No Atheists in Foxholes

There is an old saying that there are no atheists in foxholes and I believe that to be absolutely true. That first close call or brush with mortality and all of a sudden you are praying to whatever higher power you can think of at the time.
In a larger sense I think the same thing is happening on a national level. As our economy slowly crumbles and more and more people are put in situations that they never imagined or prepared themselves for they will suddenly start holding out hope from a higher power that they never really had time for when times were so good. I imagine there are a lot of very late, dark night of the soul conversions going on these days.
What that will lead to is growth in church and other faith based groups and small communities who will help each other through the tough times to come. It will also lead to a turning away from an individual, "I can do it all on my own outlook on life" if only because it is so difficult to pull off. Just look at the old time mountain men in the early years of this country. They were probably the ultimate strong individualist type people we have ever had in this country. And yet when they went to the western mountains they died in droves just because there was too much to do by themselves and no margin for error.
In contrast, look at the Catholic Church as one example. It has survived for two millenia, through revolutions, Plagues, natural disasters and changing societies. And the people who make up the church are going to have the best chances of weathering the hard times ahead in our country if only because they will help each other. There is an infrastructure and set of rules and traditions that those outside of the spiritual community just do not have.
The days of the individualist are coming to a close and the rebirth of the family and spiritual community are one of the few positive outcomes from the coming hard times.

KZUM Lincoln 89.3 FM

I'm adding a link to the best little radio station in the world, Listen live on the worldwide web to community supported radio. KZUM has been bringing eclectic high quality programming to the Lincoln, Nebraska comunity since 1978, and has been available online for a couple of years to listeners all over the world.

KZUM programming features gospel, blues, ethnic music including Chinese, Vietnamese, Russian, African, Latino and more, plus independent thought from Democracy Now, Jim Hightower, Voice of China News and more.

(By the way, I get no kickbacks for endorsing KZUM, I just really like them a lot.)

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Peregrine Falcons Nesting On Nebraska Capitol Again

I have posted with great interest the story of the red-tailed hawk soaring over the US Capitol during the inauguration of President Barack Obama, and explored the symbolism and meaning thereof in this post from January of this year.

My own adopted state of Nebraska, where my family has lived since 1984, has a pair of peregrine falcons nesting and raising a brood on top of the state capital! Not only that, but there is a webcam where you can watch the little buggers hatch and grow up. They are now 21 days old and look like round fuzzy footballs with raptor eyes and talons.

In Nordic tradition, the Falcon represents the huntsman and is associated with the Germanic sky-gods Wodan as well as Frigg and the trickster Loki. In European culture the Falcon is considered a war symbol. The Japanese Ainu thought that it was a helper of humanity. The ancient Egyptians saw them as representations of gods. They were spirit messengers to the Native American Cree, guardian spirits to the Inca, and a symbol of someone on a quest to medieval Europeans.

Essentially, the Falcon represents visionary power, wisdom, and guardianship. This powerful bird awakens visionary power, and leads to one's life purpose. The Falcon carries with it a message of transition and change.

The fact that this Peregrine chose to show itself is a powerful message to Nebraskans. This is a call for us to pay attention to mission, function, actions.
The fact that they repeatedly nest on our Capitol building is a call to live up to a clear vision of the highest possible manifestation of democracy.
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Taste and See That The Lord, He is Good

The music of the ancient Christian Church, whose roots have budded in modern times.



Dear Friends of the Melkite Mission of Lincoln NE,

Our next Divine Liturgy will be the First Sunday of June (6/7) at St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church, 3330 North 13th Street, Lincoln.

As always, the Divine Liturgy will be preceded by Morning Prayer. So please remember to come early.

There is now a table at the coffee social where you can purchase Eastern Christian books, CDs, artwork, and jewelry (at the present time it is cash only).

Don't forget to visit our new site on the internet with a lot of new information intended to answer common questions about the Divine Liturgy (recently added Videos and Audio).

http://melkitenebraska.blogspot.com

The schedule for Sunday is as follows:

9:30 AM Morning Prayer
10:00AM Divine Liturgy followed by Potluck

For more information call: (402) 797-3703

Welcome, ExRanger!

Please join me in extending a very hearty WELCOME to our new author here at The Rosemary Tree, Rod Alton, also known as ExRanger, who has his own fine blog over at WTF! This is not the lifestyle I was planning on.

(Dear Readers, please feel free to welcome Rod and also put in your 2 cents worth on any of the posts here any time. )