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Benefit planned for Army Spc. Jason McCully

Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer

In support of one of their own, Ellis County residents are planning a benefit dinner, auction and dance to benefit Army Spc. Jason McCully and his family.
The St. Patrick’s Day Benefit will be held from 6:30 p.m. till midnight on Saturday, March 27 at the Knights of Columbus Hall in Ennis.
A spaghetti dinner will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and an auction and raffle will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a dance following.
McCully is a 1991 graduate of Waxahachie High School and was seriously injured while serving with the 2nd Infantry in Iraq.
After his second injury in June 2005, McCully was medically evacuated to Germany and then flown to the states for surgery.
Since his surgery he was stationed with his wife and four children at Fort Carson, Colo., before returning home to Waxahachie within the last few weeks.
But with his injury, life has changed for the McCullys, who were married just three years ago. McCully now has to live with seizures throughout the day and Marirose was forced to quit her job to care for him.
“Our car has been repossessed and we’re having difficulty making ends meet,” Marirose said in a January interview with the Waxahachie Daily Light. “I had to quit my job and stay home to take care of him because he has seizures. I haven’t been able to work and the only car we’ve had was the Mustang his mother bought him after graduation. With four kids it just doesn’t work.”
The McCully’s have four children, ranging in age from 5 to 15 years old.
While the family awaits paperwork from the Army for McCully to receive his medical discharge, they are faced with trying to support their family of six on an income of just $700 a month.
The 2006 federal poverty guideline for a family of six is an annual income of $26,800.
“We’re looking for everyone to get involved with this benefit,” event organizer Denise Smotek said. “We’re looking for businesses to get involved and really looking for the community to get involved.”
Smotek said she met with the family shortly after they returned home to Waxahachie and felt a real need to help the family.
“This is a man who has fought with great pride for our freedom and now has to figure out a way to support his family on $700 a month,” Smotek said. “They no longer have a car they can all fit in and go somewhere as a family because they lost theirs to repossession. Is this the way our Military personnel should be thanked for all their hard work and dedication to our country?”
The event will be done entirely with donations.
The Knights of Columbus in Ennis have donated the hall for the evening and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Patriot Guard Riders and others have already pledged their support and involvement.
The Patriot Guard Riders are planning a ride from Waxahachie to Ennis the day of the benefit.
“We’re trying to put everything together now,” Smotek said. “We’ll hold planning meetings next week so we ask people to get involved now if they’d like to help.”
Smotek said they are accepting any type of donations and gifts to go in the auction and raffle that will be held that night.
Organizers will also sell 50/50 tickets, with half of the money going to the person holding the winning ticket and the other half going to the McCully family.
“All businesses or organizations making donations will be recognized the night of the benefit,” Smotek said. “We’re also looking for bands willing to give of their time during this event. If you are a band or know of a band please let them know we are in need.”
Donations may be dropped off the day of the event or picked up in advance.
For more information on the event or to make a donation for the auction and raffle, contact Smotek at (214) 287-2142 or neecee1966@msn.com.
Individuals interested in helping the family directly can contact Jason or Marirose McCully at (972) 937-8435.
A fund has also been set up for the McCullys at Vintage Bank in Waxahachie under Marirose McCully.

Christian voters

NPR continues to ask the question, “What role will Christian voters play in the 2008 elections?”

They’re being courted from all angles, by many different varieties of candidates. Michael Cromartie, vice president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center — a Washington think tank that deals with issues of religion and politics — offers his views.

Listen to the report online.
In addition, Rachel Martin discusses the issue with folks at the National Convention of Religious Broadcasters and John Roos of the religious broadcast company the Inspiration Network talks with Madeleine Brand.
One of the most interesting quotes from Martin’s story is this:

And what about the candidates who didn’t come to Orlando? As Tony Perkins, of the Family Research Council described it, “If they didn’t even bother to show up at the dance they certainly won’t be invited to show up for a cup of coffee when the party’s over.”

Chew on this

Blogger Sara Miles writes about her marriage to her same sex partner Katie in San Fransisco last year. From the Beatitudes Society:

But what had happened to us in the blessing of our marriage was outside both the law and the Law. Our marriages had happened on God’s time, in God’s space. The irregular rites became an icon, a metaphor for the difficult and vital imperative to love others. And they belonged not just to individual couples, but to the community —to everyone reaching out a hand for blessing.
I cried as I read over the prayer from the marriage rite in the Book of Common Prayer. It had new meaning for me.
“Make their life together a sign of Christ’s love to this sinful and broken world,” the prayer said, “that unity may overcome estrangement, forgiveness heal guilt, and joy conquer despair.”

I understand the need to be accepting and loving of everyone, despite their sin. But supporting them to continue on in sin by blessing their same-sex marriage in church is a bit much for me. Yet I look at the opposite side and think about what Jesus said about divorce:

“Remember the Scripture that says, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights’? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are ‘legal.’ Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you’re responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you’re automatically an adulterer yourself. You can’t use legal cover to mask a moral failure. – Matthew 5:31-32

Should the church bless marriages of individuals who have split a previous marriage in divorce? Is there a difference? I think there is. One side is publicly acknowledging that they plan to continue living in sin. The other may likely (though not always the case) be repentive of their previous sin. As an American I struggle with the idea of granting equal rights to some but not all – regardless of their religious beliefs or convictions. But as a Christian I don’t believe we as a church should bless those who are choosing to continue living in sin. What about you?

Edwards fires bloggers

A while back I subscribed to Bill O’Reilly’s e-mail newsletter. I’m not sure why. I rarely read it yet I was struck by his latest column about the John Edwards campaign. Apparently Edwards hired two anti-Christian bloggers to work for him. When questioned Edwards didn’t comment but fired the bloggers after O’Reilly took issue with the hires on his show.

Yet former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards apparently felt comfortable hiring two anti-Christian bloggers named Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan to work on his campaign. Both women have a far-left, bomb-throwing history that was vividly illustrated on their respective Internet sites.
But let’s give Edwards the benefit of the doubt because he’s a busy guy. Let’s say he wasn’t aware of the vitriol the ladies were spitting out, and this led to the hiring mistake.
Fair so far? Now comes the crusher. The Catholic League informed Edwards that Ms. Marcotte wrote a description of Mary, the mother of Jesus, having sex with the “Lord” on her website. It was a vile piece of business that can’t even be printed in this newspaper.
And what did John Edwards do? He said he “disagreed” with Marcotte’s words, but would not fire her or Ms. McEwan, who wrote on her blog that Christian believers were “mother-f—ers.”
I couldn’t believe it. So I had my TV producers call Edwards and ask his Chief of Staff what was going on. Neither Edwards nor anybody in his campaign would talk to us about the issue.

I remember being impressed with Edwards during the 2004 campaign but I can’t support anyone who supports those who would condemn or criticize those of other faiths and beliefs — especially when they’re my own.
What about you?