Monday Morning Letters

Today the letter came.  Pastors get "Monday Morning Letters".  Invariably they are eruptions of frustration and festering discontent that range like downwind birdshot - indiscriminately peppering the relational landscape of the community.  They happen on Mondays because we have such outrageous and unhealthy expectations of Sundays - and the least little nudge can tip the balance and cause the emotional detritus to cascade forth.

People who write Monday Morning Letters always send them late Sunday night.  They let them loose after a day of stewing and festering, and because they can't sleep with the monster they have wrestled with - they exorcise it onto the page and release it.  I imagine they sleep well.  Their recipients won't for many days afterwards.

Monday Morning Letters are always beside the point.  Like pointing out Hitler was a vegetarian, or that Jesus was a carpenter's son.  What they aim at is hardly ever the real story.  But they do illuminate that something needs to be addressed.  What follows is often a singularly twisted hunt for relevance and truth.  And the conclusions that Monday Morning Letters precipitate are never as useful in the long run as they seem in the moment.

Monday Morning Letters are seen as a natural right of expression for the people who author them.  Never mind that, for Christians particularly, talking is always preferable.  Instructions, recipes, shopping lists, driving directions, general information almost always makes sense enough written down.  Emotional eruptions regarding unmet expectations and perceived inequities never make sense in prose.

For pastors these Monday Morning Letters are the "black marks" of ministry.  They get dealt with in the short term, but leave a lasting stain that hinders slightly.  Like that scratch on the fender of your car - too small to bother to buff it out, but eventually part of the reason why the car is no longer suitable to the owner's needs.

Monday Morning Letters carry phrases like "for a long time", "no idea", "what we are paying for", "doesn't understand", "can't know", "always been", "never been", "others agree", "should", "shouldn't", "huge", "big", "awful" - and it goes on.  The implications are always that something has been amiss for some time and the leadership has been collectively (often wilfully) unaware.  Something must be done.

Monday Morning Letters never offer solutions - yet they indicate that drastic measures are invariably needed.  Pressure is applied.  Something has to give.  Satisfaction is the ultimate goal! Never understanding. And reconciliation is as unlikely as it is unmentionable.

I have had a couple of small Monday Morning Letters in the 26 months I have been at this place.  Let me remember - one regarding preaching about stillness, solitude and contemplation of God and His word (I was too "New Age").  One about calling God "The Big Guy" - a term of endearment for me, not for some though.  A complaint about not protecting the "study hour" because we allowed an ad hoc choir to practice for Easter. And now today's Big Monday Morning Letter - two and a half pages, of which I was the subject of only the first two paragraphs. Twenty-five and a half months into my service here.

Monday Morning Letters start chains of events that their authors have no conception about.  They always start countdown clocks in ministry.  Countdown clocks to the end of the service of the person they are about. April 14, 2013 - and the clock is running on my service here.  How long it ticks until the alarm goes off will be determined by how many more Monday Morning Letters mark me.

No Shalam
No Shalom
Today

Kicking Glass

I took a picture today of about a dozen glass containers sitting on the ground beside a Loraas recycling bin. I can't post it because my personal computer is "in the shop", but rest assured dear reader, (if you exist) I will post it soon. It is an image that should be used to indite and shame our provincial politicians.

Glass manufacturers have been recycling their product since the 1600's or even much earlier but we can't do that in Saskatchewan unless the containers we do deal with once contained either sugar-loaded drinks or alcoholic beverages.

Saskatchewan.
Can't.
Recycle.
Glass.

Morons can recycle glass - but not Saskatchewanites. We have 2 BILLION excess dollars in our provincial coffers that have not been budgeted to be spent on anything yet and we still can't recycle pickle jars. And our provincial members of the Fourth and Fifth Estates should also be ashamed because they are saying NOTHING about this.

If I even hear ONE person say anything about how it isn't "economically viable" to recycle general glass products at this time I'll go ballistic!. That is exactly the kind of thinking that has gotten us to the ecological crisis we now face. If we can't do the right thing because we can't AFFORD to do the right thing then we are officially screwed to a wholly breathtakingly new and frightening level.

So John Gormley et.al., before you claim to be "holding the politician's feet to the fire" let me hear you get our provincial Minister of the Environment on you radio show and ask him a couple of hardball questions about glass. And Premier Wall, before you go off spouting about how great we are in Flatland and how we're ready to move into the future let's see if you and your cabinet can figure out how to do something Europeans have been doing since before Samuel de Champlain discovered how bad the black flies were in northern Ontario.

'Nuff said.

Lies, Gossip & the Internet

About once every couple of months or so I get a email that purports to be a true story about some shocking, unfair or disturbing event that I have heard nothing about previously through the various media channels I monitor. While I'm not an obsessed news junkie (please keep your opinions and snickering in check for a moment), I do like to think I'm reasonably well informed across a range of topics and a bit too informed on a few I really enjoy. Still I receive these "e-rumors" with enough regularity that I feel I must respond. It is interesting to note that although most of my friends and contacts are "Christian", and these messages come from many of them, few of them have considered what impact on their witness is caused when they forward an untrue story to their email list.

I am including the text of my latest e-mail response to one of these "e-rumors" below in the hope that the two or three of you who read this blog might take this cause to heart and at least consider doing what I do in response to receiving such a message.


Dear Friends,

As much as I enjoy getting messages from you, I really only have time for ones of truth and value (humour is good, too). The story attached to the original email I received about the removal of studies related to the Jewish Holocaust in WWII at the University of Kentucky is a hoax. Please follow the link I am providing to see the article regarding this posted at Truth or Fiction.com.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/h/holocaust-kentucky.htm

While I encourage people of good conscience to be informed and to oppose (and seek support for opposing) evil and wrong things, I believe we all would agree that there is no benefit in 'tilting at windmills'. Here are some helpful guidelines I use to help me weed out the truth from lies.

1. Be suspicious of any story that does not include a verifiable citation. If the story claims to be from a particular media outlet but has no live link to the original included, then go to - or contact - the claimed media outlet to get verification. The more information included with an article forwarded to you the better the likelihood it is a true story. Live links to real websites are best, but having the information as to the media source, date the article appeared and an author byline included are also good signs of reliability - but the most important thing you can do is confirm the story yourself. If you do not confirm the story and forward it anyway, you are vouching for its authenticity. Be careful lest you attach your name to a lie. From a moral perspective doing so is to engage in gossip.

2. Be suspicious of any very scandalous, shocking or outrageous story that you have heard nothing about through regular media channels - unless you never follow news, which is an issue all of of its own. It is unlikely in the extreme that the media would 'miss' or even suppress a story that would cause a strong reaction in you (and certainly a large number of other people) because of the obvious benefits they would gain by reporting it. If you believe the majority of western media is controlled to the extent that serious and disturbing stories are routinely being deliberately not reported then I'm afraid you are not going to follow my suggestions, regardless. I do believe in media 'bias' but that's not the same thing as willful suppression. The best defense in regard to media bias is a good offense. Set yourself up with a variety of media sources so you can sample what is being reported from a wide range of perspectives. I also suggest adding a site like http://www.maisonneuve.org/ which offers an alternative to traditional established Canadian media while interacting with what those media outlets report. Another good perspective is available from http://www.evangelicalfellowship.ca/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=178 which offers a decidedly Christian perspective on Canadian news, albeit from a somewhat narrower viewpoint.

3. Put the link for Truth or Fiction.com in your browser's favourites so it is just a click away. If you cannot verify an email news story that has been sent to you, just check it out at this website. In the case of the message that prompted this response, I simply searched the word "holocaust" at the Truth or Fiction.com website and the story about this hoax was the first item it found. I have used Truth of Fiction.com for almost 10 years now and I have yet to be unable to verify or debunk an email message I have received.

4. When you get an email hoax do what I did. Respond to the sender(s) with this information. I have also been trying to spread the word about internet and email hoaxes for 10 years and I still have to do this about two or three times a year. It would be VERY helpful if we could harness the same power of the World Wide Web that brings these annoying untruths into our lives to spread the word about how to deal with them properly. At the very least you can teach your children how to deal with these messages properly. That would be, in my opinion, your minimum responsibility.

Thanks for reading this (if you did). Thanks even more if you take some steps because of the message.


Shalom

And Now A Word From Our Sponsors...

So I have recieved two emails asking me if I want to allow 'advertising' on my blogsite. I track my numbers using Statcounter so I KNOW that I am staying very close to maintaining the truth of my tagline - "writing for an audience of one - reaching even fewer". It has to be a scam of some type.

Never the less, and I have received no consideration at all for this, I am going to exhort the 3 of you reading this to check out a dental hygiene product I have begun using.

I have always had trouble flossing. My teeth are tight, crowded and crooked (especially on my lower jaw). I have a small mouth (OK guys - yuk it up to your heart's content on that one), and I have short, stubby fingers attached to meaty palms. I shred regular floss and it gets stuck between my teeth so I have to use extra slippery stuff that is even harder to hold and control. Sheesh.

Well enter the new Reach Access Flosser. If you've tried other flossing tools and given up, take heart, this sucker works! It takes me less than a minute to floss completely down to my gum line and between each tooth with no shredding, gagging, slobber or muttered cursing.

If flossing is difficult for you, or simply inconvenient, then get thee hence to thine apothecary's shop and purchase this modern marvel of applied technology. And what's more, we really need the help as our dental coverage has been "adjusted" and cleanings are covered only every 9 months for us now. So hopefully this will help us keep our teeth and gums healthy until we can visit our hygienist.

There! I've done my good deed for the day/week/month/year/decade/century/millennium.

'Nuff said!

Of Crumbled Cookies and Bouncing Balls

I've been awash in stories of disappointment and discouragement of late. That's not what's kept me from blogging either; my own distracted nature managed that without much help from Brother Circumstance (a wonderful Corsican monk who makes excellent wine but suffers from habitually poor timing in all things social).

Too many people I know are either in the midst of the worst plague of seasonal affective disorder I have ever witnessed or else Mr. "Murphy" has gotten behind in his deliveries and is attempting to clean out the warehouse before inventory is to be done. And it seems all that happens in response is that some shoulders get shrugged, some tongues get clucked, some eyeballs get rolled and some countenances get set in steely poses as we all attempt push forward against the dour tide of misfortune and dismay. It's enough to drive a tee-totaling Baptist pastor to spike his coffee, it is!

Whither joy?

Whither glee?

Whither cheer and good humor?

Whither a decent hour of television - a pox on this 'writer's strike' I say!

Then a friend reminded me, in an officious, yet loving way - only a TRUE friend can do that - that it is our responsibility to choose the positive reaction. It is our responsibility to question and defy the stingy spirit within. It is our responsibility to change our perspective. The Psalmist questions his own motives and mood when he asks, "Why are you so downhearted, O my soul?"

Truth is I COULD whine and complain and go on and on about what's happened to me, to my family, to my friends and to my acquaintances as of late, but "it won't make it no better" as Tonio K would say. And despite the fact that I'm truly only about one more bad bounce away from writing a Grammy Award-winning country music song, I refuse to get swept up in this!

I'm going to put on Tom Petty's "I Won't Back Down" and disturb the neighbors while I quaff a beverage and thank the Good Lord that even when my cookies crumble wrong and my ball bounces down the sewer I'm still here and I'm still breathing!

'Nuff said!

Shalom.

Of Rhetoric and Reaction

You just can't find sober, reasoned reporting in the media anymore. Well maybe you can, but it isn't coming from the major sources in English Canada anyway. The tragic story of the Parvez family of Mississauga is just the latest example. The news reports in all of the major media, as this example demonstrates, go way beyond "just the facts" to include speculation about how this sad event will become a major cultural "flash-point" issue. They hope. It would give them something to flog mercilessly to sell more papers and boost their viewer/listener share ratings.

My fundamental source for "what's goin' on" offers this short, but well reasoned opinion. Like a breath of fresh air it reminded me that at the root of this story is a human tragedy that has no real connection to social and cultural clashes. A certain number of white Anglo-Saxon protestant fathers, or Catholic Latino ones, or African atheist ones, or Asian Taoist ones have been, from time immemorial, and will continue to be, treating their daughters, wives and sons with violence for any number of perceived acts of disobedience. And every so often their anger will take one of them too far.

That the media should spin this story into a public debate over cultural and religious differences that cause social friction is the crime upon the crime. It should be viewed in the same way we view shouting "FIRE!" in a crowded theatre. I am a free speech advocate, but the opinions aren't being carefully kept on the Op-Ed page anymore. The "spin", the "opinion", the "agenda" and the (often way too narrow) "perspective" is everywhere in the media these days. And this constant barrage of sensational fear-mongering, speculation and rhetoric is having an effect.

I don't know about you, but I am encountering more and more people who view people of different cultures and races in stereotypical ways. I am hearing more and more broad-brush-stroke statements that begin with "those people", "they all" and "they believe". While I know the truth is that the uniformity of opinion, perspective, values and beliefs in any group in the world is the same as the uniformity in the tribe I belong to - which means not uniform at all.

If there was a common human experience in the Parvez story it began with the common human emotion of anger. We all know it. We all experience it. We all have hurt others and been hurt by it. Many of us fear it. Most of us respect it. We all try to control it. Almost all of us understand its destructive potential. Wisdom says, "In your anger do not sin." I don't care what god you believe in or what religion you practice or what culture you belong to or what tribe are your ancestors - these words are universally true. Because we all know what happens when we follow our selfish and dark impulses down a road fueled by anger. It NEVER ends well.

Too many will accept the rhetoric of the media in this story as reasonable and true. Too many will react to it and the results will be a further escalation of the cultural and social tensions we are already experiencing far to often. But I won't, and you don't have to either. We must remember that wisdom also says, "there, but for the grace of God, go I".

So if we're going to react to the rhetoric, let's go in the other direction. Let's agree that until each of us personally knows a person of another culture, race or religion we don't know anything about that group - and even then we only know one person. And one person, or one family, does not define a culture, a religion or a race. If you believe that then you better be ready to be the example to the entire world for whomever you represent - to be the one person the rest of the world measures everyone of your culture, race, religion and country by. Are you ready to accept that responsibility?

I thought not.

'Nuff said!

Navigating "The Golden Compass"

This is what it sounds like when I try to communicate with my "tribe". Maybe some of you will find this interesting and thought provoking.

It appears that another pop culture anti-Christian conspiracy story is brewing again just in time for the Christmas season. The storm is gathering around the soon to be released film “The Golden Compass”. This conjures up for me memories of the hyper-rhetoric that surrounded the releases of the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, the “Harry Potter” books and films, the “Narnia” film and other offerings.

I am a strong advocate that Christians everywhere “guard your heart” (Proverbs 4:23). This quote from the OT must be understood to also refer to the mind. Ancient Hebrews did not distinguish between the “heart” and the “mind” as later Greek thinkers did. For the writer of Proverbs the “heart” would have represented the core of a person’s reasoning, intellect, emotions, experience and character. Thus to effectively “guard” our hearts, and minds for that matter, we must use our minds.

The apostle Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 6:12 & 10:23 that the expanse of freedom the Christian has in Christ Jesus is all encompassing, but not everything we could choose to do or experience may be good for us. We have the freedom and the power to choose – so do non-Christians. One thing that I believe regularly turns off non-Christians about Christians is that very often we seem to choose without thinking, or expect other Christians to fall in line with our thinking because we must be inherently “right” in our views on a particular matter. While I do expect ALL Christians to agree on fundamental doctrinal issues (the divinity of Christ, the totality of sin in our nature, the full atonement of the Crucifixion, the supremacy of God in all things, the essential necessity of forgiveness and so on), I think we often stretch our credibility with others when we react – and expect an en masse "Christian" reaction – to things in popular culture which we object to.

Very often these urgings come to us from brothers and sisters who are sincere in their efforts to be helpful to the cause of Christ and who are acting out of honest feelings of love and concern for others. Very often these issues DO require sober consideration on our part. Very often these warnings ARE useful and should be heeded. But we need to proceed from a solid understanding of the issue at hand, and a clear sense of our purpose in regard to our mission for Christ in the world.

In the case of books, movies, TV programs, video games, internet entertainment and other mass media I believe our loving responsibility, to each other Christian or not, is to be informed and be able to speak the truth of Christ into these issues. Some brothers and sisters may not be able to deal with some material without it seriously affecting them adversely – they must know themselves in this regard and refrain. Some media does not need to be viewed to be opposed (pornography, hyper violent fantasy, promotion of bigotry, fascism and other obviously dark and reprehensible themes), however there are, I pray, those who are gifted by God to view, understand and refute these very dark and evil things well. Other media falls into a wider category where we need to be discerning by learning what we can about it, understanding what we may be able to glean from viewing it and using our experience and knowledge of God's Word and will (Yes, you're going to have to do some Bible study here people, but wouldn't it be refreshing for others to encounter some Christians with reasonable Bible knowledge for a change instead of just reactive dogmatism as their basis for argument? 'Nuff said!) to dialogue with friends and family about the Gospel as we talk about it.

As an example, I believe the “Harry Potter” phenomenon has provided untold opportunities to engage a whole generation of young people on the issues of power and its proper use, the struggle between good and evil, issues of morality and character and other ideas that easily lead to spiritually significant discussions. Frankly, I thank God for J.K. Rowling when I think of her, and I pray for her too.

Now we have “The Golden Compass”. The email I received that started all of this had an article attached that was verifiable and from a credible source. I am including the following links to help you broaden your perspective on this issue. Undoubtedly, some of you will view this movie, some of you won’t. Neither is a sin. Why you do or don’t might be though, because God is concerned with WHY we do things. It is the state of our heart (and minds) that He is most concerned with (see Philippians 4:7).

Dear friends please read, then pray, if this issue matters to you – but remember we are all accountable for our choices and decisions, so we should make them as well as we can in the Grace of God.

'The Golden Compass' - Atheist Propaganda for Children?

Director Defends Golden Compass

'Golden Compass' movie opening to controversy

Golden Compass Under Fire

"I'm Not Afraid of Atheists (Or Their Movie)"

Please consider that we can only show the grace of Jesus effectively when we understand what we are being gracious about.

Shalom

Signs of the Apocalypse

Over at my friend Lee Distad's blog are a number of disturbing entries that have gotten me thinking about the "end of days". Certainly my parent's generation witnessed cataclysmic events, and so have I from the fall of the Berlin Wall to 9/11. Still when many strange and inexplicable things begin to happen people are often inclined to see destruction looming on the horizon.

Whether it is the voice of satirical investment advice trumpeting the imminent demise of the investment market or yet another article documenting how the once-mighty Sony has lost its way in an even more dramatic way, the general market news isn't very good it seems. And for those of us with nothing little in the way of investments this comes as even more of a shock as we have not been paying that close of attention to anything having to do with money.

The utterly astonishing is now passing for the highest of quality these days. Those who claim some level of education or to at least be in the process of obtaining knowledge can't pass the weakest pop quiz. The marketplace is rapidly becoming a third-world minefield of substandard and dangerous import products. The marketing sharks are going after your money through the lives of your not-as-yet teenagers. And private equity firms are prepared to finance every bad idea they can get their hands on.

Then there's the fact that Lee created 7 new posts in only one day leaving me with a hopeless backlog to catch up on. And finally, Lee is mediating grace and forgiveness between previously warring factions in a manner that might make all pastors unnecessary in the very near future. (Undoubtedly, Lee will modestly demure regarding his involvement in this affair, but we the cognoscenti know differently.)

It sure looks like the apocalypse to me.

Shalom
*I hope!*

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

If ya can't beat 'em.

My pirate name is:

Iron Sam Cash

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. You're musical, and you've got a certain style if not flair. You'll do just fine. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Get a BETTER name.

He's named after a bird.

A little bird!

Jack Sparrow (pah!) meet IRON SAM CASH!

I'm probably taking this whole Johnny Depp/Cap'n Jack Sparrow thing too far but, hey - PIRATE!

Arrrr!

Pirate!

OK.

My wife bought tickets to the new "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie. Three days in advance of the day we will go. She's home right now watching the first movie, and will likely watch the second movie too before we go on Saturday to see more.

My marriage has officially gotten very crowded now that Johnny Depp has moved in.

First there was the safely quirky "Edward Scissorhands".

Then the innocent and cute "Benny and Joon".

Next thing I know the guy's playing "Don Juan DeMarco" with every woman in North America.

And now the guy's a PIRATE and he's everywhere I LOOK!!!

But can I go on and on about Marg Helgenberger...(gimme a break guys - I'm a bit older, OK?)...Noooooooooooooooooo!!

Bloody pirate!

*spits*

Going Off On the Links

This title is slightly humorous because I don't golf - sort of. Indeed, I've frequently threatened to call my memoirs "The Pastor Who Would Not Golf". The Scots - my tribe - may have invented the game, but a Scot gave it the most accurate description ever. Robbie Burns said, "Golf is a good walk, spoil'd."

I have to be truthful though, I play computer golf, only because I can do so on the easiest setting and thereby kick everybody's butt. The thing that scares me is that after playing all of Tiger Wood's PGA Tour '06 I only made one hole-in-one! How rare would that achievement be on the expert setting?! It would probably be frustrating enough to make Billy Graham go postal.

I know a lot of pastors who golf, but I just don't get it. This gig is frustrating enough without going out and volunteering to take on some more. It would be like being an auto mechanic who always bought the worst cars reported in the Lemonaidcars Report just because he - or she - didn't think there was enough stress in their lives or grease under their fingernails.

Anyway, digressions aside, I'm just here to point you to the "links" section of this blog. If you've wandered here by mistake as 99.9% of our visitors do and you've figured out that this is a CWOT (Colossal Waste Of Time) as 99.9% of our visitors do then I hope you'll find something amusing to follow in my links list. This list is still evolving and will undergo periodic changes and updates, but it is probably the most accurate reflection of my tastes and interests on this page. Try not to let your pity for me overwhelm you, and maybe click on a few.

**WARNING**

As a note of caution, due to the very nature of the intermessnet some links may lead ultimately to places with questionable material for viewing at workplaces or by minors or by narrow-minded 'fraidy-cats.

In the first case - go back to work! There's nothing you need here for that quarterly report. Seriously, your company is paying you for your time. Do you really want to have to explain this to the sys-admin? I mean playing Sudoku online is one thing, but getting caught looking at my blog - that's just sad!

In the next case, if you don't know what your kids are doing online why don't you just build a basketball court or skate-park for them in the middle of the Trans-Canada Highway? Or maybe buy them a Colt .45 revolver but refuse to send them to firearms safety training? Again, seriously now, what are you thinking? If you've been paying even the most cursory attention lately you'd know there are more ways for your kids to get into trouble on the internet than there are ways to use/lose/spend money in Las Vegas. Those children are your responsibility, so suck it up and exercise some parental prerogative - and don't say you're "scared" of your kid. I know you can take 'em! And hey - you're the parent - who says you have to fight fair?!

And if you happen to be one of "those kids" just cruising the 'net let me say this - if you wouldn't look at it with your mom or dad looking over your shoulder why the heck would you look at it ever while your young, inexperienced and helpless butt is still being fed, clothed and sheltered by your parent's hard work and sweat? They're the ones paying for the IP you're using and you spit on them by breaking their rules and disappointing their expectations? Wanna be a grown-up? Pay the bills sunshine - and don't complain. Until you can do that you owe your parents your obedience. Don't break their trust in you. It's impossible to completely repair. I know from personal experience.

In the third case, just know this - I may see stuff from time to time that is ugly, profane, frightening, gross, violent or otherwise icky. But I don't revel in it. It's not my desire. And the truth is that, in life, the divine is found often amidst the profane. Christ was called a "friend of sinners" and accused of having what Garth Brooks would have called "friends in low places". But Jesus wasn't low. I know I'm prone to temptation and sin, but I am trying to not be afraid to go anywhere or face anything if it will help me understand others and follow Jesus closer. There are many disturbing things in this world, but ignoring them will not change them. We need to face them with the mind of Christ and see what God is already doing. If you close your eyes, you close your heart.

Hey, I suddenly feel much lighter. Blogging can be therapeutic!

*Breathes deeply - a smile steals across his face.*

Shalom.

The Interconnectedness of Things

I was listening to The Current this morning on CBC and was struck my some interesting connections. The RCMP is about to open their new museum in Regina, not far from where your humble servant makes his home, and excitement for some is running high. This new facility will be a place that celebrates, educates about and promotes the storied history of Canada's national police force. Meanwhile the community of Houston, B.C. will be the site of a public inquiry into the death of a man in RCMP custody last October as covered by The Current this morning. And here in Saskatchewan, while the new museum opens, the RCMP detachment responsible for policing the community I live in has not been fully staffed since before we moved here 5 years ago, and they have not had a detachment commander for over 7 months as a direct result of decisions made by persons higher up the chain of command.

I am a great supporter of the RCMP. My parents told me that the first career I ever said I wanted to pursue was being an RCMP officer. It stuck for a while, too. I remember wanting to pursue this line even as late as Jr. High School. My Kruder Preference Test scores said I'd be best suited for social work, and the police are at the decidedly pointy end of that particular line of work. It amuses me that I'm in social work now, albeit in a different role. I even work fairly closely with the RCMP as I serve as the chairperson of our local Community Justice Committee.

That's why I'm going to say my piece here. One of the biggest flaws I've detected in the leadership of the RCMP in the past several years is their intense aversion to scrutiny and criticism. Let me just offer this one observation - when, now ex-Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli took his post several years ago I noticed one other news story about him besides the announcement. The story related how he purchased a (as I recall) $7000 pair of custom made dress riding boots during the first week of his service as Commissioner. I remember thinking that was a very interesting priority for the new leader of the RCMP to act on in the first days of his new job. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about Commissioner Zaccardelli's legacy, but I can safely say I'm not impressed.

There is something seriously wrong in the leadership echelon of our national police force. The hard-working, dedicated and utterly selfless members of the detachment that services our area are worked beyond their capacity, frustrated by their limited resources - especially human - and appear to be under supported by their leaders. In the meanwhile, we are dealing with serious issues in our town that could be addressed effectively by being able to forge creative initiatives with our local police, except they can't be here for us to work with because they are literally running from pillar to post trying to meet the demands placed on them. And tens of millions of dollars have been spent over the last 5 years or more on the new museum.

I'm frustrated, other leaders in our town are frustrated, I know members of the detachment are frustrated. And the message keeps coming from the top - "Everything's OK!"

The truth is always somewhere in between. What is disconcerting is that one would hope that the RCMP would be more interested in the truth, rather than the spin.

I'm involved in justice issues because through the Community Justice Committee I get the opportunity to work on restorative justice issues and initiatives. I get to contribute to my community and help raise the quality of life in our town and area. I get to work with people who are passionate about truth, justice, community and relationships. I get to work with the best police force I know of, the RCMP. But our police partners are suffering from a lack of visionary leadership and political support. Ultimately this comes down to us - that's the way democracy works. Ultimately if the national police force has a problem it is a political problem and thus our problem. And you should care because it's your money that pays for it.

I want to be happy about the fine new RCMP Museum in Regina. I want to whole-heartedly congratulate the force for the fine work they've done in creating such a wonderful resource for us to share. Only, I can't be fully happy, or completely whole-hearted in my response until some very serious issues get taken care of. Such is the interconnectedness of things sometimes. No pure joy - no pure sorrow. But it is worthwhile to work towards joy - more joy than we have right now.

Someone once said, "Wherever you go, there you are." I don't believe anyone is anywhere by choice. You don't have to believe what I do, but I know this, no one ever chose the time and place of their birth. When Israel was in exile in Babylon, God basically said the same thing to them, essentially, "As long as you are here, make things better."

We're working on a few things here, trying to make them better. Maybe if we do they will help make other things better here and elsewhere. Because we're all connected and this isn't a "local" issue, I'm praying that some of you will get involved, too. Write a letter asking why things are the way they are. Visit your local detachment and ask about the civilian volunteer programs the RCMP has. Get involved in your community - city and provincial police face the same challenges the RCMP do. If the RCMP prospers nationally we'll all benefit.

Shalom.