Zimbabwe's Political Talks

Senior negotiators from Zimbabwe's main opposition and ruling political parties began talks at an undisclosed venue close to Pretoria, South Africa, on Thursday about forming a unity government. Not surprisingly, the two sides differ on who should lead the government and how long it should stay in power.

South African financial daily Business Day reported on Thursday that the two sides are close to reaching a deal but still need to iron out the final details.

Gazprom Russia

Do you know the name Gazprom? If not, you may be in years ahead. It's the name of Russia's natural gas monopoly. The Russian government seems increasingly clear about using Gazprom as its primary foreign relations carrot and stick.

Will Russian President Dmitry Medvedev attempt to galvanize other gas producing nations into some anti-western lobbying force? I dunno, but as Medvedev said, "it is wrong to assume that the issue is dead."

So stay tuned. Russia, along with Brazil, South Africa, India and obviously China are rising international players.

Nathan

Religion and forgiveness

How is it that religious beliefs and religious people both foster and frustrate forgiveness? That's one of the questions I've been asked to write and speak about.

What should I say?

Nathan

Spring of 2007

The Château of Coppet

Vaud, Switzerland

Our family was there for my graduation from the Master of Advanced Studies program at the University of Geneva.

Forgiveness

Seems like everywhere I turn these days, the topic of forgiveness is there to meet me.

I’ll quickly mention two examples. The first occurred last week when I taught a class in another state on a different topic. At the end of the last class session, some of the participants in the class asked if I would teach the same class and other classes in the future. Forgiveness emerged as a topic and was affirmed by others. In particular, the participants were interested in recent mind-body-spirit research about the positive effects of forgiving and the detrimental health effects of not forgiving.

It’s been known since well before the time of Christ that forgiving others and ourselves has curative powers; and, likewise, refusing to forgive causes more injury and harm.

A second example occurred earlier this week in a counseling session. Here is the rest of the column.

Worship in the park

The text for First Christian Church's worship celebration tomorrow is Psalm 118:24: This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. We plan to worship outdoors at a local park, then have games for most ages and then a church picnic.




An extra tent was set up today. Tables and chairs will be hauled out early in the morning. Table coverings, food, all sorts of stuff.





God made this day, indeed, so let's enjoy it!

High Density Vertical Garden (HDVG)

What in the world is a high density vertical garden, you ask? Well, thanks for asking!

I just came across the term and idea, and I like it. Here's what someone else wrote about vertical gardens:

In Victorian times, houses were very narrow, multi-storied, and had a small "footprint" on the land. This left more land for private gardening, and commons, among other things. Then came the 1960s, and "ranch style" homes, with half-acre grass covered lots. By the 1970's anyone with a vegetable garden in a suburban or city back yard were "hippies," "weird," or "old fashioned."
The 1990's saw the boom of Mega-Mansions on postage stamp sized lots, weekly lawn-care crew visits, and still little vegetable gardening on a respectable scale, regardless of whether one lives in the city or the suburbs. Now we have an oil crisis overlain with a salmonella crisis: both of which the US Federal government seems incapable of dealing with. Vertical gardening might help change that.

Vertical gradens are said to grow vegetables and other foods much more efficiently and with greater food value than in agricultural field conditions.

Other claims are that vertical gardens produce approximately 20 times the normal production volume for field crops; require 5% of the normal water requirements for field crops; function in a variety of environments, such as urban, suburban and countryside; do not use herbicides or pesticides; save significant operating and capital costs over field agriculture; and, will drastically reduce transportation costs to market resulting in further savings, higher quality and fresher foods on delivery, and less transportation pollution.

Maybe worth a try, huh? Here's a visual:

Chautauqua face painting

Thanks to our friend John's quick and apt photography, here is a picture of the girls with their faces freshly painted at the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) houses at the Chautauqua Institution. John Scott Williams of National City CC is the artist, and arguably the most popular person with children at the Institution this week!

Diplomacy education economy entrepreneurship

Said George Fechter today at Chautauqua:

+ Growing the economy requires two things: finding smart people to support and focusing on solving problems.

+ Single biggest and longest-lasting difference in the world would be made by helping women throughout the world learn to read.

+ Higher education can be an effective form of diplomacy.

What do you think?

More Chautauqua pictures

A picture of Lake Chautauqua and some of the manu sailboats that adorn it. Enjoy --

Nathan

This picture is of the Hall of Philosophy. It seats around 500 people and is the location of many great presentations and discussions, including the daily religion lectures.

This is the famous Atheneaum Hotel.

One of my favorite places is the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York. It is an inspiring and engaging place offering a ton of activities in a relaxing and beautiful atmosphere.

My family and I are here this week while I serve as chaplain for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), which has two houses on Chautauqua’s campus. One of our daughters is taking a class about computer gaming, and has already written the first level of her new, as yet unnamed, computer game. Our other daughter is taking a beginning ballet class.

Next week Janice is presenting a program on the HIV and AIDS pandemic in Africa, Swaziland in particular, and her recently published book, Exploring Solutions: How to Talk About HIV Prevention in the Church. I am teaching a class on the biblical and cultural history of Satan.

I’ll post a bit here and there about our adventures at Chautauqua.

Nathan

New book HIV AIDS discussion in church

Check out this new book on HIV and AIDS discussions in the church and other community settings:

Exploring Solutions: How to Talk About HIV Prevention in the Church

Below is a press release from the Geneva-based Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, an organization I respect.

Leading Conflict Mediators Convene in Oslo, June 2008

Conflict 'hot spots', such as Darfur and Chad, Iran and Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, Lebanon, Kenya, Congo and Cyprus, sit high on the global agenda of mediators.Many of the peace-makers in these conflicts will be among the approximately 100 senior mediators who will assemble in Oslo on 24 to 26 June (Tuesday to Thursday). Their purpose is to exchange experiences, examine critically their mediation practices, consider how to adapt to new mediation perspectives, and to build ties with fellow international professional peacemakers.

The OSLO Forum, as this annual gathering is called, has come a long way in its 6-year history. From just a handful of conflict mediation practitioners at the first meeting in 2003, the Forum has developed into what is now widely acknowledged as the leading global assembly of the world's top mediators.

United States international relations

An opinion column worth a read about smart power in the US:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/17/opinion/edfullilove.php

Nathan

New church site

When you get a chance, check out www.fccshelby.org

Still needs some work, but it's underway and will be consistently updated!

Nathan

Church camp climbing wall

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) church camps in Indiana kicked off last weekend. This picture is from Camp Barbee in Leesburg, IN.

Trampoline on Father's Day

Part of Father's Day, 2008: assembling the
trampoline.

Youth mission pictures

The whole group!

First Christian Church, Shelbyville IN

Youth and Sponsors

Some Christians promote an escapist theology where Christians wait to escape one world for another. Other Christians strive to enact God's will in this world as in heaven.

36 youth and adults from First Christian in Shelbyville, Indiana are in the latter camp. I'm pleased to be one of them, and proud of their work and witness.

Here we are in Dungannon, Virginia, at the Dingannon Development Commission.