A Marriage and Family Minute Reminder

Survival was the major focus for my dad's father who buried his wife when my own father was only six months old. Grandpa needed a wife with the merged families and the farm in Port Austin, Michigan, the thumb of the "hand" that is Michigan's shape. Today, personal, and, perhaps interpersonal fulfillment is the key expectation of spouses, it seems to me, a counselor who observes the signs of the time when it comes to family, and more, including marriage in that order - marriage and family! Respect, reconciling differences, patience, among other virtues (inner strengths), power and influence, inlaws (and out-laws!),communication, struggles, economic and spiritual wellness, all demands an affirmative commitment in a time of 40 million U.S. addicts compounding a chaotic culture of marriage and family. Your spouse does love and respect you, on his or her best days. Yet, in days of desolation, doubt, depression, denial and the demonic forces of toxicity transforming one or the others in a matter of seconds, whoa.... as the minions may mouth much in their fantasy and being-dominated days. Time out. Spouses and their sibship will need it daily. And, careful mindful marriages and families do work. They work well when worked at every moment. Praise the Maker of moments of loving, tender care and respect for each member in the family, and, then some couples meet and encounter in the 'hood, at work, at play, and in school.

Sunday's Sermon: Marvin Gaye, A Homily on Saint John's Gospel, Chapter 6

Bits and bites of bread. For sure. Feeding, eating, taking, blessing, receiving, and being the Body of Christ. Being. Yes, BEING THE BODY OF CHRIST. We know Jesus as the One of history - en fleshed in Palestine, fleshed in the "ecclesia," the church, and, his body received as precious Body and Blood. Next, we are called to be his Body here. Right here. At home. In one's heart, in speech, for sure. At work, and, at play. His Body in the 'hood at Chene/Lafayette, Detroit 48207, my people/parish where routine rounds fill my day in Elmwood Park Community, west of the jewel of our Belle Isle Park, where a March for Marriage and Family occurs Sunday, August 2nd at 11 am across the MacArthur Bridge, followed by praise, and, a 'pot luck' picnic 'til 5 pm for the public at the Playscape Area. And,'God is Love,' comes to mind, recorded by Marvin Gaye in Studio A of my Motown Museum in Hitsville, U.S.A.: "Oh don't go and talk about my father God is my friend Jesus is my friend He made this world for us to live in, and gave us everything And all he asks of us is we give each other love. Don't go and talk about my father Cause God is my friend. . . Love your mother, she bore you Love your father, he works for you Love your sister, she's good to you, Love your brother, your brother! All he asks of us, I know, is we give each other love." Say it - Right on! They all got their start here in Detroit town - The Temptations, Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops, Smokey Robinson and Stevie Wonder. All were guided by hit maker, Berry Gordy. Psalm 78 pronounces that Israel's ancestors ate "the bread of angels, then and now, in these current days of chaos and crisis in the fledgling family amid 40 million U.S. addicts. God help us! How does the God we sing of, and, talk about, keep it altogether? In the generosity and divine mercy of a huge heart, so to speak. In the abundance of sharing hearts, food, money and more to the least of my sisters and brothers. After all I am my sister's keeper, no? Each part of the body builds up the sinewy nature of Who we receive as Saint Augustine of Hippo, Africa, notes: "Receive who you are - the Body of Christ!" At times, all we want is magic: "Feed us, entertain us, and we will adore you (Jn 6:30). "Follow me," Jesus says. Follow him. Forget the rest, will you? The lone sign God gives is the only One necessary: the flesh and blood of Jesus, God among us now in the homeless stranger at Sunday's picnic, the broken bread, the gathered people. Loads to chew on, no? And, the motto of the City of Detroit of Father Gabriel Richard feeds into my heart and soul with Bread from Heaven and the living, walking Word of God. "Speramus Meliora Resurget Cineribus" - "We hope for better things; it will rise again from the ashes." "Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, so that we may no longer be a reproach," notes the prophet Nehemiah, Chapter 2:17. Build fledgling family at home where you are at any given moment. Family is in trouble amid 40 million U.S. addicts, and, a culture of chaos among households. Mount an offensive for marriage. Strengthen your resolve for respect and reconciliation with your spouse, siblings, sons, daughters, and more. Now, is a good time to start. It will. We will. The Bread of Life is like that!

Problem Prevention with Positive Products

Did you know that baby shampoo is what I'm using in my sixth decades of living after all those chemicals did a crime to my hair? Did you know that Compassion Pregnancy Center is taking on life, all of it in the womb, and beyond. www.compassionpregnancy.org Ultra sounds, counseling and life-giving solutions are waiting for those parenting moms and dads looking for support from Kathy and her staff in Clinton Township, MI. Thanks to Trinity Lutheran Church in Clinton Township, MI., for purchasing an Ultra Sound,for enlarged images of a breathing baby inside, and, to the Knights of Columbus, a men's Catholic fraternal organization aiming fearlessly to stand up for life in and outside the womb. Trafficking human life as sex objects, and, selling human tissue and organs, has to stop by all humans who revere the iconic image and likessness we all are as the Genesis account in the Bible notes. Stand up! Stand with the All-Faiths Festival who help people in crisis, as our mission statement promises.

Massive March for Marriage, August 2nd, 11 am, Detroit Belle Isle State Park, Jefferson/East Grand Boulevard

A massive March for Marriage is set for the Fifth Annual Urban/Suburban Unity Pot Luck Picnic, August 2nd at Belle Isle, Detroit. At 11 am, balloons, brass and bands, with banners, will lead hundreds across the MacArthur Bridge to the Playscape area where the Detroit Interfaith Outreach Network, steered by Rabbi Dorit Edut, is hosting its Fifth Annual Unity Picnic for the public. Contact mutzim@aol.com for more information, or, me, regarding the Marriage March, at 313 530 2777. SCRIPTURE STUDY The Pope John Paull II Park on Jos. Campau in Hamtramck, MI., is the venue for Wednesday Scripture Study for all from 12 Noon-1 pm. Reservations are required for the event to be held by calling Father Lawrence M. Ventline at 313 530 2777, lawrencematthewventline@gmail.com. Monday Moaning Scripture Study will be held by reservation at the Big Boy Restaurant on Gratiot, near Nine Mile in Ferndale from 8 am until 9 am with me. Get the Word! Welcome all! Bishop A. Barnes and the International Beginning Ministries is hosting a REVIVAL 4 ALL, Wednesday, August 19th, 6:30 pm at his edifice on Grayling, west of Jos. Campau in Hamtramck, MI. My house is to be a house of prayer for all peoples is the theme, according to Barnes, who welcomes all to the ecumenical event. Contact Barnes at internationalbeginningministries@yahoo.com. The following Wednesday, August 26th, also at 6:30 pm, join in Motown Marriage 2020 Revival under the tent at Chene/Lafayette, Detroit, across from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Apartments. Testimonies with the Rev. Horace Sheffield, and, the invited, Rev. Dr. Yvette Griffin are set, while, Archbishop George Stallings, Jr., is revival preacher. Special music ministry. All are welcome! The Third Annual Unity Sidewalk at Van Dyke/8 Mile to Warren, MI., Metro Family Church is set for Thursday, August 27th at 6 pm for all. Contact Kasbow@earthlink.net, or, me for more information, please.

The Thumb of Michigan

Refreshing. The thumb of Michigan, that is. It is. For sure. Calmer. Slower. More relaxed. Politer. And, a sweet change from the hurried, metropolitan Detroit area. Dad was born here in Port Austin, MI. His birth mom died when he was six months old, and, his dad needed to remarry, given help needed on the farm. Dad's step mom became the family secret, sad to admit. Yet, a family is as sick as its secrets, I've come to believe. Grandma broke dad's nose, dad told the seven of his children, and, she also broke his brother's noses also. What is not healed by the grace of God is projected onto others, I've learned over time. So, the cycle of violence continued until it was stopped cold, in its tracks. His, hers and theirs was the reality of familial relationships. Accepting this reality affords freedom to be who each of us are as family. It does. Amid, the healing that had to happen, it is refreshing to walk, talk, take in the sun, and more, in Port Austin these few days.

Sunday Sermon: Mark's Gospel 6:1-6

From faith to face. And, the story beats on today. Faith is like that, isn't it, in the smiling, sad, sorrowful, sick grimacing of one's facial expressions. A story of faith interfacing with countless faces across the globe. Yet, we all know that unless each of us grows, and, communities change and adapt, they indeed do die, don't they? "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?" Further on the story teller says: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not." I get comfortable with the old order of doing things. Change becomes difficult.. And, I don't like it. Providing for tomorrow was far from what the disciples were to do. They, like us, were called, and are challenged to repent. To change the course of things. To turn. To totally turn around? Disciples were different. In fact, they looked different than the old order and way of doing things.. Their message was different. No wonder they took offense at Jesus. Jesus taught that there is power in weakness. Paul resounds with the clarion call and marching order of a new order: "Power (God's) is made perfect in weakness (human weakness)." The promise: "Behold, I make all things new. All. All things. Everything. Changing faces full of faith passed down. Faith interfacing with changing faces and new hearts.