Refugee Crisis: Valuable Commentary from Recent Articles

As Lauren McCauley reports this morning at Common Dreams, tens of thousands of people rallied yesterday in London and across Europe in support of refugees seeking new, safe places to live. McCauley quotes the Facebook page of the group organizing the rally, #EuropeSaysWelcome: 

Droppings (and Sprinkles) from the Catholic Birdcage: "If You Cannot Find Christ in the Beggar at the Church Door, You Will Not Find Him in the Chalice"

Abby Zimet at Common Dreams, in commentary entitled "The Un-Francis: I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Food, I Was Thirsty and You Gave Me Drink, I Was Homeless and WTF You Drenched Me With Sprinklers To Drive Me Away":

Campaign to Assist Lucie's Place and Mission for Homeless LGBT Youth Raises $25,000

And we turned an antigay temper tantrum into a fundraiser for homeless #LGBT kids. @Martina http://t.co/VXlvrgGvWo pic.twitter.com/mgvg7ULWMn
— Scott Wooledge (@Clarknt67) November 28, 2014

Thanksgiving As Giving: Recommending to You Today a Local Group Supporting LGBT Youth

You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be (Deuteronomy 15:8)

For those celebrating a holiday centered on thanksgiving today (and I realize that much of the world isn't in that category), here's a story that may be of some interest — since giving thanks is about giving first and foremost. It's by giving to others that we open the spaces in our hearts and lives that enable us to be thankful, it seems to me.

Two More (Inspirational) Weekend News Stories: Drew Bartscher Speaks Out Against Homophobic Slurs, Brenda Konkel and Robert Bloch Defy City Orders Not to Shelter Homeless

More weekend news stories — these about people who move me by their compassion and courage:

Homeless Jesus and a Reflection on Gender Politics in the Catholic Church

In the Toronto Star, Leslie Scrivener tells the story of how a statue of Jesus the homeless was itself made homeless when both St. Michael's cathedral in Toronto and St. Patrick's cathedral in New York refused to provide a home for the sculpture after having expressed an interest in it. The "Jesus the Homeless" sculpture by artist Timothy Schmaltz "punctures the illusion of normalcy," according to theologian Thomas Reynolds of Emmanuel College in Toronto, who adds,

Glenda Jackson (and I) Remember Mrs. Thatcher: A Legacy of Sharp Elbows and Sharp Knees

Chris Morley has kindly posted a link here today to a YouTube clip of Labour MP Glenda Jackson speaking yesterday in the House of Commons about Margaret Thatcher's legacy. Jackson remembers the dramatic increase in homelessness under Thatcher (and the same thing happened in the U.S. under her friend and ally Reagan, it has to be noted).