WorldHope Corps

Columbia: The Confederate flag was flying overhead at the Capital Building as my host drove me by on the way to the Word of God Church and Ministries—the host church for the 13th Annual Communities of Shalom Celebration in South Carolina. There really are two States in South Carolina: one Black and the other White. Thirty Shalom Site Coordinators and over two hundred members of shalom teams gathered for two days for spiritual support, biblical teaching and practical workshops. Youth groups from several churches came to sing and participate. I was there to bring greetings from the National Shalom Office and meet with all the shalom coordinators for planning purposes. Rev. Rudy Rasmus was there as the featured speaker for the event. http://www.gospelcity.com/image.php?imageID=29780 As Pastor Rudy mounted the pulpit to preach about shalom ministry, we all wondered about his weird beard. A slim, agile, energetic, compelling, good looking man in his early 50’s, Pastor Rudy sported long

In the constellation of Leo the Lion, in the southeast portion of the sky in conjunction with the planet Saturn, an eclipse of the Moon occurred on Wednesday night, February 20, at 10:51 pm. Lunar eclipses traditionally have been viewed as bad omens, for it can awaken irrational passions. But this year, it occurred on my birthday. Rebecca joined me at the Observatory at Drew for a telescopic view of the red eclipsed moon over Madison. What a majestic, other worldly sight it was. Earlier in the week, we took a pleasant morning hike in the Great Swamp where ducks and geese of many varieties enjoyed with us a rare 65% degree Spring day in the middle of winter. Breakfast in bed, a sushi lunch, time with family, and cards from many dear friends--all made for a wonderful birthday celebration of 55 years planet earth.

I address my commentary today to my friends on the political right, who, like me, suffer from the illusion that sharing our respective views on religion or politics can actually change each others' minds. Why does the Religious Right not trust Obama? One of my friends and dialogue partners, (I’ll call him Ralph), is senior pastor of a large, predominately white, suburban church in California, and is fond of sending me emails that raise my ire. And, I confess, I enjoy provoking him as well. For example, I sent him and others last week this link: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/Clergy/ It was an online petition to sign or not called: "Clergy Concerned For Fairness in Politics." Instead of joining me in adding his name to the document, we exchanged a series of pointed emails about our respective views on presidential politics and religion. Ralph, like others of the Religious Right, objects to Obama for these reasons and more: • Obama does not condemn abortion or gay marri