For Women Everywhere: Mother's Day is for Protest, Prayer & Peace

For all who suffer for one reason or another on Mother's Day, I fully acknowledge you.  I am one of you, too.  For years this day has reminded me of the scars in my heart and the empty womb that once held embryos but was unable, for whatever reason, to keep them alive.  There are other pains, too, that I will not share in such a public place, but you can be sure that they are there.

Take heart, dear ones.  Much love to all of you!  I pray that we all will find comfort and renewed passion by examining our roots. 

Photo by Matt Wynne

Mother's Day is not about chocolates and flowers (although both, if fairly traded and pesticide free, are lovely).  It's not about jewelry and store-bought cards.  This day is not about being a consumer zombie.

This morning, my pastor reminded us all that Mother's Day in America originated with the prayerful protest of Julia Ward Howe.  In her earlier years she had penned the Battle Hymn of the Republic, but as she experienced the dreadful agony of war, her motherly despair caused her to cry out against the violence.  (Experience of violence, grief and suffering has a tendency to change our theology.)  As relevant today as it was when it was first prepared, let us read, hear, speak and pray these words of protest, prayer and womanhood.  Let us remember what it means to be alive!

Against war. 

Against mindless consumerism feeding ceaseless hunger for more.  

Against governmental decisions that put our loved ones in danger on account of lust for money and power. 

Dust and Ashes: Mortality, Ash Wednesday & Collective Memory

Fellow zombies attempting to remember our Identity,

Yesterday we began one of the most intense seasons in the Family year.  As our heads were marked with ashen crosses, we exhaled and sighed, remembering that humankind was created from the dust of the earth and animated by the Breath of our Creator.  We all know, don't we, the pain that comes with the return to the earth?  Death hardly ever comes easily or quickly.  Very few people simply drift from this life into the next without a fight.  We live in a society seemingly hell-bent on retaining animation as long as possible.

Ash Wednesday, dear brothers and sisters, reminds us that we will return to the earth.  But this is not the end, dear ones.  Oh no, this is not the end.

Zombies Brewing

"The Taste of Blood & Brew"
Photo by Trista

My husband and I just finished watching Beer Wars -- a documentary about the beer industry and what it takes for independent brewers to get any traction.  What a wretched business!

Don't get me wrong; I very much enjoy beer.  I support the small companies in our area and buy niche' products when I can.  My irritation comes from the knowledge that the beer giants do everything they can to eliminate their competitors.  What is worse, though, is that Americans buy into their marketing campaigns. 

Even worse than mindless consumption is the devouring of our politicians' brains by this (and the other two) corporate giants.  By taking their money, our senators and house representatives pledge to support these beer companies' interests, and they all work together to keep the small, delicious companies out of our reach.  There is a question posed at the end of the movie.  Will we have access to the beers that we like, or will we allow the corporate giants to tell the government what we should be able to drink?

I think that we have this question in many arenas, not just in the brewing world.  It boils down to whether we buy into the marketing campaign or whether we choose to employ our brains.  Every dollar that we spend sends some message to someone.