Prayers From The Dust

Psalm 90:3 You turn people back to dust, 
 saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.” 
4 A thousand years in your sight 
 are like a day that has just gone by, 
 or like a watch in the night. 
5 Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death— 
 they are like the new grass of the morning: 
6 In the morning it springs up new, 
 but by evening it is dry and withered.

(from Oct 23, 2011 sermon at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster)

One year ago I retired after 30 years of ministry in the Church of the Brethren.

One year ago I began growing this beard.

One year ago I decreased my carbon footprint considerably, since I had been commuting over 100 miles to pastor a Brethren congregation in McVeytown of Mifflin County, PA; a commute I had made for 12 ½ years.

One year ago I began worshiping here at CMCL.

One year ago is the last time I preached.

I promise I won't try to give you a year's worth this morning.

All I want to do is make a simple assertion. Our neighbors are praying - desperately praying - prayers from the dust. By 'prayers from the dust' , I could mean any of our prayers since the psalmist clearly reminds us that we all partake of the same humble origins.

But what I actually mean by 'prayers from the dust' are all the pleas from people who recognize their own vulnerability and even their own mortality because they are the ones who are downwind and downstream from environmental contamination.

They pray from the dust and they're not always sure anyone's listening to their prayers.

What I'm advocating is Neighbor Love;the Neighbor Love which compels us to hear these pleas for somebody to pay attention. This Neighbor Love also compels us to join our prayers with theirs and then to work together to build a legacy of clean air, pure water and healthy soil for their children and for ours.

As many of you know, I've been passionately pursuing a course of action to stop the Keystone XL Pipeline. Phase one of this action resulted in my arrest for civil disobedience in front of the White House in August, along with 1,250 others over a 2 week period.

Phase three unfolds on Sunday November 6th, when 2 bus loads of local citizens, sponsored by Transition Lancaster, head to DC to join an expected 5,000 others (in actuality 10-12,000 gathered for this) to form a literal ring around the White House. This is a legal, peaceful demonstration designed to remind our president that we expect him to do the right thing by denying a presidential permit for this pipeline which would pump dirty Alberta tar sands oil over our border, across the Ogallala Aquifer

and down to the Gulf of Mexico for refining.

Phase two was a 3 minute testimony I gave at a State Department hearing on October 7th which was processing citizen input on the issue. I advocated Neighbor Love as a basis for determining what's in the national interest. If you don't mind, I'd like to go back to phase two for a moment to quote myself:

"My citizen's testimony to the State Department hearing on the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline." October 7th, 2011

LOVE… a 4 letter word. I hope you're okay with my using it.

Like many of you, I've been taught to love my neighbor as myself.

In 30 years as a pastor, I made the principle of neighbor love the core…the heart of my ethical message.

I don't know if you've considered LOVE as a basis for determining the national interest, but if you could consider it for just a moment I'm sure you'll be persuaded.

In my ministry I visited thousands of hospital rooms where hurting people went for treatment; people like you and me subject to bodily breakdown due to a host of causes, known and unknown. I've also conducted hundreds of funerals for people whose earthly lives ended, as all human life does and as each here someday will.

I've seen that each illness, each injury and each death impacts other people- those whom afflicted people love and those who love them. You and I suffer as individuals, but our suffering causes others to suffer as well.

It's good that we are connected in this way.

Because we are connected, we don't want to inflict unnecessary suffering on others. We also realize it is undesirable for some of us to profit at the expense of others' suffering. This brand of profiteering is the opposite of neighbor love. We all agree that it is plain wrong.

LOVE says, "This is injustice!"

I'm sure you know about the immense amount of money a few corporations and investors stand to make from this pipeline. So do the citizens currently occupying Wall Street, Freedom Plaza here in DC and a host of other US locations. They are now in the streets crying for justice and seeking a country governed by neighbor love rather than money love!

LOVE says "People over profits."

I'm sure you know about the suffering of indigenous peoples in Alberta who've seen rare deadly diseases skyrocket since the tar sands began their costly toxic extraction process.

LOVE says "No more poisoning innocent people!"

I'm sure you know that the acceleration of climate change from tar sands oil use will wreak untold suffering upon the people of our nation, perhaps even your own loved ones. The number of billion dollar weather disasters in the US this year such as flooding, fires and tornadoes are unprecedented and this trend will likely grow worse.

LOVE says "Stop climate change while you can!"

The likelihood of BP type spills from ruptured pipelines over the nation's heartland threatens the fresh water drinking supply for 20 million people!

LOVE says "Find a better way!"

I'm sure you want to find that better way for all our people. Find it before any more loved ones suffer unnecessarily.

LOVE says," THIS is in our national interest!"

++++++++++++++++++++

You might say that was my plea on behalf of our neighbors who are praying from the dust. We have so many such neighbors!

Praying neighbors like farmer Bruce Kennedy of East Smithfield,PA in Bradford Co. This past summer Bruce constructed a sign and then erected it in the center of town. On that sign is Bruce's literal handwritten prayer:

DEAR GOD

Oh Lord Please save Our Town

I love my earthly home

(1) 6" Pipline (sic) leak(1)DIESELFUELSPILL

(1)HYDRAULIC FLUIDSPILL

(2) BROKEN HEARTS

HOME OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN

Please help, I ask in Jesus name,

Collins Rd - Okis Acres Farm - Bruce D Kennedy

+++++++++++

"This farm has a lot of heritage in my family," he explains."It means a lot to me." His land is leased out to Chesapeake Energy for natural gas drilling. 3 separate accidents on his property provoked him to display this prayer on a homemade sign in the middle of his village.

In Bruce Kennedy's prayer is a universal quest. We each want this. Even though we may be dust, we want to leave a legacy. Perhaps that's what the psalmist had in mind when he ended Psalm 90 with: "Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands."

Can we hear what Farmer Bruce Kennedy is seeking? Can we hear his prayer from the dust?

Or, how about the prayers of 3 men from the Gulf Coast area where toxic logs they call 'tar logs' are constantly washing up on shore ever since the BP oil spill. I've seen these logs. I've smelled them. You don't want to.

They're about a foot in length and 3 inches in diameter. They're made of 'dispersed' oil, sand and a chemical dispersant called Correxit.

Correxit, owned by BP, was banned in the UK a decade ago. BP used their own banned poisonous product to 'clean up' their mess.

Back to the 3 men; John, Chuck and Andre. They, and 12 other Gulf Coast residents drove 1,300 miles to Washington DC in August of this year to meet with three different federal agencies…hoping someone would hear their prayers from the dust.

This contingent of desperate people were told to go to the food court in the Ronald Reagan Trade Building. As they sat around tables in the food court, a woman from the National Institute of Environmental Health & Safety (NEIHS) walks up to the table- no introductions- and begins to pass out pamphlets.

I read now from an unpublished account written by Lancaster resident, Jack Basille, who was with them as an independent journalist.

"I leaned over and whispered to John, "Tell me this isn't the meeting..." Before he could answer, I saw the pamphlet. It was a hand out from the NEIHS informing the reader of how the Institute has, and is continuing to help make the environment safer. "John's look said more than he ever could. It was at this point that I realized what these people were up against. Earlier in the day, Charles had told me that they had driven almost 1,300 miles to take part in these meetings. Now they were here, discussing not only their future, but the future of their children, in the midst of the confusion in a crowded lunchroom. The meeting was so difficult to follow due to the background noise. A man named Andre spoke up, asking this woman about the dispersant. "I was in charge of a clean up crew in the gulf, and I want to know what I can expect having been sprayed with that stuff." He turned his arm over and opened his fingers, "These scars go the whole way up my arm. In fact, these tattoos are to cover up the scars." I looked closer, and underneath the black ink in his skin, I saw what looked like numerous cigarette burns on his fore arm. The woman answered. However, it was all but impossible to understand her. I looked over at Chuck. Tears were streaming down his face. "What should I do about my son? He's played in the water after we were told everything was clean! What can I do for him?" It was heartbreaking to see a 6'3" 320lb man begging for any hope for his son. The woman swallowed her bite of food before responding, "The best advice I can give you is to get him a genetic test. The damage to the genes is instant and permanent, so get him tested." Chuck stood and walked from the table. It seemed as if he shut down as he disengaged himself from the meeting."

Can we hear the prayers of THESE neighbors? Can we hear their prayers from the dust?

Finally, one more prayer from much closer.

You may have heard that Pennsylvania has the nations fifth-worst smog. You may have heard hat Lancaster County is the 10th-smoggiest midsize metro area in the country. This is because Pennsylvania is a 'tailpipe state' and in Lancaster County we are at the end of the tailpipe. That is, we are the recipients of airborne pollution emitted by Midwestern power plants.

"As bad as that is," the Intelligencer Journal tells us, "it could soon be worse. The US House of Representatives recently passed the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act, or TRAIN Act." (Congressman Joe Pitts who represents the 16th District which includes all of Lancaster County voted in favor of this )

According to the Intel editorial, this act "prohibits the implementation of existing clean-air regulations and would delay the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing mercury and cross-state air pollution rules" causing an "additional 25,300 lives lost due to smog, soot and air pollution, and an additional 11,000 heart attacks.

"The new mercury standard alone would cut health care costs significantly by preventing up to 120,000 asthma attacks in children per year and lowering the risk of brain damage in the unborn.

"Infants and children are the most susceptible to asthma attacks because they breathe more rapidly than adults and because their immune systems and organs have not matured."

With that as background, I ask you to hear the prayers of 5 women from southeast Lancaster, all mothers of young children. Their prayers from the dust can speak to you through a conversation they had at an educational event a few months ago.

One mother says, "I'm having a rough time concentrating today because I had to take my 10 month old to the hospital yesterday with an asthma attack."

A 2nd mother says: "My child died from an asthma attack."

A 3rd mother says: My 12 year old has asthma, too."

We can all figure out what these mothers are praying, can't we?

But can we hear them? Can we hear them praying from the dust?

Can we hear all those urgent prayers of neighbors who are downstream and downwind from environmental contamination?

Can we ask, "What does Neighbor Love require?"

Can we ask, "What can we do together to leave a legacy of clean air, pure water and healthy soil for all our children and grandchildren?"

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the works of our hands."

photo by Thadd Acosta,Lancaster,PA.

Draw Me A River

DRAW ME A RIVER

A Song by Jerry Lee Miller

Open up your box of crayons

my children.

Draw me a river clapping her hands.

Draw her dancing through the bottom lands.

My children,

Draw me a river clapping her hands.

Please don't color mountains crying

tears that flow downstream.

Please don't color fish a dying.

I want to wake up from my bad sad dream.

Please don't color dumpers dumping

Stuff that's killing off our friends.

Please don't color  massive pumping.

I just want my sad bad dream to end.

Please don't color pretty choirs

Singing it's not so bad.

Please don't color fancy liars

Saying we should all be glad.

Open up your box of crayons

my children.

Draw me a river clapping her hands.

Draw her dancing through the bottom lands.

My children,

Draw me a river clapping her hands.

NOTHING! NOTHING BUT DRY!

The song, Nothing But Dry, came after I read an article about Texas panhandle farmers who are suffering the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogallala_Aquifer) and the end of farming in their area. One retired farmer,telling of how he once farmed before going to school, said: "I ploughed into the rising sun and I knew there was a God." He may not be so sure these days.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/8359076/US-farmers-fear-the-return-of-the-Dust-Bowl.html)

NOTHING BUT DRY!

Here in Texas

Water's precious.

But nothing's flowing anymore.

Thirsty cattle.

They can't drink dust.

Nothing but dry to the core.

Oh no!

Nothing! Nothing but dry!

chorus:

Once I ploughed into the rising sun

And I knew that there was a God.

But now it's all come to nothing!

Nothing!

All those mornings busting sod.

Please tell me? Is there still a God?

Dear dear mama;

Dear dear papa;

I hear you crying in the wind:

"Say 'goodbye' to the Ogallala.

Cause it won't come back again. Oh no!

Nothing! Nothing but dry!"

chorus:

You can dig wells

In Nebraska

And smell the sweet grasses grow.

Until you lose the Ogallala,

Then it's all dry down below. Oh no!

Nothing! Nothing but dry!

Chorus:

My Right Foot

My right foot on an April day,
A day not made for fools,
Feels the cold and moistened earth;
Looks out for sharpened tools.

My right foot, all the people know,
A foot not made for mules,
Feels the pulse of ground below
And plays by verdant rules.

Look What I Found!

"Look what I found!" Those may be Amy Crystle's favorite words. Pictured here inside a newly discovered Amish greenhouse in the Southern End of Lancaster County, she's beaming over her unexpected find.

Where can one make delightful discoveries, if not in Lancaster County? When one of those discoveries illuminates the transition path to sustainability, both environmentally and economically, Transition Lancaster wants to join the celebration!

This particular find came on a dirt road near Nottingham,PA at Pine Grove Greenhouses. Amy stopped by in between other farm visits to drop off a book on four season harvesting she'd promised to farmer Daniel. This topic is one of many she had discussed with a group of Amish farmers while advising them on organizing an organic or chemical- free co-op.

Even though Amy had first purchased blueberries from Daniel and his wife, Fanny, in 2006, she had never actually been to their farm and didn't know about the greenhouses. I had the rare privilege of celebrating this find first hand with Amy because she let me tag along on her usual Tuesday travels.

On Tuesdays she does pick ups of the food which goes into her Seasonal Food Bundles for the week; "The Flexible CSA" as she calls it. These weekly food bundles provide year-round seasonal produce from a mix of organic and chemical-free Lancaster County farms and farmers.

Once she gets her week's orders collected, she takes this produce to East Side Community Kitchen on Plum St. in Lancaster City, where she assembles the bundles. Then subscribers to Amy's service, known as Everday Local Food (www.everdaylocalfood.com), pick up their food at her home on W. Chestnut St. She also has a delivery option. In this way local growers have cash paying customers and Lancaster eaters have locally grown food all year round!

This win/win arrangement contributes to the rebuilding of a resilient Lancaster County food system; one we need to sustain us through the uncertainties of our rapidly changing world.

If you know of other Lancaster County examples of Transition activity, let me know. I'd love to write about it!

Only One Chance To Get This Right

On April 5th, I attended the Community Breakfast hosted by State Senator Llloyd Smucker (Rep.) at Calvary Fellowship Homes in Manheim Township. When a question regarding the Marcellus Shale gas drilling arose, Senator Smucker stated his belief that we need an extraction tax in place. "We only have one chance to get this right!" he proclaimed. While the senator's words were stated in the context of economics, I believe they are even more potent if applied to the health , safety and environmental questions surrounding Marcellus Shale drilling. When it comes to the protection of our water wells, rivers and underground aquifers as well as to our state lands and to all the natural resources which comprise our commonwealth; "We only have one chance to get this right!" Economics is more than jobs and more than an inflow of dollars into businesses , into land owners' pockets and into the coffers of government at all levels. Economics also includes the cost we pay when we sacrifice fragile and finite living assets like health, water, forests and land for short term benefits. Even 50 to 100 years of financial benefit is very little compared to those things. For a current cautionary tale, consider the multi-leveled tragedies in Japan. Consider the dislocated and disoriented population in Japan's northeast plus the millions more throughout the nation who now endure the rolling blackouts and now must question the safety of their food , air and water; and now face a likely reduction of future living standard because their national resources will be channeled into massive rebuilding efforts over a very long recovery period. How many of these suffering people would vote for a moratorium on the building of nuclear power plants in tsunami threatened areas if they could go back in time 30 years? But they had their one chance to get it right and now must make the best of a horror story. I don't suppose the potential consequences of fracking pose the same level of danger as nuclear meltdowns. But who really knows? We are already hearing many sad stories coming out of the Marcellus Shale regions, including the threat of radioactivity in our drinking water. Many Pennsylvanians believe the $3 million in political contributions to Pennsylvania lawmakers by the drilling industry since 2001 ( about 30% of which went to our current governor) and the $5 million they've spent on lobbying since 2006 has swung the gates open wide for the drills, trucks and fracking water to come pouring into our commonwealth. "When asked to put in place a temporary moratorium on drilling in public lands until a full study of the impact could be made, those who voted “no” had accepted an average of three times as much cash from gas interests than those who supported that reasonable measure." (http://www.marcellusmoney.org/candidate/corbett-tom) Maryland, our neighbor to the south, is proceeding much slower, hoping to learn from Pennsylvania's mistakes. "Maryland lawmakers listened to environmentalists and residents complain in hearings that Pennsylvania did not do enough to address environmental concerns. Pennsylvania facilities were not prepared at first to treat the volume of contaminated wastewater, they said, and some of it was trucked to water treatment facilities outside the state and released into waterways." ("Maryland May Put The Brakes On Fracking" www.post-gazette.com March 29,2011) Yes, Maryland is actually studying Pennsylvania's fracking experience to learn from our mistakes. Who have we learned from? Wyoming? Arkansas? Here's an excerpt from a March 8, 2011 Associated Press article with a Cheyenne , Wyoming dateline: "Folks who live near the gas fields in the western part of this outdoorsy state are complaining of watery eyes, shortness of breath and bloody noses because of ozone levels that have exceeded what people in L.A. and other major cities wheeze through on their worst pollution days. "The gas industry has drilled hundreds of wells in the basin (Upper Green River Basin) over the past decade and made the basin one of the top gas-producing areas in the U.S. "Ultimately it comes down to accountability," said Linda Baker, director of the Upper Green River Alliance. "It doesn't seem to me the companies are being very accountable to the residents here." High ozone, she said, gave her a constant nosebleed three days last week. " In Arkansas a recent increase in earthquakes led the oil and gas commission of that state to impose a moratorium until at least July on drilling new wells with fracking fluid. It is suspected that injecting millions of gallons of waste fracking fluid under the ground with such great pressure may be responsible for the increase in earthquakes. So the Arkansas Geological Survey is doing a thorough study before further wells can be drilled. It seems there is much yet to learn in Arkansas and in Maryland and in every other state, including Pennsylvania, about the long term consequences of fracking. I agree with a growing grassroots movement of people who just want a stop to the drilling until we see clear evidence that our government has as much concern for us and our grandchildren as it does for big business. After all, "We only have one chance to get this right!"

The No Waste Man part 2

This is a continuation of the 123 Jubilee post on The No Waste Man

Now that Davd Fraile manages the operations of Eastern Market he can blend together several projects, thus reducing waste in still another way! By combining the efforts of The Really Really Free Market, the Lancaster Skill Share Collective and other like minded community projects a synergy is produced, accelerating progress in reducing waste and creating community resources. Fraile's own efforts and that of many others will be maximized!

Way to go "No Waste Man"!

The rest of this article comes from the website www.historiceasternmarket.org, which announces:

" an ongoing series of free workshops on self-sufficiency and sustainability skills for the 2011 season. In partnership with local organizations such as The Lancaster Skill Share Collective, LIVE Green, Transition Lancaster and The Alley Garden, Eastern Market will offer weekly workshops on money and resource saving skills such as urban gardening, native tree planting, composting, food preservation, homemade baby food, bike maintenance, sewing, printmaking and more. We are currently scheduling workshops and are interested in hearing from anyone that has a skill to share. Please send all inquiries to lancasterskillshare@gmail.com

Really, Really Free Market

Beginning May 28th 2011, Eastern Market will be the proud host of Lancaster's Really, Really Free Market. Since 2007, The Really, Really Free Market has collected donations of clothing, appliances, kitchen items, books, movies, art supplies, tools, and many other useful goods from Lancaster residents. On the second Saturday of every month, volunteers have set up in Penn Square and distributed these items for free to city residents, offering items of need to neighbors while reducing waste and promoting environmental awareness. By providing storage space and a lively public venue for The Free Market, Eastern Market will allow this heretofore monthly event to begin taking place every week. To volunteer or donate, please contact lancasterfreemarket@gmail.com

The No Waste Man part 1

When David Fraile returned to Lancaster County in 2006 after studying at The New School in New York City, he wasted no time in helping to launch a series of projects for the common good.

I call David "The No Waste Man" because of the nature of those service projects.

First, he became involved in "The Lancaster Really Really Free Market" (LRRFM) at its beginning. Every 2nd Saturday for almost 5 years now, LRRFM sets up from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Penn Square at the corner of King and Queen. Donated items such as clothing, CDs and computers are given away. Free! No waste!

In 2007 a group of Millersville University students began a local chapter of Food Not Bombs. Fraile joined in this endeavor within the first month and became very actively involved. For two and a half years, his efforts insured that it's weekly free meals would be served in Lancaster Square (across the street from Binn's Park) every Monday from 11 a.m. 2 p.m.

Lancaster Food Not Bombs collects organic food that is surplus or no longer sellable but yet is still usable. No waste! Volunteers pick up the donated food from several local retailers, prepare the meals, serve it and then clean up (Lancasterfnb.wordpress.com).

In November, 2009 Fraile began The Lancaster Skill Share Collective, dedicated to teaching a wide range of selfsuffiency skills in free community workshops. The collective's objectives are "to help our neighbors reduce waste, save money and adopt more labor conscious lifestyles" (thelancasterskillsharescollective.wordpress.com).

In late 2010 David Fraile attained a dream of his: to direct a nonprofit organization. He has taken over as manager of Lancaster's Eastern Market. Through this position, he plans to continue addressing community need by reducing waste and creating shared community resources (historiceasternmarket.org). See "The No Waste Man" Part 2 for Fraile's partnership plan between The Lancaster Skill Share Collective, Lancaster Really Really Free Market and Eastern Market.

The Right Path Part 2

(This is a continuation of the last post at 123 Jubilee)

When the stand space next to Green Circle Organics became available in early 2011, Laura knew it was time to expand. Things had gotten congested with the products she had added in the past year.

Now there's space for a larger refrigerated unit to display the locally produced cheeses, eggs, milk and meats.

What else may be in the future for Green Circle?
"I would love to have more canned goods to sell ... from people who are preserving local organic produce from their gardens or farms.
I would love to have homemade locally sourced tomato sauce and salsa throughout the winter or chow chow, kim chee and sauerkrauts or the like," Laura hopes.

Looking at community possibilities, Laura applauds those who contribute. " There are so many people in the community doing such good work for their neighbors." But ever the pioneer, she observes "I would love to see a composting project started at market! There is so much unsellable produce that just gets tossed in the trash out of a sheer lack of anywhere to go with it.
Much of what is still edible gets generously donated to those in need. But I'm talking about the produce I wouldn't feel comfortable donating.

"I think this could be a good business opportunity for someone as well. The composted finished product could then be resold to home gardeners.
"Mostly though I would like the amount of trash reduced at market. The Central Market Trust is working on this issue so we'll see what transpires in the coming year. Composting, though an ambitious project, just makes sense at market!"

AMBITIOUS PROJECTS

Talking with Laura Stauffer inspired me to consider the idea of ambitious projects. She mentioned the possibility of a composting business for someone. That might just be the right path for one of my readers: if not composting, then starting some other small business which serves the common good.

What ideas do you have? I'd like to hear them.

Ambitious projects which serve the common good could also be educational in nature. What could you teach someone? For some the right path may be an artistic endeavor such as music or sculpture. Maybe it's organizing people to help each other or to get to know each other. For instance, does your neighborhood need someone to organize a block party or a neighborhood watch?

Tell someone what you see or think. Talking together is often how things begin!

Remember, when Laura heard that a Central Market stand was coming up for sale, she decided to take the risk. Now Green Circle Organics is 8 years old!

It could be your turn to get started on the right path!

"Why not?"

The Right Path, part 1

"Your life takes you directions you don't expect." So says Laura Stauffer, owner of Green Circle Organics at Lancaster's Central Market.

Life seemed to prepare Laura for her role as a Lancaster pioneer in the marketing of organic produce. In late 2002, a friend of a friend told her that a business at the market was coming up for sale. Laura, who then worked at Rhubarb's Market, had already done organic farming in upstate New York.

"I really wanted to be in business for myself and it fit in with my past experiences and my interests" she explains. So Laura bought the business, becoming one of the 1st retailers of organic produce in Lancaster County. Later when Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative formed, Green Circle Organics became their 1st retail account in the county.

This March 9th Green Circle will celebrate it's 8 year anniversary!

I asked Laura what advice she would give to others wanting to start a local business.

Here's what she advises:

" It definitely had it's challenges, but if you're on the right path things just kind of happen. Take that leap. For me, at the time, getting a small business loan and doing things on my own was a big deal ! Now I'm so glad I did it! I say take that risk. As long as it's a calculated risk, I think 'Why not?'

If you're doing something good for the community and you believe in what you're doing and you treat people well and you stand behind your product, it'll work."

Next: Some of Laura's hopes for future

Warm Feet In A Cold Month

I'm desperate for the answer.
I'm hungry for the cause.
I really want my mommy
And good old Santy Claus.

I'm certain my uncertainty
Is sure to entertain
Those clutching their security
While standing in the rain.

All those things that I have lost
Between my birth and death;
Like February's endless frost,
Before Spring's warming breath,
Are teaching me some paradox
About life's deeper rhyme.
So I'll keep putting on my socks
Just one foot at a time.

Yes, I'll keep putting on my socks
Just one foot at a time.

Asking The 2nd Question

I have a neighbor with a snow blower. This morning he didn't stop after he blew the 4-5 inches of snow off his driveway and sidewalks. He continued on to our driveway and sidewalk, a most neighborly gesture!

So I went out to say "Thank you!" and to engage in a little neighborly conversation.

"How's all your family doing this winter?" I asked.

"OH, we're making out." He answered.

"So everyone's healthy?" I continued the querying.

"Healthy? No, not healthy. The wife is having problems. Her hands are burning all the time and she hasn't been able to go back to work. The carpal tunnel surgery was supposed to end her problems, but it seems like it only made matters worse!"

I already knew that HE'D been laid off from a good job 2 years ago. Although he has been working since then , it's been at unsatisfactory positions and bad hours. "You gotta do what you gotta do," he's told me on different occasions. And now SHE is not physically able to work.

These are trying times for our neighbors!

I was sorry to hear about their difficulties, but glad I asked the 2nd question.

That got me to thinking: I wonder how often we miss making real connections with people because we stop after the obligatory "How are you? Fine. Thank you."

Neighborliness can grow into relationship and then community building. But only if someone is willing to take the time to ask the 2nd and 3rd questions. And after asking to listen!

Now the ball's in my court. How will I let my neighbors know we're here for them?

The Beat of A Jubilant Drummer

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

I know someone who embodies that wonderful Howard Thurman quote: my friend, Paul Montigny.
Paul comes alive when he plays the drums! Although he's already quite alive doing other things, especially for a man of his years. But when my friend drums he's ageless! "Jubilant!" is how one person described Paul's drumming.

Paul puts it this way: "I'm real when I play and dance!"


Many times I've seen Paul jump off the ground while he's playing the congas! And he really loves it when people dance to his jubilant beat!

I once introduced Paul as a local treasure because he has initiated so many people into the joys of cooperative music making through the numerous drum circles he's led the last 2 decades. For 5 years,the city of Lancaster employed him to lead a New Year's Eve drum circle for their city wide celebration. He's also known for the circles he's led at Lancaster's Long's Park, for playing at local churches and for many other organizations.

Currently Paul plays in a band called Streetbeets.* Streetbeets can be heard playing most 1st and 3rd Fridays each month at their favorite street location on the 100 block of E. Orange St across from the Prince St Parking Garage. On Friday, June 17th they'll be playing in the cafe at Ten Thousand Villages, Ephrata,PA between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m.

What Paul Montigny is so good at is engaging people of all ages with his drumbeat and then inviting them to discover rhythm making for themselves. I can think of few things that build connections between people faster than drum circles. Yes, my friend is a community treasure.

Most of us are too used to being entertained; of being an audience. But the real joy and meaning in life comes when we join a circle of action, make our own music, design our own clothes, grow our own food, start a cooperative endeavor of some kind or even create our own local currency.
We can move from being consumers to being creators and energized citizens! We can come alive and inspire others to come alive. We can dance to the beat of a jubilant drummer!

If you're not yet part of such an endeavor, look for one to join. Or think about what you want to begin. Just get started!

It's how we build community. It's how we find the energy to overcome the inertia that keeps us chained to the life robbing forces of corporatism and globalization. It sets our imaginations free to envision a different world, the world of The New Jubilee!



*Full Disclosure: I also play in Streetbeets.

Have You Heard The Stories of The New Jubilee?

Have you heard the stories of The New Jubilee?

You'll want to hear these inspiring stories and I want to tell them! But first: "What is a Jubilee?"

And second: "Why new?"

The word 'jubilee' represents an idea that goes back thousands of years. The Hebrew Bible speaks of something called the Jubilee Year, which was to be observed every 50 years. In this Jubilee year you must forgive all debts, you must free the slaves and you must return land to the original owners who lost it due to a foreclosure type event. Also, you are to show respect for the health of the soil.

In other words, change things so the wealth will flow back to the ordinary person instead of toward those who already have the upper hand. Do a reset. Give people a chance to start over. Lift the heavy burdens from the backs of the poor and from those who will become poor if the current course of events is allowed to continue.

Be especially attentive to your soil.

Here's why we need something new today:

We live in a world where the forces of centralization and globalization have been stripping resources and power away from people in local communities for decades now.

Multi-national corporations own or control vast amounts of material wealth; more than many nations. They are gobbling up ever increasing political clout. The gap between rich and poor is growing wider by the minute.

This is an oppressive trend which impoverishes the common citizen, the local community and the natural environment. It makes mockery of the ideal we call democracy.

Here's an admittedly simplified but accurate example of what's been happening:

Not too long ago each community had it's local bank. The banker knew the people and, in fact, was one of the people. This banker's role was to serve the local economy. This banker had a clear stake in the vitality and prosperity of the community.

Resources were primarily invested locally rather than directed away.

The good of the community was seen as a higher value than the current practice of maximizing profits for the stockholders and CEOs.

Then something happened. Banks were deregulated. Deregulation became a kind of backwards jubilee. Banks were released to grow beyond their communities and even beyond their states.

Banks were also set free to consolidate with other banks. This consolidation process resulted in very large banks with headquarters far away. The interests of these ever growing banks were totally in their own bottom line not in the welfare of local communities.

Have you heard "Too big to fail"? Have you heard"Massive bailouts"? How about pensions of people who worked for decades being depleted right before their expected retirement? Foreclosures? Unemployment? Wage freezes for those still working while CEO's salaries go to the moon? A younger generation with little realistic hope of ever retiring?

Sickening,isn't it?

THE REST OF THE STORY!

But we are not powerless! Many everyday people are now taking positive steps to create something healthy. Theirs are the stories of The New Jubilee.

The New Jubilee, as I'm defining it, is exactly the reversal of direction we need. Under this idea of The New Jubilee, resources stay in local communities and people's energies are invested in serving one another rather than serving some absentee banker or corporate conglomerate.

This movement is also known to many as 'relocalization' and to others as 'Transition Towns".

It involves rebuilding the local food system, caring for our soil and water, supporting and investing in local businesses, people moving their money OUT of absentee owned financial institutions into local credit unions or in support of New Jubilee businesses, and learning what it means to live sustainably in place.

Yes it's a New Jubilee!

This movement is picking up speed in localities around the world! In this blog , 123 Jubilee, I want to tell the stories of one of those places where the movement is building:Lancaster, PA. I will celebrate the persons who are moving into the Jubilee spirit of relocalization.

These are the heroes who are rebuilding the local food system,restoring local control, strengthening community connections, starting sustainable businesses,teaching and learning needed skills, reclaiming democracy and leading the way in a time of monumental transition.

This path is not without bumps along the way, of course.Massive changes are unfolding rapidly in our world brought on by climate change, the end of cheap oil, economic instability and the global population explosion!

But the communities which are now moving with the New Jubilee spirit, those which are relocalizing and transitioning with focused intention, will demonstrate the greatest resiliency in the face of all these challenges.

Plus, they are increasingly experiencing the joys of living with purpose, of building satisfying relationships, of creatively meeting life's challenges and of bringing goodness and beauty into their worlds.

Isn't that what we all want?

for more info on Transition Lancaster and on Relocalization, see these sites:

http://transitionlancaster.pbworks.com/w/page/22427014/FrontPage

http://www.appropedia.org/Relocalization

"I Haven't Got My Food Stamps Yet"

Our home phone number is similar to the number of the Public Welfare office in Lancaster,PA. So, about once a week, we get calls like this one from last Friday:

"Hello. This is Charlene Cobalt* and I haven't got my food stamps yet!"
I sensed that Charlene wanted action not sympathy, so I responded with "You have the wrong number." End of conversation.Click. I wish I could have been more helpful.

I'm among the fortunate ones. I've mostly had plenty to eat and no worries about paying for food. While I foresee that changing sometime sooner or later, I know millions of people have huge concerns now!

For example,one of the causes of the current revolution in Egypt is the high price of food, brought on by climate related factors which took a toll on Russia, Brazil and Australia's harvests. The cost of food hit an all time high in January. Wheat, for example, has almost doubled since last summer!

Now, this Egyptian upheaval is disrupting the flow of food to their markets, causing them even higher costs.

Compounding the problem, investors sense an opportunity to make money speculating on commodities. So they jump in and drive the price up further.

We may be in for a long siege of ever higher food prices. The American Grain Council is now reporting that China will import NINE TIMES more corn than previously estimated. We can expect corn prices to rise significantly and along with them,of course, will be the price of meat.

I would hope for easy solutions to the problem. But that's pie in the sky. It's clear that you and I can have little impact upon international or national trends.

But WE are not helpless!

What WE can do is band together locally. WE can form as many connections as possible with people who grow and sell food. WE can start food co-ops, join CSAs, buy from local farmers at farmer's markets, and even grow our own.

Have you bought your seeds for this year yet? Have you joined a CSA or food co-op? Take action! Do it today!

We live on a finite planet. Unless we learn to live simply and cooperatively in local communities, we will soon all be looking for someone to call and the voice at the other end will say,"Sorry,Charlene.Wrong number."

* Not her real name.

THE MARCH

THE MARCH

We are on the march

Stepping out as one.

We know what we don't want,

So we've all begun.

We see what's ahead.

Seen it for awhile.

We march on together

Arm in arm for miles.

Out beyond the mines

We know what is ours.

Out beyond the city's edge

We can see the stars.

No one needs to say

What we really need.

Starlight is our teacher.

We say "NO!" to greed.

We say "NO!" to hate.

We say "Live as One".

We say "None can stop us!"

Our march has begun!

What Stevie Wonder Wants

I woke up at 2:48 a.m. yesterday morning. I had been dreaming about Stevie Wonder!
Can I tell you about it?

O.K. then. Here it is.

Stevie is being introduced to the large crowd. The announcer goes over a litany of Stevie's accomplishments. He builds in intensity and energy until he implores us,"Everybody, let's give Stevie a face!"
(My commentary: I would have said,"Let's give Stevie a hand!" But the guy in my dream said "Let's give Stevie a face!" I don't know what that means.)

As the applause and cheering dies down, I see Stevie Wonder sitting at the keyboard.He's playing softly and he begins speaking. This is what Stevie Wonder says in my dream:" The hype is good and all that, but in the real world I want company. In the real world I want company."

Isn't that what we all want and need? In the real world we each want and need company.

Another word for company is companionship.

Both company and companionship come from 2 roots. The first is 'com',which means 'with'. The second is 'pano' which means 'bread'.

Thus company or companionship literally means 'one we share bread with'. This can be the material bread we need to sustain our physical bodies. It can also be the bread our souls and spirits need, baked with love and beauty;baked with relationship and connection;giving each of us meaning, support and space to be who we really are.

What the world needs now; what you need now; what I need now are 'faithful companions', or lots of 'good company'. When we have a circle of faithful companions or an abundance of good company we have something called 'community'. Community includes those we enjoy a relationship with and those with whom we have a connection. It implies the baking and sharing of the breads with one another.
If I were asked what makes for true wealth in the real world, I would put 'community' at the top of my list.
What's on your list?

Here's a postscript. Those who know me well, know that just about anything can become a song. Here's the start of one:

IN THE REAL WORLD

In the real world

I want some company.

In the real world

I just need somebody

To touch me;

One I can touch.

They don't need to be much

Cause it's the real world

And I'm not much myself

On this lonely pedestal.

This is my real world.

All this happy hype

is ok for awhile;

Ok for a smile.

But is it real?

I want to feel

That someone is here with me

And we are company

for each other.

Let's be a real world.

Shadows and Storms

Weather.Everybody talks about it. Even the ground hog,I guess.

The dogwood tree outside the window where I'm writing is coated
with ice,making it a new work of beauty for this morning. The
county schools all have at least a 2 hour delay. The ground hog in
Lancaster County will not be seeing his or her shadow in 2011!

But there's a much more serious weather issue in the world as I
write. A category 5 storm, cyclone Yasi, is making landfall in
Queensland, Australia this very moment. Record high ocean temps
and a very intense La Nina pattern have created this monster!

If I were an Aussie in Queensland I'd be pretty desperate right about
now. I would hope that I have a secure place to batten down the hatches,
maybe in my basement if it's not full of water. Speaking of water, I'd hope
that I had planned ahead and had some safe water stored up plus a water
filtration system so we could purify what water we might have access to.

Food may be hard to come by for awhile. Grocery store shelves will be
barren if they aren't already. Trucks will not be making their usual deliveries
if everything is underwater or devastated. So, I'd hope I had plenty of rice,oatmeal,
beans etc and that we had done our canning and preserving.

I'd hope that my neighbors had planned ahead as well. Then we can help
one another with all the tasks related to a storm's aftermath. Those of us who
HAD planned ahead would be in a better position to serve the rebuilding efforts
of the community.

Soon, we'll be hearing the stories of destruction and rescue. We may be
asked to donate to the International Red Cross and other relief agencies.
This is a disaster of epic proportions..an emergency to be sure!

Speaking of emergent threats and predictions,
I'm going to stick my gray head out of my burrow here to say:
"Many are warning us that a perfect storm of climate change, peak oil,
and a global economic crisis is heading our way! I'm sure the next 20 years
will be totally unlike the preceding 20 years."

I'm making preparations to help my family and my community to prepare
and to find ways of flourishing in the new realities taking shape. As a wise
person once said,"It's better to be a year too early than a day too late."
As we prepare together, let's remember to look for signs of hope and to
celebrate them together.

I'll go first: I just saw the year's 1st robin outside my window, perched
in that ice covered dogwood tree.

What do you see?

Howie,Wally and Junior:A Backyard Parable About Predatory Behavior

Everyone wants to eat;even the hawk who was on our bird feeder this morning. I'll call him Howie.
Howie wanted to eat the little junco(Junior) who had somehow managed to get caught inside the feeder. How Junior got inside,I have no idea. Inside the feeder, this little bird was in a cage. Hungry Howie the hawk could not get in and terrified Junior the junco could not get out.

I love those little birds who come to our feeders in the winter;the juncos,blue jays, cardinals and mourning doves. I want them to be safe when they come. I want my backyard to be their sanctuary,where they can eat but not be eaten!

I love Howie the hawk, too. I just don't want him eating the birds I'm trying to protect. When I went outside and yelled at him, he just sat there on top of the feeder. So I told him, "I understand that you are a carnivore. I know you need to eat to live." He flew up a few feet into the weeping cherry tree.
"But", I said,"I don't want you eating here!"
As I moved quickly toward him, he flew off.
Arriving at the feeder, I opened the top flap, turned it upside down and gently shook. The junco
fell out and took off flying. I can imagine hearing little Junior shouting out: "Free at last!" I then filled up the bird feeder with nourishing seeds for Junior and all his buddies who feed there every day.

Howie the hawk is a predator by nature. Helpless smaller birds who can't get away look like a godsend to him. He's programed that way by the Creator. So, I can't really blame him for trying to stay alive.
Human beings seem a little different to me. Some humans, maybe Wally the Wall Street banker guy for example, appear to feed on all of us smaller birds in order to get fatter and fatter. I'm believing that they could change if they'd wake up to the damage they are doing. I don't think they have to act in a predatory or destructive manner.

Until all the Wally guys do wake up, we could use some tougher regulations to prevent them from fattening up on us Juniors. Each individual Wally may believe "Greed is good and I'm entitled to make all I can off of the system." But Wally, Obesity is a killer!

What the rest of us could do is refuse to play the game. We don't have to take the role of prey. We can build our local communities by buying locally, investing locally and accelerating the development of our local economies every way we can. We can put our life energies into real wealth creation. We can treasure our land, our water, our neighborhoods,our schools,communities of faith, and work to release those who are trapped in cages of poverty.