hello

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.

 

Holy Thursday, Year A – 2023

6 avril 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: allowing God, Apostle Peter, God's friendship, Jeremiah 32:27, Jesus washing feet, John 13:1-15, Luke 1:37, Psalm 91:1, understand later

We know that God is all powerful.
We call him ‘the Almighty’ (Psalm 91:1).
We repeat that he can do all things (Jeremiah 32:27).
We have learned that “nothing is impossible to God” (Luke 1:37).

And yet… yet, on this very special day – Holy Thursday – we have yet to learn.
We have to learn to allow God, yes, to allow God to have his way with us!

This may sound strange, but it is so much part of our experience –
in so many situations we pretend we know better than God!

This was exactly the reaction of Peter when Jesus knelt before him to wash his feet (John 13:1-15).
“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus had to use strong language to bring Peter to accept.
In no uncertain terms, Jesus said to him:
“Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
In other words: “You can no longer be by friend if I do not wash your feet”.

Jesus assured Peter:
“You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

How many times would God need to say this to us?!
Our daily life is full of situations when we do not understand God’s ways.
The events taking place – in our family, at work, in the world – are really confusing.
The situations we are faced with leave us puzzled.
Problems, difficulties, failures of all kinds, are just too much for us.

“Later you will understand…”
God’s closeness, God’s friendship, will enable us to understand… later…
To understand, and to realize, that it was the best for us.

Later… but sometimes, at the moment, it feels very much like… a crucifixion…
Christ understands… he has gone this way before us.
He can go this way with us now…

 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/jeudi-saint-annee-a-2023/

 

Source: Image: www.churchofjesuschrist.org

 

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace – 6 April 2024

6 avril 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: development, human rights, peace, physical aactivity, solidarity, sport, UN

« Sport has the power to align our passion, energy and enthusiasm around a collective cause. And that is precisely when hope can be nurtured and trust can be regained. It is in our collective interest to harness the tremendous power of sport to help build a better and more sustainable future for all. »

– UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed

Scoring for People and the Planet

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), which takes place annually on 6 April, presents an opportunity to recognize the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe.

Sport has the power to change the world; it is a fundamental right and a powerful tool to strengthen social ties and promote sustainable development and peace, as well as solidarity and respect for all.

The global theme for 2024 is “Sport for the Promotion of Peaceful and Inclusive Societies”.

Background

Due to its vast reach, unparalleled popularity and foundation of positive values, sport is ideally positioned to contribute towards the United Nations’ objectives for development and peace.

To raise awareness of this potential, 6 April was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly. The adoption of this Day signifies the increasing recognition by the UN of the positive influence that sport can have on the advancement of human rights, and social and economic development.

 

Source: Text & Image: https://www.un.org/en/observances/sport-day

International Day of Conscience – 5 ِApril

5 avril 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: conscience, culture, freedom, human rights, love, peace, solidarity, war


Promoting a Culture of Peace with Love and Conscience

The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that « disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of humankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people. » Moreover, article 1 of the Declaration states that « all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. »

The task of the United Nations to save future generations from the scourge of war requires transformation towards a culture of peace, which consists of values, attitudes and behaviours that reflect and inspire social interaction and sharing based on the principles of freedom, justice and democracy, all human rights, tolerance and solidarity, that reject violence and endeavour to prevent conflicts by tackling their root causes to solve problems through dialogue and negotiation and that guarantee the full exercise of all rights and the means to participate fully in the development process of their society.

Origins of a Culture of Peace

The concept of a culture of peace emerged from the International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, organized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Côte d’Ivoire in July 1989. Since then the promotion of a culture of peace has increasingly been seen as a worthwhile objective of the international community. The evolving concept has inspired activities at so many levels and in so many regions with the full participation of civil society that the culture of peace is gradually taking on the characteristics of a global movement.

 

Source: Text (abridged) & Image: https://www.un.org/en/observances/conscience    Photo: UN Photo/Mohamad Almahady People taking part in activities related to the Peace and Peaceful Coexistence Festival organized by the Communication and Public Information Section of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID).

 

Palm Sunday, Year A – 2023

31 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: bystanders, crowd, curious, expectations, imagine, Palm Sunday, so much like, unlike, waiting for

They watched, they observed, they noticed…
They listened, they wondered, they were puzzled…

“Who is this?…”

The passers by, the bystanders, the curious,
The leaders, too, of course,
They could not but ask themselves, ask one another:

“Who is this?…”

The crowd answered –
they had seen, they had heard, they had witnessed…

He is the one eating with sinners and tax collectors,
He is the one asking water from a Samaritan woman,
He is the one who fed a crowd of people with five loaves and two fishes,
He is the one who calmed a mighty storm on the lake of Tiberias,
He is the one who made his friends catch an amazing lot of fish,
He is the one who had his feet washed by a woman during a meal at Simon’s, the Pharisee,
He is the one who gave sight to a man born blind,
He is the one who made a man walk who had been a cripple for thirty-eight years,
He is the one who raised the daughter of Jairus, and the son of the widow of Naim,      
He is the one who claimed that, in God’s kingdom, the first will be last and the last will be first,
He is the one who told people, if they did not become like children, they would not enter God’s kingdom,
He is the one who affirmed that God is his Father,
He is the one who said we should call God ‘our Father’,
He is the one who taught that, unless we forgive one another, God will not forgive us.

He is the one… God in our midst… God one of us…

So unlike what people had waited for…
So far from what many imagined…
So different from our expectations…

SO MUCH LIKE GOD – God himself, indeed.

References of the gospel scenes:
Matthew 9:11   John 4:7   John 6:1-14   Matthew 4:39   Luke 5:4-11   Luke 7:36-50   John 9:1-38   John 5:1-17  Matthew 9:25-26   Luke 7:11-17   Matthew 20:16   Matthew 18:3   John 10:36   Matthew 6:9   Matthew 6:14-15  
 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/dimanche-des-rameaux-annee-a-2023/

 

Source: Image: The Poetry of R.E. Slater

 

World Piano Day – 29 March

29 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: classical music, clavecin, composers, concerts, harpsicord, performers, piano

If you’re a fan of classical music, then you assuredly know about the famous piano. Used in concerts everywhere, the piano has a long history of bringing music to life with its delicate sound and beautiful resonance. 

Learn about World Piano Day

World Piano Day has been designed to celebrate this incredible instrument, which has brought many of us joy over the years. No matter whether you play the piano yourself or you have an appreciation for this sort of music, we can all appreciate that listening to a quality pianist is a joy.

History of Piano Day

The invention of the piano began through its predecessors, mainly through medieval times as a dulcimer, a fretted string instrument with three or four strings attached. From there it developed into the clavichord, the spinet, virginal, clavecin, gravicembalo, and finally, the harpsichord in the 15th century.

The harpsichord was invented by Bartolomeo di Francesco Cristofori and the harpsichord is considered to be to the closest predecessor to what modern-day people know as the piano because of the keyboards that activated the strings. From there, the harpsichord developed further over the next 300 years into what we know as the modern piano.

Piano Day began as an idea by the German pianist/composer/producer Nils Frahm. Nils Frahm composes classical piano music with electronic music, reforming piano music with an unconventional approach. He launched the holiday back in 2015. When Frahm was asked why the world needs a Piano Day, Frahm replied back “…mostly, because it doesn’t hurt to celebrate the piano and everything around it: performers, composers, piano builders, tuners, movers and most important, the listener.”

Since then, the holiday expanded as people held concerts, recitals, lectures, and demonstrations. An official website, Pianoday.org, lists all the concerts and events you can go to all over the world to help celebrate the beauty of the piano.

 

Source: Text (abridged) & Image: https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/world-piano-day/

World Theatre Day – 27 March

27 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: culture of peace, international harmony, message, performances, professionals, théâtre, theatre lovers, universities

                                                                       About the World Theatre Day

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute ITI. It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centres and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace. The first World Theatre Day Message was written by Jean Cocteau in 1962.

Ever since, each year on the 27th March (date of the opening of the 1962 « Theatre of Nations » season in Paris), World Theatre Day has been celebrated in many and varied ways by ITI Centres – of which there are now more than 90 throughout the world. Moreover theatres, theatre professionals, theatre lovers, theatre universities, academies and schools celebrate it as well.

Each year an outstanding figure in theatre or a person outstanding in heart and spirit from another field is invited to share his or her reflections on theatre and international harmony. What is known as the International Message is translated into more than 50 languages, read for tens of thousands of spectators before performances in theatres throughout the world, and printed in hundreds of daily newspapers. Colleagues in the audio-visual field lend a fraternal hand, with more than a hundred radio and television stations transmitting the Message to listeners in all corners of the five continents.

Source: Text & Image: https://www.world-theatre-day.org/worldtheatreday

World TB Day – 24 March 2023

24 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: collaboration, commitment, epidemic, hope, TB, treatment, tuberculosis

World TB Day 2023, with the theme ‘Yes! We can end TB!’, aims to inspire hope and encourage high-level leadership, increased investments, faster uptake of new WHO recommendations, adoption of innovations, accelerated action, and multisectoral collaboration to combat the TB epidemic. This year is critical, with opportunities to raise visibility and political commitment at the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB.

The spotlight of World TB Day will be on urging countries to ramp up progress in the lead-up to the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting on TB. WHO will also issue a call to action with partners urging Member States to accelerate the rollout of the new WHO-recommended shorter all-oral treatment regimens for drug-resistant TB.

World TB Day is observed annually on March 24 to raise awareness about TB and efforts to end the global epidemic, marking the day in 1882 when the bacterium causing TB was discovered.

 

Source: Text: https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-tb-day/2023        Image: YouTube

5th Sunday of Lent, Year A – 2023

24 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: Ezechiel 37:12-14, gift of the Spirit, Gods promises, knowing God, Life, resurrection, surrender

The first reading of this Sunday is quite astonishing (Ezechiel 37:12-14).
Only three verses but they offer six promises – promises from God himself.

Promises of resurrection,
of life,
of a homeland,
of the gift of God’s Spirit,
of knowing God himself.

Promises repeated, for good measure!
And the text concludes with these words:      

“I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”

God speaks, God promises, God commits himself.
Why would we not take him at his word?!
And… dare to reply to his promises…      

Lord, astounding God,
I trust your words,
I rely on your promises,
I dare hope to live for ever,
I surrender to you…

This should suffice for… a lifetime!
 

Note: Another text is available on a different theme, in French at: https://image-i-nations.com/5e-dimanche-du-careme-annee-a-2023/

 

Source: Image: Scripture Images

World Water Day – 22 March 2023

22 mars 2023
Nicole Gregoire
Aucun commentaire
Catégories: Anglophones et anglophiles
Mots-clés: accelerate change, Gender equality, governments, hygiene, sanitation crisis, water

Accelerating change

World Water Day 2023 is about accelerating change to solve the water and sanitation crisis.

Dysfunction throughout the water cycle undermines progress on all major global issues, from health to hunger, gender equality to jobs, education to industry, and disasters to peace.

In 2015, the world committed to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 as part of the 2030 Agenda – the promise that everyone would have safely managed water and sanitation by 2030.

Right now, we are seriously off-track.

Billions of people and countless schools, businesses, healthcare centers, farms, and factories are being held back because their human rights to water and sanitation still need to be fulfilled.

There is an urgent need to accelerate change – to go beyond ‘business as usual.’

The latest data show that governments must work on average four times faster to meet SDG 6 on time, but this is not a situation that any single actor or group can solve.

Water affects everyone, so we need everyone to take action.

Did you know?

  • 1.4 million people die annually and 74 million will have their lives shortened by diseases related to poor water, sanitation and hygiene. (WHO 2022)
  • Today, 1 in 4 people – 2 billion people worldwide – lack safe drinking water. (WHO/UNICEF 2021)
  • Almost half of the global population – 3.6 billion people – lack safe sanitation. (WHO/UNICEF 2021)
  • Globally, 44 per cent of household wastewater is not safely treated. (UN-Water 2021)
  • Global water demand (in water withdrawals) is projected to increase by 55 per cent by 2050. (OECD 2012)

 

Source: Text & Image: https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day