We continue to argue the merits of gun control in this country while too many people die because of the proliferation of guns and how easily criminals can get their hands on those guns. Sadly we see this in the headlines:
Tracing the Gun Used to Kill 2 New York City Police Officers (from a Pawn Shop)
West Virginia felon, accused killer of 4 bought gun on Facebook
Matthew Warren Bought Unregistered Gun Online To Use In Suicide, Rick Warren Says
Too many see guns as a right rather than a privilege with responsibilities. And yet the purpose of guns is to kill, plain and simple. We must ensure as a society that those who bear arms are:
1) Background Checked
2) Licensed
3) Trained
4) Weapons bought/sold traced
We do this with cars, we should absolutely do this with guns. Sadly, though, all this will not prevent accidents and tragedies with guns:
The inside story of how an Idaho toddler shot his mom at Wal-Mart
How often do children in the U.S. unintentionally shoot and kill people? We don’t know.
And let us stop blaming it all on mental illness:
Stop blaming mental health for gun violence. The problem is guns.
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Advent Online Courses
St. Peter’s on the Blackboard
Online Courses
Online Courses
Take them anytime! No need to do it all in one setting!
We are offering (courses are roughly 30/45 minutes in length) this Advent:
We are offering (courses are roughly 30/45 minutes in length) this Advent:
Learn about economic inequality and what we can do about it this Advent in an informative series of courses. In partnership with Trinity Institute and their upcoming 2015 conference called Creating Common Good, we've just launched four courses, the latest taught by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Wells. Here are the courses - one for each week of Advent:
· Economic Inequality with Julio Murray, Anglican Bishop of Panama
· Christian Responsibility with Rachel Held Evans, Evangelical blogger
· Educational Inequality with Nicole Baker Fulgham, Education advocate
· A Christian Response with Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury
Other Advent offerings include:
· Introducing Advent with Tim Schenck
· Advent for Families with Heath Howe
For those new to the blackboard, there is a free “How to Take a ChurchNext Class” that will guide you through a practice class before taking your first class. Take any of the courses at your own pace!
http://stpetersmonroe.pathwright.com
Please contact Rev. Kurt if you are interested in any of these!
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Is Feeding the Homeless a Crime?
Yes. In many places.
Here's one story:
More laws target feeding the homeless in public, but advocates say it won't stop their work
By KELLI KENNEDY Associated Press
A prayer:
Here's one story:
More laws target feeding the homeless in public, but advocates say it won't stop their work
By KELLI KENNEDY Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- To Arnold Abbot, feeding the homeless in a public park in South Florida was an act of charity. But to the city of in Fort Lauderdale, the 90-year-old man was committing a crime.Read the whole story here.
Arnold and two South Florida ministers were arrested last weekend as they handed out food. They were charged with breaking a new ordinance restricting public feeding of the homeless, and each faces up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
"One of the police officers said, `Drop that plate right now,' as if I were carrying a weapon," Abbott told South Florida television station WPLG (http://bit.ly/1qpgywd ).
The arrests haven't deterred the group. Ministers Dwayne Black and Mark Sims were back at church Wednesday preparing meals for a feeding at a public park later that night.
A prayer:
Heavenly Father, in your Word you have given us a vision of
that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their
glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth.
Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life.
Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate
poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail
with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and
women from different cultures and with differing talents may
find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (For Cities, BCP)
that holy City to which the nations of the world bring their
glory: Behold and visit, we pray, the cities of the earth.
Renew the ties of mutual regard which form our civic life.
Send us honest and able leaders. Enable us to eliminate
poverty, prejudice, and oppression, that peace may prevail
with righteousness, and justice with order, and that men and
women from different cultures and with differing talents may
find with one another the fulfillment of their humanity;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (For Cities, BCP)
Bible Study: The Fast that I Choose
A Bible Study on Hunger
Key Scriptures Week 1:
Genesis 1:29-30
Exodus 16:1-12
Deuteronomy 15
Micah 6:8
Matthew 14:14-21
Luke 6:20-26
John 12: 2-8
Hunger is a God issue
• Why is there hunger?
• What does the Lord require?
Global Hunger Map at World Food Programme at www.wfp.org
Key Scriptures Week 2:
Genesis 4: 1-11
Leviticus 19: 33-34 & 25: 35-38
Matthew 25:31-46
Luke 10:25-37
Luke 16: 19-31
1 John 3:11-18
Hunger is a global issue
• Who are my brothers and sisters?
• Am I my brothers’ and sister’ keeper?
http://www.whyhunger.org/
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Fall Bible Study
October 29, November 5, November 12
Wednesdays – 10:30 AM & 7:30 PM
The
Fast That I Choose: A Bible Study on Hunger
By examining the issue of hunger from a
biblical perspective, the study seeks to make clear that one of the surest ways
to test the quality of our walk with God is to examine the way we respond to
the needs of others. Throughout the study, preconceived ideas about hunger and
poverty are challenged as participants encounter God’s preference for the poor
as revealed in scripture. Finally, the challenges participants to respond out
of their faith in Jesus concrete ways to the reality of hunger in our world.
The Fast That I Choose takes its title from
Isaiah 58:6. The words of the prophet remind us that God wants worship from the
heart which has as its end the increase of God’s justice in the world.
The Common Cup
American Journal of Infection Control
October 1998 * Volume 26 * Number 5
Risk of Infectious Disease Transmission from a Common Communion Cup
For more than 2 decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated
an official position to inquirers (eg, lay public, physicians, nurses, and other health care
professionals) about the risk of infectious disease transmission from a common communion
cup. Although no documented transmission of any infectious disease has ever been traced
to the use of a common communion cup, a great deal of controversy surrounds this issue;
the CDC still continues to receive inquiries about this topic.
In this letter, the CDC strives to achieve a balance of adherence to scientific principles and respect for religious beliefs. Within the CDC, the consensus of the National Center for Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and
Tuberculosis is that a theoretic risk of transmitting infectious diseases by using a common
communion cup exists, but that the risk is so small that it is undetectable.
The CDC has not been called on to investigate any episodes or outbreaks of infectious diseases that
have been allegedly linked to the use of a common communion cup. However, outbreaks or
clusters of infection might be difficult to detect if: (1) a high prevalence of disease (eg,
infectious mononucleosis, influenza, herpes, strep throat, common cold) exists in the
community, (2) diseases with oral routes of transmission have other modes of transmission
(ie, fecal-oral, hand-to-mouth/nose, airborne), (3) the length of the incubation period for
the disease is such that other opportunities for exposure cannot be ruled out unequivocally, and (4) no incidence data exist for comparison purposes (ie, the disease is not on the reportable disease list and therefore is not under public health surveillance).
Experimental studies have shown that bacteria and viruses can contaminate a common
communion cup and survive despite the alcohol content of the wine. Therefore, an ill person
or asymptomatic carrier drinking from the common cup could potentially expose other
members of the congregation to pathogens present in saliva. Were any diseases
transmitted by this practice, they most likely would be common viral illnesses, such as the
common cold. However, a recent study of 681 persons found that people who receive
Communion as often as daily are not at higher risk of infection compared with persons
who do not receive communion or persons who do not attend Christian church services at
all.
In summary, the risk for infectious disease transmission by a common communion cup is
very low, and appropriate safeguards-that is, wiping the interior and exterior rim between
communicants, use of care to rotate the cloth during use, and use of a clean cloth for each
service-would further diminish this risk. In addition, churches may wish to consider
advising their congregations that sharing the communion cup is discouraged if a person has
an active respiratory infection (ie, cold or flu) or moist or open sores on their lips (eg,
herpes).
Lilia P. Manangan, RN, MPH Lynne M. Sehulster,
PhD Linda Chiarello, RN, MS, CIC Dawn N.
Simonds, BS William R. Jarvis, MD Hospital Infections Program, National Center for
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of
Health and Human Services Atlanta, Georgia.
References
1. Hobbs BC, Knowlden JA, White A. Experiments on the communion cup. J Hyg1967;65:37-
48.
2. Burrows W, Hemmons ES. Survival of bacteria
on the silver communion cup. J Infect Dis
1943;73:180-90.
3. Gregory KF, Carpenter JA, Bending GC. Infection hazards of the common communion
cup. Can J Public Health 1967;58:305-10. MEDLINE
4. Furlow TG, Dougherty MJ. Bacteria on the common communion cup [letter]. Ann Intern
Med 1993;118:572-3. MEDLINE
5. Dancewicz EP. What is the risk of infection from common communion cups? [letter].
JAMA 1973;225:320.
6. Kingston D. Memorandum on the infections
hazards of the common communion cup with
especial reference to AIDS. Eur J Epidemiol 1988;4:164-70. MEDLINE
7. Gill ON. The hazard of infection from the shared communion cup. J Infect 1988;16:3-
23. MEDLINE
8. Loving AL, Wolf L. Effects of holy communion on health
© American Journal of Infection Control
October 1998 * Volume 26 * Number 5
Risk of Infectious Disease Transmission from a Common Communion Cup
For more than 2 decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has stated
an official position to inquirers (eg, lay public, physicians, nurses, and other health care
professionals) about the risk of infectious disease transmission from a common communion
cup. Although no documented transmission of any infectious disease has ever been traced
to the use of a common communion cup, a great deal of controversy surrounds this issue;
the CDC still continues to receive inquiries about this topic.
In this letter, the CDC strives to achieve a balance of adherence to scientific principles and respect for religious beliefs. Within the CDC, the consensus of the National Center for Infectious Diseases and the National Center for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, and
Tuberculosis is that a theoretic risk of transmitting infectious diseases by using a common
communion cup exists, but that the risk is so small that it is undetectable.
The CDC has not been called on to investigate any episodes or outbreaks of infectious diseases that
have been allegedly linked to the use of a common communion cup. However, outbreaks or
clusters of infection might be difficult to detect if: (1) a high prevalence of disease (eg,
infectious mononucleosis, influenza, herpes, strep throat, common cold) exists in the
community, (2) diseases with oral routes of transmission have other modes of transmission
(ie, fecal-oral, hand-to-mouth/nose, airborne), (3) the length of the incubation period for
the disease is such that other opportunities for exposure cannot be ruled out unequivocally, and (4) no incidence data exist for comparison purposes (ie, the disease is not on the reportable disease list and therefore is not under public health surveillance).
Experimental studies have shown that bacteria and viruses can contaminate a common
communion cup and survive despite the alcohol content of the wine. Therefore, an ill person
or asymptomatic carrier drinking from the common cup could potentially expose other
members of the congregation to pathogens present in saliva. Were any diseases
transmitted by this practice, they most likely would be common viral illnesses, such as the
common cold. However, a recent study of 681 persons found that people who receive
Communion as often as daily are not at higher risk of infection compared with persons
who do not receive communion or persons who do not attend Christian church services at
all.
In summary, the risk for infectious disease transmission by a common communion cup is
very low, and appropriate safeguards-that is, wiping the interior and exterior rim between
communicants, use of care to rotate the cloth during use, and use of a clean cloth for each
service-would further diminish this risk. In addition, churches may wish to consider
advising their congregations that sharing the communion cup is discouraged if a person has
an active respiratory infection (ie, cold or flu) or moist or open sores on their lips (eg,
herpes).
Lilia P. Manangan, RN, MPH Lynne M. Sehulster,
PhD Linda Chiarello, RN, MS, CIC Dawn N.
Simonds, BS William R. Jarvis, MD Hospital Infections Program, National Center for
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, US Department of
Health and Human Services Atlanta, Georgia.
References
1. Hobbs BC, Knowlden JA, White A. Experiments on the communion cup. J Hyg1967;65:37-
48.
2. Burrows W, Hemmons ES. Survival of bacteria
on the silver communion cup. J Infect Dis
1943;73:180-90.
3. Gregory KF, Carpenter JA, Bending GC. Infection hazards of the common communion
cup. Can J Public Health 1967;58:305-10. MEDLINE
4. Furlow TG, Dougherty MJ. Bacteria on the common communion cup [letter]. Ann Intern
Med 1993;118:572-3. MEDLINE
5. Dancewicz EP. What is the risk of infection from common communion cups? [letter].
JAMA 1973;225:320.
6. Kingston D. Memorandum on the infections
hazards of the common communion cup with
especial reference to AIDS. Eur J Epidemiol 1988;4:164-70. MEDLINE
7. Gill ON. The hazard of infection from the shared communion cup. J Infect 1988;16:3-
23. MEDLINE
8. Loving AL, Wolf L. Effects of holy communion on health
© American Journal of Infection Control
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