More Church Pew

I mentioned in this blog a few times how I just gave up on religion. Today I read Newsday while having lunch. Local Newsday columnist Ed Lowe got a letter from the Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center Board of Trustees explaining that Ed would not be the key note speaker this year because of:

"...tenor and tone of your recent Newsday columns involving the Church."

I thought, Did I write about the church?

I thought harder. "I did write about men in Boston and on Long Island who paraded as holy shepherds of a flock but for decades permitted hundreds of lambs to be led to their rapists. I said those men should do prison time for their conspiratorial failure as citizens to share with police information they possessed about felony crimes committed by their colleagues against children.

I'd write it again, too.

The letter goes on:

"We are, first and foremost, a Catholic Institution, with deeply held beliefs about our role and mission within the community. Certainly, there are serious problems within our Church today that must be confronted with honesty and openness if they are to be resolved. We believe that many parties with a sincere interest in the outcome need to approach the issues in a spirit that seeks understanding and reconciliation, if there is to be any hope of success. Unfortunately, however, the tone of your recent columns is inconsistent with that objective. To the contrary, The Board is of the opinion that your musings have served only to polarize vital interests who ultimately must come together with the Good Lord's assistance to solve these problems and accord justice to all involved ..."

It goes on for another paragraph, about purpose, tone, mission, goodwill and support. After I read it, I found myself staring out, watching the wet snow accumulate on the branches of a tree near my window, thinking about how on a Saturday evening in May I would not have to dress up in a tuxedo, not have to gather with 300 similarly dressed men and not have to try to entertain them for an hour, for free.

Outside looked like Wonderland.

Originally posted March 17, 2004
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March 20,2004 for Peace

Great Summary of Peace Marches at Portland Indy Media. Stop the 9/11 Coverup -NY911Truth.org	The Peace Movement Took To the Streets Worldwide on Saturday March 2004 to Mark the Anniversary of The War on Iraq. This Time It Made Headlines and Rightly So. This Time Protesters Also Demand An End to the 9/11 Cover Up and Rightly So. The Dictator Must Be Held Accountable.
	Fred Askew Photography (David Bebber/Reuters)

Iraq: 1 Year Anniversary

We are just a dot in the universe. Why can't we all get along as we hurdle through space on this rocketship earth? We all need the fuel.

Galaxy Song Whenever life gets you down, Mrs Brown And things seems hard or tough And people are stupid obnoxious or daft And you feel that you feel That you've have had quite enough! Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour, That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned, A sun that is the source of all our power. The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see Are moving at a million miles a day In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour, Of the galaxy we call the 'Milky Way'. Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars. It's a hundred thousand light years side to side. It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick, But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide. We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point. We go 'round every two hundred million years, And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions In this amazing and expanding universe. The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding In all of the directions it can whizz As fast as it can go, at the speed of light, you know, Twelve million miles a minute, and that's the fastest speed there is. So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure, How amazingly unlikely is your birth, And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth. Composers: Eric Idle and John Du Prez Singer: Eric Idle From the Movie 'The Meaning of Life' by Monty Python, of course! Click here to listen