tagged w/ Lutheran
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Fred Steinhauer and Matt Nalett, a Chicago couple, were denied the chance to foster a 15-year-old "Kenny" — who's since come out as gay, and whom the couple met during Matt's work with a runway group — by Lutheran Child Family Services, because they are homogays. Jumping through all the necessary hoops, Steinhauer says he and Nalett made it clear from the beginning they were a gay couple. But because LCFS "will not develop or license adoptive or foster care families who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning," and evidently the agency decided to ignore its own policy at the beginning of the foster care process, the couple were suddenly out of luck just as they were about to begin guidance classes. Did we mention LCFS receives $19.9 million in state funding? Since Fox Chicago began asking questions about the agency's refusal to let Fred and Matt adopt, the note on LCFS's website about refusing queers is gone. http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/special_report/matt-nalett-fred-steinhauer-lutheran-child-family-services-gay-dads-adopt-adoption-20101108 Because they finally realized they were to be working in the best interests of children, not bigotry, right?Fred Steinhauer and Matt Nalett, a Chicago couple, were denied the chance to foster a... more
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If you are Lutheran and want to find some inspirational resources on the web, consider reading blogs about this religion. You will find many blogs that are written by typical people simply discussing the Lutheran religion, while others are penned by professionals, such as pastors.
link: http://theologydegreesonline.com/the-top-50-lutheran-blogs/If you are Lutheran and want to find some inspirational resources on the web, consider... more
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UPDATED WITH VIDEO FROM STORY.
I really do not post my "own" story or issue but i thought you all might want to read what me and my partner are going through. This is also a open forum for debate with constructive comments no bashing. I personally think if anyone has everything done according to state law and guidelines that anyone should be able to adopt or foster a person who has been given a bad deck of cards. You see with me personal discrimination is 1 thing (i could care less) but well when it involves someone who wants to have a loving family or someone to call a family i think that these "Faith" based organizations do no justice with helping wards of the state. Its all about a ID number with them and revenue from the state.
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/special_report/matt-nalett-fred-steinhauer-lutheran-child-family-services-gay-dads-adopt-adoption-20101108
By Mark Saxenmeyer, FOX Chicago News
Chicago - Gays and lesbians have been serving as foster parents, and legally adopting children in Illinois, for decades. But now, one Chicago couple says they've been turned away by a faith-based adoption agency, because of their sexual orientation. That agency freely admits they won't let gays adopt.
So, is it a case of blatant discrimination, or religious freedom?
FOX Chicago News recently launched an investigation into the issue that has both government and civil rights leaders scrambling to settle the law.
The story begins in the Lakeview home of Fred Steinhauer and Matt Nalett, who have lived together for seven years and got legally married in Canada.
"We've tried to really make this a comfortable, safe secure place," Steinhauer said. "We're starting to get ready for Christmas. Family really is something you have to define for yourself as life goes along."
But they never really considered having kids together, joking that they had two cats and a ferret instead. However, in the last few months, Nalett has begun working with a teenage runaway group that assists kids in the Boystown area of Lakeview. He met a 15-year-old who, in order to protect his identity, we'll call Kenny.
"He was not just a runaway, he was a missing kid," said Nalett.
Removed from his biological family because of unsuitable living conditions, Kenny has been a ward of the state for seven years, bouncing between foster and group homes. He ran away from a group home because he was being bullied by residents and he decided it was in his best interest to be on the street.
Kenny is also now coming to terms with his sexuality. He, too, is gay.
Kenny was in the care of Lutheran Child Family Services (LCFS), and Steinhauer and Nalett began the process with the agency to become foster parents. They said they passed background checks, went through a home inspection, and met with Kenny's therapist, his caseworker and state child welfare agents.
"I made it very clear, crystal clear at the beginning of the meeting, that Matt and I were a gay couple," Steinhauer said. "And never once was it mentioned that our sexual orientation was an issue."
But then, just as they were about to start child development and guidance classes required for foster parents, the orientation instructor handed them a policy statement.
"She's like, 'Um, you need to read this. I don't want to waste your time. And have a nice day,'" said Nalett.
The LCFS policy statement said the agency "will not develop or license adoptive or foster care families who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or questioning."
"Devastated. It's like my brain just like hit the floor," Nalett said.
"I couldn't believe that anyone would be so blatant in actually handing someone a written policy of discrimination," Steinhauer said.
But was the policy statement an example of illegal discrimination?
When FOX Chicago News called LCFS for an explanation, President and CEO Gene Svebakkan told us his agency must uphold the doctrines, practices and beliefs of the Lutheran church. And the policy of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, he said, does not condone same sex adoption.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) confirmed that the Illinois Human Rights Act actually exempts religious-based adoption agencies from the anti-discrimination rules every other agency must follow.
Lutheran Child and Family Services received $19.9 million in state funding in fiscal year 2010. And, according to DCFS, two other adoption or foster care agencies--Catholic Charities, and Evangelical Child and Family--also cite religious reasons for excluding gays. Those groups received more than $23 million in state funding in fiscal year 2010. Civil rights attorney Camilla Taylor, the senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal, told FOX Chicago News that state contractors are prohibited by law from discrimination, and provided several similar state and federal court rulings that she said set a clear precedent.
"That is contrary to Illinois law but it's also a terrible wrong done to kids," Taylor said.
After our investigation started, DCFS provided FOX Chicago with this statement:
"DCFS and the Illinois child welfare system have a proud history of tolerance and inclusiveness. We have licensed tens of thousands of foster and adoptive parents without regard for sexual orientation, and we know from experience and research that sexual orientation does not affect parents' abilities to provide a safe, loving home for children. DCFS met last week with Lambda Legal, along with the Governor's Office and Attorney General's office, to begin to resolve these very complex legal issues. We all share a commitment to shape Illinois law and policy to respect the rights of all Illinoisans, and we will continue working together toward that goal."
FOX Chicago's latest calls to Lutheran Child Family Services for comment have gone unanswered. However, a new check of their website shows the policy denying gays the right to adopt has now been removed.
Steinhauer and Nalett said that legalities aside, they're more concerned with how their rejection is affecting Kenny.
"Kenny had been holding out hope that this would be a source of having a supportive family for him. And now he's thinking, 'Well, is that really going to happen? Am I simply going to be disappointed again? Because no one really cares'," Steinhauer said.
And they point out that the line of people clamoring to take in, to help, and to support a troubled gay teenage runaway is pretty much nonexistent.
Kenny is now set to be transferred to a different child welfare agency-- one that does allow gay adoption. And Steinhauer and Nalett have once again begun the application process to become his guardians.
"The real reward of dealing with the rebelliousness or the immaturity or the confusion about what he wants to do with the rest of his life comes when he says 'I think I'm now part of a family again,' when he gives you a hug," said Steinhauer.
And when he calls us 'dads'," added Nalett.
Because in their Lakeview home, they said family is important.
"You make your own family, whoever's right in your heart," said Nalett.
Join the Facebook Group
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=153138244707688
Mark Saxenmeyer welcomes comments, story ideas and tips at mark.saxenmeyer@foxchicago.com
Here is the First 3 Stories i posted on Current About Kenny So as you can see i have pretty much been dealing with this subject a while now.
http://current.com/technology/92550118_homeless-teens-caught-in-the-system.htm
http://current.com/technology/92553486_homeless-teen-caught-in-the-system-part-2.htm
http://current.com/items/92554955_homeless-teen-caught-in-the-system-part-3.htmUPDATED WITH VIDEO FROM STORY.
I really do not post my "own" story or... more
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(Marquette, MI) - Dozens of youngsters from across Michigan created recycled holiday cards and homemade tea bags for gifts this weekend during the Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper's Eco-Christmas Workshop at the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.
The Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper (NMU EK) Student Team hosted the workshop from 1-4 p.m. across from the children's library attracting several mothers from the Lower Peninsula and a teacher from Paradise in the eastern Upper Peninsula who plans to bring the idea into her classroom.
While finding ways to entertain and educate her children while her husband checked out job offers in Marquette, Tara Strong of downstate Grand Blanc brought her young daughter and baby son to the Upper Peninsula Children's Museum and then the Peter White children's library.
“My husband is here interviewing for a residency position for after med school,” said Strong. “We just found out about the project from the librarian.”
“I love it. I love the recycling idea. We're also on a very limited budget and so I really like the idea of recycling and hand making things. I think it's great.”
Strong said she and her daughter “are having great fun.”
“I've been making crafts,” said four-year-old Anja Strong. “I made a tea bag and I have a honey bear stick”
Joined by her brother and a friend, 18-year-old NMU EK Student Team member Ellen Lindblom said the end of the semester meant lots of scrap paper lying around the university.
“School just ended and people have lost of papers left over” that was cut into tiny pieces by NMU EK team members, said Lindblom, an NMU freshman “You put it in the blender with a little bit of water and you blend it until it looks a little bit chunky like this.”
“You put it in a screen flatten it out - pat the water out,” said Lindblom, while using a towel and iron to dry and flatten the multicolored wet paper as 21 year-old NMU EK Student Team Director Ben Scheelk of downstate Charlevoix used a small hair dryer to speed up the process.
“We took a towel and pressed the water out to speed up the drying process a little bit,” she said. “Then flattened it out a little harder with an iron. I think it looks nice.”
His hand atop the lid on a blender that whirred with red, blue, purple and white bits of paper, Mike Robinson, a 21-year-old NMU senior geography major, from downstate Grosse Pointe, said the project is a “good holiday craft.”
“We are taking some scrap paper from various places and construction paper and making it into some pulp in a blender with some water,” said Robinson, a member of the NMU EK Student team.
Pressing the bits of soggy paper into a screen with borders, 16-year-old Negaunee High School junior Phil Lindblom said “this is what they call extreme pulp.”
“I am taking this wet paper and putting it on these screens and pushing water out of it,” said Lindbloom, whose sister is a member of the NMU EarthKeepers. “I am making new paper which is pretty exciting.”
Escanaba native Carole Beck, who teaches in third through fifth grade at the White Fish Township Community School in Paradise, said she'll take the NMU EarthKeeper's idea into her classrooms and maybe make Valentines Day cards.
“We're trying to figure out how we could create the screen there that would be the only thing that we would need extra,” Beck said. “We should be able to do that.”
The students put out bowls with spearmint, raspberry leaves, juniper berries and rose hips that the youngsters used to “make a green tea - a detoxifying beautiful beverage,” said 21-year-old NMU EK Student Team Event Coordinator Amanda Emerson of Cary, Ill. “We also have honey sticks to go along with the tea.”
The herbs were donated by Catholic EarthKeeper Kyra Fillmore and the Marquette Food Co-op.
“You just wrap those up herbs in an eco-friendly coffee filter and tie it with a string in a nice little bow and there you go,” said Emerson, an NMU Senior Majoring in International Studies (emphasis on Latin America) and Earth Science (emphasis on rocks and minerals). “There's your gift - a homemade card and homemade tea bags.”
Protecting the earth and teaching the young to respect the planet are major goals of the EarthKeepers, said 21-year-old NMU EarthKeeper Leandra Dziesinski of Alpena, MI.
“It's very important to care care of your things and the earth is absolutely our thing - it's where we're at - so we have to take care of it we only have one earth, said Dziesinski, an NMU senior graduating in May with a bachelor's degree in marketing. I think if we have a happy, safe and a clean place to live that just makes our population that much more happy.”
In September, the NMU EarthKeepers cleaned up hundreds of pounds of litter at the Upper Dead River Falls, a popular student hangout, Scheelk said.
The NMU EK Student Team is the youth wing of the Upper Peninsula EarthKeepers, an interfaith environment group involving over 150 churches and temples across northern Michigan.
The EarthKeeper Initiative is co-sponsored by the nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute, the nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and 10 faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, Quakers (Religious Society of Friends) and Zen Buddhist.
For more information on the Michigan EarthKeepers email or call the following contacts:
Ben Scheelk, Director of NMU EK Student Team
bscheelk@nmu.edu
231-675-0121
Rev. Jon Magnuson, Co-Founder of EarthKeeper Initiative
magnusonx2@charter.net
906-228-5494
Greg Peterson, news reporter and volunteer media advisor for the EarthKeepers and other projects
earthkeeper@charter.net
906-401-0109
U.P. EarthKeeper Team:
http://www.upearthkeepers.org
Nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI
http://www.cedartreeinstitute.org
Nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership in Marquette, MI
http://www.superiorwatersheds.org(Marquette, MI) - Dozens of youngsters from across Michigan created recycled holiday... more
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(Marquette, Michigan) - A student environment group from Northern Michigan University honored “Make A Difference Day” by picking up hundreds of pounds of litter and garbage at a favorite youth party spot around the Upper Dead River Falls in Marquette, Michigan.
The rubbish collected by the Northern Michigan University EarthKeeper (NMU EK) Student Team on Saturday (October 24, 2009) included rusty box springs, a smashed vehicle windshield and a plethora of beer bottles and cans. Some of the beverage containers were very old because they had the old pull-top design.
The Upper Dead River Falls is a rugged area with sandy hills, steep trails, rocky cliffs, a lengthy series of waterfalls and the obvious remnants of many campfires.
“I just found a used diaper, a lot of glass, broken bottles, cans and cigarette wrappers,” said Ben Scheelk, 21, of Charlevoix, MI, director of the NMU EK Student Team.
“What really disappoints me is all the big things we are finding like bed springs and other rusty old metal things,” Scheelk said.
While looking at the rushing water, NMU EK Student Team Event Coordinator Amanda Emerson said "water is an important entity of the world and even though we have so much of it around here we have to cherish it that much more."
"We been out here so many times there is no one out here ever picking it up their trash,” said Emerson, 21, of Cary, Ill. (NW Chicago).
NMU Senior Chelsey Cebulsky said she was proud to participate in “Make A Difference Day” and “picking up this trash is a good thing to do for the environment.”
“I have been out here many times for the party scene but I was always the one carrying around a plastic bag telling everyone to put their cans in it - sadly not very many people listened,” said Chelsey Cebulsky, 22, a physical geography major from of Adrian, MI. "Get a trash bag and get rid of trash yourself."
NMU junior Ben Youren used gloves to carefully separated hundreds of pieces of shattered glass from the muddy soil on a hillside along the river.
“It looks like it is part of a windshield,” said Youren, 26, an English major. “I am trying to dig the glass out of here.”
The NMU environment group is the student wing of the interfaith Upper Peninsula EarthKeeper Team that holds annual Earth Day environment projects across northern Michigan including planting over 12,000 trees this past spring.
Prior to the collection, the group sat in a circle at the NMU University Center and got a lesson in the importance of clean water from the co-founder of the Upper Peninsula EarthKeeper Initiative.
“Almost 80 percent of the world is water and our bodies are 80 percent water, said Rev. Jon Magnuson, co-founder of the EarthKeeper Initiative and campus pastor for NMU Lutheran Campus Ministry. “There is a delicate balance when it comes to pH or the amount of acid in water and if that balance gets thrown off we can die.”
Magnuson said people who grow up in northern Michigan sometimes “take it for granted because we have so much water.”
“If you go to other places in the world you will see people who have to travel miles to get fresh water,” Magnuson said. “Their whole life is centered around accessing good water.”
The students clean up project may of had a preventative effect.
While the students were cleaning up the area, a pickup truck pulled up with a load of tires in the back. After talking briefly to the students, the two men in the truck pulled away.
“It looks like we prevented them from dumping a whole load of tires along side of the river,” Scheelk said.
Background on EarthKeeper Initiative:
The EarthKeepers are an interfaith environment group involving over 150 northern Michigan churches/temples.
The EarthKeepers are co-sponsored by the nonprofit Cedar Tree Institute, the nonprofit Superior Watershed Partnership, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and 10 faith communities: Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist Church, Unitarian Universalist, Baha'i, Jewish, Quakers, Zen Buddhist.(Marquette, Michigan) - A student environment group from Northern Michigan University... more
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The adorable K-6th grade Navajo children during the second week of school at the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, Arizona.
Narrated and videotaped by Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard, executive director of the Navajo Lutheran Mission
Featuring K-6 students, teachers and staff.
1-928-659-4201 (Office)
1-928-659-4202 (School)
Navajo Lutheran Mission School:
NELM School Principal Felisita Jones
Kindergarten teacher Sharon Woody
1st grade teacher Lark Pettit
2nd grade teacher Jolene Wilson
3rd and 4th grade teacher Pauline Wagon
5th and 6th grade teacher Eileen Holiday
Tara Chee, NELM Community Services Coordinator and Navajo Language and Culture Instructor
2009 Board of Directors
Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission
Ron Augustson, Chair
Janice Lee Jim
Roger Johnsen
Jerry Thomas
Bill Heincke
Richard Wixom
David Ulibarri
Jeannie M. Harvey
Christel Badey
Clarence Begay
Sue Vogel-Herrera
Alice Natale
Support the Navajo Lutheran Mission through financial donations, volunteering
and many other national programs.
http://www.nelm.org/support.htm
Campbell's Labels for Education
http://www.labelsforeducation.com
Boxtops for Education
http://www.boxtops4education.com
NELM Related Links
More on new NELM executive director:
http://www.nelm.org/special/newExec2009/index.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navajo-Lutheran-Mission/162194916280
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NELMRockPointAZ
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/navajolutheranmission
bliptv:
http://NavajoLuthMission.blip.tv
youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/NavajoLuthMission
WordPress blog:
http://navajolutheranmission.wordpress.com
Blogspot:
http://navajolutheranmission.blogspot.com
Zimbio:
http://www.zimbio.com/Navajo+Lutheran+Mission+in+Rock+Point%2C+AZ
Photobucket:
http://photobucket.com/NavajoLutheranMission
flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregdonnaphotos/sets/72157621891406253
Shutterfly:
http://navajolutheranmission.shutterfly.com
Flute music courtesy:
Carol Buckley, owner of Arizona Flutes and Native Arts in Camp Verde, AZ (high desert in Verde Valley) and a non-native flute musician specializing in American Indian music.
She has Michigan roots - lived in Davison and taught school in LakeVille Public Schools in Otisville, where she was a Speech and Language Pathologist.
In 1994 Buckley decided to refocus her life, escape from the cold weather, and move to the beautiful Verde Valley in Arizona’s high desert.
She is a poet and writer who plays Native American style flute music and has great respect for the Navajo and other Native American tribes and their respective cultures/heritage.
Carol also teaches classes on how to play the Native flute.
Songs used from Carol Buckley's “Rhythm Keepers” and “Raindrops on Roses” CDs
Navajo Lutheran Mission Second Week of School & Photo Montage:
Carol Buckley's “Raindrops on Roses” CD
Track 4 “Living Life”
Track 6 “Dancing Moccasins”
wk email:
sales@arizonaflutes.com
Arizona Flutes & Native Arts
P.O. Box 1511
Camp Verde, AZ
86322
1-928-300-4781 (wk)
Arizona Flutes:
http://www.arizonaflutes.com/index.html
Navajo Nation Flag used in this video was created by artist R. Daniel Markstedt of Linköping in central Sweden:
Wikipedia username Himasaram:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Navajo_flag.svg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram/gallery
Knox College
2 East South Street
Galesburg, IL
61401-4999
1-309-341-7000
Knox College
http://www.knox.edu
Knox College students at NELM
http://www.knox.edu/News-and-Events/News-Archive/Knox-faculty-and-students-study-in-Americas-Southwest.html
Cal Farley's Boys Ranch in Texas
http://www.calfarley.org
Boys Ranch
Located 36 miles northwest of Amarillo, Texas, on US Highway 385
http://www.calfarley.org/boysranch/pages/default.aspx
Cal Farley's Girlstown, U.S.A.
Situated on 1,425 acres of land eight miles south of Whiteface, Texas, (west of Lubbock)
http://www.calfarley.org/girlstown/pages/default.aspxThe adorable K-6th grade Navajo children during the second week of school at the... more
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(Rock Point, AZ) - Videos produced by two Pittsburgh area churches led by Pastor Susan C. Schwartz that sent missionaries to the Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, Arizona in July 2009.
Volunteers from several faith traditions and churches painted murals and did other work at the Navajo Lutheran Mission including the Hope Lutheran Church of Forest Hills and St. John Lutheran Church in Swissvale.
Related Links:
Navajo Lutheran Mission:
http://www.nelm.org
New NELM executive director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
http://www.nelm.org/special/newExec2009/index.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navajo-Lutheran-Mission/162194916280
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NELMRockPointAZ
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/navajolutheranmission
bliptv:
http://NavajoLuthMission.blip.tv
youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/NavajoLuthMission
WordPress blog:
http://navajolutheranmission.wordpress.com
Blogspot:
http://navajolutheranmission.blogspot.com
Zimbio:
http://www.zimbio.com/Navajo+Lutheran+Mission+in+Rock+Point%2C+AZ
Photobucket:
http://photobucket.com/NavajoLutheranMission
flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregdonnaphotos/sets/72157621891406253
Shutterfly:
http://navajolutheranmission.shutterfly.com
Flute music by Travis Terry
http://www.myspace.com/dtravisterry
Hope Lutheran Church of Forest Hills
353 Ridge Ave
Pittsburgh, PA
15221-4111
1-412-242-4476 (church office)
Blog about 2009 NELM trip by volunteers from several Pittsburgh area churches including Hope Lutheran Church of Forest Hills and St. John Lutheran Church in Swissvale:
http://scs1249.blogspot.com
Hope Lutheran Church of Forest Hills near Pittsburgh
Hopeforesthills@aol.com
Preview story on April 9, 2009 in Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Pittsburgh Live about area church group heading to NEML to paint. Pastor Susan C. Schwartz heads Hope Lutheran Church of Forest Hills and St. John Lutheran Church in Swissvale and Kathy Gaberson, a Hope Lutheran member.
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_619790.html
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette preview story:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09141/971544-56.stm?cmpid=news.xml
More about the flute music featured in this video:
Travis Terry is a native Flutist of the Pima Nation who is born of the indigenous Gila River Pima Nation in Sacaton, Arizona.
On his myspace page, Native flutist Travis Terry says:
"I grew up surrounded by ethnic music and instruments of long ago, including the Native flute," Terry said. “As a child I had natural appreciation for music, which contributed to me becoming a self-taught flutist in my adult years. My military service has sent me around the world exposing me to the musical traditions of various cultures."
"Ethnic music was a continual interest and drew me closer to this dream of creating music. I have always been grateful to my parents (Irving and Caroline) for supporting my dreams and at the same time continually teaching me and my sisters (Denise and Dawn) the indigenous Pima culture, traditions and language. These values have aided me in blending contemporary culture with this heritage of the 'Desert People.' This conscious blending of cultures is very much reflected in my musical compositions and playing style."
"After my military service, I visited Canyon De Chelly where my good fortune led me to meet my lovely wife Cara and settle in Chinle, AZ. Cara and her family taught me the ways and language of the Dine (Navajo) people."(Rock Point, AZ) - Videos produced by two Pittsburgh area churches led by Pastor Susan... more
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(Rock Point, AZ) - During July 2009, volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Cross in Sacramento, CA visited the Navajo Lutheran Mission in Rock Point, AZ to assist the Navajo people with the health of their livestock.
Despite the extreme summer heat and the remote Navajo homes, church members helped deworm and vaccinate 500 sheep and goats plus 200 horses.
The volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Cross paid for the expense of vaccinating over 700 livestock.
The vaccination program badly needs funding and anyone wish to help should contact the Navajo Lutheran Mission (see contact info below)
The Navajo Lutheran Mission extends special thanks to Arizona Navajo musician Anthony Maloney, who music is featured in this video and will be used in upcoming videos (scroll down for more info and links about Anthony Maloney)
Songs by Maloney included in this video are "Our Warriors" and "A Better Life."
Navajo Lutheran Mission:
http://www.nelm.org
New NELM executive director Rev. Dr. Lynn Hubbard:
http://www.nelm.org/special/newExec2009/index.html
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Navajo-Lutheran-Mission/162194916280
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/NELMRockPointAZ
myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/navajolutheranmission
bliptv:
http://NavajoLuthMission.blip.tv
youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/NavajoLuthMission
WordPress blog:
http://navajolutheranmission.wordpress.com
Blogspot:
http://navajolutheranmission.blogspot.com
Zimbio:
http://www.zimbio.com/Navajo+Lutheran+Mission+in+Rock+Point%2C+AZ
Photobucket:
http://photobucket.com/NavajoLutheranMission
flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregdonnaphotos/sets/72157621891406253
Shutterfly:
http://navajolutheranmission.shutterfly.com
Church of the Cross in Sacramento, CA:
Church of the Cross
4465 H Street
Sacramento, CA
95819
Church of the Cross (ELCA Lutheran)
http://www.xross.org
1-916-456-8880 (office)
Pastor serves as a Chaplain at California State University Sacramento
Church is on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Area Campus Ministry.
http://www.sacacmin.com
Rev. Michael Walton
(916) 548-4624
michael@mdwalton.com
Wikipedia on the Navajo Nation:
The Navajo Nation (Diné Bikéyah in the Navajo language) is a semi-autonomous Native American homeland covering about 26,000 square miles (17 million acres), occupying all of northeastern Arizona, the southeastern portion of Utah, and northwestern New Mexico. It's the largest land area assigned primarily to a Native American jurisdiction within the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_Nation
Navajo Nation Flag used in this video was created by artist R. Daniel Markstedt of Linköping in central Sweden:
Daniel Markstedt Wikipedia username Himasaram:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Navajo_flag.svg
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Himasaram/gallery
The Navajo Lutheran Mission extends special thanks to Arizona Navajo Musician Anthony Maloney, who music is featured in this video and will be used in upcoming videos
Songs by Maloney included in this video are "Our Warriors" and "A Better Life."
Navajo (Diné) singer, songwriter and poet Anthony K. Maloney, a member of the Navajo Nation (Diné Bikéyah) from Yuba City, AZ "Music City"
Anthony Maloney official website includes background & profile:
http://www.akmrecords.bravehost.com
Anthony Maloney music on soundclick:
http://www.soundclick.com/anthonymaloney
amaloney1998_98@yahoo.com
1-253-661-3652
Links to a few of Maloney's songs:
Taken Away
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1059384
We Were
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1107571
The High Life
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1580501
Our Warriors
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1692003
A Better Life
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1737075
4-Directions
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=1755167
What are my Chances
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=2281129
Walk Away
http://soundclick.com/share?songid=3379744(Rock Point, AZ) - During July 2009, volunteers from the Lutheran Church of the Cross... more
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Coincidence or co-incidents?
The Luthern Church was to vote on continuing to allow practicing homosexuals as clergy at 2:00pm on August 19th.
An act of God happened at the same time the vote was to take place.
The Lutheran Church was struck by a freak tornado. Its steeple was stripped, and the cross on its top was turned UPSIDE DOWN.Coincidence or co-incidents?
The Luthern Church was to vote on continuing to allow... more
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Those of us who are both openly gay and openly Christian (and happily reconciled in the two) are used to the deliberate pace that many Christian denominations have taken toward fully embracing their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) congregants. Having consecrated one openly gay bishop in 2003, it took the Episcopal Church another six years to give itself permission to (maybe) doing it again. The Lutherans approved a progressive statement on human sexuality by the slimmest of margins last week, while the Presbyterians narrowly defeated a measure in the spring that would have permitted the ordination of openly gay and lesbian clergy.
--------------------------------Those of us who are both openly gay and openly Christian (and happily reconciled in... more
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On Friday, the National Assembly passed the resolution with the required 2/3 majority vote. This is just the beginning to the process, the ELCA has opened their hearts and opened doors of diversity.On Friday, the National Assembly passed the resolution with the required 2/3 majority... more
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Author Joy Ibsen of Trout Creek, MI will sign her latest book "Unafraid" and host a presentation at 7 p.m. (CT) on Monday, August 24, 2009 in the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, Iowa.
A former resident of nearby Kimballton, IA, Ibsen will be singing and playing piano during a songfest that will include works from her first book "Songs of Denmark."
Co-authored by her late father, Rev. Harald Ibsen, "Unafraid" includes portions of sermons he delivered at the Immanuel Lutheran Church in Kimballton, IA, followed by a fiction story about how his words impacted local parishioners.
The event is sponsored by the Danish Brotherhood Lodge 341 and the Danish Immigrant Museum.
It include songfest of Danish-American songs using a recently refurnished piano donated by the famous late Danish comedian Victor Borge.
Joy Ibsen is past president of the Danish Immigrant Museum board of directors.
Call Clayton Nielsen at 1-712-764-4343 or Annette Andersen at 1-712-773-2025.
Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, IA
http://www.danishmuseum.orgAuthor Joy Ibsen of Trout Creek, MI will sign her latest book "Unafraid" and... more
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See Links to vote below:
Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of page.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.See Links to vote below:
Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about... more
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Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's nonprofit environment projects in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: Vote for the story by Donna Kumpula about the EarthKeeper Initiative and the Zaagkii Project
It was weekly winner in April but now its competing against about 19 others for the big prize . Money that would help fund the projects for a year.
You'll need to register - or login if you have voted before.
Its entitled:
Creating numerous environment projects that bring together diverse groups, students, American Indians
Link to story is near end of list on lower right hand side of pagfe.
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/friends.asp?action=register
Or go directly to story – and register or log-in:
http://www.friendsofelsie.com/SingleSensations.asp?action=readStory&story=70
Brief summary of projects your vote would support:
The interfaith Earth Keeper Initiative:
The interfaith EarthKeepers planted twelve thousand (12,000) trees across northern Michigan for Earth Day 2009 thanks to over 100 churches/temples from 12 religions.
During past Earth Day projects, the EarthKeepers have recycled or properly disposed over nearly 400 tons of waste including cellphones, computers (and related equipment), printers, car batteries, poisons, pesticides, oil-based paint, pharmaceuticals and much more.
The Zaagkii Project:
This summer Native American youth and at-risk teens are repairing the ecosystem along a Lake Superior beach, built dozens of Mason Bee houses including some to be placed at the U.S. National Gardens in D.C.; Native American teens this month are helping build a greenhouse for native species plants on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community reservation.
Last summer the teens built dozens of butterfly houses for migrating Monarchs.Please vote daily through August 30, 2009 for story about Rev. Jon Magnuson's... more
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August 15 marks the end of the Blessed Virgin Mary's earthly life and the assumption of her body and soul into heaven.
We all have read about the many sightings of the Holy Mother over the years, but what do you do when an image of her miraculously appears in a glass you once used for coffee? Share it with others!
With the recent downturn in the economy many of us are in need of a miracle. Then again, we're always in need of miracles, or at least in need of proof that miracles are possible. What is a miracle?
Many people that have seen this glass in person, have described themselves as getting chills and having the hair on the back of their necks stand up. Others have commented on the bluish hue (aura) that can be clearly seen surrounding the image.
What else can YOU see in the photo?August 15 marks the end of the Blessed Virgin Mary's earthly life and the... more
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"Among the odd assortment of Festival opera this year, no production is more curious than that billed as Johann Sebastian Bach's Actus tragicus. After all, the greatest ever Lutheran church composer never actually wrote an opera.
Closer inspection, however, reveals this to be a modern assemblage of six of Bach's sacred cantatas, fused together as a stage presentation by the late opera director Herbert Wernicke in 2000, now about to see life again in Staatsoper Stuttgart's 2006 restaging. The title is taken from the nickname attached to the composer's famous funeral cantata.
The idea has obvious novelty value. The common theme – approaching death – is viewed through the cross-section of an apartment block in which numerous individuals act out their lonely existences. But Actus tragicus – together with a connected, fortnight-long early-evening series of Bach Cantatas at Greyfriars Kirk, featuring a variety of international ensembles – does raise one of the most tantalising questions about Bach. Why did he never turn his genius to the opera stage?
Was he too busy fulfilling his church duties during the apogee of his career in Leipzig, where he was cantor of St Thomas's Church from 1723 to his death in 1750, and where he churned out new cantatas on a weekly basis, not to mention full-length Passions, the Mass in B minor and everything else the musically rich Lutheran liturgy demanded of him?
Such an assumption is too simplistic and misleading, argues Glasgow University music professor John Butt, a notable Bach scholar and, as artistic director of the Dunedin Consort, about to play an active part in the Festival's Greyfriars series.
Could the dogmatic spiritualism of church music ever truly compensate for the lush vagaries of opera? Butt is convinced that the civic leaders knew exactly what they were doing when they appointed Bach. They could have picked Telemann, who was the safe favourite of the conservative lobby, but in the end, through some good fortune (Telemann tuned them down for a better offer), the progressives got their way and appointed Bach the modernist, knowing he would shake up the musical life of the largely Protestant city.
In doing so, Bach took a lead from opera, but not without recognising the deep sensitivities of the liturgy and the underlying philosophy of Lutheranism.
"As a Lutheran, the worst thing you could do was to die and not have your faith," Butt explains. "So it was the job of the preacher to ensure the weekly regeneration of that faith among those in the pews." Bach's cantatas were designed to reinforce that message. And there's little doubt that opera, which Bach knew well enough from his regular visits to nearby opera hot-spot Dresden, provided him with the tools to address that.
There's a temptation to suggest that Bach essentially wrote opera for the church. Butt, whose latest book, Bach's Dialogue with Modernity, deals with new interpretational slants on Bach's Passions, offers a caveat to that argument in delightfully modern domestic terms. "Opera is like a vacuum cleaner, sucking the audience out of their seats and into its midst on the stage," says Butt. "Bach, in his cantatas, uses the tools of opera but reverses the cleaner mechanism and blows the experience out to the man in the pew."
Which begs the question: do we approach Actus tragicus – the opera – as something to escape into, or something to inhale for private contemplation? As a dramatised tapestry of Bach cantatas, the dichotomy is fascinating. And the unquestionable thrill of Bach's music might just make it work.""Among the odd assortment of Festival opera this year, no production is more... more
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This is the sixth of seven EarthKeeper columns being printed in northern Michigan newspapers about the planting of 12,000 trees across the Upper Peninsula.
The column was written by Catholic EarthKeeper member Kyra Fillmore, who fills numerous vital roles in all EarthKeeper Projects.
During the first two week of May 2009, over 12,000 trees were planted across the U.P. thanks to thousands of northern Michigan residents from over 100 churches and temples.
Officially called the EarthKeeper "communications coordinator for faith communities," Kyra Fillmore organized the distribution of the 12,000 trees to the 100 churches and temples. This was not an easy task.
With three young children vying for her attention, Kyra stayed calm as her phone rang off the hook each day for weeks. Kyra's children helped plant some of the trees and she made sure they were always first.
Her husband, Tim, was supportive and kept his cool even though their home must not have had a quiet moment for several weeks. Krya will tell you her faith gave her the strength to take care of a family and a huge project.
The project ran smoothly because of Kyra's ability to juggle 12,004 things at one time.
Thank you Kyra!This is the sixth of seven EarthKeeper columns being printed in northern Michigan... more
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This is the fifth of seven EarthKeeper columns being printed in northern Michigan newspapers about the planting of 12,000 trees across the Upper Peninsula.
This link is to the Mining Journal, the daily paper in Marquette, MI.
The trees were planted during the first two weeks of May 2009
The author is Rev. Jon Magnuson, EarthKeeper Initiative co-founder, campus pastor for Lutheran Campus Ministry at Northern Michigan University and the executive director of the non-profit Cedar Tree Institute in Marquette, MI.
The EarthKeeper columns and news stories appeared in numerous U.P. newspapers including the Marquette Mining Journal, the Escanaba Daily Press, the Iron Mountain Daily News, the Houghton Daily Mining Gazette, the St. Ignace News, the Marquette Monthly and the Ironwood Daily Globe.This is the fifth of seven EarthKeeper columns being printed in northern Michigan... more
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