Happy Rosh Hashanah to the Jewish community.
Another Important Event in History. Last week I discussed a important lesson I learned about forgiveness in South Africa. This week I learned another important history lesson.
I always assumed ending the cold war and the crumbling of the Berlin Wall was exclusively the result of Allied diplomacy. I had no idea churches played a role. I did not realize the church existed in East Germany.
Recently I learned of a quote by the former Senator from Georgia Sam Nunn. He said, “The Cold War ended, not in a nuclear incident, but in a blaze of candles in the churches of Eastern Europe.”
He was referring to peaceful, candle-light demonstrations in Leipzig and Berlin. In Leipzig, the first protest involved a few hundred people. The participants held a prayer meeting each Monday in St. Nikolai church. Then participants peacefully marched through the streets. Eventually the demonstrations involved almost the entire population of the city, around a half a million people. The police and soldiers did not act against a force that big.
A similar march in East Berlin attracted a million people on the night the Berlin Wall crumbled. Not a single shot was fired.
If you are interested, a more detailed description of Leipzig can be found at —
Monday demonstrations in East Germany – Wikipedia
and of Berlin at–
The Church and the Fall of the Wall | November 6, 2009 | Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly | PBS
Helene After Hurricane Helene struck, we learned some friends suffered damage around Ashville, North Carolina, so we were concerned about other friends living in Waynesville, a community west of Ashville. We called, we texted for two days and received no reply.
We were worried.
I texted their son who lives in Clearwater, Florida. He told me, his parents had no power or cell service. They finally got out and drove until they could get cell service and called to say they were safe.
We were relieved.
Then the son added that the ground floor of his condo was flooded, they were without elevators, and he lost his truck to the storm.
I was embarrassed. I had not thought about possible damage to him. It is almost unimaginable that a storm could have extensively damaged property and people from Clearwater, Florida all the way to North Carolina.
We are at Jeny’s cottage in Gulf Shores. I have sympathy for the victims of Helene, but in the back of my mind I am asking myself – will someday I have first-hand empathy for victims? If I live long enough, the answer is probably yes. We will experience the devastation of a hurricane in Gulf Shores.
MDS. Jeny and I witnessed total devastation in 1966. We were preparing to move to Iowa City to attend graduate school at The University of Iowa when a category 5 tornado struck Topeka, Kansas. We were safe but witnessed crushing devastation. One of many things I learned from that experience was the Mennonite Disaster Service is a highly competent organization. If you are uncertain about who to support in the relief of Hurricane Helene victims, I am comfortable recommending the Mennonite Disaster Service. https://mds.org/
This and That
Mahatma Gandhi – In light of my comments about Nelson Mandela and Bishop Tutu last week, a friend sent me this quote: Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure with conscience, knowledge without character, science without humanity, commerce without morality, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle.
A Concern. At Andrea’s wedding I had a great conversation with her Uncle Rick. He has been involved with computer chip design and manufacturing for years. He stressed the critical importance for the U. S. to develop the ability to manufacture the most advanced mocrochips. Right now, that process occurs in Taiwan. If China invades Taiwan and we lose that technology, we are in deep trouble. Our conversation supported a segment I saw on 60 Minutes in which the development of the necessary manufacturing is being developed in America.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/gina-raimondo-on-semiconductor-microchip-us-production-60-minutes
Good News
Amazing Stories
A Hike To Remember: Utah Woman Donates Kidney To Stranger She Met On Y Mountain (sunnyskyz.com)
Celebrity with a Good Heart
Ryan Reynolds Surprises 8-Year-Old Cancer Patient With A Superhero Visit (sunnyskyz.com)
Peace
Jerry
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