Halloween

 Time flies, even during the Pandemic of 2020

It's hard to believe 10 years have passed since my DR mission with such fun people in a wonderful country. Now I have to enjoy life much closer to home...no missions for me during the pandemic. And no gatherings as in my DR congregation...sigh...

I feel fortunate during this pandemic to live where I can safely walk and breathe fresh air. Many are not so fortunate.

I enjoyed seeing all the baby ducks along the banks of an inlet at the Palo Alto Baylands and was reminded that ducks quickly learn to swim and fend for themselves. Migratory birds find their way home.    Not so human babies. Too many have been separated from their mothers, perhaps never to be reunited. The following dilemma is inhumane and inexcusable:

[There has been] a wide-ranging campaign to track down parents separated from their children at the U.S. border beginning in 2017 under the Trump administration’s most controversial immigration policy. It is now clear that the parents of 545 of the migrant children still have not been found, according to court documents filed this week in a case challenging the practice. About 60 of the children were under the age of 5 when they were separated, the documents show."

an excerpt from a NY Times editorial states:

In the beginning of the pandemic we rallied, sending loved ones rolls of toilet paper and handing out fruit to delivery drivers. Now, living under a blanket of restrictions has become a way of life, a daily routine of risk calculation and caution. But cases are once again spiking around the world and many people have what some call “pandemic fatigue.” “The rituals of hope and unity that helped people endure the first surge of the virus have given way to exhaustion and frustration.” Everywhere you turn there’s a feeling of burnout, which is even more pronounced for essential and front line workers. The holiday season will be a challenge for morale. Jorg Klebingat, one of our church leaders told us 6 months ago:  "We are never stuck in our present situation.Don't ever tell anyone you can't teach an old dog new tricks. We are never finished or acceptable in our current state. We need to progress, move forward setting goals.   Pray specifically to help find the one. Be observant, looking for someone...to minister to. You might be the answer to someone's prayer."

Four beautiful Helen Keller quotes to give us hope at this time:

*Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.

*The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.

*The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome.

*When we do the best that we can, we can never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

The last presidential debate, October 22, between Pres. Donald Trump and former vice president (under Obama) Joseph Biden, moderated by NBC’s Kristen Welker, focused on six topics: the coronavirus, race relations, climate change, national security, American families and leadership. It was much calmer than the first one! Twelve days before Election Day, more than 47 million Americans have cast ballots, already surpassing the total early vote count in the 2016 election. Have you voted????

I left a big chunk of my heart in Chile when I finished my mission there 16 months ago, just before protests really heated up. 

‘An End to the Chapter of Dictatorship’: Chileans Vote to Draft a New Constitution

SANTIAGO, Chile — The protests started over a small hike in metro fares, then exploded into a broad reckoning over inequality that shook Chile for weeks. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets, calling for sweeping change in their society, with higher wages and pensions, better health care and education.The movement soon seized on a vehicle for their demands: Chile’s Constitution. The existing charter, drafted without popular input during the military dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and approved in a fraudulent plebiscite in 1980, was widely blamed for blocking change — and seen as a lingering link to a grim chapter in Chile’s history. On Sunday, just over a year after the massive demonstrations swept the nation, Chileans voted to scrap the dictatorship-era document and write a new one — a process that could transform the politics of a country that has long been regarded as one of the most stable and prosperous in Latin America. With 100 percent of the ballots counted, voters approved the referendum in a landslide victory, and 78 percent voted in favor of a new Constitution.

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The US Constitution framers were not perfect, but wisely allowed for the many compromises that were then, and will always be needed to form a "more perfect union" of our great new country. Our constitution calls for a commitment and passion for freedom, justice, equality, and unity amidst dissent. Vigorous disagreement, today and as at the signing, and in Lincoln's "Cabinet of Rivals", is the way to move forward towards the common good. We can disagree in politics, but not in life, as consistent with Gospel teachings based on the two great commandments: to love God and our neighbor. The worth of each soul is great. And with any reconciliation, there cannot be contempt, enmity, but respect, civility, care for the least of God's children, for both men and women, poor and wealthy, the educated and uneducated, and for all races, religions, creeds. We need all voices, but let's progress, not regress! Below, good news for the Catholic Church, thanks in large part to an open-minded pope....

Pope Francis on Sunday named Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, a cardinal, elevating the first African-American to the Catholic church’s highest governing body, a groundbreaking act in a year when demands for racial justice have consumed the country.

Even with our fun traditional activities such as Halloween, we must learn to adapt and compromise. Vote, and then 

"trick or treat" with social distancing behind your mask...