Didn't get to spend much time there, but I thought the Brickfest in the depot area looked extra nice. Next it's Expo2002 out at the fairbarn coming up to end the month. So much keeps happening in PV! Remember a few decades ago when planned events were called just that, "happenings." I went to a big one in London in '66 to climax a World Methodist Conference; then came home wanting to call the weekly morning worship a (spontaneous) happening rather than the "service" that follows the printed order. That fad did spread, but more for things like the Woodstock festival. So I settled on "Celebration of the Gospel," instead. That seemed to add some fervor, while "happening" rang hollow for church (and "holy happening" was just unacceptable in that secular era). Still, "happening" sounds much like "happiness" to me. It connotes joyful activity beyond mere liturgical routine. And I think PV's "happening" events add beneficial pleasure because they include new features each year. Expo2002 will be all brand new.
Are you starting to get weary of so much sexual abuse in the media? Enron and the RC Church seem to illustrate our two major lusts in America today: avarice and lascivious sensuality. Of course they overlap a great deal, and both have been moral disasters; yet the focus of the former was financial fraud while the latter is sexual abuse. Enron was a highly respected global energy corporation and the Catholic Church an ancient world institution of spiritual authority. Now both have been badly shaken by irregularities brought to light by the media. It reminds me of a famous book in my seminary days, "Shaking of The Foundations"(Sam.22:8,Ps.18.7,Is.24.18,Lk.6:48,Ac.16:26,Heb.12:27)." The author, Paul Tillich, was a prominent theologian then. His ideas repackaged in a godless guise are back in vogue as postmodernism, where nothing is for sure anymore. Tillich focused on "the now," way back then. In the fifties the Beatniks got our attention by sitting in coffee houses wearing turtleneck sweaters while talking a philosophy of everything in the present moment existence precedes essence. Their "eternal now" bore fruit in the sixties as a pot smoking Now generation of Hippies who used LSD instead of coffee/philosophy. That went bankrupt by the seventies until Jesus Freaks (born again Hippies) sparked a spiritual awakening in the Jesus Movement; then a turning away from all those ideals as the Me generation: "What's in it for me?" Finally in the nineties came generation X, so named from being reared on x-rated movies. And now as postmoderns, I think they're called the Z generation. And they do such things as taking guns to school to shoot classmates, commit computer hacker crimes that cost government or corporations a million and driving all over five states to put deadly pipe bombs in rural mail boxes so as to form a gigantic "smiley face" on the national map, then grin into TV cameras when finally captured by the police. Their life's one big aim is to be noticed, whether in fame or in shame. I saw a TV commercial last night about a couple what were happy with their new baby contrasted to another couple just meeting (and kissing). The caption read "Screw those happy endings. It's a killer first meeting that counts." Could hardly believe my eyes. Someone correct me if I read that wrong on channel 61,2or3. I saw police chasing a speeding car in L.A. Thursday. It went on and on. I nearly tuned out, but several squad card blocked and stopped it. Most amazing of all was when the driver appeared: a female. Heard no more about it, but that ending seemed extra crazy to me. Post-postmodern, I'd say.
If Jimmy Carter makes Fidel Castro shape up in Cuba in spite of all the adverse factors, then I think Carter deserves a shot at the Sharon/Arafat deadlock. Though he's not a Republican, he's a patriotic American, in spite of critical things being said about his trip. And I don't see how he could achieve any less than Colin Powell's try. He has a reputation of being a Godly person, and one who stands up for human rights everywhere. So he will in Cuba too. Fidel has promised to allow him to say anything in the speech being broadcast Tuesday to all Cubans. Of course our president didn't ask him to go down there, but would have to if he made a Mideast trip, which seems nearly impossible. But Mr.President, if you should read this, I wish you'd consider Jimmy (and pay no attention whatever to Jessie Jackson who said he'd been asked by Palestinians to come over and settle things a few weeks ago). Remember? Whew, but that really smelled. All those that came out of the Church of Nativity must have smelled also, after five weeks without baths. But it finally ended and Greek Orthodox services were held again Sunday in the birthplace of Jesus. The long wait with so many failed efforts made me thing of our Lord's return. When they came out at longlast it said to me "See, I will return."