[Oe List ...] Alternative July 4th Celebration, from Tikkun Magazine

[Isobel and Jim Bishop]

Hello Janice and colleagues,
I did appreciate you sending this to the listserve. Such a profound  
Litany Of Thanks.......... I would like to see the Australian  
interfaith movement get their teeth into Australia's  contextual  
story, to create a much more wholesome picture of the actual reality  
of the story we tell ourselves. A big job, to be sure----

We celebrated your special Day with an American family who belong to  
our Church, and who were part of our monthly BBQ with our youth.  
( Jim and I are invited along as the "OLDS" ( my word).
Sadly for us, the family  are returning to Charleston, West Virginia  
in the next few weeks to resume life there, with their 12+ lad  
beginning his Junior High School.  We revised our American History   
with their help, which once more expanded our understanding of your  
important History.  We had a big of a laugh/moment of awareness;   
when  Rebecca, our 49 year old who did 90% of  all her High School in  
various Schools in Chicago, in the early to mid 70's- told us that in  
her American History class she learnt about Cowboys and Indians-     
( I was taught  in the mid 40's and  early 50's that the Aboriginal  
people were all dying out-  many farmers gave them poisoned wheat my  
grandfather told me, he not being one of them, but he had heard of  
this practice--- ) but then in the mid 50's we learnt that the  
mortality of the Aboriginal babies was lessening- so that theory was  
gradually ended-  I still feel shame about this, even now that I am 74..

Down here we are having our winter cold snap, and glad that your  
summer is with you. My grandaughter Sarah, almost 12, is coming over  
to Cleveland Oh. on August 4th, with her Hungarian  Scout Troop.   
Cleveland is where Rebecca was born, but I don' t think she will have  
time to see the Hospital where her Mum came into the world! Lovely  
for Sarah as she is fluent in the Hungarian language, and her Dad is  
Hungarian born. She will go to other spots  too, for the three weeks  
exchange.
It seems like we are destined to keep our close relationship with you  
guys, and Rebecca is still a dual citizen and always votes for the  
new President.. !

JIm and I and other family members are going to what we call " The  
Bush" now- for some days holiday- our little spot is called Hafan  
Hedd-  which is  Welsh for Abode of Peace, Jim's grandfather's first  
language.

Grace is yours and Peace,
Isobel BIshop.


On 04/07/2010, at 9:28 PM, Janice Ulangca wrote:

> Colleagues,
> Home yesterday (Sat.) from exciting time with John Shelby Spong and  
> Carleton and Ellie Stock at Chautauqua. Last night discovered this  
> from Rabbi Michael Lerner, sent July 1.  Did a quick edit of part  
> for the service at my new congregation, very open to such things -  
> am talking to pastor about having it read by 2 folks alternating  
> during prayers at this morning's service.  The edit is below the  
> link.  Full article is long, contains much food for thought.  May  
> your July 4th of July contain wonder and new insights!  And blessed  
> anniversary to Fred and Nancy Lamphear.  Janice Ulangca
>
> ------------------
> Check out An Alternative July 4th Celebration -- How to Do It at  
> http://www.tikkun.org/article.php/2010070113015360
> ------------------
>
> We are proud of the people of this country in many of the same ways  
> that we are proud of our own families -- not by denying that there  
> are problems, sometimes even overwhelming problems, but that we are  
> still proud and care very deeply about them, and are committed to  
> working through the problems.
>
> At this July 4th celebration, let's give thanks for the ordinary  
> and extraordinary Americans whose struggles have made this a better  
> country for everyone.
>
> We give thanks for the waves of immigrants from all parts of the  
> world who struggled to accept each other and find a place in this  
> country. Many of our ancestors were among them.
>
> We give thanks for the escaped slaves and their allies,  who built  
> the underground railroad and helped countless people to freedom.   
> And for the coalitions of religious and secular people -- women and  
> men, black and white -- who built popular support for the  
> emancipation of the slaves.
>
> We give thanks for the immigrants who refused to close the borders  
> of this country to new groups of immigrants, and who continue to  
> support a policy of "welcoming the stranger" just as this country  
> opened its gates to their ancestors when they were the immigrants  
> and strangers, and to all who fight for the safety and decent  
> treatment of immigrants.
>
> We give thanks for the working people who championed protections  
> like the eight-hour day, minimum wage, workers' compensation, and  
> the right to organize, often at great personal cost to them.
>
>  We give thanks for those who continue to work for equal access for  
> people with disabilities.
>
> We give thanks for those who advocate for sensitivity to animals  
> and to the earth itself.
>
> We give thanks for those who developed innovations in science and  
> technology, in literature and art, in music and dance, in film and  
> in computer science, in medical and communication technologies, and  
> in methods to protect ourselves from the destructive impacts of  
> some of these new technologies.
>
> We give thanks for those who fought for peace and nonviolence, and  
> who helped stop many wars.
>
> And we give thanks for those who brought to this country the  
> insights of their own religious traditions that emphasized love and  
> caring for others and generosity toward those who had been  
> impoverished --  and  who sought to turn those ideas not only into  
> a call for personal charity but also into a mission to transform  
> our economic and political systems in ways that would reflect those  
> values.
>                                                 Adapted from  
> Michael Lerner’s July 4th Celebration
>
>
> NOTE from Janice:  In Lerner's original there is also a line about  
> those who advocate homosexuals and transgendered.  Our  
> congregation, thank God, is very welcoming, has homosexuals in  
> leading positions, speaks of that justice often.  I was sorry to  
> leave it out, but it was late and I could not quite figure out how  
> to gentle Lerner's language a bit - didn't think this was the time/ 
> way to put it in.  Enough radical here in other ways.
>
>
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