Pope Francis’s core message of his first full day in Cuba has been “Serve other people, not ideology.”
People in the United States could very well receive the same core message when Francis arrives here later in the week.
Author: Joanne Corey
Please come visit my eclectic blog, Top of JC's Mind. You can never be sure what you'll find!
SoCS: Pope Francis
I heard this morning that Pope Francis is en route to Cuba, where he will spend a few days before arriving in the US.
His route here will take him to Washington, New York City, and Philadelphia. There will be high profile speeches to the US Congress, UN General Assembly, and at a conference on the family in Philadelphia. There will also be several public Masses with attendance in the thousands for the indoors ones and hundreds of thousands when outdoors.
I have been eagerly anticipating his arrival and plan to watch the coverage, including a group “watch party” for the Congressional address.
I was reading an article by Father Tom Reese in NCR the other day, asking if people would really hear what Francis has to say while he is in the US. I know that I will be listening carefully. I also know that, while I will agree with many of the Pope’s points, I will disagree with others. For example, Francis, though he means well, does not understand women’s lives. While he is wonderful about acknowledging social justice issues with those in poverty or on the margins, he fails to notice that this group is disproportionately female and that sexism and sexual violence/exploitation play a large role in their plight.
I am especially interested in how the Congress, many of whose leaders are Catholic, will react to what is sure to be a challenging speech to them, probably on the grounds of climate change, militarism, lack of care for the country’s and the world’s most vulnerable, rampant consumerism, and greed.
I am hopeful that Pope Francis’s voice on environmental issues and systemic marginalization of those with the least economic resources, especially in the global South, will spark conversation that will lead to a strong US voice for the climate and environment and for justice, for “integral ecology” as the Pope terms it, so that there will be a strong international accord coming out to the Paris climate talks at the end of the year with full US participation in the implementation.
That sounds like I’m asking for a miracle.
Maybe I am.
But I think there is hope through Francis, who speaks not only to Catholics but to “all those of good will” and maybe even may reach those who are not especially “of good will.”
Godspeed, Francis. May you have a safe and fruitful journey.
*****
This is part of Linda’s Stream of Consciousness Saturdays. This week’s prompt is route/root. Join us! Find out how here: http://lindaghill.com/2015/09/18/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-sept-1915/ 
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Memories of Peter
Last May, our community lost a wonderful friend and musician, Peter Browne. I wrote about here and here.
Now that September is here, we are missing him again. At Binghamton University, Harpur Chorale, which Peter had directed for many years, has begun the semester under the direction of a talented local music teacher who earned her master’s in choral conducting at Binghamton U. a few years ago.
Yesterday, I wound up having an extended conversation about bladder cancer, which what took Peter’s life so unexpectedly.
Today, I put on the car radio in time to hear the last movement of the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony. I immediately thought of Peter playing this piece with the Binghamton Philharmonic at the Broome County Forum.
All reminders of Peter and how much he is missed.
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Dessert Is Not the End, poem by Anne Harding Woodworth (MY SWEET WORD Series)
I am so happy to share a wonderful poem from Anne Harding Woodworth. I met Anne when we were both singing with the Smith College Alumnae Chorus, touring in Sicily. When I started to write poetry, Anne generously shared advice and tips with me. I am so excited that she has a poem in this Silver Birch Press series because I will also have a poem of mine featured at some point in the coming weeks. I’m honored to be included with such an accomplished poet as Anne.
Dessert Is Not the End
by Anne Harding Woodworth
The night we made s’mores
our lives slid into each other further,
closing the gap of our childhoods—
parallel lines distanced by miles
of prairieriversandgreatlakes over separate campfires,
separate hearths in those days. Yet there was a sharing
of chocolatemeltedmarshmallowandgrahamcrackers.
An uncomplicated recipe is not forgotten—
like the taste of coalescence, a sliding
of something into an opening, sweet, dark and light,
soft and heated and held within sturdy walls—
you and me, at last folding the child
into the story of all these years—
and wishing for s’more, just a few more.
PHOTO: Anne and Fred in the 1950s. They did not know each other as children.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Anne Harding Woodworth is the author of five books of poetry and three chapbooks. Her persona poems in the voice of a woman who dreads being confined in her old…
View original post 49 more words
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Poem: Becoming Joanne
I wrote this poem in response to a prompt from Silver Birch Press for their “All About My Name” series. They kindly included it in their series and I posted the link, so some of you may already have read it, but I know some people don’t click on links, so I am posting the poem here today. I hope you like it.
Becoming Joanne
– by Joanne Corey
If my grandfather Giovanni
had not fled the Old Country
before the Great War,
I might have been Giovanna
or piccola Giovanina.
Born in 1960s New England,
I was Joanne —
one word —
small a —
with an e —
to avoid confusion with four classmates
who answered to that common name.
When I was eighteen,
my Latin teacher derived and gave
meaning to my name:
Joanne —
feminine of John —
from Hebrew –
variously translated as
God is gracious- —
Gift of God —
God’s gracious gift.
A daunting aspiration
as I began adulthood.
After decades of striving
to fulfill the promise,
to be worthy of my name,
in my sixth decade,
wisdom dawns.
God freely gifts grace.
I AM,
have always been,
will always be
Joanne —
God’s gracious gift —
living out a universal call.
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One-Liner Wednesday: change
“Every change of mind is first of all a change of heart.”
— The 14th Dalai Lama
Join us for Linda’s One-Liner Wednesdays! Find out how here: http://lindaghill.com/2015/09/16/one-liner-wednesday-because-seriously-no-one-wants-to-be-around-me/
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Reaching Out to the World Again
Jay Dee is still on the hunt for visitors from more countries around the world. This new post links back to his original post where he is keeping track. ( I have already re-blogged and shared that post a couple of times, so I decided to re-blog this new one today.) Please visit and share!
– JC
I just checked out which countries my blog’s visitors have come from since country stats started to be recorded. Here’s the map.
There are some interesting places that aren’t included. No Paraguay. A lot of Africa is absent. A bit of central Asia.
So, time to reach out to the world again! Please go to this post and follow the instructions. I want to know where you’re from. Let me know in the comments on that post, and I’ll add your country to the list. And please share that post so we can get word out to more people! Thank you.
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Score one for Indian pudding!
I’ve spent an inordinate amount to time over the last couple of days revising one of my poems about Indian pudding for submission to Silver Birch Press’s upcoming “My Sweet Word” series and compiling and formatting the rest of the materials needed – bio, author’s note, photo with caption.
As many of you know, I often wrestle with technical issues, especially when I have to format for MS Word from my non-Windows system and when I have to deal with images of any sort.
It literally took me hours to get everything assembled properly, but I was finally able to hit “send” this morning.
And – drum roll, please! – I am happy to report that I have already received an acceptance! I think my submission must have landed on the top of the inbox on the West Coast for the beginning of their work day.
So, at some point this month or next, I’ll be able to share the link with you, featuring an ever-so-artistic photo of my hands cradling a bowl of Indian pudding with melting vanilla ice cream. I made a batch in the heat of August, just so we could do the photo shoot.
Well, truth be told, not just for the photo shoot….
While we generally don’t make something that has to bake for two hours during the dog days of summer, Indian pudding is still a delicious treat and brings back memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners with family and of B’s great-aunt Gert, whose recipe we use, although I must confess that I have been experimenting with proportions a bit.
It’s always a good time for Indian pudding!
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Candles of Hope
People who often visit Top of JC’s Mind know that I tend to write excited, squealing posts any time a poem gets accepted and again when it is actually published.
This past spring, however, I did not post when the Candles of Hope anthology, to which I am a contributor, became available in print.
It’s complicated.
The subtitle of the anthology is “A Collection of Cancer Poetry” and it was edited by Wendy Lawrence of GWL Publishing to raise funds for Topic of Cancer, a UK charity.
The poem I submitted can be found here. I had written it late one night and posted it without giving any thought that it might one day be published in print. Wendy had put out a call for poems about cancer for the anthology several months later and my poem was accepted. Last October, when I was writing the note that accompanies the poem in the anthology, I was happy to report that K was in remission.
This spring, as the book was released, we found out that K was having a recurrence.
I couldn’t bring myself to publicly celebrate a publication, knowing that K was facing difficult treatment decisions, especially as the chemo that achieved the remission last year very nearly killed her.
I decided to share the news and the link today because K, while still under treatment, seems to be doing quite well. She is able to be out and about and able to attend some events at church.
I would like to ask everyone who reads this to send prayers, healing thoughts, good energy, or whatever fits with your own belief system for K.
With thanks,
JC
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Immigration in the US and the world
Immigration issues have been in the news in the United States for the last several years. The current system is outdated and cumbersome and the last several presidents and some prominent members of Congress have worked on comprehensive reform packages. In the summer of 2013, the Senate passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill with a strong bipartisan majority, but the House refused to take it up and the rhetoric against reform has escalated.
Some of the Republican presidential candidates have been trying to outdo each other in their vehemence against undocumented immigrants, even going so far as to threaten denying birthright citizenship to babies born in the United States. There are also proposals to build walls on both the US-Mexico and US-Canada borders, disregarding the fact that many currently undocumented people reached the US by air or were documented at the time of their arrival or were trafficked into the country or are refugees.
The real solution lies in comprehensive immigration reform with an earned path to citizenship for those who want to remain permanently and work visas for those who want to stay only for a limited amount of time. There also needs to be a better process for applying for visas that takes human needs into account, such as family unity and protection from violence and persecution. Why should someone fleeing Cuba be admitted while someone fleeing more dangerous conditions in El Salvador is not?
Adding to the picture is the current crisis in Europe regarding refugees from the war in Syria and Iraq and other unrest in the Middle East and northern Africa. Desperate people are taking to overcrowded and dangerous boats and rafts or are traveling overland to try to reach safety in Europe. While some countries, especially Germany, are being welcoming, others, such as Hungary, are denying safe transit through their countries.
It’s horrifying.
Part of my upbringing as a Christian is that one should welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and treat every person with respect. I live in a country where the the vast majority of the population either are immigrants or their descendants and which often touts the strengths that our diversity lends to our democracy. (I also know our history and that our country has behaved unconscionably in dealing with the First Nations, those who were trafficked or enslaved, and various ethnic groups, including the Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned during world War II. None of this negates our current responsibilities toward those in need of refuge.)
I believe that all the nations need to work together to relieve the suffering of those displaced by violence and economic disruption. Some may be looking for permanent re-settlement in a new country, while others may need a safe place for a few years in hope that they can return to their country of origin. The United States, as one of the richest countries in the world, needs to do its part to help, accepting many more than the 10,000 places offered if more refugees wish to live here and offering financial and logistical aid to help in caring for refugees while they are being processed to go to their final destinations.
I know that many will argue that we can’t afford it, but we can. It’s all a matter of priorities. The United States spends huge amounts of money on our military, including weaponry and equipment that the military leaders don’t want or need. Billions more dollars could be spent on human needs programs both at home and abroad if military spending is brought in line with what is truly needed rather than what is embarked upon due to fear or pork-barrel politics. The tax code also is in need of major revision, re-instituting a more progressive tax system for both individuals and corporations, closing loopholes, eliminating tax havens, lowering taxes on the lower earners and increasing rates for high earners.
There is a lot to do. Enough with the grandstanding and fear-mongering. It’s time to get to work to address immigration in a comprehensive way.
Joanne Corey 