That first Unitarian Society, that's how we say good morning and welcome to another Sunday here at First Unitarian Society, where independent thinkers gather in a safe nurturing environment, that would be this environment right here, to explore issues of social, spiritual and ethical significance as we try to make a difference in this world. I'm Steve Goldberg, a very proud, multi-talented member of this congregation, and I'd like to extend a special welcome to any guests, visitors, or newcomers. If this is your first time at First Unitarian Society, I think you'll find it's a very special place, and if you'd like to learn more about our special buildings, we'll be offering a guided tour right after the service. Just gather over here by the windows, and we'll take good care of you. And speaking of taking good care of each other, this is a perfect time to silence your electronic devices, because you won't need them for the next hour. Instead, during the next hour, you'll be enjoying today's service, which I know will touch your heart, stir your spirits, and trigger one or two new thoughts. We're glad you're here, and we invite you to sit back and join in a moment of centering silence so we can be fully present with each other this morning. And that's enough silence, now for our un-gathering hymn. I invite us to rise in the ways that we do. We'll be singing together 295, sing out praises for the journey. Pilgrims we who carry on, searchers in the soul's deep yearnings, like a forebears in their time. We seek out the Spirit's wholeness in the endless human quest. Inside your souls the kindling of the hearthfire pilgrims knew. Find the Spirit, always restless, find each mind and heart. Touch and hold that ancient hold, facing futures yet on us. Wayside hostile, built by those who wear their savers here. Remaining standing for our opening words and the lighting of our chalice, Marni Harmony suggests, if we stay inside of ourselves and do not venture out, then the fullness of the universe shall be unknown to us, and our locked hearts shall never feel the rush of worship. Will you join me in our chalice-lighting words printed in the Order of Service as we spark the flame? Together we say, we light this chalice in honor of first steps, for beginnings even when the path ahead is unclear, for the courage it takes to trust that the way will reveal itself, that light will come to clarify our vision, that friends will be by our side. I invite you to turn towards each other and offer a friendly greeting now. Good morning. No, you're fine. You're fine. Glad you're here. Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Glad you're here. Hello. Oops. Good morning. So we invite anyone who'd like to come forward now to share a story together. Well, hello. Good morning. Hello. Good morning. Glad you're here. Good morning. Good morning. Hello. You look nice and warm today. It's a good day for that. Oh, yeah, it's beautiful. I like that. Well, good morning, everyone. It's so good to see you all. So you know this book? I have that book. You have it. Excellent. Well, so your third time reading it, well, you maybe can help me with it. So we are continuing to explore the idea of journey. This is the last Sunday in the month where we'll be exploring that theme. And so the theme of journey reminds us that every day we take part in a lot of different journeys together. And so we explore together here Sunday after Sunday how we can be in journey together. So there are many ways that we journey. Sometimes we journey in the way that we go to school, in the way that we go out together for vacation, in the way that we shop together, all sorts of ways. And this is one story about a journey and people discovering things perhaps that they don't expect. It's called The Last Stop on Market Street. Words by Matt De La Pena and Christian Robinson does the pictures. CJ pushed through the church doors, skipped down the steps. The outside air smelled like freedom, but it also smelled like rain with freckled shirt and dripping down his nose. CJ ducked under his nana's umbrella saying, how come we got away for the bus in all this wet? Trees get thirsty too, his nana told him. Don't you see that big one drinking through a straw? CJ looked a long time, but he never saw a straw. Do you see a straw? I don't see it. You do. Excellent. From the bus stop, he watched water pool on flower petals, watched the rain patter against the windshield of a nearby car. His friend Colby climbed in and gave CJ a wave and drove away. How come we don't have a car? CJ asked. Boy, what do we need a car for? We've got a bus that breathes fire. And old Mr. Dennis, well, he always has a trick for you. The bus creaked to a stop in front of them. It sighed and sagged and the doors swung open. It's a city bus. Why do you think it breathes fire? Do you know what that means? It is really cool. I think that this is set in San Francisco, so it's an electric bus. So it's hooked up to electric wires and you see sparks. It doesn't actually breathe fire, but it looks like it. Exactly. So what I see, said Mr. Dennis, what is that I see? Mr. Dennis asked and he pulled a coin from behind CJ's ear and placed it in his palm. Nana laughed, the deep laugh, and pushed CJ along. They sat right up front. The man across the way was tuning a guitar. An old woman with curlers had butterflies in a jar. Nana gave everyone a great big smile and a good afternoon and she made sure that CJ did the same. The bus lurched forward and stopped. Lurched forward and stopped. Nana hummed as she knit. How come we always got to go here after church, CJ said? Miguel and Colby never have to go anywhere. I feel sorry for those boys, she told him. They'll never get a chance to meet Bobo or the sunglasses man. And I hear Trixie's got herself a brand new hat. CJ stared out the window feeling sorry for himself and he watched as the cars zip by on either side and watched a group of boys hop curbs on bikes. A man climbed aboard with a spotted dog. CJ gave up his seat. How come that man can't see? Boy, what do you know about seeing? Nana asked him. Some people watch the world with their ears. That's a fact. Their noses too, the man said, sniffing the air. That's a mighty fine perfume you're wearing today, ma'am. Nana squeezed the man's hand and laughed. Her deep laugh. Two older boys got on next. CJ watched as they moved on by and stood in the back. Sure wish I had one of those, he said. They have their headphones in. What for? Nana said, setting down her knitting. You've got the real thing sitting across from you. Why don't you ask that man if he'll play you a song? CJ didn't even have to. The guitar player was already plucking strings and began to sing. To feel the magic of music, the blind man whispered, I'd like to close my eyes. Nana closed her eyes too. So did CJ and the spotted dog. And in the darkness, the rhythm filled CJ and lifted him out of the bus, out of the busy city. He saw sunset colors swirling over the crashing waves. He saw a family of hawks slicing through the sky. He saw the old woman's butterflies dancing free in the light of the moon. CJ's chest grew full and he was lost in the sound. And the sound gave him the feeling of magic. The song ended and CJ opened his eyes. And everyone on the bus clapped, even the boys in back. Nana glanced at the coins in CJ's palm and CJ dropped it in the man's hat. Last stop on Market Street, Mr. Dennis called. CJ looked around as he stepped off the bus, crumbling sidewalks and broken down doors, graffiti tagged windows and boarded up stores. He reached for his Nana's hand. How come it's always so dirty over here? She smiled and pointed to the sky. Sometimes when you're surrounded by dirt, CJ, you are a better witness for what is really beautiful. CJ saw the perfect rainbow arching over their soup kitchen. He wondered how his Nana always found beautiful things where he never even thought to look. He looked around them again as the bus rounded the corner out of sight and the broken street lamp still lit up bright and the stray cat's shadows moved across the wall. When he spotted their familiar faces in the window, he said, I'm glad we came. These familiar faces. He thought his Nana might laugh, her deep laugh, but she didn't.  So where do you think their destination was at the end of the bus ride? Where did they go? The soup kitchen ride. And so on their journey, I wonder what do you remember that they saw or the people that they met? What are some of the things that happened on their bus ride that maybe they didn't expect? What did they see or do? Yeah, they didn't expect music to be on the bus and so that was a surprise. What else did they see that at least you remember? Yeah. Yes, what else? The blind man, yes, exactly. And then when they got off the bus, as they were walking, what else did they see? I have an idea. Yeah. A rainbow. A rainbow, right, exactly. And the story doesn't really say why they go to the soup kitchen. What makes them go and help out there? I wonder, why do you think they do that? There's no right or wrong answer, but why do you think they would go help at a soup kitchen? Yeah, what? Because they're what? I'm sorry? Right, they might be hungry themselves, exactly. Why else might they be helping at the soup kitchen? Right, so people might not be able to afford food and so this is a place for them to get that. Yeah, what are you thinking? So they need more people to help because so many people need to go to the soup kitchen, yeah. So a lot of times when we go on journeys, there are all sorts of things that we discover and so many different reasons why we do that. And so when you come here, what we hope is that you think more and more about what's important in your life and we help each other notice more about what's beautiful and wonderful and things that are worth thinking about and about connecting with each other. So yeah, please. Yes, sure. The last last page or the this one? Yes. Yeah, let's see why people in the soup kitchen. Yeah, it's interesting that there's, but it's kind of hard to tell just from the illustrations. Like it kind of suggests the kinds of people that might be at the soup kitchen, but that's an interesting thing to notice. So I hope that as you come here, you have the chance more and more to think about how you make your way through your day and what sorts of opportunities for kindness as well as just noticing and being curious about life. So we will sing you out with hymn number 356, Will You Seek In Far Off Places? Thank you for sharing the story with me. I'll see you at the end of the service. May we rise in all the ways that we do as we sing together. Will You Seek In Far Off Places? Surely you come home at last. In familiar forms and faces, things best known you who find the best. Joy and peace are in this hour. Dear Nadia's, here in this beloved flower, now in this beloved fair. You may be seated in preparation for our time of reflection. Two short readings. The first is taken from the writing of Claire North and her novel, The Sudden Appearance of Hope. It begins with some simple definitions. Pilgrim, pilgrimage to journey to a sacred place. Pilgrim, a traveler or wanderer, a stranger in a foreign land. Hajj, the journey to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam. Pleasant perhaps to say that I am a pilgrim, looking at it, counting the swirl of white as the devout move among the sacred stones in Mecca, watching the fans scream at the movie premiere, listening to old men sitting on their benches by the sea who report that everything changes, and that's okay. Forgive me, but who isn't a pilgrim? The second reading is from the theologian Richard R. Niebuhr. Pilgrims are persons in motion, passing through territories not their own, seeking something we might call completion, or perhaps the word clarity will do as well, a goal to which only the spirit's compass points the way. Here ends the readings. As we move into our time of reflection, it is my great joy that for the next couple of weeks, which is an ongoing tradition here, we will be inviting into worship some of the participants in the Odyssey project, and we'll say a little more about that project later, but we are deeply honored to have the creative sharing as part of our reflection today, and so we begin our reflection time with a poem by Kina Atkinson. Welcome, Kina. Good morning. My poem is titled Journey to the Journey. I am a woman in motion, always on the go, picking up new hats to stack on top of my wild and curly fro. I have lived so many lives in my life, and as I grow, I better my best. Shofur to my teenager, snap goddess to my tot, two thumbs that can develop an entire company from just a thought. From journey to journey, start to start, I've walked my path to where I am standing, with the lifetime of experiences carried in my heart. I was a little black girl who sobbed after school every day because my skin wasn't fair enough for my peers to find me to play.  I wished my skin wasn't brown. I'm sorry, my little black girl light started to dim. I wished my skin wasn't brown with all my might. I even asked God when I was nine to just make me white. I begged, I pleaded, I didn't want to exist. If being black and a girl meant hurting like this, even though it was dim, I carried my light.  Single parents suddenly I applied to UW Odyssey reluctantly. Homeless and depressed, my entire life was a mess. Yet still one day, I took that tiny, huge step and applied to the program in 2009. Little did I know my Odyssey would feed my brain. When I asked God to make me stronger, I didn't know he'd take, when I asked God to make me stronger and to take away my pain, I didn't know that I'd have to fight harder or that I'd have so much to gain. I didn't know that I'd have to confront the things that kept me locked in my own cave. I didn't know what I didn't know. I didn't even know me, but slowly I was budding. I was becoming free. I didn't know how small steps become leaps and how leaps become bounds. I didn't know about art history or word compounds. I didn't know that my Wednesday night Odyssey would introduce me to me. I didn't know that five years later, I'd have a small business, a new baby, and a bachelor's degree. I didn't know... Thank you. I didn't know that in 10 years I would go from being homeless to providing housing, from carrying a dim little light to shining bright, walking a path, getting lost, and even flooded to creating a path of my own in my city where the prison at the end of the pipe is fully funded. I've found liberation in the power of words and language, how beautiful it is the way education sets you free, how representation means that you can see you inside of me, how empowering me to empower myself means empowering groups of people to find power in themselves, how having real support and a ton of will can move someone to pursue their dreams instead of a dollar bill, journeying forward, pressing on, learning to love my beautiful black self, handling business and being a mom, teaching yoga, serving my community, and dancing all day long. I've learned to grow what serves my purpose and let the rest go because in order for this journey to start, I had to learn a complete sentence, the word no. No, I won't be broken. No, I won't defer my dreams. No, it won't be easy and I won't let fear drive me. No, I won't wait to start living. No, I won't shrink. No, I won't neglect my own health and I won't apologize for being me. No, I won't stop putting in the word daily to be a better me. No, I won't stop this journey. This is my Odyssey. Thank you. Well, that concludes our service for today. What more could I say after that? But I'll try. In many ways, what we just experienced together reminds me, whether we call it an Odyssey or a soulful journey, or as I want to explore today the word pilgrimage, why it is so important to us as Unitarian Universalists to explore something that in many ways, in many forms is a component of almost every major religion. Whether it is the pilgrimage that takes place in Buddhism that's known as the Bodh Gaya to India, or the way of Saint James to the Camino de Santiago, which people from all over the world every year participate in in Spain, or people of faith in Islam who are called to the Hajj, one of the five essential pillars of their faith in every Muslim adult is expected to undertake it if they are physically and financially able. These literal kinds of pilgrimages have the common thread of inviting people to journey and to search in places that are spiritual or religious or in some way deeply meaningful. And in those journeys, often still in as simple a form as possible, either on foot or in the very basic kind of wheeled conveyance, still people all over the world again and again find powerful transformative meaning by undertaking those journeys. And we Unitarian Universalists in a very real sense have our own sort of pilgrimages that we have taken when we want to know more deeply about who we are as people of faith. We often travel to some of the villages and places in Boston to learn about some of our earliest roots here in the United States. Many of us repeatedly have gone to Selma to remind ourselves of a time in our history where many of us felt called by our deepening relationships with African American communities to stand up and be present in important time in history. And we return to that place to remind ourselves of the essence that still we wish to be alive within our souls. And many of us travel to Europe, especially congregations that participate in the Partner Church program to visit our Partner Church congregations in Transylvania to learn about the very old form of our tradition and the ways maybe that it lives on and who we are as well. But as is also in keeping with our Unitarian Universalist way of doing things, there is such a broad set of ways that we can understand journey and pilgrimage and odyssey to speak to the deeper part of who we are. We may understand that it is in its very form a metaphor for our lives and we may see our lives as an ongoing pilgrimage. We may find a variety of ways to journey into, in the midst of, into the heart of the sacred. And so it seems important to us as Unitarian Universalists to think a little bit about what that word sacred might mean as I use it today. And I will borrow from UU minister Patrick O'Neill and he speaks of the sacred in this way. There is something innate in human nature, something basic to our civilized sensibility that recognizes certain distinctions of worth in reality. And the name we have traditionally given to the highest of these is the holy or the sacred. O'Neill is suggesting that there is a part of human existence that evokes an attitude of reverence, of awe, of ultimate respect, a category of transcendence. And we lend to those experiences the name sacred. He concludes that his own sense of the sacred in the days when he wrote this is most concerned with all of the relatedness of life and our recognition of it, our participation in it and our own place within the web of existence. For me he says finally the sacred is that place which binds us to all living things and to the earth which is our home. Perhaps it means to see the world as journey, as pilgrimage, to see in that understanding how again and again that deep sense of relationship might come alive in our spirits and in the very way that we live day to day. Robin Drana Tagore wrote, I traveled an old road every day and one morning suddenly there was a trimmer in the air and the sky seemed to kiss me on my forehead. My mind started up like the morning out of mist. My everyday wisdom was ashamed. It was the best luck of my life that I lost my path that morning and found my eternal childhood. What journeys happen in your life, whether extraordinary or ordinary, that invite you back to that sense of wonder. It is a pilgrimage in our lives when we experience the fatigue of the hard work of travel, whether it is to our job or around the world. It is pilgrimage when we relax and feel satisfied at the feeling of arrival. It is pilgrimage and journey when the curiosity of exploration sets our minds and imaginations on fire. It is journey when enthusiasm, mixed with the bitter sweet, is experienced at times of parting. In every way that we are committed to and work towards something that is meaningful in all of the ways that we as human beings desire some sense of place, a fullness of our life, some connection with a meaningful and sustaining peace. Every time that we see the sacred in that which binds us to each other and to all things and makes the earth feel more our home. It is important, I think, as we explore in our own lives what it might mean to more often see our day-to-day life or any time that we travel is an opportunity for deeper growth. By looking at a couple of examples of what pilgrims, those who wander have embodied over and over again in their journey that has helped them connect more with the sacred as they travel. One of the things that is most essential is that they again and again remind themselves that journey always offers us the opportunity to encounter something of deep importance in our life if we will remain open to it. And in particular, if we are willing to let that journey change us, move us in ways sometimes that we don't expect or pull us out of what is comfortable, that we allow every journey the possibility of being our teacher. Wendell Berry reminds us the world cannot be discovered by a journey of miles no matter how long, but only by a spiritual journey, a journey of one inch, very arduous and humbling and joyful by which we arrive at the ground at our own feet and learn to be at home. Whether it is in our intentional journeys to places far or near, in just our most daily journeys, in our largest understanding of our life's journey, it can even be the way that we as community hear day into week into year journey together how by bringing an intention that our journey has deep importance to us and to all of us, by bringing the intention that we, when we can, open ourselves to being transformed by the truth of that importance. When we practice that alone and together, we do powerful, life-changing work. It reminds us that we need all that is part of that journey. The times of joy and celebration and we need the times of pain and testing as well. We need the grief and anxiety because all of those things are what really make our life sacred. It is often the case as we journey that we are something like a voyager in a very small boat and we have floated out into a great lake and we have gotten just far enough from the shore that we have just left that we can no longer see that shore behind us but we are not far enough over the lake that we can see where it is that we think we are going next. And when we are in that situation in our journeys day to day or beyond, any slight rocking of the boat can fill us with incredible anxiety and panic about our lives. We are so unsure in those moments. But in those moments especially, if we find ways to be really present to what is true, we experience incredible possibility and in its own way, life-giving freedom. The snow was dancing eerily around her as she got into the car and drove away from the retreat center. And while it had not been exactly the meditation retreat that she had hoped for, it was at least enough to make her feel more relaxed as she began a several-hour drive back home. And she realized that she had carried some very intense expectations to this retreat because so much in her life, from her work to her personal life to even her own meditation practice had begun to feel deeply unsettling and challenging. And because this had been a new retreat setting and new facilitators, she realized that perhaps the expectations that this single meditation retreat would do such heavy lifting was an unrealistic expectation.  And before she knew it, she had made her way several miles from the retreat center and she noticed, actually, that the snow was no longer eerily dancing around her. As a matter of fact, it was pummeling down rather hard and beginning to cover the road in front of her. And on her dashboard, there were warning lights indicating that the temperature outside was conducive to icy conditions and that her wheels were already doing a lot of work to keep traction on the road. Now, under the best of circumstances, driving was for her a very difficult experience and one that often caused her anxiety. And as a matter of fact, many times in driving, sometimes just in heavy traffic, she would have panic attacks. And as she was making her way on this unfamiliar road, knowing how many miles it was before she was even to a major highway, she found herself feeling within her that growing and mounting sense of panic. She looked for something within her that would allow her both to be calmer but also to continue to focus on the path ahead. She remembered that all during the retreat, the songwriter part of her mind had been mulling over these scraps of melody that often were just intervals or little bits and pieces of melody. And so as she drove, she began to use it as a sort of practice to weave them together. And she very naturally found some of the words that they had just used as part of the end of their meditation time, the loving-kindness meditation, as words that just naturally, organically, found their way into these scraps of melody. And as she held the steering wheel tightly, she found herself thinking and then voicing this simple melody. May I be at peace and he's and no the joy of my true nature know the joy of my true nature. And as she just began to sing that one phrase, she felt something shifting within her. And as the loving-kindness meditation invited, she found herself just naturally thinking about the other travelers who were also leaving from the retreat center and making their way home in this weather and imagining in each of them and wishing something for them and thinking about the people that she loved all over the country in their homes and reaching out to them in that moment and weaving into her own song. May you be at one and well within a sea of loving-kindness in a sea of loving-kindness. As she kept repeating those phrases again and again, she just found naturally that her breathing began to ease and her mind was called both fully present into that car but also into something larger. And she found herself offering a blessing to everything around her. May all be free from suffering. May all be safe from harm. May all be sheltered in deep compassion.  But most of all, she blessed that she had journeyed forth looking for some deeper answers about her life. And now as she was driving home, she felt more powerfully how deeply she over and over again let fear stop her or hold her back from risking the most important things in her life. In that moment, in that car, in that expression of love, she felt something holy and sacred and it was a blessing. Elizabeth Gilbert wrote this, I have come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call the physics of the quest, a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws of gravity or momentum, and it goes something like this. If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments, if you can set out on a truth seeking journey either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you. This, I believe. Amen. And blessed be. As we think about the way that we journey and we move into our time of offering, it is my honor to invite Shar Braxton to come join me up here. As we move into our time of offering in a moment after our reading, we are grateful for the sharing of the Odyssey project that invites folks that might not otherwise have the experience to encounter the transformation of the humanities and see how it speaks their life into power. So we are deeply grateful for the sharing of some of the fruits of that journey. Welcome, Shar. Thank you so much for having us here and also for the support to the Odyssey program. It does really help out with education and also the many journeys of the Odyssey participants. So my poetry is called Crossing the Ocean. My guidance counselor said, you are not college material. You're not college material. You are not college material. Those words bounced off the walls and ceiling before each word shot straight at my heart and ripped it open. Dreams shredded into thin sheets of paper. The white kids rejoicing Harvard, Georgetown, UW Madison. Darkness, non void. I did not matter. Years of doubt and rock bottom pain. Please, please help me to live again. A colorful arch of enrichment appears. The storm is over and the blue sky is clear. Odyssey created a passion in me. Learn, read, write. Be strong. Humanities, English, James Baldwin, I am transformed. Climbing, reaching, making positive choices. Wu, sheng zai, shang, Zheng Wen, Da Shui, Ke Cheng. I am taking Chinese college courses. Encouragement, faith and laughter are my friends. One day I will travel to China and teach in Beijing. Dear Mr. Guidance Counselor, I invite you to come with me. Set sail, release anger, the fortunes of forgiveness. Let's journey together. Thank you. Knowing that 50% of our offering will go to benefit the ongoing work of Odyssey Project, may a spirit of generosity and of sharing inhabit our offering as it is now gratefully given and received. So thank you for your generosity and support of the UW Odyssey Project. I know a few things about this project and I can tell you it makes a huge, huge difference. Something else that makes a difference is the volunteer support that we get every weekend to make sure that these services run smoothly. Special thanks to David Bryles for operating the sound system. To Anne Smiley for serving as our lay minister. To Claire Box and Leslie Bartlett for serving as our greeters this morning. And our ushers, Jed Downs, Robin Downs, Anne Ostrom, Marty Hollis and Brian Channis. In the kitchen making sure that the coffee is hot. Bistnitschke and Sandra Plisch, thank them during the hospitality hour if you will. Our tour guide is John Powell. The flowers that you see behind me were donated by Tim Phillips in honor of Gabrielle Rochester. John Tues took care of the watering of the foliage up here to make sure it's green and healthy. And our information table is staffed by Rob Savage. And those are all examples of stewardship here at First Unitarian Society. Another example of stewardship is our campaign where we are generating resources for First Unitarian Society because of your stewardship. And that campaign is going well. A lot of you and fellow members have increased pledges above last year's level. A lot of us have made multi-year commitments, making us sustaining stewards. And we have a lot of new donors, new pledgers who haven't pledged before or who are recently joined as members, so we appreciate that new gesture of stewardship. So because of you, because of that stewardship, we are able to offer all the programs and services that we enjoy here at FUS. Starting with our religious education and youth programming. And you saw the response of the kids this morning to the message for all ages. I had a front row seat so I could see their faces and their body language and their noises and their sounds and everything else. And I just tell that they're going to grow up feeling valued here because of you. And because of you, families can thrive here because of you, we are able to be a spiritual home across all generations in the congregation. And because of you, we are going to be able to increase our capacity to host meaningful community events in this welcoming space, thus deepening our connection to the community and providing an ongoing revenue stream to help fund the programs and services and operating costs of this organization. And because of you, we have a louder voice in social justice, including our connection with programs such as the UW Odyssey Project. And because of you, we're going to be able to leverage our world-class music program as a community outreach tool. All of that because of you. And because of you, we're going to have a special celebration on Friday, this week, April 5th, from 6 to 8 p.m. right here celebrating your stewardship. Whether it's financial or volunteer or in kind, we want to celebrate all forms of stewardship that make this organization what it is. So if you haven't responded yet and reserved your spot at the... because of you celebration, you and your family are invited and you'll see the RSVP instructions in today's Red Floor's Bulletin. So please take a look at that. Let us know you're going to be there so that we have enough food for everybody. And speaking of food, every week we provide a food fight restaurant gift certificate, gift card for somebody who's been participating in our stewardship effort here at First Unitarian Society. And today's gift card goes to Emily Kuzik and Bill Putnam. Are we here? Thank you.  Should have gotten my husband to come up and collect it. This has been our spiritual home here for quite some time. It's helped me through a lot of rough times and given me the first place I could bring my son that was an open and welcoming community and it helped us lend our family in a very, I guess, just way full of grace and found lots of wonderful friends here of all different walks of life. So I really enriched our lives in many ways. Thank you, Emily, and I'm sure Bill has nothing to add because I think you said it all and I know how active you and your family have been in First Unitarian Society. Well, a chance for all of you to continue being active as stewards. Thanks for everything you do. Because of you, this campaign is going really well and because of you, we're going to celebrate a wonderful bit of stewardship this Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. If you have questions about your own pledge, please see Cheryl and or Florence. If you're standing at the back of the room, they'll be in the comments to answer any questions you have about your pledge in our stewardship campaign. Thanks for your stewardship. May we know that today, after the service, our pre-K childless children will be culminating Teddy Bear Month with a Teddy Bear Parade. You'll get to see it during the fellowship time. They'll entertain us with musical instruments and their levies. Teddy Bears are something else adorable and their glowing faces. Please be sure to give them your appreciation and attention for their efforts. They will come through in a few minutes. And starting this weekend, board members will be available here in the atrium auditorium after the service for about 20 minutes to explore with you any questions or thoughts you have about the interim process and make sure that you stay in the loop about what it's all about. As we move towards our closing hymn, we use it as an opportunity, appropriate for this hymn, to think about our connections with each other and remember the ways that we are together in our joys and in our struggles and how powerful that connection is. May we rise in all the ways that we do as we join in number 1064 Blue Boat Home. Oh, below me I feel no motion Standing on these mountains and plains Far away from the ocean Still my dry land heart can say I've been sailing o'er life now Never harbor or port have I known The wide universe is the ocean I traveled And the earth is my blue boat Sun, my sail and moon by the starry sea Leaning over the edge in wonder Casting questions into the deep Drifting here with my ship's companions All we kindred pilgrim souls Making away by the lights of the heavens And a beautiful blue boat home I give thanks to the waves upholding me Hail the great winds urging me on Greet the infinite sea before me Sing the sky my sailor song I was born upon atoms Never harbor or port have I known Earth is the ocean I traveled And the earth is my blue boat home And now as we prepare to leave this place In all of our journeys far and wide May we practice the pathway of seeing the importance of our lives Recognizing the teachers always around us May we feel deeply connected to each other And to the earth as our home We extinguish this chalice but not the light of wisdom The warmth of care and community The fire of our commitment to what matters most in our living These remain until we gather in this place again Before we move on into our day I invite you to take your seat And take in one more gift of music together in worship


My name is Dr. Al-Roshid Itzemaike and I'm the grateful recipient of the 2023 Brain Foundation Research Grant. Brain bleeding caused by the rupture of an aneurysm is devastating, but it is made even more so when the same aneurysm repletes before its treatment, as can happen for up to 1 in 12 people following their initial bleed. Our work will improve identification of patients at highest risk of re-bleeding, using cutting-edge, non-invasive technology developed by the University of Western Australia's Intelligent Systems for Medicine Laboratory. Using brain scans obtained at the time of hospital admission, we will investigate whether estimated aneurysm wall tension is different between those who re-bleed and those who do not. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the selection committee, staff, sponsors and fundraisers of the Brain Foundation, who through this generous grant will now make our important work possible. Thank you.


I know that you have been talked to already by the Secretary, by the President, and so I didn't want to make that a season-plough ground-goal over again. I'm sure they've emphasized how important we feel this whole thing is. And I just thought I would mention the other day President Pannon was here. And again, he is totally behind. The idea that we have proposed with the Contadora that they want to emphasize the necessity of the Sandinista government actually negotiating with their own people, those we call the Contras, and they're trying to get back to what were the original revolutionary goals. And we feel that this is, by the way, these letters are reiterating some things that we said to the Senate that you would like to have also refute some of the accusations that have been made in what is in our mind. But the, it's just, there's no question in our minds anymore and I think all the heavens is incontrovertible that we have a totalitarian communist state as far as that government is concerned. The people of Nicaragua have not bought that. There's increasing unhappiness, increasing desertions from their military going over to the Contras. And we just feel there's no way that we cannot go forward with this help to them, which as you've been told is non-lethal. And we think that this particular amendment would be gutted by some of the others that have been proposed and that this amendment will keep the Democratic forces there with some hope that they can get pluralistic government, the Democratic government there. So I think it's about time that we, if you already opened it to discussion. So there, there are an anxious to ask your question. Let's go. Mr. President, thank you very much. I would like to take this opportunity, first of all, to thank you, Mr. McFarland, for the close support in working on this amendment. There are some individuals here, Mr. President, who have been very supportive in this process that opposed the original Michael amendment but believed wholeheartedly that the stand that you've taken and supported this amendment and the positions that you've restated in your letter will go a long way to make this truly a bipartisan amendment and a policy as to make a argument. And if I could, Mr. President, I just wanted to point to a couple of people here that were very involved. Mr. Richardson, who's chairman of Hispanic Caucus from New Mexico, one that had raised a number of concerns that, I think, have been addressed and again, I appreciate that effort. I know Mr. Slattery, Mr. Barton, Mr. Stallings, Mr. Watkins, Mr. Andrews, all of Mr. Bustamante, Mr. Robinson, I think, left Larry's own corner, as usual. But they have raised a number of concerns with the original policy that I think that we've been able to address and again, I believe that your statements in this letter, again, the reaffirmation of the support for the Democratic Center, the truly small-league Democrats in Central America who want a policy of reconciliation within Nicaragua is going to make this policy sellable to the American public. And I think in the past it hasn't been, but I think the statements you make today clearly put us on the high ground as to Central America and Nicaragua, and I appreciate your support. All right. Let me just tell you one little incident I'm going to take, where it comes up, and thank you very much. A couple of years ago, at least, when the military was really pouring in there from the Soviet bloc and the tanks and all of that, there was a ship and we really had a tech, you know, some of them were coming through the canal to unload on the Pacific side, and they go through the canal. We got a little lady. We know us on that ship. So there was one that had those military helicopters, which they were using, and they denied, we made it public, that this was what was coming, the ship from the Soviet Union with the helicopters. Oh, they denied it. They said it was farm equipment that was coming in. We were a little worried because we knew what was there. You know, have they done something overboard for how to get the propaganda message, or have they ducked in some place and unloaded this stuff, and particularly when they then announced publicly that they would have the international press on the docks to watch that ship unload, and we thought they'd done something. So the ship was there, and the ship unloaded, and the international press on the dock consisted totally of the Cuban press. It was the international press. So then we knew who we were able, as you know, to find out. They don't load the helicopters, and they've since been in action. Mr. President, I think Ray's the key issue here that the Secretary responded to, partially. If those countries surrounded Nicaragua, if they knew that they had support for the United States Congress, because they know they had administrations, but if they knew they had support for the United States Congress, would the attitude be different? The attitude of those countries would be different in the context of the press and Ray's response, where they'd be more willing to come forward and say, yes, we need your support. I believe, yes. I think this is one of the things they've been in the way we've gone back and forth. They're unsure. They're scared to death of Nicaragua. They know that's the threat to them. And they're hesitant about how far they can go without finding themselves in the next meeting. And they may... Well, when the President of Honduras was here just recently, that was very much a part of our discussion there. And I assure you, as far as we were concerned, they knew that we could be counted on. They know also enough about our government to know that there are limitations on how the President could do it. Mr. President, Jim Snyder has began. I have some real concerns about how you logistically plan to deliver this humanitarian assistance to Congress. Can you give us assurances that we're not going to get involved in using military aircraft, U.S. military aircraft to deliver this humanitarian assistance within Nicaragua? What are your plans to actually logistically deliver the aid to the Congress? Well, I think most of the aid will be delivered, at least roughly, I think, now, yes, on the Honduras side of the border. But it's not your personal plans for military aircraft to get people in there. Absolutely flat. There will be no U.S. military aircraft delivering supplies inside Nicaragua. It's absolutely not anybody's plan or idea. Mr. Secretary, can we construe from that also that there will not be any U.S. aircraft, period, that are owned by the United States government delivering this assistance inside the border of Nicaragua? Absolutely. Yes. Mr. Secretary, what do you consider the minimum result of gains that you would have to see from this effort before you would not ask for military aid in future? Well, some progress that they legitimately were discussing in a peaceful way. In other words, remember, March 1st, it was the Congress who offered to lay down their arms and enter into peaceful negotiations. Now, they're one-time partners of the revolution and thought they were fighting for the democratic revolution. And it was the Sandinista guns that refused to negotiate with them. And the condadora, as I was assured in the day yesterday by the president of the Panama, the condadora group, they wanted these negotiations to open up. And our suggestion in our plan was that involved the church as kind of the mediator that everyone would be able to trust in overseeing that this is a fair effort at negotiations. And we feel once they get into that, then it's going to be very easy to determine whether there is a legitimate effort being made to resolve this and who is responsible for not making it legitimate. Negotiations began and you would not ask the military to know what we said was in the original plan, peace plan. We did want to stick. And incidentally, President of the Panama used that term. He believes in the carrot. And he thinks this is the carrot that we're holding out. But he says, to make carrot work, you've got to have a stick nap over your someplace that says, you know, if nothing happens they just stay with their present position and maybe just go through the motions of negotiation and nothing happens and it still ends up another Cuba common estate that there should be some threat. Well, our idea of the threat was that you would resume military aid to the Contras because the Contras will be in the position of having laid down their arms and a total cease-fire. Laurel and Georgia, do you have a feeling about how South American countries feel the odds for conflict? Yes, I do because early on I made a trip down there several times and this is one of the reasons why I squirm every time I hear these accusations that I've got an idea in the back of my mind of the military action there. Virtually every hit of state in the Latin American countries with the memories and their people can't get political with them. They know that their people have that memory of the big colossus of the north back in the old nutty gunboat days and the gunboat diplomacy. And all of them say one thing, we can't do it without your help. We need your weapons. We need the training that you can give our people. We need the resources that you can provide. We don't want your men. We'll provide the manpower. They don't want Americans again, whatever reason, coming in there and restoring that old image. And in many of them it's kind of pretty evident that what they're talking about is they would understand if it had to happen as a leader. They could never sell it to their people. So I've said to all of our people in the very first I'm reluctant to get out and shout this around too much because I don't think it hurts if somebody like the Sandinista government worries about whether we might or not do it. I like to see them lose sleep but the truth of the matter is there's no way that we could have an ally or friend left in Latin America if we started landing the Marines on the beach. President, can we for about 90 days or 120 days watch the business legislation and get some type of report on the leadership of Latin America for their current supporters to some degree out in Ohio to some degree and also if we can program some leadership within the contri-area for the church and the unions in the business area can identify some type of leadership to take over the contra-operation against the Sandinista so that we can have some idea as to who are the leaders within this area or who is the leader that's a duande in a son-in-law. Well, some of these men aren't like Revelle, they're crews men who were part of the revolution and they're basically the leaders now on the left as the contri-s. One of the things that's difficult to do unless there's some sign of hope when you have a totalitarian government of the Sandinista town what person there civilian people, business people and so forth how far can they go in standing up and apparently taking the sides of democracy with the knowledge that the whole thing could fall apart and then they'd have to get out of the country if the Sandinistas were still the government. What if the Vida what if the Vida they just kicked them out of the country? That's right. In Texas, one of the one of the arguments against your policy I think has been in the House that the Contra's goal is to overthrow the government in Nicaragua while the administration's goal may well be for a negotiated settlement and I wonder hypothetically, assuming that the administration gets its way that the Contra army is built up to 20,000 to 30,000 fighting men that we continue with a negotiated settlement with the government of Nicaragua and are successful and you reach the point where you feel that it's time to settle the case with Nicaragua they have acceded to our demands for the most part are you confident that the Contra's will participate in that settlement are we creating a situation where we're in danger that these Contras by the time we built a 30,000 man fighting army will not be willing to lay down their arms but simply to pursue their goal of a complete overthrow of the government No, I think the very fact that they have taken the lead repeatedly and the last time was March 1st and now with the acceptance of our proposal based on that the fact that they have been the ones that said we'll lay down our arms have let us let us come in and negotiate with you as fellow revolutionaries and what kind of government that we want did you want to say something about it? The President's right, it's useful just recently in the past week or so the unified Nicaraguan opposition Cruz and Company Calero have said publicly the only way that power ought to change in Nicaragua is through an elective process What did they hope for? Did you tell them about your experience what the leaders don't have in the targets? I don't know if that's a good word but here's something that I don't know because there's quite a disinformation campaign because of the Contras and so forth about what they are but it was down there talking to them and he said militarily he said don't come you don't hit any of the strategic targets you know you could really cripple the economy and so forth there the Sandinista government you hit the power plants the same as the communist guerrillas are doing in El Salvador and the leaders of these Contras said no they said that would hurt the people and we're of the people so they'll fight a military opponent but they won't attack these strategic targets that like in El Salvador what's happened to the economy when the power plants go out and they just have to close down and all of this transportation, the infrastructure and the leaders of the Contras they probably said no sir because that might hurt the government but it would also be hurting the people Mr. President I've been loud in my opposition to you when I thought you were wrong I can think of Lebanon but I've been equally loud in my praise of you when I think you're right and I think you're right on this issue I've been with you for some time two points come to my mind and looking over this group today first of all it is a bipartisan effort on the House floor 34 weeks ago we got 46 Democrats I think I'm right to stand up for the Michael amendment we got 40 Democrats to go with military assistance which was our first vote on the House floor so be reminded I know you are often but I'd like to take this chance to remind you it has been bipartisan and we all make sure it ends that way oh buddy I thank you yes this is something that has to be said over and over again we've got a very proud history in this country and sometimes we tend to forget it in our own partisan rivalries but the thing that's characterized this nation is it's like the family fight you can have a family fight but if your neighbor gets into it it comes together and at the water's edge there are no parties where we're Americans well I'm glad to hear you say that in this room and I'd like you to say it to America every chance you get to point number two and I'll leave you alone for the day one of the strongest affirmations of what you're trying to do in my personal experience has been a conversation with President Jose of El Salvador he was in town not too many weeks past he knows the carrot and the steak operation he knows the effect in his own country of what the Nicaraguans are trying to do to him in terms of command and control and training the rebels that he's fighting and I just believe that he supports you 100% in what you're trying to do I think it's a strong point we're going to make it on the House floor this week but I'd like you to make it every chance you get to Mr. President as you know it's a difficult hope for many of us and when we confront our church leaders they continually criticize our efforts on behalf of the Congress and the Secretary reviewed for some of the negative effects of the last vote I'm wondering if you could just reemphasize for some of the positive effects of what we've been doing in the past and what we expect to happen out of our continued support for the Congress I think first of all if you look at one of these last few years that we've had in Latin America generally the turn toward democracy and 90% of people there now live under democracy or in countries that are moving toward it and this is what we call the Jackson plan came right from and that bipartisan commission went down there and came back recommending the greatest help then if it wasn't for this cancer sitting there Nicaragua a plan where the United States for the first time could really set up a program of helping them build the infrastructure the economy that they need to eliminate that society that is totally poverty or totally rich and build an economy where their standard of living can come up by their own efforts and this I heard just the other day from the President he described this to me as it was an idea that was selling us and it's been on our idea all along we've tried a lot of things in the past but the trick that I made the first year I was here to Central America and to South America too and to tell all of them we know there have been efforts in the past well intentioned efforts in the process of the North coming down the same here's what we're going to do and I went down and said look we want to hear your ideas what do you think we should do we're all neighbors some was a unique situation in the whole history of the world from the tip of of the North Pole we all have the same heritage of coming here and years to these two continents with the bridge in between we all basically worship the same God granted we speak about basically three different languages Brazil and Portuguese the others with Spanish and English but we have so much in common that we ought to be able to make this whole 650 million people in these continents such neighbors that we can have borders between all of us like the border between us and Canada and Mexico where we don't have to have armed guards and so forth and it's a I just read the other day and let me say one thing about it theatrical troupe from Moscow came here to put on shows and they started in Canada some shows in Canada then were sent down here and one of them describing the when they got to the border from the Montreal to the United States they didn't have to stop or show any papers or do anything and there weren't any guards or gates or anything else they didn't even know when they had left Canada and were now in the United States and they were all awestruck by this well this averages and so forth and say well 7.2% the employment average or whatever they go by that's a little bit like the fellow that drowned trying to wait across the river even though it isn't the average that there are pockets in the country that have particular problems but again the overall economy is concerned is it going to be helped if we remain rich here with all our problems but rich here surrounded by these other hundreds of millions of people in this economy in poverty or isn't there going to be a better economy for all of us if we are all able to trade with each other and raise our standards of living those people down there their standard of living is raised they're not going to be customers for things in their own country they're going to be customers for things in ours everybody is going to benefit I share that the third district of Oklahoma can raise their income it's good for America too but the doubt is that they've got the raising the standard there and that that can be helped by a more prosperous world with a higher standard of living worldwide and that's why this Jackson plan is not one aimed anymore it's just doling out you know I've had a feeling that a lot of our foremen I've been as great a lover as anyone back over the years I'm on the mashed potato circuit in the Asian area he'd been lieutenant colonel when he became head of the government he left office with 80 million dollars now you don't save 80 million dollars out of a lieutenant colonel's cell but you know that was for where I remember we provided saunas for a country that didn't have any harvest and we'd do another one a miles of paved roads and you know but if we could go in stimulate an economy and create customers by doing that as well as being customers I just wanted to respond to Ben's question I think that Ben may be able to shed some light on it one of the vocal opponents of this policy has been in the churches and many of us share possibly from the church groups within our state the fact that Ben is doing inside Nicaragua that there's a trist season and so forth I believe by your statements in the letter in your support of the improvement of human rights by the resistance forces it's going to go a long way to respond to the concerns that the church has had and bud can you give a chance and light as to what the resistance democratic resistance is going to be announcing in the next few days as to some of their policies I know was leaked in the New York Times last week that they were going to come out and issue a proclamation like a declaration of independence or a bill of rights asserting political institutions over men that they are a political body that they are going to have rule of law as opposed to just armed resistance and we have some inkling as to what information you have as to whether or not they're going to announce this and you will see the entire community of the unarmed people who's leadership and other civilians bring together the hearty people from the south and the fellow and the FDN people of north and reaffirm what they have said earlier about number one that the government must only change canonly through a peaceful electoral process that they condemn human rights violations and will take action to prohibit them in their own ranks and once more ask for the church to foster this dialogue with the government in the top position. May I just say I'm going to take your question here also on this, I recognize that there are many well-meaning people in our religious groups but there are also great divisions with them and the well-meaning people are those that want a peaceful settlement of anything and properly so they don't believe in killing back and forth but we've got to recognize that probably one of the best and most sophisticated disinformation networks in the world is the network named by the communist bloc that well, I can tell you just one example of it there was only a couple of years ago that they planted a story in a paper and the professor showed a letter that I'd written to the king of Spain it was a letter that was very harmful to me it was very harmful to him I never wrote such a letter, he never got such a letter and finally that one was exposed and they had to admit it was a phony but they do things like that and one day there was a story about a bishop, a catholic bishop who was leading a couple of hundred refugees out of Nicaragua toward the Honduran border and they were attacked for the conference and he was trying to save these people well then he came back, he's a bishop from Iowa I called him on the phone and I told him this story which had been published about this and he said no he said we were attacked by the Sandinista army, the military he said the conference helped save us but this is the kind of thing that they can just shamelessly claim because I say to other people they don't understand who the bad guys and the good guys are Mr. President the hardest thing for any politician is to admit that one has made a mistake and I want to tell you I voted for Barnes Hamilton and I made a mistake but I want you to understand I'm going to support the Michael amendment I tend to go to the floor and go against my party because I think you're right but I want you to know like buddy echo it's tough on many of us in Low Rock, Arkansas I've got my bishop of the Methodist Church I've got the peaceniks marching on my office it's politically expedient for me to vote against you because I've got a colleague in Arkansas that echoes the other side every day and I haven't been around here long enough to counter some of that but my point is I wish that if you win or if you lose please don't just say well the Democrats did again and there are some Democrats that are going to help you but the point I want to make is all I hear from some of the liberals in Congress is well go on over there they're going to come in whip your tail next election and I guess the point I'm trying to make is buddy Martin will come out and say what he thinks I think you ought to back off of us good Democrats once more I'm going to say something for you buddy don't you think I'm a little frustrated I go out there and make a speech and then I tune on the TV news that night and I see a shot about 20 seconds of me approaching the podium and then I see about 10 seconds of me saying something that innocuous not important at all while the voice of Sam Donaldson tells the people what he wants to say and so you don't know how many times I've said this and talked about this thing and the bipartisan approach is over but only the people in the audience know about it it never gets any place well I'm going to do like try to do my part Mr. Michael if you'll give me some time I think you'll be proud of my speech but I just wanted you to know if we want something once we call over and get something for ourselves maybe I shouldn't say this yesterday I shook the hands of 150 office holders a number of states office holders at the local state level including judges legislators and so forth all of who were democrats who have become republicans be careful the only thing I'm going to add to that is to say that you're absolutely right about some republicans I wish they'd know we were organized like baseball where we could do some trading I'd rather have it I'd rather have it Mr. President I was down here working this problem today and Bahá'u'llah when we move down to everybody and you relate the story that I think would be useful because there's some dog on much a high level of rhetoric what we're probably going to hear up on the hill today about the evil mind of the state of the White House in Missouri states I'm here tomorrow, maybe even Thursday and one time when we were down here you were talking about Ortega and the fact that he stopped in Spain which used to be his real buddy had a great meeting with the prime minister and they did something in public and I think might be helpful for the members here if you told us what happened so that as we begin to listen to this avalanche of rhetoric that they can now about how evil the country is you might relate what the prime minister Spain reacted to when Ortega came back to Moscow Yeah, man Gonzalez as you know he's exactly a socialist although he's moderating and turning more to entrepreneurship in this country but he asked me and I told him in as much detail as I could what our plan was a plan for peaceful negotiations the conference laying down the weapons and he listened very attentively the only comment he made was that his impression had been that that the Sandinista government was on the way to totalitarianism and I seem to say that they achieved which I think they have but that was the only comment he made he didn't dispute or anything well I knew that Ortega was coming to see him on the way back to Moscow and then I found out that you know Ortega had their meeting and then they both appeared before the press press conference and Ortega stood up and pretty soon Ortega was teeing off on me and calling me a Nazi and including the United States also in that and Gonzalez in front of the press just stepped up to the microphone and interrupted Mr. Ortega and he said President Reagan is not a Nazi and the United States saved Europe from Nazism and if they need to do it again the United States under President Reagan will save Europe again from Nazism and I don't know how the hell Ortega got off stage applause


Rhefall bus accuse. I have lost count of the number of times that you have that have leaked significant policy announcements to the press, the before they are delivered in the chamber. That includes media reports that contain full extracts that have yet to be heard from ministerial statements. ond Angus Robertson will tell the chamber today that there will be a four-week extension to the deadline for completing census entries. That following the SNP's insistence that we diverged from the UK census timeline so that we can achieve, quote, the highest possible response rate, unquote. The argument didn't make sense then, but opponents were hushed because the Scottish Government knew better. It turns out that they didn't. They've utterly bungled it. I don't know how many times the Scottish Government has bypassed your request that significant announcements be made here in this chamber in the first instance. What I do know is that they are ignoring your instruction, which is contempt. What action can you now take to ensure that ministers respect this Parliament? I thank the member for their point of order. I have made my position clear on several occasions that significant announcements should be made to this chamber in the first instance. I have seen the press coverage, which speculates on the content of the statement. I am as yet unaware of the content of the statement as it has not been delivered or circulated under embargo. I have asked the Minister for Parliamentary Business Office for an explanation ahead of this afternoon's statement, and I will give this full consideration. We now move on to general questions in order to get in as many members as possible. Short and succinct questions and responses would be preferred. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the provision of funded laptops, tablets and internet connections for young people across Scotland. Cabinet Secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville. We are committed to providing every school age child with access to a device and connectivity by the end of this parliamentary term. We have already provided £25 million to councils, resulting in over 72,000 pupils receiving a device and 14,000 receiving an internet connection. Councils have also invested in technology, and I have indicated that in total almost 280,000 devices have been or are in the process of being distributed to learners. That is a complex and ambitious commitment, and we are commencing preparatory work ahead of deeper investment in technology from 2023-24. I was jammed tomorrow, as usual. In my written question, I asked how many laptops and tablets have been handed out by local authorities. In question, I asked how much it would cost to replace an upgrade devices. The Scottish Government could not provide answers because it told me that it held no data. The truth is that the SNP has not worked with local authorities to provide free laptops. It has made an election promise, thrown responsibility to the councils, issued a press release and moved on. Does the cabinet secretary have any idea whatsoever how many pupils, currently in secondary schools, will leave school without ever having access to the free laptop or tablet and the free internet connection that is promised by the SNP Scottish Government? Will Mr Kerr wish to rewrite the SNP's manifesto as he continues to rewrite his own party's manifesto? What I have made clear every single time we have discussed this in the chamber, as I said in my original remark, is that we are committed within the manifesto providing every school-aged child with access to device and connectivity by the end of this parliamentary term. That is what we are absolutely determined to do. We have convened a joint partnership group board with COSLA to oversee the work. Once again, Mr Kerr is absolutely, factually incorrect in the fact that we are not working with COSLA. We are indeed joint partnership working with them to oversee the project. I would have thought that Mr Kerr would be pleased that the partnership between the Scottish Government and the local Government has seen the distribution of devices that equates to 40 per cent of school pupils at this point, and we will deliver on our manifesto commitment by the end of the parliamentary term. Does the cabinet secretary agree that young people should also be provided with tuition in the use of these devices and that the correct and proper use is in fact touch-typing? After all, one would not give a child a violin or a trombone without also arranging for music lessons. Those possessing the skill can type at three times the speed of those who cannot, and written communication is now essential for most jobs, thus opening up many more opportunities for young people. Will the cabinet secretary meet me and experts in the tuition of touch-typing to consider how that might be progressed? I thank Mr Ewing for his question and recognise the commitment that he has to the issue in which we have discussed this, I believe, at committee before when he was a member. He will of course be aware that we know that the capability to make the use of technology is equally or not as important, of course, as the provision of devices. I would therefore, of course, as always, be delighted to meet Mr Ewing to discuss this matter further. Question 2 is not lodged. Question 3, withdrawn. Question 4, Donald Cameron. To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that anyone living with MS has access to a specialist nurse in the NHS board area. Cabinet Secretary, comes the use of it. I start by paying tribute to the MS Society and other stakeholders during MS Awareness week for the excellent work that they do. Decisions on local staffing requirements are the responsibility of course of individual NHS boards. They are based on changing population demographics. The Scottish Government and COSLA recently published and co-produced their national workforce strategy on 11 March this year. The strategy commits to publishing new workforce projections in the autumn once we have the opportunity to consider health board and health and social care partnerships three-year workforce plans. The staffing needs for services and professional specialities across NHS Scotland will be in partnership with stakeholders and will be factored into the development of those projections. The Scottish MS Register report notes that, despite the challenges that Covid-19 presents, 87 per cent of newly diagnosed people receive contact with an MS specialist nurse within 10 working days of diagnosis. I am told that NHS Western Isles has stated that it will not be replacing its recently vacated MS nurse post with a like-for-like replacement and will instead appoint a more general neurological specialist and ask its Parkinson's nurse to assist. Given that there are around 100 people in the Western Isles living with MS and the need for specialist care is critical, what action will the Scottish Government take to assist NHS Western Isles and other health boards across Scotland to recruit full-time specialist MS nurses? I am aware of the issue in the Western Isles and the Scottish Government has been in contact with NHS Western Isles. There are perhaps a couple of points that I can advise the member of. The advanced clinical nurse specialist in neurology, who I understand will be recruited at band 7, is right to have speciality across neurology services, including MS. They will also take the opportunity and understand to increase the hours of the specialist nurse in relation to Parkinson's. Those additional hours for that nurse will also be general neurology services. However, it will be important to state, and I have this from NHS Western Isles, that the board has assured me that patients should not experience a negative change in their care as a result of those changes. I would say to any member, be it Donald Cameron or any other member, if they hear of any diminishing, any reduction in the care or service that those with MS in the Western Isles are receiving, then to bring that to the board's attention, and, of course, to my attention too. To ask the Scottish Government how many incidents of dog theft there have been in the last five years. The Scottish Government does not hold statistics on incidents of crimes of dog theft as data is held only under the type of theft—for example, robbery, housebreaking or shoplifting and not what is stolen. However, last year, the Scottish Government contacted Police Scotland, which confirmed that its internal records showed that there were 62 cases recorded in 2019-20 and 88 cases in 2021. It noted that around a third of those cases were recorded as domestic or ownership disputes, rather than theft for financial gain. Maurice Golden. I thank the minister for that answer, and it goes to the heart of the problem that there is a lack of robust and reliable data. That is what we need if we are to understand the true scale of the growing problem. Can the minister help to shed more light on that by providing the number of prosecutions and convictions for dog theft over the past five years? I have that data with me today, but I can certainly follow that up with the member in writing. A specific offence of pet theft would aid in the data gathering for offending behaviour, but careful consideration needs to be given us to whether creation of a different or specific offence. I know that the member is considering bringing forward a proposal on that issue, risk creating a large number of very similar offences covering different types of theft. However, I would certainly agree that one theft of a dog is one too many, but I am heartened from the internal figures that I have just shared with the chamber that shows that dog theft is not a high volume crime in Scotland with 88 cases being reported last year. I would also say to the chamber that we suspect that those 88 cases and that being a slight increase on the year before is likely to have been driven by the rise in demand for puppies during the coronavirus lockdown at that time. I am very sympathetic to the issue that was raised by Maurice Golden and I trail the fact that my own proposal for a bill on the welfare of dogs is lodged today, so it is open for signing. Further to the response from the minister, I believe that there are eight microchipping companies or so and every puppy in Scotland has been microchipped. Is there a possibility of combining these into one database for traceability? I am not sure. I would have to give that some thought so I perhaps can come back to the member or perhaps the member and I could meet to discuss this issue further. 6. Stephanie Callaghan To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to extend the NHS Scotland Covid status app to 12 to 15-year-olds in order to support the increase in the number of families that are returning to international travel. Exploring an age-appropriate way to provide digital access to the Covid status for children under 16—in the meantime, children under 16 in Scotland who have been vaccinated can obtain a paper certificate of their vaccination status via NHS inform. Broadly, looking forward, does the Scottish Government see an on-going need to maintain and develop similar applications as part of the preparation for future pandemics? Yes, that is a very wise thing for any Government to be considering, given the challenges of the pandemic. The member will know that we have a standing committee on pandemics, and they are continuing to advise the Government about any future preparations. It should say that the app that we have developed works well, of course, for international travel, but, as we have already alluded to it, in response to her first question, there is further development and evolution of this app still to go. We are very keen to complete the work for under-16s prior to the summer holidays. To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to address the reports that increase in levels of violence and antisocial behaviour in Glasgow city centre. Everyone has the right to be and to feel safe in their community, and we are aware of reports that young people have been travelling to Glasgow to enjoy the city and to connect with other young people. We also know that it is only a minority of young people who are carrying out acts of antisocial behaviour. The police response will continue to be measured and intelligence-led but robust where appropriate to protect both the public and young people and to ensure that businesses and the wider community feel safe in the city centre. The response includes the deployment of anti-disorder patrols, ensuring that there is enough capability to respond to spontaneous incidents, the mobile police office providing a physical policing base and mobile CCTV vehicles capturing evidence in real-time. Local authority community enforcement officers support the police and the city centre exclusion orders can be used to place restrictions on offenders. I thank the minister for that answer. This week I met Niven Rennie and Will Linden from the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit to discuss the on-going problems in the city centre of Glasgow. They were clear that the situation is complex, as the minister described, but the main driver for anti-social behaviour is children from across the central belt who have nothing to do in their local communities due to the closure of vital community centres and youth projects. I asked the minister what analysis has been conducted by the Government to establish how many of the vital community assets have been closed due to continued local authority budget cuts. The Government has placed an emphasis on providing local authorities with Covid recovery grants, how much of those assets are going to reopen the vital community assets and finally what work is she undertaking in conjunction with Police Scotland and Glasgow City Council in particular, to explore the possibility of establishing an on-site youth zone in Glasgow, which has been incredibly successful at reducing violence and anti-social behaviour in 18 English cities. I think that there are a number of questions in there, so I do not think that I am going to be able to answer them. I would be happy to meet the member if he wanted to discuss some more of that in detail. I think that the member has correctly identified that there is not a single approach that is going to solve the issue. The member mentioned youth services there. The allocation and planning of resources and services for young people is obviously for local authority partners, but I understand the concerns that are raised by Mr Sweeney and by residents of Glasgow around the recent anti-social behaviour in the city and the harmful or offending behaviour that is, of course, unacceptable. It is also important to appreciate that young people have certain rights to associate with one another, whether that is in or outside their own home communities, but I will ask officials to work closely with the national youth justice advisory group leads to identify if there are any gaps in youth service provision. I would also like to add that, in Scotland, we have a very strong focus on early and effective intervention and diversion, and Glasgow City Council, the children's reporter and other relevant agencies are already looking in-depth at the issue, on what they can do, and to offer positive alternatives to anti-social behaviour to young people. Under the SNP, the streets of Glasgow have become dirty, depressing and dangerous. Will drugs tolerance zones lead to an increase or a decrease in crime on the city's streets? I think that sanitation is not one of the things that I am personally responsible for. I would say to the member that, in terms of crime and in terms of the specific issue that we are talking about here with regard to young people, youth justice and anti-social behaviour, the Scottish Government is increasing funding for the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, and I am sure that the member will be well aware of many of the very important and successful initiatives that have been carried out by the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, and we have increased funding for that this year by 14 per cent. That is over £1 million to deliver additional violence prevention activity in the area. The member will also know that the Scottish Government has taken forward a very successful approach, the whole-system approach, to address the needs of young people involved in offending, and that has contributed to quite a dramatic change in the way that youth justice is carried out in this country. The number of under-18 sentences has decreased by 93 per cent. To ask the Scottish Government how many refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan have arrived in Scotland since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. This is a UK Government reserve policy. Scotland is committed to playing its part in welcoming people fleeing Afghanistan, and all 32 local authorities have confirmed their participation in relocation and resettlement schemes. Afghans are being welcomed into Scottish communities. As of 14 April, there were 119 families with over 480 people resettled in 20 local authorities in their six-home office-procured bridging hotels, where there are approximately 350 people. We expect more people to arrive in the coming months. John Mason. Last week, at the cross-party group on freedom of religion or belief, we heard about the awful situation for minorities in Afghanistan such as Shia Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Is the Scottish Government able to put any pressure or encourage the UK Government to help minorities in Afghanistan? The member raises an important point as the situation in Afghanistan continues to be extremely concerning, especially for minority groups and for women. I raised the issue in a letter to the then Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, on 20 August. In addition, the First Minister raised equality issues in Afghanistan in a letter focused on resettlement to the Prime Minister on 24 August. I followed up with a letter to the Home Secretary on 1 September. I will write again to the UK Government to press them to do all that it can to support minorities in Afghanistan. The Scottish Government stands ready to help in any way that we can.


What what does Earl Spence mean to you? I was just joking about some boys. We in the Dallas, Texas, we in the D's. You think you're the same thing, right? I don't know how to buy that.  Don't boss talk, one on one. What, what what what does Earl Spence mean to you? I was just joking about some boys. I just couldn't buy that. I'm working with a Dallas, Texas, we in the D's. We in the same thing, right?   I know, I know so. Ain't no thing.  Earl is a survivor. Hold on, hold on, who out there could beat him? Nobody. Ain't nobody could beat him. They think Crawford could beat him. Nobody. Who think Crawford could beat him? A lot of people been saying it on the media.   See me. A lot of people been saying it. Now please, prove it. I, I, I. Prove it. Check this out. Crawford is sitting back. Crawford is sitting back.    He'll walk a little down.  Knock it off. Damn. Dallas, Texas, stand up. Y'all see what's happening. Knock it off. I wanted to know, so Earl Spence, when you think about his technique and the way how he boxed, who would you say? Damn, she said technique. I, I'm thinking we had a boxing thing. I know. His technique and the way that he boxed. Now who, like back in the days, would you say that he resembles? I don't know nobody. Me, nobody. Because that ain't no walking down. Earl is in a whole league of himself. Listen, listen.  Have you watched EJ fight? He only gets stronger.  You know what I'm saying? He only gets stronger as he go on. Come on. Ain't nobody, there's nobody like this man. I went to his fight when he first came back and I'm just looking at him. Then I just looked at him with the last one. Come on.  He had the same way. But he didn't have the eye what about this one. No, he had better. Better, better. That nigga eye what about this B? You want an eye for that? I don't have an eye for boxing. Oh no, what's going on?  Okay, I don't know a whole lot about boxing. I'll send him watch boxing with him, but he knows a lot more than I do about boxing. I'm just looking to see how that nigga eye, you couldn't have done that. What I think about boxing, there's people that like right now that I'll think about is Earl Spence and I think about Mayweather. If you think of... Look how she's... Mayweather, oh, now don't do this. When he first started, he was dope. Listen, Floyd is dope. Floyd as a boxer is dope. And that's all I'm gonna say about Floyd. Yeah, dope.  No, no. You can't really because he's a smart villain, man.  I can't. He's a smart villain, man. Let me put it in. Let me put it in. Let me put it in. Let me put it in. Let me put it in. Let me put it in. Let me put it in. Let me put it in this way. If he came back to boxing, and both of them in the same weight class and everything, they are, okay, and they're about to fight. Who would you put your money on? EJ. Why? Why wouldn't I? Now if you say a young, a young... Okay, a young... You gotta take it to a young, pound for pound, same age, yeah, Floyd Mayweather. You can't say that. You can't say that. No, I'm saying because, but if you did, that nigga can get around that ring.  Who punched who? Earl Spence gave Mayweather black eye what I heard. Everybody's gonna tell you. Everybody's gonna tell you. EJ will fuck...  It is what it is. If he will fight him if it wasn't. It just says, well, Floyd has gone on about his business right now, but I will bet my crib on EJ. So you know a lot about boxing and you keep your eyes on a lot of people who are up and coming. Do you see anybody up and coming that you think that they would be a contender? For who? For EJ. No. Nobody out there? No. Up and coming that you're like, okay, I can see that. No, no, no, no. Everybody like to throw Boots name in there, this that in the third Boots is good, but you put Boots in the ring with EJ.  You put Boots in the ring with... Even if it's another year? Give him another year.  Oh, okay. It's not his time yet. You know what I'm saying? People got, Boots is gonna rain in his own time.    You know what I'm saying? You won't even, you want Boots to be great. Here's the thing. I want all these black fighters, the young fighters and all of a sudden, I want them to be great. But just because motherfuckers are saying they name, I want to see them fight this. And just because people don't, you know, pump them up, I don't... Yeah, we on boss talk, one on one.