Well, according to Beck, I guess we’ll have to find a new church.

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/03/08/glenn-beck-urges-listeners-to-leave-churches-that-preach-social/

http://mediamatters.org/mmtv/201003110017

…if I told anyone here or not, but we’s having another baby. Sometime in August methinks.

Not only has it been a surprise to have such an extended lull on this blog, but it is even more surprising that no one here has brought up the most debated and controversial subject being addressed in the media today: health care.

Well, I’d like to play some catch up today. I’ve been dialoging/debating on a mass email with my wife’s family on this issue for the last month or so. The topic of health care reform has proven rich in bringing up all kinds of underlying presuppositions that I am ashamed we haven’t yet hashed out here.

The issue as I see it is that a type of reform is needed (few seem to argue that point), some are concerned that having a national option would increase the government’s role in our lives, and some think the current administration isn’t going far enough and should develop a single-payer plan.

So what say you?

http://catholicanarchy.org/?p=982

An interesting blog post by my pastor on a disturbing topic: http://unexpectedemergence.wordpress.com/2009/06/19/the-american-patriots-bible/

When Mark walks in my office and asks if I have heard anything yet, I am sorry to tell him I haven’t. I am still waiting for the phone call, still anticipating his acceptance. Two to three years living on the streets, camping in the woods, squatting in abandoned sheds, and I tell him two to the three more days should not be a big deal. But what do I know? There have been storms every night. One more sleepless evening trying to keep the water out of his sleeping bag could mean everything. And when I get off work, I get to go home to a decent house, a loving wife, a cute little boy, and a dry bed.

I went to college after two years of working construction with my dad. It did not take long for me to realize that pounding nails is something I would not do for the rest of my life. I just wouldn’t. Instead, I would go to school, study something interesting, and get a good job. Sounded easy enough, and eight years later – with numerous odd jobs, dropped classes, skipped semesters, and failed relationships – it happened. I made it. It took longer than most, and I did something no one else in my family had ever done, but I also did something Mark would probably never do. I may have had certain cultural and economic disadvantages that prolonged my achieving a university degree and made it difficult, but I also had definite advantages over my homeless client. I had a family that loves me, a fairly stable upbringing, and no mental illness society could hold against me. [...]

So I’ve made a change in my church affiliation. There is probably not a need for too much detail on the reasons and background intellectual development that brought me to this point. All that has been pretty well documented on this website through various conversations here over the last couple years.

Currently, we have finally settled on a new church home that has been a long time in the making. We are now actively attending Brentwood Christian Church. It is one I learned of from a local public radio advertisemet that grabbed my attention. They advertised themselves as a body of sojourners interested in issues of peace and social justice from the perspective of a faith community. My attraction should seem obvious to those who know me and have followed my spiritual journey over the years.

For anyone interested, their website is here: http://www.brentwoodchristianchurch.com/, although this one may be a bit more informative as to the work that initially appealed to me: http://www.springfieldawakening.com/.

Leaving the Catholic Church was a difficult, deliberate, and painful position for us to arrive at, but we now finally feel at peace with it. At last. Like I said, it has been a long time in the making, seeing as I first learned of Brentwood over two years ago, have had numerous contacts with their pastor since that time, have visited the church a handful of times, and have eventually realized that it would be the best fit for us.

For me, the decision was mainly ideological; for Amanda, it was mainly an issue of community. Whereas I grew tired of the friction of remaining in a body I constantly felt theological tension in, Amanda (well, and me too) grew tired of not having a sense of community with those we worship with.

We are now at home.

From Readers Digest:

We raise 60 billion animals for food each year – 10 animals for every human on earth. If you grow corn and eat it, you expend 2.2 calories of energy to yield 1 calorie of protein.

But if you process that corn, feed it to a steer, and take into account the other needs that steer has in its lifetime – land use, chemical fertilizers (largely petroleum based), pesticides, machinery, transport, antibiotics, and water – you’re responsible for 40 calories of energy to get that same 1 calorie of protein.

A steak dinner for a family of four is the rough energy equivalent of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the lights on at home.

The average American meat eater is responsible for one and a half tons of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gase – enough to fill a large house annually – than someone who eats no meat.

Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_vegetarianism.

[...]

This just in from Branden:

Hello, Amalie Rose Stone was born May 9 at 6:15pm. She was 7 pounds, 3ounces and 20 inches long. We are all home now and enjoying the new addition to the family.

 Below is a link to some pictures:

http://www.getdropbox.com/gallery/895842/1/Amalie?h=b3d5b2&p=0

Branden.

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/daily/economics/redistribution_of_wealth_its_i.php#more

http://blog.sojo.net/2009/04/01/rush-limbaugh-to-speak-at-sojourners-mobilization-to-end-poverty/#rush_video

For nine months, the Tonarelys have been waiting and planning for their new baby. An early ultrasound showed it to be a girl. Well, that baby sister to Atticus finally came around 9:30 this morning. They had a homebirth, one that lasted for nearly 13 hours once true labor began.

I saw the video, and it was pretty cool. I even showed up later and ate some leftover Chinese that was sitting on their table next to dehydrating placenta. And somehow, it didn’t even gross me out. But the true surprise came when Michael and Katie’s newborn daughter came out with a penis.

Welcome to the world, August Harper Tonarely.

Now this is a bottom-up approach.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-chattman/forgiving-student-loan-de_b_164103.html

 and

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=46657437878#/group.php?gid=46657437878&ref=mf

http://www.anglocatholicsocialism.org/landmark.html