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George Will tells Lay Committee
gathering that now is the time to 'serve the soul'
| The
Layman reports on George Will's talk under the
headline "Time to serve the soul." Interestingly, the
story reports that "more than 800 people" were in the
audience, while your WebWeaver has heard comments from three
seemingly objective observers that the crowd looked more like
300 or 400 |
by Bill Lancaster, Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE -- 9-June-2001 -- Pulitzer Prize-winning
columnist George F. Will told a large gathering at the Presbyterian Lay
Committee event Friday night on the eve of the 213th General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), that "this is a good time to be
alive" in the terms of economics and medicine but that now is the
time "to serve the soul."
"There is nothing wrong with material goods.
There is nothing wrong with economic growth. It funds the good life; it
funds institutions, hospitals, schools, and churches. I am not
belittling this. It's a wonderful time to be alive in terms of
medicine," he said. "We have done much to preserve the body.
All I am saying is it is now time for us to do as much to serve the
soul."
Will, who is author of Statecraft as Soulcraft,
spent much of his hour speech discussing how government "by the
laws it passes and the values it enunciates and incarnates" has
"a shaping effect on the culture and the soul of the citizen. And
it is that about which Americans are worried today."
Will, who supports President George W. Bush's
faith-based initiatives by which government would fund programs carried
out by religious institutions, is the second big-name speaker the Lay
Committee has brought to the Assembly. Last year they sponsored William
J. Bennett, former U.S. secretary of education.
Parker T. Williamson, executive editor of The
Presbyterian Layman, presented Will, a big baseball fan who
peppered his talk with baseball anecdotes, with a Louisville slugger
baseball bat at the end of the speech.
From your WebWeaver: Strange numbers
I was not at this event, but a number of folks have
commented on the fact that this event -- which was free and open to
anyone -- drew perhaps 300 or 400 people to a hall set up to
accommodate hundreds more. Meanwhile the Covenant Network dinner
(that you paid for!) drew perhaps 300. Apparently most special
events being sponsored by progressive groups are sold out. (The
"three sisters" dinner held last night by More Light
Presbyterians, The Shower of Stoles and That All May Freely Serve
packed a capacity crowd into its banquet hall, and at least three more
tables were set up in the hall outside.)
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Some blogs worth visiting |
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PVJ's
Facebook page
Mitch Trigger, PVJ's
Secretary/Communicator, has created a Facebook page where
Witherspoon members and others can gather to exchange news and
views. Mitch and a few others have posted bits of news, both
personal and organizational. But there’s room for more!
You can post your own news and views,
or initiate a conversation about a topic of interest to you. |
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Voices of Sophia blog
Heather Reichgott, who has created
this new blog for Voices of Sophia, introduces it:
After fifteen years of scholarship
and activism, Voices of Sophia presents a blog. Here, we present the
voices of feminist theologians of all stripes: scholars, clergy,
students, exiles, missionaries, workers, thinkers, artists, lovers
and devotees, from many parts of the world, all children of the God
in whose image women are made. .... This blog seeks to glorify God
through prayer, work, art, and intellectual reflection. Through
articles and ensuing discussion we hope to become an active and
thoughtful community. |
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John Harris’ Summit to
Shore blogspot
Theological and philosophical
reflections on everything between summit to shore, including
kayaking, climbing, religion, spirituality, philosophy, theology,
politics, culture, travel, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), New
York City and the Queens neighborhood of Ridgewood by a progressive
New York City Presbyterian Pastor. John is a former member of the
Witherspoon board, and is designated pastor of North Presbyterian
Church in Flushing, NY. |
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John Shuck’s Shuck and Jive
A Presbyterian minister, currently
serving as pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Elizabethton,
Tenn., blogs about spirituality, culture, religion (both organized
and disorganized), life, evolution, literature, Jesus, and
lightening up. |
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Got more blogs to recommend?
Please
send a note, and we'll see what we can do! |
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