Church Family News
St Laurence's, Scalby during lockdown 3. 18 January 2021
Martin Luther King Day
The concept of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day as a holiday was promoted by labour unions. After King’s assassination in 1968 a bill was introduced in Congress to make his birthday a national holiday. The bill first came to a vote in the US House of Representatives in 1979; however, it fell five votes short of the number needed for passage. Two of the main arguments mentioned by opponents were that a paid holiday for federal employees would be too expensive and that a holiday to honour a private citizen would be contrary to longstanding tradition, as King never held public office. At the time, only two other figures had national holidays honoring them: George Washington and Christopher Columbus.
Soon after, the King Center looked for support from the corporate community and the general public. The success of this strategy was cemented when musician Stevie Wonder released the single “Happy Birthday” to popularize the campaign in 1980 and hosted the Rally for Peace Press Conference in 1981. Six million signatures were collected for a petition for Congress to pass the law, and is considered the largest petition in favour of an issue in US history.
President Reagan originally opposed the holiday, citing cost concerns. But on November 2, 1983 he signed a bill to create a federal holiday honoring King. The holiday was observed for the first time on January 20, 1986.
Today, against a background of the Black Lives Matter campaign and when the USA has been rocked to the foundations of its democracy by the attack on Capitol Hill last week, it is more important than ever to pray for Martin Luther King's dream - "I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
God-of-righteous-dreaming,
give us an enlarged imagination to dream new possibilities,
to imagine a world where transformation will happen,
where creation is mended and restored,
and where exiles and strangers can find a home and live in peace.
Give us overflowing and extravagant hearts
so that our whole lives may be full of and mirror your dream and promise of goodness and abundance.
God-who-walks-with-us, ahead, beside, behind, above, below and around us,
you who journey with wandering and displaced people:
clear our eyes to see you in the many displaced sisters and brothers at our borders, gates and doors;
give us just minds and confident hearts to protest, challenge, and partner with others
to turn hard, callous and inhumane policies into habits of generosity, compassion and welcome at our gates;
and through your Spirit strengthen our resolve to work towards a new world
where all can share in full and flourishing life. Amen
It's Winnie the Pooh Day!
Winnie the Pooh is based on a real, young bear
A black bear cub was purchased from a hunter by Canadian soldier Harry Colebourn during World War I. Becoming his pet and the troop’s mascot, before later residing in the London Zoological Gardens, the cub was named Winnipeg, or Winnie for short. It was here in London that Milne’s son Christopher Robin fell in love with the bear, naming his own teddy bear after her.
The Hundred Acre Wood is based on a real forest
In East Sussex lies the real-life Five Hundred Acre Wood – part of the Ashdown Forest – on which Milne based his fictional Hundred Acre Wood. Several places within the stories, including Poohsticks Bridge, Galleon’s Lap and Roo’s Sandpit, are also based on real locations within the woods where his son would regularly play at when the family would stay at their country home on the northern edge of the forest.
Milne took his inspiration from his son’s toy animals
Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga and Roo were all simply names of Milne’s son’s toy animals. Making their literary debut, the original teddy of Pooh arrived in America shortly after WWII, became a book-touring celebrity and sadly, never returned to Britain. However, all the original toys are on display in a bullet-proof glass case at the New York Public Library for you to visit – except Roo, as he went missing in an apple orchard in the 1930s.
Originally, Milne was reluctant to hire E.H. Shepard to illustrate his stories
Milne was reluctant to hire Shepard due to his background as a political cartoonist. Despite this, Shepard took it upon himself to wander through Ashdown Forest to create a portfolio of sketches. Presenting them to Milne after appearing at his home unannounced, he won Milne’s heart and soon after the hearts of children across the world.
Today, Shepard’s illustrations are ‘worth their weight in gold’
In December 2014, an illustration from 1928 featuring Christopher Robin, Pooh and Piglet playing Pooh-Sticks on the bridge, entitled For a long time looked at the river beneath them…, sold for £314,500 at Sotheby’s.
Pooh was the first fictional character whose licensing rights were sold overseas
First sold to American producer Stephen Slesinger in January 1930 for merchandising rights in the United States and Canada, Slesinger began the creation of merchandise including toys and board games. Following this, Walt Disney set out to purchase the rights and film rights in the 60s, where Pooh has continued to live and breathe to this day.
He didn’t always wear a red t-shirt
Upon purchasing the merchandising rights to Pooh for the United States and Canada, Slesinger added a red t-shirt to then-naked Pooh for an RCA Victor picture record in 1932; and by the 40s, many plush dolls were donning the now-signature red t-shirt. By 1961, Slesinger’s widow licensed the merchandise to Disney, who kept this new look.
Winnie the Pooh is Mickey Mouse’s rival
After purchasing the motion picture rights from Milne’s widow, Disney began creating a series of shorts that were released in cinemas in the late 60s. Following this, a trio of shorts constructed Pooh’s first theatrical release upon Disney’s request, The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), two television shows followed in the 80s, and by the 2000s, both animated movies and CGI series were released, making Pooh one of the most popular properties for Disney, alongside Mickey Mouse.
Only 16 fictional characters have received their own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
And one of them is Winnie the Pooh! Receiving his own star in April 2006, not only did he become one of the very few fictional characters – alongside Mickey Mouse, Big Bird, Kermit the Frog and Bugs Bunny – to be awarded, but Pooh is also the only bear ever to be honoured.
The real Christopher Robin was left with ‘nothing but empty fame’
The real Christopher Robin, sadly, resented his father using his name in the popular books, becoming forever famed ‘as the tender little boy in the Hundred Acre Wood’. Becoming a writer himself, Christopher Robin wrote memoirs of his own life including The Enchanted Places, Beyond the World of Pooh and The Hollow On The Hill where he announced that ‘it seemed to me almost that my father had got where he was by climbing on my infant shoulders, that he had filched from me my good name and left me nothing but empty fame’.
Winnie-the-Pooh has been translated into over 50 different languages
Gaining worldwide popularity, Winnie-the-Pooh has been translated into more than 50 different languages, including Afrikaans, Esperanto and Yiddish. The most successful translation and unexpected hit is the Latin version, Winnie Ille Pu (1958), by Hungarian doctor Alexander Lenard. One critic described this book as ‘the greatest book a dead language has ever known’, and in 1960, it became the first foreign-language book and only Latin book to be featured on the New York Times Best Seller List.
The Russians created their own portrayal of Winnie the Pooh
Although we all love to see Pooh in his red t-shirt wandering through the woods, helping his friends, there’s something oddly satisfying about watching the Russian animation portrayal of Winnie. Closely following the original trilogy, the look of Winnie is drastically different from Shepard’s illustrations, however, just as cheery.
There are written rules for Pooh-Sticks that must be followed…
Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh, the owner of Hartfield’s Pooh Corner, Mike Ridley, wrote out the ‘Official Pooh Corner Rules for Playing Poohsticks’ in 1996. From selecting sticks and showing them to your competitors to stating which direction you should face and how the winner is announced, the rules also remind you not to fall into the water.
…and there is a World Championships for Pooh-Sticks
Since 1984, people have been competing, both individually and as part of a team, in the annual World Championships of Pooh-Sticks in Oxfordshire.
He was actually named Winnie-the-Pooh
Although Milne introduced the world to Winnie-the-Pooh, upon gaining rights, Disney dropped the hyphens in his name, which saw a drastic rise in popularity. Thus, Pooh has since been known as Winnie the Pooh.
Some Believe that Pooh and his friends each represent clinical mental disorders
Reading the stories as a child, the characters all seem like they are living in such an innocent world. However, a tongue-in-cheek article published in the Canadian Medical Journal by SE Shea – titled ‘Pathology in the Hundred Acre Wood: a neurodevelopmental perspective on A.A. Milne’ – argues otherwise by claiming that each character represents clinical mental disorders, creating a story with a deeper meaning. The study claimed that Pooh has ADHD and OCD whilst also displaying ‘borderline intellectual functioning’ and indulging in ‘poor diet, obesity and binge eating’; Piglet has generalised anxiety disorder; Rabbit has narcissistic personality disorder; Tigger has ADHD and hyperactivity; and Eeyore with long-term chronic depression supposedly due to his ‘traumatic tail amputation’. While the characters do have their troubles, this is a fanciful latter-day interpretation and not an expression of the authorial intent of Pooh creator A.A. Milne.
He has inspired the names of two streets in Europe
Being super popular in Poland, a street in Warsaw is named after this friendly little bear, named ‘Ulica Kubusia Puchatka’. This 149-metre-long street gained its name in 1954 by readers who entered a competition in Express Wieczorny. There is also a street in Budapest, Micimackó utca, named after him.
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2021 has been prepared by the Monastic Community of Grandchamp in Switzerland. The theme that was chosen, “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit”, is based on John 15:1-17 and expresses Grandchamp Community’s vocation to prayer, reconciliation and unity in the Church and the human family.
Abraham heard the call: “Go to the land I will show you”. Like Abraham we are called to leave that which is familiar and go to the place that God has prepared in the depths of our hearts. Along the way, we become more and more ourselves, the people God has wanted us to be from the beginning. And by following the call that is addressed to us, we become a blessing for our loved ones, our neighbours, and the world.
The love of God seeks us. God became human in Jesus, in whom we encounter the gaze of God. In DAY 1 our lives, as in the Gospel of John, God’s call is heard in different ways. Touched by his love, we set out. In this encounter, we walk a path of transformation - the bright beginning of a relationship of love that is always started anew.
“One day you understood that, without your being aware of it, a yes had already been inscribed in your innermost depths. And so you chose to go forward in the footsteps of Christ…. In silence in the presence of Christ, you heard him say, ‘Come, follow me; I will give you a place to rest your heart.’”
Jesus Christ, you seek us, you wish to offer us your friendship
and lead us to a life that is ever more complete.
Grant us the confidence to answer your call
so that we may be transformed and become witnesses of your tenderness for the world.
Amen.