Weekend in the Mountains

Above: Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, NC

Below: Table Rock State Park, South Carolina

Obama Statement on California Marriage Decision

The Obama campaign released the following statement today on the decision of the California Supreme Court:

"Barack Obama has always believed that same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the law, and he will continue to fight for civil unions as President. He respects the decision of the California Supreme Court, and continues to believe that states should make their own decisions when it comes to the issue of marriage."

On the issue of constitutional amendments, Senator Obama has been on record for some time: He opposes all divisive and discriminatory constitutional amendments, state or federal. That includes the proposed amendments in California and Florida.

Tobias Barrington Wolff

Chair, National LGBT Policy Committee

Obama for America '08

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Smiling Bear

Bear’s Diverse Downloads

Recently downloaded from eMusic (from high-brow to low-brow):

Heavenly Harmonies: Music of Thomas Tallis & William Byrd,
by Stile Antico
Ginsberg’s Thing, by Allen Ginsberg (out-of-print spoken word album)
Free Somehow, by Widespread Panic
Backwoods Barbie, by Dolly Parton

All downloaded for $14.99, as part of my monthly subscription to eMusic.

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Healing Retreat

I had a wonderful time at my church’s retreat this past weekend. I had been asked to share on Saturday morning and afternoon about healing and renewal, which was appropriate given our location at a small retreat center and farm in south Georgia. Springtime renewal was happening all around us! It was wonderful to spend so much time outdoors in nature. It was also great to spend time with other members of the church, swimming, sharing meals together, just hanging out.

I had prepared enough material to do a day-long workshop on spiritual healing, and as it turned out, I didn’t use any of it. Our workshop time turned into an extended discussion, with most of the participants sharing deeply personal stories and insights from their own lives. I did manage to coordinate the discussion around some of the biblical passages I’d marked, stories of Jesus healing the sick (Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 3:1-5, Luke 5:17-26, John 9:1-7). Each story seemed to spark further discussion and further sharing. I think we all left with a deeper understanding of Jesus and his healing work, and we also gained a deeper understanding of each other. I never cease to be amazed at how complex, how insightful, and how wonderful the folks are at Gentle Spirit Christian Church!

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