L'Hí i JfcVJS Co* I >xi €<•<»» > moments to reflect on the mysteries of our being or our humongous human work. This remains the case for us Christians, and I intuit it’s still true for you Jews Modem America has relegated holiness to just a few days, split the Spirit from the moil that controls our year I've chosen to break with modem convention and send you this holiday business prayer, an urgpnt request for your activism in shaping things to come. C Zb 4 GX5 This w inter solstice I am far from my native Appalachia, visiting my wife Jennifer’s family on the rugged coast of Oregon where the hills zigzag down into the w ate r in Cannon Beach. Here is a salty jewel in the crown of the rural Northwest, a hearty gpod spot to scribble this letter. The Oregpn shore has retained much of its unmolested beauty Its beaches are scattered with hugp rock monoliths, awesome ancient geomorphs jutting skyward from the foam that rolls onto the flat expanse of sand. One of these shapes, nicknamed Haystack Rock, is ranked among the largest coastal monoliths m North America. As big as a mountain, the presence of this landform infuses the senses of the local life. At its base thrive starfish, mussels, and anemones; and Its peak houses gulls, cormorants, and even a few puffins. Jennifer says. The rock resonates Cod given space with solitary grandeur, mirroring the aspiring souls wno make this place home. The raw beauty hero broods a respectful community of artists, writers, and merchants; it is the foundation for a seasonal tide of discerning visitors. Unlike other travel destinations, Cannon Beach has preserved much of its indigenous charm. This is part of the reason why I'm writing you, now. and here in particular. I figure that if anyone, ray rustic King of creation, you will know why I dote upon this rural spot of earth. The place’s elemental grace is reflected by its human economy. Because much that is sold in Cannon Beach is also produced in this region, there is a very high quality of gpods and services, Heightened community aw areness resides among many of the town's merchants, and neighbors take care to treat neighbors to their most masterful works I've found in my travels that local owners are usually the best stewards of local resources, and this is afnrmed by my experience of life in Cannon Beach. One of the best words I have found to describe this sensation Is a spiritual one I’ve adapted from your tradition. SbatinaA My American Heritage Dictionary defines Sheklnah as 'a visible manifestation of the divine presence as described in Jewish theology'. I think of it as beatific energy that radiates from something when it is in harmony with God. The pulse of this energy is strong when I'm walking hand-in hand with Jennifer on the beach at night when the electric white surf and star freckled sky frame the massive black shape of Haystack And there are hints of this habitation amidst the town's flow of trade. I testify. In some ways this place reminds me of an Appalachian tounst town called Gatlinburg tw enty years ago when it was still a quaint hamlet cradled in the Smokies. Back then, the town complimented Its lush native environs with an active exchangB of the arts and crafts of resident villagers. Like most places today, alas, Gatlinburg has been plundered by prefabricated consumer feedlots selling mostly imported schlock The heartworms of business, federal chains have sucked and squeezed the spark from local commerce and left mostly packaging This is undeniably evident in the downtown architecture Boxy development has obscured the sights and sounds of the singing streams and verdant misty slopes that were woven with the marketplace, features that once made family visits to Gatlinburg so memorable Cheesy traps like Gatlinburg sacrifice their human heritage along with the natural glory which emanates from the Most High Absentee investors have built up the place beyond capacity, supplanting Spirit with Mammon. The marred landscape of my memories offers me nothing but grief when I witness the vapid virtual realities of the present They scrape the scab of desolation against my soul Cannon Beach could avert the course of development chosen by towns like Gatlinburg Governed by fidelity to native resources, locals here could create a wholly different definition of progress The town is on the right track when it refuses to grant building permits to national chains within the town limits. The roadsides have yet to fall victim to the contractual images of Madison Avenue, have yet to become just another test marketing location for the red and yellow of McDonald's and the red and white of KFC. Here people dream in their own colors rather than the industrial strength pigments of mass consumption. Yet the forces of commercial evil are working hard here. Kach y e a r I return to find few er patches of native life amidst the absentee owned vacation homes, sterile and vacan t that are enveloping the landscape. Already, local trade is being displaced by imported retail I cannot bear to see it happen here, cannot accept the desolation of this glorious unhewn house of God's creation. Non violent fierce Jesus, I pray here now, help us cast out the money gruboing robber barons