"...in all Christian love..."

So, which is worse: Being attacked? Or being left undefended?

Either way, it sucks.

Pencils and scorecards ready?

I am, among other things, a lifelong Cubs fan. I mean REALLY lifelong-- I was almost born at home because when my mother went into labor, she refused to leave for the hospital until the game on TV was over. It's in my DNA. The official harbinger of spring has nothing to do with a timid rodent. Rather, it is when those fateful words are uttered: "Pitchers and Catchers Report." This is the world as it should be.

One of my buddies does not see it this way. For reasons unknown and unfathomable, Rev. Ref+ is a rabid football fan. Well, nice for him. Don't get me wrong-- football is okay, I guess. At least it serves to fill the gap between the World Series and Spring Training.

As you might imagine, the Ref and I have this ongoing argument discussion about the virtues of our favorite sports. For example, the Ref seems to find the untimed nature of baseball unsettling. He complains that it's too slow, that you spend three hours playing a game that only has 15-20 minutes of actual playing time. I have maintained that he has no room to talk, that football is just as bad-- actually worse, because that silly clock they pretend to use, lies.

And now I have proof:

According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

Want some more good news? Spring is less than a month away!

We are all family

By now, most of you have likely heard of the incredible devastation that resulted from yesterday's earthquake in Haiti. Whole city blocks destroyed, and estimates that as many as half a million people are dead and/or missing. The wreckage is so pervasive that there is no way to know for sure. There may never be.

Connections...

As it happens, Haiti is demographically the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church. We have very real and ongoing relationships-- through bishops, clergy, missionaries, aid workers, sister churches, etc.-- with these our brothers and sisters in Christ.

If you are in the habit of reading a daily devotional called "Forward Day by Day," you may note that the writer for January is a missionary priest, formerly stationed in the Sudan, currently serving in Haiti. Another "friend from back when" recently married a fine man from Haiti, which means they are now searching for members of her new family. Two aid workers from the Diocese of Chicago are, as of this writing, also among the missing.

Of course, none of this makes any difference as to whether or not we should care; but connections and relationships make the awareness of desperate need more acute... more real. Relationships remind us of what matters.

Here are some ways to help, in Jesus' name:

Episcopal Relief and Development

Catholic Relief Services

Lutheran Disaster Response

UCC Disaster Relief Fund

PC(USA) Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

United Methodist Committee on Relief

or if you prefer a nonsectarian effort, already on the ground, I'd suggest:

Doctors Without Borders

In any case... please say a prayer for the people of Haiti-- and then make your care tangible.