"For unto us a child is born"

[realFedUp]

(even if you aren't a churchgoer....the best free
show in town tonight is at your local large church)

http://www.womensenews.com/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2119

"For unto us a child is born, unto us, a son is given," washed over us. I looked up toward the vaulted ceiling, pulled my grandson tight to my chest and felt an enormous sense of gratitude for the moment of all-consuming joy, of having the experience of holding a brilliant and beautiful grandson in the magnificent cathedral during such an overpowering performance of the Messiah.

snip

The moment was one of ultimate happiness and thankfulness. And yet, and yet, I could not help but rewrite the lyrics to myself, as the choristers continued the refrain, hearing as I did the singers' voices express a particular ecstasy during the phrase "a son is given."

I have heard no equivalent in sacred music, one that hailed the birth of a girl, not even one like my granddaughter, ensconced on her mother's lap one row away, a 3 year old who whispered during the concert that she wanted to practice her spelling words.

Around the world, girls face the threat of violence, are victims of infanticide, denied healthcare, kept out of school, forced into sexual relations and married without consent, as Joan Holmes, president of The Hunger Project, wrote last week for Women's eNews. My granddaughter will surely go to school and will not experience the worst of gender bias. Yet, at that moment in the cathedral, I remembered Holmes' words, confirmed as they are by what our journalists report each day.

snip

Silently, I sang, thinking of my granddaughter on her mother's lap: "For unto us, a child is born, a girl is given: and her name shall be called WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR." Fearing sacrilege, I could go no further, not even in my imagination.

[roguevalley]

1. the messiah boggles the mind. I love singing it in a group. What

a great post. Thank you.

This makes me cry everytime: For unto us, a child is born, a girl/boy is given: and her name shall be called WONDERFUL, COUNSELOR."

[Raster]

6. ...the everlasting princess of peace.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skittles]

3. you truly are a sad f***wad

nt

[Raster]

5. are you in sarcastic mode?

[Skittles]

7. no, it's yet another f***ing troll

nt

[Raster]

8. that is so typical of the mindset. we've saved the Iraqis from Saddam...

(at least this time), only to brutalize them even further. Between Saddam, the "sanctions" and now the Amerikan occupation, the Iraqi people have suffered greatly. It should scare the hell out of EVERYONE that our government and our great mass media have conspired to limit the amount of information, especially images, coming out of Iraq.

It should scare the hell out of EVERYONE that the US military made an official decision (1) to stop counting any Iraqi dead and (2) severely limit accurate information about Amerikan casualties. What's the figure at today? 1300-something? That in no way takes in the wounded, maimed and damaged. The human costs of the Iraq excursion are far higher than ever reported. The neocon cabal doesn't want the Amerikan public to see the carnage, because they know that even in jaded middle Amerika, the sight of children with heads blown off could bring the party to a screeching end.

[Raster]

4. your granddaughter may experience the worst in gender bias if the...

...fundies have their way and Choice for Women becomes a memory. And that is what the whole choice/abortion/life discussion is really all about, the status of womankind, and the legal right to have control over their own bodies.