Greetings from Anthony and Kathleen
December 2006
Dear Friends and Family,
Peace, shalom, salaam to you all! This is to wish you all a happy holiday and a joyous New Year. We feel blessed in our work, our families, and our friends, and we wish the same for you!
We are pleased to announce the birth of a baby boy named Brandon to our delightful Malaysian daughter Anna Kee and her husband Allan. Born in February this year, Brandon is thriving and is scheduled to make his first trip to visit family in Malaysia with his parents over the holidays.
We are also pleased to share with you the joy of putting together a new book, EarthLight: Spiritual Wisdom for an Ecological Age (Anthony did the editing, and Kathleen the proofreading). We hope that this work will remind us to do our best to heal our hurting planet for the sake of future generations. You can find out more at EarthLight: Spiritual Wisdom for an Ecological Age.
During July we joined an historic gathering of Quakers sponsored by Friends General Conference, a national Quaker organization. Over 1,500 Quakers attended this weeklong gathering at Pacific Lutheran University near Tacoma, Washington—the first time it has been held in the western USA. Each morning we danced Universal Dances of Peace, and in the afternoon Anthony led a series of interest groups on interfaith peacemaking. We also heard wonderful speakers and musicians, connecting with many f/Friends, including fellow students from Pendle Hill, the retreat center where we met 19 years ago! It was an amazing experience!
In August we traveled along the coast to
northern California as far as Arcata, visiting
family and F/friends, camping out among the redwoods, and hiking at Big Sur. We
were delighted to discover offbeat places in northern California that aren’t in
the AAA guidebooks (like Hobbit Land, the Solar Living Center in Hopland, and
the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in Talmadge!). We were able to enjoy peace and
tranquility in Humboldt Redwood Forest State Park since we left before hoards of
Labor Day campers arrived! It was lovely to commune with the Big Trees in
relative solitude.
Kathleen had a very fulfilling year at Walteria United Methodist Church. Though it is a small, aging congregation, we continue to grow spiritually and do excellent Christian work:
§ Growing Friday night Kid’s Club to an average of 20 kids per week; Vacation Bible School had a record number of 46 children and 30 volunteers -- half were Korean!
§ Kids Club bought a well in Africa by raising $200 with Trick-or-Treat UNICEF. They are selling Christmas craft items made by impoverished families in Bethlehem.
§ Torrance Korean UMC (our mission church) grew significantly this year to 35 members -- up from 10 last year!
§ Community Hot Meal program has a record number of volunteers—almost too many for our tiny Social Hall! This homeless monthly lunch program expanded this year to include sandwich making by Kids Club and other churches.
§ Organic Fair Trade coffee is promoted and used at all church events to provide a fair wage to third world workers.
§ Legislators are contacted on faith issues, such as the war in Iraq & universal health care.
§ Special Sundays were celebrated: “Evolution Sunday” to explore evolution from a religious perspective; “Blessing the Animals Sunday” to bless dogs, cats, birds, hamsters – even a turtle – who represented God’s wonderful creation!
§ New Prayer Shawl Ministry began with twelve women who have made 20 shawls and lap blankets. These are blessed during the worship service, then given to “wrap God’s love” around those who are ill or going through hard times. Kathleen has knitted three shawls and two lap blankets -- more are in the works!
In addition to local church work, Kathleen is mentoring three active clergy who are in the process of completing their candidacy for full ordination. She also serves on a new District Living Into the Future Foundation to provide educational and program grants for clergy, laity and local churches in the Long Beach District.
It was “déjà vu all over again” when Kathleen returned to Community UMC in Huntington Beach for its 100th anniversary. She served as an associate pastor there twenty-five years ago, and enjoyed visiting with former colleagues, Revs. Virginia Fifield and Dick Burdine. Rev. Alena Uhamaka, whom Kathleen mentored six years ago, now serves in Kathleen’s former position as associate pastor – the wheel of time turns and returns!
Anthony continues to be active with the South Coast Interfaith Council (SCIC), where he now serves as co-chair of the Interfaith Relations Committee. This summer he helped to organize three “Interfaith Cafés” in which 40-60 lay people of different faiths gathered around small round tables to talk about their religious faiths in a friendly, supportive manner. In October he helped organize an Interfaith Café for youth which attracted 35 teens and was co-sponsored by a local mosque, the South Bay Islamic Center, and St. Mark’s Presbyterian Church in Lomita. We both attend an interfaith event at a synagogue, mosque or church at least 4-5 times per month!
Through Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (ICUJP) and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Anthony is becoming more prophetic in his stand for peace and justice. In September he signed the “Declaration of Peace,” calling for Congress to withdraw our troops from Iraq as soon as possible. He and around 90 others demonstrated at a military recruitment center in Hollywood. They had planned to risk arrest by blocking the entrance to this center and thereby commit civil disobedience. However, the military decided to close the center for the day in order to avoid bad publicity. Since no one was recruited to kill or be killed in Iraq that day, we counted this as a small victory.
Inspired by Earthlight, our new book on the environment, we have found new ways to lower our energy consumption at home. We grow some of our own vegetables in our garden, practice composting, and replaced all our incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient ones. When our old top-loading washing machine died, we bought a new front loading washer that uses only 1/3 as much water and electricity; an added bonus is that it has the “cool” sound of a 1950s flying saucer! We follow the example of our mothers and grandmothers by hanging up our clothes to dry in the sun. Our utility bills have dropped, and the clothes smell and look much fresher!
Our extended family of Asian students continues to flourish. In addition to Anna’s new baby, our Korean daughter Hye Jeong’s son Max celebrated his first birthday this June with a traditional Korean extravaganza at a gorgeous hilltop restaurant near Villa Park (Kathleen’s old home). He speaks a mixture of Korean and English. His mother says he doesn’t just walk—he “flies”!
We also visited our family. Anthony’s
frequent East Coast trips as a Pendle Hill Board
member enabled him to visit his sister Elizabeth, her husband Richie, and their
two children, Demetrios and Emily. We plan to spend Christmas with them in New
Jersey this year. All are doing well. Our ten-year-old nephew Demetrios aspires
to be an actor; our eleven-year-old niece Emily plays clarinet and is active
with the Girl Scouts and cheer leading. Kathleen’s five-year-old nephew keeps
her brother Jim & wife Anne busy with violin lessons, birthday parties with
kindergarten friends, and, of course, TRAINS! Brother David and his wife
Katherine enjoy watching our nieces Adriana (sweet 16!) and Capri (11 already!)
are growing in grace and beauty; they are excellent students, and enjoy arts,
music, and their friends!
God has blessed us with a year of expanding our horizons of service, and meeting new friends of many faiths. We pray that you will be blessed by every day of the coming year, and especially by the joy of living life fully in the Spirit!
Love, Anthony Manousos and KathleenRoss