Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

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Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write off the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Charity: Mercy Ships



MERCY SHIPS

For More Information:
http://www.mercyships.org/


DONATE
https://connect.mercyships.org/page/contribute/one-time






  

About Volunteering

Volunteering for Mercy Ships will not only change the lives of those you serve, it will change you. There are many ways to support Mercy Ships in our global medical mission to help the poor. It takes all kinds, with all skills. There is a need for both medical and non-medical volunteers.

When you think of Mercy Ships, imagine what it would take to run a small city. There are volunteer positions in a variety of areas including: housekeeping, galley, deck crew, doctors and nurses and everything in between. Our volunteer opportunities are both long and short-term onboard the Africa Mercy.
  • Short-term crew can volunteer from two weeks to two years depending on the position and typically fill service roles or very specialized medical or technical positions.
  • Long-term crew make an initial commitment of two years and typically fill positions that require more continuity and training.
All of Mercy Ships volunteers are required to provide/raise their own funds to cover crew fees, insurance, and transportation to and from the service location.
  

Bring Hope and Healing










Charity: Water




sponsor a water project
Do it as a family, or in the name of a loved one.
Then, use one of our personalized cards to share the message.


fundraise for clean water
Give up your birthday, run a race, shave your moustache...
grow a moustache! You can do anything to fundraise for water.



One in eight people on the planet drinks water
that's likely to make them sick. The water crisis
and poverty go hand-in-hand.



Proving every completed water project.
See where every completed charity: water project is located on Google Maps.
Browse by country or plug in a GPS coordinate of a specific project, if you have one.



1 BILLION
Almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. We're working to change that. Join us and learn how you can help >





 WATER CHANGES EVERYTHING









 Stories from the Field




MEET THE STAFF




donate_water

Help us build water projects around the world. Your money will be used for direct water project costs like pump heads, cement and pipes. Just $20 can provide one person with clean, safe drinking water, and 100% of your donation will fund water project costs.
donate to water projects
*all gifts to charity: water are tax-deductible



donate_rig

We're fundraising for a new drilling rig for our partners in Ethiopia. The new FS 250 drilling rig can drill an additional 80 wells a year, and serve 40,000 more people with clean water in Ethiopia. 100% of your donation will fund the FS 250 drilling rig.
donate to the drilling rig
*all gifts to charity: water are tax-deductible

 






My Secrets Video


If you find that you have no words after viewing this video you will be in good company. The pain and heartfelt emotions shown here ache for embrace and love. To all those who have travelled this road or know someone who had, please know that our prayers and sympathies go out to you. If ever an example of strength can be seen, it has found a home  in this young woman's brave spirit.



"God heals the broken heartened.
He binds up their wounds."
- Psalms 147.3


My Secrets Video
"I love and miss you, mom"





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[spoiler alert]

Please view the video first before scrolling down

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National Suicide Hotline
With Help Comes Hope - http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/


How to Talk about Suicide.



Introduction

After accidents and homicides, suicide is the third leading cause of death among young adults ages 15-24. It can be prevented. Men are more likely to commit suicide than women. They usually use violent means to end their own lives. Females, on the other hand, are more likely to attempt suicide. They usually use drugs or poison to try and end their lives. You should note that a suicide attempt is a "cry for help" and a request for social support. The suicidal person is letting his/her feelings be known. His/her problems seem overwhelming and too difficult to handle.

Why do College Students Kill Themselves?

Because each individual is unique there is no single reason as to why a student commits suicide. However, there are several factors that may contribute to a student having suicidal thoughts. These include:
  • Major life transition, such as loss of a loved one, breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend, moving to a new town or school, failing an exam or course, not getting into one's choice of major, etc. These major life changes can cause a college student to feel unloved, depressed, isolated and lonely.
  • Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness. Problems in living seem more than one can bear. No matter what one does things do not seem to be getting better and no one seems to care or can help.
  • Negative feelings about oneself. A student who is suicidal experiences feelings of worthlessness and of being a failure. He/she may not be doing well in school or may not be excelling in academic or social areas that are of interest.
  • Wanting to end unbearable pain/problems that are so overwhelming.
  • Alcohol and substance abuse can cause a student to lose self control and engage in impulsive suicidal behaviors.
Note that depression is a major contributing factor to suicidal thinking. Depression may result from several factors, including the recent loss of a family member or friend, disappointments in romantic relationships, or failure to live up to one's own or others expectations.

Myths and Facts About Suicide

There are many myths about suicide:                                   
MYTH
  • Asking a student if he/she is thinking about suicide will put the idea into his/her head.
  • Once a student decides to commit suicide there is no way of stopping him/her.
  • Suicide happens without warning.
  • Students who commit suicide are mentally ill.
FACT
  • Discussing the problem openly shows the suicidal student that someone cares and wants to help.
  • Most students who are suicidal do not want to die. They are making a "cry for help".
  • 75% of the people who attempt or commit suicide have shown some warning sign(s).
  • Students who are suicidal are not necessarily mentally ill.

 

Warning Signs


There are verbal and non-verbal warning signs of suicide that will let you know that your classmate or friend is crying for help.

NON-VERBAL warning signs include:
  • Giving away personal or prized possessions.
  • Increased alcohol or drug use.
  • Sleeping too much or too little.
  • Lack of interest in personal appearance.
  • Lack of interest in friends.
  • Lack of interest in social activities that were formerly of interest.
  • Poor performance in school.
  • Boredom, restlessness, and loss of concentration.
Please note that many of these warning signs are signs of depression. Depression does not necessarily mean that a person is contemplating suicide. But depressed people often think of suicide.

VERBAL warning signs include such negative statements as:
  • "Instructors, classmates, families and friends do not care."
  • "Life isn't worthwhile."
  • "People are better off without me."
  • "Everything seems to be going wrong."
  • "I don't need this any more."

 

Ways to Help

  • Talk openly and freely and ask direct questions about the student's intention.
  • Listen to what is said and treat it seriously. Do not add to your friend/classmate's guilt by debating, arguing or lecturing about whether or not suicide is right or wrong.
  • NEVER leave a student who is suicidal alone.
  • Encourage the student to seek help.
  • Get help immediately.