Evangelical Church says that men who cook can become gay

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

The Evangelical Pentecostal Revival Church, based in Chile, made a rather radical, and may I add stupid, announcement claiming that men who cook are "sick" and are in danger of developing homosexuality.

This position and stance of the church was posted on Facebook, where it was clearly stated that “homosexuality is a disease that men can develop by engaging in practices that were once considered the sole responsibility of women.”

The statement on social media said further that “a man cooking, caring for children or performing any other own work of women puts himself at serious risk of becoming ill with homosexuality.”

These controversial claims, part of an invitation from a member of the “church” to followers to participate in an educational Christian seminary entitled "Learning about homosexuality" in which he detailed how engaging in activities that once were considered the sole domain of women can make men ill until they become gay.

After receiving a barrage of criticism, the message was unpublished by the account managers, who also issued an apology. However, the removal of the post and the “apology” does not alter the fact that that is what they, and not only they, believe and actually teach.

According to those reckonings every cook (chef) through the ages – for cooking on a grand scale was once solely the domain of men, every tailor, and others, must have been gay then. Just saying, for even if they were what does it matter.

Sometimes I have to say I do not know from what planet those so-called Christians have dropped and what they are smoking.

To be perfectly honest I don't really care what planet it is they have come from just could they please take the next flight back to there and stay there and take the stuff that they are smoking with them, please, for it seems a rather harmful substance.

Those people have the gall to call other people from other religions fundamentalists while believing that they themselves have gobbled up the truth and knowledge with shovels.

The Evangelical Pentecostal Revival Church in Chile, and its members, are not, however, the only ones who are in this same boat. It is a rather large cruise liner, to stay with the shipping analogy, and not just a small boat for there appear to be thousands upon thousands who have similar views in the USA and elsewhere. Those people are capable to read things between the lines of the Bible and thus seem to come up with things entirely different to the rest of us when reading the same texts that they read. Amazing, isn't it?

In addition to that many of the “elders” of such “churches” will also claim that in order to understand the Bible one has to study it in Bible Groups of the “church” where one gets the texts explained. Sheeple control at its best. Apparently only those that have the right spirit can interpret the scriptures and thus indoctrinate the sheep.

© 2015

Low-income Woodland farming families go solar

Like many Americans, Alex Hernandez lost his home and his job in the aftermath of the recession. The former contractor, now truck driver, has four kids, and his paycheck goes to them.

Hernandez lives in a four-bedroom apartment with his family in a Woodland complex, but it's not like the other apartment buildings -- this one is 100 percent solar powered.

That means big savings for Hernandez and everyone else who lives here.

"I went from 257 bucks a month to $7," Hernandez said. "And, I have my A/C on all day!"

Sounds too good to be true, but it's not. It's called Mutual Housing at Spring Lake. It's a community built specifically for low-income farm workers and their families. Their rent is reduced, and so is the utility bill thanks to solar panels built on the rooftops.

Read more here.

Study shows that experiences, not things, will make you happier

Many people know that experiences will make them happier, and yet they continue to spend money on material objects because of their perceived greater value.

There is an ongoing debate between my husband and me about how we’d like to spend any extra money that comes in. He likes to acquire, slowly but surely, high quality items that will last for many years, such as cookware, chef’s knives, and winter coats.

While I can’t argue with his ongoing quest for quality, I would prefer to spend money on travel, to skip buying that gorgeous pot by Le Creuset and put that money toward a destination, an experience, and a lasting memory. We do a good job of striking a balance between our two preferences, but now I’ve come across some interesting research that I’ll have to show him as a way of boosting my side of the argument!

It has been shown by a recent study from San Francisco State University that greater happiness comes from seeking experiences, rather than material objects. Although this may seem like common sense to many readers, reality paints another picture – one in which people most often spend their money on material items because they mistakenly believe that they have greater value.

Read more here.

90 percent of US could live on food grown entirely within 100 miles

New farmland-mapping research shows the country’s surprising potential when it comes to eating more locally.

In all the years that I’ve been writing about choosing food grown nearby, the irony that persists is this: I can easily find and purchase food that was grown within 100 miles of my New York City address, but people who live in the middle of farming country cannot. If you ask me, that speaks of a screwy food system in need of help. We grow so much food in this country, yet the average food item travels, by one oft-quoted statistic, some 1,500 miles to reach our plates. Food miles aren't the only important thing when it comes to eating sustainably, but if we could make some shifts toward opting for things that were produced more closely, it would clearly be helpful.

But would it be possible for everyone to eat locally? According to a new study by Elliott Campbell, a professor at the University of California, Merced, it is. In his research, he found that in fact, 90 percent of Americans could be fed entirely by food grown or raised within 100 miles of their homes. It's hypothetical of course, but the potential is intriguing. And hopeful.

Read more here.

Missouri Food Pantries Help Clients Grow Their Own Produce

In the U.S., 1 in 6 people struggles with hunger. Food pantries across the country pass out food to help these people put meals on the table. But what if they could help teach the pantry visitors how to grow their own food, too?

Grow Well Missouri, a program that travels to food pantries around central Missouri, is one of several food-aid groups trying to do just that, passing out seeds and starter plants to low-income locals.

On a recent wet spring morning, the group set up in Columbia, Mo. Four volunteers for Grow Well Missouri worked under a blue popup tent outside of Central Pantry, repotting about 50 starter tomato plants into larger containers. They had a steady stream of visitors stopping by, curious about what's going on.

Volunteer Marie Paisley packaged a tomato plant, a trowel and literature on how to successfully grow the plant all into a tote bag. Then she passed it to food pantry customers with some helpful tips on how to care for the plant.

"When you get it home, you need to water it through thoroughly, 'til the water runs out the bottom of the container," she says.

Read more here.

Climate change should be top foreign policy priority, G7 study says

Global warming ‘ultimate threat multiplier’ posing serious risk to world security, says report urging governments not to see it simply as a climate issue

Tackling climate change risks must become a top foreign policy priority if the world is to combat the global security threat it poses in the 21^st century, according to a new study commissioned by the G7 countries.

Multiple conflicts have taken the government systems for dealing with them “to their limits”, according to one of the authors of the report, which was launched at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Tuesday.

Written by an international consortium including peacebuilding NGO International Alert and the European Union Institute for Security Studies, it calls climate change “the ultimate threat multiplier” in fragile situations.

Read more here.

Citing conflicts in Syria and Mali and land grabs in Ethiopia, it warns that problems exacerbated by climate change – such as food insecurity, competition for water and land, migration and displacement – could leave fragile states unable to provide for their citizens.

Speaking at the launch, Baroness Anelay, the UK’s minister of state for the FCO, agreed that climate change should become a top foreign policy priority.

“Climate change is not only a threat to the environment but to global security and economic prosperity. That therefore makes it a top priority not only for environment ministers but foreign ministers too. It’s a cross government issue – and if it’s not, it should be,” she said.

Exploring Italy, the 'Bioculture' Way

The often forgotten Italian region of Le Marche offers rolling green hills of organic wine, olives and vegetables as well as passionate artists, agrotourisms and historic tales.

The Le Marche region in central Italy is deeply connected to its land and locality, with small-scale organic and biodynamic vineyards, agrotourisms, passionate communities and a focus on local and sustainable food. The region sits between the Adriatic Sea and the Appenine mountains that extend along the length of peninsular Italy.

I was recently given the opportunity to visit this stunning region, with the main aim of testing out a new App: Bioculture, aimed at people visiting in Le Marche. I have to admit, I was a bit dubious at first. My idea of a holiday is somewhere I can turn my phone off and immerse myself in the culture and countryside of my localities. But the Bioculture App surprised me.

Read more here.

Bioculture is the baby of Federico Bomba, a theatre director and advocate of local business. Federico was fed up with artists in Italy not being able to find paid work. Since the economic crash, more and more Italians are either moving abroad to find work or are leaving their city careers for the ‘slower pace’ of life in the countryside – growing grapes, olives and food – which although may be ‘slower’ is actually a lot of hard work.

Federico wanted to bring artists back into the economic sector and saw the best way for this was to connect them up with tourism. This is how Art Walks with Bioculture was born. This project and app joins up agrotourism, local food, businesses and artists who are passionate about the health and tourism of their region.

No punches pulled in Climate Change Encyclical

by Michael Smith (Veshengro)

Pope Francis pulls no punches in Climate Change Encyclical

The care of the Planet is at the heart of The Holy Father's attention in this Encyclical

“Praised be You, my Lord, for Brother Sun and Sister Moon, for Brother Wind and Sister Water, for Brother Fire; praised be You, my Lord, for our Sister Mother Earth, our common home, which sustains and governs us.” (Adapted from the Canticle of the Creatures by Saint Francis of Assisi.)

“What kind of world do we want to leave to those who come after us, to children who are now growing up?” is the question that is at the heart of Laudato si’ (May You be praised), the Encyclical on the care of the common home by Pope Francis.

“This question does not have to do with the environment alone and in isolation; the issue cannot be approached piecemeal”. This leads us to ask ourselves about the meaning of existence and its values at the basis of social life: “What is the purpose of our life in this world? What is the goal of our work and all our efforts? What need does the earth have of us?” “Unless we struggle with these deeper issues – says the Pope – I do not believe that our concern for ecology will produce significant results”.

“The economic powers shall continue to justify the current world system, in which speculation and and the aim for financial returns to prevail that tend to ignore each context and the effects on the environment and on human dignity. So clearly it reveals that environmental, human and ethical degradation are intimately connected,” the Holy Father also wrote in this letter to the faithful.

“Authentic development includes efforts to bring about an integral improvement in the quality of human life, and this entails considering the setting in which people live their lives. These settings influence the way we think, feel and act. In our rooms, our homes, our workplaces and neighbourhoods, we use our environment as a way of expressing our identity. We make every effort to adapt to our environment, but when it is disorderly, chaotic or saturated with noise and ugliness, such overstimulation makes it difficult to find ourselves integrated and happy.”

This Encyclical takes its name from the invocation of Saint Francis, “Praise be to you, my Lord”, in his Canticle of the Creatures. It reminds us that the earth, our common home “is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us”. We have forgotten that “we ourselves are dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are made up of her elements, we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters.”

Now, this earth, mistreated and abused, is lamenting, and its groans join those of all the forsaken of the world. Pope Francis invites us to listen to them, urging each and every one – individuals, families, local communities, nations and the international community – to an “ecological conversion”, according to the expression of Saint John Paul II. We are invited to “change direction” by taking on the beauty and responsibility of the task of “caring for our common home”. At the same time, Pope Francis recognizes that “there is a growing sensitivity to the environment and the need to protect nature, along with a growing concern, both genuine and distressing, for what is happening to our planet”. A ray of hope flows through the entire Encyclical, which gives a clear message of hope. “Humanity still has the ability to work together in building our common home”. “Men and women are still capable of intervening positively”. “All is not lost. Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start”.

Pope Francis certainly addresses the Catholic faithful, quoting Saint John Paul II: “Christians in their turn “realize that their responsibility within creation, and their duty towards nature and the Creator, are an essential part of their faith”“. Pope Francis proposes specially “to enter into dialogue with all people about our common home”. The dialogue runs throughout the text and in ch. 5 it becomes the instrument for addressing and solving problems. From the beginning, Pope Francis recalls that “other Churches and Christian communities – and other religions as well – have also expressed deep concern and offered valuable reflections” on the theme of ecology. Indeed, such contributions expressly come in, starting with that of “the beloved Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew”, extensively cited in numbers 8-9. On several occasions, then, the Pope thanks the protagonists of this effort – individuals as well as associations and institutions. He acknowledges that “the reflections of numerous scientists, philosophers, theologians and civic groups, all […] have enriched the Church’s thinking on these questions”. He invites everyone to recognize “the rich contribution which the religions can make towards an integral ecology and the full development of humanity”.

While the Holy Father is, in this Encyclical, primarily, obviously, addressing the Catholic faithful, and those of other Christian traditions also, the message is for all of us, whether of a faith or none, and also and especially for those who think themselves in power to lord it over us.

In the light of the message of his Encyclical the Holy Father has already been declared the most dangerous person on Earth by a great many of American politicians, especially in the Republican Party. No surprise there that they do not like the Pope's message as (1) they are climate change deniers to the hilt and (2) they see the Holy Father as the Antichrist (and I kid you not there).

Several main themes run through the text that are addressed from a variety of different perspectives, traversing and unifying the text:

*the intimate relationship between the poor and the fragility of the planet,

*the conviction that everything in the world is connected,

*the critique of new paradigms and forms of power derived from technology,

*the call to seek other ways of understanding the economy and progress,

*the value proper to each creature,

*the human meaning of ecology,

*the need for forthright and honest debate,

*the serious responsibility of international and local policies,

*the throwaway culture and the proposal of a new lifestyle.

"Laudato si' – Pope Francis' Encyclical on care for our common home can be downloaded as a PDF file here...

© 2015

Interest in 'community supported agriculture' grows

ASSUMPTION — A Christian County farm best known for corn and soybeans — including marketing ties to Brazil — has added a backyard garden.

August Creek Farm joins the growing list of "community supported agriculture" operations across Illinois targeted to consumer demand for locally grown produce. The concept — consumers buy memberships, and the CSAs plant, tend and harvest the crops — has been around for more than a quarter century.

The popularity of the local and organic food movement, according to CSA groups, has begun to attract larger, traditional farms to the niche market.

"I do all the work, and I bring the produce to them," said Andrea Corzine of August Creek Farm. "We try to pay them back dollar for dollar in vegetables.

"With the local food movement, they've become a lot more popular."

She said August Creek Farm, in many ways, grew out of the recession. After graduating from college in 2009 with a degree in natural resources and land management, Corzine bounced around in various part-time jobs in Florida before finding full-time work.

"It was an interesting period in my life," she said.

Read more here.

Foraging for wild food and medicinal plants - Chickweed Plant Profile

While much greenery dies back in winter, there is plenty of food to forage from hedgerows and even unexpected parts of your garden. Christopher helps you to identify and use Chickweed

Winter is a challenging time when it comes to food growing, so why not take advantage of what nature provides for free? More often than not, our hardy wild plants will offer us nutritionally-high greens for the salad bowl or cooking pot (often far higher than from plants generally grown or bought), and provide us with safe, effective medicine!

Hardy winter greens

When in the garden or plot at this time of year, the otherwise-ignored wild plants will grab our attention, and naturally so, because there is precious little other growth about. The simple aim of this article is for people to think thrice about ripping these gifts out of the ground and plonking them on the compost heap. For that would be a waste of the food and medicine on offer, as well your valuable time and energy. Not very permaculture!

One plant that you will almost certainly come across, is that most tenacious of cultivated weeds, little old chickweed. Yet not too many years ago, it would have been one of the plants that we turned to for food during the darker months.

Getting to know... Chickweed

Read more here.