Keeping the arts alive

I would like to thank the generosity of The Howard and Bess Chapman Charitable Corporation for helping to keep Oneida “a little bit of America at its’ best”. The Chapmans are continuing the legacy, begun in their lifetimes, by being the sole underwriter of Moody McCarthy Stand-Up Event this Nov. 17 at the historic Kallet Theater. This is the third of the Oneida Performing Arts presentations in the 2018-2019 series. The generosity of the Chapmans continues to assist OPA to bring these varied performances to the local citizens, and right here in our own backyard.

Thank you, Howard and Bess. Your legacy is still making a difference.

God’s love is for all peoples

For the last couple of days I have been getting text messages with resounding and explicit words like HATRED ON THE RISE, ANTI-SEMITISM in our country…It finally caught my attention only because it has become a big issue that no matter how much I avoid watching TV or listening to the radio, the info just kept coming from different sources.

I pondered on the words “Anti-Semitism,” “JEWISH haters,” etc., and wondered who are these people, and why are they targeting the Jewish community? Is it because they shine brighter than most, or because of their misunderstood history, or is it purely because of jealousy of their hard work and family values?

After a few days, the subject is still in the news. I realized that these so-called Jewish haters most likely are of Christian upbringing. Regardless of these haters’ religious background, it is pure ignorance to lash out at innocent people who are in a place of worship with little children in a defenseless and harmless state. How Godless can a dehumanized being act?

I only ponder on an effective solution. None came to mind other than my own personal experience, growing up in a very close-minded Catholic and ignorant home environment that lacked outside influences other than whatever was passed on through other religious people, priests and nuns. Mostly were pamphlets with picture of Jesus crucified in an excruciating pose and written prayers.

After 30 to 40 years, it is now clear that these picture and words of “the Jewish did it” — that these people were and are demonized inadvertently through the scriptures, and I distinctively recall being scared at times when those words were repeated with anger and a certain longing for revenge. To me, then it was just a myth and a story that had no longer relevance to today’s way of life. Forty years later, my feelings as a child were confirmed by my own son, he was scared of those graphic scriptural pictures. My point is that as much as history or religious teachings attempt to teach about God versus the Godless, it beseeches hatred by the fact that there is no explanation nor understanding of the TRUE Jesus.

Who is or was this man anyway? A righteous Jewish man, rejected by his own, for his brightness and simple upbringing. Did He hate his own for their rejection? NO, He loved them even more. He loved them so much as his brothers, sisters and children that He dare not lift a finger against them. Rather, he chose to be a BUFFER in a defenseless and innocent manner that would awaken them to their conscience, that to this day the ripple effect is and will never end. So why do we call ourselves Christians? Jesus never called Himself Christian, He taught in synagogues, preached perfecting the Jewish teachings, which he did by example. LOVE GOD above all. CAN WE BE ONE WITH GOD, OR DO WE WANT TO BE ONE WITH EVIL? It is a choice.

About letters to the editor