Thanks to Barbara Barnes for her 'heads-up' on this story
Pope, Expressing Solidarity With Jews, Reacts to Uproar Over a Holocaust Denier
by Rachel Donadio
New York Times, January 28, 2009
ROME — Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday addressed for the first time the uproar over his decision to rehabilitate a Holocaust-denying bishop, expressing solidarity with Jews and strongly condemning Holocaust denial.
In his weekly audience with the public on Wednesday, Benedict said he “renewed with love” his “full and indisputable solidarity” with Jews, whom he called “our brothers of the first covenant.”
Read the rest of the story here
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Thanks also to Sally Lehr for bringing this local story to our attention.
Digital TV Beckons, but Many Miss the Call
by Jacques Steinberg (Thayer Evans contributed reporting)
New York Times, January 28, 2009
Michael Stravato for The New York Times
Vesta Clemmons, left, watches as Samantha Greenwood tries to hook up a digital converter box
HOUSTON — Vesta Clemmons, who is 77 and lives alone, relies on the battered Zenith television in her tiny apartment here as more than just a lifeline to the outside world.
It’s like a friend,” she said in her living room, which is also her dining room and bedroom. “I would feel very isolated without it. I get lonesome anyway.”
So Ms. Clemmons was concerned to learn from a public-service campaign that after Feb. 17 the rooftop antenna connected to her television would no longer function properly, and thus neither would her TV — unless she bought and installed an adaptor. On that day the country’s broadcast stations have long been scheduled to shut down the old-fashioned, analog signals that have carried their programming since the days of Milton Berle, and replace them with high-definition digital signals that offer a clearer picture, among other benefits. ......................
...................Ultimately she received peace of mind from an unlikely source: Meals on Wheels. For several months now, drivers and volunteers for the Houston-area program have been delivering and installing digital converter boxes for its clients — as a side dish alongside the baked chicken and stewed peaches that are their usual fare. Ms. Clemmons’s turn came last week.
Go here for the whole story
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The NYTimes story prompted an open letter from Elliot Gershenson of Interfaith Ministries (IM). It is reproduced below:
Dear friends,
If you have not yet heard, IM was the focus of a lead story in today’s New York Times. The story about our work and the DTV coalition is heart-warming. I’d like to remind you that when we determined to be bold and pull together a coalition almost no one here in the community or around the country was trying to get ahead of the curve – before the February 17th deadline. It was our very own Bridget Samuel who convinced us that we had to do something – before we knew how this was going to work. We took a big gamble and it has paid off for our clients, the community and for IM. We didn’t know that HEB would step up and offer the coalition the converter boxes for no additional charge beyond the coupon; we didn’t know that KHOU would ask to join us to tell the story; we didn’t know that 30 congregations would step up and ask their congregants to donate their unused coupons; we didn’t know that Volunteer Houston would step up and manage the volunteers; we didn’t know that many organizations serving seniors would join the coalition; and we didn’t know that Meals on Wheels Association of America would provide us $40,000 to cover some of the expenses (mostly staffing for IM and Volunteer Houston).
Sometimes we have to do some things on faith. And this time it paid off.
I doubt that five years ago IM would have taken this gamble. Even in these difficult times we have proven that staying true to our vision and mission makes us stronger. There are many hundreds and even thousands of seniors who will be served because of Bridget’s urging that we and the Houston community serve the need of seniors. Samantha Greenwood, who has been assigned to shepherd this along is doing incredible work, along with many others at IM and Volunteer Houston. Hundreds of volunteers from religious and corporate groups will be involved.
I hope you are smiling right now. The decisions we make, and the steps we take to implement those decisions define us. Tell the story. Share the love and care that we have for our seniors and also our refugee families and for the bridges that IM builds every day. There are many people yearning to hear our story – seeking a more connected world. DTV converters connect people to the outside world who can’t afford cable; IM makes us all family.
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