United We Serve

[kimmi]

Oh no, you aren't turning the maggot on me in this one. I'm not the one who brought up religion in this topic. . . nor politics for that matter. In fact I believe the initiating poster even stated that it was her opinion that politics & religion have no place in this topic right out of the gate. . .

Amen Brotha Pale!  Amen! 

[Palehorse]

Amen Brotha Pale!  Amen! 

[LOsborne]

yeah, I know those mean, evil old christian asswipes, who give personal money and time to help the poor....

I'm certain there are many fine people, whether professing to believe in the Three Gods or not, who do good works without fanfare. As institutions though, churches do nothing but take up collections which go to subsidize the pastor and building fund of the church. Oh wait, now and then there was a special envelope distributed that was marked "missions." The "missions" themselves were never defined, but the implication was they were somewhere overseas where it was hot, dirty and pagan. And the greasy evangelist who came every other year (nubile teenage girls were warned not to be alone with him!) passed the plate about four times a service, but the only thing he said about the money was that it would be used for "God's work." I wonder if that included paying off the parents of the teenage girls who didn't move quickly enough. This was in the southern Baptist church of my youth. As an adult I belonged to a Catholic congregation. Their big fund-raiser was bingo. And casino night. And raffles. Imagine how conflicted I was, since my southern Baptist upbringing told me gambling was a sin. But I digress: so far as I could tell, all the money raised by gambling went to fund the parochial school, so again the money stayed "in house."

So tell me again, Henry, about all the poor who were helped by the "personal time and money" of these two church communities. And while you're at it, I would be interested in a few anecdotal reports of contributions which your own church family have made. Church league softball doesn't count. Neither does paid day-care.

[me]

I'm certain there are many fine people, whether professing to believe in the Three Gods or not, who do good works without fanfare. As institutions though, churches do nothing but take up collections which go to subsidize the pastor and building fund of the church. Oh wait, now and then there was a special envelope distributed that was marked "missions." The "missions" themselves were never defined, but the implication was they were somewhere overseas where it was hot, dirty and pagan. And the greasy evangelist who came every other year (nubile teenage girls were warned not to be alone with him!) passed the plate about four times a service, but the only thing he said about the money was that it would be used for "God's work." I wonder if that included paying off the parents of the teenage girls who didn't move quickly enough. This was in the southern Baptist church of my youth. As an adult I belonged to a Catholic congregation. Their big fund-raiser was bingo. And casino night. And raffles. Imagine how conflicted I was, since my southern Baptist upbringing told me gambling was a sin. But I digress: so far as I could tell, all the money raised by gambling went to fund the parochial school, so again the money stayed "in house."

So tell me again, Henry, about all the poor who were helped by the "personal time and money" of these two church communities. And while you're at it, I would be interested in a few anecdotal reports of contributions which your own church family have made. Church league softball doesn't count. Neither does paid day-care.

As you know I am an agnostic and won't even consider going to church but I will have to say one thing here.  The church my mom used to attend was wonderful to her last year when she was diagnosed with lymphoma and, even though she no longer contributes to the church, the minister visited with her and some of the ladies at the church fixed her some meals and brought them to her and someone called daily to check on her.  Not all churches are bad nor are all christians.  It is really unfair to lump them all together IMO. 
I realize that's not "giving to the community" but it is giving.  Part of the money the church collects goes to pay the minister and there are some poor churches where the minister works for next to nothing.  The ones I disagree with are the TV evangelists that rip people off right and left and the ones that think the bigger and more fancy a church is the better it is and require the congregation to "pledge" a certain amount of their income and, I have heard, some will sue for said amount if it isn't given. 

[Exterminator]

I am a skeptic with Obama.

That's the understatement of the year.   

[Exterminator]

And the greasy evangelist who came every other year (nubile teenage girls were warned not to be alone with him!) passed the plate about four times a service, but the only thing he said about the money was that it would be used for "God's work."

And I'm sure he decided that by throwing the money into the air...what God wants he keeps, what comes back down belongs to the evangelist.   

[Henry Hawk]

Oh no, you aren't turning the maggot on me in this one. I'm not the one who brought up religion in this topic. . . nor politics for that matter. In fact I believe the initiating poster even stated that it was her opinion that politics & religion have no place in this topic right out of the gate. . .

Hey, ALL I did was point out that community work is not a new concept, that Churches ALL across America has been doing this forever...........

Ex, said what "why SHOULD churches be involved?"


I said why not...............and here we are.

[Palehorse]

If any of you are paying attention to what is happening around you each day, you'll know that the climate changes occurring across the globe are driving, among other things, large swings in temperatures, increasing average temperatures, and storm cells that are increasingly violent.

It only stands to reason that these changes are going to drive events that are going to seriously and negatively impact peoples lives in an increasingly larger number of incidents.

In most of these situations the local first responders are in a better position to render aid, rather than having folks mill about bleating like the sheep most of them are, awaiting the reaction of official government entities to bring them what they need to survive. It took FEMA 5 days to get water to the Superdome after Katrina. Wasn't there a lesson there?

The proactive identification, organization, and training of volunteer personell at the local level is a great idea, and certainly would provide a much needed buffer time for the victims of disasters and cataclysmic events, to provide them temporary assistance during the time period between the event and the arrival of official government aid.

Unlike official entities, local volunteers do not train for the worst and hope for the best on a regular basis, and so do not benefit from the experience drilling provides. Most often the need is so urgent and so great in each case, that pleads for hands and bodies to supplement those already trying to help are the norm in these situations. And so is the learning curve required to allow these last minute volunteers to be effective in executing the tasks they are being asked to fulfill.

30 people from a local organization that occasionally hand out food to needy families is not providing the training and experience necessary to allow these same people to be effective at filling sandbags, constructing a temporary dam, or helping rebuild homes or emergency facilities in times of emergency. This methodology often ends up supplementing the victim stream with volunteers seriously injured due to over exertion, or other injuries driven by inexperience or physical inability.

Organizing local volunteers and providing them with experienced leadership that will proactively train them to achieve the physical ability and obtain the knowledge necessary to make them safe and effective, is key to providing initial efforts to remediate the burning challenges the victims will experience during such events.

Moreover, oversite of local training initiatives by a national entity provides a much larger picture to leadership within the scope of a disaster with a larger impact area; providing them with a reinforcement plan for local efforts overwhelmed by the scope of a particular disaster. This would enable them to be able to quickly identify individuals from an unaffected area that could "hit the ground running" in the affected areas and render immediate aid upon arrival without the need for training or risks associated with the learning curve that are presently typical in such situations.

This is a good idea. If folks would put down their swords and forget about our differences now, (as is typical during a disaster), instead of waiting until the event has transpired, it would help us help each other until official aid can arrive.

But I guess ranking the other person over their (you pick) is more important than helping your fellow man/woman in their time of need. . .

[pariann]

Someone should volunteer to give me  a cigarette.

[Exterminator]

Someone should volunteer to give me  a cigarette.

I will!

[Palehorse]

Someone should volunteer to give me  a cigarette.

Cowboy Killah anyone?

[pariann]

I will!

LOL, first off, what KIND of cigarette, secondly, you going to bring it from Indy to Anderson?   Cause otherwise, someone is going to need to volunteer to give me some gasoline too. 

[Exterminator]

LOL, first off, what KIND of cigarette, secondly, you going to bring it from Indy to Anderson?   Cause otherwise, someone is going to need to volunteer to give me some gasoline too. 

Marlboro Ultra-Light but this sure is getting complicated!

[pariann]

Maybe I'll just go sit on the porch and bum one off of the first person who walks by my house, I'll volunteer to light it myself.   Why does it seem that those people who don't have permanent jobs either, always have cigarettes? 

[Exterminator]

Why does it seem that those people who don't have permanent jobs either, always have cigarettes?

More time to shoplift?