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Beyond hatred, beyond racism, a Grace endures at Mother Emanuel.

6/22/2015

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Picture
This past week saw one of the events I have anticipated from Pope Francis for several months now—the publication of his encyclical. But this is not the burning religious or social issue that has consumed me for the past several days. What has captured my horrified attention are the events of Charleston, SC.

Last Wednesday, June 17, 2015, a young man walked into Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church on Calhoun Street. He sat among the worshipers, seemed to pray with them and, after almost an hour, stood in their midst and murdered nine of them.

Mother Emanuel is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the South. It has been a hotbed of the civil rights movement. It has been the target of racist hatred, even in the mid-1800s. But it was always a sanctuary, a sacred place, a place to come together in unity of worship and uniformity of purpose.

It has been violated.

In my own life, the church was not a place of safety for me. The church was not a place to feel protected. But I want that for other people. I want believers to have a place where they can go for sanctuary and solace. Now an evil young man has tried to rob that from these dear people.

Is he mentally ill? What he did is not a sane act…unless he has chosen to accept that absurd racist dogma as the truth. It is not enough to call him “troubled,” or “misguided” or even “insane.” Those phrases do not come near the problem at hand.

He is a thief in a society of thieves. In a house dedicated to the one who came to give life, a thief entered who came to “kill and steal and destroy.” Surely, he killed the nine worshipers and ministers. He attempted to steal their hope and their security. He wants to destroy the legacy of a people who are part and parcel of American History.

Understand. American History is Black History. Twenty Africans were sold into slavery at the Jamestown Colony in Virginia in 1619—only 12 years after the founding of Jamestown.

Africans were here before the Pilgrims were. Whereas the Pilgrims came willingly aboard the Mayflower, the African slaves were brought by force aboard a Dutch warship.

The entire African and African-American experience in North America has been one of terror. Dr. Cornell West pointed out that 9/11 was nothing new to the African-American. They had been brought to the New World in terror. They had lived under slavery in terror, then under Jim Crow in terror. Four little girls were burned to death in a church in Birmingham in 1963. Nothing but terror.

And every day of their lives, our African-American friends in South Carolina (and other places in the South) are forced to look at that flag of ignorance and hatred. When they go to the courthouse, to school or any place else, they must be reminded that they are under the lidless eye of racism.

Don’t tell me that the Confederate flag is a simple of heritage. It is a symbol of segregation and the only heritage it represents is a heritage of hatred. I was born and raised in the South. Those who flew that hateful rag were always of the same ilk.

There were no “glory days” of southern culture. They preached from the Bible from a slanted and sick interpretation used to force slaves into submission to their “masters.” There is nothing from that culture that we should bring forward into the present.

The President is correct—“That flag belongs in a museum.”

And now a white supremacist walks into a church and murders nine people in a Bible study. Some people might call him a Christian Extremist, even.

You may notice that I do not call the murderer by name. Some people do not deserve to be remembered and he is one of them. He is not a soldier of a lost cause. He is a terrorist and a perpetrator of hatred.

But before I allow myself to get swallowed up the unadulterated despite I feel for him and his racism—and I may be past that already—let me speak of the Grace of a people who have been too often and too heinously wounded.

Nine people wo gathered together to worship as they chose: the Rev. Clementa Pinckney; Tywanza Sanders; Cynthia Hurd; the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor; Sharonda Coleman-Singleton; Ethel Lance; Susie Jackson; the Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr.; and Myra Thompson.

I have asked the question before and I will probably be asking the same question for many years to come; How do they not just burn everything down? Certainly there were race riots in Detroit and Watts and other places. But how is it that our African-American brothers and sisters time and again reject the path of despair and hatred and choose the way of patience and understanding? How is it?

How is it that they bury child after child and man after man and still return to the sanctuary of decency and nobility? How is it?

Is it because they can lean on their faith and belief and find strength? Is it because they know what community really means? When in times of heartache and grief, loss and destruction, they know that they are there for each other?

The families have shown incredible grace and love. They have smiled and hugged and loved all who gather near them.

“Emanuel” itself means “God with us.” The nine worshipers gathered in Mother Emanuel AME Church to learn more and live fuller and love deeper. A hateful young racist walked to kill, steal and destroy and he did kill but… he did not steal their hope and he did not destroy their legacy. In the end, he only enhanced it.




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Beyond hatred, beyond racism, there is a Grace that endures at Mother Emanuel.

6/22/2015

0 Comments

 
This past week saw one of the events I have anticipated from Pope Francis for several months now—the publication of his encyclical. But this is not the burning religious or social issue that has consumed me for the past several days. What has captured my horrified attention are the events of Charleston, SC.

Last Wednesday, June 17, 2015, a young man walked into Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church on Calhoun Street. He sat among the worshippers, seemed to pray with them and, after almost an hour, stood in their midst and murdered nine of them.

Mother Emanuel is the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the South. It has been a hotbed of the civil rights movement. It has been the target of racist hatred, even in the mid-1800s. But it was always a sanctuary, a sacred place, a place to come together in unity of worship and uniformity of purpose.

It has been violated.

In my own life, the church was not a place of safety for me. The church was not a place to feel protected. But I want that for other people. I want believers to have a place where they can go for sanctuary and solace. Now an evil young man has tried to rob that from these dear people.

Is he mentally ill? What he did is not a sane act…unless he has chosen to accept that absurd racist dogma as the truth. It is not enough to call him “troubled,” or “misguided” or even “insane.” Those phrases do not come near the problem at hand.

He is a thief in a society of thieves. In a house dedicated to the one who came to give life, a thief entered who came to “kill and steal and destroy.” Surely, he killed the nine worshippers and ministers. He attempted to steal their hope and their security. He wants to destroy the legacy of a people who are part and parcel of American History.

Understand. American History is Black History. Twenty Africans were sold into slavery at the Jamestown Colony in Virginia in 1619—only 12 years after the founding of Jamestown.

Africans were here before the Pilgrims were. Whereas the Pilgrims came willingly aboard the Mayflower, the African slaves were brought by force aboard a Dutch warship.

The entire African and African-American experience in North America has been one of terror. Dr. Cornell West pointed out that 9/11 was nothing new to the African-American. They had been brought to the New World in terror. They had lived under slavery in terror, then under Jim Crow in terror. Four little girls were burned to death in a church in Birmingham in 1963. Nothing but terror.

And every day of their lives, our African-American friends in South Carolina (and other places in the South) are forced to look at that flag of ignorance and hatred. When they go to the courthouse, to school or any place else, they must be reminded that they are under the lidless eye of racism.

Don’t tell me that the Confederate flag is a simple of heritage. It is a symbol of segregation and the only heritage it represents is a heritage of hatred. I was born and raised in the South. Those who flew that hateful rag were always of the same ilk.

There were no “glory days” of southern culture. They preached from the Bible from a slanted and sick interpretation used to force slaves into submission to their “masters.” There is nothing from that culture that we should bring forward into the present.

The President is correct—“That flag belongs in a museum.”

And now a white supremacist walks into a church and murders nine people in a Bible study. Some people might call him a Christian Extremist, even.

You may notice that I do not call the murderer by name. Some people do not deserve to be remembered and he is one of them. He is not a soldier of a lost cause. He is a terrorist and a perpetrator of hatred.

But before I allow myself to get swallowed up the unadulterated despite I feel for him and his racism—and I may be past that already—let me speak of the Grace of a people who have been too often and too heinously wounded.

Nine people wo gathered together to worship as they chose: the Rev. Clementa Pinckney; Tywanza Sanders; Cynthia Hurd; the Rev. DePayne Middleton Doctor; Sharonda Coleman-Singleton; Ethel Lance; Susie Jackson; the Rev. Daniel Simmons Sr.; and Myra Thompson.

I have asked the question before and I will probably be asking the same question for many years to come; How do they not just burn everything down? Certainly there were race riots in Detroit and Watts and other places. But how is it that our African-American brothers and sisters time and again reject the path of despair and hatred and choose the way of patience and understanding? How is it?

How is it that they bury child after child and man after man and still return to the sanctuary of decency and nobility? How is it?

Is it because they can lean on their faith and belief and find strength? Is it because they know what community really means? When in times of heartache and grief, loss and destruction, they know that they are there for each other?

The families have shown incredible grace and love. They have smiled and hugged and lovedall who gather near them.

“Emanuel” itself means “God with us.” The nine worshippers gathered in Mother Emanuel AME Church to learn more and live fuller and love deeper. A hateful young racist walked to kill, steal and destroy and he did kill but… he did not steal their hope and he did not destroy their legacy. In the end, he only enhanced it.

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A Boy Named Brighton

3/16/2015

1 Comment

 
PictureBrighton Pogodzinski
Five-and-a-half year old Brighton Pogodzinski is a “wonderful little boy,” says grandmother Sandy Hendricks who lives near Gilman, Wisconsin. “He is so very smart and so active. He loves to play outside. But now,” she says with heavy emotion in her voice, “he gets tired so very easy.”

Brighton has been diagnosed with a malignant tumor on his pineal gland, located in the mid-brain. The doctors arrived at the diagnosis in February and immediately took him to start chemo-therapy, as the tumor was deemed an aggressive one.

One chemo treatment last for three days—five hours each day—and little Brighton must then wait for at least 22 days before the next round of chemo-therapy. His next treatment is scheduled for March 26.

The chemo treatments are so strong that Brighton remains toxic for 48 hours after each three-day treatment session ends. Ms. Hendricks and Brighton’s mother Kim—and others who help take care of him—of Colby, Wisconsin, must actually double-glove for those 48 hours. Laundry must be done separately with Brighton’s clothes washed alone.

“The tumor is located where the neurosurgeons could not even reach it to do a biopsy,” explained Ms. Hendricks. The tumor is aggressive, the treatments are aggressive but so is the family’s hope.

Asked how mother Kim is holding up, Ms. Hendricks answered “She is bearing up very well. Of course, it has been hard on her but she is staying strong.

Eric Pogodzinski, Brighton’s father, is a U.S. Marine stationed at Cherry Point, North Carolina. He was home to help with the set-up for Brighton’s first treatment before returning to duty. He will be coming to see his son again before the second round of chemo. Then he will return to North Carolina on April 18 in time for the delivery of a daughter by his second wife Debra. The plan is for Eric to be stationed for command out of Madison. He will be given time to assist in the care of Brighton and will be required to check in with command in Madison for the duration of Brighton’s treatments.

After the chemotherapy, which Brighton’s little body can take for a limited amount of time, the doctors will switch to radiation therapy until the treatments are completed. The doctors are quiet about venturing any prognosis. “Nobody talks about it,” says Ms. Hendricks.

“But Brighton is bright and inquisitive and he describes his condition as having ‘a bump’ in his head that the doctors are trying to ‘flatten out so I can fit more brains in.’ That’s the only terms he can use to understand what is happening to him.”

Brighton’s kindergarten teacher, Ms. Jami Schnabel has responded with extraordinary compassion and creativity in navigating the situation for Brighton and his classmates. She was at the hospital for Brighton’s first treatment. She brought with her a package of cards written to Brighton from his classmates. When she returned to her kindergarten class, she brought along a stuffed bear named “Brighton Bear.” The bear sits in Brighton’s desk when Brighton is absent from class. A classmate will carry Brighton Bear to recess and lunch to show Brighton’s on-going presence in spirit.

Currently, Ms. Schnabel is looking for help to make beanies that all the students will wear as Brighton begins losing his hair due to the chemotherapy. That way, all of the students will in solidarity with Brighton’s appearance.

On Saturday, April 4, a benefit for Brighton will be held at Meadowview Golf Course in Owen, Wisconsin, beginning at 12 noon. Scheduled events will include Paddle, Board, Card and Bucket Raffles, a bake sale, a silent auction and a meal to be served.

The proceeds from the “Cancer Benefit for Brighton” will be designated to defray the costs of travel, accommodations, medical bills and whatever else Brighton needs during the four to five months of chemo and radiation treatments.

Those wishing to donate to the benefit or to Brighton’s fund may call Sandy Hendricks at 715.668.5358 or Sheila Bakke at 715.229.2614.

“I just have a bump in my head and the doctors need to flatten it out,” says Brighton. May it be just that easy.


1 Comment

Finally, a Coffee Shop I Will Frequent... Torque Coffee Roasters' Grand Opening 04.28.2012

4/29/2012

4 Comments

 
Picture
The Grand Opening Night
The obvious question is "Do we really need another coffee shop in the Pacific Northwest?" The answer is a resounding "Yes!" This is especially true if, like me, you have grown tired of the cookie-cutter decor and menu at Starbuck's or the burnt taste of Seattle's Best or the...or the...or the... You can fill in your own complaints. But here comes Torque Coffee Roasters. Now these guys can throw a party!

Located at 501 Columbia Street in Downtown Vancouver, Washington (just around the corner from the Interstate 5-Hwy 14-Washington Street Interchange), they have leaped into the coffee and coffee shop market with zeal and intelligence. When it seems that there is a coffee shop at every corner and that "Starbuck's has opened a Starbuck's inside of a Starbuck's", it takes an innovative approach to break into that market.

Torque Coffee Roasters can only be described as innovative. They are that if for no other reason than the cold-bottled coffees that they sell. Yes, cold-bottled coffee that is added to hot or boiling water to create an "instant" cup of coffee without the old Nescafe spoon and powder method. This is coffee that has been brewed and condensed and is...wait for it...good!

While that is enough to generate a following, and they have through markets like New Seasons, it was Ryan Palmer's astonishing knowledge of coffee (and tea...) that made a coffee shop inevitable. Ask Ryan who was the coffee plantation owner who had a chicken named Chuck and he will probably know. His knowledge of coffee types, varying weather conditions at plantations, drying and roasting techniques and strategies is encyclopedic. A coffee conversation with Ryan is enlightening. In fact, life-changing can be used without any fear of embellishment because it has caused me and my wife to try different coffees that have now become favorites. Okay, it wasn't a huge change. I mean, I didn't join a Sumatra monastery or anything but he showed me things about coffee that I had never known or even considered.

Picture
Ryan thinks of everything. From the location across from the Vancouver Hilton Convention Center near Esther Short Park to the businesses who will be Torque Coffee Roasters' neighbors to the details of the shop, Ryan Palmer and his family have considered it all.

It is a Palmer family-owned  business and Ryan Palmer is the face and voice of that business. His knowledge of what is comfortable and
convenient and generally pleasing has made him very popular with hot beverage aficionados and has gathered huge support for a place where he can bring his knowledge, skills and personality to bear.

Now don't expect the coffee at Torque Coffee Roasters shop to come from the bottle because it does not. In fact, the coffee is fresh-roasted and is ground, of course, on the spot. Soon even the roasting will take place on the premises, as will the cold-bottling. All this within sight of the coffee bar.

The coffee bar itself is a notable and noticable feature. It is in the center of the building which was once a repair garage. The characteristics of the renovated shop retain the industrial feel with the garage door that is about to be replaced by a glass-paneled garage door--perfect for the warmer months. The garage-style rectangular multi-paned windows on the west and south sides are going to be replaced with clear glass thanks to a city grant aimed at updating the facades near the soon-to-be developed waterfront park area near the Downtown Hilton.

The interior north wall of the shop will accomodate the cold-bottling area and the interior southeast corner will house the roasters to be included soon. In the center is the afore-mentioned bar with seating on one side complete with chairs and outlets to allow for ease of laptop computer users. The outlets along the west wall include USB outlets for the purpose of charging cell-phones. Really, he thinks of everything.

Most of the sweet retro furnishings were from Most Everything (http://mosteverything.wordpress.com), the Vintage Shop on Washington Street. There are also two really long church pews that were rescued and restored.

Even the space outside the front doors is open and suitable for outdoor festivities and outdoor tables and seating are available. As my wife pointed out, it would be a great place for outside gatherings.

When you come into Torque Coffee Roasters, you want to ask for Ryan...or Ryan...or Ryan. Wait...what? Not only is Ryan Palmer to be found behind the bar but so are two other baristas named Ryan. "Three Ryans and a Chelsea" could be the nickname for the place. Chelsea Gaya is the bar manager. With the brightest smile and sweetest disposition, Chelsea makes everyone welcome. She is enough to guarantee a return visit for anyone. Certainly my wife thinks Chelsea is the sweetest ever.

Picture
A Huge Turnout for Torque's Grand Opening
The Grand Opening was held on Saturday night, April 28, 2012 after a two-week open house soft opening where coffee was available for free trial and only a tip jar holding any cash.

This was a first class Opening. The food was catered by The Main Event featuring veggie plates and beef tips alongside pasta salad and other fare. The beer was provided by nearby Mt. Tabor Brewing(http://www.mttaborbrewing.com). Chocolates from Missionary Chocolates were served and they were incredible. You might want to visit http://missionarychocolates.com to find out more about them. Lovely flower arrangements were included thanks to Mieko's Marketplace Flowers (http://marketplaceflowersonline.com). All of these were local businesses with interest and delight in seeing the Palmer family joining the business community in downtown Vancouver.

The guests at the Grand Opening were family and friends, to be sure, but also business neighbors (such as Tony Broom and Sandra Geary from nearby Serendipity Playhouse on Washington Street) and curious passersby. Even present were well-wishing employees from another Vancouver coffee shop who brought flowers, smiles and goodwill. With the mild weather, the doors were left open with outside seating and a steady flow of people going in and out.

The music was DJ'd by Ryan (not that Ryan, the other one...no, the other one) and was a fun mix of music from the 70's and after. The air was festive and warm and the Palmers and Chelsea and the Ryans were absolutely charming, all of them.

But what about the coffee served at Torque Coffee Roasters? While the bottled coffee (ask Ryan about recipes including the coffee concentrate) and freshly ground bagged coffees are available for purchase, the fresh-brewed drip coffees, cappuccinos, machiattos, mochas, lattes and espressos are the real attractions for your coffee-loving taste buds. I can't get enough of the espressos myself. The small cup of espresso seems to change taste at every level--it actually gets sweeter the deeper you drink. For me, if the espresso is great, then so is everything else. But it all has to be experienced and each sampling has left me wondering where these guys have been all my coffee-drinking life.

Sure, there are great pastries and chocolates served up there, also. But you want to come for the coffee and the conversation and to see Chelsea.

There are a few coffee shops around that have great coffee. Most have interesting or comfortable decor. One or two have staff that make you come back just to see them. A few have cool locations. A very few have all the electronic necessities. None of them have all of the above. At least, none before Torque Coffee Roasters came to town. My wife and I have found our home.

Visit them online:
http://www.torquecoffeeroasters.com

Picture

Ryan Palmer -- front and center where he belongs

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