"... The eve of All Saints is known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. All Saints Day is November 1....
The Feast of All Saints is a holy day of the Church honoring all saints, known and unknown. This is much like the American holidays Veterans Day and Presidents Day, where many people are honored on one day. While we have information about many saints, and we honor them on specific days, there are many unknown or unsung saints, who may have been forgotten, or never been specifically honored. On All Saints Day, we celebrate these saints of the Lord, and ask for their prayers and intercessions. The whole concept of All Saints Day is tied in with the concept of the Communion of Saints. This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification (called Purgatory in the West), are connected in a communion. In other words, Catholic and Orthodox Christians believe that the saints of God are just as alive as you and I, and are constantly interceding on our behalf. Remember, our connection with the saints in heaven is one grounded in a tight-knit communion. The saints are not divine, nor omnipresent or omniscient. However, because of our common communion with and through Jesus Christ, our prayers are joined with the heavenly community of Christians. St. Cyril of Jerusalem (AD 350) testifies to this belief: 'We mention those who have fallen asleep: first the patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, that through their prayers and supplications God would receive our petition...(Catechetical Lecture 23:9).' The Catholic
Catechism concisely describes this communion among believers, by which we are connected to Christ, and thus to one another: 'Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness...They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us...So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped....as Christian communion among our fellow pilgrims brings us closer to Christ, so our communion with the saints joins us to Christ, from whom as from its fountain and head issues all grace, and the life of the People of God itself: We worship Christ as God's Son; we love the martyrs as the Lord's disciples and imitators, and rightly so because of their matchless devotion towards their king and master. May we also be their companions and fellow disciples (CCC 956, 957)!'..."-- Church Year Net
 October 9, 2009: The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Barack Hussein Obama -- and concommitantly to his supportively envigorating family -- "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," making him the third sitting, and fourth altogether, President of the United States of America to be so recognized and honored internationally."... Ours was never the likeliest campaign for the presidency. We didn't start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington -- it was built by working men and women, students and retirees who dug into what little savings they had to give five dollars and ten dollars and twenty dollars to this cause. It grew from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized, and proved that more than two centuries later, a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from the Earth...." -- Barack and Michelle Obama, from post-election card to campaign donors and volunteers NOTE: By notice dated September 14, 2009, the United States of America Department of the Treasury IRS determined in regard to EO Rulings and Agreements that ACR, Inc is considered without further or future federal review to be an exempt public charity, rather than a private foundation, for taxation and donation purposes.
This summer's ACR update is dedicated to the performing artists who give up everything of themselves for audience enjoyment and then thank them in humble delight for their applause and an opportunity to share their gifts locally and worldwide. There is no greater, more delicately steely and precious, soulful grace; though they move on, that stays with us in spirit and sight. May their light shine forever and God bless their hard work and sacrifice to our betterment, "black or white," with eternal glory and remembrance.
Prendre la joie dans le jour. Peace. Shalom.
"Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God."
-- Marcel du Champ "Here appears definitely the goal toward which the different arts are tending, the place where they will meet perhaps: the future city of the spiritual life, to be built by them [the Impressionsists], of which poetry, as the state of the soul, would be the commanding gesture, music the atmosphere and painting the marvellous decoration." -- Achille Delaroche, "Concerning the Painter Paul Gauguin from an Aesthetic Point of View," as quoted in Paul Gauguin's Intimate Journals, translated by Van Wyck Brooks "...for he shall gather them as the sheaves into the floor." -- Micah 9:12 "L'Chaim!" -- traditional Jewish toast meaning "To Life!"
 from Index of Acrylics by Jeannette Harris A gift from France -- whose citizens provided moral, materiel and military assistance during our revolution against British monarchy in establishing the USA as an independent democracy, New York's Statue of Liberty is a 151-foot statue of a woman holding a book and a torch on-high -- "One of the colossal sculptures of world history, the Statue of Liberty has greeted millions from other lands who crossed the ocean in search of freedom, opportunity, and is a symbol to the world of those ideals of liberty upon which our nation and form of government were founded."
The Internet Site ofAppalachian Life and Art "A jewel on the web" since April 1996
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UPDATED FOR SUMMER 2009 (Don't forget to "refresh" pages if necessary to view all recently updated sections)
"You see, in many ways, Appalachia isn't what it used to be. We have lost more than 1 million acres of land, along with 1000+ of miles of our once pristine streams, and 90% of our traditional coal jobs to mountaintop removal mining. This barbaric practice has reduced much of our home to rubble, and further damaged our perennially struggling local economies. The jobs are gone. The people are leaving. The water is toxic. And they are blowing up the mountains themselves. "But the face of Appalachian resistance to 'Big Coal' is changing. Not only are we seeing unprecedented national and international media like NPR, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal run with stories about the Appalachian people's struggle to end mountaintop removal, but we are seeing 100s of online activists and bloggers participate in helping us spread the word through the iLoveMountains Bloggers Challenge. "Each week there will be featured blogs, activists, videos, facts, photos and more...." -- Appalachian Voices
"... On phosphorous wings the phoenix floated/ The fires froze and the sea was hushed/ And when I tried to speak, the sun imploded/ And the war will wage in my guts/ Till the Devil bites the dust,/ I never saw him losin' a race, but I think he must/ ..." |
This quarter we also honor and thank the brave Obama 
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rag n. 1. old, worn clothes 2. a newspaper 3. a composition in ragtime -- chew the rag [Slang] to chat |
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Exotic Listings Jenny's made of earth and sky and she knows more than she knows. She's a butterfly in a flowered thong, a song that washes passing boats with the husks of swaying straw, a fiddle bending to her tune and a dance that slithers wide. She's a renaissance that rises on the wild fields of your mind, a chord that sweet seduces from the mystery of her laughing woman-child. (1997)
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Cenantua There's a rush, a rumbling in the wind as we stumble on this old trail. Greening branches thicken over us. They crosshatch our path. In leafy folds, winged creatures watch. Through pools of moss, snakes writhe. When tumbling rocks crash like our dreams, we'll pick up a shard and fashion a brazier for warmth and rest. The air is cool and gentle at the crest and the land cascades in startled wonder from the sky. (1983)
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Original material c A Country Rag, Inc. and/or Jeannette Harris, Jonesborough, TN, April 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2009. All rights reserved.