Letters to the Ediotor: March 21

Lectio Divina Series at Charlotte Congregational Church

To the Editor:

In Latin, lectio divina means Divine Reading.

Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, Charlotte Congregational Church invites you to join us in the process of lectio divina. It is a meditative technique of repeating a passage from the Bible or other contemplative writings. This process is a form of learning to listen within, to find comfort with a bit of silence, to pray or meditate, to contemplate, and to consider taking a renewed action in your life.

Terri Severance, teacher, soul coach and member of Charlotte Congregational Church, will lead this contemplative and meditative form of listening and prayer. We will meet at Charlotte Congregational Church on Wednesdays, 5:30-6:15 p.m., April 10-May 15 (no meeting on April 17) for the five weeks of the Easter season and end just before Pentecost, the time of spiritual renewal.

There is no cost. To sign up, please email Terri Severance.

Kevin Goldenbogen
Charlotte
(Kevin Goldenbogen is senior pastor of Charlotte Congregational Church.)

Remain alert to what Trump says and the threat he poses

To the Editor:

In a New Yorker essay on March 14, Susan Glasser wrote, “It’s easiest to understand the threat that Trump poses to American democracy most clearly when you see it for yourself.” She advised readers, “Watch his speeches. Share them widely. Don’t look away.”

A week earlier I had set myself the task of doing that very thing. I sat through an entire Trump speech, and then, stunned by his last line, wrote a letter to The New York Times that was published on March 18.

Trump assured his fans, that when elected, “I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or mask mandate.”

Hello, diphtheria, tetanus, polio, pertussis, measles, mumps, hepatitis, rubella and more.

This Trump promise brings his threat very close to home. Surely, any worries over whether teachers choose to focus on phonics or address critical race theory will vanish when these diseases, which vaccinations prevent, invade our schools.

Glasser is right: Unpleasant as the task is, we must pay close attention to what Trump says so we remain alert to the threat he poses to us and our children.

Susan Ohanian
Charlotte