The Proverbial Fast Friend

A righteous man is cautious in friendship,
but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
~ Proverbs 12:26

No Running Actually Involved

When someone mentions a "Homeless Run" it's only natural to think that means either running to raise money for the homeless (a sportier version of the AIDS Walk) or making the homeless run, right? Right?? The latter sounds kinda cruel, but Paul did say to run the good race....

FOS (Forum on Orthodox Spirituality) is participating in Midnight Run on March 10. There's no running actually involved. Rather, as will be explained at the organizational meeting next Tuesday, volunteers are collecting second-hand clothes and money for food and toiletries that they will then distribute (again, not running; via car) to those who live on the streets. Although the so-called "run" will take place in the evening, it will start quite some time before midnight.

All who are interested in participating are invited to attend the organizational meeting on Tuesday, February 17, at 7:00 PM, at Holy Trinity Cathedral, located at 319 E. 74th St.

The Journey Confesses to Watching Shopaholic

Girls just wanna have fun. The "ladies of The Journey" invite fellow women out to a screening of Confessions of a Shopaholic in Times Square tonight at 7 PM. "And, after the movie we'll grab a bite to eat!" Details here, girls.

Confessions of a Shopaholic is a Jerry Bruckheimer Production based on the novel by Sophie Kinsella. It's a cutesy comedy about a woman that loves to shop so much that she ends up in major debt. ...Sounds like there's a little debt seminar she needs to go to.

http://asphalteden.blogspot.com/2009/02/women-invited-to-boys-club-for-talk-on.html

Naples = Gomorrah

Gomorrah opens today at IFC to critical praise.

Matteo Garrone's latest film depicts Naples as a modern-day Gomorrah. Through the lives of five separate characters, he shows how the Italian city is so ridden with organized crime, drugs, greed, and environmental abuse (read: sin) that it is destroying itself. No fire and brimstone necessary from God when man is so bent on self-destruction.

Showtimes for Fri Feb 13 - Tue Feb 18:
10:45am, 1:10pm, 3:40, 6:30*, 7:30, 9:20, 10:15pm, plus Fri-Sun: 12:05am
*No 6:30 Tue

IFC is located at 323 Sixth Avenue.

ALL ABOARD FUTURE @ Secret Project Robot

Williamsburg's cutest gallery is having a record release party and art opening tonight. That's right, Secret Project Robot (210 Kent Ave., Brooklyn) will be hosting ALL ABOARD FUTURE. The fun on Monster island begins at 8:00. Here are the details:


Secret Project Robot is pleased to present:
ALL ABOARD FUTURE,
a rejection of fear of the future // a celebration of community and music. Curated by Brooklyn/Chicago band These Are Powers (Dead Oceans) for the concurrent release of their album ALL ABOARD FUTURE..

Featuring works by:
Hisham Bharoocha, Cody Critcheloe, Fay Davis-Jeffers, Bea Fremderman,
Jessica Hopper, Cody Hudson, Tyler Larson, Brendan J. Missett, Pooper,
Shouwang, Holly Stevenson, Alex Valentine, Sarah Wilmer
And many more friends

Artists were asked to interpret the concept for ALL ABOARD FUTURE-the
possibility, potential and rising of a positive and dynamic New Age, in a medium of their choosing. The result is a diverse and exciting showing of emerging talent from around the world.

Works featured in the artwork for the recorded album will be on display in addition to a larger body of contemporary pieces commissioned for the show, unique to the opening will be an installation which the band will perform in, created by Brendan J. Missett.

Use Me, Use Us

After our little debate about whether short-term missions = Christian tourism, it's interesting to see North Brooklyn Vineyard say:

I challenged everyone to band together and pray the “Use me, use us” prayer that will transform us from being a crowd of individuals doing our own thing into a community on a mission, tools in God’s hand as he remakes our broken world. We asked God to begin making us aware of opportunities to be used each day, in the midst of daily comings and goings. I also mentioned that there are opportunities right within our church where you can be used to help us carry out our mission.

In their email of February 3, North Brooklyn Vineyard went on to list 18 ways its own congregation can get involved within the community. Among the needs were musicians, greeters and promoters for the Trash Bar service, card distribution in the neighborhood, and graphic artists. It's really cool to see a church looking for such a diverse group of volunteers and encouraging its congregation to be used as the hands and feet of God. If you want to get involved, you can contact them here.

[image]

What do those of you active in the North Brooklyn Vineyard community have to say about your volunteer work?

Are there other church leaders out there who would like to come up with a list of their own?

Maybe this gives us all pause to consider how God can use us wherever we our in our daily lives.

Why Remarks Made on Swedish TV Matter in New York

Pope Benedict XVI recently lifted the excommunication of four bishops who belong to the Society of St. Pius X. Among these individuals was Bishop Richard Williamson, who denies the Holocaust existed.

Journal News Columnist Gary Stern wrote an interesting article on this, in which he interviewed Father James Masssa, a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn who is executive director of the Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Bishops Conference in Washington, and took a scary look at the beliefs listed on the website of the Society of St. Pius X.

It is clear from Stern's article that statements made on Swedish television by a 68-year-old Englishman (Williamson) have far-reaching effects. Considering there are an estimated 1,412,000 Jewish people living in New York, according to the 2002 Jewish Community Study of New York, and that "Brooklyn has the largest number of Holocaust survivors in America," according to Gideon Taylor, executive vice president of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, it is no wonder that any news of Holocaust denial would not be taken lightly in New York.

Pope Pius XII and the Jews is an interesting resource for headlines relevant to the controversy of how the pope handled Nazi Germany.

The Proverbial Kind Word

An anxious heart weighs a man down,
but a kind word cheers him up.
~ Proverbs 12:25

Lincoln Turns 200

Today marks the 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. The sixteenth president of the United States, he was America's first Republican president and the first US president to be assassinated. His actions led to the abolition of slavery.

[image]

There is much debate as to whether Lincoln was a Christian or not. In fact, there is a whole Wikipedia entry devoted to the topic.

"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion," Lincoln once said.

Registration Deadline: National Young Adult Pilgrimage to Russia

Registration for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese's National Young Adult Pilgrimage to Russia ends tomorrow. Here is the essential info:

Space is limited to 35 young adults and will be on a first-come, first-served basis. The registration package price of $3025.00 (plus $225.00 air taxes) includes round trip international airfare to/from New York's JFK Airport to Moscow, train from Moscow to St. Petersburg, airfare from St. Petersburg to Moscow, six full days of sightseeing, all bus trips, transfers, entrance fees, hotels (double occupancy), and daily breakfasts and lunches. Deposit must be received by February 13, 2009! For more information please visit www.youth.goarch.org or contact us at 646-519-6180.

Join other young adults from across the country in this unique spiritual and educational journey! Stroll down timeless roads and explore ancient locales of Russia, land of striking beauty, diversity, and magnificent capitals. The journey begins with the historic city of Moscow, the heartland of former Imperial Russia, ancient Russian churches and the beautiful Kremlin, and continues on to St. Petersburg, the most European of all Russian cities, today one of the most important cultural, scientific, and industrial cities in Russia. Today Russia is a nation of diversity and tremendous vitality. Cultural traditions of a great country have re-awakened with a newfound strength. Ancient architectural monuments and cathedrals neglected and ruined in Soviet times are being rebuilt and restored. Come and see what this incredible country has to offer!

Steve Mays Brings "Light" to Harvest Christian Fellowship Tonight

Steve Mays will be guest speaking at Harvest Christian Fellowship (130 West 56th St.) tonight at 7:30. Steve Mays is the popular conference speaker whose radio show "Light of the World" is heard across the country. He is Senior Pastor of Calvary Chapel South Bay, CA.

Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Gala Concert

The Riverside Church will host an Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Gala Concert tonight at 8:00. This impressive event will feature Earl Robinson's The Lonesome Train. The cantata has not be performed in its entirety for more than fifty years.

The prestigious list of performers includes:

The Riverside Inspirational Choir
The New York City Labor Chorus
The Chorus & Orchestra of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College
Maestro Maurice Peress, conductor
Ruby Dee, narrator
David Amram, square dance caller
Michael Mark, balladeer
Eric Weissberg, banjo soloist
Richard Bourg, Abraham Lincoln
Tyrone Aiken, gospel preacher

Interesting side fact: in 1959, David Amram made the incidental music for The Rivalry, a play about Abraham Lincoln that took place at the Bijou Theater.

Tickets are $10-15 and available at the door. Proceeds will go toward The Riverside Food Pantry.

The Proverbial Prudent Man

A prudent man keeps his knowledge to himself,
but the heart of fools blurts out folly.
~ Proverbs 12:23

Christian Book Expo Not in Publishing World's Epicenter

The first-ever Christian Book Expo is about a month away. Slated for March 19-22, the expo is at least two years in the making, as evidenced by the fact that Publishers Weekly reported on its conception way back in 2007. Although New York has long been the US epicenter of the publishing industry, the Christian Book Expo will premiere in Dallas, Texas.

The location of the Christian Book Expo may seem like a minute detail, but it is in fact very telling as to the relationship of Christianity to both the publishing industry and New York. By creating their own book expo and holding it in Dallas, the organizers -- headed by Mark Kuyper of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association -- are setting Christian publishing apart from mainstream publishing.

It should be noted, however, that this is more of a reflection of where Christian industries are actually located than of the ECPA's agenda. Most of Christian publishers are located in Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, Miami, Tennessee, and, yes, Texas. Only 1 of the 66 exhibitors for the Christian Book Expo is located in New York. That exhibitor is GoBible, which is not even a traditional book publisher but rather an electronic device similar to an iPod that allows users to listen to the Bible. Some of the exhibitors are affiliated with major New York publishers, but their Christian divisions are located elsewhere: Howard Books was bought by Simon & Schuster in 2006 but remained in West Monroe, Louisiana; and Zondervan became part of HarperCollinsPublishers in 1988 but remains in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The Christian publishing industry in general and the Christian Book Expo in particular being located outside of the US's main publishing hub is problematic on several levels:

1. Christian publishing may be a step behind secular publishing by virtue of its seclusion. New York is, arguably, the epicenter of culture and new ideas in America.

2. There is less access to major resources elsewhere; New York abounds in cultural (see #1) and physical resources. Major secular publishers, authors, advertisers, printing press reps, etc., are in New York or come through New York.

3. In New York you get the best of the best because there is choice. People in the publishing industry move from company to company in New York, but you can't do that in Christian publishing because there is usually only one or two publishing houses in the smaller cities. That means, it's harder to get people to move for the job.

How many of you are Christians working in a publishing house in New York? Is it a Christian or secular house? Would you ever move outside of New York to take a job with a Christian publisher?

Anyone plan on attending the Christian Book Expo in Dallas?
Anyone plan on attending BEA in New York?