Search

Results

Their kind of town

04 Oct 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The Letter to the Hebrews this Sunday speaks of the bringing of many to glory. Ending months of speculation, President Barack Obama travels to Copenhagen, Denmark Thursday night in the hope that his presence will help bring glory to his adopted hometown of Chicago. The city is among the finalists to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The president will join First Lady Michelle Obama, a Chicago native, who arrived in Copenhagen Wednesday to lend her support to Chicago's bid. The International Olympic Committee will announce its decision Friday. The First Lady drew laughs with her comment regarding their joint presentation: "We're not going to sing together or anything. . . . All I have are my stories, my experiences as a Chicagoan, as an American, as someone who believes deeply that health and fitness have got to play a greater role in the lives of our kids and our communities, and as someone who believes that the Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the best way to bring that message home." House Minority Leader John Boehner, however, won't be in the cheering section Friday. "Listen, I think it's a great idea to promote Chicago but he's the president of the United States, not the mayor of Chicago," Boehner said Wednesday. "And the problems we have here at home affect all Americans and that's where his attention ought to be." "You're darned if you do, you're darned if you don't. I'd rather be on the side of doing it," Michelle Obama told reporters, referring to her husband's Olympics decision. "One conversation or one example or illustration that connects could make a difference, and our view is we're not taking a chance." Source: Articles by Peter Slevin for the Washington Post, Jake Sherman for Politico, and Nancy Armour for Associated Press

barack obama chicago copenhagen olympics 2016 summer olympics michelle obama international olympic committee john boehner

Restricted
Get a move on, kids

14 Feb 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Christ raised from the dead is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” we hear in this Sunday’s reading from 1 Corinthians. The large number of children more prone to junk food than fresh fruit and to fall asleep on the couch instead of going for a walk is leading to an epidemic of childhood obesity. Government fitness programs have thus far failed to turn the tide. Now First Lady Michelle Obama will try her hand at it. President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried to motivate kids to shape up when he created the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1956. It’s been a losing battle ever since. Childhood obesity has been on the rise in recent decades, with 17 percent of children considered obese and about one in three of all children overweight. “Efforts like the president’s council have been overwhelmed over the years by trends in society that push kids in the other direction,” said Russell Pate, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. He cited a “triple whammy”--the advent of video games, the reliance on cars to get around, and the rise of a high-fat, fast-food diet--that undermines a healthy lifestyle for kids. In announcing her “Let’s Move” campaign Tuesday, Michelle Obama made clear that physical fitness is key to what she’s trying to do and that there is a role for the Eisenhower-era fitness council. Besides getting kids to exercise, the campaign aims to help parents and schools make better food choices and also healthy food more available and affordable. More than obesity is at stake, according to a new study. Kids drawn to sweeter-than-cola drinks are also more likely to have a family history of alcoholism and depressive symptoms. “We know that sweet taste is rewarding to all kids and makes them feel good,” said lead researcher Julie Mennella, a developmental psychobiologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. “In addition, certain groups of children may be especially attracted to intense sweetness due to their underlying biology.” The results don’t mean a child who likes ultra-sweetened foods will become an alcoholic. They only suggest a link between sweet preference and family members with alcoholism. “At this point, we don’t know whether this higher ‘bliss point’ for sweets is a marker for later alcohol use,” Mennella said. Source: Jeanna Bryner for LiveScience.com and Frederic J. Frommer for the Associated Press

Children let’s move sweetness julie mennella physical fitness michelle obama childhood obesity united states Alcoholism russell pate

Restricted
A second chance at public service

17 Apr 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the “Servant of the Lord” oracle featured in this Sunday’s reading from the Book of Isaiah, the prophet obediently accepts criticism and rebuff, trusting that he will not be disgraced in doing so. Retired Army General Stanley McChrystal accepted criticism for controversial comments made by subordinates in a magazine profile last summer and as a result was relieved of the command of forces in Afghanistan. Now he has been invited back to public service by the Obama administration to help oversee a high-profile initiative in support of military families. McChrystal will lead a three-member advisory board of “Joining Forces,” which will encourage companies, schools, philanthropic and religious groups, and local communities to respond to the high stress endured by families of active-duty personnel, reservists, and veterans by striving to meet their special needs. The high-profile program launched Tuesday at the White House by First Lady Michelle Obama highlights the fact that while the United States has been described as a "nation at war,” the burden of combat is carried by less than one percent of the population. The military has been fighting for almost a decade, the longest sustained conflict in the nation’s history. And unlike previous wars, the burden has been borne by an all-volunteer force. Loyalty and faithfulness in times of adversity are key themes in this Sunday’s readings, says Prepare the Word scripture commentator Alice Camille. They are also central values to military life. McChrystal said Sunday that the Obama administration’s invitation to return to public service should be seen as proof to those in uniform, and to the American public, that there were no hard feelings on either side of the civilian-military divide. “We can prove it’s about something bigger,” he said. “It sends a strong, positive message that this is about taking care of our people.” Source: Articles by Thom Shanker for the New York Times and Lynn Sweet for the Chicago Sun-Times

stanley mcchrystal michelle obama loyalty joining forces military families

Restricted
Quotes

17 Dec 2023 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle B

Every great movement needs an agitator. Every leader of spiritual ideals needs a John the Baptist. —William Allen White, 19th-century newspaper editor If you don’t get out there and define yourself, you’ll be quickly and inaccurately defined by others. —Michelle Obama, Becoming John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives for ever. —Saint Augustine The true secret of love consists in this: we must forget self like Saint John the Baptist and exalt and glorify the Lord Jesus. —Saint Peter Julian Eymard

saint augustine Saint Peter Julian Eymard michelle obama

Restricted
Quotes

31 Dec 2023 - Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, Cycle B

If you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family. —Saint Teresa of Calcutta One light feeds another. One strong family lends strength to more. One engaged community can ignite those around it. This is the power of the light we carry. —Michelle Obama, The Light We Carry The family is indeed sacred: It is the place in which life—the gift of God—can be properly welcomed and protected. —Pope John Paul II in Centesimus Annus Jesus is the only person in recorded history whose parents thought he was a child of God rather than their own creative project and possession. —Polly Berrien Berends in Gently Lead

Pope John Paul II polly berrien berends michelle obama Mother Teresa

Restricted
Quotes

15 Dec 2024 - Third Sunday of Advent, Cycle C

The cross is the school of love. —Saint Maximilian Kolbe History has shown us that courage can be contagious, and hope can take on a life of its own. —Michelle Obama

maximillian kolbe michelle obama

Restricted