches and nations
be saints who are eager to choose Jesus' Way.
Biblical References: Matthew 5:1-12; Matthew 6:33; John 8:31-32; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3; Micah 6:8
Tune: Traditional Welsh melody ("Let All Things Now Living") (ASH GROVE)
Text: Copyright © 2024 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com/
O God, We Give Thanks for the Saints Gone Before Us
Sunday, October 27, 2024
A Horrifying Tragedy At Red Onion State Prison
The Virginia Department of Corrections (VADOC) has gone too far. I am heartbroken and enraged by this level of desperation. The torture and dehumanization of incarcerated people are not only violations of the law but also crimes against humanity. As someone who has fought for freedom and been directly impacted by this system, it infuriates me that institutions continue to disregard human life with such impunity.
This must stop. We need everyone involved in addressing the crisis at Red Onion State Prison. When is enough enough? How many of our brothers must physically or spiritually suffer before meaningful change occurs?
IAHR and the Virginia Coalition have worked tirelessly year after year, to end solitary confinement—one of the main abuses taking place at the torturous Red Onion—and we will continue to do so with your help. Please contact me to help eliminate the abuses faced by incarcerated individuals; I can be reached via email, call, text, or through our website. Further, you can take part in advocating by contacting your local legislators
(https://whosmy.virginiageneralassembly.gov)
To the families, friends, and communities of those suffering within these walls: We see you, we hear you, and we stand with you in this fight for justice.
This was not an isolated act of desperation. Since then, nine more men at Red Onion have reached their breaking point, resorting to similar tragic measures. These are not protests, but cries for help from individuals pushed to the brink by a system designed to rehabilitate but instead breeds despair.
This cannot be ignored. Let this serve as a call to action for every person of conscience to demand accountability, transparency, and an end to the gruesome practices within our
prison systems.
In solidarity,
Natasha White
Director of Community Engagement (IAHR)
Interfaith Action for Human Rights
https://www.interfaithactionhr.org/
email: nwhite@interfaithactionhr.org
phone/text: 318-295-5343
P.O.Box 55802, Washington, DC 20040 318-295-5343
nwhite@interfaithactionhr.org www.interfaithactionhr.org
Saturday, October 19, 2024
Will Voting For A Better Party Save The U.S.?
This is but one example of the multitude of ways our nation was built on brutalizing, massacring, enslaving and otherwise exploiting people in order to gain land, power and dominance. |
I'm not encouraging citizens to refrain from casting their single vote, a privilege few people throughout history ever dreamed of. Nor am I saying there are no significant differences between political parties that sometimes make one the far better choice.
But we should never expect any form of government resulting from our two-party system to save us. The best either has to offer may only modify, or slightly delay, the inevitable judgment all self-serving empires face.
If you question whether the U.S. is an empire, consider the fact that, with less than 5% of the world's; population, we have over three times the number of military bases abroad than all other nations combined , according to the CATO Institute and multiple other sources.
The ancient Hebrew prophets insisted that a nation's only hope for survival is based on its people demonstrating genuine repentance through "doing justice, showing mercy and walking humbly with God." No amount of gaining dominance, demonstrating military might or claiming to be an exceptional, entitled, and privileged nation will ultimately secure our future.
Sadly, neither of our major political parties come even close to promoting that kind of repentance, including our making the kind of restitution for past wrongs that God's justice demands. For example, neither urge us to take responsibility to repair the harm done to native Americans, the formerly enslaved, victims of our nuclear and other indiscriminate bombings, and/or exploited field and factory workers around the world who make our exceptional wealth possible. This is not to say that the U.S. has not offered much needed food and other aid around the world, but nowhere near equal to the suffering it has created in supporting multiple wars--often in alliance with anti-democratic nations.
So while a vote might sometimes move the needle in a slightly more just direction, it may also lend support to policies that do quite the opposite.
I recently had both a conservative and a progressive friend share their sense of accomplishment in having cast an early ballot. I couldn't help wanting to get them together to ask, "OK, so now that you've canceled each other's vote, now what?"
That "now what" question brings to mind the oft quoted scripture applicable to all people everywhere,
“If my people will humble themselves and pray and seek my face, I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins and will heal their land."
According to Jesus and the prophets, that would mean voting for and promoting values like beating our many military swords into plowshares, welcoming “huddled masses yearning to be free,” caring for the poor and demonstrating love for neighbors and enemies everywhere.
Only that kind of righteousness “exalts a nation" and ensures its survival.