A week late, it is now time to update what happened the last three days of the Mision Trip. I have more pictures to post, and will do this later in the week and put the link in a subsequent entry at this location. Monday, February 19 was the last work day and for our crew it was a busy one. In the morning we went to the home of a client that I had never met and almost finished putting insulation in walls and ceilings. There was still a small portion of the ceiling that was not insulated, but we ran out of material and expected to complete the job after lunch. We also began hanging sheet rock, but made little progress because the drills we had with us were faulty. We were frustrated by the time we were set to leave for lunch, but expected to return with material and tools after lunch.

What happened instead was that several of the groups at the camp were scheduled to leave after lunch and almost everyone was reassigned. Our crew (which this afternoon was all people from First) stayed together wil Jim Bass as crew leader, but we went back to Isa's house where we had worked before. The task for the afternoon was to install cement board on Ida's floors in her sun room and a large hall way, another group at a later time would be installing ceramic tile over this sub floor. The work was very satisfying, particularly because in the course of the afternoon we were able to complete our task. Some sheets could go down intact, but the last pieces had to be cut to fit. We learned to measure very carefully to make these pieces fit, since the house was not exactly square. Keith proved himself quite talented with a skill saw, but the stars of the show were Stacy K and Sue C who had the task of nailing down the cement board with a nail gun. The two of them, the two smallest members of the team, were something else with a nail gun in their hands - BAMB - BAMB - BAMB. Stacy had at least seen her father use a nail gun while helping him remodel their home, but Sue was the most game to use a tool she had never experienced before. [I think both of them came to understand men's facination with power tools.]

I do want to say that we had a most impressive group. Every member of the team was a hard worker, and the teens were the hardest workers of all. There were other groups with teens in the camp with us who spent more time standing around (we saw a few adults with the same problem) than working. Every member of our group that I worked with was working hard, if someone was not busy it was because there were too many people for the job.

We came with different abilities, and many of us learned entirely new skills. Some of us used knowledge we thought we had forgotten; most of us knew our limits and followed the leaders' advice not to exceed our ability. I had to step aside one afternoon when the physical demands of carrying lumber caused me to be short of breath. One person seems to have exceeded his limits.

Sherry who I believe was our oldest team member found his place in the kitchen and his efforts were much appreciated by the cook as well as by all of us who ate at the camp. Those of us who want our coffee soon after rolling out of bed were most appreciative of his early rising to turn on the pots.

We all came to know one another much better for our week together, we learned who was a light sleeper and who was a loud snorer (guilty as charged, and I warned the light sleeper she was in too close proximity. I don't think she believed me, but during the night she picked up her bed and relocated.)

The last day we rose early and moved to New Orleans for Fat Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras. Several of us got to watch the Zulu parade, one of the largest and best with over 30 floats, others saw Rex and other of the finest Crewes. We continued to explore the french quarter, are wonderful food, and saw many amazing sights. Most of us were wise enough to get off the streets and into our hotels before things got their wildest in the last few hours before everything ends and lent begins at midnight.

We flew home virtually without incident and arrived at the airport at 3:05 PM, on schedule. We will not talk about who walked all over the third floor of the parking lot at Bradley airport before she found her car. Shirley and I were the only members of the mission trip to return to the Church for Ash Wednesday dinner and service; I probably would not have gone if I wasn't the pastor, and I think Shirley felt obligated since she invited Francis Acquah, our guest preacher.

When will be begin planning the next trip?

I do want to say that we are indebted to the youth of the Church who, along with their leaders, George and Carolyn Blick had worked at Camp Coast Care (http://www.campcoastcare.com/) last summer and challenged the adults to do a mission trip. We also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to George Blick and other family members who made all the arrangements for travel and housing; all at very reasonable prices. We are thankful to the Presbytery of Southern New England (http://psne.org), the FPC Strawberry Festival, the girl scouts and others who contributed to make it possible for everyone who wanted to go to afford the trip.

Yesterday was a day of rest at Camp Coast Care so every one of the First Presbyterian/South Windsor Girl Scouts headed for New Orleans where Mardi Gras was going in full force. First thing we did was go to Café Du Monde
for coffee and beignets. After much waiting we saw the Okemos parade. We learned that all times are approximate. I lost track of how many floats were in that one, the theme was chilrden's stories and float after float went by (sometimes with large gaps in between). Interspersed were marching bands, high school dance teams, a mounted unit, Shriners and more. I think there were two or three more parades scheduled for Sunday, and of course more on Monday, and the biggest Krewes do their thing on Tuesday.

We all got so many beads thrown from parade floats and from balconies that we were weighted down. Both Carl and I bought Jester's hats, as well as getting Mardi Gras caps for donating to a charity for kids. We started out with Shirley and Carl and I, George and Carolyn and Sue C., and then the Dudley's and I split to do our own thing. We sat in Jackson Square and enjoyed the sun and the craziness, including a demonstration and street theater proclaiming that God was unfair, heard lots of preachers decrying the sins going on on the street (little wonder people have issues with the God they were proclaiming), lots of bands everywhere, some very good.

We had a great meal, I ate Gumbo, Shrimp Po Boy, and heped Carl with his 1/2 pound of boiled shrimp. They has Pecan Pie for desert. I was full at that point. We walked most of the length of Bourbon Street, and found out way back to the car about 10 minutes before we were schedued to leave, and 10 minutes after the other half of our crew got there. We saw many sights along the way, lots of partying, but unlike some other festivals I did not se people passed out or puking in the street. Of course we left at 7 PM, there was still plenty of time for that. (although I remember seeing that in Savanah well before afternoon was over.)

Some of the other groups got separated from one another by the parade and couldn't cross and join up for a while. They arrived after lights out at 10 PM.

Today is a work day, then off to New Orleans for a hotel stay on Fat Tuesday, fly home early on Wednesday.

Yesterday we were one of two crews Willie was supervising. Now Willie is an interesting staff member. He grew up in Pas Christian and knows just about everyone in the community. Appearently the long timers are a tight community with many intermariages. Sedona, the lady whose's house we worked on much of the day, has a relative related to Willie. He first came to Camp Coast Care as a client, then when his house was repaired took a position helping others.

Unfortunately with two crews he was spread thin and we spent a long time waiting to get to the house we were working on, and then the cabnits we supposed to be installing were not ready to be installed. While he went to straighten that our we found our own work, there were doors that needed to be put on their hinges, miniblinds to be hung, and all the door hardware to be installed. George took on the miniblinds, but found it frustrating without a drill for pilot holes to put screws into the metal frames around the windows. He really got rolling on that task after lunch when we returned with the power tools we needed.

I had hung doors (pre hung doors, all that needed to be done was to line up the hinges and force in the pins) and installed hardware, so I got started on that and taught the rest of the crew how to handle that task. When we got finished Willie took several of us back to the first house and we learned a little and did some dry wall hanging and mudding. The girl scouts had been working on that project and made major progress and were really good at the task.

Last night we went to The Shed and listened to music and ate Barbecue at one of the 25 best barbecue restruants int he south. It was falling off the bone tender and tasty. A little more heat in the sauce would have been alright with me, but I am not complaining. Corrigan and I split a whole rack of Baby Back Ribs and a pint of slaw and were filled. Carl had a slab to himself and ate most of it.

They gave a shout out to all the volunteers who had come to help out Mississippi rebuild. The owners wife came and talked to us for a long time and again expressed appreciation, said Misissippi would be no better now than it was a year ago if it was not for the volunteers. It dows feel good to hear that kind of appreciation and realize what we are doing makes a difference in people's lives. She also talked about how many tons of meat they now sell every week, when they really did start a few years ago as a tiny take out shed.

Yesterday our crew worked on Ida's house. Sue and Sarah Labins and I, along with three women from Arlington, Va were a painting crew, between us we painted one small room with two coats of blue, and another larger room that was painted yesterday with a first coat got a second coat. Meanwhile Keith and Jim, our crew leader, were taking out windows and installing new windows.

Ida lives in a home that her father built, and Jim says he built it well, that is why it survived the flood. She was born in the house when it was smaller, as the family grew to five children her father added on to the house. Her father was bed ridden during Katrina and died last December 17. She said the house was all decorated for Christmas, but it wasn't a very happy time as the family gathered from all over for his funeral.

They were in the house when Katrina came, they were high enough that the flood waters stopped a few inches below the first floor, but the tin roof blew off and the water poured in through the ceiling.

She did inherit some money when her father died and invested in a down payment on an 18 wheeler she has out on the road making her money. She doesn't drive, but has a family member who is her driver. She is quite an entrepreneur!

Keith and Holly and I led worship last night. On Thursday when it was mostly us Presbyterians we did Compline from the Episcopal Prayer book, not the camp is full of Episcopalians we had more of a free church service.

I think they are calling for morning meeting so I need to go.

Camp Coast Care, Long Beach, MS
Yesterday a crew of 11 of us from Hartford spent the morning doing finishing painting on Bernadet's house in Pas Christian which was totally flooded by Katrina. She and her children are living in a FEMA trailer on her property (I think there are 3 of them in 200 square feet.) Everything has been taken out of her home, walls, wiring, insulation, everything, including most of her personal belongings, totally ruined by the flood, mud and mold. After the house was down to the studs it was pressure washed, trated for mold, and then wiring, insulation, siding and dry wall goes back in. Finally done the house is being painted, baseboards and moulding are being put in (some of our people helped with that). She should be in the house soon. We met her very briefly.

Most of the group returned in the afternoon. Sue from P-town and I finished the bedroom we were painting (two coats) and were taken to a new home job site. This house will be 8 feet off the ground, the 8X8s had been set in cement. Willie took down the 2X4s that steadied the beams while the concrete set, and sue and I pulled out nails so the lumber coule be reused. Betwen us we cleaned 64 boards, she figured 400 construction nails.

Then we were joined by others from our group to unload a truck, carrying siding from the truck to the remains of another house on stilts that has been gutted, cleaned and is ready for construction to begin. A crew will put on the siding, we constructed the scaffolding and moved the siding. By the time that was done we were done for the day.

By the way, Bernadette's house was within a few blocks of the Roberts house in Pas Christian where Robin spent many summers. We were going to see that house and get pictures, but have not got a chance yet.

Another group arrived just as dinner was served last night, and a third group arrived after lights out. They were quiet, some people heard them, I never did. The camp is almost full, only a few of the 75 cots were unoccupied this morning.

If you are reading post your comments (just sign as an anoymous commenter) and keep us in your prayers. Include prayers for warmer weather.

To see photos I took yesterday and today follow this link. Many of them are dark, sorry, it is a new camera. I have adjusted the exposure, hopefully others will be better. I will continue to post new Photos to this Album as often as I can so check back often. I will try to write about today either later tonight or tomorrow morning. We are about to watch a Katrina Video now, and I am rather tired.
http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=revtdavis@sbcglobal.net&aid=576460762389858149&pid=&wtok=DERRdK5VYcv3swCgHESScg--&ts=1171588718&.src=ph

Our mission trip got off to an inauspicious start when winter storm Agatha blew into the Northeast closing airports across the area. American Airlines kept saying our flight was on an on time status so 27 of us got checked in at Bradley Field, all without great hopes of leaving yesterday. Actually we were one of the few (someone said 5) flights that left Bradley. We boarded 1/2 hour late, then sat for another 90 minutes as the Pilot kept explaining the delay. He said that rain was OK, snow was OK, but the ice pellets that had been coming down off and on all day made take off impossible, he was hopeful that the weather would change soon, and finally it did, we got deiced once near the gate and again just before take off, and finally at 6 PM our 4:05 flight got into the air.

We arrived in Chicago just a few minutes before out flight to New Orleans was to leave, but it also was delayed (they said it landed at the same time as we did). We went from one end of the airport to the other (one of the group had to get wheelcahir transportation). They were already boarding, but this was a long line and several of us got McDonalds to take on the plane.

By the time we got our luggage (all of it arrived, suprisingly, they had told us they might leave some to catch up with up to reduce the load on the Hartford - Chicago flight), got into vans, and got to Camp Coast Care it was 1:15 AM this morning. There were only about three others here last night, others will be arriving today and tomorrow. They pushed wake up time until later (usually 6:30 AM and Breakfast is still to come at 8:30). New Orleans is on Central Time.

So we are here, we were all so tired we slept well on our camp cots, and are ready to go to work. Hopefully you will hear more from me tonight or tomorrow.

On Valentines Day 27 members and friends of First Presbyterian Church will take off from Bradley Field to travel to New Orleans and then on to Camp Coast Care (http://www.campcoastcare.com/) located in Long Beach, Mississippi. While staying there we will be engaged in a variety of tasks to help nearby residents recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina nearly a year and a half ago.

I am part of this team, and if possible I will be providing daily updates from this camp, although there is some question about computer availability from this location.

We will be there through February 19, and on the 20th we will leave for New Orleans where we will be staying at a hotel near the French Quarter. The 20th, or course is Fat Tuesday, the last day of Mardi Gras. On Ash Wednesday early in the morning we will leave to return to Hartford, and some of us will be part of Ash Wednesday worship at First Presbyterian Church. (Service and dinner begin at 6:30 PM with a special message from Francis Acquah, a Methodist minister from Ghana.

Check back at this location for as many updates as I am able to post.

Last night’s third annual public meeting of the Greater Hartford Interfaith Coalition for Equity and Justice (Why did we ever give ourselves such an unwieldy name? GHICEJ or even simpler ICEJ is our normal shorthand) was a powerful meeting to advance the cause of justice in the state of Connecticut. There were hundreds of people, perhaps as many as a thousand people, from thirty faith communities including Muslim, Unitarian-Universalist, Friends (Quakers), Jewish, Protestant and Roman Catholic, plus representatives from 20 allied organizations who cosponsored the meeting.

The most powerful thing about the meeting was that we were speaking directly to state legislators who were not only present, but who stood up one after another to pledge their support for the specific issue based goals that the coalition has set for this legislative session. State Senators Eric Coleman and Jonathan Harris pledged their support and leadership in the senate to pass a state Earned Income Tax Credit for the working poor in the state. Representative Andy Fleischmann who is co chair of the State Education Committee pledged to support the increases in the availability of free preschool education programs and the increased state funding for local education that the coalition is supporting. Maryann Handley, co chair of the Public Health Committee supported the goal of universal, high quality, affordable, healthcare for everyone in the state. The Immigration Task Force is seeking to grant young people who are state residents but undocumented immigrants with the same rate of tuition as other state residents pay at state Colleges and Universities. Currently the undocumented pay out of state tuition, a rate three times as high as instate tuition. Representative Filipe Reinoso from Bridgeport had a last minute conflict, but a staff member from the state commissioner on Latino affairs spoke on his behalf, pledging to introduce this bill in this session as he has in a previous legislative session.

Senator Don Williams, Jr. President Pro Tempore, Connecticut General Assembly spoke in support of all of the ICEJ initiatives and gave a rousing speech encouraging our emerging powerful justice movement.

We heard powerful and challenging words from ICEJ president, the Rev Jesse White, as well as pastors Ed Horstmann, Josh Pawelek, Damaris Whittaker and Edwin Ayala, and finally from Imam Abdul-Rahmann Muhammad. The evening ended on a high note with the introduction of a new justice song “It’s Time to Wake Up.”

The most disappointing thing about the evening was the total lack of coverage in the local press. The State of the Union address by our pitiful excuse for a president began as the ICEJ meeting was ending, and commandeered a huge number of column inches in the Hartford Courant.

It was particularly gratifying to have a block of 14 people from First Presbyterian Church, Hartford, the largest number ever to attend a single ICEJ event. I am particularly thankful to the following people who attended along with myself (and to any others from our community who attended whom I did not see): Edwin Carty, Carl & Shirley Dudley, Bob & Alice Evans, Sherwood and Kate Anderson, Sherry & Anita Marchant, Lois Maxwell, Dianne Ney, Ray & Flora Perleoni.

The meeting was held in the beautiful and new sanctuary of the House of Restoration on North Main Street. This is the largest Church sanctuary in the city of Hartford in terms of seating capacity (2000) and according to their pastor, Bishop Jeremiah Tores, the oldest Latino Church in the city.

Has it been so long since I have written in this blog? Christmas and time with our family and friends, and then a catch up time, and of course sermons, meetings, a pastor’s column for the newsletter and much more have all seemed more important than writing for an imaginary audience, or does some one read my ramblings? Love to hear from readers if there are any!

The greatest thrill of vacation time (Christmas Day until January 6, the 12 days of Christmas) was being with our 10 month old granddaughter on Christmas Day.

Hannah is an absolute darling, was just beginning to walk a step or two when we were there. Her mother called the day after we left to tell us that she walked all the way down their hall without holding on to anything. If you would like to see more pictures and see for yourself how beautiful she is you can follow the link below.http://new.photos.yahoo.com/album?c=revtdavis@sbcglobal.net&aid=576460762384052456&pid=&wtok=uF71z1StFNPlSvQa.44mNA--&ts=1168530260&.src=ph

We also traveled to North Carolina to spend time with our friends Dennis and Cheryl and were glad to see some of their children and their grandchild who was born the same week as Hannah was along with Kentucky and North Carolina friends and neighbors. We again walked our home site where we will be living in just a little more than two years and walked on the sands of Holden Beach.

I reluctantly went with Kathleen to an outlets mall in Myrtle Beach, but when we got there I ended up buying more clothes for myself than she did.

Arriving back in time to preach and catch up with what is happening at the Church I discovered that in addition to celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. day on the 14th we also were having a multicultural dinner. Kathleen contributed 28 barbecued chicken legs and a huge pan of Macaroni and cheese, which all of us enjoyed along with Jamaican meat patties, Scottish Shepherds pie and much more.

The Church is really looking forward to the mission trip to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to work on Hurricane recovery from Katrina. The youth shared their pictures and stories of how much more was still needed when they returned from their summer mission trip. We have 25 members and friends who will be traveling on Valentine’s day to Long Beach, Mississippi. We will spend Mardi Gras in New Orleans and then return to Hartford on Ash Wednesday.

I am going on the trip and the Bishop John Selders will be providing both the music and the message on Sunday, February 18. The Bishop has been with us as a musician before, but this is his first time in the pulpit. I am certain it will be a blessing for everyone; I wish I could be two places at once and be a part of this service to bring to an end the Epiphany season, and to be part of our celebration of Black History Month. Check out Bishop Selders’ biography at www.amistaducc.org/jsbio.htm .

Last Sunday I preached on the end of the age based on the scriptures for the First Sunday in Advent. When I preached the sermon, in my effort to be brief and to the point, I omitted three paragraphs that I had written. They do make an important point, at least one important to me. Those paragraphs follow. If you would like to read the entire sermon you can go to www.firstpreshartford.org/12-03-06.htm

I am frankly more concerned about what we humans are doing to ourselves and to our planet than about what God might be doing with us. I have spent most of my life living in the nuclear age. The first Bomb was dropped on Hiroshima when I was 4 years old. I remember the Atomic Bomb drills when I was in elementary school, and I still remain frightened of the possibility of nuclear warfare. Although the cold war is supposedly over both this nation and the former Soviet Union still posses enough power to wipe out human life on earth many times over and more and more nations are trying to join the Atomic club. It may be that the clouds of the Apocalypse are the mushroom clouds of nuclear warfare.

Al Gore in his book and movie An Inconvenient Truth makes a convincing scientific argument that we have already set in motion forces of global warming that may not destroy human life, but certainly have cataclysmic effects on our civilization.

We are in the midst of a global pandemic caused by the HIV virus, one that is so severe in parts of the African continent that a population collapse is a very real possibility. Bird flu or other diseases spread accidentally or deliberately as part of biological war or terrorism could have a similar effect.

Last week I suggested that we can promote an attitude of gratitude by writing a letter to God about what we are thankful for. Here is my letter:

This thanksgiving I am most thankful for our family. Kathleen and I have been married for 37 years and are still in love, still planning on spending a lifetime together. We share values, and are thoroughly in love with our daughter, Sabrena, her husband, Arthie, and our granddaughter, Hannah Marie. They were here for Thanksgiving and it was so good to see all of them, but particularly to spend time with Hannah. She is a beautiful child, good disposition, and more and more sociable, vocalizing and calling attention to herself.

On Sunday the kids met with our Church session and the session approved Hannah’s Baptism. It was 25 years ago we brought Sabrena to Baptism and accepted God’s claim on her life. She has been away from the Church for most of the past ten years, but now she and Arthie have found the Presbyterian Church in Cherry Hill, NJ, joined the Church and are attending every Sunday. For all of this we are most grateful to God.

Yesterday should have been a great day of celebration at First Presbyterian Church, and in many ways it was, but it was difficult to completely enjoy the celebration when the Veterans Day Parade assembling outside our doors made it so difficult for members to park. The Bushnell had an event at 12:30 and at 9 AM had already set guards over the entrances to parking lots where our members usually park. People trying to approach the Church coming east on Capitol Ave. near to 10:30 found the street barricaded at Trinity and were diverted down Trinity Street. We could not linger over the silver tea reception for Founder's Day since street closings at 12:30 PM threatened to trap those late leaving until the parade ended at 4 PM or later. Simultaneous with my standing up to deliver the morning sermon a fife and drum unit began playing right outside of the Sanctuary on Clinton Street.

None of this is to disrespect the Veterans Day parade, it is a wonderful event honoring all our service men and women who have served this nation with honor, dedication and courage. The problem is with the planning. A few years ago it was moved from Saturday to Sunday to accommodate the Jewish War Veterans who could not march in the parade without violating their Sabbath rest. It was a wonderful gesture of respect; the only problem has been that respect for this one group has failed to respect the fact that most Christians worship on Sunday and seven Churches are either on the parade route or within a block of the parade route. When the change was first made we begged the planners to start later than 1 PM to allow our people the opportunity to come and leave in peace before the parade begins. The only accommodation that was made for our needs was to have the parade assemble on Buckingham street instead of on Capitol Ave. We were promised that the police would accommodate our members coming and going, but this has not been the case. We have no idea how many people decided not to attend Founders Day worship because of the difficulty of parking, or even who came and went home because they could not find a place to park. My wife said that she would have turned around and gone home when she encountered the obstacles except that I had asked her to bring some candles I needed for the service and had left at home.

We believe that Veterans Day should be celebrated on Veterans Day, the parade should step off on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the year at the 11 o'clock hour. All of the state, Federal and City employees are off for the day, along with huge numbers of people working for non-governmental businesses. The state parking areas would be empty and available for assembly and to accommodate the thousands of spectators the parade draws.

It still was a joy to celebrate 155 years of service here in the City of Hartford. We recognized one addition to the list of members who have been part of the Church for over fifty years, Maude Morrison who joined the congregation on May 27, 1956. We have 13 members total who have been part of the Church 50 years or longer, six of them were here in person. The most senior of the group is John Brash who joined in 1937. We believe that John represents the third generation of his family who have been a part of First Presbyterian Church.

We also remembered three members who have died in the past year, two of whom were fifty year plus members, Robert Davidson who joined the Church in 1936 and Evelyn Parkins who joined in 1928. We are saddened by their passing, but rejoice that they have joined the great company of the members of the Church Triumphant who sing eternal praise to the one who is king of kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Election Day is just one week away! I see this year’s election as being a crucial one for the future of our Country. George Bush and the Republican Majority in congress have led our country far away from our American Ideas. Our continued involvement in Iraq is only making conditions more and more grim for the people of Iraq and for the United States as well. October has set a record for the most US military personnel to die in one month since the start of this futile war; we have passed the one hundred service people dead. Estimates vary from ten to one hundred times as many non-Americans who die from the insurgency as well as in clashes with our forces. There is no functioning government in most of the country, and our presence is only fanning the fires of insurgency and instability.

These last six years have seen a great assault on human rights in this country; the president has led us into invading the privacy of our own citizens, overturning constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure, limiting access to habeas corpus for non citizen detainees, and overturning of the Geneva Conventions against torture of those who we hold as prisoner. The founders of this country would shudder to see what has happened to the Bill Of Rights in the past six years, particularly since September 2001. None of this has made us any more safe from terrorists; our policies have only bred more terrorism in the world, and created more enemies for the United States.

It is time to throw out all of the scoundrels in Washington! I know we run the risk of electing new scoundrels who also become captive to the same special interests as the old ones, but in the short run at least a vote for Democrats is a vote for change. Here in Connecticut Joe Lieberman has got to go. He is not the same Democrat that Connecticut first elected in 1988. He could not carry the Democratic primary, but is still running as an independent candidate and polling indicates that too many Republicans and independent voters are planning to elect him. Ned Lamont may not be the best that this state has to offer, but he is far and above the others on the ballot. A vote for Lamont is a clear vote for change in our Iraq policy; it is a clear vote for restoring civil rights, and probably a reasonable vote for those concerned about a better health care system.

There is no explaining why incumbent Governor Jodie Rell is holding onto her lead in the governor’s race. I haven’t understood how the citizens of this state can elect an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature and then consistently elect Republican governors. Rell was part of the Rowland administration, she either is incredibly stupid not to have know what was going on, or willingly turned a blind eye to the corruption in Rowland’s government. The fiasco of hiring a contractor who got paid millions and millions of dollars to do defective work on I-84, and then hiring inspectors who couldn’t see the defectiveness while they collected their millions of dollars in contract money from the state proves she should be turned out of office at once. Mayor John DeStefano would be a breath or fresh air in the governor’s office, and would bring new and creative ideas and a commitment to bettering the lives of the working class and the impoverished and oppressed.

VOTE THE REPUBLICANS OUT! I am Terry Davis and I wrote and approved this message; no one else has approved, endorsed or paid for it!

A much happier note than the angry one I just posted. We visited our daughter and her family last week and took some darling pictures of our now eight month old Granddaughter. If you would like to see some of them click on this link http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/revtdavis@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=/11c4re2&.src=ph&.tok=phTPkqFBNaIZzuxI

Reading the front section of the Hartford Courant this morning was a particularly painful experience. It seems that Americans have no regard for the rights of individuals; that we allow the president and the congress to take away these rights without protest. The president just signed the law that he had proposed essentially taking away every right that non citizen detainees might have under common law, under the Geneva Convention, or under any basic standards of human dignity. Every member of congress who voted to allow such an egregious attack of human freedom should be voted out of office. The principle of Habeas Corpus has been an established part of British law since 1215 (remember the Magna Carta from your civics class) and is guaranteed in the US Constitution, but is now denied to non US citizens, while torture is allowed.

A second headline caught my eye and made me sick. Former Rep. Gerry Studds who died recently left behind a spouse who is ineligible to receive his rather substantial death benefit. The former congressman was legally married in the state of Massachusetts, but his spouse was of the same sex as the former congressman and thus ineligible to receive his benefits under federal law.

One of the cars which is regularly parked in the Church parking lot (not mine) has a bumper sticker saying "Worst US President Ever" a sentiment with which a majority of us seem to agree (a recent poll showed that a majority of those polled thought the present president was the worst in their lifetime). But what of the congress that passed this idiotic Defense of Marriage Act? Another reason to vote against the whole bunch of scoundrels except for the minority who have bravely stood up for human rights in the face of both opposition to or indifference concerning such rights. Shame on us who have tolerated this assault on our freedom.

The founders of this country rose up against King George and his minions, it is time we did the same against President George and all those who support his dangerous policies!

I had two impresive evenings last week. On Wednesday Kathleen and I were invited to an interfaith Iftar. For Muslims the Iftar is the daily meal breaking the fast during Ramadan. The event was held in the Legislative Office Building and we were a few minutes late. When we came in on the third floor we could hear the chanting of the Koran echoing through the five story open atrium in the LOB. We had addresses by the president of the Harmony Foundation, a Muslim group dedicated to interfaith understanding and by Dr. Reza Monsor. They and everyone who spoke were intent on explaining that they represented the mainstream of Islam, that the terrorists and insurgents were not representative of what Islam stands for. There were prayers by Jewish and Christian leaders from Hartford Seminary as well as Muslim prayers. As the sun was setting we saw people placing table cloths and prayer rugs on the floor behind the speakers and near the food buffet that was being set out. Kathleen at first thought we were going to eat picnic style on the floor, and then we realized that they were for the traditional prayers for breaking the fast and all the Muslims assembled in this area for the prayers, then delicious Turkish food was served.

I certainly learned more about Islam, and Remadam in particular. They had some beautiful slides of Islamic architecture, mostly Mosques, as well as people at prayer in some of the holy places. It seems traditional during Ramadan for Muslims to often have the Iftar as a communal meal rather than to break the fast family by family at their homes. We also discovered that there were many more to which non Muslims were being invited as well; and that different groups sponsored these meals each featuring different cusine, while we ate Turkish food another would feature African food, another Asian.

The second event was the big ICEJ event promoting a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). There were hundreds of people assembled at the First Church of the Living God. We heard moving testimonies from Luz Santana, Yairaliz Arroyo and Dorothy DelValle about how the federal EITC has made their lives easier and why taking the next step to enact a state EITC will continue to uplift the working poor.

Ned Lamont, Mary Glassman and Mayor Perez added their voices of support for a state EITC. But the highlight of the evening was the very spirited and passionate address by Rev. James B. Walker who brought the audience to their feet.

We collected hundreds of signatures on our petition and forged relationships with our many co-sponsors. It was probably the most inspiring meeting that ICEJ has sponsored in its history.

On Thursday we are traveling to Mount Laurel, NJ to see Sabrena and Arthie and our now 8 month old granddaughter Hannah.

Right now my mind is very much occupied with thoughts about the need for peacemaking in a world where so much violence and injustice goes on daily. We heard this morning about a gunman in a Colorado school who yesterday killed a teen age girl, shot a police officer and killed himself.

Too many Americans, too many members of the human race, seem to believe that they can personally do nothing to be effective peacemakers, but opportunities abound for anyone who is willing to take a stand. No one of us can change the world but together the collective impact of our actions for peace can and will make a difference.

Last week I was part of a group of religious leaders who held a press conference in support of the National Campaign Against Torture. I am proud that there were at least four Presbyterian Clergy that were part of this group including the Rev. Bob Evans from Plowshares Institute who spoke, and the Rev. Dana Lindsay, our Presbytery Executive. Also (although she did not proclaim it) Heidi Hadsell, President of Hartford Seminary, who also spoke on behalf of the campaign is also a Presbyterian.

John Humphries, who was also a part of this group, will be speaking on the campaign to our Adult Forum this Sunday October 1, 2006 at 9:15 AM. (First Presbyterian Church, 136 Capitol Ave. Hartford, CT)

This Sunday is World Communion Sunday, and we and many other Presbyterian Churches will receive an offering for Peacemaking this Sunday.

The bill that congress seemed poised to pass authorizing military commissions to try "enemy combatants" is a terrible step backward on human rights and human decency. I just sent a FAX to Senator Lieberman urging the addition of the Specter amendment which would restore for these people the basic American right to habeas Corpus.

Finally I was proud to read that the most recently retired moderator of the Presbyterian Church, was arrested, along with a number of other Presbyterian Clergy, in protests against the war in Iraq earlier this week. You can read the story at http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2006/06489.htm.

A key to the theology of Walter Wink seems to be the contrast between the Babylonian creation myth and the Hebrew creation story. The Babylonian story is a world created as a result of family conflict and murder, in other words a world with its very roots in violence, while the Hebrew picture of a world created by the command of a unitary benevolent God. Each myth fosters a different culture and religion with a different attitude toward violence.

Since I have been preaching from the Exodus throughout the summer I have been thinking about the different pictures of God which emerge within our Scriptures. Let me assure any heresy hunters that I affirm that the God of Abraham is the same God as the God of Moses and the same God revealed in Jesus Christ. Still it is hard to deny that there are fundamental differences in the various revelations of God’s nature and personality. I wonder how the culture of the people in these three eras of history has effected human perception of God and how the various perceptions of God have effected culture.

The God of Genesis, especially the God of Abraham is a relatively benevolent God whose primary interaction with people is to reveal his love and his promises to Abraham and his descendants. God reveals God’s self through dreams in the night or through personal encounters with those who appear to be human beings. There are no violent epiphanies nor are there deliverances of laws and commandments. The manifestations of a violent nature to God are limited to God bringing the flood (but afterwards God promises never again to destroy the world by flood), and God destroying the city of Sodom. There are a few references to the patriarchs building altars and even fewer references to sacrifices. The glaring exception to this pastoral picture of God is the near sacrifice of Abraham’s son Isaac. What kind of benevolent God asks parents to sacrifice their children? Many scholars believe this story has been preserved for the very purpose of repudiating child sacrifice, note God’s voice says “do not lay a hand on the child.” This primarily non violent picture of God is matched by a society with little warfare or violence. Abraham seeks to live at peace with the other people, when Abraham and Lot have a disagreement they go their separate ways instead of waging war against one another.

Quite in contrast Moses (a murderer himself) worships a God revealed in storm, earthquake, wind and fire. God’s epiphany at Sinai is much like a cataclysmic volcanic eruption. The Lord travels with the people as a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night. The God of Moses is a God of stern laws who prescribes capital punishment for a variety of offenses. This God destroys enemies by drowning, plagues, fiery serpents, and by making the earth split open and swallow offenders. Moses repeatedly pleads with the Lord not to totally destroy this people who Moses brought out of Egyptian slavery. The God of Moses sometimes seems violent and dangerous, even irrational. What kind of God is the Lord who calls Moses to go to Pharaoh and free the people and then tries to kill Moses one night on the way (Exodus 4:24)?

The subsequent history of the people who come to occupy the promised land is a history of warfare and violence. From the conquest and occupation of Canaan through the periods of the Judges and Kings the story of God’s people is a story of warfare and violence. Although the violence is often against external enemies it also involves enmity between tribes and families, and even within families. David, the most dominating figure in the period of the kings was a man of warfare and violence, he single-handedly conquered Goliath, killed Bathsheba’s husband, and waged war on his own rebellious children as well as on all the enemies of Israel.

The God revealed in the life of Jesus appears to have more in common with the God of Abraham than the God revealed to Moses and the people at Sinai. Jesus taught about a forgiving and loving God and taught a thoroughgoing ethic of love and non-violence. It seems unclear to what extent Jesus regarded his death as martyrdom or as an end to the sacrificial system by offering himself as the one sufficient sacrifice. What is clear is that there is no record of his participating in the sacrificial cult beyond eating the Passover. It is also evident that any participation of his followers in bloody sacrifice ended with the separation of the Jesus movement from the Jewish religion.

The question obviously arises then: Why has this view of God as a loving father had so little effect on the societies which claim to accept this religious orientation. To the extend that the Western World has been influenced by Jesus one should expect the history of the past two millennia to be quite different from the reality of warfare and violence. Are we finally at a point in history when we must rethink our God and our behavior?

This morning Center City Churches’ Development Committee met; usually a so-so event, but this morning a most exciting report on the first fruits of our affiliation with the Hands On Network. Center City Churches as one of the newest Hands On affiliates will be coordinating two events as part of a national Corporate Month of Service. On Saturday September 16 as many as 50 United Health Care employees will be providing volunteer service for an extreme makeover of Peter’s Retreat. The project will continue on Thursday when Home Depot will be mobilizing as many as 200 volunteers along with major financial backing to finish the Job of transforming Peter’s Retreat from a once elegant but now shabby residence into a beautifully transformed home for the 26 residents who living with HIV/AIDS.

Perhaps you have wondered what happened to my weekly entries this month; I have been away in North Carolina on vacation. We had a wonderful time with our long time friends and were happy that our daughter and family were able to join us for the first week of vacation. Our beautiful 5 month old granddaughter Hanna Marie was a delight. If you want to see some pictures we took of her follow this link http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/revtdavis@sbcglobal.net/album?.dir=/2ff7re2&.src=ph&.tok=phMs2XFBgQE5UxPY

The one sad part of our vacation was finding out that two of the residents of Peter's Retreat died during the time we were gone. One was Willie a man I had been visiting with once a week for about two years, the other was Maggie, a long time resident who everyone seemed to love because of her sweet and outgoing personality. I had visited with both of them the day before we left before vacation and was able to say some things to each of them knowing that it might be my last opportunity.