It's been a few months since my last blog entry. A lot has happened since this summer and I thought given recent events it might be a good time to update.
This semester has been challenging for a number of reasons. Course work has been heavy, I've been laid off from my job at Prince of Peace, and I find myself missing Emily like crazy while she is on internship in Ohio. It's been really difficult for both of us to be 500 miles apart 90% of the time. My visits to Toledo have been great but I wish they were longer and more frequent...
I've met some really great people on my visits to Toledo. Two members of the congregation, Gene and Janet, have really been a great help to Emily and have taken very good care of her, they always take us out to dinner when I come to town and always include Emily in things that they do. There are a lot of older members with very low incomes. The amazing thing, and Emily will back me up on this, is that they all love to give, sometimes until it hurts, most times it hurts. It's as if the charge they get from giving makes the hurt worth it...
Two other people out of many worth mentioning that I am particularly fond of are Adam and Mildred. Adam is probably in his late 30's with a mentality somewhat like a 10 year old. He is a very "sweet" guy, as Emily would say. He's always very happy and very excited to talk to you. He is also very concerned with people liking him and always does his best to put his best foot forward and is very thoughtful and great. He loves the Toledo Mud-Hens so Emily and I are thinking about taking him to a game in the spring.
Mildred is very old and grandmotherly. She refers to me as Emily's "Sweet Petunia" which I find hilarious. We took Mildred to an event hosted by a local church at a near-by comedy club when I was in Toledo for Thanksgiving and we all had a wonderful time. Every time I would come to Toledo, Emily would say that I had to meet Mildred and I was very glad when I finally met her.
This school year I have the amazing opportunity to work in the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry of the New Jersey Synod of the ELCA. This office works with the state government independently and through coalitions to try and pass legislation that the church believes strongly in. We have been focusing on Low-income housing, LIHEAP (Low-Income Heating Energy Assistance Program), Anti-hunger, and Anti-poverty issues. It's been a wonderful experience and I work with an amazing supervisor who teaches me more than I ever imagined I would learn. So if you want to know what I plan to do with my seminary degree, this is it. I want to advocate for the marginalized and help work with state and/or federal governments to improve the qualitiy of life for everyone, no exceptions.
Ok, so you're probably reading this thinking "wow, this is all really nice but I started reading because it says 'engaged' at the top of the page!"
Emily and I are officially engaged to be married as of December 24, 2008. We will be married in Newton, NC on October 10, 2009. So far we've picked a date (but not a time) and the places to have the ceremony and reception (as long as Emily's parents approve.) The colors for the wedding will be brown and cream with both the bridesmaid's dresses and the grooms tuxes being brown with cream colored accents. We haven't maid official decisions about the bridal party but I think we should have that nailed down in the next week. Emily and her mom are out right now getting pedicures and if I had to guess, I'd say that they were also buying a wedding gown.
We've also decided on some things for the service. We're definitely going to have communion but we're going to skip the unity candle. There will be lots of singing and hopefully lots of involvement from our seminarianish friends. We met with Pastor Jane of Beth Eden this morning and we were very happy with the outcomes from that meeting so things are certainly looking up, as if being engaged wasn't enough :-D
We are both very thankful for your kind regards and prayers! More to come later, I'm sure.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Picture New Leadership on Global Poverty and Debt!
My previous blog entry was concerning a campaign at Jubilee USA entitled “Stop the Vulture Culture!” We are excited to report that Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) will introduce a bill into the House of Representatives outlining regulations and penalties for companies who engage in the profiteering of defaulted sovereign debt. It’s time to start calling your Members of Congress to ask them to co-sponsor this Vulture Funds legislation!
Another campaign at Jubilee is “Picture New Leadership on Global Poverty and Debt.” We’re calling on the next president of the United States to take an affirmative stance on debt cancellation and to provide more and better aid to highly indebted countries. We are also asking the next President to appoint a Secretary of the Treasury who will share these goals.
So, let’s start at the beginning. Why is debt relief important? In the case of Haiti, the average family used to spend about 80% of their budget on food. The price of food has now doubled in a very short period of time, which as you can guess or have probably seen on the world news, has led to a hunger crisis in Haiti.
What does this have to do with debt? Haiti accrued 45% of its $1.46 billion debt under its two notoriously brutal dictators, “Papa-Doc” and “Baby-Doc” Duvalier. The Duvalier’s squandered the money loaned to them by creditor institutions and used very little of it to help the citizens of Haiti. It is reported that “Baby-Doc’s” wife Michele Duvalier spent $20,000 on a weekend shopping spree in New York City.
The point is that the citizens of Haiti, now people living in the world’s first black republic, are victims of an irresponsible regime and should not be made to pay the odious and illegitimate debts accrued by the Duvaliers.
Haiti currently pays $58 million in debt repayment and interest annually, which is diverting money, energy, and attention away from the hunger crisis in Haiti. That’s over 1 million dollars per week that could be put towards relief efforts.
Does debt relief work? Yes! Social spending in countries that receive debt relief has gone up by 75%. The funds are being used to abolish school fees, provide free immunizations, fight HIV/AIDS, and improve access to safe drinking water!
The benefits don’t stop at social improvements. Extreme environmental degradation has left Haiti more susceptible to natural disasters such as mudslides and Hurricanes. Debt relief could expand Haiti’s environmental budget ten fold and help them come up with a sustainable strategy for protecting their citizens from natural disasters.
By this point I’m sure you’re wondering what you can do to help. Jubilee’s Picture new leadership campaign is asking for groups of people to get together and take a picture that can be sent to both Senator’s McCain and Obama’s campaign offices. The picture should be of you and your friends, office, or any other group holding a sign that says; “Picture an end to Global Poverty! More and Better Aid!” Debt relief is a root solution for many other social problems all over the planet and we need you to get involved!
E-mail your picture to Mercedes@jubileeusa.org and we’ll put it up on our website and fax it in to your local campaign offices, make sure to tell us where you’re from in your e-mail. For more information about our “Picture New Leadership” campaign visit www.jubileeusa.org/leadership.html.
Another campaign at Jubilee is “Picture New Leadership on Global Poverty and Debt.” We’re calling on the next president of the United States to take an affirmative stance on debt cancellation and to provide more and better aid to highly indebted countries. We are also asking the next President to appoint a Secretary of the Treasury who will share these goals.
So, let’s start at the beginning. Why is debt relief important? In the case of Haiti, the average family used to spend about 80% of their budget on food. The price of food has now doubled in a very short period of time, which as you can guess or have probably seen on the world news, has led to a hunger crisis in Haiti.
What does this have to do with debt? Haiti accrued 45% of its $1.46 billion debt under its two notoriously brutal dictators, “Papa-Doc” and “Baby-Doc” Duvalier. The Duvalier’s squandered the money loaned to them by creditor institutions and used very little of it to help the citizens of Haiti. It is reported that “Baby-Doc’s” wife Michele Duvalier spent $20,000 on a weekend shopping spree in New York City.
The point is that the citizens of Haiti, now people living in the world’s first black republic, are victims of an irresponsible regime and should not be made to pay the odious and illegitimate debts accrued by the Duvaliers.
Haiti currently pays $58 million in debt repayment and interest annually, which is diverting money, energy, and attention away from the hunger crisis in Haiti. That’s over 1 million dollars per week that could be put towards relief efforts.
Does debt relief work? Yes! Social spending in countries that receive debt relief has gone up by 75%. The funds are being used to abolish school fees, provide free immunizations, fight HIV/AIDS, and improve access to safe drinking water!
The benefits don’t stop at social improvements. Extreme environmental degradation has left Haiti more susceptible to natural disasters such as mudslides and Hurricanes. Debt relief could expand Haiti’s environmental budget ten fold and help them come up with a sustainable strategy for protecting their citizens from natural disasters.
By this point I’m sure you’re wondering what you can do to help. Jubilee’s Picture new leadership campaign is asking for groups of people to get together and take a picture that can be sent to both Senator’s McCain and Obama’s campaign offices. The picture should be of you and your friends, office, or any other group holding a sign that says; “Picture an end to Global Poverty! More and Better Aid!” Debt relief is a root solution for many other social problems all over the planet and we need you to get involved!
E-mail your picture to Mercedes@jubileeusa.org and we’ll put it up on our website and fax it in to your local campaign offices, make sure to tell us where you’re from in your e-mail. For more information about our “Picture New Leadership” campaign visit www.jubileeusa.org/leadership.html.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Vulture Culture!
So, part 2 of My beatitudes blog is going to outline one of our new fall campaigns at Jubilee USA. It's a little sad that I'll be working on this for the next month and won't be here in the fall to see it's effectiveness but maybe someone will keep me in the loop!
"Vulture Culture" Is a campaign to stop vulture funds from preying on small impoverished countries.
Let's start at the beginning, why are these countries in debt to begin with and who do they owe the money to? Many highly impoverished poor countries ascertain debt through dictators and governments who greedily mismanaged the funds collected by the state from the people whom they serve. When a country runs out of money they have the option to borrow money from sources such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Later, after these governments have been removed from power, the country is left with large amounts of debt that can total hundreds of billions of dollars. The country can then apply for debt cancellation from their creditor, a practice that Jubilee supports in full.
Sometimes before a deal is finalized for debt reduction or cancellation, a company will swoop in and buy the debt from the creditor, usually for slightly more than the amount that the creditor has agreed to settle the debt to the poor country. This company will often draft a thick legally binding contract that an impoverished nation may not have the legal expertise to be able to see the full legal scope of the contract.
If you haven't guessed already, these company's have been nick-named 'vulture funds.' After the poor country has payed the agreed upon amount, the 'vulture fund' will then sue them for the original amount of the loan.
For Example>
Romania loans Zambia $15 million. Zambia was not able to repay the loans because the farming equipment they bought with the loan did not work well and European Agricultural subsidies rendered Zambia unable to hold stake in the global market place. Romania and Zambia came to an agreement to liquidate the debt to $3 million. Donegal International saw this as an opportunity and paid Romania $3.3 million for the debt. Due to interest and back payments, the debt was valued at this time to be $30 million. This transaction occurred while Chiluba, a notoriously corrupt man, was President of Zambia.
By the time Zambia had settled on a debt settlement with Donegal International, the value of the debt was held at $44 million. Donegal International settled on a re-payment figure of $15 million (does that number sound familiar?).
Soon after, Zambia stopped paying the debt saying that it was accrued under corrupt circumstances. Donegal waited to sue Zambia until one month before Zambia qualified for HIPC, the Highly Impoverished Poor Countries Intitiative. The G8 leaders in 2005 voted to relieve all of Zambia's debt. Unfortunately, the Donegal International debt was not included because it was not held by a country but rather by a company. Donegal International then took this opportunity to sue Zambia for $55 million, the full amount of the original debt plus interest and penalties. After the case was taken to a British court the debt was reduced to $15.5 million, $.5 Million more than the original loan.
So, Jubilee is on a mission to "Stop the Vulture Culture!" Soon there will be a petition at www.stopvultureculture.org that you can sign and we'll deliver it to as many banks involved in vulture activity as we can! Get educated and stay tuned for more information!
"Vulture Culture" Is a campaign to stop vulture funds from preying on small impoverished countries.
Let's start at the beginning, why are these countries in debt to begin with and who do they owe the money to? Many highly impoverished poor countries ascertain debt through dictators and governments who greedily mismanaged the funds collected by the state from the people whom they serve. When a country runs out of money they have the option to borrow money from sources such as the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund. Later, after these governments have been removed from power, the country is left with large amounts of debt that can total hundreds of billions of dollars. The country can then apply for debt cancellation from their creditor, a practice that Jubilee supports in full.
Sometimes before a deal is finalized for debt reduction or cancellation, a company will swoop in and buy the debt from the creditor, usually for slightly more than the amount that the creditor has agreed to settle the debt to the poor country. This company will often draft a thick legally binding contract that an impoverished nation may not have the legal expertise to be able to see the full legal scope of the contract.
If you haven't guessed already, these company's have been nick-named 'vulture funds.' After the poor country has payed the agreed upon amount, the 'vulture fund' will then sue them for the original amount of the loan.
For Example>
Romania loans Zambia $15 million. Zambia was not able to repay the loans because the farming equipment they bought with the loan did not work well and European Agricultural subsidies rendered Zambia unable to hold stake in the global market place. Romania and Zambia came to an agreement to liquidate the debt to $3 million. Donegal International saw this as an opportunity and paid Romania $3.3 million for the debt. Due to interest and back payments, the debt was valued at this time to be $30 million. This transaction occurred while Chiluba, a notoriously corrupt man, was President of Zambia.
By the time Zambia had settled on a debt settlement with Donegal International, the value of the debt was held at $44 million. Donegal International settled on a re-payment figure of $15 million (does that number sound familiar?).
Soon after, Zambia stopped paying the debt saying that it was accrued under corrupt circumstances. Donegal waited to sue Zambia until one month before Zambia qualified for HIPC, the Highly Impoverished Poor Countries Intitiative. The G8 leaders in 2005 voted to relieve all of Zambia's debt. Unfortunately, the Donegal International debt was not included because it was not held by a country but rather by a company. Donegal International then took this opportunity to sue Zambia for $55 million, the full amount of the original debt plus interest and penalties. After the case was taken to a British court the debt was reduced to $15.5 million, $.5 Million more than the original loan.
So, Jubilee is on a mission to "Stop the Vulture Culture!" Soon there will be a petition at www.stopvultureculture.org that you can sign and we'll deliver it to as many banks involved in vulture activity as we can! Get educated and stay tuned for more information!
MemorySuppliers.com
The fine people at MemorySuppliers.com are giving me $15 back on my order today for posting this link to their website on my blog. Thank you Memory Suppliers!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Part 1 of my Beatitudes Society Blog
So, this week I am required as part of my fellowship to blog three times. This is the first one. Enjoy!
Greetings from Columbus, OH!
I’m currently sitting in the Port Columbus Airport waiting for a connecting flight through NY to finally arrive back in my summer hometown of Washington DC.
For those of you who may not know what Jubilee USA does, here’s a brief rundown. Jubilee is an organization committed, like many other organizations, to ending global poverty. Jubilee insists that debt cancellation for developing nations is one of the most important things we can do to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Why debt relief? It turns out that many highly impoverished poor countries have borrowed money from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other lending sources and have been sacrificing the well being of their citizens in order to pay down their debts, some of which were acquired under brutal dictatorships. Lending conditionality, vulture funds, and high interest rates are the three main contributors to global poverty where debt is concerned, but I’ll spare you a lecture on odious and illegitimate debt.
This weekend I’ve had the opportunity to attend Jubilee’s annual grassroots organizing conference in Columbus, OH. It was a jam-packed weekend of speakers and workshops, panels and fun. I was assigned to camcorder and picture taking duty for most of the weekend which turned out to be perfect. It gave me the opportunity to walk around and meet lots of folks from all over the country and to sit in and record some very interesting workshops on debt relief. Organizing a conference, as a co-worker put it, is a lot like having a baby. It needs constant attention. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.
Later this week I’ll catch you up on some of the things I’ve been doing in the office. Here's what you can look forward to: I’ll continue putting together my network of seminarians, trying to come up with community leaders to participate in an interfaith dialogue about debt relief and analyzing data to help with some strategic planning. I’ll also give you some insider information about our upcoming fall campaigns, “Stop the Vulture Culture” and “Picture an End to Global Poverty: A Call to the Next President to Make Debt Relief a Serious Priority, and Appoint a Treasury Secretary Who Will Do the Same. (We’re trying to come up with a better name…)
Greetings from Columbus, OH!
I’m currently sitting in the Port Columbus Airport waiting for a connecting flight through NY to finally arrive back in my summer hometown of Washington DC.
For those of you who may not know what Jubilee USA does, here’s a brief rundown. Jubilee is an organization committed, like many other organizations, to ending global poverty. Jubilee insists that debt cancellation for developing nations is one of the most important things we can do to fight poverty and achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
Why debt relief? It turns out that many highly impoverished poor countries have borrowed money from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and other lending sources and have been sacrificing the well being of their citizens in order to pay down their debts, some of which were acquired under brutal dictatorships. Lending conditionality, vulture funds, and high interest rates are the three main contributors to global poverty where debt is concerned, but I’ll spare you a lecture on odious and illegitimate debt.
This weekend I’ve had the opportunity to attend Jubilee’s annual grassroots organizing conference in Columbus, OH. It was a jam-packed weekend of speakers and workshops, panels and fun. I was assigned to camcorder and picture taking duty for most of the weekend which turned out to be perfect. It gave me the opportunity to walk around and meet lots of folks from all over the country and to sit in and record some very interesting workshops on debt relief. Organizing a conference, as a co-worker put it, is a lot like having a baby. It needs constant attention. Needless to say it was a busy weekend.
Later this week I’ll catch you up on some of the things I’ve been doing in the office. Here's what you can look forward to: I’ll continue putting together my network of seminarians, trying to come up with community leaders to participate in an interfaith dialogue about debt relief and analyzing data to help with some strategic planning. I’ll also give you some insider information about our upcoming fall campaigns, “Stop the Vulture Culture” and “Picture an End to Global Poverty: A Call to the Next President to Make Debt Relief a Serious Priority, and Appoint a Treasury Secretary Who Will Do the Same. (We’re trying to come up with a better name…)
Monday, April 21, 2008
Lots of states, little time
This has been a marathon week. Emily and I started out last Friday and drove down to North Carolina for her friends Anna and John's wedding. Emily was the Maid of Honor so we had to be there early for the rehearsal dinner and other such activities. I got to hang out in the Hotel while Emily and Dr. Rainbow went to the festivities on Friday which was just fine with me as I had some work I needed to get done. I didn't get any of it done because there was a b-list movie on HBO but I had a nice night anyway, relaxing at least. You may be wondering who Dr. Rainbow is... Dr. Rainbow is Emily's friend from Davidson and yes, that is actually her last name, Dr. Catherine Rainbow....
The wedding was really swank. It was at a country club in Raleigh, and they served Filet Mignon, had a swing band and and open bar. There were 270 people there. It was a touch awkward since I knew absolutely no one and Emily was in the wedding. I kept getting the 'who is that' stare from everyone in sight. Oh well, at least I had beer to keep me company.
We left North Carolina on Sunday after Brunch and drove up to Washington D.C. to Spend the night at my cousin Matt's place, where I'll be staying this summer while working at Jubilee USA. The plan was to go and see where the Jubilee Office actually was and to take the proper metro devices to arrive there on time for my first day of work. It didn't work out that way... We didn't even get to the bus stop in the way we should have. We walked around 3 city blocks instead but finally got there. We got on the bus and didn't have the right change, thankfully the bus driver let us ride for free "you'll spend enough when you get downtown" he said...
We rode the bus all the way to the Capitol building when I realized that I didn't actually know where Jubilee was located aside from being 1 block behind the Capitol Building to which Emily noted that this information wasn't as helpful as I thought it might be. Oh well. We went to the Newseum instead! The Newseum is a very cool museum and in my opinion is worth the $20 for admission. They have an exhibit of Pulitzer prize winning photos and a significant 9/11 exhibit. Very cool stuff!
To the left is a picture of Emily with Herbert Hoover. He's alive!!!
To the right is Emily on the balcony of the Newseum in front of the Capitol Buildin
g, she thinks she's some kind of movie star :-)
We also visited with our friend Ilene from seminary. She has a ginormous house near the Adams Morgan train station. She took Eric and I to an Ethiopian restaurant, that was a new experience. It was very basic, chicken and eggs and such, you have to eat it with bread, meaning that they don't use utensils like a knife or a fork. I also learned that you have to eat it with your right hand which made it difficult for me since I can't feel my right hand, but it turned out ok :-) I think I'm really going to like living in DC this summer. I honestly can't wait to get there!
We drove back Monday night after Emily was finished with her meeting at the Larsh community near Ilene's house. I hope she gets the job there because I'd really like her to be near by this summer. Not to mention what a great experience it would be for her.
Tuesday was a day that I meant to use to get things done but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way. I forget what I did in the morning besides sleep. Tuesday night Emily and I went to pick up Grandmom to go out to dinner with Dad and Diane. I hadn't seen Grandmom since she got back from Florida so I was glad that we were all going out together. I miss her when she's in Florida but I'm glad she goes. She told us that she was thinking about having Gastric Banding surgery in order to lose weight so that maybe she would be able to get around better on her own. I think it's a great idea. It's a little scary but I want her to be comfortable and to live as best as she can. So this week she'll have a cardiac catheter this week and I'll go and stay with her that night to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
Wednesday, I left with a group of students from the seminary to go to the Lutheran office of World Community at the United Nations in New York. We spent Wednesday night getting to New York on many trains and subways. It's never fun trying to navigate New York when you don't know where you're going. We stayed at the Sefarer's and International House which is like a hostel or dormitory for Christian Groups or Military personnel. It was nice enough, each room was small with a single bed, a desk, a sink, and a tv. We shared bathrooms and showers with about 5 other rooms. It was only 1 block from Union Square which made it very convenient to get to the UN. We met with a number of outstanding speakers on the topic of Human rights over the two days and came home with lots of materials to read and study. There's just too much information to let it all out here. Let's just say that it was a great trip and
I'm really glad that I went.
Finally back in Philadelphia on Friday night, I got some dinner and hung out with Emily for the rest of the night. We took Grandmom shopping on Saturday morning which is always fun. She took us out to lunch and even bought me some new pillows. Got home around 4:30, ate some dinner then went to the movies with Emily, Annette, and Paul, we saw the new Ben Stein Documentary, 'Expelled.' I didn't care for it but I think Emily did so while I can't recommend it I can't say not to see it. Helpful, I know...
Ok class is almost over and I'm done writing. More to come after exams in late May...
The wedding was really swank. It was at a country club in Raleigh, and they served Filet Mignon, had a swing band and and open bar. There were 270 people there. It was a touch awkward since I knew absolutely no one and Emily was in the wedding. I kept getting the 'who is that' stare from everyone in sight. Oh well, at least I had beer to keep me company.
We left North Carolina on Sunday after Brunch and drove up to Washington D.C. to Spend the night at my cousin Matt's place, where I'll be staying this summer while working at Jubilee USA. The plan was to go and see where the Jubilee Office actually was and to take the proper metro devices to arrive there on time for my first day of work. It didn't work out that way... We didn't even get to the bus stop in the way we should have. We walked around 3 city blocks instead but finally got there. We got on the bus and didn't have the right change, thankfully the bus driver let us ride for free "you'll spend enough when you get downtown" he said...
We rode the bus all the way to the Capitol building when I realized that I didn't actually know where Jubilee was located aside from being 1 block behind the Capitol Building to which Emily noted that this information wasn't as helpful as I thought it might be. Oh well. We went to the Newseum instead! The Newseum is a very cool museum and in my opinion is worth the $20 for admission. They have an exhibit of Pulitzer prize winning photos and a significant 9/11 exhibit. Very cool stuff!
To the left is a picture of Emily with Herbert Hoover. He's alive!!!To the right is Emily on the balcony of the Newseum in front of the Capitol Buildin
g, she thinks she's some kind of movie star :-)We also visited with our friend Ilene from seminary. She has a ginormous house near the Adams Morgan train station. She took Eric and I to an Ethiopian restaurant, that was a new experience. It was very basic, chicken and eggs and such, you have to eat it with bread, meaning that they don't use utensils like a knife or a fork. I also learned that you have to eat it with your right hand which made it difficult for me since I can't feel my right hand, but it turned out ok :-) I think I'm really going to like living in DC this summer. I honestly can't wait to get there!
We drove back Monday night after Emily was finished with her meeting at the Larsh community near Ilene's house. I hope she gets the job there because I'd really like her to be near by this summer. Not to mention what a great experience it would be for her.
Tuesday was a day that I meant to use to get things done but for one reason or another it didn't work out that way. I forget what I did in the morning besides sleep. Tuesday night Emily and I went to pick up Grandmom to go out to dinner with Dad and Diane. I hadn't seen Grandmom since she got back from Florida so I was glad that we were all going out together. I miss her when she's in Florida but I'm glad she goes. She told us that she was thinking about having Gastric Banding surgery in order to lose weight so that maybe she would be able to get around better on her own. I think it's a great idea. It's a little scary but I want her to be comfortable and to live as best as she can. So this week she'll have a cardiac catheter this week and I'll go and stay with her that night to make sure that everything goes smoothly.
Wednesday, I left with a group of students from the seminary to go to the Lutheran office of World Community at the United Nations in New York. We spent Wednesday night getting to New York on many trains and subways. It's never fun trying to navigate New York when you don't know where you're going. We stayed at the Sefarer's and International House which is like a hostel or dormitory for Christian Groups or Military personnel. It was nice enough, each room was small with a single bed, a desk, a sink, and a tv. We shared bathrooms and showers with about 5 other rooms. It was only 1 block from Union Square which made it very convenient to get to the UN. We met with a number of outstanding speakers on the topic of Human rights over the two days and came home with lots of materials to read and study. There's just too much information to let it all out here. Let's just say that it was a great trip and
I'm really glad that I went.
Finally back in Philadelphia on Friday night, I got some dinner and hung out with Emily for the rest of the night. We took Grandmom shopping on Saturday morning which is always fun. She took us out to lunch and even bought me some new pillows. Got home around 4:30, ate some dinner then went to the movies with Emily, Annette, and Paul, we saw the new Ben Stein Documentary, 'Expelled.' I didn't care for it but I think Emily did so while I can't recommend it I can't say not to see it. Helpful, I know...
Ok class is almost over and I'm done writing. More to come after exams in late May...
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Changes...
So... It's been a pretty good day. I spent the morning in the LTSP (That's the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia for those of you playing the home game) archives removing staples from church documents from the mid-nineties. Then I spent a few hours with Kuhn followed by a trip down to Home Sweet Home Brew to get a new beer brewing kit with Paul. Unfortunately I was not expecting this next thing to happen.
Paul and I have gotten to be pretty close friends and some would say, including us that we share a fairly dysfunctional brain... We were going to live together next year in the Ho house and everything about it seemed great. It was going to be reassuring to have some around to connect with while Emily was on internship in Toledo, OH for a year starting in August.
There has been some turbulence with the staff here at the seminary. We're losing a total of 4 professors at the end of the year and they, specifically, give many students a reason to come here. Well, Paul's reason for being here seems to be leaving which makes me kinda sad. I was looking forward to us living together next year and having a lot of fun.
So now I'll be looking for a new roommate or coming up with a way to stay in my apartment next year. Emily's friend Mindy wanted to live here but if I don't find a roommate I'm not leaving.
I'm glad that he'll be going somewhere that will help him grow as a liturgist/pastor. I guess this sounds kinda dopey....
So right now we're making beer with our new kit and watching stranger than fiction with Emily and Annette.
So I'll be missing a lot of people next year. It's not like I won't be busy though. I'll have field ed at the New Jersey Synod Office of Governmental Ministry and the student body is voting to change the constitution so that I can run for SB President. Hopefully I'll get it.
I just needed to get that out. Anyone need a roommate?
Paul and I have gotten to be pretty close friends and some would say, including us that we share a fairly dysfunctional brain... We were going to live together next year in the Ho house and everything about it seemed great. It was going to be reassuring to have some around to connect with while Emily was on internship in Toledo, OH for a year starting in August.
There has been some turbulence with the staff here at the seminary. We're losing a total of 4 professors at the end of the year and they, specifically, give many students a reason to come here. Well, Paul's reason for being here seems to be leaving which makes me kinda sad. I was looking forward to us living together next year and having a lot of fun.
So now I'll be looking for a new roommate or coming up with a way to stay in my apartment next year. Emily's friend Mindy wanted to live here but if I don't find a roommate I'm not leaving.
I'm glad that he'll be going somewhere that will help him grow as a liturgist/pastor. I guess this sounds kinda dopey....
So right now we're making beer with our new kit and watching stranger than fiction with Emily and Annette.
So I'll be missing a lot of people next year. It's not like I won't be busy though. I'll have field ed at the New Jersey Synod Office of Governmental Ministry and the student body is voting to change the constitution so that I can run for SB President. Hopefully I'll get it.
I just needed to get that out. Anyone need a roommate?
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Wow, I used to be alot better about keeping on top of this thing...
Well, a lot has happened since my last post. I'm pretty sure that everyone has lost faith in my blogging since it's been over two months since my last post but, like I've said many times before, cheer up, ye of little faith for it's better late than never...
As far as I remember Christmas went fairly well. There was still a bit of awkwardness with the whole splitting up of families but it didn't seem to bother me. I spent a few days in North Carolina with Emily. I got to meet her parents and family. It was a good trip and we even got to tour the Builtmore House which, if you're wondering, is the largest single family residence in the country. It was George Vanderbuilt's house in Asheville North Carolina. It's beautiful, if you have the chance, don't pass it up.
I finished out my first semester of seminary. It went about as expected. Of course the second semester is kicking my ass much harder than the first semester ever did but it's basically my own fault. More about that later.
January was a nice escape from reality. It was great to not have classes to go to or books I had to read in order to pass those classes. I also got to go to California for the first time. Santa Barbara is an amazing place and if you want to see how beaches are supposed to look then Santa Barbara should be on you places to visit. I was there for a 4 day conference and learning experience on social justice, economics and the book of Matthew. It was great and given te chance I'll do it again. It opened my eyes to a new way of reading biblical text and also gave me the chance to meet some truly amazing folks who are making a difference in the lives of people all over the country.
This semester has been hard since I've decided to take an overload of classes, an internship, and work 15 hours a week. I've never been so busy in all my life. Unfortunately that's all I can stand to say about it at the moment.
I applied for and was chosen for a fellowship this summer in Washington DC. I'll be working with an organization called Jubilee USA who is an advocacy group for developing nations and tries to get congress to relieve their massive debts. I'm really excited about doing some real work this summer. My office is going to be only 1 block from the United States Capital Building! I'm excited about living with my cousin Matt and his girlfriend Seresa (SP?) for the summer. they live in NW DC so I'll have the pleasure of riding buses and trains to work every day.
I had another appointment with My Neuro-Oncologist last month and he says that I still have a tumor but that it hasn't gotten any bigger and he's not particularly worried about it. He did suggest that I start taking an aspirin every day to prevent stroke and that I'm about as healthy as a 45 year old man so I guess I'll be having my mid-life crisis any day now...
Paul (the other half of my brain) and I have been brewing beer as of late and the first batch wasn't awful. We were both pleasantly surprised by the Honky Hole Honey Weisse. The next beer which is scheduled for Debut this Friday after Tim's successful defending of thesis is The International Java Lager Style Ale. We'll see how it turns out. We actually think that this one will be good so by our current beer logic it will be crappy. Oh Well, we can't make all of the people happy all of the time.
On a sad Note Emily's Grandmother passed away this morning. Her name was Harriet Kuhn. Emily is at home now with family. Her family would certainly appreciate your prayers.
I'll try to post again soon when something interesting happens or maybe just report on whether the beer was good or not....
As far as I remember Christmas went fairly well. There was still a bit of awkwardness with the whole splitting up of families but it didn't seem to bother me. I spent a few days in North Carolina with Emily. I got to meet her parents and family. It was a good trip and we even got to tour the Builtmore House which, if you're wondering, is the largest single family residence in the country. It was George Vanderbuilt's house in Asheville North Carolina. It's beautiful, if you have the chance, don't pass it up.
I finished out my first semester of seminary. It went about as expected. Of course the second semester is kicking my ass much harder than the first semester ever did but it's basically my own fault. More about that later.
January was a nice escape from reality. It was great to not have classes to go to or books I had to read in order to pass those classes. I also got to go to California for the first time. Santa Barbara is an amazing place and if you want to see how beaches are supposed to look then Santa Barbara should be on you places to visit. I was there for a 4 day conference and learning experience on social justice, economics and the book of Matthew. It was great and given te chance I'll do it again. It opened my eyes to a new way of reading biblical text and also gave me the chance to meet some truly amazing folks who are making a difference in the lives of people all over the country.
This semester has been hard since I've decided to take an overload of classes, an internship, and work 15 hours a week. I've never been so busy in all my life. Unfortunately that's all I can stand to say about it at the moment.
I applied for and was chosen for a fellowship this summer in Washington DC. I'll be working with an organization called Jubilee USA who is an advocacy group for developing nations and tries to get congress to relieve their massive debts. I'm really excited about doing some real work this summer. My office is going to be only 1 block from the United States Capital Building! I'm excited about living with my cousin Matt and his girlfriend Seresa (SP?) for the summer. they live in NW DC so I'll have the pleasure of riding buses and trains to work every day.
I had another appointment with My Neuro-Oncologist last month and he says that I still have a tumor but that it hasn't gotten any bigger and he's not particularly worried about it. He did suggest that I start taking an aspirin every day to prevent stroke and that I'm about as healthy as a 45 year old man so I guess I'll be having my mid-life crisis any day now...
Paul (the other half of my brain) and I have been brewing beer as of late and the first batch wasn't awful. We were both pleasantly surprised by the Honky Hole Honey Weisse. The next beer which is scheduled for Debut this Friday after Tim's successful defending of thesis is The International Java Lager Style Ale. We'll see how it turns out. We actually think that this one will be good so by our current beer logic it will be crappy. Oh Well, we can't make all of the people happy all of the time.
On a sad Note Emily's Grandmother passed away this morning. Her name was Harriet Kuhn. Emily is at home now with family. Her family would certainly appreciate your prayers.
I'll try to post again soon when something interesting happens or maybe just report on whether the beer was good or not....
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