The world mourns Pope Francis, a good, loving man who brought the Holy Mother Church back to the people and made his native Argentina proud.

Francis was a welcome change after the orthodoxy and rigidity of former Pope Benedict XVI who sent an icy chill through Catholicism. Francis did a lot to soften the image of Catholicism despite the many sexual and financial scandals that beset the church.

For me, a non-Catholic, the most important thing about the late pope, born Jose Bergoglio in Argentina, was his choice of papal name: Francisco in the Latin tongues.

He modeled himself after Saint Francis of Assisi, born in 1182, one of the most important and majestic figures in Catholic history. St. Francis was among the first spiritual leaders to call for the protection of the environment and humane treatment of and respect for all animals. The Franciscan Order was created in tribute to his teachings. St. Francis’ famous prayer for peace:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:

where there is hatred, let me sow love;

where there is injury, pardon;

where there is doubt, faith;

where there is despair, hope;

The administration of Donald Trump is making an unbridled push to block renewable
energy projects—including last week halting the placement of 54 wind turbines in the ocean
south of Long Island, New York—and is pushing fossil fuels, among them coal. The burning of
fossil fuels is the leading cause of climate change. Trump has repeatedly called climate change a
“hoax.”
Meanwhile, a Long Island resident, Lee Zeldin of Shirley, who Trump named
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is cancelling on a sweeping basis
environmental regulations, discharging EPA employees and, last week, stopping the collection of
greenhouse gas emission data.
Further, on April 8 th Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. attorney general
to identify “illegal” state and local climate, energy and environmental justice laws that “impede”
domestic energy production and use and “take all appropriate action to stop” their enforcement.
The order is titled: “Protecting American Energy From State Overreach.” It opens: “My
Administration is committed to unleashing American energy.”

Columbus Women’s Chorus, central Ohio’s only feminist chorus, will continue celebrating its 35th year with the world premiere of a commissioned work Dance the Wind, with music by Assistant Artistic Director / Accompanist Sheena Phillips and lyrics by soprano Bobbie Brooks. The Artistic Director is Lisa Springer.

The chorus will perform a wide variety of contemporary music, from folk to classical to blues, with new repertoire plus favorites chosen by members of the chorus, now 80 singers strong.

Due to a sold out concert last November, there will be two shows this spring.

Saturday May 3 and Sunday May 4
First Unitarian Universalist Church
93 W. Weisheimer Rd. in the Clintonville neighborhood

Doors open at 6:30pm for both concerts, which will begin promptly at 7:00.
The venue is handicap accessible and the concerts will be interpreted for the hearing impaired.

Sunday, April 27, 11am-7pm
Scioto Audubon Metro Park, 400 W Whittier St, Columbus, OH 43215

Donation-Based Yoga Class with Zen Yoga 10am-10:45am, Performance Dogs of Ohio 12:30pm, 2pm, 3:30pm, Children’s Activities 11am-5pm , Bands, Vendors, Food Trucks & Beverages: 11am-7pm

We need some extra volunteer help to keep things running smoothly throughout the day!

Tasks during your volunteer shift may include:

Homelessness and substance use disorder often occur simultaneously — but many people struggling with both are unable to get the help they need. That puts homeless service providers on the front lines of the battle for reversing overdoses while also trying to end homelessness, one life at a time.

As the CEO of a large homelessness service provider, I’ve seen first-hand how helping someone overcome substance use can lead directly to helping them overcome homelessness.

Ending homelessness is a long process. It isn’t all about lifting someone off the streets and finding them a job and a place to call home. There’s a spectrum of steps and successes along the way to help someone build confidence and independence so they can make long-term positive lifestyle changes.

Overcoming substance use is one of those steps. We have a number of strategies to approach substance use that have offered positive results. The first is the overarching principle of harm reduction, which we use because it saves lives.