1.
A Prayer for Animals by Albert Schweitzer*
2. Activist Feedback
3. Essay: Using Our Talents
4. Vegan Organic Network: www.veganorganic.net
5. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
1. A Prayer for Animals by Albert Schweitzer*
Hear our humble prayer, O God, for our friends the animals,
especially for animals who are suffering;
for animals that are overworked, underfed and cruelly treated;
for all wistful creatures in captivity that beat their wings against
bars;
for any that are hunted or lost or deserted or frightened or hungry;
for all that must be put death.
We entreat for them all Thy mercy and pity,
and for those who deal with them we ask a heart of compassion
and gentle hands and kindly words.
Make us, ourselves, to be true friends to animals,
and so to share the blessings of the merciful.
* Schweitzer’s authorship of this prayer has been disputed
2. Activist Feedback
Patricia, who tabled at San Francisco World Vegetarian Day, writes:
The two-day event was again successful in terms of having a Christian
presence. So much encouraging support for what CVA does and being there!
Several availed themselves of materials to share within their
churches. Plus, there was more than one educator planning to share CVA
materials with their class. Also, veg stickers including a baby chick
depiction with a “Jesus Loves Me Too’ line, were very popular with ALL
ages, and helped draw folks to the table. Special thank you to Paris
Harvey for procuring those stickers.
This is an excellent opportunity to witness for Christ! It is truly a
welcomed blessing.
Upcoming Activist Opportunities
11/25 SC Aiken Casting Crows Come to the Well Tour
11/26 TN Knoxville Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour
12/1 TX San Antonio Casting Crowns Come to the Well Tour
12/2 TX Belton Casting Crowns
12/2 TX San Antonio David Crowder Bands Last Tour
12/3 LA Bossier City Casting Crows Come to the Well Tour
12/4 MS Jackson Casting Crowns - Come to the Well Tour
12/4 AL Chelsea Kampfire for the King
12/2 TX Dallas World Vision / A Christmas Spectacular
12/8 GA Atlanta World Vision / A Christmas Spectacular
12/9 NC Winston-Salem World Vision A Christmas Spectacular
12/9 OK Oklahoma City Night of Stories Christmas Tour
12/16 TX Richardson Night of Stories Christmas Tour
12/18 MO Independence World Vision A Christmas Spectacular
5/20/12 CA Van Nuys TABLE WorldFest 2012
International Event:
11/20 Canada, Ontario Parkway HUGE! Winter Jam
3. Essay: Using Our Talents
Reflecting further on last week’s theme of utilizing our talents, I
am reminded of Ernest Becker’s comment to young mothers who asked him
what they should say when their children are old enough to ask where
babies come from. Becker said that they could talk about the egg and the
sperm and the baby growing in the mother’s womb, but they wouldn’t
really be true. To be honest, Becker observed, we really don’t know
where babies come from. Similarly, we don’t know where our talents come
from – we just have them.
Perhaps, as many believe, talents are gifts from God. However, I
think such a view requires the adoption of an uncomfortable corollary,
which is that disabilities come from God as well. None of us is totally
able-bodied, and none of us is without talents. If the source of our
strengths and limitations is unclear, an even more profound mystery is
the source of life. How does a collection of inanimate atoms become a
feeling being with subjective experience? To attribute this to a divine
being seems like a reasonable hypothesis. It follows, in my view, that
in awe and in gratitude we should dedicate what talents we have to
serving God, the evident source of our being.
In the poem Two Tramps in Mud Time, Robert Frost wrote:
My object in living is to unite
My avocation and my vocation
As my two eyes make one in sight.
For the many people who do not have the luxury of unifying work and
avocation, I agree with Sam Keen, who said in his wonderful book Hymns
to an Unknown God that our work should not do violence to our values. A
difficulty is that many of us work for corporations, and corporations
exist to make money, not to enhance societal well-being. In future
essays, I’ll explore the challenge of making a living while maintaining
one’s values.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
4. Vegan Organic Network: www.veganorganic.net
“Our aims are to research and promote vegan-organic (also known as
stockfree organic) methods of agriculture and horticulture throughout
the world so that green, clean and cruelty-free food becomes widely
available.”
5. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
Standing against the Giants in the Land
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s13nov88.html