01.15.07 Tuesdays Reflection

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=220 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <IMG SRC="13eb8750.jpg" border=0 width="184" height="117" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <B>"We, who have received the love of Christ through the Spirit must not contain it..."</B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>Home Page</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U>Tuesdays Reflection</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mission Statement"><U>Mission Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id215.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Vision Statement"><U>Vision Statement</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id25.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ways You Can Help Us"><U>Ways You Can Help Us</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="All About VMM"><U>All About VMM</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Qualifications"><U>Application Qualifications</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Discernment Process"><U>Discernment Process</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="application.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Application Form"><U>Application Form</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Related Links"><U>Related Links</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id24.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bridges Newsletter"><U>Bridges Newsletter</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Letters from the Missions"><U>Letters from the Missions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id16.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adobe Printing Instructions"><U>Adobe Printing Instructions</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us"><U>Contact Us</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networkforgood/donate.jsp?ein=36-3153581" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.guidestar.org/partners/networ"><U><IMG SRC="1887e300.gif" border=0 width="126" height="48" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div>  <form method="get" action="http://search.atomz.com/search/"> <input size=15 name="sp-q"><br> <input type=submit value="Search"> <input type=hidden name="sp-a" value="sp10020180"> <input type=hidden name="sp-f" value="iso-8859-1"> </form></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FF0000" FACE="Arial" ><I><B>Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMM-USA)</B></I></FONT>    |     <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Volunteer Missionary Movement (VMMUSA)"><U>home</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tuesdays Reflection"><U>Tuesdays Reflection</U></A></div> <div> 01 15, 07  Human Relationship   </div> <div>       </div> <div> <I>“Our work entails human relationship, working and growing together to </I></div> <div> <I>build a more humane and loving world, filled with the Spirit of God </I></div> <div> <I>who sends us”.</I></div> <div> Spirit and Lifestyle</div> <bR> <div> Saturday morning, I went to a training workshop entitled <U>"Life Before </U></div> <div> <U>Profit"</U> put on by Kairos (www.kairoscanada.org), a group that unites </div> <div> 11 Canadian churches and church agencies in faithful action for </div> <div> justice and peace. The Catholic group Development and Peace promotes </div> <div> educational campaigns similar to Kairos' and recently the two groups </div> <div> have gotten much closer. The issues that the two groups are tackling </div> <div> are the same: water as a sacred gift and human right and Canadian </div> <div> mining in the Global South. Resource persons gave short presentations </div> <div> and a public interest expert guided us through political action to be </div> <div> taken.</div> <bR> <div> It is easy to feel overwhelmed, to feel that the goals are just too </div> <div> far off. We were urged to stop often to celebrate the steps along the </div> <div> way. For example, thirty years ago, airlines were urged to have a non- </div> <div> smoking section. It was one step, a small step. Now in Edmonton, </div> <div> smoking is not permitted in any public building. This came to include </div> <div> all tables in restaurants and recently all bars. When I taught in </div> <div> Quebec in the 60s, I sat around a table with 7 or 8 chain smokers </div> <div> for one or two weeks in June correcting provincial exams and usually </div> <div> spent the next couple weeks sick in bed. We have come a long way </div> <div> thanks to a long struggle of many small steps.</div> <bR> <div> In the last decade, I have attended several Kairos workshops and </div> <div> retreats. I was always the only Catholic. Saturday, two thirds of the </div> <div> participants were from Catholic parishes. Sunday, three of us met </div> <div> before mass to plan a francophone parish workshop on mines and after </div> <div> mass we were four of us to rehearse a skit on mines for the January </div> <div> 28 Knights of Columbus brunch. I sent a notice to the church bulletin </div> <div> inviting parishioners to attend International Week on campus at the </div> <div> end of January. Last time I issued an invitation, one couple came. We </div> <div> celebrated!</div> <bR> <div> Reread the Spirit and Lifestyle passage above. How will you celebrate </div> <div> this week?</div> <bR> <div> Birthdays this week: Lisa Ackerman McCrohan and Jo Ann McCaffrey. </div> <div> Keep them in your prayers and all the VMs in Central America and Africa.</div> <bR> <div> Cecily</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>