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My Christmas Card 2019 - My Diversity Christmas

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By Mark Mangie 2019 has been a hectic and disturbing year.   While our nation is enjoying unprecedented prosperity, the political climate has gone south in a major way.   These are difficult times as politics cause irreparable harm to close family ties and longtime friendships.   Even churches struggle to bridge the unbridgeable. It seems hopeless Maybe…maybe not. Brush away the surface, sometimes the body politic, despite itself, is way ahead of the political “leaders” who pretend to lead. Ask any diversity director in the area.   They will tell you that Youngstown, Ohio, is historically one of the most racially and ethnically divided areas in the entire United States.   You can circle the ethnic and racial enclaves on the map.   Slavs/Poles on Westside and Lansingville.   Jews on the far Northside and Liberty Township. Blacks in the inner city.   Hispanics on the East Side.   Italians in Struthers, Campbell, Lowellville, and parts of Boardman.   White Anglo-Saxon Prot
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The First to Go

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By Mark Mangie. One of the many blessings of my life has been a long association with a group of people with whom I went to college. We met in 1968 at the newly designated Youngstown State University.   The old St. Joseph Catholic Church was located at the corner of Wick and Rayen Avenues.   It had an old, creaky pipe organ to which, for some unremembered reason, I was given access to play. While practicing one day, a voice called up to me in the organ loft and said he was enjoying the music.   He introduced himself and asked me to join him at his club’s headquarters located in the old church rectory next door. That was my introduction to the Newman Student Organization, the Catholic collegiate organization.     It was the heady time of flower children and political turmoil.   The Newman Center provided an old fashioned “safe space” for us Catholics to delve into the realm of political activism.   I was the outsider because I went to a public school. Everyone else went to
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Psalm 19 - The Heavens are Telling

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Psalm 19 is the Episcopal Lectionary Psalm for this Sunday.  It is better known as The Heavens are Telling.  Many of us are familiar with the great oratorio choral music pieces of Handel and Bach.  But the Creation by Franz Josef Haydn is a gem. Written in 1797/98...it celebrates the Creation of the world incorporating three content sources: The Book of Genesis / The Book of Psalms / and Milton's Paradise Lost.  The Heavens are Telling is the finale of the piece.  It is a lot of fun to sing...not particularly difficult.  It is almost hokey in its construction.  Every time I have chorally performed it I am smiling, almost laughing, at the end because the movement of the music is so predictable.  Hope you enjoy it. 
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Why Young People Drop Out of Church

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Lifeway Research provides many research tools and programs geared toward growing your church.  As attendance drops in all mainline Protestant denominations, especially the liturgical denominations, knowledge is power.  Here is some data provided by Lifeway Research as to the dynamic of young adults leaving the church.  You can reach the primary site by clicking here.  
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10 Songs for a Snowy Weekend

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10 Songs for a Snowy Weekend
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Sunshine Day

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It's a Sunshine Day The Brady Bunch I think i'll go for a walk outside now the summer sun's callin my name (i hear ya now) i just can't stay inside all day i gotta get out get me some of those rays everybody's smilin sunshine day everybody's laughin sunshine day everybody seems so happy today it's a sunshine day I think I'll go for a walk out side now the summer sun knows me by name (he's callin me) I gotta get out, gotta get out, gotta get away I gotta get away, get away, get away, get away... Into the sunshine day... can't you dig the sunshine Now its all but the same can't you hear him callin your name? Oh, I think I'll take a walk everyday now the summer sun has shown the way to be happy now I just can't stay inside all day I gotta get out get me some of those rays... everybody's smilin sunshine …
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Wade in the Water

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DO YOU KNOW THE SECRET CODES IN WADE IN THE WATER  by Calvin Earl Link to Original Article Here I was recently asked the question: “What does the song “Wade in the Water” mean in its entirety?” This is a question I have been asked many times and am always happy to answer. In fact, I’ve dedicated a entire page on my website http://www.calvinearl.com/wade-in-the-water/ to describe the meaning of the spiritual “Wade In The Water”. Not only is is an amazing spiritual, but it is one of the spirituals that is still widely sung today, both for educational purposes and Christian baptism practices. On my website page I explain the secret codes and meaning, their is also an educational video, a sound recording and lyrics of the song on that page. Take a look and listen to the sound recording. Let me know what you think! Below is a sample of the information on my website page. Peace and love all around. ***Wade In The Water is one of the spirituals that has many secret codes em
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