What’s going on... August 2010

Sunday Services

 

Sunday, August 1 – Rev. Fred Howard, “Confessions of a Failed Literalist”

There is an old Hasidic tale that ends with the statement, “God created man (humanity) because he (she) loves stories.”  In my own musings on the subject of God, I have wondered if the converse of this statement might not also contain an element of truth; that is, “Humans created God because they love (and need) stories.”  Think about it.  So much of what makes up the essence of religion and what it means to be a spiritual being is conveyed to us through stories.  Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims all pass the wisdom tradition along through the telling of tales about God(s).  This morning I will be using excerpts from a particular story called “The Life of Pi” as my lens to examine the role of imagination in belief.  

Sunday, August 8 – Dr. Michael Stoltzfus, “Jesus in Buddhism: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives”

 Largely due to geographical and linguistic barriers, it took a long time before a Christian presence could elicit Buddhist views of Jesus and even longer for Buddhism to establish a foothold in the West.  Colonialism combined with attitudinal and theoretical differences also created barriers that took many years to develop into any coherent inter-religious understanding.  We will look at both historical and contemporary Buddhist perspectives on the figure and teachings of Jesus.  Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama are two of the contemporary figures that we will reference.   

 
Sunday, August 15 –– Rev. Fred Howard, “Should We Ever Let Go?  A Cautionary Tale for Liberals”

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where another person’s or group’s problems always seemed to completely overwhelm your own?  How far does our responsibility for our fellow human beings extend?  What measure of responsibility should we take for those who will not take responsibility for themselves?  If you have ever asked yourself any of these questions, the story I will share this morning may shed some light on some issues that are particularly difficult for those of us who are always trying to accentuate the best in human nature.  

Sunday, August 22 – Dr. Keith Johnson, “Hypatia”

Hypatia of Alexandria was not a prominent philosopher per se and though not a person in the church, she was killed, in some fashion, perhaps due to incitement by others for political reasons; this was supposedly done under the guise of the "teachings of the church".  This masked not only her teachings but also that which she actually was, a warrior of wisdom.  Wow.  Her name only now, that is within the past two decades, resounds and invites studies of women in philosophy and speaks not only to those but also for those neglected from the purported canon of the west.  Almost requisite follow-up questions in response to this description include whether or not there should be a canon at all and how many canons do we need?

Sunday, August 29 – Dr. Carol Stiles, “Faith, Values, and Power:  What I Learned at Summer Camp.”

What is “power?”  How do we get it?  What do we do with it?  Carol Stiles attended a week-long Gamaliel Foundation National Leadership Training workshop in Hampton, VA, in July.  Today, she will share with us, in an interactive format, what she learned at the workshop, and how it ties in with our Accepting Difference Project.   The Gamaliel Foundation “is a community of people living out our faith and values to collectively transform our society and bring about justice locally, nationally and globally.”   

Carol’s participation in the workshop was supported in part by the Congregation-Based Community Organizing Matching Grants Program of the Fund for Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility.

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Rev. Fred Howard is our part time minister.  You may contact Rev. Howard by email (preferable) at fredhoward435@hotmail.com .  He is available for consultations on Monday and Wednesday afternoons on most weeks from 2-5PM by appointment.  Fred welcomes any questions you may have about membership in our congregation.  He is also available for weddings and rites of passage ceremonies by prearrangement.

 

 

 

 

Religious Education

For Children: The RE program for children meets at. 10:45 AM concurrent with the Sunday morning service.  Contacts: Mya Storey, Susan Bailey.

 

Notes from Kids’ RE – Sue Bailey

We’ve started our new unit entitled “Our Global Footprints” and for the next several weeks we’ll be continuing our focus on Principle 7: We believe in caring for our planet Earth, the home we share with all living things. In our first lesson on this subject, we calculated our individual ecological footprints and then traced our feet on construction paper and wrote down ways we could reduce our negative impact on the environment.

During our second lesson, we played a game to show what happens when plants run out of room to grow. Everyone in the class pretended to be seeds. In our 5 ft by 5 ft “garden”, we first planted one seed and watched it grow. The little plant had lots of room to stretch up and out toward the sun and wave in the breeze. Then we added more and more seeds to the garden. As they grew, they crowded each other out. The bigger plants blocked the sun so the warm sunlight couldn’t reach the littler plants and took up more room, making it hard for all the plants to grow strong and healthy and wave in the breeze. We finished this lesson by painting paper plate globes.

Future lessons in this unit will include an experiment to see what happens to bird feathers and eggs when they get soaked with oil and activities about air pollution, water conservation, and food packaging.

Looking ahead, we will begin exploring Principle 6: We believe in working for a peaceful, fair and free world toward mid-August.  

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INVITATION TO MEMBERSHIP If you are interested in becoming a member of our fellowship, we encourage you to talk with our minister, Rev. Fred Howard or our President, Lars Leader or Membership Director, Kimberly Tanner.  We welcome your questions, and we extend an open invitation to all who want to join our liberal community of faith.

Parking Problems - Can you Believe it?!

The Board has asked that some of us “old-timers” start parking on the school property that abuts our land.  A path has been recut through our woods to the church.  This will free up spaces in front of the church for newcomers and visitors.  Help out if you can and provide our visitors a more welcoming first visit.    

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MINISTERIAL MUUSINGS

Rev. Fred Howard                                            August 2010

My Report from 2010 General Assembly Minneapolis 

June 23-27  

Since we have so many newcomers to our congregation, I will try to use a minimum of acronyms in this report, and try to explain the ones I use.  I think this would be a good habit for all of us that have been around awhile to develop. The primary focus of the business sessions of our national organization, the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), at its annual meeting, the General Assembly (GA), was our denomination’s response to Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070), recently passed in Arizona, that permits state police to now perform checks on a “reasonable suspicion” that a person might be an illegal immigrant and make arrests for not carrying ID papers.  Of course, the fear is that this law will be used as a way to do racial profiling of anyone with the appearance of a Latino/Latina - certainly a well grounded fear.  Precipitating the need for decisive action was the fact that the GA is scheduled to meet in Phoenix in June 2012.  At issue was whether or not to go ahead and hold the GA in Phoenix, and if so, what would that GA look like and how could its configuration reflect our support for immigration and human rights.  After a long and involved process of debate and democratic process, the Assembly voted by overwhelming majority to call on the UUA Board, which makes the final determination, to hold a “special” General Assembly in Phoenix in 2012 devoted to immigrant justice.   This decision reflected concerns that a complete boycott of the state of Arizona might unfairly punish businesses that supported immigrant’s rights and that a more targeted boycott would be more effective.  The approved motion asks “the UUA board to direct the economic impact of our presence in Phoenix towards partners and allies as much as is feasible.”  Exactly how this will be implemented is yet to be determined, but after a long and exhausting process the motion carried.  I was most gratified in the process of this decision, which well exemplifies our fifth principle of “the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”  My impression was that most all the delegates were supportive of the spirit of these actions.  Of course concerns remain about the specifics of how to implement the spirit of this “special” General Assembly so that it brings attention to the real issues and channels support to sympathetic business interests .  I also attended several workshops.  Most interesting was one on the Wellspring program started a couple of years ago at the UU Church of Rochester.  This is a rather in depth program of spiritual deepening consisting of five components – commitment to a regular, intentional spiritual practice, guided spiritual direction with a mentor, regular readings in UU history and theology, participation in regular small group meetings, and commitment to faith in action through social justice ministry.  The program has been quite successful in taking participants to the next level in their spiritual journey.   One of the ministers who is currently involved in implementing the program in his own church called it “small group ministry on steroids.”  Another participant who has completed the program, which takes ten months, said it got her to the point in her spiritual life where she could “be different in the issues that commonly arise in human community.”  She felt herself to be much more competent in listening to others and discerning the real needs in her own life as well as in the life of her friends and family.  People seemed to benefit from the program regardless of where they were theologically.  One person who self identified as an atheist/humanist said, “I learned that I could have a spiritual practice and not have to give up being an atheist.”  While this program probably requires more resources and support persons than our congregation has at the present time, I learned several things that I can bring into the dynamics of our small groups like the All About UU/New UU sessions. Minneapolis was a beautiful city and I enjoyed the hospitality offered by Upper  Midwesterners.  Please keep in the back of your mind that GA will be held in Charlotte, NC  on June 22-26, 2011.  Since that is within comfortable driving distance of Valdosta, I certainly hope our congregation will see fit to be well represented there.  Our voice is needed both locally, nationally, and globally to do our part in making the beloved community a reality.   Fred Howard is now writing a blog called "Sharing the Journey." The link is www.revfredhoward.wordpress.com.  You are invited to share his journey.

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ABOUT OUR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

Thought you might like to know that

v  Jeff Gallant says Jenny is here!  Welcome her when you see her and extend best wishes to the newlyweds as they settle into their apartment here in Valdosta.

Congratulations to

v  David Rodgers who was featured in the Valdosta Daily Times on July 13 as Artist of the Month. http://valdostadailytimes.com/features/x829290095/Juicy-Still-Life-Artist-of-the-Month

v  Betty Derrick who has recently learned that she has been elected to the 2010 class of Fellows of the American Chemical Society.  The Fellows will be recognized August 23 at the Fall ACS meeting in Boston.  

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Facebook:  Visit us on Facebook by searching "Unitarian Universalist Church of Valdosta."  Kimberly Tanner is keeping this site active by inviting new members and announcing events (ex. service topics).   She checks it daily so it may be a great tool to invite new folks and keep current attendees active.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/group.php?gid=92779034840  

Newsletter Editor:  Betty Derrick Website:  Carol Stiles Local Publicity: Dee Tait August 15: Deadline for September newsletter.

 

 

 

 

Rev. Fred Howard, UU Minister at Serenity Christian Church on July 18

Sharing with Serenity

On Sunday, July 18 our church held shared services with Serenity Christian Church.  Members of our congregation participated in the 9 AM service at Serenity and then Serenity members reciprocated by taking part in worship at UU Valdosta at 11AM.  Afterwards, we shared food and fellowship in a potluck celebration.  As Fred Howard said in his sermon, “We have been able to come together this morning with our differences fully evident.  Each congregation has been secure enough in its own religious identity to enable us to move toward each other and discover who the ‘other’ really is.  That’s what allowed the miracle of this shared service to happen.  Because we recognized that we are different and that those differences were cause for celebration.  The miracle is that we have been able to delight in our differences.  Those differences in the individual threads of our lives are what make the tapestry of what we are weaving together today fuller, richer, and stronger than anything our individual congregations might be able to create on its own.” The venture was well attended by both congregations and was deemed so successful that representatives from both congregations are already in discussions to make it an annual affair.  You can read more about it at Fred’s blog at www.revfredhoward.wordpress.com.  

 

Above: Rev. Floyd Rose and Fred Howard at UU church

Below: Children’s Sermon at the UU Church on Shared Service Sunday

 

 

    

One of the Peace Trees RE Kids made July 18

Let’s Have Some Fun!!

 Book Discussion and Potluck

Friday, August 13

At the church

Potluck: 6:00 PM – Discussion: 7:00 PM

The book is “God Is Not One” by Stephen Prothero.  The subtitle of this provocative book is “The eight rival religions that run the world and why their differences matter.”  One reviewer states: “This is a powerfully written, paradigm-shifting book.  How religious differences can be a bridge of cooperation rather than a bomb of destruction is one of the most important challenges of our era and Prothero is as good a guide as you will find.”  Stephen Prothero is a professor of religion at Boston University and a best-selling author.  Bring a dish to share.  Coffee and tea will be provided.  You are welcome to bring other beverages.  We have been selecting books which deal with different cultures, religions, and life styles.  Let us know your suggestions.  Contact: Betty Derrick  

 

A Report from the June Kids’ RE Overnight Retreat: 

The retreat was a big success! And it wasn’t just the kids who had fun. The adults got involved in many of the activities and games, too.

The retreat began with a fast and furious game of Noodle Hockey, with pool noodle hockey sticks and beach ball “pucks”.  There was a lot of yelling and cheering as each team tried to work their way down to the other team’s goal and score! The hockey game eventually morphed into a variety of spontaneous games using the beach ball as the kids waited for dinner to be served.

When it was time for dinner, everyone gathered for big plates of spaghetti and bow tie pasta with plain or meat sauce, salad, corn on the cob, and bread. Kimberly Tanner made a special dessert – one of her famous trifles! We were joined for the meal by two special guests, Erin and Vafa Salmon, who are good friends of Kimberly and Doug.

After a great meal and good conversation, Vafa and Erin gathered everyone in a big circle to talk to us about Deaf culture and teach us some signs. Erin translated as Vafa answered many questions from both the kids and adults and busted a wide variety of stereotypes about Deaf people. Our guests also taught the group some signs, for example, signs for “please”, “thank you”, “you are awesome” and others. It was a fun time with Erin and Vafa and we all gained a better understanding of Deaf culture.

For the rest of the evening, we all enjoyed playing games – Sock Ball Toss, Blanket Stand, Animal Relay and an old favorite, Telephone. Unfortunately, we were not able to play the outdoor water balloon games because of the rain storm, but we made up for that on Sunday after church!

As the evening wound down, the kids had a snack of watermelon and made badminton rackets and birdies out of coat hangers, pantyhose and fabric scraps. We strung crepe paper streamers across the room as a net for those that wanted to play a little badminton before getting ready for bed. Then, as everyone settled down for lights out, we finished the evening with Dr. Seuss stories read by Erik, Cameron, Kat and Emmilee.

On Sunday morning, after a breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit, we cleaned up our belongings and readied everything for our church service. While some of the kids set up for Meet & Greet, others were helping to put out hymnals, greet visitors, and hand out the Orders of Service.  

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Buddhist Sutta Study Group

Brian Ānanda is hosting a Buddhist Sutta Study Group at the church on the 1^st & 3^rd Tuesdays of the month (also the 5^th, when applicable) at the church.  Doors open at 6:00 PM and the meeting starts at 6:30 PM.   The first half-hour is spent on the Nikāyas (the body of scripture common to all Buddhist traditions).  The next 15-20 minutes is for meditation Q&A—or complete instruction if there is a newcomer—followed by group meditation until 8:00-ish.  Buddhists & non-Buddhists are both welcomed.  Much of what we discuss can be applied to anyone’s life, regardless of religious orientation.  The meditative practices taught are of the Theravāda tradition, which require no belief or adherence to a certain dogma in order to be practiced.  A conservative Southern Baptist could benefit from this form of meditation without the least bit of remorse.  Contact Brian Ānanda if you have questions.  

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Georgia Governor’s Honors School at VSU

Once again this summer students from the Governor’s Honors School, held at Valdosta State University, attended our services.  Lars Leader coordinated their visits and provided transportation for them.  He says that the seven students who visited  this year were all new to Unitarian Universalism.  In past years we have often had students from the Atlanta UU congregations who visited and brought their friends.  Several of the students participated in the Shared Sunday services and the Fellowship potluck lunch in July.

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Social Action Activities

 Accepting Difference Project (ADP)

This project works to bring attention to and build diverse coalitions to address systemic problems in our community.  Carol Stiles has been heading up the Congregation-Based Community Organizing Project sponsored by ADP, with training from the Gamaliel Foundation.  On behalf of the project she recently applied for a matching grant through the UU Funding Program (UUFP) which provided funding for her participation in the Gamaliel National Leadership Training, July 18-24 in Hampton, Virginia.  

The next local workshop with Ana Garcia Ashley is scheduled for Saturday, July 31 (starting at 9:00 a.m.). This will be a more advanced session - "next steps" - for those who came to either of the first two sessions, and are interested in continuing to work with us to develop a community-organizing network. 

Carol says the UUFP  panel was impressed by how much we do with such a small congregation.

 

Break Bread Together

Our date for meal deliveries with the Break Bread Together program is the 2^nd Monday (and 5^th when there is one) of each month.  If you would like to help deliver meals beginning about 11:00 AM, please contact Frank or Rosie Asbury 

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UU Church of Valdosta Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

10 July 2010

Attending: Fred Howard, Rosie Asbury, Lars Leader, Sue Bailey, Kimberly Tanner, Bill and Valerie Webster, Kat Nickola

OLD BUSINESS

• Hymnals-Received 10 new hymnals.  Need 25 new supplements.  $18 each.  Approved to order 25-Lars
• Visitors-Old candles need replaced each service.  Need to hand out visitor pamphlets to newcomers.  Fred has some extra pamphlets-Lars, Fred
• Siding Repairs-Board agreed via email to start repairs with Jim’s contractor-Jim needs contacted to verify-Lars
• Microwave-Need to purchase one.  Cost $100-$1455 at Sam’s for one large enough to fit casserole dishes.-Approve to buy <$200-Kimberly

NEW BUSINESS

• Minister Report-Fred will be ordained by Christian Universalist Association.
• Ministry at Moody - provides a meal and program (if desired) for single Airmen living in the dorms at Moody AFB Tuesday evenings.  Are we interested in getting involved? Yes, with a bit more info
• Adopt-A-Project – mission project by the UUA Project Harvest organization promoting economic development in Transylvania.  Are we interested in submitting our church for possible participation in a small project?- Yes, for a small project to be presented to congregation for final decision
• Programs Report-Need speakers for 22^nd and 29^th of August. Needed some advice about balancing paid or unpaid speakers.
• Water Communion ­– Fred will do service 3^rd Sunday of September
• Movie Nights – idea discussed for showing ethics-related movies once a month or so in the evenings.  Need a volunteer to head this.-
• Speaker suggestions offered and advice to Focus on Quality rather than payment issues.
• Treasurer Report-New members should be made aware of the obligation to fill out a pledge card.  Add to the UU new members class
• Tidying Team-Need volunteers to tidy the church periodically.  IE: go through paperwork and maintain the kitchen
• Religious Education-Topic for remainder of summer: Global Footprints.  Topic for the fall: Peace & Peacemakers - Sue
• Listserv Posting-Carol sent a posting guidelines email.  The listserv is for announcements, events, and general social action concerns. Please don’t use the listserv for Sunday service planning purposes.  Email lay-leaders, speakers, and music at personal email addresses. Connecting newcomers with volunteer opportunities on teams will be the responsibility of the membership team-Valerie
• Membership Report-Moving the database of attendees to Excel for better tracking. Encourage members to use Facebook more.  “Unitarian Universalist Church of Valdosta” is a Group. Kimberly
• Nametags – when should we offer to long-time attendees?- After 2-3 months regular attendance-
• Tables-Need new ones.  Office max & Sams have good deals on hard plastic tables.-Approved purchase of 1 long table and 1 folding table-Valerie
• New Hope-Will meet with the board at a future meeting-Still planning-Lars
• NEXT MEETING-4 August 2010 6pm

   

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Treasurer’s Report – Rosie Asbury

June 30, 2010

Receipts                June                      July -present (12 mos.)

  Plate                $ 246.23                                     $ 2126.83

  Pledge              1915.00                                    17728.00

  Rent                   240.00                                        2840.00

  Miscellaneous     75.00                                         460.00

Total Recpts  $ 2476.23                                 $23154.83

Disbursements  

  Speakers’ Fees      $200.00                                   $2475.00

  Minister Exp.         1448.72                                   11579.50

  Repairs & Maint.    300.00                                     1022.33

  Newsletter                 0.00                                        104.57

  Pest Control            35.00                                        727.00

  Building Insurance      0.00                                      1214.00

  Postage                    0.00                                        328.40

  Supplies                   17.44                                        197.44

  Utilities                   186.01                                     2944.31

  Advert./Website     143.00                                       493.00

  UUA Dues               0.00                                      1659.00

  UU Conference        0.00                                        325.00

  Donations                0.00                                         425.00            

  Others                      30.00                                        157.92

Total  Disbursements                       

           $ 2345.17                                 $ 23667.47

Net Receipt         $131.06                                  $  - 512.64  

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President’s Corner: Watch for Lars Leader’s column next month. The newsletter went to press just as summer exams hit at VSU! :)  

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At the Church-in-the-Woods

New Hope Christian Community Church- Sunday evenings: Choir practice at 4:30 PM. Service at 6:00 PM.  http://internationalchristiancommunity.ning.com

Taoist Tai Chi – Monday and Thursday: Summer: Continuing Class 6:00-7:30 PM. Beginning August 19: Continuing Class 5:30-7 PM; New beginner’s class 7-8 PM..  Contact Dennis Bogyo or Luana Goodwin

PFLAG Meeting – 4th Tuesday each month, 7:00PM

Contact: Doug Tanner The web page for PFLAG Valdosta:
http://pflag-valdosta.web.officelive.com/  

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UUA TRUSTEE TIDBITS                    Joan Lund                               August 2010                                      

 

As you know by this time the Resolution to keep General Assembly (GA) 2012 in Phoenix, AZ passed at this year’s GA by a very large margin; and it will be a “Justice GA”. Over the next four years leading up to this GA our Association and hopefully every congregation within will be devoting study time and energy to making GA 2012 overwhelmingly successful. The delegates indicated their concern about our nation’s immigration issues by passing Congregational Study Action Issue (CSAI): Immigration as a Moral Issue, as our next four year study. Also as an Act of Immediate Witness (AIW) the Assembly called for immigration reform at the state and federal levels.

We must be leaders in insuring human rights for immigrants and refuges, and to acknowledge this as a moral issue. We need to continue to witness against Arizona SB 1070 and its implementation. The dignity of all the world’s humans is central to UU principles and values, and I strongly encourage your congregation get involved in one or more of the many topics for immigration study and action. These include, but are not limited to: educating ourselves on the definitions and international agencies accountable in the issue; the economic impact of immigration on countries and individuals; the ways immigrants enrich the society in which they settle; myths vs. realities regarding immigrants; and who the immigrants are in our communities. Also we UUs need to participate and support events that support the rights and dignity of migrants and refugees, and efforts to change both national and international laws; and develop intentional awareness and programs of cultural sharing, inviting immigrants to be a part. I suggest looking at the GA Agenda from our meeting in Minneapolis for the full printing of our current CSAI.

Among other actions our AIW calls for us to join in tourism and product boycotts of Arizona in order to apply economic pressure on the state, to call on the U.S. President to reassert the federal government’s exclusive control over the laws pertaining to immigration, to monitor legislation in other states and witness against similar anti-immigrant proposals, and to persist in our efforts until humane/just federal comprehensive immigration is achieved.

It is important that we UUs do more than just verbally support those in our faith who are “walking our social justice talk”. Please know I am available to converse on issues that concern us all: jlund@uua.org I also hope you are enjoying a relaxing summer as you continue to important work in your congregation.

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UU Activities and Announcements

June 23-27- UUA General Assembly, Minneapolis , MN

August 8-13- Southland UU Leadership Experience, The Mountain, Highlands, NC

August 21-FL District Wide Faith Development Teacher Training, Lakeland, FL

August 21- Tampa, FL or September 18-Palm Beach, FL

The annual President's Roundtable has been expanded in recent years to include congregational Presidents, Presidents-elect, and one "emerging" leader. The purpose of this event is to allow our congregational leaders to meet, share hopes and challenges, and to learn how to lead their congregation's into greater health and vitality.  We offer two settings this fall.  Combining case-study materials with theory, we will consider what makes for a healthy and growing congregation. 

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Transylvania Pilgrimage

 Travel Opportunity for Summer of 2011!

The most radical thing we can do is introduce people to each other.  In that spirit, there will be a pilgrimage to Transylvania, the birthplace of the Unitarian branch of our faith, July 19-August 2, 2011.  The pilgrimage will take us into a culture that has been informed by Unitarian principles for over 400 years.  We will visit the revered sites of Francis David’s martyrdom and the tomb of King Sigismund, the only Unitarian king in history.  Pilgrims will also have the opportunity experience the home hospitality of Transylvanian Unitarians, some of the most gracious and welcoming people in the world.  Many other activities and events are planned as a part of the wonderful opportunity to actually be a part of the bridge that connects our congregations with the rest of the world. 

Plans are beginning to take shape for this pilgrimage sponsored by Project Harvest Hope.  There will be participants from both the Florida and Mid-South Districts. If you have interest, you will want to make that known to us so that you can be invited to one of the information sessions.  You can also get general information about Unitarian Universalist partnerships in Transylvania by visiting the Partner Church website at www.uupcc.org or the Harvest Hope website at www.harvesthope.uua.org.  If you would like more information about our upcoming trip, contact Jane Donahue, the Director of Religious Education at High Street UU Church in Macon or Fred Howard, minister of Valdosta UU Church, at fredhoward435@hotmail.com. Come with us and share in the bounty of the table that is set before us as Unitarian Universalists when we dare to become pilgrims to these marvelous sites of our heritage! 

Two quotes from the first page of Amy Tan’s novel

Saving Fish From Drowning:

“The evil that is in the world almost always comes of ignorance and good intentions may do as much harm as malevolence if they lack understanding.” 

--- Albert Camus

“A pious man explained to his followers: ‘It is evil to take lives and noble to save them.  Each day I pledge to save a hundred lives.  I drop my net in the lake and scoop out a hundred fishes.  I place the fishes on the bank, where they flop and twirl.  Don’t be scared, I tell those fishes.  I am saving you from drowning.  Soon enough, the fishes grow calm and lie still.  Yet sad to say, I am always too late.  The fishes expire.  And because it is evil to waste anything, I take those dead fishes to market and I sell them for a good price.  With the money I receive, I buy more nets so I can save more fishes.’”

---Anonymous  

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