THE PARTY LINE
CAN!
by Ty Hayashi
(Editor’s note: Ty
contributed two more pictures and also explanations of those drawings. Please contact Ty if you’d like to see those. As editor, I have to ensure a balance of
overall materials in this newsletter.
Thanks for understanding, Pastor Frances.)
From two months ago, due to stay-at-home boredom, I
sketched & painted, and got my family involved (see featured paintings in
an earlier newsletter) [Editor’s note: you can find these great paintings in
the 4/15/2020 newsletter, “Page 3, The Party Line.” You can find that easily by
scrolling up, looking at the right-hand column, and click on this item.] I was pleased because I could never draw and
mine looked at least as acceptable as theirs.
. . .
For “Jesus Every Morning”, I manipulated perspective (e.g.
the angular bus and newsstand vs. the square newspapers spread on the ground)
partly for emphasis, partly because consistency looked weird. As we walk by such individuals we are
confronted with alternative realities—theirs, which seem real to them, somehow
seem a bit off to us, mainly because we can't possibly relate to theirs first
hand. And we may wonder, How can they
live that way? how did they get
there? Are they ill or addicted? Do their families care? Conversely, from their viewpoints, our
realities must seem somehow off, too, even if they transitioned from ours to
theirs. And they might wonder who we are,
how we can continue to live like we do, what we think of them, what makes us
tick, or what we most value or long for.
. . .
The drawing is straight-forward enough, but expresses some
of the heartbreak I feel each time I witness Jesus every morning. (Since
the stay-at-home order, though I no longer daily walk through early downtown, I
still do sense Jesus out there, alone and ignored.)
A note re. late bloomers:
Frank Lloyd Wright, Cezanne, Rodin, Robert Frost, & Mark Twain
created many of their greatest achievements in their later years. I suggest we chance 'em! and not use age as
an excuse not to try. Never mind no come
out good first time. . . . Good fun! Try! Can!
PANDEMIC INFORMATION
Watch legendary Dr. Jane
Goodall, DBE, Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace,
talk about why she thinks animals are not to blame for the current pandemic.
Quotes from this video.
Interviewer: “Have you ever
met a chimp you didn't like?”
Dr. Goodall: “Yes I did,
they're much too much like humans! . . . bullies,
aggressive, just not nice . . .”
Dr. Goodall: “Climate change
is much more urgent than even this pandemic.
We are part of this natural world and not separate from it.”
SOME (A LOT OF) GOOD NEWS
HEARTWARMING GOOD NEWS OF
KINDNESS
FROM KENTUCKY
 |
| Jake Bland |
He noticed that one of those on his route, an elderly single woman, hadn’t put out her trash for two weeks...he felt...he knew...that something just wasn’t right. So instead of just moving along without a second thought, he called his dispatcher, Bernice Arthur, and voiced his concerns. She called the 90-year-old customer and was relieved that she answered the phone, but was heartbroken when she found out why she hadn’t taken out her trash.
She didn’t have any.
Said Bernice, "She just
didn't have nothing to eat….and that's why she had no trash to put out
there." She depends on public
transportation to get to and from anywhere, and because of a now limited public
transportation schedule but mostly because of wisely having great fears about
getting on a bus with a lot of other people, many unmasked.... she was doing
everything she could to try and stay safe.
And she ran out of food. Ten days before.
 |
| Bernice Arthur |
"She has no family,
nobody. I said, ‘You do have a family
now.’” She asked her to please compile a
grocery list...and don’t be shy…. which she did. After his shift, Jake returned to her house
and picked up the list. He then went
shopping and delivered the food and staples to ‘Mrs. W.’ Paid for by the
company. He would have preferred to help
her put everything away, but was instructed by Mrs.W to put everything in the
garage so to keep everyone self.
Said Bernice, "Had we
not reached out to her…. she wasn't reaching out to anyone, and it taught me,
regardless, check on them. Put something on their porch. Let them know." And the company vowed to check on the many
elderly and disabled customers that they have, as throughout the country, many
of these brothers and sisters are struggling to get food. Even more so than they usually do.
And that they will check on
Mrs. W every week.
And as Jake observed,
"It was even in a nice neighborhood. You never know what's going on in
your neighbor's house."
(accessed: May 18, 2020)
FLOWER FLASH IN NEW YORK
CITY
(courtesy of Kathy Young)
“The normally bustling New
York is now quiet and empty, full of inexplicable desolation and loneliness ...
until a certain morning, when you walked in a corner of Manhattan, you
accidentally encountered a large bouquet of flowers, and bumped into the arms
of spring’s abundance ... You cannot help stopping, can't help lingering, can't
help feeling. It turns out that the flowers are still blooming under the haze
of the pandemic. It turns out that even though life is so fragile, it is still
so beautiful! This genius idea for
decorating Manhattan with flowers comes from floral designer Lewis Miller. In
the past few months, Lewis Miller and the team have been secretly creating what
they call ‘Flower Flash’, a flower arrangement in Manhattan trash cans and
street corners. ‘Flower Flash’ aims to honor the medical staff and other first
responders, to bring joy to New Yorkers who commute on a daily basis, and let
in the spring of during the pandemic.”
RAMADAN KAREEM—A REMINDER
THAT WE (AND OUR FAITHS) ARE MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT
Excerpts from a Ramadan reflection by Aysha Qamar, a Pakistani Muslim:
We’re more than halfway through
the month of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which symbolizes
the time of the year in which Islam’s prophet Muhammed received the revelation
of the Quran, serves as a spiritual and religious time for practicing Muslims.
Ramadan isn’t just about
abstaining from eating. It can be observed in many ways, from spending time
with your loved ones to giving to charity: It’s a month for you to make the
change you desire in yourself. Whether it’s being thankful for the privileges
we may have, to reflect on one’s actions, or to become overall better people, a
month of fasting teaches you about yourself. Each year I observe Ramadan is
unlike any other; each year I learn something new about myself and reflect upon
the growth it brings.
The Quran says, "O Son
of Adam, even if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and were you
then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you.”
Ramadan allows me to not only
bring myself closer to God and my religion but myself. It allows me to learn
how far I can push myself to change as it reminds me that God is all-forgiving.
It reminds me that if God, a higher being, can forgive my worst actions than so
can I. It allows me to take time out of my day and find the inner peace that
brings me closer to loving my Lord. Ramadan reminds me that everyone makes
mistakes, and everyone can receive forgiveness.
https://m.dailykos.com/stories/1944060
(accessed: May 18, 2020).
CLOSING PRAYER
(Adapted from Ministry
Matters)
Spirit of God, we long to be
open to your presence in our church and in our lives. Fill us with your wind
and fire, that we might be enlivened again. Help us hear the words as if for
the first time, that they might touch us anew. Give us visions and dreams of
what you long for in your creation, that we might begin to live them into
reality. Come, Spirit; come into our worship, into our church, into our very selves.
Amen
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