Christmas Ice Skating Benefit
The following is an invitation from my friends at Life Force, Inc. about an ice skating event on Sat., Dec 6 from 6:45 - 9 pm at the Rockville Ice Arena (50 Southlawn Ct., Rockville, MD 20850):
Bring the whole family to the 4th Annual Christmas Ice Skating Benefit. If you can't make it, send the kids. There are car pools forming and there is no charge for admission. We will have a whole rink to ourselves. Feel free to come at the last minute!
This is a SAME LOCATION as last year (www.rockvilleicearena.com). Non-skaters are welcome! There is a full service restaurant/snack bar, The Village Grill. It will be open and is in the arena. They also serve Starbucks! Santa will also be making a visit (but maybe not on skates)! This event will bring new meaning to our rallying cry, Skate for your life!
ANY monetary donations will be accepted with ALL proceeds going to our local St. Catherine Laboure Gabriel Project (www.gpscl.org, Wheaton, MD, 301-946-4815 ) and local Birthright (www.birthright.org, birthrightmc@verizon.net Wheaton, MD, 301-946-3339) and Project Rachel (projectrachel@adw.org , 301-982-2008) organizations.
Gabriel Project assists women and familes facing crisis pregnancies by providing practical, emotional and spiritual support. After the baby is born, they continue to help as long as there is a need and stay in touch their mothers indefinitely.
Birthright is an inter-denominational crisis pregnancy center. They give free pregnancy tests, plus non-judgmental and confidential guidance to woman. After a pregnancy test, they do as much follow up, to include material aids, with the woman as she desires.
Project Rachel is a post-abortion healing ministry that offers compassionate help to men and women who have experienced emotional and or spiritual pain after abortion. This is available regardless of his or her faith background.
Please make your checks payable as follows: Life Force Inc. c/o Mary Sloan 2307 Pondside Ter Silver Spring, MD 20906* Note "Christmas Ice Skating Benefit" in the Memo field. For your convenience, you can also donate online using Paypal. Please put "Christmas Ice Skating Benefit" in the Subject/Note field.
Bring your own skates if you have them. Otherwise, skates can be rented at the rink. Please respond by November 30th (301.438.8447) with number of skaters in your family or extended family so we can get a head count. Ice skate rentals and number of skaters on the ice are limited so please respond and get there on time. Last year, we did max out with the number of skaters on the ice. Feel free to send this invite to other friends and family. Our goal is to have as many families as possible.
posted by Fr Greg @ 10:13 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
This question is in a round-a-bout way related to this post. I tend to cluster some life and death issues when I read or hear thoughts written by pro-life, pro-choice, anti-abortion, etc. proponents. FOCA is huge issue that president-elect Obama will have to deal with, if it makes it to his desk. Hopefully, the long list of approvals necessary for Obama's signature will keep it buried, forever. But, FOCA is only one of several abortion related issues that Obama will contend with during his presidency. "There are genuine abortion-related issues worthy of debate right now -- proposals to lift the ban on federally sponsored embryonic stem-cell research and restrictions on U.S. assistance to nongovernmental organizations that provide abortion counseling, to name just two" (www.ncronline.org).
To my knowledge, not all stem cell research is destructive or disrespectful to human life, and embryonic tissue is not the ONLY source of stem cells. Does the following comment give us something to contemplate?
"I hope that when the Bishops do decide to discuss the stem cell issue that they will inform themselves more of the observations of scientists and embryologists than to simply rely on what they believe are truisms. They were very wrong with the Copernican theories because they failed to understand them or even try to learn about them. They only wanted to put to death those that supported them. Are the Bishops repeating their historical ignorance about science? Are we, the People of God, supporting their ignorance? It all happened once before but there is not a Bishop among them that will today teach that the sun revolves around the earth. So much for infallible Bishops' teachings.
Why are Bishops so hesitant to admit to errors? It takes humanity out of anyone that fails to admit when they are wrong. Do we once again have a vindictive Episcopate fighting the observations of science?"
Peace and understanding,
R. Dennis Porch, MD
Submitted by R. Dennis Porch, MD (not verified) on Wed, 11/26/2008 - 01:59 (www.ncronline.org).
"I hope that when the Bishops do decide to discuss the stem cell issue that they will inform themselves more of the observations of scientists and embryologists than to simply rely on what they believe are truisms."
I don’t understand the point the author is making. The Bishops aren’t wrong about embryonic stem cell research. The embryos aren’t left untouched and they aren’t given the opportunity to develop to their full potential- no scientist or embryologist will dispute that. Since the church teaches that life begins at conception, and Catholics accept this teaching as truth, what other position could the church possible have other than to say that embryonic stem cell research is wrong? There is no misunderstood science here.
The church supports methods of stem cell research that respect human dignity- extracting stem cells from adults or umbilical cords. Research in those areas have been promising, especially in the treatment of MS and heart disease, to name only a few.
I don’t understand the arguments of those who support ESCR. Actively obtaining ESC has to be seen as wrong- we have laws that prevent us from farming human beings. I can’t imagine anyone would support creating embryos for the purpose of research (although who knows in this world). So, where else do we get them- leftover embryos? That seems to be the acceptable viable source for those in support of ESCR, the reasoning being that they are “leftover” and will only be destroyed. So, do those same people think it’s okay to do research on prisoners on death row, the terminally ill, the elderly or any others already close to death. Would they support research on unwanted and abandoned children? Of course not, but accepting the argument that the embryos should be used b/c they’ll die anyway amounts to the same thing. That is the group of people who need to be better informed.
U.S. Bishop's Statement on Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Conclusion
"The issue of stem cell research does not force us to choose between science and ethics, much less between science and religion. It presents a choice as to HOW our society will pursue scientific and medical progress. Will we ignore ethical norms and use some of the most vulnerable human beings as objects, undermining the respect for himan life that is at the foundation of the healing arts? Such a course, even it it led to rapid technical progress, would be a regress in our efforts to build a society that is fully human. Instead we must pursue progress in ethically responsible ways that respect the dignity of each human being. Only this will produce cures and treatments that everyone can live with."
usccb.org.prolife/issues/bioethics/bishopsESCRstmt.pdf
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