Why ecumenism might not be so popular.

I have two other blogs, in addition to this one. What I have noticed over the years from reading the statistics on my blogs is that ecumenism doesn’t seem to be popular. If true, one should ask why? I recently wrote a piece elsewhere about community, and I wonder if many people feel like I do. The following paragraph is extracted from it.

Any argument stating that we have a collective need for community doesn't convince me at all. Perhaps, having a desire for it, but that's a whole different thing. Personally, I don't have a need, nor a desire. The masses and communities very often seem to get things wrong and go in a bad direction. The problem with that is that a substantial amount of time often goes by before awareness of the mistake begins to take place. And when I say time, I mean many years can go by. My advice to most is learn to think and decide independently. Learning to think and analyze is vital.

Jesus said, "Love your neighbor, as yourself." The collective is important, but in equivalence to the individual. Meaning, perhaps we should know the independent self well before attempting the collective community thing. Blessings and I hope you enjoyed reading this brief thought.

Happy 2024!

Happy 2024 to all! 

On memory

The people of long ago are not remembered,
    nor will there be any remembrance
of people yet to come
    by those who come after them.

- Ecclesiastes 1:11, NRSVUE 

Happy Hanukkah!

Happy Hanukkah to all!

Ishmael's voice was heard by God

15 When the water in the skin was gone, she cast the child under one of the bushes. 16 Then she went and sat down opposite him a good way off, about the distance of a bowshot, for she said, “Do not let me look on the death of the child.” And as she sat opposite him, she lifted up her voice and wept. 17 And God heard the voice of the boy, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is. 18 Come, lift up the boy and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” 19 Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

20 God was with the boy, and he grew up; he lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. 21 He lived in the wilderness of Paran, and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.


- Genesis 21:15-21, NRSVUE 

Reference:

Bible, NRSVUE 

Some ecumenism news for November

I hope all who are reading this find themselves well. I try to post here at least once a month. I have two other blogs in which I share about other topics, but this one is mainly dedicated to ecumenism. I read the statistics, and based on the ones for this blog it appears that ecumenism is not a popular subject, not surprisingly. In this post I am sharing a recent article by Heather Hahn for UM News. The following excerpt is from this said article.

As of Nov. 16, more than 6,900 U.S. congregations have received the necessary approvals to disaffiliate under a church law that allows congregations to leave with property if they meet certain financial and procedural obligations. That represents nearly 23% of The United Methodist Church’s U.S. congregations departing since the provision took effect in 2019.

Blessings! Read the full article at the link below.

Church faces shake-up in ecumenical relations 

Reference:

https://www.umnews.org/en/news/church-faces-shake-up-in-ecumenical-relations

Standard Time begins and that's normal and more natural

Over the years I have read many articles in which I did not understand whether the author was deliberately trying to confuse the reader about the difference between DST and natural Standard Time, or perhaps he or she was confused, although that's hard to believe. We spend almost eight months on DST, and just a little over four months on normal Standard Time. It seems like most people don't even question why we would be less time on normal and more on abnornal. This crazy behavior should have been questioned for many years, especially when it is so unhealthy. We are forced to wake up an hour earlier on DST. Sleep deprivation is bad for our health. We have more automobile accidents on DST, and if proper research is done, many other bad things also happen. But, since today we are back on normal and natural Standard Time, let's not dwell on negative things and enjoy the benefits of it.

Some today will complain about it getting dark too early without realizing it is really because the first day of winter is only six weeks away, and that's the real reason for it. On the other hand, if they woke up thinking they were still on DST, they should have noticed it was light out already. Why? The day on planet Earth lasts 24 hours, and moving the time on the clocks to deceive ourselves will never change this astronomical fact. Now, let's get back to enjoying the benefits of being back to normal Standard Time today.

I hope you enjoyed the extra hour of sleep. I am sure you feel better and more rested. Moreover, we should be grateful we survived another eight months of craziness, and survived is the correct and accurate word to use. One day all will hopefully wake up and tell our governments to stop the madness and deception. In the meantime, enjoy the next four months of normalcy before getting back on the crazy cycle three weeks before Spring even begins.