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- Activist Feedback
- Comment on Last Week’s Essay
- Essay: The Faith of Paul
- This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
1.
Activist Feedback
Queenie, who leafleted with Sean and Bryce
at The Rock and Worship Road Show in Phoenix, AZ, writes:
The
event was HUGE! Sean had gotten there by 5:30pm and the line was
unbelievably long with people everywhere. One of the reasons it was
such a great concert to leaflet was because you have to buy tickets at
the door for only $10. Tons of people had to wait in line, and they
were very receptive to receive a booklet (something to do). We saw
people reading the booklets and passing them around to show their
group. We also saw hardly anyone just wasting/throwing the booklets
on the floor. Everyone was friendly!!
The take rate was also
very high (much higher than the last teen concert we had gone to). We
ran out of the box of CVA leaflets in a half hour. We passed out
another 500 Vegan Outreach “Compassionate Choices” leaflets before the
hour was over. The demographic ranged from group of teens, families,
to older couples.
Upcoming Outreach Opportunities
4/12-14 CA San Diego
Joyce Meyers Conference 2012
4/13-14 CA Sacramento
Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
4/13-14 NJ Rutherford
Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
4/14
OH Cincinnati Women of Faith "One Day"
Conference
4/14 CO Loveland
Women of Faith "One Day" Conference
4/14
OK Oklahoma City Women of
Faith "One Day" Conference
4/15 IA
Clear Lake
Tenth Ave North Christian Rock Concert
4/20-21 FL
Pensacola
Extraordinary Women Conference
4/20-21 FL Tampa
Acquire the Fire Christian Youth Conference
4/20-21 FL
Tampa
Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
4/21
NE Omaha
Women of Faith "Dream On" For Teen Girls Conference
4/21
FL Tampa
Tenth Ave North Christian Rock Concert
4/22
CA San Diego TABLE EarthWorks'
EarthFair 2012
4/22 MO St. Louis
TABLE Earth Day Festival
4/26-28 KY Louisville
Joyce Meyers Conference 2012
4/27-28 AL Birmingham
Extraordinary Women Conference
5/27
NY New York TABLE Veggie
Pride Parade NYC 2012
4/27-28 MI Lansing
Acquire The Fire Christian Youth Conference
4/27-28 MD
Baltimore Acquire The Fire
Christian Youth Conference
4/28 KY
Paducah
Toby Mac A Night of Stories & Songs
4/28-29 CT Hartford
TABLE Connecticut Vegetarian & Healthy Living Festival
5/20
CA Van Nuys TABLE WorldFest
2012
6/23 VA Richmond
TABLE Richmond Vegetarian Festival
2. Comment on Last
Week’s Essay
I wouldn't think of leaving my church because of
the majority of meat-eaters that also attend and worship with me.
We are the body of Christ (community) and therefore have MUCH in
common with each other.
When our many organizations hold bake
sales, etc to raise funds for the missions, youth groups, etc., I
always make a terrific vegan cake. When I get requests for
the recipe I print it out and depending on the individual I also
include vegetarian booklets. They are never graphic and usually
lean towards health issues.
People seem to be more receptive
when they have tasted something vegetarian/vegan and loved it than all
the preaching someone could do.
God bless and have a happy and
Holy Easter!
Terry McKinley
3. Essay: The Faith
of Paul
To my reading, Paul’s theology included a conviction
that Christian faith hinges on a belief that Jesus was obedient to
God’s will to become a sacrifice to atone for human sinfulness, which
the Resurrection validated. Those who have faith in the Resurrection
are no longer burdened by their sins, and they become into “new
creations” whose lives and beliefs mirror the “mind of Christ.” What
was the basis of Paul’s faith?
Paul had a transforming
experience on the road to Damascus, where he saw and heard the risen
Christ. Many people, particularly non-Christians, are skeptical or
even doubtful about the validity of this experience. Some might wonder
whether Paul had a psychotic episode. Whether or not Paul actually
interacted with the risen Christ, as best I can tell the experience
was very real for Paul, and it had a profound effect on him.
For Paul, faith was not difficult – as long as Paul believed that his
experience was valid, it was perfectly reasonable for him to conclude
that Jesus had indeed arisen from the dead. It logically followed from
such a miraculous event that Paul should radically change his life
from a persecutor of followers of Jesus to a follower of Jesus.
What about the rest of us, who have Paul’s report of his experience
but who have not had such an experience ourselves? On what
should we ground our faith? The faith of Paul was grounded in
evidence, yet many people of faith today seem to regard faith and
evidence-based conclusions (i.e., scientific approaches) as
contrasting or even conflicting paths to truth. Many seem to disregard
academic scholarship, which they evidently regard as a stumbling block
to faith, indicating that they see faith and evidence-based
truth-seeking as at odds. Next week, I will explore the faith of
Christ, and then I will consider contemporary Christian faith. I will
consider whether faith and science are partners or antagonists. I
think this question has important implications for animal issues.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
Palms, Praise, Fools, and Killing