Church of the Holy Sepulcher

We debated policy on the House floor, overriding the Governor’s vetoes of two bills.

However, when it came to my legislation today, it wasn’t substance.

I got the signatures of all of the Baltimore City Senators on a letter supporting my local bill to provide employment incentives for fathers so that they would make their child support payments.

Before we gave the letter to the Senate committee, did we Xerox a copy for our file?

My staff thought of that before I did.

Who should conduct the study of my lead poisoning prevention bills? Is it a conflict of interest for the judiciary to do so if it would enforce the end result, if enacted?

Questions raised but not yet answered.

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On a far loftier note, work is underway to preserve Jesus’ tomb at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, reports today’s New York Times.

“One of the serious issues in the church is that the status quo takes place over every other consideration, and it’s not a good thing,” said Athanasius Macora, a Franciscan friar. “Unity is more important than a turf war.”

Fr. Athanasius was my tour guide at the church last December, courtesy of Bishop Denis Madden, an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/world/middleeast/jerusalem-christians-jesus-tomb.html?_r=0

A friend wrote me yesterday, “Having rookie visitors always makes the trip more fun for you.”

Our journey today from the Mount of Olives to David’s Citadel and then the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is best capsulized by two newcomers to Jerusalem in our group.

“So many stories that come together,” said one.

“I think Jesus must have stumbled,” said another as we walked the Stations of the Cross, “even though there are no references to it in the Bible.”

Six Christian faiths share space beside and on top of the remains of earlier structures in the Church, where an agreement dividing the sacred space has lasted since 1852.

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A photograph of Jews praying at the Western Wall in the 1920’s caught my eye as we walked through the Arab shuk (market).

The contrast between the limited space then and the large plaza today is stark.

(I thought that men and women were praying separately, as is the case today, but others in our group disagreed.)

I engaged the shop owner in some Shuk Price Is Right, was willing to walk away, and wound up with a 10% discount.

I can already see a montage of my photos at the Wall from this trip surrounding this acquisition.

My Key Issues:

Tag: Church of the Holy Sepulcher

April 7 – Substance, Xeroxing, and the Holy Sepulcher

Rookie Visitors and a 10% Discount

My Key Issues: