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Ministry at the Meeting of Trauma and God
February 22, 2017 /in Contemporary Culture /by Linda Kurtz
Each month, we post a series of blogs around a common topic. This month, Layton Williams is curating a series we're calling "Ministry Out of the Box," which features stories of ministers serving God in unexpected, diverse ways. What can ordained ministry look like outside of the parish? How might we understand God calling us outside of the traditional ministry 'box?' We invite you to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!
by Remington Johnson
Folks like to ask me about my call. What did it feel like? How did I know?
I struggle to answer and blush a bit to give as honest and succinct an answer as I know how: I went to seminary because I thought I was called to be a really fantastic preaching pastor helping to motivate, shape and encourage large swaths of people. I got to seminary and had a mostly unpleasant time. Everything felt too slow, too pedantic and too flat.
It mostly wasn't the professors' faults. Rather, it was that my calling wasn't to be found in parish ministry. The education was focused on the good and worthy work of preparing me to serve a church and despite these meaningful aims, I struggled. I was bored.
During a January class session, I found myself interning as a chaplain in a local hospital and had that deep feeling — where you know you are supposed to be right where you are and nowhere else — more often than I had ever felt before.
So, I changed my focus and chased down a chaplain residency. After seminary I had the luck and blessing of landing a job starting a top tier cardiac hospital's very first chaplain program.
At that phenomenal hospital, my place in ministry is to show up at some of the very worst and most poignant events of a person's life. It is in these moments of crisis and suffering that my call finds its roots. There in those heavy places, I help to create a safe space for folks to feel loved, for them to be reminded of hopes, of lives well lived, of dreams yet met, and perhaps most importantly, a space for them to wrestle and wander with the pain of the experience as they seek to make sense and find the right path forward.
Hospital stays are some of the very hardest places to process health events and seismic life changes. The processing and meaning making that takes place begins at the bedside in the hospital and it extends far beyond the discharge. Walking with people while they process a major life event offers the church a place to ground itself in the life of its peoples and to find fertile ground for shared sacred experiences.
There is an iteration of the Post Traumatic Model of Growth that highlights the vital role of the church body in the recovery and healing process. In this model, the church is where space is created for folks to question the deep existential concerns that a trauma can stir up and it is in this safe place of pot lucks, Gospel readings, and parking lot conversations that folks are given the opportunity to begin to heal from their experience.
The intersection of my work with parish ministry sits right in the midst of that painful and confusing time after a seismic event. I cannot follow my patients and their families' home. I have faith that their churches and their people will continue the good and heavy work of holding them, listening to them, and cautiously awaiting the long slow work of healing. Just as I stand as the one of the church's emissaries of love in the midst of very heavy times, the church body continues that work long after a family has left the hospital.
My service as a hospital chaplain has been and continues to be a remarkable source of joy and meaning. I get to share this joy with those I care for and with. When I guest preach, I can bring this joy and meaning back to the congregations.
In a way, those I care for helped save my soul: they showed me who I was and where I needed to be. Their stories of God's hand in their lives reminded me of God's love for me and all peoples.
This work is wondrously mutual.
Remington Johnson is the manager of Chaplain Services at a leading cardiac hospital. Along with her service as a medical chaplain, she serves as the chair of the ethics committee and assists families in navigating difficult decisions. She also tends to the growing palliative care program. Outside of the hospital, Remington raises a young son, imagines a delightful future with her girlfriend and builds beautiful things out of wood. Most every day at 5pm you can find her sweating out her feelings at one of those gyms where they lift heavy things and run around to feel alive.
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Building Community Across Divides: A Book List
December 1, 2016 /2 Comments/in Book Reviews, Contemporary Culture, Resources /by Linda Kurtz
Each month, we post a series of blogs around a common topic. In November, Don Meeks and Jeff Krehbiel curated "Can We Talk?", a modest attempt at an uncommonly gracious conversation among colleagues who differ on matters of conscience. Can we bridge the theological differences that divide us? Can we even talk about them? Can we affirm the best in each other's theological tradition while honestly confessing the weaknesses of our own? We invite you to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!
We asked our contributing authors this month to tell us what they are reading or have read that has helped them in the work of building community across divides. Here's what they said:
Jodi Craiglow
Culture Making: Recovering Our Creative Calling, Andy Crouch
"I recommend this book probably five times as often as I recommend all other books — combined. Crouch's main argument is simple but profound: We can't change culture by critiquing it. We can only change culture by creating more of it."
Exclusion and Embrace by Miroslav Volf
"Easily (and simultaneously) the most beautiful and the most challenging book I've ever read. Volf argues that we can only truly experience reconciliation when we embrace "the other," bringing them into our lives in the same way that we've been embraced by God."
Roy Howard
Destroyer of the Gods: Early Christian Distinctiveness in the Roman World by Larry Hurtado
"This is a clearly written book of Christian history that has implications for the church of our time under a different empire and seeking a distinctive identity as Christians that will resist the idolatries of the culture and more than resistance, offer a compelling alternative. Our ancestors in the faith have frequently had to face similar challenges as we do."
The Revelatory Body: Theology as Inductive Art by Luke Timothy Johnson
"This book explores theology through the experiences of the body: the dying body, the aging body, the sexual body, the body in play and the body at work. It's a compelling argument by a New Testament scholar that scripture itself is a response to the experience of God in the body, and hence we should pay attention to the body for signs of God's presence among us."
Joe Duffus
City of Man: Religion and Politics in a New Era by Michael Gerson with Peter Wehner
"This looks like a fitting start for traditional or evangelical Christians to consider in light of changes in our culture and the sharp decline of civility in discussion."
So You've Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson
"This book tells the stories of various people whose lives were ruined by Internet 'mobs' that reacted to things those people said on social media. He wrote a long article based on the book for the New York Times a while back that I keep coming back to, because of what it says about how people's online behavior has become so much more impulsive, vicious and bombastic than anything they might do face-to-face."
Don Meeks
Jesus Outside the Lines: A Way Forward for Those Who are Tired of Taking Sides by Scott Sauls
From Amazon: "Whether the issue of the day on Twitter, Facebook, or cable news is our sexuality, political divides, or the perceived conflict between faith and science, today's media pushes each one of us into a frustrating clash between two opposing sides. Polarizing, us-against-them discussions divide us and distract us from thinking clearly and communicating lovingly with others. Scott Sauls, like many of us, is weary of the bickering and is seeking a way of truth and beauty through the conflicts. Jesus Outside the Lines presents Jesus as this way. Scott shows us how the words and actions of Jesus reveal a response that does not perpetuate the destructive fray. Jesus offers us a way forward – away from harshness, caricatures and stereotypes. In Jesus Outside the Lines, you will experience a fresh perspective of Jesus, who will not (and should not) fit into the sides."
Body Broken: Can Republicans and Democrats Sit in the Same Pew by Charles D. Drew
From Amazon: "Can Christians be political activists without hating those who disagree? As the next presidential election comes into view, Americans are deciding where to stand on the key issues. The church has often been as politically divided as the culture, leading many Christians to withdraw from politics or to declare alliances prematurely. But Charles Drew offers an alternative for people who care deeply about their faith and about the church's corporate calling in the world. In this updated and revised version of A Public Faith (NavPress 2000), Drew helps Christians to develop practical biblical convictions about critical social and political issues. Carefully distinguishing between moral principle and political strategy, Body Broken equips believers to build their political activism upon a thoughtful and biblical foundation. This balanced approach will provide readers Democrats, Republicans, or Independents with a solid biblical foundation for decision making. Drew even helps Christians of all political persuasions to understand how they can practice servanthood, cooperation and integrity in today's public square. With questions at the end of each chapter to help readers explore and apply principles, Body Broken will train believers to actively engage with political issues while standing united as a church."
The End of White Christian America by Robert P. Jones
From Amazon: "Drawing on more than four decades of polling data, The End of White Christian America explains and analyzes the waning vitality of white Christian America. Jones argues that the visceral nature of today's most heated issues—the vociferous arguments around same-sex marriage and religious liberty, the rise of the Tea Party following the election of our first black president, and stark disagreements between black and white Americans over the fairness of the criminal justice system—can only be understood against the backdrop of white Christians' anxieties as America's racial and religious topography shifts around them."
Jessica Tate
Disunity in Christ: Uncovering the Hidden Forces that Keep Us Apart by Christena Cleveland
"This is a book that takes our all-too-common labels of one another as 'right Christians' and 'wrong Christians,' explores the sociology behind our division, and reminds us that Jesus commands us to love our neighbors (all of them), just as he did — relentlessly."
The Argument Culture: Stopping America's War of Words by Deborah Tannen
"Written in 1998, this one is starting to show some age, but continues to be a helpful book as it traces today's public discourse (or lack thereof). While it is a linguistic perspective, not a theological one, Tannen opens by saying, 'This is not another book about civility…. Our spirits are corroded by living in an atmosphere of unrelenting contention — an argument culture.'"
Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game that Made a Nation by John Carlin
"This book paints the picture of Nelson Mandela's consistent and persistent work to humanize white Afrikaners and black South Africans to one another through the winning of their hearts in a united force behind the rugby team – the Springboks. It's a compelling story of playing the long game, refusing to demonize, and seeking to find the image of God in every person. I read it as a parable."
Quinn Fox
The Road to Character by David Brooks
"One of the leading public intellectuals of our day, Brooks challenges readers to focus on the deeper values that should inform our lives—by striving to shift the focus of our living away from the 'résumé virtues'—achieving wealth, fame and status—toward the 'eulogy virtues'—those character traits that are worthy of being at the core of our being: kindness, bravery, honesty and faithfulness."
To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World by James Davison Hunter
"To change hearts and minds has been the goal of modern Christians seeking to correct a culture deemed fallen and morally lax. Hunter (author of Culture Wars) finds this approach pervasive among Christians of all stripes and in every case deeply flawed, to the point of undermining the message of the very gospel they cherish and desire to advance. After charting the history of Christian assumptions and efforts to change culture, Hunter investigates the nature of power and politics in Christian life and thought, and then proposes an alternative: what he calls the practice of faithful presence, rooted not in a desire to change the world… but rather in a desire to honor the creator of all goodness, beauty, and truth."
Living with Difference: How to Build Community in a Divided World by Adam B. Seligman, Rahel R. Wasserfall, and David W. Montgomery
"Written by a team of scholars who specialize in helping communities engage with difference, this book explores the challenges and necessities of accommodating difference, however difficult and uncomfortable such accommodation may be. The authors are part of an organization that has worked internationally with community leaders, activists, and other partners to take the insights of anthropology out of the classroom and into the world. Rather than addressing conflict by emphasizing what is shared, Living with Difference argues for the centrality of difference in creating community, seeking ways not to overcome or deny differences but to live with and within them in a self-reflective space and practice."
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Reconciliation Within
November 30, 2016 /in Contemporary Culture /by Linda Kurtz
Each month, we post a series of blogs around a common topic. This month, Don Meeks and Jeff Krehbiel are curating "Can We Talk?", a modest attempt at an uncommonly gracious conversation among colleagues who differ on matters of conscience. Can we bridge the theological differences that divide us? Can we even talk about them? Can we affirm the best in each other's theological tradition while honestly confessing the weaknesses of our own? We invite you to join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter!
by Brian Ellison
What makes for reconciliation – authentic partnership, visible and felt unity, genuinely mutual care and affection – among people who on the most important questions already agree? Why do they need reconciliation at all?
Much of my work in the church has been focused on trying to build bridges — or at least address the divide — between theological conservatives and liberals. I've done that, with increasing openness, as a progressive, and for the last four years have led the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, a group that advocates for inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in the church's life and leadership, and more broadly for a church-wide ethos of justice and love for all people. This has involved a lot of conversation with "the other side" — those who identify as evangelicals or conservatives. There's plenty of discord there to work on.
But the history of progressive work in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is also filled with accounts of people and groups whose primary interests, theological foundations and long-term goals are the same, but who for whatever reason could not seem to come together. This was true in centuries past among reformist and forward-looking voices, dividing the denomination repeatedly sometimes among the most nuanced of lines. It was true in the civil rights era as a proliferation of agencies, caucuses and causes elbowed their way into prominence, not always on the same page. And it was true in the long struggle for LGBTQ inclusion and equality (a struggle, we should note, that is still underway), when various advocacy organizations vied not merely with their opponents but with each other for how best to fight the fight.
(It is also true, it seems fair to say, among conservative voices, time and again boiling down to a "should we stay or should we go" debate, played out generation after generation and diluting that movement's impact — or damage, depending on one's perspective.)
The Covenant Network, for its two decades of existence, has been an exemplar of the consensus-building, take-it-slow, find-common-ground approach to progressive work that is found by some to be comforting and effective and others to be infuriating and painful.
The Essential Nature of Reconciliation Within a Movement
I've been thinking about the line that sometimes separates those within the same movement. Reconciliation and mutual understanding among those who share a vision for the church, I'm coming to think, is every bit as essential for the unity of the church. And if it is true that generally more progressive elements are now in a season of setting the general tone and direction for the church's life, are not those internecine relationships essential for the health of unity across that greater divide, the one between separating progressives from conservative Presbyterians who fear for their church's future, as well?
To that end, I want to explore how various voices, often in conflict with one another not about the "what" and "why" but about the "how" and "when," work together in common cause. How do we ensure we are not merely shifting the battle lines to the left, but rather finding a way to do less battling altogether?
I should be honest about my own predispositions: the Covenant Network role suits me. Before this call, I was pastor of a theologically diverse congregation. I have served as a presbytery stated clerk and a Committee on Ministry moderator. I work part-time as a political journalist at an NPR station, seeking to model fact-based and objective evenhandedness in my reporting. I'm a gay man who grew up in a conservative setting that helps me understand that mindset and speak the language; some of my best friends are evangelicals, one might say. That sort of reconciliation work comes naturally.
But I've worked with many engaged in struggles for justice and equality far longer than I, who have suffered far more than I, and who have little patience for an approach consistent with my comfort level. There is truth to be spoken, and they speak it boldly, frequently, loudly. Justice delayed is justice denied. When anyone suffers, we all continue to suffer. And now that our views are in the ascendancy, why take a slice, they might ask, when we rightly should enjoy the whole justice pie?
The difference in approach is real, and discord between the camps within the camp with real consequences. Taken to their extremes, one is prophetic and the other pragmatic. One gets things done but compromises; one remains true to self even if victory must wait another day. One might wait to bring others along, while one does the right thing and trusts that others will eventually catch up.
How It Can Happen
Is reconciliation necessary? Certainly at times it is. Sometimes the deepest wounds are the ones suffered at the hands of one's allies. And even when there is no "friendly fire" injury, there is still the sense that what one group regards as victory, the other sees as loss. Progress for one is a setback to the other.
So as we think about reconciliation among those who already purport to agree (not just about LGBTQ issues but in any common work for building up the church), I invite us to consider a few health elements to guide our time and energy.
Focus on relationships
When Jesus encountered opponents, he engaged them. When he encountered the other, he sat down with them for a meal. When he spoke about addressing conflict or concern, he counseled seeking someone out for conversation. Nothing good comes from us keeping our distance. And the best way to facilitate meaningful conversation in time of conflict is for that conversation to happen organically with someone we already know, have already shared our story with, have already found common ground and interests. If damage has already been done, this may need to begin with confession, repentance and forgiveness.
This is good practice in presbyteries, in congregations and certainly among leaders of groups advocating similar agendas. Relationship isn't just preparation for Christian work; it is the Christian work. When we show God's love in relationship, we are living out our mission. When we are able to speak to each other as friends, not merely as fellow laborers, true reconciliation becomes possible.
Translate common commitments to common action
Many problems in the past have occurred when the two groups — appreciative of each other's position but distrustful of each other's ideas — have organized separately, developed separate goals and eventually found themselves working at cross-purposes. A way forward includes sitting down together early enough (or frequently enough) that our common ground can be not only around big ideas, but also in specific ways of embodying them.
This involves compromise at times, but perhaps not as much as one might expect. When the coming together happens in the formative stages, the action plan can develop organically and mutually. Both parties have ownership, together with an appreciation for the journey toward the outcome. All are more invested in the project, and none are left to exercise judgment on the goal's inadequacy or error.
Always have an eye to broader reconciliation
Finally, those seeking reconciliation within a movement must assume a certain attitude toward inclusion. This is a matter of posture rather than specific policy. It is about how to bring the most people on board, including (in time) those across the wider aisle. When our thinking about the future of the church (or any other organization) is systematically geared toward welcoming others in, we find ourselves less inclined to draw lines and more prone to open doors. When we think less about defeating our "opponents" and more about inviting them as guests (or even co-hosts), then we will speak differently, act differently, decide differently. And when we live with an eye to the day when all will be one, then our more modest "internal" differences decrease in perceived importance.
I have been blessed to see healthy relationships form and blossom, both within diverging voices in my own organization, and between our leadership and that of other groups (like More Light Presbyterians). We have frequently (though not always!) done faithful work to model the hope and care and mutual appreciation we long for in the whole church. My hope and prayer is that all who seek to do God's work together might similarly tend to their relationships with one another — trusting that each small step of reconciliation will ultimately lead to the reconciliation of us all.
Brian Ellison is executive director of the Covenant Network, which has worked since 1997 for inclusion of all people and unity among those with differing views in the Presbyterian Church (USA). He previously served as pastor of Parkville (Mo.) Presbyterian Church and as a member and moderator of committees at the General Assembly and Heartland Presbytery. Brian lives in Kansas City, Mo., where he also is a host/contributor at NPR affiliate KCUR-FM, a freelance writer, and an adjunct instructor in preaching.
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Finding – and Being – a Person of Peace
by Jodi Craiglow
"Whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house!' And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house." – Luke 10:5-7 (NRSV)
At the end of October, Don Meeks approached me about contributing a piece for the NEXT Church blog about a lesson I've learned in my time as a bridge-builder. And as I thought about what I'd write, these verses from Luke's gospel came to mind.
Now, I know we wouldn't naturally associate this particular passage with peacemaking within the bounds of our own church. Luke 10 is all about Jesus sending out his 70-or-so protégés for their maiden voyage of cold-call evangelism, isn't it? Well, yes… but I'm willing to argue that it has broader implications, as well. Follow me on this one.
Recently I've been reading Christine Pohl's book, Making Room: Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition, and she makes (at least to me) a startling point:
Personal hospitality, in home and in church, tends to be reserved for people with whom we already have some connections. It is hard for us to think of offering personal hospitality to strangers. Strangers that we do invite into our homes are rarely complete strangers to us. Complex educational, socioeconomic, familial, and religious networks reduce the strangeness, the "unknownness" of such people.
In other words, we like hanging out with people that we have at least some familiarity with, some sort of common ground upon which we can build a relationship. So, when Jesus was telling his followers to find and stay with a "person of peace," he wasn't just kickstarting a first-century Airbnb. He was telling them to keep their eyes open for that person God had already been working on (and through), who could serve as their cultural liaison. Jesus told them to hunker down with this person, so that their relationship could deepen – which then, if they played their cards right, would create common ground with that person's entire cultural group. These visitors wouldn't be "complete strangers" anymore; their "unknownness" would be reduced by the fact that they all now had a mutual friend.
So, why bring this up here? Well, my own experience has taught me that in a lot of ways, the factions we current-day churchgoers have forged ourselves into have made us "strangers" of one another. Because we choose not to interact with "those people" who don't agree with us theologically, politically, socially… you name it… we have little to no idea who "they" really are. (This year's election cycle, anyone?) That's where a person of peace comes in. If God is calling you to a ministry of bridge-building, I'd wager my eye teeth that God's already working on somebody within that group you're being called to connect with. It's your job to keep your eyes open for this person.
What should you look for? In my experience, these "people of peace" are relatively well-connected within their representative groups. They're well-versed in the culture of their own group, but often have at least a little working knowledge of where you're coming from. They tend to be good listeners, and like to get as full a picture of a given situation as they can before drawing conclusions. They're usually the type of people who love people, and they're willing to lend you a little of their social capital so that you can navigate your way through your new environment. (In other words, they'll risk some of their reputation to boost yours.)
If you just read the previous paragraph and thought to yourself, "Hey – that sounds like me!" maybe God could be calling you to be a person of peace. I'd encourage you to keep your eyes open for somebody outside your "tribe" who might be interested in getting to know you. Build a relationship with this person, and then broaden that relationship out to others within your group. (And, if you're feeling really feisty, let that "sojourning" person be a person of peace for you as you get to know the group they come from.) And, before you know it, the bridge is building itself.
That's what happened for me… come find me, and I'll tell you my story. And if at any point you'd like me to be your "person of peace," all you have to do is ask.
Jodi Craiglow is a Ruling Elder at First Presbyterian Church in Libertyville, IL. She is a PhD student in Educational Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and serves as an adjunct professor at Trinity International University and Trinity Graduate School.
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Belhar: A Reconciliation Place for the Sake of the World
by Quinn Fox
Allan Boesak addressing the 222nd PC(USA) General Assembly
I had the blessing to have been in the room of all the G.A. committees that had anything to do with the Confession of Belhar's journey into our Constitution (all four times committees voted as well as the final recommendation for inclusion in the Book of Confessions). Between 2008 and 2016, my role changed. I began as committee resource coordinator (2008 & 2010); I was asked by National Capital Presbytery to serve as overture advocate (2012) for a reconsideration of the narrowly defeated overture. In 2014, I moderated the Committee on Theological Issues that (again) recommended adding Belhar. Last June in Portland, as an observer, I witnessed the final GA committee vote to recommend the inclusion of this remarkable confession in our constitution. Remarkable primarily for the context out of which Belhar proclaimed the central gospel message of reconciliation.
To change our Book of Confessions requires the majority vote of three General Assemblies, the recommendation of a special committee appointed by a G.A. moderator, and a super-majority of presbyteries. It's the most difficult constitutional change to make, because the Book of Confessions is our foundation.
The basement, or foundation, is sometimes forgotten about or taken for granted when there is lots of activity going on upstairs. In recent years we've been remodeling our PCUSA "house."
Remodeling work is chaotic; it can be all-consuming. During those "remodeling" years most Presbyterians didn't think much about the basement (we were squabbling about where there should and shouldn't be walls in our Book of Order). A few went down to see what they could find to make a case for what they wanted to see happen upstairs, but that was the extent.
One is unwise to change a foundation hastily. It takes time and significant consensus, especially in the Presbyterian house.
After eight years of process, our denominational basement has an addition—a fortification and amplification of our core Reformed theology, articulated to engage issues we face in our 21st century context. After decades of divisive debates about the upstairs remodel, we have also voted to change our foundation. Now there's a basement room dedicated to reconciliation and justice. Of course, we have a 50-year-old justice and reconciliation room that calls prophetically for the abolition of racial discrimination—a voice of reconciliation in the public square. Perhaps more circumspectly, no doubt less ambitiously, our "Belhar room" calls for reconciliation within the church … at a time when our culture is deeply divided (and lacking in justice). And not only our culture. Hundreds of congregations are seeking to depart. Our ecclesial strife is inseparable from the larger cultural divides.
Belhar attests: the gospel is fundamentally about reconciliation. Our world, our nation, our local communities desperately need reconciliation and justice. Christians know something about this… the reconciliation God has given us in Jesus Christ (as individuals, as God's people and as God's covenant community). This message of reconciliation is desperately needed in a world of over 65 million refugees and displaced persons, in a country polarized by vitriolic political campaigns. Belhar tells us that the church's message is reconciliation; Belhar also tells us that we need to hear the message ourselves! Will we?
We have rich reconciliation resources—not only in Belhar but in our larger Book of Confessions. I invite you down to the basement for a look around. It's a very cool place once you leave all the hustle and bustle going on upstairs. It's my favorite room in our Presbyterian house.
Quinn Fox, associate pastor for Discipleship at National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., attended Fuller and Princeton Theological Seminaries before earning his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in the history of Christian thought. Prior to this, he served as Associate for Theology and Director of the Company of New Pastors in the Office of Theology & Worship.
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Building Bridges, Allowing for Hope
by Roy Howard
There are bridges that need to be repaired. Some are too worn out to depend on; yet everyday we do. They must be replaced sooner rather than later. Of course, I'm not only speaking about the infrastructure of our country's highways, which we know is in dire need of repair. I am talking about the moral infrastructure of our common life in civil society. The relational fabric of our lives is in deep need to repair, restoration and rebuilding.
The damage of the election cycle is serious and deep. Now that Donald Trump has been elected and Hilary Clinton defeated, there will be a great need to construct new bridges and repair existing ones. The Church that is sustained by the crucified God whose reconciling love for all people was manifest in Jesus Christ can be a witness in these turbulent days, and not by speech alone. Bridge-building is necessary not only in this country but around the world, and it is certainly not the work of Christians alone. The work belongs to all people of faith and good will. One such group is Interfaith Partners for Peace, an organization to which I belong, that brings together Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders as partners for peace in local communities and on behalf of Israelis and Palestinians.
Earlier this month, I traveled to Israel and Palestine with 23 other pastors and rabbis from across the country who are partners in their local communities. Never have I experienced as much hope for the possibilities of repairing relationships as I did on this trip. I cried frequently in response to what we heard. My partner was Rabbi Greg Harris of Congregation Beth El, with whom I've shared mutual ministry for years. The goal of our visit was to listen and learn from Israelis and Palestinians – Jews, Christians and Muslims – as they share their multiple narratives that compete and collide. We especially were seeking examples of people who are building bridges that foster new narratives that allow for hope in the face of despair and paralysis.
It was an extraordinary experience that revealed stark despair, anger and fear countered in stunning ways by people of hope daring to take some risks. I must say, in all candor, no one we met in Israel or the West Bank is optimistic. Yet we met people who are hopeful in the face of the facts. This true hope that runs deeper than sentimental optimism is what gives them courage to do such bold things. It also challenges me to do the same across barriers that are much less daunting.
Here is one example.
Shaul Yudelman is a Jewish teacher and settler who experienced the fear and anger of his local communities as they bury their dead from suicide bombings. He has joined with his enemy, Ai Abu Awwad, a leading Palestinian activist and non-violent freedom fighter, to establish a center in the West Bank near a particularly violent checkpoint, where Palestinian and Israeli families share meals and their stories. They do programs attempting to build relationships with people who both belong to the land that is holy. Neither has abandoned their people's narrative, but both are trying to build a new story; one of reconciliation between avowed enemies, of friendship and compassion.
I found it an astonishing example of God at work for good. As one Rabbi said, "Tonight I stood in front of a man who identified himself as a terrorist and I looked into his eyes and I acknowledged his humanity and he acknowledged mine and I wrapped my arms around him and I felt guilt. I will go back and preach that story and remind people that every human being is capable of redemption, becoming greater than what they are."
They are under threat for doing such work. This is hope against all odds.
Jews call this work, tikkum olam, which means to repair the world. This kind of bridge building calls me to do the same.
Roy Howard has served for 16 years as pastor of Saint Mark Presbyterian in North Bethesda Maryland. During that time his congregation has traveled to Israel-West Bank with their partner Jewish congregation and participates in regular interfaith activities. His recent book, Walking in Love, describes his 543 mile pilgrimage along the Camino de Santiago.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/11/featured-roy-group.jpg 200 398 Linda Kurtz /wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.png Linda Kurtz2016-11-21 15:59:492016-11-21 15:59:49Building Bridges, Allowing for Hope
Lessons From an Unfriend
by Joe Duffus
The surprise election of Donald Trump exposed a social media truth: people who are intimidated into silence, or who don't feel safe sharing their politics, won't. They avoid tipping their hand, lie to pollsters and harden their opinions in response.
Arguing politics or theology on Facebook is always fraught with risks. Who will see me at my political boiling point, judge me for opinions that might outrage them? Will speaking out threaten my job?
What about my friendships online and off? I meet and befriend people on Facebook I may have met through work, school, church or some other shared interest, because they lived on my street or just that our children played together on a sports team. Friends may come into your life for "a reason, for a season or for a lifetime," as the poem says.
Faced with these risks, many people avoid such topics and engagement on social media. They hold their tongue and scroll, scroll, scroll. Others may comment upon a friend's post, but avoid posting something political themselves. Very dramatic people may preemptively command anyone who would dare disagree with them to "JUST UNFRIEND ME NOW!"
And when is Facebook finally going to offer that "sarcasm font" that everyone seems to want?
I have carried on lengthy political debates over Facebook with all sorts of friends. And I have felt the silent sting of having been "de-friended" by some friends who must have concluded I was a temporary friend "for a reason," as the poem says,
"Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end… Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on."
It's sad to lose a friend this way, but the poem gives us license to risk it if we feel strongly enough about our beliefs. As long as I have conducted myself with dignity and respect for those who won't agree with my position, I willingly take that risk when I hit that "reply" link.
I am fortunate to have some friends I always disagree with about politics, or who don't share my religious faith. Their differences from me always weigh in my mind when I discuss politics, whether online or off. But online it's so much harder, because you can't hear their tone and conviction. You won't detect the quaver in their voice. Even a gifted writer cannot convey through plain text why a certain perspective clings to them, and in these discussions logical argument may only go so far before the knives come out.
What has served me well in vigorous debates over the Internet is restraint in words. I learned painfully that with or without its own font, sarcasm rarely works and is interpreted as cruelty. That's tough for a native New Yorker to say, since sarcasm is just part of conversation there. I've learned that, at best, sarcasm can be sparingly used on ideas. But never at people.
In our political discussions these days, we tend to listen only long enough to form a reply, not long enough to understand. Humility through understanding is essential before engaging in political discussions: You're unlikely to change any minds, but you may learn something useful from your adversary that will humble you to why they feel as they do. And "feel" is critical.
Writing this article, I reached out to an "unfriend" to ask why he dropped me. We had a nice chat. He's still a friend, just not on Facebook. He told me I had gotten sarcastic in an exchange long ago and he simply decided that he didn't wish to engage me or my posts any more. Neither of us could even remember what the discussion was, of course. We remain "unfriends" on Facebook still. It's a mutual parting. He taught me to hold back, to focus on issues not people, and to know when to let others have the last word.
There are many supporters of Hillary Clinton this week who are despairing not only of the election, but of their fellow Americans "out there" who could have turned on them so viciously.
But my larger lesson from apologizing to my "unfriend" was that when I do engage online to remember the stakes are higher than politics or moral stances. What's at stake is civility, forgiveness, forbearance and community spirit. What's at the finish line, when we re-learn how to value those stakes, is reconciliation.
Joe is a digital news and communications professional and occasional blogger at Christian Post, writing about Presbyterian church matters. He shares his home in Gainesville, Virginia with his wife, two sons and a brown dog.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/11/featured-facebook.jpg 200 398 Linda Kurtz /wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.png Linda Kurtz2016-11-17 14:32:332016-11-17 14:32:33Lessons From an Unfriend
Faith and Public Policy Ministry Group as a Means of Reconciliation
by Emily Berman D'Andrea
Lewinsville Presbyterian Church is located just outside of Washington, DC in McLean, Virginia. Members are from Northern Virginia and work in all areas of government, while some work in the private sector and others for non profits. Most are immersed in the political hype and the political give and take of the Northern Virginia region. One unique aspect of the Lewinsville congregation is that it can not be pigeon-holed as leaning one way or another politically. When you think that you can label the congregation as left or right, you meet someone who defies the stereotype you have given it and you go back to the drawing board. When you think you have got the feel and flavor of the congregation figured out, you meet someone who then makes you question your thinking about lumping everyone together in the same political category. We've got folks who are interested in socially responsible investing and we've got folks who negotiate large defense contracts. We've got folks who are active in Republican party politics and we've got folks who work in the current Democratic administration as political appointees. We have Clinton supporters and we have Trump supporters.
Some might say this mixture of members in one congregation just outside of Washington, DC, is a liability because you don't know where the church stands on political issues. It can be labeled "wishy-washy" or "lukewarm" on political issues, and, so the reasoning goes, "it stands for nothing." I think this mélange and mixture of political viewpoints under one PC(USA) roof is actually unique and invigorating – and I don't think I'm alone in this thinking. Our congregation has set up structures in our church community in order to give voice to and positively accentuate the divergent opinions in the church community.
I'll tell you about two structures we have set up that give voice to the divergent viewpoints at Lewinsville. First is the Lewinsville Forum. The Lewinsville Forum is an annual 6 week adult education class on current events co-led by a Republican who served in the Bush administration and a Democrat who served in the Clinton administration. The co-leaders decide which six issues they will take up and then they, in an up-front way, let class participants know their professional background and where they are coming from personally on the issue of the day. They lay out the issue and open it up for discussion. The question at the forefront of the class is: how does our faith impact this issue? Put another way, what does this have to do with our faith? In class there are 40 or so folks who gather for sometimes lively discussion on that day's topic. More often than not, the discussion is civil and nuanced.
The second structure in place at Lewinsville that allows for divergent opinions in the congregation is the Faith and Public Policy Ministry Group. According to the Faith and Public Policy Ministry Group charter, this group was established at Lewinsville "to enable church members to engage public policy issues as faithful Christians and to provide a forum for open and respectful discourse about social justice and public policy matters." The principles outlined in the charter for the group are: "discerning God's divine command; grounding in Christian love; seeking balance and integrity; and building community by practicing community." The charter states, "the group shall be co-led by two members who hold diverse political views that reflect a majority of the congregation's political interests."
Where else written into a group's charter is it explicitly stated that the leaders must hold differing political views? I think this is how the kingdom of God works. I think reconciliation happens when people with differing political viewpoints can sit in an adult education class and feel safe saying their viewpoint without fear of vilification and ridicule. I think reconciliation happens when people with different political viewpoints can worship in a space they believe is sacred. I believe reconciliation happens when people can look across the sanctuary aisle at someone who sits across the aisle in the House of Representatives or Senate, and embrace them during the passing of the peace. I believe this is the beginning of reconciliation.
Emily Berman D'Andrea serves as the Associate Pastor for Christian Formation at Lewinsville Presbyterian Church in McLean, VA where for fourteen years she has worked with the church's small group ministry, Stephen Ministers, mission programs and contemplative ministries. She enjoys reading novels, playing tennis, watching her children play soccer and black licorice.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/11/featured-lewinsville.jpg 200 398 Linda Kurtz /wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.png Linda Kurtz2016-11-16 07:58:552016-11-15 21:10:29Faith and Public Policy Ministry Group as a Means of Reconciliation
A Challenging Task
November 15, 2016 /in Contemporary Culture, Theological Reflections /by Linda Kurtz
Preachers and church leaders had a challenging task this week, in the midst of division and disconnection in our country, to preach good news. Here is a short list of what has been said from Presbyterian pulpits and messages more broadly. In collecting these, we have attempted to give attention to a variety of contexts, but also recognize this list is in no way exhaustive. We hope you will add links to words you found inspiring in the comments. May we learn from one another and be encouraged by each other.
John Wilkinson, Third Presbyterian Church of Rochester, NY.
Sermon: Future Tense
"'It will be all right,' because God is God, but that word can ring hollow if it is not accompanied by other words and actions."
Lisle Gwynn Garrity & Sarah Are, A Sanctified Art.
Post-Election Prayer
"When it feels as if the darkness might overcome the light, and that we may never get it right, remind me that you have me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart to love."
Anna Pinckney Straight, Old Stone Presbyterian Church in Lewisburg, WV.
Liturgy and sermon using Isaiah 65: 17 – 25
"Today is the day to take a step toward true unity, one that begins in faithful foundations and flows into everything that we do."
Mindy Douglas, First Presbyterian Church of Durham, NC.
Letter to the Congregation
"We stand together as God's people, seeking to right wrongs, love with abandon, and bring hope to the hopeless. We will not stop working. We will not stop loving. We will not stop hoping. We will not stop working for peace."
Denise Anderson, PCUSA co-moderator from Temple Hills, MD.
Blog post: The Message to the Margins
"We can no longer trust in 'love' and 'goodwill.' Love and goodwill should have never made this a possibility. Love and goodwill should have demanded better of this child of God and strongly condemned the vitriol that came from his mouth. Instead, that vitriol was validated."
Andrew Foster Connors, Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, MD.
Sermon: Where Do We Go From Here?
"The church has to set the table for a different kind of politic than the one we've been repeating. One where we engage people who we find offensive, even scandalous in real relationships, standing with the most vulnerable among us – personally and politically."
David Renwick, National Presbyterian Church in Washington, DC.
Sermon: In Power and Out of Power (sermon begins at 26:28)
"Jesus said elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount: No matter what the political situation of the world we live in, easy or hard, like it or dislike it, we are always called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world. And being salt is most important when life to you seems to have lost its taste."
Christopher Edmonston, White Memorial Presbyterian Church in Raleigh, NC.
Sermon: The Beginning and the End
"For today please don't forget this: each of you as members of the church and the people of Christ have a calling to be peacemakers, justice-seekers, reconcilers, and what the Bible calls 'repairers of the breach.'"
Brian Paulson, First Presbyterian Church of Libertyville, IL.
Sermon: From Ugliness, a Beauty Emerges: Greater Love (sermon begins at 43:32)
"Let us not taunt each other. American is split right down the middle in American politics. Today, there are members of this congregation who are in a place of deep pain, and even fear…. If you don't feel this way, please bear compassionately with your neighbors. There is a place for lament in the vocabulary of faith."
Pastors at Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago, IL.
"Together, we seek a better and fairer world not just for ourselves, but for any people who feel overlooked, dismissed, or worse, hated because of who they are."
Katie Baker, Central Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, MI.
Sermon: The End is Near
"There is no hiding under a rock, no matter how beautiful the stone, and pretending that all is well because everything, in fact, is not. This conversation amongst Jesus and his disciples is convicting because it calls us to trust God in untrustworthy times."
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/03/featured-alison-harrington-audience.jpg 200 398 Linda Kurtz /wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.png Linda Kurtz2016-11-15 16:42:592016-11-16 17:09:47A Challenging Task
November 8, 2016 /in Contemporary Culture /by Linda Kurtz
by Jessica Tate
Early in its life, NEXT Church sensed a call to be a place within the Presbyterian Church (USA) where we could build bridges across the divisions in our lives and in our church. The divisions are many —
theological differences
urban or rural or suburban or small town distinctions
larger churches, small churches
generational divides
rich or poor or somewhere in between.
Our culture is one of increasing division. We see it writ large today as the final polls suggest a presidential election – and a country – fairly evenly (and often bitterly) divided across party lines.
photo credit: seanmcgrath via photopin cc
As many of us go to the polls to shoulder part of our responsibility as citizens in a democracy, the 1946 Book of Common Worship for the Presbyterian Church in the United States offers this prayer:
Almighty God, who dost hold us to account for the use of all our powers and privileges: Guide, we pray Thee, the people of these United States in the election of their rulers and representatives; that by wise legislation and faithful administration the rights of all may be protected, and our nation be enabled to fulfill Thy purposes; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Does our vote — the best of each person's wisdom, experience, conscience, and faith teachings — count? Yes.
Does it matter who wins today? Yes.
Will the next president and city council member and senator and school board member enact laws and policies and nominations that will effect our daily lives and the lives of our fellow citizens? Yes.
Will winning or losing mean life as we know it is over? No.
The reality is that regardless of how the votes turn out, we still have to live together on November 9th and 10th and 11th and into December and January and through the next year and the year after that.
The division and anger we have seen around this presidential election is significant. We have been quick to demonize the other candidate, the other party, the other supporters, the other voters. And yet, truly, there is no them. There is only us.
At Montreat Conference Center a few weeks ago, Melissa Harris Perry quoted Maya Angelou saying, "You can never say of other people that they are monsters. Anything that another human can do, you can do. We are all capable of greatness and of horror."
That sounds familiar. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Against that backdrop of human goodness and sinfulness – our capacity for greatness and horror – Jesus commands us to love our neighbor. Indeed, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. My friend and colleague Don Meeks says be very careful who you label an enemy, because the second you call someone an enemy, you are compelled to love that person.
I pray that on November 9th and 10th and 11th and into December and January and beyond, the church will help us find a way forward as a country and as communities. We are well poised to do this — not only because of our Lord's command to love one another — but because of the kind of community we are called to be.
For the church gathers NOT around a particular issue that aligns with a particular political agenda, but around a foundational belief in the transformative power of God who has the power to transform us individually and collectively.
We gather NOT out of convenience or likeminded-ness, but because of a deep commitment that we belong to each other – that our salvation is bound up in the salvation of others.
We gather NOT around identity politics or ideology or age. Rather, we're one of the last places in our society where people gather across generations and differences and seek to create together the beloved community.
We gather NOT as a social club or professional organization, but as a people who are seeking to know and follow Christ in our daily lives.
Go vote today. And in the days ahead let us commit ourselves to the long, slow work of loving our neighbors and loving our enemies and seeking together the common good for the sake of Christ who was sent because God so loved this world.
Jessica Tate is the Director of NEXT Church. She lives in Washington, DC.
https://next.myworshiptimes31.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/11/featured-offering-hands.jpg 200 398 Linda Kurtz /wp-content/uploads/sites/55/2016/01/NEXT-Logo-FINAL-Horizontal_lato-1030x229.png Linda Kurtz2016-11-08 10:41:342016-11-08 10:47:37For God So Loved the World


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Last week I spoke at Allies in Tech. Given their mission, it wasn't surprising that the room was filled mostly women – and there were two men present. Yay!
My topic was why inclusion is the key to diversity.
As I was looking for images for an activity, I came across a few statistics about CEOs that I thought I would share here as well.
The words "mind the gap" painted on the ground at a train platform.
There are only 24 female CEOS in America's Fortune 500 companies.
In 2017 there were 32… in an age of increasing focus on diversity, this seems odd. Of those 24 female CEOs, how many do you think are not white?
Joey Watt is the CEO of Yum China.
Geisha Williams left PG&E this year.
Indira Nooyi left PepsiCo last year.
And Ursula Burns left Xerox in 2016 – then (and still) the only Black female CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Male CEOs of colour are not doing much better. As of 2018, there were three.
What about CEOs with disabilities?
One of the things that I talk about often in my sessions is the cyclical nature of representation. It starts with role models, leads to assumptions and stereotypes, filters into treatment and expectations and then …voila… it impacts representation all over again.
Privilege and identity have a role in this. And there are multiple intersecting layers to this story that include isms, discrimination, barriers to access, poverty, conscious and unconscious bias, etc. etc. People in workplaces right now will have more or less of a chance to rise depending on if they look like the current leadership – because that's who we see when we think "leader". So making change now is important for those who could be in line for those positions to be able to get in line for those positions. And be taken seriously.
And what about our children? Children aspire to what they can see in the world as large and in "their world" – their family, their community, their small sphere. What/who they see there informs what is possible. And if we don't do a better job diversifying the workforce in all sectors, and at all levels (most importantly at leadership levels), we will see these abysmal numbers in the CEO world (and other leadership levels) continue into another generation.


After a couple years of marriage, these are some items that I wish we had gifted to us early on in our marriage! So, whether you are a newlywed or know someone who has just gotten married, here are some of my favorite newlywed gift ideas for the holidays!
Wedding china is a traditional gift that is received by the bride and groom when they get married. Having nice fine china is something so nice to have when entertaining guests for dinner parties, holidays, and any special occasion. However, wedding china can be SO expensive. A great gift for newlyweds is to help finish their wedding china and crystal collection!
When creating your wedding registry, if you were like me, I totally forgot about Christmas decorations. Having someone gift ornaments and decorations not only makes the holidays special but you'll be able to think of those people every year when you decorate!
After the wedding, you have SO many pictures. Gifting picture frames is such a warm way to start displaying your memories as a newlywed couple. Trust me, you can never have enough picture frames!
Once the wedding planning and wedding craze come to an end, having date nights are still SO important for a happy and healthy marriage. Gifting your newlyweds a date night is such a fun gift! From movies to a gift certificate to a restaurant, the date nights can be endless.
The first year of marriage can be a rollercoaster. From figuring out life together to finances, there are SO many important issues you will do as a newlywed couple. Having good resources is SO important to help you get through the first years as a strong united couple. Some of my favorite books are HERE.
For Musa and I, finances were the hardest part for us to blend. We both handled money differently. There are SO many amazing budgeting software out there like Quickbooks, Fresh, and Minted. Gifting your newlyweds a year subscription will be SO helpful.
A year membership to a grocery store like Costco can be so helpful for a newlywed couple! It's the little #adulting things that your newlywed couple will really appreciate this holiday season!
For me, nothing symbolizes home more than food! Putting together some favorite family recipes is truly an amazing gift! Musa and I had gifted an Azerbaijan cookbook which was probably my favorite wedding gift. It was so special to be able to cook some traditional meals for Musa and his family.


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text:
import { NgModule } from '@angular/core';
import { RouterModule, Routes } from '@angular/router';

import { AccountComponent } from './account/account.component'
import { MapComponent } from './map/map.component'
import { BookComponent } from './book/book.component'

const appRoutes: Routes = [
  {path: 'profile', component: AccountComponent},
  {path: 'shipments', component: MapComponent},
  {path: 'book', component: BookComponent}
]

@NgModule({
  imports: [ RouterModule.forRoot(appRoutes) ],
  exports: [ RouterModule ] //why??
})
export class AppRoutingModule {}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Politicians came under growing pressure as the young survivors of the attack on Wednesday increased calls for action on guns and announced a march on Washington DC next month.
Trump's attempt to use the shooting to make a political point about the FBI's Russia inquiries into his campaign drew swift criticism, including from John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, who told CNN it was an "absurd statement".
Trump, whose campaign was supported by the National Rifle Association (NRA), made the comments in a weekend Twitter storm as he faced demands for action on gun control, including from the teenage survivors of America's latest school massacre.
Thousands of protesters at state rallies this weekend demanded an immediate response from lawmakers in the wake of the attack that left 17 victims dead in Parkland, Florida.
A White House schedule said Trump will hold a listening session with school students on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported, though there were few details.
On Saturday, at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, teenage survivors criticized politicians for taking donations from the NRA. "Shame on you," said one student, Emma Gonzalez.
On Sunday, a group of students from Stoneman Douglas high school announced they were planning a march on Washington DC on Saturday 24 March to demand action on guns.
Speaking Sunday on CNN, the group of students said they are determined to make a difference on the issue.
Cameron Kasky, a junior at the school, said the march will provide a time to talk about gun control, saying, "we are losing our lives while the adults are playing around".
Trump, who the NRA spent spent more than $30m helping elect, has said little on gun control following the attack beyond a tweet late Saturday asking why Democrats didn't pass legislation in the Obama administration, and has instead focussed on the mental health of the suspect, Nikolas Cruz.
On Twitter, Trump referenced the FBI's admission on Friday that it failed to investigate a specific report in January that Cruz could be plotting a school shooting.
On Friday, special counsel Robert Mueller announced an indictment of 13 Russians for trying to meddle in the US election.
The FBI has said the tip about Cruz should have been investigated thoroughly because it was a "potential threat to life".
Cruz was arrested on Wednesday and has since been charged with murdering 17 people at a high school this week.
James Clapper, former director of national intelligence under the Obama administration, told CNN Trump's FBI remarks were "at best … disingenuous".
Clapper said the FBI's failure to investigate a tipoff about the Parkland shooter highlighted "the tremendous pressure that's put on other things while we ignore the big problem of guns, particularly assault rifles".
More demonstrations calling for gun control are planned across the country in the weeks ahead.
Plans for the protests circulated widely on social media on Saturday, as students, parents, teachers and neighbors gathered to express their grief over the fatal shooting of 14 students and three staff members at the school.
Organizers behind the Women's March, an anti-Trump and female empowerment protest, called for a 17-minute nationwide walkout by teachers and students on 14 March.
The Network for Public Education, an advocacy organization for public schools, also announced a day of walkouts, sit-ins and other events on school campuses on 20 April, the anniversary of the 1999 shooting at Columbine high school in Colorado that left 12 students and one teacher dead.
What else would you call a group that ensures I need to have a conversation with my daughter about how to survive a school shooting?


text:
Dunagin: Two murder cases strikingly similar
By CHARLES DUNAGIN GUEST COLUMNIST,
The July murder of a pretty Ole Miss coed is eerily similar to one that occurred about 33 years ago when the daughter of a couple who then lived in Magnolia was sexually assaulted and slain in her off-campus apartment in Oxford.
Brandon A. Theesfeld, 22, of Ft. Worth, Texas, has been charged with murder in the death of Alexandria "Ally" Kostial, 21, of St. Louis, Mo, whose body was discovered near Sardis Reservoir July 20. She had been shot multiple times.
Theesfeld, an Ole Miss student who now has been suspended, was arrested in Memphis after Kostial's body was discovered and is now in jail in Oxford. The case is expected to go to a grand jury, possibly as early as late August.
Any defendant is entitled to be presumed innocent until proved guilty and so it is with Theesfeld whose family has retained well known and competent defense attorneys on his behalf.
Law enforcement are close-mouthed about whatever evidence they have against Theesfeld, but that isn't stopping rumors and speculation in Oxford and elsewhere about the case which has been reported nationally.
No doubt there are differences in the two cases and possible outcomes, but there are striking similarities in Kostial's murder and that of Jean Elizabeth Gillies in 1986.
The suspects who were charged with murder in both cases are from white privileged families from out of state. Both were business majors.
Both victims had dated the men accused of their murders. Both were in their early 20s. Their deaths rocked not only Oxford but the communities where their families live or lived.
Gillies' parents at the time of her death lived in Magnolia where her father was a physician.
Her murder was particularly brutal. The 24-year-old graduate student was raped, sodomized and beaten before she died in a barehanded stranglehold. Authorities said Gillies was about eight weeks' pregnant. They said her hands were tied behind her and she was gagged.
Douglas Hodgkin, a junior from Winchester, Ky., was charged with Gillies' murder.
During his trial, Hodgkin, who had dated Gillies for about five weeks, testified someone else attacked and killed her in her apartment while he slept there.
He was convicted of capital murder, but the jury couldn't agree on the death sentence, so he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
That was before Mississippi passed a law providing for a life sentence without parole. That loophole was closed in 1995, but legally Hodgkin was eligible for parole after serving 10 years.
Hodgkin, with the backing of his well-connected family in Kentucky, was unsuccessful in seven parole hearings before finally gaining his release on parole in 2009 after he had served 22 years.
The Gillies family objected to all of the paroles which were supported by some public officials in Kentucky and at least one well known Mississippian.
An Associated Press article after Hodgkin's release reported that the director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, a former mayor of Natchez, along with a judge, sheriff and circuit clerk in Kentucky were among those who supported the parole.
"MDOT Executive Director Butch Brown sent at least two letters on agency letterhead supporting Hodgkin's parole, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request," the article said. "The letters in Hodgkin's Parole Board file date back as far as 1996 and coincide with the years he was eligible for parole."
The AP article continued: "In letters dated Nov. 16, 2004, and May 1, 2006, Brown describes himself as a former elected official, current head of a state agency and 'close friend of Douglas Hodgkin's father, Will, a gentleman of utmost integrity with the highest moral character.'''
The Kentucky Sex Offender Register currently lists Douglas Goff Hodgkin. Under remarks it describes him as a "move in offender from Mississippi. Original conviction for capital murder while engaged in the commission of sexual battery."
When and if someone is convicted of capital murder in the Kostial case, one similarity with Gillies will end. The jury will have the option of sentencing the defendant to life without parole.
Drew without water and power as storm leaves path of destruction in Sunflower County
With many still without power, county board declares state of emergency
Miss Mississippi visits Planters
Cops and Robbers January 16, 2020
Inmate assumed missing from Parchman
16-year-old charged as adult in 17-year-old's Christmas Eve shooting death
17-year-old is Indianola's sixth murder victim of 2019
Murder suspect in custody
Gone too soon: Indianola's latest victim of gun violence leaves behind two kids, legacy of love

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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iWood Timber Merchants Siberian Larch Decking is available in Sawfalling grade and in six different profiles (three shapes each in two different widths).
The larch decking is supplied without any stain or treatment, leaving you free to apply your own choice of off-the-shelf protection.
This is a high density wood that is durable and features few knots.
Used before. Good value and good service.
Have used before. Great products and service.
Prices were clear to understand. My first order and went very well.
How long does the decking take to deliver?
Because we are sourcing our wood based on demand to ensure the highest quality, delivery may take from 14 to 17 working days once your oder has been placed with us.
Our deliveries are carried out by a third party haulage company. Because many of our customers have forklifts on-site, the standard delivery trucks often do not have cranes (or hi-abs) on them. For this reason you'll need person-power available to unload your delivery. We are able to quote for crane-offloading if need be. Please give us a call.


If there is anyone still alive who believes that Trump is some type of anti-establishment hero who will circumvent the usual vested political interests of Washington, then his horrific budget should be the last off-ramp on the motorway of insanity this lunatic has managed to plunge America into.
Trump understood the simmering fury that the snide and cutting comments of his peer group could create politically. He knew that the Democrats had wandered too far down identity politics and free market globalisation and far away from the working class union workers he could win over with his angry rhetoric.
Trump's election was one of the greatest political swindles of the 21st Century. Selling back the rage of those without the skills to compete in a global marketplace, Trump's American Carnage was a powerful political tool to rally the culturally displaced and economically dispossessed .
His first appalling budget has sold all those who voted for him down the drain.
The White House has strongly defended President Donald Trump's budget, which proposes deep cuts to domestic spending, including programmes aimed at aiding the poor and funding scientific research.
Faced with repeated questions about line items in the federal budget that help fund programmes, like Meals on Wheels, which provides meals for seniors, after-school educational programmes for poor, rural communities, and public broadcasting, Mulvaney insisted that the cuts were targeted at programmes that hadn't had a track record of success.
…deep cuts to environmental regulation, deep cuts to welfare programs, deep cuts to public broadcasting, deep cuts to education programs, deep cuts to Veteran services.
The brutality and size of the cuts are more amputation than slash.
And where's the money going?
The bloody military industrial complex….
Donald Trump's big present for America is a bigger and more lethal military.
America will get "a larger, more capable, and more lethal joint force," the budget says.
Trump's increase alone is almost twice as much as Australia spends on its military in total.
…the Deep State who use mass surveillance to carry out their own interests, may have wanted Clinton because she was going to guarantee their next war, but Trump has just dumped an ocean of cash on them.
Who's your daddy now Military Industrial Complex?
The Deep State's dislike of Trump, their leaking of unsubstantiated reports and their constant claim (without much proof) that Russia hacked the US election are all evidence of a Intelligence Apparatus running its own agenda.
Which is as dangerous as Trump is himself.
What's worse? Spooks in the machine who are attempting to circumvent a democratically elected leader, or a lunatic fringe conspiracy theorist with all the thin skin of an embryo?
Blaming Russia for 'hacking' the US Election is deeply counter productive.
Firstly, it's just outrageous that the American's who have committed coups, electoral fraud and mass deceptions on 81 other nations over the years are in any position to lecture or complain about interfering in other peoples elections.
Secondly, it allows the Democrats off the hook. Instead of acknowledging they ran a terrible candidate and fielded neoliberal policies that hurt the very workers they had simply assumed would vote for them, the Democrats can avoid scrutiny of their own rigged primary process, the manner in which Bernie Sanders was unfairly treated and their hollow policies by blaming it all on Russia.
Newsflash to the Democrats – Trump didn't win because of Russia, he won because you failed to appreciate how your embrace of neoliberal globalisation hurt the very voters you needed the most.
Thirdly, Russia allows the Deep State to continue to undermine Trump until they come to some sort of truce.
How about vast new powers to kill?
WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump has given the Central Intelligence Agency secret new authority to conduct drone strikes against suspected terrorists, U.S. officials said, changing the Obama administration's policy of limiting the spy agency's paramilitary role and reopening a turf war between the agency and the Pentagon.
Trump's Presidency will be the most dangerous in America's history. That much seems to be blatantly clear.
Trump wants to cut meals-and-wheels and spend billions on the US military.
Just ask any Trump supporter about to post their WE-LOVE-TRUMP-AND-YOU-ARE-ALL-EVIL-DEMOCRAT-CLINTON-SUPPORTERS messages. Meh.
The evidence of Russian involvement in the US elections is extremely substantial and now there is mounting evidence that the Trump campaign was directly involved. Trump's claim of Obama wiretapping was most likely an attempt to deflect the growing focus on the Trump campaigns involvement.
If this doesn't begin to convince our local Trumpistas that their idol in the White House is a complete fraud, then there is no hope for them.
If any politician tried slashing those kinds of services here in New Zealand then… oh, wait. Damn.
Dude, this is the epitome of fake news. Either this guy is knowingly feeding you disinfo or he just doesn't know what he's talking about, and is doing the classic "useful idiot" work of passing on unchecked information that fits his biases.
Wrong. BitCoins are simply a new form of fiat currency, issued by an algorithm, and backed by nothing but speculation on their potential future value, bought and sold by speculators just like existing fiat currencies. They haven't even turned out to be useful as digital cash, because it now takes up to 3 days for transactions to clear (at the consumer end credit/ debit cards are instant, even internet banking is faster), transaction charges are similar to those of the credit card system, and BitCoins aren't even anonymous like real coins without adding layers of extra privacy protection software (and as with encrypting email you have to know how to use all that software properly every time for it to work).
The reason BitCoin is useless for real transactions is that the development of the core BitCoin software, which controls the process by which new BitCoins are minted, is controlled by the handful of "miners" with the most computing power and the fastest internet connections, just like in the traditional financial system.
Gold and silver don't solve the problem for all the same reasons. Like BitCoins, they are subject to exactly the same manipulation of their availability by "miners" (including actual miners of gold and holders of large gold reserves), and their value, like those of any bulk commodity, are mostly determined by rampant speculation on their future value, especially in the financial futures markets.
You can't apply technical fixes to political-economic problems, and as David Graeber showed in 'Debt', the money problem is a political-economic one with a long history, not simply a technical one. The short history of BitCoin (about 8 years), which has re-enacted the history of all other units of value (including gold and other metals) in a compressed timescale, makes that abundantly clear.


text:
Life Videos
Kahn Santori Davison
Kahn Santori Davison is from Detroit, Michigan. He is formerly an art columnist for The Gazette News and Arts and Entertainment writer for the Michigan Citizen. He's currently a music writer for the Detroit Metro Times. He wrote the panel text for the Detroit Instutite of Arts, "D-Cyphered" exhibit, He's served as a creative writing instructor at Detroit Impact Community Center and Inside Out Literary Arts. He was one half of the poetry group Khaos and a co-star in the award winning play "Mahogany Drams."
He's been featured on the Boyce Watkins Show, Brenda Perryman Show, and others. He's a Cave Canem fellow who's works have been featured in The Alabama Poetry Society, The Entoitist, The Baltimore Review, London's X-Bout, Barbaric Yap, Callaloo, Black Reniaissance Noire, and The Litchfield Review. He is author of the poetry book Blaze (Willow Books). He is the recipient of the 2015 Kresge Literary Arts Fellowship.
He is the owner of Kahn Santori Photography www.ksantori.com and Be Immortal apparel(www.beimmortal.net). He has a B.A. from Oakland University and is a proud husband and father of four. He and his wife reside in Michigan.


text:
/**
 *
 */
package com.aol.webservice_base.validator;

import java.util.ArrayList;

import junit.framework.Assert;

import org.junit.Before;
import org.junit.Test;

import com.aol.webservice_base.state.Constants;
import com.aol.webservice_base.state.RequestState;
import com.aol.webservice_base.support.MockHttpServletRequest;
import com.aol.webservice_base.validator.parameter.ParameterValidator;
import com.aol.webservice_base.validator.parameter.types.AbstractParameterType;
import com.aol.webservice_base.validator.parameter.types.ParameterTypeInteger;
import com.aol.webservice_base.validator.support.MockServletRequestFacade;

/**
 * @author human
 *
 */
public class ParameterValidatorTest {
	MockHttpServletRequest fakeReq;
	protected ParameterValidator validator;
	ParameterTypeInteger validNoReq1;
	ParameterTypeInteger validNoReq2;
	ParameterTypeInteger validReq1;
	ParameterTypeInteger validReq2;

	@Before
	public void init() {
		fakeReq = new MockHttpServletRequest();
		fakeReq.setAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE, new RequestState(null));
		validator = new ParameterValidator();

		validReq1 = new ParameterTypeInteger();
		validReq1.setName("one");
		validReq1.setRequired(true);

		validReq2 = new ParameterTypeInteger();
		validReq2.setName("two");
		validReq2.setRequired(true);

		validNoReq1 = new ParameterTypeInteger();
		validNoReq1.setName("one");
		validNoReq1.setRequired(false);

		validNoReq2 = new ParameterTypeInteger();
		validNoReq2.setName("two");
		validNoReq2.setRequired(false);
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueFirst() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_OK, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueFirstInvalid() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		validNoReq1.setMin(2);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_INVALID_PARAMETER, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueFirstInvalidOverride() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		validNoReq1.setMin(2);
		validNoReq1.setInvalidErrorCodeOverride(99);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(99, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueSecond() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("two", "2");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_OK, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueBoth() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		fakeReq.addParameter("two", "2");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_OK, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueFirstReqFail() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validReq1);
		childValidators.add(validReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertFalse(state.getStatusCode() == 200);
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueSecondReqFail() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validReq1);
		childValidators.add(validReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("two", "2");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertFalse(state.getStatusCode() == 200);
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueBothReq() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validReq1);
		childValidators.add(validReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		fakeReq.addParameter("two", "2");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_OK, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void unexpectedParameterAlone() {
		fakeReq.addParameter("notExpected", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_INVALID_PARAMETER, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void findValueFirstUnexpectedAlso() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		fakeReq.addParameter("notExpected", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_INVALID_PARAMETER, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void bothRequiredOnePrecludesOther() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		validNoReq1.setPrecludes("two");
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_OK, state.getStatusCode());
	}

	@Test
	public void bothRequiredOnePrecludesOtherBothExist() {
		ArrayList<AbstractParameterType> childValidators = new ArrayList<AbstractParameterType>();
		validNoReq1.setPrecludes("two");
		childValidators.add(validNoReq1);
		childValidators.add(validNoReq2);
		validator.setValidators(childValidators);
		fakeReq.addParameter("one", "1");
		fakeReq.addParameter("two", "2");
		validator.validateRequest(new MockServletRequestFacade(fakeReq));

		RequestState state = (RequestState)fakeReq.getAttribute(Constants.REQUEST_STATE);
		Assert.assertEquals(Constants.SC_INVALID_PARAMETER, state.getStatusCode());
	}

}


text:
Category: Barclay Goodrow
Barclay Goodrow
Rangers announce six-year deal with Barclay Goodrow
7/22/21 | The Rangers have officially announced a six-year deal with Goodrow.
His agent has confirmed that it is a six-year deal worth $21.85 million. He reportedly has a 15-team no trade list. (Puck Pedia)
7/19/21 | 2:06 PM: Chris Drury says that he sees "no issues" with getting Goodrow under contract. (Stephenson, Walker)
1:42 PM: Frank Seravalli tweets that the Rangers have made "significant progress" with newly acquired Barclay Goodrow on a reported six-year deal that will have a cap hit of around $3.6 million.
Goodrow, 28, is slated to become a UFA on July 28th and the Rangers acquired him on Saturday for a 2022 7th-round pick.
Seravalli tweets that the expectation is that Goodrow will sign when the roster freeze ends on Thursday.
Continue reading "Rangers announce six-year deal with Barclay Goodrow"
Rangers acquire Barclay Goodrow from Tampa for 2022 7th Round Pick
8PM: Dave Pagnotta of The Fourth Period and NHL Network says that the Rangers are "already closing in" on a contract for Goodrow.
3:51PM: The Rangers have acquired two-time Stanley Cup Champion and pending UFA Barclay Goodrow from Tampa Bay for a 2022 7th round pick.
Goodrow, 28, is coming off a two-year deal that had a cap hit of $925,000.
Continue reading "Rangers acquire Barclay Goodrow from Tampa for 2022 7th Round Pick"


Mal practice and bonus abuse will result in disqualification.
Management reserves the right to edit or change this promotion at any point of time during the promotion.
Players from Telangana,Kerala,Assam & Odisha cannot participate in the offer.
For 1st Prize winner Rummy Adda will give the Ex-Showroom Prize.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All Players participating in the "APRIL ADVENTURE" contest, must have their address validated with Rummy Adda.
Let's Get In Touch For any query!


text:
Our History Leadership Team Board Of Directors Corporate Governance
AHN was founded in 2007 as an Australian standards-based homestay provider for international students and developed the original and 'appropriate' national standards for homestay. The approach was based on accountability, system integrity, transparency, personalised services, safety, insurance, and a 24⁄7 professional support line. In September 2008, AHN placed its first international student into homestay.
Over time, AHN has become Australia's largest and most recognised homestay organisation for international students, receiving acknowledgement and commendation for our standards from both Industry and Government.
Following the success of AHN in Australia, the American Homestay Network (AHN USA) was launched in 2012, with our first office in Seattle Washington.
In 2015, MyStay International Pty Ltd was formally established essentially to incorporate the consolidation of existing businesses – the Australian Homestay Network, AHN Queensland (a licensee of AHN) and the American Homestay Network (AHN USA). An important part of this consolidation was taking ownership of our operating system and trademarks, which had previously been owned by an external company. This has been achieved and was critical to our strategy.
MyStay International is now recognised as a key global initiator of quality services for international students being a Finalist in the Pie News 'Pieoneer Awards' for both 2017 and 2018.
Copyright © MyStay International Pty Ltd (ABN 80 605 198 990). All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy


A stunning flowering, evergreen French lavender with a delightful fragrance.
Perfect for low, compact hedges, mixed into borders, or grown in pots and containers for the patio.
French lavender 'Blue Star' is one of the prettiest and eye-catching varieties thanks to its lilac bracts that sit atop of its purple flower head.
Try planting it around beds, borders or paths, to divide up parts of your garden or to make an eye-catching parterre or knot garden space plants 30cm apart.
Supplied as a set of 3 established plants in 2L pots.
A stunning flowering, evergreen French lavender with a delightful fragrance – both from the grey-green leaves and lilac flowers!
Perfect for low, compact hedges, mixed into borders, or grown in pots and containers for the patio, lavender is perfect in many a scenario and the French lavender 'Blue Star' is one of the prettiest and eye-catching varieties thanks to its lilac bracts that sit atop of its purple flower head.
The silvery grey foliage and blooms are packed with a heady scent, the dark purple flowers will provide you a colourful spectacle from early to mid-summer and are a magnet to bees, butterflies and other beneficial creatures, which will have your garden buzzing with life.
Once established, a lavender hedge is extremely drought tolerant. Keep it in great shape by pruning twice a year; trim lightly in mid to late summer, removing spent flower heads. Prune again in early spring, removing about 2.5cm of growth.


text:
Q: perl regex: multiple matches as variables I am not interested in how to use a variable in a regex search. Instead, I am curious how I can turn multiple regex matches into variables.
I have a file that looks like this:
>m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|153096|3235_13893
Length=10658

 Score = 33.7 bits (18),  Expect = 0.19
 Identities = 18/18 (100%), Gaps = 0/18 (0%)
 Strand=Plus/Minus

Query  3     CTATTTAAACCTAATCGG  20
             ||||||||||||||||||
Sbjct  10604  CTATTTAAACCTAATCGG  10587

>m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|114630|20543_24727
Length=4184

 Score = 33.7 bits (18),  Expect = 0.19
 Identities = 18/18 (100%), Gaps = 0/18 (0%)
 Strand=Plus/Plus

Query  3    CTATTTAAACCTAATCGG  20
            ||||||||||||||||||
Sbjct  85   CTATTTAAACCTAATCGG  102

My ultimate goal is to search this (very large) file and only extract lines that look like ">m160505_..." based on the end position of the subject match (seen as 10587 and 102 in the above example). If the end position of the subject is within 500 of the Length of the query length, or if it is within 500 absolutely, the >m... line gets printed. I realize this seems complicated, so looking at my code might help clarify things.
This is what my code looks like so far:
use strict;
use warnings;

my $file = '/path/to/file.txt';
my $data;
{
    open my $fh, '<', $file or die;
    local $/ = undef;
    $data = <$fh>;
    close $fh;
}
my @matches = $data =~ />(m.+)\nLength=([0-9]+)\n\n Score.+\n Iden.+\n Str.+\n\nQuery.+\n.+\nSbjct  [0-9]+  [TAGC]+  ([0-9]+)/g;
foreach (@matches) {
    print "$_\n";
}

This prints out something like the following:
>m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|153096|3235_13893
 10658
 10587
>m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|114630|20543_24727
  4184
  102

From here I need to change things so the regex matches turn into variables (flexible vairables). I would like to be able to use them in something like the following:
 my $mVariable = "m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|114630|20543_24727";
 my $firstnumber = 10685;
 my $secondnumber = 10587;
 if ($firstnumber - $secondnumber < 500 || $secondnumber < 500) {
      print $mVariable, "\n";
 }

Thanks for your help!
If I can clarify something please let me know.

A: It's wasteful and unnecessary to read an entire file into memory; more so if it is a very large file
My solution below sets the record separator to > so that the file can be read one chunk at a time. The variables that you describe are extracted from the chunk, and the remainder of the loop is skipped if any of them aren't found
This program expects the path to the input file as a parameter on the command line
use strict;
use warnings 'all';
use feature 'say';

local $/ = ">";

while ( <> ) {

    next unless my ($m_variable) = / ^ ( m \d+ .+ ) /x;
    next unless my ($length)     = / ^ Length=(\d+) /xm;
    next unless my ($end_pos)    = / ^ Sbjct \b .*  \b (\d+) /xm;

    if ( abs($length - $end_pos) < 500 or $end_pos < 500 ) {
        say $m_variable;
    }
}

output
m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|153096|3235_13893

A: Perl stores the results of captures in special numbered variables. The first capture group is $1, the second is $2, and so on. Their values are set every time a regex match succeeds (whether replacement or matching).
So, in your case, you could do something like this:
my $string = "m160505_031746_42156_c100980652550000001823221307061611_s1_p0|114630|20543_24727";
if ($string =~ /^m(\d+)_(\d+)/) {
    if ($1 < 500 || $2 < 500) {
        do_something()
    }
}

A: When matching against a pattern you could extract the $1, $2, etc... using a list. So instead of:
my @matches = $data =~ />(m.+)\nLength=([0-9]+)\n\n Score.+\n Iden.+\n Str.+\n\nQuery.+\n.+\nSbjct  [0-9]+  [TAGC]+  ([0-9]+)/g;

you could use this:
my ($m_var, $first, $second) = $data =~ />(m.+)\nLength=([0-9]+)\n\n Score.+\n Iden.+\n Str.+\n\nQuery.+\n.+\nSbjct  [0-9]+  [TAGC]+  ([0-9]+)/g;

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Home / tv
7 Characters We Want To See In Marvel's Daredevil Show
By David Opie @DavidOpie 5 years ago
7) Mister Fear
While researching a way to bring wax figurines to life, (yes, really), a scientist named Zoltan Drago accidentally discovered a chemical that could induce fear in others. Donning a kooky costume, the newly named Mister Fear proceeded to get his arse handed to him by Daredevil and was killed soon after.
Since then, however, numerous incarnations of Mister Fear have sprung up, some of whom have proved to be surprisingly dangerous. As far as super villains go, Mister Fear isn't exactly the most iconic character to ever grace the pages of a Marvel comic book, but there's certainly potential to use him on the Daredevil show.
In one particularly memorable storyline from the comics, Mister Fear removed the fear of death from everyone in Hell's Kitchen, almost killing Daredevil's wife in the process. An encounter of this magnitude could form the basis of a fantastic episode and would certainly help transform this C-list character into a respectable villain… just as long as the showrunners can successfully differentiate him from DC's Scarecrow, who held a prominent role in Batman Begins only a decade ago.
Tags: Daredevil, featured content, Marvel, Netflix