|
| So, I know no one really reads this Xanga stuff anymore (yes, except you, McChesney and Kyjo). But, I thought I would update just the same.
Big events in my life since I last updated that I would love for you to join me in rejoicing over:
I completed my first half-marathon in just at 2 hours. Man, that was invigorating.
I got accepted to the Boston University School of Theology for the fall of 07, including some substantial financial aid.
- God is certainly gracious!
I suppose that's the big stuff. Other than that, I've been studying a lot for class, working with students and the church and having a great time. It's been wonderful to see God reaching out and touching people's lives, bringing their actions closer to his heart. We have been serving weekly with the youth at Quincy St. Missional Church and are having a great time. We started this semester with just one student involved in helping and now have 10 committed to helping make the lives of these kids better. There's a cool video that an Emerson student just put together for them here.
Over all, our ministry with students continues to grow spiritually and in numbers, as does the church community. It's a great time!
I know I've been out of touch with the Xanga community, but if any of you still read this stuff, drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you!
| | |
| So I bought a motorcycle several weeks ago, and have been working on it in my spare time to get it up and running. It has needed a lot and still needs some, though less now than it did. I am happy to announce though that it now runs. So, we are much closer than before. For those who might care, it's a 1978 Honda CX 500. These were the first Honda models to come with many interesting charactistics inlcuding water cooling, shaft drive, and push rods in the valve train. It's 500cc and will put out almost 60% of the power I get out of my station wagon, at just a fraction of the weight (and 70 mpg!)
I also had the chance to get up to Vermont this weekend, so I thought I'd put up some pictures:
 This is looking east toward New Hampshire and the Atlantic. We hiked to Deerleap Mountain (which we were on) from the Appalacain Train near it's intersection with Vermont's Long Trail.
 Kim continues to be my only steadfast backpacker. So, props for coming out even when it's starting to get cold again!
A little Indiana Jones maybe?
And finally, I'm really excited to have Adam Fast here for the week from Joplin. We're looking forward to a great week of catching up and talking airplanes.
| | |
| We haven't had any Emily Dickinson in a while, so here we go:
I started early, took my dog,
And visited the sea;
The mermaids in the basement
Came out to look at me,
And frigates in the upper floor
Extended hempen hands,
Presuming me to be a mouse
Aground, upon the sands.
But no man moved me till the tide
Went past my simple shoe,
And past my apron and my belt
And past my bodice too,
And made as he would eat me up
As wholly as a dew
Upon a dandelion's sleeve--
And then I started too.
And he--he followed close behind;
I felt his silver heel
Upon my ankle,--then my shoes
Would overflow with pearl.
Until we met the solid town,
No man he seemed to know;
And bowing with a mighty look
At me, the sea withdrew.
-Emily Dickinson
| | |
| I attended this discussion Tuesday night on campus at BU. Afterward I
was interviewed by the Daily Free Press and quoted in the article. The
first part of the quote is accurate, but the second half I don't
remember saying, and am not even sure what it really means! So, you
can't hold that one against me:
A panel discussion on diverging concepts of religion in Europe and the
U.S. turned into a debate on politics and religious radicalism last
night at an event hosted by the Boston University Institute for Human
Sciences in cooperation with the Goethe Institut of Boston.
Die
Zeit staff writer Jan Ross and New Yorker European correspondent Jane
Kramer spoke about radicalism of Western religion in Europe and the
United States.
"In America," Kramer said, "secularism is the
separation of church and state. In many European countries, it seems
secularism is the distancing from all things God-related."
Ross argued "religious illiteracy" is prevalent in Europe.
"The
citizens of many European countries are ill-equipped to understand
religion and the impact it has on the people who follow it," he said.
"When looking to the incident of Danish cartoons printed of Mohammed,
the general European population did not understand why Muslim
communities were offended."
Ross said this "lack of understanding" causes many of the religious tension seen today.
Although
the discussion was originally aimed at concepts of God in the two
continents, it quickly turned into a discussion of radicalism on all
sides of the religious spectrum and its political and social
ramifications.
"I felt as if a consensus wasn't reached,"
College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Peter Moore said. "It was two
very educated people expressing their thoughts, yet in the end, neither
could identify a solid cause or solution to the issue."
"I
thought the discussion would be on the perception of God on both sides
of the Atlantic, but it was more a discussion of politicized religion,"
School of Theology graduate student Nathan Griffith said. "In the end,
I think the discussion was left open-ended. But this is the nature of
the issue -- there is no one cause, and there is also no tangible
solution."
Attendance for the event surpassed the expected goal of the organizers.
"There
were at least 200 people present tonight," IHS Executive Director Irena
Gross said. "This is a good sign for the institute. Later tonight and
tomorrow, another 600,000 will be able to hear the issues brought up
here on WBUR. The issue of religion, in Europe especially, is where the
new frontier of politics is being played. It is important to have
discussions like these."
IHS Event Coordinator Elizabeth Amrien
said the institute was created in 2001 in response to growing tensions
between Europe and the United States.
"The institute serves as a
forum for new, non-partisan debate, research and education in matters
of international -- especially transatlantic -- relations," she said in
an email. "We are especially interested in the intersection of
international relations and culture and in introducing European ideas
into American political discourse." | | |
|
