Category: Religion

Winning the Peace

Anyone who believes that we are winning the so called “Global War on Terrorism” has not endured an airport screening lately. Winning the peace would mean that you could board a plane as stress free as you did before 9-11. No, what we see and feel in today’s America is not what peace looks like. … Continue reading Winning the Peace →

The Future Defines the Past

I wanted to write something about how actions invite bullying and whether or not armed with that knowledge one should alter his behavior simply to avoid the victim-victimizer game. That topic will have to wait because while I was thinking on that I realized that sometimes our present is unintelligible without the future to redefine … Continue reading The Future Defines the Past →

Operation SEARCHLIGHT

https://dailyhistory.org/images/7/70/East_bengali_trying_to_rescue_woman.jpg Bengali rape victim The Pakistani soldiers sent to 'liberate' Bangladesh were under orders to purify the country by impregnating the Bengali women with "muslim fetuses." The woman in the photo may have been fortunate in that someone for some reason appears to be trying to save her. The Pakistan military set up 'rape camps' … Continue reading Operation SEARCHLIGHT →

From the Chaplain’s Corner: Pope Francis in Thailand (Nov. 20-23, 2019)

Greetings to all in the Kaffeeklatsch! While enjoying some homemade butternut squash soup - garnished with freshly-ground ginger and cocoanut-milk -infused cream - at my favorite corner table here, I noticed an AP online article re: Pope Francis's visit [11/20-23/19] to "The Land of Smiles". (The first papal visit since Pope St. John Paul II … Continue reading From the Chaplain’s Corner: Pope Francis in Thailand (Nov. 20-23, 2019) →

“Stump the Chaps” VI – Cultivating Gratitude

Greetings to All in the Kaffeeklatsch! There seems to be a thread running through recent entries in this "Stump the Chaps" series: Where are we individually, in relationship, in community [familial, local, national-political, and - with respect to the Higher Power that we either acknowledge or dismiss]? How did we get here? If we don't … Continue reading “Stump the Chaps” VI – Cultivating Gratitude →

“Stump the Chaps V”: The Other ‘F-Word’

Greetings to All in ST’s Kaffeeklatsch! (Incidentally, the chai masala is quite good here, too.) At our last get-together, we looked at a couple of “outside-in” frameworks that might encourage people - especially the chronically electronically-tethered and alienated - to actually start living from the “inside-out”. As we discovered, in an earlier conversation, both Margot … Continue reading “Stump the Chaps V”: The Other ‘F-Word’ →

“Stump the Chaps” IV: Shared Values for an Atomized Society?

Greetings to All in ST’s Kaffeeklatsch! Since “it’s Sunday whenever the Chaps shows up.”, I offer the next installment in the “Stump the Chaps” series. A lot of reading – both here and offsite – has brought me back to considering the question of whether or not we can come up with a set of … Continue reading “Stump the Chaps” IV: Shared Values for an Atomized Society? →

Saint Valentine’s Day Poem

Time to tweak this bad-boy. Cut me to the bone with your tongue Break my heart with your tortures But my Love when you turn your smile onto me the pain and heartbreak go away and I recall why and know that I love you