Notes for Today’s Worship Service (9/28/14)
Song: Our Own Backyard was written by some very wise third graders…. with a little help from folk singer John McCutcheon. John has produced 36 albums and currently is working on his 37th—a tribute album to Joe Hill, a labor worker who was executed in 1915. (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1821176249/joe-hills-last-will-a-new-recording-by-john-mccutch ) For more information about John, visit his website at: www.folkmusic.com (John: “Nobody else had claimed the address, so I took it!”) FYI: John lives in the metro Atlanta area (Smoke Rise). He is a great musician and a generous and kind human being!
People’s Climate March video: www.peoplesclimate.org
Powerpoint: Photos from some of the places I visited on sabbatical.
Japanese Garden (Portland, OR). “A Japanese Garden is not only a place for the cultivation of trees and flowering shrubs, but one that provides secluded leisure, rest, repose, meditation, and sentimental pleasure… The Garden speaks to all the senses, not just to the mind alone.” japanesegarden.com
International Rose Test Garden (Portland, OR…just across the road from the Japanese Garden!) “In 1917 a group of Portland nurserymen came up with the idea for an American rose test garden. Jessie Currey, president of Portland’s Rose Society at the time, petitioned for the city to serve as a safe haven for hybrid roses grown in Europe during World War I. Rose lovers feared that these unique plants could be destroyed as a result of the war. Foreign hybridists sent roses for test from many countries and the garden was an immediate success.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Rose_Test_Garden
Columbia River Gorge and 3 of its waterfalls (Oregon). “Rapid uplift of this region over the last two million years has forced the Columbia River to incise the Gorge as seen today. Vertical basalt walls along the Columbia River Gorge are graced with the greatest concentration of waterfalls in North America—77 on the Oregon side alone! They come in all shapes and sizes and can be classified into eight forms: plunge, horesetail, fan, cascade, punchbowl, block, tier, and segmented. Latourell Falls is named after Joseph Latourell, a prominent Columbia River Gorge settler. Height: 249 feet. Type: plunge. Wahkeena Falls. This 242 (tiered) falls was once known as Gordon Falls in honor of pioneer land-owner F.E. Gordon. In 1915, the name was changed to Wahkeena – the Yakama Indian word for “most beautiful.”Multnomah Falls is the highest waterfall in the Columbia River Gorge with a total drop of 620 feet. http://www.columbiarivergorge.info/
The Highlander Center for Research and Education, New Market, TN. June 29 – July 3, I attended a songwriting camp led by John McCutcheon. The experience was life-changing. Part of what made the week special was being in a place with such a rich history of active engagement in social justice issues. Here’s a blurb from their website: “Highlander serves as a catalyst for grassroots organizing and movement building in Appalachia and the South. We work with people fighting for justice, equality and sustainability, supporting their efforts to take collective action to shape their own destiny.” www.highlandercenter.org
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH…I attended the Summer Acoustic Music Week. Beautiful!
Norris Dam State Park, Tennessee. I spent a total of 3 weeks (in two visits) at this beautiful state park! For those who watched “The Roosevelts,” here’s a blurb about Norris Dam’s connection to the TVA and CCC, two critical pieces of the New Deal. “Construction of Norris Dam began in 1933 as the first project by the Tennessee Valley Authority, a Great Depression-era entity created by the federal government to control flooding and bring electricity and economic development to the Tennessee Valley. Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees were sent to build the park. Many of the facilities at the park were constructed by the CCC and are still in use. [Kim: I stayed in a cabin built by the CCC!] Norris Dam State Park was named for Nebraska Senator George William Norris, who lobbied intensively for the creation of the TVA in the early 1930’s.” http://tnstateparks.com/parks/about/norris-dam
Ireland. These are just a few glimpses of our time in Ireland. Here’s a little more info on the Cliffs of Moher from Wikipedia. “The Cliffs of Moher are located at the southwestern edge of the Burren region in County Clare, Ireland. They rise 390 ft above the Atlantic Ocean at Hag’s Head, and reach their maximum height of 702 ft just north of O’Brien’s Tower, eight kms to the north. The tower is a round stone tower near the midpoint of the cliffs built in 1835 by Sir Cornelius O’Brien. From the cliffs and from atop the tower, visitors can see the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, the Maumturks and Twelve Pins mountain ranges to the north in County Galway, and Loop Head to the south. The cliffs rank are amongst the top visited tourist sites in Ireland, and receive almost one million visitors a year.”
Offertory: Music video: Biosphere. Doug Hendren is a new friend I met at songwriting camp. A retired orthopedic surgeon, he devotes much of his retirement to writing songs and producing videos like this one. For more of Doug’s songs and videos, visit www.musicalscalpel.com
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We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.
Hildegard of Bingen, 12th c. abbess and mystic
reallifepastor 