Scopes Monkey Trial

In light of the current focus on the indescribably, nauseatingly, vile content of videos taken at Planned Parenthood, revealing the dissection and selling of unborn infant body parts (sometimes while still alive) for profit under the guise of purported potentially life-saving medical research (which continues to have no basis in any actual success), I thought this quote from the famous Scopes Monkey Trial was eloquent in articulating the dangerous waters progressive science can place us in when we do not govern what we CAN do by what we SHOULD (or should NOT) do:

This is William Jennings Bryan's, the prosecution for the case, summation of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial (distributed to reporters but not read in court):

"Science is a magnificent force, but it is not a teacher of morals. It can perfect machinery, but it adds no moral restraints to protect society from the misuse of the machine. It can also build gigantic intellectual ships, but it constructs no moral rudders for the control of storm-tossed human vessel. It not only fails to supply the spiritual element needed but some of its unproven hypotheses rob the ship of its compass and thus endanger its cargo. In war, science has proven itself an evil genius; it has made war more terrible than it ever was before. Man used to be content to slaughter his fellowmen on a single plane, the earth's surface. Science has taught him to go down into the water and shoot up from below and to go up into the clouds and shoot down from above, thus making the battlefield three times as bloody as it was before; but science does not teach brotherly love. Science has made war so hellish that civilization was about to commit suicide; and now we are told that newly discovered instruments of destruction will make the cruelties of the late war seem trivial in comparison with the cruelties of wars that may come in the future. If civilization is to be saved from the wreckage threatened by intelligence not consecrated by love, it must be saved by the moral code of the meek and lowly Nazarene. His teachings, and His teachings alone, can solve the problems that vex the heart and perplex the world.^"

Jesus, I trust in You!

Lord, drop the scales from our eyes.  Help us to see the scourge of abortion for what it is -- the purposeful killing of defenseless infant humans where they should be the most safe, in their mother's womb.  Help us to reach out generously to women in crisis pregnancies and offer to help them in any way we can, so they may bring to fruition the precious new life YOU have given us all!

Amen.

An Opportunity for Charity

"I love Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta (who's going to say they don't, right?).  I loved her philosophy of, “Show me the money!”

No, really.  It’s true.

When I worked for Catholic Relief Services (CRS) (crs.org), we were well-familiar with Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity (motherteresa.org) based in Calcutta, India.  CRS was one of the first organizations in the early 1970s to recognize her vital mission.  “They gave me milk, when no one else would,” she remembered when visiting the agency’s headquarters in Baltimore, MD in 1996.  Since the agency maintains a presence in Calcutta, CRS staff have volunteered in Mother Teresa’s homes for the dying and other establishments for “the poorest of the poor.”

And it was a well-known fact that if you were able-bodied and showed up on her doorstep, you didn’t show up empty-handed.

“You’d better have either a check or a mop in your hands,” one agency member cheerfully recalled, shaking his head with a grin.  “Mother is nobody’s fool.”

Mother Teresa advocated that one must never deny a person the opportunity for charity, for that act of charity might be the salvation of that person’s soul.  But, charity must be given not only in the coinage of the world but in the currency of heaven, too:

“Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding, of peace. Money will come.  If we seek first the Kingdom of God, the rest will be given.” (Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

I invite you today to open your hearts and your resources to some extraordinary, special-needs students, who are seeking the Kingdom of God, striving to learn about and understand, through hands-on science, the world which God created for them!  It might seem like a small, superfluous, or simple thing to support a little child’s science class when there are many, many critical needs in our world today.

But, God has placed each of us within each other’s orbit to do what we can for those who are closest to us.  For a child with special needs to comprehend even one more tiny aspect of the world around him – that IS a vital need!

And these children are right here in our local community, in our own back yard.  As a matter of fact, one of them is there right now.  Here.  In my own back yard.

No, really.  I can see him out the kitchen window.

He’s my son.

“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.” (Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

I humbly present and encourage you to support an inspiring opportunity for charity – my son’s special needs science class of some of the most severely and profoundly disabled and delightful children in Ms. Sally Grove’s class at Rock Creek School in Frederick, MD.

The details of her course (making abstract concepts real), materials, and costs (less than $650 for the entire year!) may be found here (and below at the end of this blog post):

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/let-me-get-my-hands-on-that-making-sc/885893/?verify=222560514&challengeid=231048

I hope you will join me in supporting these kids and Ms. Sally (she was Frederick County’s “Special Educator of the Year” last year!).  Every dollar counts – even $5.00 means the world!  And if you donate by October 16^th and use the match code, “INSPIRE,” your gift will be DOUBLED!

“Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go.” (Bl. Mother Teresa of Calcutta)

Thank you so much for considering these kids in your hearts and prayers!!!
_________________________________________
 

“Let Me Get My Hands on That -- Making Science Real!!!”

Rock Creek School

Science Teacher:  Ms. Sally Grove

My Students: Learning science can be tough for any student, but for my special needs students, it is especially challenging.  I teach the best students in the world!  Our school serves over 100 of the most severely and profoundly disabled students, ages 3 to 21, who function developmentally from Toddler to 2nd Grade.  I teach middle school science.

My Project: My students require hands-on learning materials they can view, touch, and maneuver to understand abstract concepts and make science REAL.  Manipulatives allow a hands-on experience to make science real, fun, and meaningful!

Project Details

Materials	Vendor	Price	#	Total
RE266 - Lens & Prism Set	Lakeshore Learning	$16.95	1	$16.95
LC3540X - Prepared Slides - Complete Set	Lakeshore Learning	$39.95	1	$39.95
FS326 - Super-Safe Prisms - Set of 6	Lakeshore Learning	$29.95	1	$29.95
BA109 - See-Inside Bucket Balance	Lakeshore Learning	$16.95	1	$16.95
EA133 - Count Up & Count Down Digital Timer	Lakeshore Learning	$13.99	2	$27.98
JJ159 - Lakeshore Electricity Lab	Lakeshore Learning	$49.95	1	$49.95
DS575 - Simple Machines Activity Cards	Lakeshore Learning	$14.95	1	$14.95
DS574 - Simple Machines Discovery Set	Lakeshore Learning	$42.95	1	$42.95
GR700 - Life Cycle Sequencing Kit	Lakeshore Learning	$29.95	1	$29.95
DD904 - Life Cycle of a Frog Elementary Specimen Set	Lakeshore Learning	$49.95	1	$49.95
FS491 - Human X-Rays - Set of 18	Lakeshore Learning	$26.95	1	$26.95
CE501 - Magnetic Field Wonder Window	Lakeshore Learning	$29.95	1	$29.95
LC1011 - Sink or Float Exploration Kit	Lakeshore Learning	$49.95	1	$49.95
EE512 - Lakeshore Magnet Kit	Lakeshore Learning	$49.95	1	$49.95
Vendor shipping charges				$0.00
State sales tax				$28.58
3rd party payment processing fee				$7.14
Fulfillment labor & materials				$30.00
Project cost excluding donation to support DonorsChoose.org				$542.05
Optional donation to support DonorsChoose.org				$95.66
Project cost including donation to support DonorsChoose.org				$637.71
5 Donors				-$257.06
GOAL TO GO!				$380.65