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Greetings to each and everyone of you.


This section for English-speaking viewers –
and all those enjoying the culture –

has developed over the months and is now offering materials of all kinds:

texts, images, poems, videos, etc.

It will continue to provide you with rich contents week after week.

 

3rd Sunday of Advent, A

8 décembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Is.35:1-6, Is.35:10, John the Baptist, Lord's coming, Mt.11:2-11, questions, the Nazarene

Things that are well known to us may tend to be so familiar that we forget about them, or we take them for granted. Either way, they do not have much impact on our lives. Could this be the case for the bible texts offered to our reflection during this Season of Advent?

We have heard the words so often: “The Lord is coming”. “The Lord will come again”. The message is so familiar, we have heard it repeated to us year after year and… life goes on as it has for a long time, a very long time…

Do we truly believe this? Is this really REAL for us? Has it any impact on what we live from Monday to Saturday? Even on Sundays, when the message is proclaimed again, does it reach us in the depth of our selves? Or is it simply one more item among so many others that come to our hearing?         

On this 3rd Sunday of Advent, Year A, Isaiah will say it again: “Your God is coming” (Is.35:1-6,10). But his words may give rise to some questions and those questions may linger somehow in our minds: When? Where? How?

Even John the Baptist in his prison had his own doubts: that man, Jesus of Nazareth, is he really THE one? The disciples he sent to the Nazarene asked plainly: “Have we got to wait for someone else?” (Mt.11:2-11).

And today this question softly arises within each one of us: ‘Is he really THE one… for me?’ I can only answer for myself…

Source: Image: www.photocase.com

 

 

International Volunteer Day – 5 December

5 décembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: community, goals, information, skills, UN, volunteers, work without pay

international-volunteer-dayAs an appreciation for voluntary engagement the United Nations (UN) have proclaimed December 05, 2016 as the International Volunteer Day. Since 1986 the International Volunteer Day compliments people who do work without payment and supports this habit. Organizations use this day to solicit their work and inform the public about their efforts, goals and work.

The International Volunteer Day supports a unique topic each year but the aim is always to win more people for voluntary work. These people’s work is valuable for every society because people grow together as a community and skills shortage can be balanced. Especially community services depend on volunteers and such services are a valuable experience also for the volunteers as they learn about things they maybe don’t get in touch with during their actual career.

Source: Text & Image: www.cute-calendar.com

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery – 2 December

2 décembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: contemprorary forms of slavery, forced labour, Freedom campaign, ILO, prostitution, sexual exploitation, slavery, traffic in persons, UN

The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, marks the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV) of 2 December 1949).

The focus of this day is on eradicating contemporary forms of slavery, such as trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, the worst forms of child labour, forced marriage, and the forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict.50forfreedom

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), there are currently an estimated 21 million forced labour victims worldwide, creating US$ 150 billion in illegal profits in the private economy each year.

ILO has adopted a new legally binding Protocol designed to strengthen global efforts to eliminate forced labour, which entered into force in November 2016.

The 50 for Freedom campaign aims to persuade at least 50 countries to ratify the Forced Labour Protocol by 2018.

Source: Text & Image: UN

2nd Sunday of Advent, A

1 décembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Advent, choices, crooked ways, décisions, judgements, justice, make straight our paths, Mt.3:1-12, opinions, plans, repent, respect, truth, vision of life, winnowing

pinterest-winnowingThe Bible speaks of God in so many ways. It describes his qualities and relates his actions. It also tells of his wishes for us, human beings. Often too, it speaks of his future interventions. All this in a language which is not abstract but quite vivid, one could almost say picturesque.

It is the case in today’s gospel (2nd Sunday of Advent, A) where we are told that the Lord is coming “with his winnowing fan in his hand” (Mt.3:1-12).

In our modern high-tech world we do not see much winnowing being done as it was in Jesus’ time. Such activity can still be observed in some areas of Africa or Asia but many of us would not have seen this otherwise than on television.

This does not mean that the message of the gospel text is no longer relevant. If we ask ourselves why winnowing is being done, the answer is clear: To separate the good grain from the straw or other unwanted material. This example speaks of sorting out, or getting rid of something to keep the good, the best.

Is Advent not a good period to do exactly this in our lives? We could look at it as a ‘Sorting out season’ – sorting out the different areas of our daily living: our opinions, our judgements, our values, our attitudes, our choices, our decisions, our plans, our habits, our expectations…

John the Baptist is calling people to ‘Repent…’ This involves a change, a ‘straightening up’ – the text says it clearly: “Prepare a way for the Lord, make his paths straight.” Perhaps the best way to do this is… to make straight our own paths!

To move away from our crooked ways, our distorted vision of life and people, our narrow-minded opinions, all that is us is a deviation from truth, justice, respect of others. Indeed, winnowing can still be part of a ‘modern’ life-style!

Source: Image: Pinterest

World AIDS Day – 1st December

1 décembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: AIDS, awareness, death, diagnosis, discrimination, disease, education, health, HIV, prejudice, stigma

WHAT IS WORLD AIDS DAY?
World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.

WHY IS WORLD AIDS DAY IMPORTANT?wad-header-logo
Over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK. Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Today, scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. Despite this, each year in the UK around 6,000 people are diagnosed with HIV, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with the condition.

World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.

Source:  Text & Image: World Aids Day

International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – 25 November

25 novembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: survivors of violence, UN, violence, Women, YWCA

25 November each year marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and is the beginning of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender vaw-300x201Violence Campaign. Historically, the date is based the day of the tragic 1960 assassination of the three Mirabal sisters, political activists in the Dominican Republic; the killings were ordered by Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo (1930–1961). I

In 1981, activists marked November 25 as a day to combat and raise awareness of violence against women more broadly; on December 17, 1999, the United Nations (UN) adopted the resolution making November 25 the official date.

The World YWCA observes this day in recognition of all those women, young women and girls around the world who have lost their lives and those who are survivors of violence.

Source: Text & Image: World YWCA

1st Sunday of Advent, A

24 novembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Advent, awake, dark, invitation, Let us, light, ready

Some people are… shall we say: ‘bossy’ by nature. It seems that their preferred mode of relationship is ordering others around – telling them to do things, or not to do them. To have their way, they often resort to coercion. Domination is what they know best.

Other people are of a different nature altogether. Theirs is the gentle approach. They will entice you, suggest things to you, invite you, tempt you to join them, encourage you to follow a suggestion. Amazingly, such people seem to achieve much more and in a manner that is so much more pleasant for everyone. The reason may be that those people side with us when they put a request to us. They include themselves in their appeal, saying: “Let us…”

The readings of this 1st Sunday of Advent, Year A, are an excellent example of this gentle coaxing, the kind of inspiring invitation that, somehow, we feel we should listen to. It is best expressed in these very words: “Let us…” The two short words keep coming back from one reading to the next (Is.2:1-5; Rom.13:11-14; Mt.24:37-44).

“Let us go to the Lord.let-us
Let us walk in the light of the Lord…”     (Isaiah)

Let us give up the things we do in the dark;
Let us appear in the light;
Let us live decently.”       (Paul to the Romans)

The gospel while not using the very words is also an invitation to us:
Let us stay awake.
Let us stand ready.

Is this not a good… ‘programme’ as we start this special season of ADVENT?
So, let us indeed open our hearts and let us heed the message addressed to us!…

 Source: Image: Victory Greenhills

 

 

 

                                                                                         

International Day of the Bible – 24 November

23 novembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: app, Bible, languages, Scripture, versions

imgAccording to multiple surveys and its bestselling status decade after decade, the Bible is widely revered by people around the world. Millions of visitors from more than 200 countries regularly come to Bible Gateway to freely read, hear, search, study, compare, & share the Bible in more than 70 languages & more than 200 Bible versions.

Millions more have downloaded the Bible Gateway App to keep Scripture with them on their smartphones and tablets wherever they go. Now a special day has been declared for everyone globally to share their favorite Bible verses by time zone hour after hour following the movement of the sun.

Source: Text: Bible Gateway Blog   Image: CP Church & Ministries, Flickr Creative Commons/Chris Yarzab

World Television Day – 21 November

21 novembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: communication, conflicts, decision-making, globalization, information, media, peace, security, UN, world issues

world-television-day-e1416427368614-764x382The first World Television Forum was staged by the United Nations in the mid ’90s, and it was out of this event that World Television Day was born. The forum brought together leading figures from the media industry to analyze the growing impact that TV had on decision-making and public opinion when it comes to issues of peace and security around the planet.

The History of World Television Day

In December 1996 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the 21st of November World Television Day, the same year the first World Television Forum was held. According to the United Nations, this decision was taken in order to give recognition of the increasing impact television has had on decision-making by bringing various conflicts and threats to peace and security to the world’s attention, as well as its coverage of other major issues, including economic and social.

World Television Day is not meant to be so much a celebration of the electronic tool itself, but rather of the philosophy which it represents–a philosophy of openness and transparency of world issues. Television has long been thought to represent communication and globalization in the contemporary world. However, not all of the government representatives present saw matters quite that way.

The delegation from Germany said, “Television is only one means of information and an information medium to which a considerable majority of the world population has no access… That vast majority could easily look at World Television Day as a rich man’s day. They do not have access to television. There are more important information media and here I would mention radio in particular.”

Source: Texte & Image: DAYSoftheYEAR

Universal Children’s Day – 20 November

20 novembre 2016
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: build better world, chidlren's welfare, dialogue, media, UN, UNESCO

un-child-rightsUnited Nations Universal Children’s Day was established in 1954 and is celebrated on November 20th each year to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide, and improving children’s welfare.

November 20th is an important date as it is the date in 1959 when the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child. It is also the date in 1989 when the UN General assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Since 1990, Universal Children’s Day also marks the anniversary of the date that the UN General Assembly adopted both the declaration and the convention on children’s rights.

Mothers and fathers, teachers, nurses and doctors, government leaders and civil society activists, religious and community elders, corporate moguls and media professionals as well as young people and children themselves can play an important part in making Universal Children’s Day relevant for their societies, communities and nations.

Universal Children’s Day offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for Children.

Source: Text: UN  Image: timeanddate.com