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View this email in your browser Hi readers!  Please click here to join my Facebook page this week. By Norris Burkes Aug 28 2020 Last week, I opened my Facebook account to find an encouraging video shared by my former employer, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, Calif. The rousing production gave me happy chills to see "Lewis" walk through a crowd of cheering employees who were celebrating him – their 500th COVID-19 patient to be discharged.  After watching the clip, I dabbed my eyes and returned to scrolling Facebook.  The brief inspiration was soon negated by other posts from folks using the cut-and-paste method to express their nonoriginal thoughts. Some blame the "deep state" for withholding the cure to COVID-19. Others see the virus as a giant hoax perpetrated by dishonest media. It's as if these critics want to switch out the legitimate peer-reviewed studies for their own version of mix-and-match science. They tout answers they get from the backside of the Internet and repost those that relieve them of their social responsibilities.  Not willing to remain silent, I posted something of my own. And since I don't plan to "friend" all of you, I took the liberty of quoting myself below.   "If you really are my friend, read my post. I wrote the entire thing. No puppet repetition here.  My best friend, Roger Williams, is the chaplain manager at St. Joseph's Medical Center. I once worked there so I can tell you they do great work." To date, these healthcare heroes have treated hundreds of COVID-positive patients and miraculously discharged over 500 of them. But as is the case nationally, you might well imagine the dozens of St. Joe patients who didn't make it home. I concluded my post by affirming, "I can personally attest that this is real and not a hoax. Do your part to support our heroes. You can bring America back to work and school again if you will simply – Wear a mask." No, the posting didn't go viral, but I felt a little better.  But do you know who's not feeling better? Many of these healthcare heroes. They are telling their chaplains that they are wounded, walking among the wounded. They are hurt and disheartened, leaving crumbling pieces of their hearts on the floor. Sadly, some of their discouragement may possibly be your fault. Yes, I said "your fault."  Hold this column up close to your eyes. I've got something I want you to hear.  While healthcare workers often pass unscathed through fiery trials, they are blistering from the extra heat of today's social media. Workers are saddened by the conversations they overhear from anti-maskers who deny the science, calling COVID a hoax or an exaggeration.  They interpret this social-media criticism as the very definition of "shooting the messenger."  They have given us hard-to-hear news based on real science and real treatment. And now they must take shelter from the bombardment of disrespect inflicted upon them by local jokers who repost conspiracies and junk science to Facebook. The fake news from internet pontificators is hurting real people. These people have real names and families like my chaplain colleagues and the nursing staff they support. So, if you really want to sustain our medical community heroes, stop the spread of the Internet conspiracy stories. Stop them by thoughtfully and respectfully engaging the subject. Stop the spread of "cut-and-paste" opinions and replace them with the real stories of heroes like the St. Joseph's staff. As one who has spent nearly 25 years in healthcare chaplaincy, I can tell you that there isn't much that discourages hospital workers. I'm confident they will emerge from this as the most resilient people you'll ever know.  God forbid that you or your loved ones become sick, but if you do, you have my word that my friends in the medical community will take good care of you. They will do this no matter what your political persuasion and no matter how many viral posts you've shared. That's a promise you can take to the bank. But I prefer you simply take my column and – POST IT.  -------------------------------------------------- Visit FB page at https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris Read more at www.thechaplain.net. Email: comment@thechaplain.net. Voicemail: (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain. Mail: 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Copyright © 2020 Norris Burkes, All rights reserved. You signed up to be on Norris' list! Our mailing address is: Norris Burkes 10566 Combie Rd Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

New Column From Norris Burkes

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Aug 28-30 column


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EDITORS: Take note of new contact info end.


Take this Column and Post It

Last week, I opened my Facebook account to find an encouraging video shared by my former employer, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, Calif.

The rousing production gave me happy chills to see "Lewis" walk through a crowd of cheering employees who were celebrating him – their 500th COVID-19 patient to be discharged. (Video on my website, www.thechaplain.net.)

After watching the clip, I dabbed my eyes and returned to scrolling Facebook.

The brief inspiration was soon negated by other posts from folks using the cut-and-paste method to express their nonoriginal thoughts. Some blame the "deep state" for withholding the cure to COVID-19. Others see the virus as a giant hoax perpetrated by dishonest media.

It's as if these critics want to switch out the legitimate peer-reviewed studies for their own version of mix-and-match science. They tout answers they get from the backside of the Internet and repost those that relieve them of their social responsibilities.

Not willing to remain silent, I posted something of my own. And since I don't plan to "friend" all of you, I took the liberty of quoting myself below.

"If you really are my friend, read my post. I wrote the entire thing. No puppet repetition here.

My best friend, Roger Williams, is the chaplain manager at St. Joseph's Medical Center. I once worked there so I can tell you they do great work."

To date, these healthcare heroes have treated hundreds of COVID-positive patients and miraculously discharged over 500 of them.

But as is the case nationally, you might well imagine the dozens of St. Joe patients who didn't make it home.

I concluded my post by affirming, "I can personally attest that this is real and not a hoax. Do your part to support our heroes. You can bring America back to work and school again if you will simply – Wear a mask."

No, the posting didn't go viral, but I felt a little better.

But do you know who's not feeling better? Many of these healthcare heroes.

They are telling their chaplains that they are wounded, walking among the wounded. They are hurt and disheartened, leaving crumbling pieces of their hearts on the floor.

Sadly, some of their discouragement may possibly be your fault.

Yes, I said "your fault."

Hold this column up close to your eyes. I've got something I want you to hear.

While healthcare workers often pass unscathed through fiery trials, they are blistering from the extra heat of today's social media. Workers are saddened by the conversations they overhear from anti-maskers who deny the science, calling COVID a hoax or an exaggeration.

They interpret this social-media criticism as the very definition of "shooting the messenger."

They have given us hard-to-hear news based on real science and real treatment. And now they must take shelter from the bombardment of disrespect inflicted upon them by local jokers who repost conspiracies and junk science to Facebook.

The fake news from internet pontificators is hurting real people. These people have real names and families like my chaplain colleagues and the nursing staff they support.

So, if you really want to sustain our medical community heroes, stop the spread of the Internet conspiracy stories. Stop them by thoughtfully and respectfully engaging the subject. Stop the spread of "cut-and-paste" opinions and replace them with the real stories of heroes like the St. Joseph's staff.

As one who has spent nearly 25 years in healthcare chaplaincy, I can tell you that there isn't much that discourages hospital workers. I'm confident they will emerge from this as the most resilient people you'll ever know.

God forbid that you or your loved ones become sick, but if you do, you have my word that my friends in the medical community will take good care of you. They will do this no matter what your political persuasion and no matter how many viral posts you've shared.

That's a promise you can take to the bank.

But I prefer you simply take my column and – POST IT.



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Visit FB page at https://www.facebook.com/theChaplainNorris Read more at www.thechaplain.net. Email: comment@thechaplain.net. Voicemail: (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain. Mail: 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602

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Please forward this to a friend -- Spread the News

View this email in your browser Extravagant Giving is Guilt Free.   Over the years, people have asked me if I dance, and I often reply, "No, I'm a Baptist."   "What does that have to do with your dancing ability?" they'll ask.   My answer comes from the lyrics of George Michael's 1981 hit song Careless Whisper – "Guilty feet have got no rhythm."   These days my dancing ability is greatly impaired by the guilt I feel from my financial good fortune.   No, my wife and I aren't really amassing a windfall. We live a modest life on Becky's teacher's pension and my retirement check from the Air National Guard. With the cost of living in California, our outgo usually matches our income.    Yet these days we are like many Check-of-the-Month Club members who are watching their bank account inexplicably grow.    I attribute the swelling more to simple inaction rather than intentional action. We just aren't spending money on travel, dining or movies. Also, no more Walmart shopping trips to buy our grandkids oversized plastic dinosaurs.    My stay-at-home life brings me face-to-face with my past greed and I realize how much I don't need. I don't need new clothes; I don't need to update my phone or buy a bigger TV. I don't need to overload my cart at the Big-Box stores.   All of this introspection has inflicted me with a kind of survivor's guilt. I feel a bit shamefaced, almost believing that I've done something wrong by prospering during these traumatic times.    I wish there were some way of returning my first stimulus check. I'd like to tell the government to "Keep it. Give it to someone who needs it. Double it up for someone else."    I can't do that of course.    But Jesus spells out an alternative in Luke 12:48 – "To whom much is given, much shall be required."   In other words, give to others what has been given to you.    He's not suggesting just any kind of giving or tipping. These times call for sacrificial, extravagant giving.   Jesus described this kind of giving while watching the rich contribute large sums to the temple treasury. Out of nowhere, a widow appeared gripping two small coins called "mites," the smallest of currency. Without fanfare, she slipped the coins into the collection box.   Jesus pounced on the moment to make a point to his disciples, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford — she gave her all" (Mark 12:41 ff).   it's time to give until it hurts. Give until your bank account is lower than it's ever been.   Give tips larger than expected. Give thanks to everyone who's working at the gas station or delivering your mail. Give your sympathy and your dollars to people who aren't working.   I've done my best to follow this advice for the past three months. I've been blessed to give to both a local and a national women's shelter. I've given locally to Salvation Army, 4-H projects and my church benevolence fund.    If you too find yourself with a growing bank account, I encourage you to help our nation and our world thrive again. If you do, I believe you will discover that extravagant giving can be guilt-free.   In the meantime, how do I tell my wife that we may have won the online bid for three goats at the Kentucky Flat 4H in Nevada City, Calif.?   Note to readers: Most of you know about the Chispa Project, a nonprofit founded by my daughter, Sara, to start libraries in Honduran elementary schools. If your budget allows extra giving this month, Chispa is seeking funding that will help specific Honduran schools support distance learning.  More at www.Chispaproject.org     -------------------------------------------------- Read more at www.thechaplain.net. Contact me at comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.                 Copyright © 2020 Norris Burkes, All rights reserved. You signed up to be on Norris' list! Our mailing address is: Norris Burkes 10566 Combie Rd Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

New Column From Norris Burkes

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Minor correction


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A minor correction: George Michael's song was released in 1984.

 

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New Column From Norris Burkes

Subject:
Column 21-23 August


Column:

Editors: Feel free to make additional local charity suggestions at the end of column



Extravagant Giving is Guilt Free.

Over the years, people have asked me if I dance, and I often reply, "No, I'm a Baptist."

"What does that have to do with your dancing ability?" they'll ask.

My answer comes from the lyrics of George Michael's 1981 hit song Careless Whisper – "Guilty feet have got no rhythm."

These days my dancing ability is greatly impaired by the guilt I feel from my financial good fortune.

No, my wife and I aren't really amassing a windfall. We live a modest life on Becky's teacher's pension and my retirement check from the Air National Guard. With the cost of living in California, our outgo usually matches our income.

Yet these days we are like many Check-of-the-Month Club members who are watching their bank account inexplicably grow.

I attribute the swelling more to simple inaction rather than intentional action. We just aren't spending money on travel, dining or movies. Also, no more Walmart shopping trips to buy our grandkids oversized plastic dinosaurs.

My stay-at-home life brings me face-to-face with my past greed and I realize how much I don't need. I don't need new clothes; I don't need to update my phone or buy a bigger TV. I don't need to overload my cart at the Big-Box stores.

All of this introspection has inflicted me with a kind of survivor's guilt. I feel a bit shamefaced, almost believing that I've done something wrong by prospering during these traumatic times.

I wish there were some way of returning my first stimulus check. I'd like to tell the government to "Keep it. Give it to someone who needs it. Double it up for someone else."

I can't do that of course.

But Jesus spells out an alternative in Luke 12:48 – "To whom much is given, much shall be required."

In other words, give to others what has been given to you.

He's not suggesting just any kind of giving or tipping. These times call for sacrificial, extravagant giving.

Jesus described this kind of giving while watching the rich contribute large sums to the temple treasury. Out of nowhere, a widow appeared gripping two small coins called "mites," the smallest of currency. Without fanfare, she slipped the coins into the collection box.

Jesus pounced on the moment to make a point to his disciples, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford — she gave her all" (Mark 12:41 ff).

it's time to give until it hurts. Give until your bank account is lower than it's ever been.

Give tips larger than expected. Give thanks to everyone who's working at the gas station or delivering your mail. Give your sympathy and your dollars to people who aren't working.

I've done my best to follow this advice for the past three months. I've been blessed to give to both a local and a national women's shelter. I've given locally to Salvation Army, 4-H projects and my church benevolence fund.

If you too find yourself with a growing bank account, I encourage you to help our nation and our world thrive again. If you do, I believe you will discover that extravagant giving can be guilt-free.

In the meantime, how do I tell my wife that we may have won the online bid for three goats at the Kentucky Flat 4H in Nevada City, Calif.?

Note to readers: Most of you know about the Chispa Project, a nonprofit founded by my daughter, Sara, to start libraries in Honduran elementary schools. If your budget allows extra giving this month, Chispa is seeking funding that will help specific Honduran schools support distance learning. More at www.Chispaproject.org


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Read more at www.thechaplain.net. Contact me at comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.

 

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Advance copy of Chaplain Norris' weekly column

View this email in your browser Preaching with A Puppet Voice I was a 19-year-old ministerial student at Baylor University when I was given my very first opportunity to preach.   Even though the preaching gig was before a much smaller Sunday-night crowd, I brought extensive preparation. I felt confident that my studies of all the great orators like Paul Harvey, Martin Luther King Jr. and, of course, Billy Graham would keep me in good stead.   I was hoping that my preparation would inspire a multitude. Instead, I found the rural-Texas crowd disappointingly diminished by the prospect of hearing a kid preacher.    Nevertheless, I summoned the dramatic tones of Paul Harvey. I employed the vivid quotes of King. And like Graham, I held my Bible wide open in my extended hand while simultaneously slicing the humid Texas air in exaggerated gestures with the other.   I was convinced that my sermon went well until the church's veteran pastor later rested a hand on my shoulder. "Son, do you mind if I offer you some constructive criticism?"   Heat filled my cheeks, but I managed a quietly affirming nod.   "I'm going to spell a three-letter word and I'd like to hear you pronounce it."   "OK," I said, despite him sounding much like a parent quizzing a preschooler.   "How do you pronounce G-o-d?" he asked.   "God," I answered with a questioning tone.   "Exactly," he said. "It's just one syllable, so why are you using two?"   Before I could rebut, he asked: "Do you watch Billy Graham?"   I nodded, adding that Paul Harvey was another favorite. . "Graham was a Carolinian who pronounced God with the dual-syllable of a Southern drawl. 'Gu-ahhd.' Didn't you say you're from California?"   My Pacific Coast confidence quaked as I realized how I had mimicked Graham during my entire sermon.   Of course, the veteran preacher was giving me more than a speech lesson. He was telling me that my pulpit voice had tragically become a puppet voice. I had mastered Graham's enunciation and Harvey's dramatic pause, but where was Norris?   These days, I'd like to pose the same question to those posting on social media and folks who email their endless preachy proverbs.   I want to ask my online friends, "Where is your voice? What do you think?" If you're just speaking through the cacophony of puppet voices filling your head, there is no room for your distinct voice. That's because puppets depend on the thoughts of their handler and have little to say on their own. When you preach to others in a puppet voice, you leave no room for God's creative accent. Speaking with the voice of another is not being true to whom God called you to be. When you speak with the stolen thoughts of others, you are robbing people of the chance to hear the voice that God gave you.   At the end of that evening so long ago, I promised the old preacher that I'd work toward some improvement.    As I assumed a dejected gait across the darkened church parking lot, I heard the pastor call one last time.   "Hey, Norris. Look up 1 Corinthians 1:21." Then, he turned and walked into the darkness toward his car, no doubt smiling.   When I got to my dorm room, I opened my Bible to the passage. I smiled then, as I smile now, reading in the modern translation of The Message.   "God in his wisdom took delight in using what the world considered dumb — preaching, of all things! — to bring those who trust him into the way of salvation."   As the late radio commentator Paul Harvey used to say, "Now you know the rest of the story."   -------------------------------------------------- Read more at www.thechaplain.net. Contact me at comment@thechaplain.net or 10566 Combie Rd. Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 or via voicemail (843) 608-9715. Twitter @chaplain.     Copyright © 2020 Norris Burkes, All rights reserved. You signed up to be on Norris' list! Our mailing address is: Norris Burkes 10566 Combie Rd Suite 6643 Auburn, CA 95602 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.