Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, ‘Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John’— although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— he left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.Sister Mahalia will now sing for us.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?’ (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, ‘If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink”, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come back.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am he, the one who is speaking to you.’
John 4:1-26
O God, by your Word you marvelously carry out the work of reconciliation: Grant that in our Lenten fast we may be devoted to you with all our hearts, and united with one another in prayer and holy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai's wife, Susan, was killed in a car wreck, senior officials with his party told CNN Friday.This does not bode well. I am reminded of the "accident" that took the life of Archbishop Luwum in Uganda years ago.
Tsvangirai was injured along with an aide and the car's driver in the head-on collision with a large truck, according to Tsvangirai's spokesman, James Maridadi.
The extent of their injuries is not clear.
--CNN
Paul -- It turned out that the good news about Andrew, my rector's, wife's breast cancer was somewhat premature. Extended pathology work indicates that the margins were not clean and the form of cancer may be more aggressive than first thought. And Andrew's father has been back in and out of the hospital again this week as well. Prayers please for Andrew, Terri and Frank (Andrew's dad).Heavenly Father, giver of life and health: Comfort and relieve your sick servants, and give your power of healing to those who minister to their needs, that they may be strengthened in their weakness and have confidence in your loving care; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10:17-19)
Lord Christ, our eternal Redeemer, grant us such fellowship in your sufferings, that, filled with your Holy Spirit, we may subdue the flesh to the spirit, and the spirit to you, and at the last attain to the glory of your resurrection; who live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Katie and Jeremy's twins were born yesterday. 26 weeks and 1 day, for those of you who haven't already gotten the vital stats; Clara Elizabeth born first at 4:55 weighed 2 pounds even and Olivia Marie born at 4:57 weighed 1pound 7 ounces. The babies were transferred yesterday afternoon to Stanford Medical Center where they will stay for a few weeks of growing and then hopefully back to Community for the final weeks of 'feeder-grower'. Katie is doing great and will most likely be released late this evening.UPDATE:
Plans now are for Tim and I to take the RV to Palo Alto as a 'rest stop' for Jeremy, Katie and the family. Jeremy and Katie will spend the night at home and travel to Stanford on Friday. Katie's parents are also going to Stanford on Friday with a brief layover in Lodi.
Continue to pray for the babies and family...
Today we have the spring winds. I noticed everything in the garden swaying in the wind earlier. Then, much later in the day, I remembered that since the garbage and recycling folks had come by it was time to bring in my bins. Since a garbage bin had once blown who knows where, I was hoping I could retrieve them.
We didn't know it at the time, but in 2001, Bush asked for broad powers to use the military in the US. But the Bush Administration knew it. They knew that the legislative intent of the AUMF specifically stopped short of letting them use military power in the US. And that prevented them from doing some things they wanted to do.Which is where some of the memos come in.
Warrantless wiretapping under NSA, of course, is part of DOD and as such military. And the memo to Kris--which ostensibly only authorized the sharing of intelligence with law enforcement and vice versa--had the effect of blurring the lines between law enforcement and intelligence. So with this memo--sent to Alberto Gonzales and Jim Haynes but probably compartmented from people in DOJ whose eyes would pop at this reasoning--takes the blurred lines created in the Kris memo and blurred them much, much further.
In our view, however well suited the warrant and probable cause requirements may be as applied to criminal investigations or to other law enforcement activities, they are unsuited to the demands of wartime and the military necessity to successfully prosecute a war against an enemy. (John Yoo)It just gets scarier and scarier.
Following three months of investigation, California's secretary of state has released a report examining why a voting system made by Premier Election Solutions (formerly known as Diebold) lost about 200 ballots in Humboldt County during the November presidential election.
But the most startling information in the state's 13-page report (.pdf) is not about why the system lost votes, which Threat Level previously covered in detail, but that some versions of Diebold's vote tabulation system, known as the Global Election Management System (GEMS), include a button that allows someone to delete audit logs from the system.
In an agreement reached today between the former Bush Administration and Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Karl Rove and former White House Counsel Harriet Miers will testify before the House Judiciary Committee in transcribed depositions under penalty of perjury. The Committee has also reserved the right to have public testimony from Rove and Miers. It was agreed that invocations of official privileges would be significantly limited.You may read more here.
Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above. (John 3.3)
Bless us, O God, in this holy season, in which our hearts seek your help and healing; and so purify us by your discipline that we may grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Fundamental rights in California are recognized and protected by our constitution, which declares in Article I, Section 1 that "all people are by nature free and independent and have inalienable rights" and "among these are enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing, and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety, happiness, and privacy."If rights are inalienable, ballot propositions cannot take them away.
...
In 2008, the California Supreme Court was faced with the question of how the values enshrined in Article I apply to same sex marriages. It concluded that the concept of "liberty" includes the right to form the enduring relationship called marriage and that no compelling interest justified denying this right to same sex couples. Just like the right to be free from discrimination in housing, citizens have the right to be free from discrimination in state-granted marriage licenses.
You are THIS CLOSE to being disappeared.We may not have realized it at the time, but in the period from late 2001-January 19, 2009, this country was a dictatorship. The constitutional rights we learned about in high school civics were suspended. That was thanks to secret memos crafted deep inside the Justice Department that effectively trashed the Constitution. What we know now is likely the least of it.Jack Balkin:
This theory of presidential power argues, in essence, that when the President acts in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief, he may make his own rules and cannot be bound by Congressional laws to the contrary. This is a theory of presidential dictatorship.
I awoke this morning at 7am when my alarm went off, and at 7:05am I phoned the hospital, because those five minutes were such a long wait I couldn't hang on any longer. They told me that Ian's urine output had stopped during the night because his kidneys had shut down and so they had put him on dialysis. Apart from that there weren't any other real changes.
I have never been so scared in my entire life. He is my soul mate, my best friend, my hero. I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for him, and the thought of losing him is too much to contemplate. To think that almost a month ago he was complaining of an aching leg, and that it could lead to this, is terrifying. I need him to get well, I need him home with me. I love him with all my heart and right now I don't feel I can live without him.
Jannita called me at 4 a.m., the babies are coming! She just called again, they are here! One is bigger than they expect for 26 weeks and the other is smaller. She hasn't seen them yet but will call when she knows more!Jannita is a pediatric intensive care nurse so I know they will get the best care. But this is such an early start I know they will need continued prayer.
Clara Elizabeth is 2 pounds Olivia Marie is 1 pound 7 oz. Getting a ride to [San Francisco] before noon. Dr. said if they were his babies, that is where he would want them.Now we can pray for the babies by name.
Jeremy and Katie are staring at the four walls but enjoying each other's company. Today is 26 weeks. Hurrah! I didn't know time could move so slowly. We had a relatively calm day.
She is on a constant IV of magnesium, which is constantly being adjusted. It can really knock her socks off. She still has a good appetite but is not fond of hospital food. She is on the Jeremy diet-pizza, grilled cheese and chicken strips. We provide her with plenty of fresh fruit and salads. Her fluids are restricted so she dreams of 32 ounce big gulps. Thank you for your prayers. By the way, do you like Jeremy's chair?
Mimi has an update from Roseann:Well, things are up and down as usual. UAMS called me at 8:30 last night and said they would not put me on the transplant list. Apparently I have too many other health issues to resolve before they will put me on the list. So, I will just keep moving forward step by step. First up is the cervical biopsy and I'm having that Tuesday. Next will be the breast biopsy and I'm really not worried about that.
Emotionally I am okay at the moment. I was a wreck after getting the phone call but Gary talked to Dr Kimball and we're just going to keep moving.
THE GOOD NEWS is my donor is compatible so far. He is still willing and will wait this out with me.
Please continue to pray for Roseann and her husband, Gary. She added:
Mimi, thanks for the encouraging note. I appreciate your posts for and about me. It helps me feel the prayers. Love & peace, Roseann
I went to bed early last night, feeling upheld and surrounded by prayer. I am off for my doppler right now.
I am asking for prayers please. I have a friend who is a big lurker on these pages. She has come to know and read many of you, especially those in the cyber churchFor our unknown friend, prayers with love.
crowd, although I know she is also quite fond of at least one non-churchy type. I've barely linked to all the blog she reads - she is a much better blog friend than I am, so keep that in mind.
You just don't know her yet, but you will love her.
In any case, my friend and our lurker has some medical stuff going on and has a doctor's appointment on Friday. This appointment is very anxiety provoking for her... If you could send some prayers her way, that would be most welcome and most appreciated.
Thanks kids.
Ash Wednesday at the BART station
by Deb Tullman
"Hey, did you know today is Ash Wednesday?" a hipster spoke into his phone as 15 black cassocks passed him on 24th Street a block from the BART station. We joined three Brazilian drummers, censed a makeshift altar, and knelt and prayed. People poured out of the station. Some stopped to take pictures and videos from their phones, some tried to redirect the crowd's attention, and then gradually (who did it first?) the moment of realization, or curiosity...or something...and people began to come forward.
How many? It's hard to say. People stopped, stood on the fringes of the service, a circle formed. The kids couldn't keep their eyes off the thuribles' arc.
Sara Miles came over. "Want to come with me to Mission Pie and Dianda's?" We walked through litter and chaos and people knew what we were up to. Words seemed unnecessary in this moment of intense presence, when the fingers touch the temple and time stops over and over and over.
A man ran up to Sara and they said something in Spanish as she smiled and gave him his ashes. He bolted back to his car (temporarily abandoned in the right lane, horns around him blaring), hopped back in, and drove away.
Dianda's bakery wanted ashes too; I half laughed and half cried as Sara reached around the huge cake in one woman's arms as she stretched her head closer and closer. Babies, thugs, teenagers, businessmen...it went on and on.
I've been thinking. About what it felt like to swing a thurible in front of trash cans and storefronts. About secular and sacred practices of Lent and how the two bleed into each other. About something Sara said on our way back to the station: "I think people might want a lot more church than we give them."
John 2:13-22
The Passover of the Jews was near, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves, and the money-changers seated at their tables. Making a whip of cords, he drove all of them out of the temple, both the sheep and the cattle. He also poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. He told those who were selling the doves, ‘Take these things out of here! Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’ The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Grant to your people, Lord, grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and with pure hearts and minds to follow you, the only true God; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Sorry, Senator Franken, I couldn't resist borrowing a line from you.You have missed the fact that DOJ just admitted that BushShe has much more to say in her post. Just thought I'd keep y'all abreast of these ongoing revelations.liedprovided "inaccurate" information to the Courts, and that DOJ has just submitted new material that presumably corrects thatlie"inaccurate" information.
"First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully"
--John Yoo, bad lawyer who evidently offered his soul up to some demonic force
Each day for Katie consists of lying around on her bed and doing the best for her twins. Jeremy continues to work and spend as much time with Katie as possible. On this journey, we have discovered what wonderful and caring friends they have. Katie and Jeremy's two families are their constant support. They have wonderful church families that are praying for them and making such a difference. The staff at Fresno Community Hospital is unbelievable, absolutely devoted to making Katie's care top priority. Saying thanks for all everyone has done seems too trivial but we love all of you. I am able to stay with Katie due to a very understanding principal and my devoted teaching partner and friend and my dear friend, who is subbing for me. Eternal gratitude is yours. Katie's best friend, Enid, helped me add to their blog spot, as I am technologically challenged.I also got wonderful news at work today: my coworker Stephanie's mother, also named Stephanie, got back the biopsy reports and no cancer! Thank you all for your prayers.
Each day that passes is a blessing. Please pray for Katie and Jeremy and their babies. All things are possible through God.
If you are reading this you know how much Katie and Jeremy love each other and gain strength through that love. Katie is the strongest and most determined person I know and my absolute hero. Jeremy adds such a wonderful calm and peace to the situation and to her.
Via OCICBW:From Lisa at RANTINGS:Prayers for Ian and Lisa (and the dogs who know something is very wrong).
Dear Jonathan
I feel too sick with worry right now to blog about this, but I thought you might like to post a prayer request on my behalf. If there is a god and he answers my prayers you will have a real convert on your hands.
Ian was taken into intensive care last night. His fever was sky high, his skin all blotchy and he was having difficulty breathing. He's now sedated and on a ventilator. The doctors have advised me that he may not pull through. They still don't know for certain what's wrong with him, but the current thinking is that the infection in his hip was secondary and came from another infection elsewhere, possibly around his heart. Any build up of fluid around the heart is preventing it from pumping blood efficiently and causing fluid to back up into the lungs, hence the high heart rate, low blood pressure and difficulty breathing. A cardiologist is with him as I type this. I've been there with him all night but had to come home to see to the dog at 7am and go to the shop to send the staff home etc. I'll be going back there very soon.
Any positive vibes your followers can send his way will be much appreciated.
Lisa
Brian Connelly and his wife, Kara, had known each other since high school. They had remained friends, but they began a long-distance courtship after Brian was deployed to Germany. He proposed by webcam in February of 2007, and the couple were married while Spc. Connolly was home on a 18-day leave from Iraq in September.Source: IGTNT
Brian and Kara had great plans for the future. Just hours before his death, Brian told Kara that his tour of duty in Iraq had been shortened by three months and that he would be returning to Germany in May. Kara will complete her pre-medical sudies at Monmouth University in New Jersey in just over a year, and Brian had hoped to get a construction job to help his wife pay for her education when his enlistment was over.
Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Iran most likely has enough material to build a nuclear weapon, the U.S.'s top military official indicated on Sunday.Clutch the pearls and pass the salts, Mabel.
The remarks by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen are the first assessments officially made by Washington on Iran's nuclear capabilities.
"We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen told CNN's John King on State of The Union, when asked to comment on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) assessment.
--Mayur Pahilajani - AHN News Writer
The international agency said in the recent report that the Islamic Republic now has 1,010 kilograms of low-enriched uranium (LEU) hexafluoride, which according to some physicists is enough to build a nuclear bomb.
The concentration of U-235 is 3.49% in the enriched uranium that the Natanz plant is turning out. The IAEA has found no evidence (Download Iran 0902) that any higher enrichment is being produced. 3.49% is not enough to make a bomb. Iran is not in a position to make a bomb, unless there is a bunch of hidden stuff that nobody has found, involving big buildings that can be seen by satellite surveillance.[Emphasis mine]
It would take a reconfiguration of the Natanz facility that the inspectors would notice to produce bomb-grade uranium (concentration of U-235 of 90%). The inspectors also take environmental samples to verify the concentration of U-235. They would have to be kicked out of the facility and their video cameras taken down for Iran to do this.
