text:
THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND
John Schmid
Comments Off on THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND
Jack Murphy- May 26, 1937- Sept. 16, 2020
Jack Murphy died last week. I worked with him numerous times with Bill Glass Prison Ministries (Champions For Life). He ran me ragged. He spoke at our CGM fundraiser banquets at least three times. He was a friend and a mentor.
The song, The Touch of the Master's Hand, partly describes his life:
It was battered and scarred and the auctioneer thought it was hardly worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin as he held it up with a smile.
It ain't worth much, but it's all we got left, guess we ought to sell it, too.
Now, who'll start the bid on this old violin, just one more and we'll be through…
The song goes on to tell how the bidding on an old beat up violin stalled at $3.00. Then someone in the crowd came forward, picked up the bow, tightened the strings, and played a beautiful melody. When the crowd realized the worth of the old instrument, the bidding picked up at $1000… 2000… 3000… and then… SOLD! $3000! Its true worth was recognized.
When I recorded this song 20 years ago, a former Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra first chair violinist played the background music! That violinist was Jack Murphy, who also had been a tennis champion, a Barnum & Bailey Circus high diver, a hall of fame surfer, a surf board manufacturer, a Hollywood stunt man, a jewel thief (!), and eventually, part of a crime that took the lives of two people. He ended up in the Florida State Prison with two life sentences! And then (long story), a prison minister with Bill Glass Prison Ministries for more than 30 years.
Jack's life went from a charmed, successful, adventerous, financially secure life to a "battered and scarred" existence in a maximum security prison. While in an 8×10 solitary confinement cell on death row in the Florida State Prison, he received a letter from a stranger who talked about Jonah in the belly of the whale. Jack began to ask himself, "How did I get here?! From first chair violinist; from training with the U.S Olymic team; from having my own line of surf boards; to a place about as big as the belly of whale. What happened!?"
That day Jack began to realize that something went wrong. Although Christians had written to him and Christian inmates had tried to talk to him, he "wasn't ready." One day the new chaplain came on death row and with his South Carolina drawl, he challenged Jack to consider Jesus.
"Get out of here with that garbage. I don't need that stuff!" was Jack's answer.
Chaplain Max Jones said, "Well, when you're done being a tough guy, let me know. Jesus has a better plan for your life than you seem to have. If you're in prison, you haven't managed your life very well."
Jack couldn't argue that. When he got released from death row into general population he went to the chapel. Some of his tough guy buddys had become Christians while he was in the hole. He went to chapel to see what was going on and after several weeks, he went forward and committed his life to Jesus.
One of the accusations by his unsaved friends was that, "You're just doing this to feel good." Jack's reply was, "DUH! You're right! Why do you think we drank whisky?! Why do you think we took drugs?! Why did we chase women?! SO WE WOULD FEEL GOOD! I feel better than I ever have! For the first time in years, I sleep all night. The guilt is gone. I can look people in the eye! There is peace! You're absolutely correct! I gave my life to Jesus so I would feel better!"
Through a series of miracles and people going to bat for this reformed criminal, including the prison wardon(!), Jack was released after serving 20 years of his double life sentence. One of the arguments at the parole hearing was by his ex-convict friend, Frank Constantino. "You call these places 'corrections,' or 'reformatories,' 'penitentaries,' (which comes from the word, "to do penance"). Well, this man is reformed. He is "corrected." He repented. If you don't consider his release, then change the name of these institutions to what they really are: warehouses. Don't give us this balony about corrections." Frank persuaded the parole board.
There were reporters at the prison gate when Jack was released. "How do we know you're really reformed?!" was their accusing question. "Watch me," was Jack's simple answer.
We watched him for 30 years. Thousands of prison services; thousands of changed lives; NO more crime; thousands of banquets, churches, radio programs, TV shows (including Larry King Live!)… we watched until May 26. Jack is home.
"He's auctioned off cheap to the thankless crowd, much like that old violin.
But then the Master comes and the foolish crowd can never understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the Touch of the Master's Hand!"
A KIND ACT SAVED A FAMILY
Comments Off on A KIND ACT SAVED A FAMILY
My wife's grandfather moved from New Wilmington, Pa. to Ohio around 100 years ago (1917?). After renting a farm near Maysville for four years, grandfather Jonathan Byler bought a 160 acre farm just east of Mt. Eaton. He gave $1000 down and the rest was financed by the owner.
The first few years were rough and finally grandpa could not make the payment. At the bank, where grandpa went for a loan, the banker looked at the land contract and whistled.
"The owner expects to get the farm back," he said.
"How do you know that?" asked Grandpa.
"In the fine print it says that the owner can foreclose if even one payment is missed. No grace period, no nothing! In this poor economy that's finacial suicide. And this man will do it. Furthermore, we have no money left for real estate loans."
Grandpa went home very discouraged. What could he do? He decided to write to Frank Thompson, his former employer in Pennsylvania, and see if he would give him a loan. He hated to impose on his friend's kindness, because Frank had already shipped a fine purebred bull to Ohio for almost nothing, but there seemed to be no other options.
Mr. Thompson was able and very willing to help grandfather. He had not forgotten his former hired hand's hard work and honesty. He sent a check almost immediately.
When the banker saw the $8500 check, he whistled twice as loud as the first time. That was a lot a money in those days. (Imagine how big of a check it would take to pay off a farm today!) He looked at grandfather in a new light. The owner did, too. When he saw the check and papers to sign the farm off, his face turned white as chalk, but there was nothing he could do but sign the papers. He had expected to get his farm back.
Grandpa Byler died in 1930 leaving grandma Barbara with a mortgage and 9 children. She wrote to Frank Thompson and said that she could not make the payments. Could he just sell her a acre or two off the corner of the farm? Frank didn't write back. He came personally in his chauffer driven limo and went into the house and said, "Don't worry Barbara. We will never take your farm." He even offered her more money if she needed it. Lydia's Uncle Dan said he had never seen his Amish mother hug anybody, but the Thompsons were hugging and crying and letting her know she could keep the farm even if she never made another payment! (This was during the depression.) She eventually paid the farm off, but for three years she made no payments, and Mr. Thompson cancelled the interest.
That story has been told in the Byler family for almost a century. Wouldn't it great if we could get ahold of someone in the Frank Thompson family and thank them for the kindness of their ancestor? I called The American Bridge Company several times where Frank had been the comptroller, trying to find descendants or relatives. "Never heard of him," was the usual reply by a young, non-history minded secretary. Click. Then five years ago, cousin Linda Byler Sortor went online and (long story) got in touch with Tommi Wagner, a great granddaughter of Frank Thompson! After telling her the Thompson/Byler story (she had never heard it) we invited her to our Byler Reunion here in Ohio. She came with her brother and a cousin, Jim Stranahan. It was a great and emotional time of rehashing how their anscestor saved the Byler farm. And the family. There were 200 or so Byler descendants (out of a potential 1000 or so) at the reunion.
Last week we finally accepted Jim Stanahan's 2 year old invitation to come to New Wilmington. He took us to where grandpa Byler lived and worked on the Thomson farm. We saw the house and the barn. He took us to the oldest Amishman in Lawrence County, where he had gone last week, to see if he had ever heard of a Jonathan B. Byler.
"Jonathan B. Byler was my uncle!" said 85 year old Amos Byler.
"A couple of his grandchildren are coming on August 13," Jim told Amos.
"How many benches should I have?" asked Amos.
Jim said, "There will be seven of us."
So, on August 13, 2020, over 100 years after Lydia's grandfather left that area, we met Amos J. Byler, probably the only living first cousin of Lydia's dad, Tobe J. Byler. He seemed very pleased to meet us. His four children all took off work to be home when these long lost cousins showed up. It was time of meeting, sharing, story telling, laughing… We can't call it a reunion because there is no "re." It was a "union." The "re-union" will be next time, which is already in the planning.
What if Frank Thompson had not been kind enough to loan money to Jonathan Byler? What would have happened to widow Barbara and her 9 children? Thankfully, we'll never know. I know this: his kindness will never be forgotten.
"The heart benevolent and kind most resembles God." -Robert Burns
"Kindness is the golden chain by which the society is bound together." -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction." James 1:27
EVERYBODY HAS A STORY
Comments Off on EVERYBODY HAS A STORY
It's Sunday. That means Daddy has been drinking, and it's anybody's guess what mood he'll be in. A sober, hard working man during the week, he can transform into a monster after a weekend of drinking. My conscience is clear, so Daddy will have no reason to mete out one of his savage beatings.
As I go in the house, I see Daddy is sitting at the kitchen table, and my heart sinks. I see his bloodshot eyes and the blacksnake whip lying coiled on the table beside him. Sick horror floods through me as he lurches to his feet, grabs my arm without saying a word, and begins savagely beating me with the whip. I'm no stranger to the torture inflicted, but this is different. The stark injustice of the attack freezes me and I don't dash around the table or struggle to escape as I have in the past. I simply stand in shock as Daddy lashes at me with all his strength. My fury at the unfairness of this unprovoked attack grows into a white-hot rage, and I grit my teeth, determined not to give my father the satisfaction of a response. He is enraged by my indifference and he flails madly until he collapses into his chair, exhausted and panting.
Still seething with rage, with blood trickling down the back of my legs, I shove my face right into his and I hiss between clentched teeth, "If you ever lay a hand on me again, I swear I will kill you!"
That's the beginning of Bobby Eaton's book, The Boy In The Window, co-written with Andrew Weaver. I had the privilege of touring with Bobby and his wife, Sharla on a week-long "Sing and Sign" Tour. Bobby and I and The Steve Stutzman Family went to seven different communities from Georgia to Ohio with our songs and our books and presented Christ through song and testimony, mainly Bobby's story of poverty, abuse, betrayal, prejudice and bullying… and then… redemption and salvation through the kindness and witness of strange new Mennonite neighbors who moved ("swarmed," according to Bobby) into his poor "white trash" Kentucky community.
One night he was invited to a Mennonite neighbor's house for supper and couldn't believe the laughter, love and abundance he saw around the table. It was totally different from the "war zone" and scarcity he was used to at his house. As he returned home that night, he stopped and turned around and looked back at the Mennonite house and said, "Someday, I want to have a family like that."
Bobby eventually joined this Mennonite group, married one of their girls, was ordained into the ministry, became a missionary to Haiti, came back to the states and is now a very successful buisinessman, building mini barns in North Carolina, and preaching when he is asked. He also has a "family like that," with eight children who are all married with families of their own. Several of them are in the family mini barn business.
One of the most amazing "miracles" to me in Bobby's story is that when his abusive, alcoholic father died, they were best friends! Bobby forgave his dad, lead him to Jesus, and helped him to lead a victorious Christian life! A wonderful true story of how Jesus can change the culture of a family!
If this sounds like a book report, you're partly right. It's a LIFE report and I am recommending this inspiring story. You can text me for a copy of his book (330-231-1164), or order The Boy In The Window on Amazon, or go to The Gospel Book Store in Berlin or Faith Books, Mt. Hope.
His story will inspire you.
"The lifelong flight to escape my destiny as a failure." – Bobby Eaton
THE PESTILENCE THAT STALKS IN THE DARKNESS (JULY)
Comments Off on THE PESTILENCE THAT STALKS IN THE DARKNESS (JULY)
THE PESTILENCE THAT STALKS IN THE DARKNESS
The year was 1348. A ship floated in the busy waters of the harbor of Messina, Italy. It maneuvered in a strange manner as it neared the dock. When the harbor-master boarded the ship after it finally docked, he was met with an appalling sight: Nearly the entire crew was dead! They had strange, black, egg-sized lumps on them that oozed pus and bled prolifically. The ones still alive had high fevers and were vomiting blood, and most of them soon died.
The cargo that this ship carried was destined to change the course of world history. It wasn't the grain and other goods. It was the rats that came ashore. Even more, it was the fleas on the rats. When the rats died, the fleas looked for other hosts- dogs, cats, horses, pigs… and humans. This ship, with its rats and fleas passed on The Black Death, or as we know it today, The Bubonic Plague.
Within four years the plague killed at least a third of the population of Italy and some reports say one half of the population of Europe! The city of Messina lost 80% of its population! Many men said goodby to a healthy family in the morning only to come home in the evening to find his whole family dead.
Soon, so many died that there weren't enough living people left to bury the dead, so the bodies were stacked up like piles of wood or bales of hay! The stench in homes and in the streets was unbearable.
(These first paragraphs are paraphrased from Cathedrals, Castles and Caves pg 63 by Marcus Yoder)
The Bubonic Plague was considered the worst disaster in the history of the world, UNTIL… the "Spanish Flu" of 1918.
"The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than World War I, at somewhere between 20 and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history. More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. It was a global disaster."
-from Molly Billings, June, 1997 modified RDS Feb. 2005
The Spanish Flu spread far and fast because it hit just when the United States entered WWI. One article tells that a soldier in Kansas got the flu and it spread through the army camp. They were deployed to Europe and by the time they landed the whole ship was sick. They disembarked and went to their camps and infected everyone there! The infected soldiers went to the battle field and… there were more dead men in the trenches because of the flu than because of war.
I did a little research (emphsis on little) and learned that there have been many epidemics and pandemics throughout history. One article was entitled, "The 20 Worst Epidemics and Pandemics in History." Here is the epidemic list with the estimated number of people who died as the last number: China, 3000 BC; Plague of Athens, 430 BC, 100,000 dead; Antonne Plague, 165 AD, 5 million dead; Plague of Cyprian, 250 AD, 5000 a day(!); Plague of Justinian, 541 AD, 10% of world population died; The Black Death, 1348, 25 million; Cocolitzli Epidemic, Mexico, 15 million; American Measles plague, 1500s, wiped out Incas and Aztecs; London Plague, 1665, 100,000; Plague of Marseille, 1720, 100,000; Phiadelphia Yellow Fever, 1793, 5000; Flu Pandemic, Russia, 1889, 1 million; Ameican Polio Epidemic, 1916, 6000; Spanish Flu, 1918, 500 million; Asian Flu, 1957, 1 million; AIDS Epidemic, 1981-present, 35 million; Swine Flu, 2009, 1.4 Billion cases(!), 500,000 dead; Ebola, 2014, 11,000; ZIKA Virus, 2015; Corona Virus, 2020, still counting…
During this current Corona Virus pandemic, I have made some observations. One is that I am beginning to think that some of our leaders and politicians are not totally honest (radical thought, I know). The numbers change. The rules change. The experts change. The experts told us that 2.2 million are going to die. A week later they adjusted it to 200,000. Then to 60,000. I don't know how many have died, but when I do hear the figure, how do they expect me to believe it?! I also wonder why these "experts" are considered experts? They were wrong by a factor of 36 times!
Another observation: Every pandemic lied about the number of deaths. The Spanish Flu got its name because Spain told the truth about Flu deaths. Germany, Italy, England, Russia, and the US all suppressed the actual numbers so as to not discourage the soldiers or give the enemy the idea that were weak, but since Spain was not involved in the war, they told the truth and the world thought the flu was only in Spain!
The current Corona numbers are also lied about, this time by inflating them, either for political or financial reasons. It seems that anyone who dies is written up as "COVID-19." Is this pandemic real? Yes! Is it serious? Yes. Should we be careful? Of course. Should we do everything the government tells us to do? Well…
We will get through this (see 20 epidemics, paragraph 7 above). God is not taken by surprise. He is in control. "You shall not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday…" Ps. 91:5,6 Note also: "Fear not" appears 365 times in the Bible. Once for every day of the year.
RAVI ZACHARIAS or WHAT IF?
Comments Off on RAVI ZACHARIAS or WHAT IF?
I was having breakfast at our hotel in Louisville, Ky. when Ravi Zacharias walked by. He was one of the speakers at the convention I was attending (NACIE '94). I looked up and said, "Hello," and he said, "Hello," and then he paused and chatted a bit and then he sat down at our table and shot the breeze with us for several minutes, as if we were old friends! I couldn't believe it! He acted as if we were equals!
Ravi Zacharias died this month and the more I heard about him in the eulogies and funeral tributes, the more I realize that he treated us like equals because that is what he believed: we are equals. He didn't think he was any better than anyone else, even though he was known all over the world as the premiere apologist in the Christian World. The C. S. Lewis of our age. He has spoken in well over 50 countries and was the friend of Kings, Shahs, world leaders, presidents… Muslims, Hindus, Mormons, street kids, University students… he took the message of Jesus to wherever he was invited.
He was a brilliant thinker. His motto: "Helping the Thinker Believe; Helping the Believer Think!"
Ravi was born in 1946 in India. Althought his family was Christian, he was a skeptic. At age 17 he was so hopeless that he tried to commit suicide by swallowing poison. While recovering in the hospital, a friend brought him a Bible and told his mother to read to him from John 14. A phrase in verse 19 touched Ravi: "Because I live, you also will live." He thought, "This may be my only hope: A new way of living. Life as defined by the Author of Life." He committed his life to Christ, praying that "Jesus if You are the one who gives life as it is meant to be, I want it. Please get me out of this hospital bed well, and I promise I will leave no stone unturned in my pursuit of truth."
Ravi got out of the hospital and kept his promise. He left no stone unturned in his pursuit of Truth. He helped thousands of others to see the validity of the Christian message. The only thing more indisputable than his logic and his intellect was his love for people. He never tried to win an argument; he tried to win people. He realized that behind every question is a person, and behind every person is a soul searching for meaning. He always saw the soul and tried to win the person, not the debate.
The Christian World AND the whole world will miss this great man of God. I never can hear him speak without thinking of a hotel breakfast room where this giant walked by and sat down and chatted with us! He was one of us! His ministry (RZIM) will continue to win people to Christ for years to come!
With all the wonderful things that we could be saying about Ravi and his life, here is a thought:
–What if that friend would not have brought a Bible to Ravi's hospital room? What if Ravi have tried suicide again? Would he have recovered and been a good businessman in India so that no one outside of Delhi ever heard of? Would someone else have lead him to Christ?
We'll never know. But we do know this: That friend DID bring a Bible and Ravi DID commit his life to Christ, and he became the world's leading apologist for Christ, and I along with thousands of others are better people because that one kind deed allowed a suicidal teenager to recover and reach his potential.
Folks, you never know. You give a Bible, a tract, a kind word… and the world is changed!
May God continue to bless the life and ministry and memory of Ravi Zacharias. And bless that friend who gave a Bible. May you and I be that friend.
UNANSWERED LETTERS
John's Blog, Prison Ministry, Uncategorized
Comments Off on UNANSWERED LETTERS
MARCH/APRIL 2020 NEWSLETTER
I toured with the We Care Prison Ministries Fund Raising Banquet Tour for two weeks.
In each of the 14 banquets ex-inmate, Jeff Tyler, shared his story of being helped by Steve Stoltzfus, one of the We Care chaplains in Alabama. Jeff had messed his life up so completely that he lost everything- his business, his wife, his three daughters, his parents, his siblings- everyone close to him! He wrote to his daughters every week, but they were so traumatized by his abandonment of them (drugs) that they never wrote back. He wanted to give up, but Chaplain Steve encouraged him to keep writing, even if they never respond. They never did.
Now that he is out of prison, he has re-established a relationship with all three daughters! The letters, even though they went unanswered, surely helped.
In each of these banquets I sang Randy Davenport's song, Mail Call- about a prisoner who went to mail call everyday but never got one letter. Russ shared that at mail call all the inmates gather around the officer and wait for their name to be called. Some never received one letter the whole time that Jeff was in prison. They turn away trying to look tough. BUT, when Jeff heard his name and the officer handed him a letter, he said it was like winning the lottery! Better than a million dollars! He hurried back to his rack and read the letter once, twice, three times… and then he would share it with a friend, and then another friend. Then he would read it again.
One of America's great poets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, has a similar, even more devestating story of unanswered letters. She was born in 1806 into a difficult family. Her tyrannical father was very domineering and for some unknown reason forbid any of his 12 children to ever marry. When Elizabeth ran off and married fellow poet, Robert Browning, her father disowned her.
For the next ten years, Elizabeth tried to mend the relationship with her father. Every week she wrote incredibly crafted, poetic letters to him. She never received a response. Finally, one year before her father's death, she received a box in the mail from her father. She was ecstatic! Her excitement soon turned to anguish. Every single letter she ever wrote to him was in the box, unopened! She was devastated. How cruel!
Today these letters are published and are considered to be some of the most beautiful classical English literature ever written. What a tragedy that such incredible writings were never seen by the one for whom they were intended. If Elizabeth's stubborn father would have just opened even one letter, perhaps his heart would have been softened just a little. But he didn't, and he died a poor, bitter man because of it.
As I think how foolish, bitter and even stupid this was, I am reminded of the beautiful collection of love letters that were sent to me and remained unopened for 23 years of my life. They sat on the shelf, collecting dust. This collection of love letters is called the Bible. God wanted to mend our relationship. He wrote how much He loved me, but I never opened the letter until I was 23!
Now it's different. I read His letter everyday! Then I read it again. Then I share it with a friend. It's like winning the lottery. Better than a million dollars!
Do you read God's love letter to you? Are you like Elizabeth Barrett Browing's father? Are you like I used to be? Or are you like inmate Jeff Tyler. You read God's word everyday. You read it again. You share it with a friend. I want to be like Jeff. Realize how precious is a letter from a Friend.
"Good news from [the outside] is like cold water to the thirsty man." Prov. 25:25
"Study [the Bible] to show thyself approved…" 2 Timothy 2:15
"Thy Word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee." Psalm 119:11
A FAITHFUL LIFE
Comments Off on A FAITHFUL LIFE
The weekend of July 28, 1991 we went to Putnamville Correctional (then called The Indiana State Farm) for a Gospel Echoes sponsored "Daily Light Seminar – Self Acceptance from a Biblical Perspective." During the invitation on Sunday morning an inmate asked Doug Gingerich to go with him to the altar. Doug and the inmate walked to the old fashioned altar in this huge prison chapel that was built before Christian Chapels were considered discriminatory in government facilities.
"He asked me to pray for God to help him quit smoking. I was so convincted, I don't remember praying for him, but I remember praying that God would help me quit smoking," Doug said.
Doug was in my Sunday School class and I didn't know he had a hidden habit. He later told me that he thought, "Now that I quit smoking, everything is fixed. I'm clean with God…. Later I realized that now God could show me all the other garbage in my life!"
Doug was a changed man. Within two years he sold his thriving construction business, moved to Florida to be a volunteer prison chaplain with a newly formed minsitry: GEMS (Gospel Express Ministries South), and with the money from selling his business and his house, he went to college classes after working in the prison all day. He earned his B.A. and became state chaplain (no longer volunteer). His first salary was $21,000 @ year. With four teenagers and a stay-at-home wife!
For the next 15 years he served as chaplain at five northern prisons: Liberty Correctional, Appalachee Corr., Washington Corr., Wakulla Corr. and Gulf Correctional (some of these prisons twice) before being promoted in 2001 to the Central Office in Tallahassee where he was appointed head chaplain over all the faith based prison dorms in the Florida System.
Fast forward to Jan. 25, 2020: I was on my way from Sarasota to Montgomery, Alabama to be with We Care Prison Ministries Program for the 30th year in a row (minus a year or two). I called Doug to tell him I'm coming through his town, can I park my RV in his yard overnight? "Sure! In fact, I'm having a retirement party on Saturday. Can you stay an extra day and be here?"
Of course I can! Can you believe that?! I'll be late for We Care, but I was at the very first prison service where Doug Gingerich fully dedicated his life to the Lord and later to prison ministry, and now I have the honor of being at the celebration of his last prison service. Well, his last "paid" prison service. I know Doug well enough that even with the travel and retirement plans, he will never stop ministering in prisons and in his local church. Oh! I forgot to mention: Doug is also the pastor of the church they attend (Berean Christian Fellowship)!
I dedicate this letter to my friend and fellow soldier in the trenches, Chaplain Doug Gingerich. Almost 30 years of faithful service and sacrifice. Doug is the kind of man who would have been one of my financial supporters if he had stayed in business. Instead of giving tithes and gifts to many ministries, he gave his whole life to God and to prison ministry. Congratulations, Doug! You and I both know that "retirement" just means a change in direction.
Blessings in this new phase of life.
HALLELUJAH! PRAISE GOD FOREVER!
John's Blog, Uncategorized
Comments Off on HALLELUJAH! PRAISE GOD FOREVER!
Dennis Kinlaw was president of Asbury College when I attended there. He tells of taking an afternoon walk in the Helderberg Mountains (NY) with Norman Grubb, son-in-law of C. T. Studd, the "Babe Ruth of British Cricket," who became a missionary to Africa. Grubb spent many years in the heart of Africa, working with his father-in-law. One of the stories that Grubb told Kinlaw was "unforgettable."
Studd and his missionary team lived deep in the interior of Africa. Their mail only came every two weeks. Their existence depended on the money that came in the mail, so its arrival was always an event. C. T. Studd was the master of ceremonies at this bi-weekly ritual of the "opening of the mail."
One fortnight there was a pleasing amount of money in the mail. Studd's comment was, "Bless God forever! He knows what a bunch of grumblers we are, so He sent us enough to keep us quiet!" Another fortnight the amount was quite small. Studd's comment was, "Hallelujah! We must be growing in grace. He thinks we are learning to trust Him." One fortnight there was nothing. Grubb said that the missionaries gathered around Studd waiting, wondering what he would say. They were not disappointed. He lifted his voice in a shout, "Hallelujah! Praise God forever! We are in the kingdom already, for in the kingdom there is neither eating nor drinking, but righteousness, joy, and peace in the Holy Ghost!"
Some would think Studd's faith was reckless, but I suspect that he had a special place in the heart of God because he dared to expect God to be faithful to His promises.
As I look back on 2019, do I see the undeserved goodnesses of God? As we look forward, do we look with joyous anticipation? We should. His track record is very good! May this be your (our) best year yet!
A BUSY CHRISTMAS SEASON
December is usually my busiest season because of the opportunity I have to sing/speak at local small business Christmas banquets. At one time Holmes County was the "small business capital of Ohio," and many, if not most, of these local businesses are owned by Christians who want a family friendly, Christian program. They may not want a preacher, but they don't want something devoid of content. I seem to fit right in to that genre. I enjoy having fun, but the end goal is to point folks to real meaning of Christmas: Jesus.
The banquets are also a great help financially to the ministry. The local businesses believe in what Common Ground Ministries is doing and they are generous.
So… I am tired, happy, content, excited, thankful… I have several days off. Bring on 2020!
"Leave the irreparable past in His hands and step out into the irresistable future with Him." – Oswald Chambers
"There's no future in my past." – Will Stoltz
"The best is yet to be!" – Dr. Robert Coleman
"2020 will be a great year.." – John Schmid
A Song Speaks To The Heart
Beth Miller
Comments Off on A Song Speaks To The Heart
I try not to let it bother me, but when somebody gets up and leaves during one of my concerts, it bothers me.
Last week at The Salvation Army Resource Center in Medicine Hat, Alberta, I was singing a Tribute To Johnny Cash before transitioning to gospel by singing Steve & Annie Chapman's song, I Want To Go With My Daddy. Halfway through the song a man abruptly stood up and walked out. I guess he doesn't care for Gospel songs?
After the concert his buddy told me the rest of the story: When he heard Steve Chapman's lyrics about a son following his dad down the wrong path, he said, "I'm going to go spend time with my son!"
What a great reason to leave a concert! Even if it's me singing! Great lyrics, Steve Chapman!
Steve Chapman once told me that some of his songs are recorded with the purpose of never being sung in a concert setting. They are recorded to reach that man who drives his pickup by himself with a CD player and hears God speak to him through a song when no one else is around. I don't think I Want To Go With My Daddy is one of those, but it sure did speak to a man publicly in Medicine Hat last month. And he acted. Right now!
Songs seem to speak where preaching or reading doesn't. Gospel Echoes representative, John Yoder, who toured with me in Alberta, told about a man who approached him at a banquet last year: "I was incarcertated at _____ Correctional several years ago when your team came to our prison. I was not allowed to attend the chapel, so you came back to my unit and sang for the 20 minutes you were allowed. I want to tell how much that meant to me. Many groups come and talk to us, but you sang. It touched my heart."
Now folks, let me clarify, speaking and preaching are very important, and I consider my singing as "plowing the ground for the seed that will be planted by the preaching of the Word." But sometimes singing is what reaches the heart of a man. It did in these two examples. Stories like these keep me singing.
I wish there was room to put the words to Steve's song here, but they can be heard by googling, I Want To Go With My Daddy by Steve Chapman.
A closing thought:
WHY MUSIC?
I. Music is a science.
II. Music is Mathemtical
III. Music is a Foreign Language
IV. Music is History
V. Music is Physical Education
VI. Music Develops Insight and Demands Research
VII. Music is all these things, but most of all, Music is Art.
That is why we teach music:
Not because we expect you to major in music…
Not because we expect you to play or sing all your life…
But so you will be human…
So you will recognize beauty…
So you will be closer to an infinite beyond this world…
So you will have something to cling to…
So you will have more love, more compassion, more gentleness, more good-In short, more LIFE.
They Are Watching
John's Blog, Prison Ministry, Stories of Faith, Uncategorized
Comments Off on They Are Watching
Let your light shine because your life is a testimony
"I knew this young man when he was 6 years old."
Two inmates were standing in front of the chapel after I had given an invitation. They were waiting until everyone was finished praying so they could speak to the congregation before the yard was opened and the chaplain would release them to go to supper.
When the prayer time was over the chaplain looked up and nodded for them to step up to the mike.
Inmate William started speaking, "I was praying with this young man and I looked at his name tag so I could call him by name. When I saw his last name, I recognized it. I used to run around with people by that name. I asked him if he was related to Ray Abernathy (made up name). He said, 'Yes, that is my uncle.' How about Joe Abernathy? He said, 'That is my dad.' "
Then William almost started crying. "Oh, my! I remember you! I used to do drugs and all kinds of crazy, bad stuff with your dad and uncle. I remember you as a cute little 6 year boy old hanging around us and wanting to be like us. I am one of the reasons you are here! I was a terrible example for you! I have become a Christian since I am here in prison and I'm not the same man you used to admire! Will you forgive me for being such a bad influence in your life?!" William went on to lead this newly arrived young prisoner to faith in Jesus Christ!
While he had the mike, he went on to repeat some of the points I made in my sermon:
No matter how big or small our circle of influence, we influence people by our lives.
People are watching.
Little boys want to be like the older men. Especially dad. And dad's friends. As William had mentored this little boy to a life that eventually lead to prison, he now wants to mentor this young man to a life that leads to eternal life.
Folks, people are watching us. They watch how we behave at the basketball game, in traffic, at the restaurant… they watch how we react to adversity; how do we handle being treated unfairly, how we handle success… they watch us on Sunday and they watch us on Monday and the rest of the week.
I have heard Steve Wingfield preach from Mark 4 about Jesus calming the storm, and he notices a verse that might seem insignificant to the story: "There were also other boats with him." (v. 36) But that little verse reminds us that in the midst of the storm the 'other boats' are watching. How will Jesus and His disciples handle the storm? Those other boats may be our children, our employees, our friends… maybe they are total strangers. But our reactions (our lives) are living testimonies that influence people, whether we are aware of it or not.
Your are a witness. Your life is a testimony, either for good or for bad. The professional athlete who says, "I'm an athlete, I'm not a role model," doesn't know what he is talking about. Little boys are watching. I watched. I put my bat behind my back like Rocky Colovito. I tried to fade away like Pete Maravich. I try to engage the crowd like Johnny Cash did. I read through the Bible every year like Dennis Kinlaw did. I work hard like dad did… I try to follow Christ like Paul did.
"But I'm not well known or influential." Ah, dear friend, I beg to differ. Someone knows you and you have a circle of influence, small though it may be. You are influencing someone. May we live our lives so that if someone emulates us, he will end up in Heaven, not prison.
"Let your light shine before men so they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." Mt. 5:16
"…you will be my witnesses…" -Jesus


text:
How old is Alucard?
We know that Dracula was defeated in the past (some 100 years before the series begun). That's when his name was changed to Alucard.
However, it's obvious that he lived before that. How long did he live? Do we have an estimated timeline of events?
Madara's GhostMadara's Ghost
According to the Hellsing Wikia he was born in 1431. That makes him 582 years old today. But it also states that he was 568 years old in 1999, and 599 after a time skip.
[...]Born in 1431, [...] He is arguably the first vampire that ever existed.
568 (1999),599 (time skip)
Danalog
TartoriTartori
Do we know where this information is taken from? – Madara's Ghost Jan 29 '13 at 12:43
@MadaraUchiha I think it came from the "original Dracula" In Wikipedia stays: "Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431–1476), [...], also known by his patronymic name: Dracula." Since Alucard is/was Dracula the Information seems to be from here. – Tartori Jan 29 '13 at 13:00
According to the hellsing-wiki:
568 (1999), 599 (time skip)
looperlooper
Alucard is the name his master gave him because it is Dracula backwards, but later in the anime alucard states his name was Vlad Tepes to his master.
so if you look into alucards back story and check out his age it says he was born in 1431 and his age now would be 582 years old, and 568 years in 1999, and 599 in a time skip. So if you look further and check out the name Vlad Tepes and read his back story you will get that he is know to clear forests of men by impaling them which caused him to get the name Vlad the Impaler by the Ottoman that so came across the impaled men. But thats not the point the point is that if you check out the year he was born in which was in 1431 same as alucard his age now would be 588 years as of today, and alucards age is 582 as of today(very close to each other) but ironically they have nothing in common at all. they only have very little things that correspond with each other.
so theoretically Alucards name is just a name and has nothing to do with the actual person except that Vlad died and is (just a tale) haunting his victims and torturing them as and undead creature. Hmm just like alucard because he is undead too.
Thought i would put this out there because i thought it was interesting and it just feed my curiosity hope you guys enjoyed that little fact. and if you guys don't really believe me thats fine look it up and check it out and if you guys find that i'm wrong tell me it would be a delight to hear more and improve on my research skills.
xXTheImmortal DeathOfArtXxxXTheImmortal DeathOfArtXx
Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged hellsing or ask your own question.
Is there any way to kill Alucard?
Why does Alucard have so many eyes?
How does Hellsing (2001) relate to Hellsing (2006)?
How did the first vampire come into existence?
Why did Walter want to kill Alucard in Hellsing Ultimate?
Which song plays when Alucard walks in the forest in episode 1 of Hellsing original?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


How to Install Gaia Kodi addon on Leia Firestick and Android.
The Anubis Kodi Addon Download: Hello Friends, in this article, We will see How to Download and Install Anubis Kodi Addon on Latest Kodi 17.6 and other Kodi Krypton series. Anubis Kodi Addon is one of the Working Kodi Addon that is doing great and Provides users Multimedia at the Higher Quality .... How to Install Gaia Kodi Addon on Leia 18. Launch Kodi Click on Setting Icon from the top menu bar Select File Manager from available options; Double Click on Add Source to open it.
How to Install Gaia Kodi Addon on Leia 18. Launch Kodi Click on Setting Icon from the top menu bar Select File Manager from available options; Double Click on Add Source to open it. how to delete whatsapp contacts in android Android BBoy Kodi Addons Anubis Kodi Addon. The Anubis Kodi addon is a movie-based mostly playlist addon. It has a one particular click flicks spot which is sorted alphabetically and has a choice of content both new and previous.
#16) Now go back to the Kodi homescreen and select the addons tab from the left hand column. All the video addons you installed will appear here. All the video addons you installed will appear here. How To Get Exodus 6.0 On Kodi 16.1 Jarvis (Android Devices) how to change address of business ontario The Anubis Kodi Addon Download: Hello Friends, in this article, We will see How to Download and Install Anubis Kodi Addon on Latest Kodi 17.6 and other Kodi Krypton series. Anubis Kodi Addon is one of the Working Kodi Addon that is doing great and Provides users Multimedia at the Higher Quality .
Android BBoy Kodi Addons Anubis Kodi Addon. The Anubis Kodi addon is a movie-based mostly playlist addon. It has a one particular click flicks spot which is sorted alphabetically and has a choice of content both new and previous.
How to Install Gaia Kodi Addon on Leia 18. Launch Kodi Click on Setting Icon from the top menu bar Select File Manager from available options; Double Click on Add Source to open it.
The Anubis Kodi Addon Download: Hello Friends, in this article, We will see How to Download and Install Anubis Kodi Addon on Latest Kodi 17.6 and other Kodi Krypton series. Anubis Kodi Addon is one of the Working Kodi Addon that is doing great and Provides users Multimedia at the Higher Quality .
Placenta Kodi 2019: As we all know, Blamo Repository is popular for making the fork of big addons and now they are back with Placenta which is a fork of Covenant. Placenta promises some great streaming which mainly includes Movies and Tv Shows.


text:
[M] London Bridges
forward dated, The Order
WARNING: This thread contains material exceeding the general board rating of PG-13. It may contain very strong language, drug usage, graphic violence, or graphic sexual content. Reader discretion is advised.
(000) ooc text here.
Pale colored paws carried her forward through the well worn rout of patrol that she took from day to day, the terrain smelled of her and a few other fighters who'd taken it upon themselves to be sure that no one slipped into their midst from the outside that was not welcome there. Red pine needles littered the forest floor as she walked, pushing them out from her path with sliding feet. She wielded the weapon that her mate had bestowed her, when he'd told her that he believed in her, and that he knew that she could take all the bad that it represented and create something new and good, like a phoenix rising again from the ashes of it's own brilliant funeral pyre. But she wasn't a phoenix, she was just a fire, low burning, giving off little warmth, but still taking life.She gripped the scythe high up on the snath, close to the blade, while she let the end of it drag in the dust from her limp appendage. The journey that she and Lukos had gone on together was a good one, she'd had fun, and for the first time in a long while she was... happy.
She wanted to go back there, to the place where she could be carefree, without the burden of this work, the constant battles waging on around her as well as within. When she was with him, she'd begun to find that her energy was returning, the light behind her eyes was beginning to rekindle, to burn as bright as ever, but that was then, and now they were back.
The dingy little femme continued on her path with a dull look in her eyes. She felt, heavy, as if this invisible weight was pressing down upon her, slowing her down. Apart from training the recruits, the occasional scuffle to drive off an all-too-curious loner, and internal affairs, the pyre felt that she wasn't connecting with her daughter, or maybe that she didn't know how. The people that Nyx cared about most all felt so far out of reach to the snowy warrior. In all actuality, things in the forest had been peaceful, for the most part, since the death of the dark monster that had plagued their woods, but for all the battles fought and overcome, Nyx was afraid. She was always afraid, and it ate away at her, caused her to lash out at the people she wanted most to protect and to love. She was afraid of getting hurt, of her next fight, of not being able to protect the ones that she cared about, of not being good enough.
She was ready to just turn around and go home, to go back to bed, and shut out the world, when the sound of shifting foliage to her right drew her attention, pale white head snapping up to see a scruffy looking male coyote staring her down with fangs bared. "That's a fun little tool you've got there, Miss. Would fetch me something useful with the traders I reckon." Came a hoarse voice, perhaps a smoker, or merely rough from age and misuse. "Give it to me and I won't have to hurt you, you be good now, come on." He continued, staring her in the eyes as his hackles rose, a knobby paw reaching behind him to pull a crude knife from his belt. It wasn't something that Nyx would think to add to the armory, but the silvered edge told her that it had been freshly sharpened.
"T..Try it!" The petite lapine growled back, her own hackles raising as she gripped the scythe with both hands in front of her. "I-If you leave now I w-wont pursue, b-but if you choose t-t-to fight, I-I'll kill you." She stammered, her eyes tired and afraid, little ferocity to be shown in them, apart from the determination that showed she believed in her own words.
But he laughed, and he came for her, running wildly at the snowy femme, probably relying on intimidation rather than skill, and she raised her weapon, blocking his attack, and spinning out of the way to dispel the force of it. She was off her game, she knew it as the fight continued, the wood of her scythe earning a few new chips and dents as they danced that oh so familiar waltz. Truth be told, she didn't want to kill him, but the feeling of pain slicing across her hide was enough to make it happen. She swung, blade facing out, and caught him in the neck, the scythe digging half way into it before jamming, and the icy fighter dropped the weapon and left him to drop to the floor with steel cutting off all the vital things for life like blood and air as it all slowly drained out of him.
She looked down to her side where she had been cut, the wound was shallow, but not so superficial that she wouldn't need it to be treated. It hurt, and the femme had grown quite good at masking her pain, but she was tired of it. Dropping to her knees in the dirt, legs splayed out on either side of her, the girl clutched her wound, and bowed her head, blood slowly seeping between her fingers, and silver dew drops falling from her eyes.
Stock: Shan-Shan Yu | Textures: Sirius-SDZ
Nyx Greyfire
Loners
Wolfdog
Corie
While Greed was almost positive Nyx had traveled down this path today, as she did every day, something simply didn't feel right today. The winds seemed to push a toxic air towards him that drew him down the path while it would deter others. The Quill's senses were sharp, keen on picking up anything out of place and never would ignore his own gut. Quickly, Greed paced down the path. His ears were pushed forward, alert, and his tail flagged high behind him to match. His let hand rested upon his swords which hit against one another and served as a warning for anyone who might come upon him, or their camp.
For the most part, things were calm, but ever now and then they would have challengers. Always there would be those who threatened their peace, it was the way of a loner. But, as a band they would not easily fall.
The sound of blades swinging and the growls of a scuffle drew his attention. His nose lifted to scent the air where he found a familiar female's scent paired with the thick, heavy scent of blood. HIs hackles rose and a growl tore from his jaws as he pushed forward towards the sound. It had since died down and all that could be heard was the birds chirping and wind rustling through the trees, mismatched against the noxious scent in the air.
Soon, Greed pushed through the last bit of brush that blocked his shortcut to Nyx's location. A growl rippled again through his jaws as the scent of a loner hit him hard. Onryo was drawn, ready to tear down whatever enemy stand in his way. It wasn't until he calmed himself that he noted the opposing warrior, the loser, lay dead before the white Pyre. Nyx... He breathed, his heart pounding loud in his chest. He was destined to live on edge so long as they laid claim to that tower. It was a glorious prize that came with great burden.
Greed came to his sister's side and rest a hand on her shoulder. Amber hues assessed her condition and quickly noted the wound, that bled through Nyx's fingers staining them red. Nyx. He said much calmer, trying to catch her gaze to see if she was alright. We should get you back home. Before we get ambushed. I'm sure wherever he came from, there's more. Greed urged, always taking the most reasonable approach to nearly everything.
Greed Lykoi
Salsola
We still believe
The snowy femme was tired, so tired of it all, of feeling alone, of feeling pain, of shouldering the responsibility of a warrior. She had not been bred for this, she was small, and frail, yet she had trained her body to a razors edge, her musculature apparent beneath her blood stained fur and the myriad of scars that interlaced across her body. With a shaking hand, Nyx squeezed the side of her with the slice beneath her straining fingers, unconsciously causing herself more pain, rather than just applying light pressure to stem the bleeding.
Dull glinting amethysts gazed mindlessly upon the face of her deceased opponent, dead yellow eyes staring back at her. They reminded her of someone, made her contemplate her own mortality, as well as the ever looming end to the stories of all of those that she loved, the final chapter that hung on the horizon, casting a shadow that blotted out the sun like the grim reaper himself waiting to take from her everything that she held dear. And there was nothing that she could do.
She heard him approaching, she felt the hand as it came to rest on her shoulder, but it wasn't until he spoke her name a second time that the tiny scarred femme turned her large amethyst eyes up to her earthen brother, tears pooling in them, stinging her eyes until she squeezed them shut and the saline liquid ran down her cheeks. "G..Greed..." The snowy fighter whispered in a broken tone, pitiful and full of anguish. "I-I think I got... c-c-cut..." She said after a moment, her eyes and tone draining of life as she spoke in a melancholic and monotone way, allowing her brother to guide her up from the ground offering little in the way of resistance.
It was almost an afterthought, that the Pyre went to pick her weapon out of the rended flesh of her opponent, hoisting it back with her free hand as she watched the blood run off of it's edge. Justice, indeed.


text:
McDonald's raises dividend by 7%
Published: Sept. 21, 2017 at 4:34 p.m. ET
Claudia Assis
McDonald's Corp. MCD, -1.42% said late Thursday its board of directors has approved a 7% dividend increase to $1.01 a share, payable Dec. 15 to shareholders of record Dec. 1. That's the company's 41st consecutive dividend increase. McDonald's shares fell less than 0.1% in after-hours trading after ending the regular session down 0.5%.
Barron's: Is the Stock Market Open Today? These Are the Trading Hours on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
DirecTV to drop Trump-friendly One America News
Barron's: 'I Promised Myself I'd Never Be That Broke Again.' This Financial Advisor's Family Inherited $1.4 Million —and Quickly Lost It All.
Claudia Assis is a San Francisco-based reporter for MarketWatch. Follow her on Twitter @ClaudiaAssisMW.


text:
Dimitrije Bogdanovic
The Serbian Church During years of Kosovo Hardships
Abbes Hilaria in the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. Albanian dominated police gave her no
protection from criminals who were attacking and looting the monastery. A hunting rifle and a few shots in the air was the only way to deter the attackers on her convent
A war has been waged against the Serbian people in Kosovo for years. Violence against the Serbian people has not ceased ever since after a relatively short period of freedom (1918 - 1941) and its restoration in April 1941 under the banners of the Italian, German and Bulgarian conquerors. A plan for the Albanization of Kosovo is being carried out. Its requirement:
- the annihilation of the Serbian people on that territory with the aid of a whole arsenal of methods of genocide: murder, expulsion, eradication of historical consciousness. The aim of that war is to conquer: its aim is to seize Serbian lands: to take over Kosovo, Metohija, Southern Serbia and then even Pomoravlje (the Morava basin), even Povardarje (the Vardar basin) on the other side, as a central area of the Balkans; to create a new, militant Albanian state which would change the map of the Balkan Peninsula in the very same way as was planned at the time of the Berlin Congress and the creation of the Albanian League of Prizren (Prizrenska Liga) - 1878. For the achievement of that programme Albanian imperialism has been using and misusing all the political and social movements between the two World Wars, during the last war and after it, including the international labor movement. Therefore, there is no excuse for ignorance of and mistaken ideas about those facts, and particularly there can be no sense in persistently turning a blind eye before that dreadful political abuse which has transformed the instruments designed for the achievement of equality of nations into instruments of oppression of the minority by the majority, of the Serbian nation by the Albanian nationality.
An important role, even an extremely important one, in all these "events" - as the tragedy of the Serbian nation in Kosovo is feebly and euphemistically called in our daily political jargon, is played by the Serbian Church. Somehow it is always the first to be hit. Its temples and monasteries, its property, but also its clergy, its monks and bishops, were the first to undergo molestation and humiliation whenever there was an outbreak and "escalation", a new offensive of Albanian imperialism. The enemy demonstrated unmistakably the deliberate choice of its targets, indicating that the Serbian Church is an inseparable part of the Serbian nation, even an important spiritual and moral element in its national identity, its fortress and backbone of its survival. War against the Serbs was never waged without attacks against the Serbian Church; thus there is no question of any conviction of the Church which would brand it as an uninvited element in the Kosovo "events"; there is no question of any Serbian "clerical nationalism", the Serbian Church has been a target of aggression for the Great Albanian idea, a target of all assaults against the integrity of the Serbian nation.
A Serb Orthodox priest-monk killed in Devic by Albanian Nazi, WW2
Even here I have to turn back to history. For without it nothing can be understood in Kosovo or about it. The basic error, and if I may add - an immense mistake, is to neglect the facts which have for centuries led to what is happening today. For there has been no distinct, peaceful past, but intense succession of events that stretch to this very day, even if their origin and birth might have been a hundred, three hundred or even more hundred years back. Naturally, a European observer finds it quite difficult to understand the reality of the past in the events, conflicts and crises of our time, but that is the basic and undeniable truth of our Balkan fate, particularly of the Serbian people (not only in Kosovo). Nothing started with the so called "counter-revolution" in Kosovo in 1981. What happened in 1981 had been announced by revolts in 1968, in 1944-1945 and in previous years, but also in 1915-1918 and in 1913, not to mention the genocide and the seizure of the Serbian lands before 1912. Also, one must know something about the distant past of Kosovo and Metohija in order to understand the aggressive imperialist nature of the Greater Albanian behaviour and attitude towards Kosovo and Metohija. That distant past discloses the roots of the Serbian Church in that area and its reasons for the adoption of its present stand and its fate in the defence of the Serbian people in this country. First of all, the territory which Albanian nationalism wishes to subdue was populated by Serbs as far back as the 7th century, at the time when the ancestors of today's Albanians, the historically anonymous shepherd tribes of quite unclear ethnic origin, were a great distance from it. According to 13th and 14th century historical sources 98% of population of Kosovo and Metohija was Serbian, and among the remaining 2% were Greeks, Wallachians, even Saxons and others, all of them more numerous than Albanians. That land was included in the Serbian-populated Nemanjic state at the end of the 12th century, and it remained a densely populated Serbian territory throughout the Nemanjic reign. Precisely there developed the centre of the spiritual life and culture of the Serbian people during the Middle Ages; the Serbian Church had its monasteries there, most important of all .the centre of first the Archbishopric and then of the Patriarchy in Pec. Those high achievements of Serbian culture which enabled it to join European civilization and which earned it a place in the cultural heritage of the world were created there. Serbian literature was created there - in a live dialogue with other spiritual centres of Serbia -from Chilandar to Studenica and Mileseva. Without all that it wouldn't be possible to talk of the Serbian people in the Middle Ages, and it is by those achievements that this very region appeared vital for the historical foundation of the Serbian nation.
The charred walls of the Patriarchate Monastery Refectory
which was burned by Albanian extremists in 1981
It is finally evident that the attack on this Serbian land and the arrival and spread of the Ottoman Turks and all of its consequences in the following centuries were the source of many national troubles and catastrophes and that the unity of the Serbian nation and of its lands was endangered for the first time when the Serbian ethnic character of Kosovo was endangered. Due to their strategic geographic position ("Who holds Kosovo he holds the Balkans"), Kosovo and Metohija acquired an important position in the plans of Ottoman imperialism as early as the 15th century. Islamization of this region was started, at first through colonization by the Turks themselves (garrisons, towns), and later, particularly after the 16th century, by colonization of Islamized Albanians as well - at first in Metohija and then in Kosovo and even much farther afield. The spread of these wakes of migrations and Albanian colonization as far as South Morava and Vardar and through the basins of Morava and Vardar had the characteristics of a planned destruction and encirclement of the Serbian nation as the spearhead of anti-Ottoman resistance. In the 19th century, following the victories of Serbian uprisings in the Belgrade district in 1804 and 1815, that process took the form of planned and methodical oppression of the Serbs, with all the characteristics of genocide. The demographic ratios started changing ominously in the 17th century: the privileged Albanian newcomers shattered the compact Serbian settlements and took the land step by step, so that by the middle 19th century, and particularly after the Berlin Congress, one could already talk about an Albanian majority in the region as a whole, though not to the same extent in all its parts and not in the ratio that it is today. All that means that the hardships in Kosovo started as early as the 17th, and particularly the 18th century, and that the process which gained impetus during the 19th century might today be entering the last phase of an attempt to banish finally the Serbian people from that area.
The hardships of the Serbian Church in Kosovo and Metohija started with the hardships of the Serbian people at some important moments, soon after the Battle of Kosovo in 1389; destruction and murder began in those first years following the disaster in the Field of Kosovo - the Turkish conqueror knew no mercy, he hit wherever he could. The conditions were difficult for the survival of the Church; the Patriarch withdrew into the Despotic state of Moravian Serbia, and the organization of the Serbian Church was in deep crisis in the late 15th and early 16th century. However, the restoration of the Patriarchy of Pec in 1557, while it was still not too late, put the church back in the position of a patron of the organized spiritual life of the Serbian people; and due to lack of political leaders - in a position of its protector and leader. At the same time the Serbian Church was subjected to constant pressure, molestation and terror from the Ottoman rule in an attempt to suppress the birth of any ideas of liberation among the people. During the whole period which lasted more than two hundred years, until the abolition of the Patriarchy in 1176 the Serbian Church was attacked, but it stood fast and tried to preserve all the centres and all components of its spiritual identity, and through them also the historical consciousness of the Serbian people, the Patriarchy of Peć itself and the monasteries, the holy relics and the Serbian cults; Church property - which was exposed to robbery and confiscation; the written heritage, small fragmented remnants, at least, of the literary life of the Medieval Serbs, the texts containing principal Serbian recollections, the main memories of the Church and of the people - saints' biographies and masses, odes and laments, chronicles and genealogies, and documents.
Historical sources from the 17th up to the beginning of the 20th century almost ceaselessly testify to the miseries of the Serbian people, but also to the sufferings of the Church. Roman Catholic reports to the Congregation for the Propagation of Faith in the 17th century and the reports by Serbian Consuls from Kosovo from the end of the 19th century and on the eve of the Balkan War mention no single case of terror over Orthodox Serbs in which the churches and the clergy were not the first to be hit. From beatings to murders, from looting to destruction, they were all there, and throughout that long period of history everything was the same. The monotony of those crimes is terrible, but the solidarity of the Church with its people in martyrdom is also amazing.
The attack on the heart of the Serb Orthodox Church - Pec Patriarchate
had to make clear to the Serbs that they must leave Kosovo
But the mission of the Church was not accomplished by those outward manifestations, to call them so, of the struggle for survival of the people in Kosovo and Metohija (as well as in other regions). All that effort by the Church, its suffering, was envisioned by relaying the most upright messages about the aims of our existence which are above "this world", which are worthier and stronger than history. The lasting values of a spiritual culture which had been adopted with the christening of the Serbs in the 9th century, renewed and developed in the movement of the 13th century inspired by the cult of St. Sava, continued to renew and prove its worth - in church documents and songs as well as in the folk poetry which was obviously inspired by the church; in sermons and speeches; in spiritual ministering to its flock; in the monks' prayers and their self-denial. The spiritual triumph of that culture is what we call "the commitment", but that is not a glorification of death or of defeat, but quite the contrary - it is the superiority of the spirit, of sacrifice, of love, of life. The aim of the Church was, and had to be, the preservation of the spiritual integrity of the people, meaning foremost its conscience and its morale. That raised an enormous force of resistance which, depending on actual historic events, was realized in a very visible and effective way, even politically. First of all, it impossible to overlook the fact that the Serbian people resisted massive Islamization despite the great attraction of benefits enjoyed by the new Moslems and which, for example, were used so lavishly by Islamized Albanians at the expense of Christian folk. (The percentage of Islamized and Albanized Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija was not great - despite heavy pressure and use of force - not higher than 2-3%.) Which means that spiritual values, the dignity and the morale of the individual and of the nation as a whole were collectively held more worthy than some earthly gain. Which further means - they were stronger even than death itself. Without it national freedom would not have been achieved in the 19th century. The national identity of the Serbian people would not have been preserved without that moral and spiritual energy nurtured by the Church by way of its teaching concerning honesty and justice, virtue and the values of love, faith, hope, restraint and self-control. National freedom in 1912 was welcomed by the Serbian Church in Kosovo and Metohija, but it resisted the temptation to see that freedom as a chance for its own expansion, for a strengthening of the Christian Orthodox faith which was not based on freedom of conscience. Well known is the 1913 affair in Pec, then under Montenegrin mandate, when an attempt was made under the influence of the local authorities to convert local Albanians of Moslem faith to change their religion. That attempt was curbed at its very beginning and condemned most strongly. Similar ideas after World War I, when, even if only in isolated cases, it was intended to "recreate" the former situation and convert the once Islamized people back into Christianity, into the Orthodox faith, and probably by that method into Serbs also, were clearly condemned and quelled through the conviction of the Serbian Church.
In that way the Church defended not only elementary human rights and freedom of conscience but also its own spiritual integrity which can never be as endangered from without as it can from within. In relation to the Albanians the Church preached peace, tolerance and brotherhood, the forgiveness of acts of terror, not revenge and punishment. It acknowledged the good deeds when they were done, and emphasized the positive examples of the loyal behaviour of the chiefs from Rugovo and Decani in the defence of the rights, property and inhabitants of the monasteries, this in line with the custom and the provisions of the Turkish Imperial firmans (charters) which, particularly in the 18th century, tried to ensure adherence to the laws and a form of immunity for the Church and its property in Kosovo and Metohija.
Unfortunately, the hardships of the Church in that region did not end with the event of freedom in 1918. Renewal met with great difficulties and with everlasting "disputes" with the Albanian neighbours about damages done to fields and woods. The monasteries of Kosovo and Metohija had to deal with a lack of understanding, ill-will sentiments and corruption from the new authorities. For example, the archives of Decani are filled with documents which demonstrate that the hardships were not over, that at certain times they even doubled, that the Albanian element was being protected to a much greater degree than would be considered possible by the national, local and regional authorities, at the expense of the Church.
The twenty years of the Kingdom were marked by constant disputes and defence of elementary property rights and of the dignity of the Serbian Church in Kosovo and Metohija, even by references to Sultans' firmans which, at least formally (but in many ways also factually) respected the original rights of the monasteries. Furthermore, until 1924 the Church was the object of the terrorist actions of the Albanian brigands (kacaci) to such an extent that Visoki Dečani, for example, needed to be garrisoned in order to repeal or prevent the attacks on the monastery. During the last war the expulsion of the Serbs and of the Serbian Church in Kosovo and Metohija reached a massive degree; once again churches and monasteries were burned and destroyed, there was pillage and murder.
Unfortunately the hardships of the Serbian Church did not stop even after the liberation of Kosovo and Metohija in 1944. Instead of enjoying a peaceful recovery and development in freedom according to the proclaimed principles of national equality and freedom of confession, the Serbian Church became a target not of only of the continuous activities of Albanian Chauvinism, but also of sectarian treatment by the political factions and by the authorities at various levels, from local to higher. Thus new hardships, even more difficult, were added to the traditional ones. Historians still have to study the circumstances in Kosovo, including that of the Serbian Church, prior to the famous Brioni Plenum of 1966. The experience of the Church from that period is negative: in no way could there be mention of protection and particularly not of privilege of the Church as the institution of the Serbian people. On the contrary: the prevention of the "Great Serbian" ideology, proclaimed as one of the main goals of the national policy of the Church, entailed numerous limitations for the life and activities of the Church. But the real hardships began after 1966, and not only that, they did not cease after 1981, but they were even increased. The Church was the first, in the full sense of the word, to be hit by Albanian Chauvinism, battered by the underground activity of the enemy in the field and the delayed or even antagonist action of the local legal factors. Reports by the Episcope of Raška and Prizren kept the Holy Synod constantly and fully informed of all forms of violence to which the Church was subjected in that diocese. Thus the well known step was taken by the Church on 19th May 1969, when it made a plea to the President of SFRY Josip Broz Tito. In a documented letter the Church demanded protection by the President of the Republic. The Standing Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church stated that it had informed the competent authorities of the SR Serbia, as well as the Federal Executive Council, many a time of each concrete case, but that the situation did not improve. "The violence would decrease somewhat only to reappear elsewhere in an even more serious form. In the last year its forms became extreme. There was not only the destruction of crops in the fields, destruction of forests (monasteries of Devič, Dečani, Gorioč near Peć), desecration of tombstones (Kosovska Vitina and elsewhere), but even physical attacks, even on nuns (last year in the monasteries of Binič near Kosovska Vitina, Mušutište near Prizren, as well as this spring: in Devič - where the prioress suffered grievous bodily injuries, a novice of the Dečani monastery was injured by an axe, the hieromonk of the Gorioč monastery was hit in the head with a stone, priests around Kosovska Mitrovica were stoned, etc), which resulted in emigration of our faithful from those regions." In his reply of 23rd May 1969 Tito expressed his regrets for the conduct mentioned in the letter of the Serbian Orthodox Church "which constitute a violation of the Constitution of the SFRY". As the President of the SFRY he would do everything "to prevent disturbances and unlawful acts and ensure the free life and the integrity of all citizens, as well as the safety of their property". To that effect Tito submitted the letter of the Serbian Orthodox Church to the Executive Council of the SR Serbia, with his opinion "on the need for the adoption of determined measures for law enforcement". However, documents like the 1982 Synod report, published in the Gazette (of the Serbian Orthodox Church) number 7/1982 (in which the correspondence with the President of the Republic was also published) and all consequent reports to this day, including newspaper articles and verbatim reports of the citizens and the believers, contain data oh the continuation and even escalation of violence and attacks on the Church and the clergy, where nothing is held sacred but graves are desecrated, girls and old women and in particular the nuns are being assaulted and raped, priests, deacons and even the Episcope of Raska and Prizren beaten up. Nothing is spared, not only men of the Church and the people in general, but also cattle belonging to the Church, other Church property, and also the food which is essential for survival.
The nuns of Devič struggled to survive on the ruins of their monastery after the WW2
The crisis of the national relations in Kosovo is no longer a secret. It is no longer a mystery, not even to the Yugoslav public, as to who in that Socialist province is the victim of national hatred. Chauvinism and genocide. The victims are the Serbian people who seek no more but equality and freedom in the state of free and equal nations and nationalities. This nation demands peace and law, it does not seek vengeance, but demands the right to remain undisturbed and work on the land of its ancestors. Despite all decalarations, conditions in Kosovo have not improved nor have the conditions for the peaceful life and work of the Serbs been created, and particularly not for the return of; those banished and expelled.
What can the Church do and what should it do and what is the prospective of its activity in Kosovo and Metohija?
1) The Church should and can fight for the survival of the Serbs in Kosovo, against emigration. It will have to call upon the traditional values and spiritual forces of the Sveti Sava tradition to influence the people, to encourage them and point the ways of hope, ways which have never in the Serbian historical experience been dead-ends. But to . have a wider moral base to do it if any result is to be expected, it is ; necessary to understand that the question of survival of the Serbs in ' Kosovo is not just the question of the Serbs from Kosovo, but of all the Serbs. Thus the Church as a whole has to be active, not only the Eparchy of Raška and Prizren, to develop the solidarity, aid and support of the Serbs from outside Kosovo for the suffering people who are subjected to violence in the province itself. The Serbs will not remain in Kosovo if they do not feel not only compassion, but real moral, social and other support by Serbia and the Serbian Church as a whole.
2) From that stems an important requirement: that the Serbian Orthodox Church should act in full solidarity with its Eparchy of Raška and Prizren, and that it should not repeat the mistakes of "confederate feudalism" which is, quite justly, often mentioned outside the church. The suffering of the Church and of the people in Kosovo affects the whole Serbian Church and the whole Serbian nation, and that should be made clear by words, by conduct and by deeds. Thus I take the liberty to comment that much more could be done at the highest levels of the church than by individual, almost private, appeals by groups of priests and monks of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church can, and I presume it also has to inform the whole Christian believing world, Orthodox in particular, and through that even the whole civilized world, of what is happening to its people in Kosovo. A "White Paper" on genocide could easily be prepared, published in foreign languages and dispatched to all Orthodox Churches and to all Christian denominations and to the world public in general, for information and support.
3) The Serbian Church has to keep on fighting for the full truth about Kosovo and for the right to have the truth told. Those are fundamental requirements, it is not politics into which the Church is neither allowed to interfere, by the Constitution, nor should it do so. Defence of the truth and protection of the rights of the Serbian people are not creating any political or clerical-nationalist sentiments, and that needs to be made very clear. No doubts can be tolerated regarding existential rights nor can attempts to paralyze those rights by unjustified accusations concerning its alleged "political activities".
4) The Serbian Church will have to keep on preaching love, not hatred and pardon, not vengeance, modeled on the tradition of the holy Christian confession and martyrdom. Where the Albanian people are concerned, regardless of their religion and denomination, the Church must take care that the sentiments of justice and humanity, of the generosity and dignity of the Serbian people do not ever, at any cost, diminish. That is not a tactical but an essential question for a real, Orthodox, Church. I have to emphasize that the example given by the Bishop of Prizren, Pavle, is an example which should be followed by everyone: to behave as a calm confessor and hermit in his faith and love of man, patient, but also determined to defend "what belongs to God" - and that is the soul, the human conscience. This behaviour should not be taken as a sign of weakness; on the contrary - it shows great spiritual might. We think about Kosovo and about ourselves in Kosovo along the lines of that spirit, for that is the charge entrusted to us by the Serbian sanctities from Kosovo - even if we overlook, eradicate and offend them. I have written about the hardships of Church in Kosovo. That also means that I have written about the Body of the faith and holiness, of the spirit and eternity in Kosovo. And what both the Church and we need more than anything else is that confidence of the Gospel which says that "it will not cease at the gates of Hades".


text:
Michel-André Cardin né en 1963 et mort le  à Sherbrooke est un comédien canadien.

Biographie
Il est le frère cadet de Serge Cardin, député péquiste de la circonscription provinciale de Sherbrooke à l'Assemblée nationale du Québec depuis 2012 et ancien député du Bloc québécois de la circonscription fédérale de Sherbrooke, à la Chambre des communes du Canada.

Il a fait partie de l'équipe de comédiens de Dieu merci !

En , il a été victime d'un accident, grièvement blessé à la tête, il est resté dans le coma durant plusieurs années.

Filmographie

Cinéma
 Les Sept Jours du talion (2010)

Télévision
 Les Sœurs Elliot (2007)
 Minuit le soir (2004)
 3X Rien (2003)
 Jean Duceppe (2002)
 Music Hall (2002)
 Fortier (2001)
 Chartrand et Simonne (2000)

Notes et références

Liens externes

Acteur québécois de cinéma
Acteur québécois de télévision
Acteur québécois de théâtre
Naissance en 1963
Lieu de naissance inconnu
Décès en février 2013
Décès à Sherbrooke

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Movimiento Constante es el tercer álbum del cantautor peruano Jorge Pardo, disco que se encuentra en el género pop/rock, fue grabado entre los meses de mayo y diciembre del 2005 junto a Francisco Murias bajo el sello de FMO Music Studio en Lima,Perú. Fue grabado en simultáneo, es decir, en un mismo día podían avanzar con la grabación de varias canciones, dándole sentido a su nombre. Fue presentado oficialmente en el 2006.

El álbum contiene el tema «Mi alma entre tus manos», canción que lo llevó a ganar el XLVI Festival Internacional de la Canción de Viña del Mar en el año 2005, en la competencia internacional en las categorías Mejor canción y Mejor intérprete, llevándose las 2 gaviotas de plata.

Y el tema  «Un día no vuelve a empezar» que fue nominado en la 7º edición de los Premios Grammy Latinos en el 2006 en la categoría, Mejor canción Rock, compitiendo en la misma categoría con Gustavo Cerati y Alejandra Guzmán.

Lista de canciones
Contiene 12 temas, en el cual resaltan los temas «Pasatiempo infinito» con una versión extendida, «Fascinación», «Un día no vuelve a empezar» y «Mi alma entre tus manos» grabada en dos versiones.

Disco

Créditos
 Jorge Pardo – Voz principal

Producido, dirigido y realizado por Jorge Pardo y Francisco Murias.
Grabado en FMO Music Studio - Lima, Perú
 Jorge Pardo y Francisco Murias – productor discográfico
 Jorge Pardo y Francisco Murias – Arreglos
 Francisco Murias – Ingeniero de grabación, mezcla y edición digital
 Jorge Pardo y Francisco Murias – Secuencia y programación
 Rafael de la Lama y Francisco Murias – Masterizado
 Jorge Pardo y Rocío Espinar – Dirección de Arte Gráfico
 Javier Murias (Vixual) – Diseño Gráfico
 Chayo Saldarriaga - Fotografía
 Rocío Espinar - Make-Up
 Pepa García Mariscal (España) - Estilísta de imagen

Bonus Track
«Mi alma entre tus manos», versión Viña del Mar, producida y arreglada por Andrés Landavere en Ziland Estudio. Letra Jessyca Sarango. Música Jorge Pardo y Andrés Landavere.

Referencias

Enlaces externos
 Escucha el álbum en Spotify