heart thread - 4/8/2008

Grandmère Mimi has shared many stories of life in Louisiana (Sazerac, anyone?) and these have included reports on the work the Bishop and Diocese have been doing to rebuild New Orleans and minister to those in need. We have journeyed there with Kirstin during her intersession ministry in January. Today Kirstin has posted about the work in New Orleans and how it has affected her. If you have read some of Mimi's reports you are aware that there is opposition to some of the ministry being done. Servanthood is not always popular or welcome and those whom it makes uncomfortable can seek to thwart it.

So let's keep Bishop Charles Jenkins and the other folks of, or temporarily ministering in, the Diocese of Louisiana in our prayers. They need to be upheld. And those they seek to serve often have so little and need so much. Woven throughout it all is the shared humanity and graces of the Spirit by which all give to one another and receive from one another. Pray for that corner of God's reign.

While looking for photos of something quite different today I stumbled upon a photo related to rioting in Haiti where people are dealing with food shortages. Tonight I saw a diary by Samza at Daily Kos sharing e-mails from a friend in Haiti. State Department employees are having to flee to a building where there are Marine guards. We may hear much more of this in the days ahead or--as is equally likely--we will hear nothing about it in the MSM.

At BBC News we get the headline "Hungry mob attacks Haiti palace."

Crowds of demonstrators in Haiti have tried to storm the presidential palace in the capital Port-au-Prince as protests continue over food prices.

Witnesses say the protesters used metal bins to try to smash down the palace gates before UN troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse them.

Several people are reported to have been injured in the clashes.

At least five people have been killed in Haiti since the unrest began last week in the southern city of Les Cayes.


The demonstrators outside the presidential palace said the rising cost of living in Haiti meant they were struggling to feed themselves.

Buried in the article is a paragraph that should give us all pause: "Violence in Haiti has often been linked to poverty with more than half the population surviving on less than a dollar a day."

Security boosted amid violent protests over prices in Haiti
AFP - 1 hour ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE (AFP) — Blue-helmet UN peacekeepers were called in Tuesday to protect Haiti's presidential palace after violent demonstrations against high ...
Haiti’s food protest continues radiojamaica.com
Haiti crowds demonstrate against high prices Australian News

Let us pray for the people of Haiti.

Food prices are skyrocketing and it has only just begun. We are in for some very bad repercussions, if I guess aright.

Let us pray for the wisdom and will to sort out the world's resources that none may go hungry or suffer from malnutrition.

With recent news of protests, riots, repression, and re-education in Tibet and elsewhere in China, let us remember cultural and religious minorities throughout the world, Tibetans and all the Chinese people, those who live under repressive regimes throughout the earth.

I want to remember Ormonde who is still going through his chemo, though he doesn't talk about it;

Eileen who is still recovering from her ectopic pregnancy;

Freedom Bound and his former partner who now must sort out their lives and identity without doing so in terms of each other

The assaults on gay members of Changing Attitude Nigeria during Easter weekend remind us of the consequences of prejudice and prejudicial language. h/t to Susan Russell.

Let us pray for all who suffer violence or are threatened with it simply because of who they are (no matter what the category).

Caminante asks our prayers for Dean (R.I.P.), Naomi, Emilee, Esther, and her own self (Lee).

I know it is going to take a while for my friend Roussel to heal from her fall and broken hip. Pamela's eye is coming along nicely, though she still relies on her husband to drive. Tad is healing too.

I've forgotten many, of course, and you have your own names to add. Thank you for holding the world in love and compassion.

May Our Prayer Be as Incense

Almighty, everlasting God, let our prayer in your sight be as incense, the lifting up of our hands as the evening sacrifice. Give us grace to behold you, present in your Word and Sacraments, and to recognize you in the lives of those around us. Stir up in us the flame of that love which burned in the heart of your Son as he bore his passion, and let it burn in us to eternal life and to the ages of ages. Amen.
--the BB