COFFEE BREAK 98

+ Updated at 3:17pm EST

+ It’s 3:16pm and I’m in the presence of angels + So are you!

+ The fascinating conversations in the Presbyterian blogosphere continue today at "The Universe and the Bible" and "Jesus, the coming King".  I have added to the conversation at the former post.

+ 2:40pm Weather Update:  The Lake Erie Snow Machine is dumping snow on Rochester again.  I was going to go shopping but decided to stay in.  I took Gracie the Poodle out for a walk and enjoyed it because I have a coat and gloves and boots.  It is quite windy.  I love snow.  Gracie does too.

+ "Supporting the Palestians -- 7" at The Abundancetrek Blog is an invitation to participate in the third annual Bethlehem Prayer Service jointly conducted via satelite in Bethlehem and Washington DC.  Here's an excerpt from the invitation:

In Bethlehem, behind the wall that separates neighbor from neighbor, patient from hospital, student from school and farmer from land, Palestinian Christians continue to bear witness to their faith this Christmas, as they have done for generations. Once again, let us join our voices with theirs in seeking and offering hope for a better future.   

+ It's Advent.  Here is the eleventh answer to the question Presbyterian Welcome has asked:

When the table is set, and one by one, or in twos or threes, they come in, the hungry, the lonely, the brokenhearted, the rich, the settled, the just-getting-by, the suburban mom, the single dad, the teen-aged boy, the toddler, the crazy old lady, the star soprano, the shy young man, the nerd, the preoccupied, the too-blessed-to-be-stressed, the neighborhood drunk, the wild-eyed mystic, the of-no-account, the beautiful newborn baby in the arms of her older brother, the tenderhearted, the junky, the old man with the parrot --- when they all come in, in such variety so as to defy describing -- each one carrying their burden of dreams and joy and sorrows -- and the table is round, and there is space for all of them, and more come, and there is laughter, and sobbing, and riotous communion, and time for each to say what is in their heart, and all of them together dwells in the assurance of the boundless goodness of God's grace -- I will know that the realm of God is near.
-- Lisa Larges, Minister Coordinator, That All May Freely Serve, San Francisco

+ The Lake Effect Snow machine is dumping snow in a couple of narrow bands East of Lake Ontario and East of Lake Erie.  Here in Rochester, about 3 inches fell overnight.  It covers up a lot of ice created by the slush which did not melt during yesterday's brief "heat wave."  This can be dangerous for pedestrians and automobiles.  I couldn't stop my car at a stop sign.  I slid right through the intersection.  

+ It's Advent.  Wake up and be aware. Pay attention. Make changes. Participate joyfully in building God's realm of abundance, joy, wisdom, beauty, love, truth, peace, justice and freedom.  Come quickly, Lord Jesus.  Liberate us from our captivity within the bounds of a too-limited faith.

+ I just discovered that my friend John Preston offers "Countdown to CO2PENHAGEN", a very informative article for the Presbyterian Global Eco(n)-Justice e-Newsletter. Excerpts:

• In the past, environment and social justice were too often separate tracks. Eco-justice acknowledges the inter-connections between environmental and social justice. Climate change exemplifies this as we see those already impoverished in the world encountering and suffering the impacts of global warming most severely, in the form of fatal droughts and floods. The developed world, as the major climate polluters in the world, is coming to recognize our responsibility for this suffering. More of us are accepting our moral obligation to support the current and future victims of climate change. The term for this cushioning is adaptation, which includes the social justice side of the equation.
• Wendell Berry in a recent essay entitled "Inverting the Economic Order" radically questions the basic paradigm of developed world economics. His agrarian perspective is a key to sustainability and the faithful stewardship of creation. Berry's way of looking at the economics of our earth is to understand that nature comes first, land use second, the manufacturing economy third, and the consumer and financial economy last. He charges that we of the developed world has exactly inverted this order, to our detriment.
  

+ I'm finding it hard to be excited about Obama going to Oslo to get his Nobel Peace Prize after his decision last week to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

+ There are some good things in the proposed Healthcare bill in the Senate such as extending Medicare to people between 55 nand 64; making Insurance companies Non-Profit; and ending the exclusion of people for pre-existing conditions. If Progressives want more (and I do!) we are going to have to get more Progressives elected to Congress.