Somers High School Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) is having a talent Show at the end of the month. The show’s headline is, Talent – our Anti-Drug and it will feature talented students singing, playing instruments, dancing, twirling, telling jokes and rapping. Participants are active and talented kids we seer everyday around town. I know this because, through my involvement in Somers Comes Together, I was one of those who previewed the talent. Anyone who has a chance to go to the show should not miss it.
Somers Comes Together is the community group made up of school administrators, parents, interested townspeople and students, formed over fifteen years ago to help raise awareness in Somers that we have issues with alcohol and other substance abuse. I honestly do not know if Somers has a bigger or smaller problem than surrounding towns, and frankly, I do not think that matters. The abuse is real, and the abusers are the children of our community.
I have tried to be aware of substance abuse issues in our community over the years, and would like to think I do have some sense of what is going on. Even though we are no longer the community in all of America with the highest number per capita of alcohol related fatal car accidents, there is a great deal of alcohol and other substance abuse that exists just below the surface and just out of public view. Some families address these issues in an open and positive way, while others ignore what they suspect may be going on, and still others have no clue.
Since the fall I have become increasingly away and concerned about the wide spread abuse of prescription drugs among youth in our community. During conversations with teens in Somers I have learned that not only is it relatively easy to get these drugs, there is a thriving market for illegal prescription drugs in our midst. The teens are not involved in anything as huge as the drug heist recently in Enfield, but they are stealing two, three, or more pills from the medicine cabinet at home, at a grandparent’s home, or in the home where there are a guest or a babysitter. The kids are urged. By other kids, to look for leftover prescription drugs at home.
There are simple things we can do to help lesson the abuse of prescription drugs. Clean-out the medicine cabinet, your pocketbook, your bedside table, the cupboard – anywhere you keep prescriptions. Properly dispose of any leftover medicines you have, keeping in mind that flushing them down the toilet may not be the best solution. Be aware of how many pills are in your prescription bottles, and pay attention if your supply seems to run out too fast.
One of the things that really surprised me was the number of times the kids told me that a parent or other adult had given them a pill that had been prescribed for someone else, whether a pain killer, or allergy medication, or tranquilizer. Having prescriptions for a variety of maladies and conditions seems to be a way of life in our culture, and prescriptions are so commonplace that some forget that medication is prescribed not only based on symptoms, but also on age, height, weight, medical history and other factors. Not only is it foolish and illegal to give prescription medication to someone for whom it was not prescribed, it is also dangerous. Death can result from this kind of sharing.
Members of SADD are concerned about the welfare of their friends and classmates. They are aware of the speed with which prescription drug abuse has been accelerating in Somers. They look to the adults around them to step up and help address and overcome the problem, before abuse leads to a tragic end. I hope you will join me in supporting Somers Comes Together, SADD and other school and community efforts to bring alcohol and other substance abuse under control.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day Plus Forty
On the first Earth Day, I was a senior in high school and there was a lot of energy available for action in support of a good cause. In the region of New Hampshire where I live, the Keene High School took the lead and organized an event, to which they invited other high schools. A group from Peterborough, where I went to school, organized to put together a display for the Keene event, but that did not seem to be enough, so we added action.
On the Sunday, April 19, we started early in the morning at Peterborough High School and walked and collected trash along the side of NH Route 101 from Peterborough to Keene, about 20 miles. It took all day. There were probably about 30 kids involved, along with some adults, and we did a great job. We also got a lot less press and recognition than any of us thought we would or should have.
I drove most of that route when I was in New Hampshire recently and major changes have been made to improve the road and to make the travel time, by car, much shorter. There are new businesses and houses along the way and some of the old familiar places have grown and morphed and are now unrecognizable. There is still litter along the road.
Like most things in the late sixties and early seventies Earth Day seemed to me and my friends to be the beginning of an earth-changing movement. We had gathered, were taking action to make the world a better place, and it would be a better place because of what we did. Things have improved over the years. Things that seemed to be totally normal to us, like cigarette smoke, sewage draining into rivers, and gas guzzling cars are no longer acceptable. Even though there was still trash on the side of Route 101, there seemed to be less of it, and there were several miles that had been “adopted” by local groups and businesses, so they were looking spiffier than they had been forty years ago. I noticed there were recycling bins at the side of the road in places, waiting to be picked up, and everyone one of the “dumps” we used to throw away the collected litter in 1970 has been closed, every town now operating a Transfer Station!
There seems to have been a rebirth of Earth Day activities lately, with more towns restarting their litter pick-up efforts, and more local people aware of Earth Day and what it celebrates. That is a good thing. We are surrounded by such beauty and easily forget what a gift it is.
We did not completely change the world on that first Earth Day. There is still plenty to be done to make the earth cleaner and safer for everyone. But our efforts were part of something larger that has kept moving and changing, bringing awareness and action that has benefitted everyone on the planet.
Happy Earth Day +40
On the Sunday, April 19, we started early in the morning at Peterborough High School and walked and collected trash along the side of NH Route 101 from Peterborough to Keene, about 20 miles. It took all day. There were probably about 30 kids involved, along with some adults, and we did a great job. We also got a lot less press and recognition than any of us thought we would or should have.
I drove most of that route when I was in New Hampshire recently and major changes have been made to improve the road and to make the travel time, by car, much shorter. There are new businesses and houses along the way and some of the old familiar places have grown and morphed and are now unrecognizable. There is still litter along the road.
Like most things in the late sixties and early seventies Earth Day seemed to me and my friends to be the beginning of an earth-changing movement. We had gathered, were taking action to make the world a better place, and it would be a better place because of what we did. Things have improved over the years. Things that seemed to be totally normal to us, like cigarette smoke, sewage draining into rivers, and gas guzzling cars are no longer acceptable. Even though there was still trash on the side of Route 101, there seemed to be less of it, and there were several miles that had been “adopted” by local groups and businesses, so they were looking spiffier than they had been forty years ago. I noticed there were recycling bins at the side of the road in places, waiting to be picked up, and everyone one of the “dumps” we used to throw away the collected litter in 1970 has been closed, every town now operating a Transfer Station!
There seems to have been a rebirth of Earth Day activities lately, with more towns restarting their litter pick-up efforts, and more local people aware of Earth Day and what it celebrates. That is a good thing. We are surrounded by such beauty and easily forget what a gift it is.
We did not completely change the world on that first Earth Day. There is still plenty to be done to make the earth cleaner and safer for everyone. But our efforts were part of something larger that has kept moving and changing, bringing awareness and action that has benefitted everyone on the planet.
Happy Earth Day +40
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Health Care Insurance gets Personal
I think about health care insurance a lot. Because of a strange series of events, I find myself today with no health insurance coverage. This could prove to be a problem as I am diabetic and have high blood pressure. In the very near future, I should have new health insurance coverage, but in the mean time, I am concerned.
My current uninsured state crashed in on me today when I found out that the coverage I thought I had does not exist. The Association which we paid for the coverage is not authorized to sell insurance in Connecticut. The representative of the Connecticut Department of Insurance I talked with put it simply, “That is not an insurance company.” Obviously, not able to provide health insurance coverage. He did not seem to be upset about this turn of events as I.
I ended up checking with the Department of Insurance after an online search for information about the Association turned up a posting saying it is a scam. I was taken. The posting also contained information about other insurance companies, and ads for them, so it seemed wise to check with the Dept. of Insurance.
Maybe I should have known better. Initially I found the coverage through a web search. But, I also had had conversations with a live person on several occasions before agreeing to buy. The coverage offered seemed adequate at a price that was not unreasonable. It was not unbelievable coverage. The cost was not “too good to be true”. It all seemed legitimate and above board, so I went for it.
I was searching on line for health insurance because the coverage I had through the United Church of Christ Pension Boards had changed in the middle of 2009. Between July and August my out-of-pocket cost for prescriptions had increased 800%. What had been reasonable co-pay for prescriptions had changed and the total coverage had become $30 a month. I needed to find new insurance.
The change in the insurance coverage was horrible for me. It left me wondering what I would do about prescriptions and other medical needs. And then, while I was anxious and distressed about these changes, I got several letters and e-mails from various leaders of the United Church of Christ urging me to support the denomination’s campaign to support health care reform and to urge congress to pass a bill that would assure affordable health care for all.
There was a disconnect. Here I was, a pastor with nearly thirty years of service in the United Church of Christ, a strong record of supporting Basic Support and other giving to the denomination, and because of a decision I had made twenty years ago, when my life situation was completely different than it is now, I was not able to get anything but minimal health insurance coverage from the Pension Boards of my denomination. I made calls and sent e-mails to the Pension Boards and to the head of the UCC’s Minister for Healthcare Justice, but got no response. The Connecticut Conference Associate Minister for Clergy Concerns was sympathetic and even offered me a grant to help pay for the prescriptions I had just picked up. He also made it clear that there was no hope the Pension Boards would ever allow me to change to better coverage.
As a denomination, the United Church of Christ values our commitment to justice and our reputation for compassion. It is very hard to realize how I, and others in similar situations, have been failed by the denomination. While the UCC related Christian Activities Council in Hartford was being celebrated nationally for receiving a grant to underwrite their advocacy of affordable health care for all and the General Synod was resolving to support health care justice, clergy in the UCC were having their benefits reduced.
I am fairly confident that I will find health care insurance in a short while. I am even sure that it will be affordable and adequate. I am positive that it will not be provided by the United Church of Christ Pension Boards.
I love the United Church of Christ and will continue to support this denomination, but in the future, I will be aware of how easy it is to fall into the trap of saying words that are not back with action. The challenge to act in faithful and just ways is as real and as difficult as it has been since the first days of the church.
Peace -
Barry
My current uninsured state crashed in on me today when I found out that the coverage I thought I had does not exist. The Association which we paid for the coverage is not authorized to sell insurance in Connecticut. The representative of the Connecticut Department of Insurance I talked with put it simply, “That is not an insurance company.” Obviously, not able to provide health insurance coverage. He did not seem to be upset about this turn of events as I.
I ended up checking with the Department of Insurance after an online search for information about the Association turned up a posting saying it is a scam. I was taken. The posting also contained information about other insurance companies, and ads for them, so it seemed wise to check with the Dept. of Insurance.
Maybe I should have known better. Initially I found the coverage through a web search. But, I also had had conversations with a live person on several occasions before agreeing to buy. The coverage offered seemed adequate at a price that was not unreasonable. It was not unbelievable coverage. The cost was not “too good to be true”. It all seemed legitimate and above board, so I went for it.
I was searching on line for health insurance because the coverage I had through the United Church of Christ Pension Boards had changed in the middle of 2009. Between July and August my out-of-pocket cost for prescriptions had increased 800%. What had been reasonable co-pay for prescriptions had changed and the total coverage had become $30 a month. I needed to find new insurance.
The change in the insurance coverage was horrible for me. It left me wondering what I would do about prescriptions and other medical needs. And then, while I was anxious and distressed about these changes, I got several letters and e-mails from various leaders of the United Church of Christ urging me to support the denomination’s campaign to support health care reform and to urge congress to pass a bill that would assure affordable health care for all.
There was a disconnect. Here I was, a pastor with nearly thirty years of service in the United Church of Christ, a strong record of supporting Basic Support and other giving to the denomination, and because of a decision I had made twenty years ago, when my life situation was completely different than it is now, I was not able to get anything but minimal health insurance coverage from the Pension Boards of my denomination. I made calls and sent e-mails to the Pension Boards and to the head of the UCC’s Minister for Healthcare Justice, but got no response. The Connecticut Conference Associate Minister for Clergy Concerns was sympathetic and even offered me a grant to help pay for the prescriptions I had just picked up. He also made it clear that there was no hope the Pension Boards would ever allow me to change to better coverage.
As a denomination, the United Church of Christ values our commitment to justice and our reputation for compassion. It is very hard to realize how I, and others in similar situations, have been failed by the denomination. While the UCC related Christian Activities Council in Hartford was being celebrated nationally for receiving a grant to underwrite their advocacy of affordable health care for all and the General Synod was resolving to support health care justice, clergy in the UCC were having their benefits reduced.
I am fairly confident that I will find health care insurance in a short while. I am even sure that it will be affordable and adequate. I am positive that it will not be provided by the United Church of Christ Pension Boards.
I love the United Church of Christ and will continue to support this denomination, but in the future, I will be aware of how easy it is to fall into the trap of saying words that are not back with action. The challenge to act in faithful and just ways is as real and as difficult as it has been since the first days of the church.
Peace -
Barry
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
What Is Your Verse?
Over the past few weeks I have been thinking about the way particular Bible verses are meaningful to different people. This has happened in some pretty diverse places.
In the course of preparing to officiate at a funeral I always ask family members if there is a particular passage of scripture that is meaningful to the deceased or to them. More often than not, the twenty third Psalm is mentioned, but there are also other choices. During the walking tour of North Cemetery led by The Gravestone Girls, I noticed for the first time that a verse we traditionally think of as part of the Christmas story is engraved on the the gravestone of the Rev. Charles Backus, our third pastor.
At the recent Board of Christian Education meeting we talked a bit about favorite Bible stories and our favorites among Jesus' parables. At different points in our lives, we are likely to find comfort for challenge in various passages that would not speak so clearly in other times.
Finally, in reading Lettie Russell's book, Church in the Round, I was intrigued by individual verses or passages chosen by congregations as guiding verses. A church that chose Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." as a guiding verse is certainly making a clear commitment and a clear statement about the direction of their ministry.
In the April 2010 edition of Highlights, our church newsletter, I have challenged members and friends of the church to offer suggestions for a guiding verse for our church. I hope to receive some good suggestions, and will make those public as I receive them. In addition to a guiding verse for a church, though, it is also interesting to think about what the guiding verse for an individual life might be.
Those looking for comfort and assurance would find a wealth of possible verses throughout Psalms, in the letters of Paul and in the teaching of Jesus. Inspiration to action can be found in the preaching of Jesus, the letters of Paul and throughout the books of the Prophets.
Most of us need to be reminded of God's love for us now and then, can benefit from reassurance about God's grace and may find it useful to be spurred to action in light of our faith.
Do you have a verse that you find yourself turning to over and over? Is there a story or parable that you remember as particular poignant to you? Think about it.
Blessings,
Barry
In the course of preparing to officiate at a funeral I always ask family members if there is a particular passage of scripture that is meaningful to the deceased or to them. More often than not, the twenty third Psalm is mentioned, but there are also other choices. During the walking tour of North Cemetery led by The Gravestone Girls, I noticed for the first time that a verse we traditionally think of as part of the Christmas story is engraved on the the gravestone of the Rev. Charles Backus, our third pastor.
At the recent Board of Christian Education meeting we talked a bit about favorite Bible stories and our favorites among Jesus' parables. At different points in our lives, we are likely to find comfort for challenge in various passages that would not speak so clearly in other times.
Finally, in reading Lettie Russell's book, Church in the Round, I was intrigued by individual verses or passages chosen by congregations as guiding verses. A church that chose Luke 4:18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." as a guiding verse is certainly making a clear commitment and a clear statement about the direction of their ministry.
In the April 2010 edition of Highlights, our church newsletter, I have challenged members and friends of the church to offer suggestions for a guiding verse for our church. I hope to receive some good suggestions, and will make those public as I receive them. In addition to a guiding verse for a church, though, it is also interesting to think about what the guiding verse for an individual life might be.
Those looking for comfort and assurance would find a wealth of possible verses throughout Psalms, in the letters of Paul and in the teaching of Jesus. Inspiration to action can be found in the preaching of Jesus, the letters of Paul and throughout the books of the Prophets.
Most of us need to be reminded of God's love for us now and then, can benefit from reassurance about God's grace and may find it useful to be spurred to action in light of our faith.
Do you have a verse that you find yourself turning to over and over? Is there a story or parable that you remember as particular poignant to you? Think about it.
Blessings,
Barry
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