From Celebrating Appalachia---I Do Miss This!

 See Celebrating Appalachia here---and please subscribe!

From "The Politics of Swearing" by Raj Bharat Patta & Posted on the Political Theology Network Blog

From The Politics of Swearing by Raj Bharat Patta and posted on the Political Theology Network blog:

Jesus did not try to pretend to sanitise his words for the sake of the religious world around him. This is what I call spirituality, where you can be your natural self, letting out your anger against injustice, expressing your intolerance against unjust practices without any pretense and verbalising your righteous anger against the person who exploits the innocent and kills those who speak against the powers. A spirituality of swearing lies in finding meaning and value in the so-called “irreverent.” Nadia Bolz Weber explains boldly that she seriously loves Jesus and she does swear a little, by which she navigates a deeper spirituality of her faith in Jesus Christ for herself and for folks out there who are comforted by ambiguity and who need a word of Grace which “is not covered in a strawberry syrup.”

(I'm only now discovering the Political Theology Network, but they look like they're doing a great job.) 

Please check this blog out...

Please check out the Religion and Socialism blog here.

There is an especially good article on the blog called "Godless Capitalism Came for Our Children, Again" and one called "TISHA B’AV: A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR TODAY’S LEFT."

A Voice & Some Words That I Miss Every Day...

 Another great one from the Pressley Girls & the Blind Pig & Acorn blog.

Young Catholics: Enter your original poem about the death penalty for a chance to win!

 The following comes from the Catholic Mobilizing Network website. 

Justice and Mercy Poetry Contest for Young Catholics

Enter your original poem about the death penalty for a chance to win!

Are you an 18-30 year old who is enrolled in college or graduate school and motivated by your Catholic faith? Do you care about justice, especially as it pertains to the U.S. criminal legal system?

Enter Catholic Mobilizing Network’s (CMN’s) Justice and Mercy Poetry Contest for Young Catholics with an original poem about the injustice of capital punishment and become eligible to win up to $1,000 in cash.

The first-place winner will also be invited to read their award-winning poem at CMN’s 13th anniversary celebration on October 10, 2022 at the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See in Washington, DC.

Contest winners will be chosen by a diverse group of committee members who bring an array of interest, experience, and skills when it comes to engaging young Catholics, ending the death penalty, and using poetry as a way to nurture the intersection of justice and faith.

Submission Guidelines and Eligibility

This contest is open to Catholics in the United States ages 18-30 who are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at an accredited college or university.

Poetry submissions will be accepted from March 1, 2022 - May 31, 2022. Submissions are limited to one poem per person. Formal, rhyming, or free verse poems are welcome.
Contest Prizes

First Place - The first-place winner of the poetry contest will receive a $1,000 cash prize and their poem will be published on CMN’s website and social media channels. The first-place winner will also be invited on an expenses-paid trip to Washington, DC to read their poem live at CMN’s 13th anniversary celebration at the Apostolic Nunciature on October 10, 2022.

Second Place - The second-place winner of the poetry contest will receive a $500 cash prize and their poem will be published on CMN’s website and social media channels.

Third Place - The third-place winner of the poetry contest will receive a $300 cash prize and their poem will be published on CMN’s website and social media channels.

ALL contestants will be invited to an exclusive virtual gathering in the summer of 2022 to hear from death penalty abolition leaders and learn about opportunities for education, advocacy, and prayer in the movement to end the death penalty.

"On the mend = to improve."

This is another short and fun video from the Blind Pig & the Acorn blog. And it's not just the expression or the voice, but the look as well. That's the look you want to see when you have picnic on the grounds and go looking for your third helping of potato salad. I hope that our readers enjoy these as much as I do. Maybe a few of you are feeling that it sure is a long way to home. 

Life will be beautiful....

 

Cracker Cookies from Blind Pig & The Acorn

I'm continuing along with a recipe theme---easy-to-make down-home cooking that even I can do.

Today I want to encourage everyone to go over to the Blind Pig & The Acorn blog for their cracker cookies recipe. You just need crackers, peanut butter, and almond bark or "your favorite type of melting morsels."

The recipe is here. You really can't go wrong with this one.

The Blind Pig & The Acorn is one of my favorite blogs. Please visit with them regularly.

More Working-Class History

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-zmss8-11a4da4

Irish immigrants, who toiled in the mines of Leadville, Colorado, in the late 1800s are largely forgotten. Many died penniless, buried in paupers’ graves.  But now a Colorado professor has dug up their stories and their struggles. The Heartland Labor Forum brings us a report on the Irish Immigrant Miners’ Memorial. Then, Remember our Struggle with Ariana Blockmon, who covers the 1916 Springfield (MO) Streetcar Strike.

From the Irish Times

See the Irish Times story here.