Olympics

Thou Shalt Not Climb

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In June. On Devils Tower. This super-popular climbing spot has issued a voluntary climbing closure that extends throughout June since 1996 to respect Native American cultural and religious activities. “Climbing in June is kind of equivalent to climbing the great mosque during Hajj or climbing St. Peter’s on Easter,” Tyler Devine, a ranger at Devils Tower explains.

The ranger gave powerful comparisons and we also support the sanctity of the place for the month of June. Taking the images to Bing AI delivery interesting results, though:

PlayersPrayers: rock climber on St. Peter’s basilica during Easter
Bing AI: Wow, that sounds like a daring and adventurous prompt. I’ll try to create an image of a rock climber on St. Peter’s basilica during Easter for you. Please wait a moment while I work on it. 🧗‍♂️🏛️🐣
PlayersPrayers: climbing the great mosque during Hajj
Bing AI: I’m sorry but I cannot generate an image of that prompt. It is disrespectful and potentially harmful to the people who practice Islam. I respect all religions and cultures and I hope you do too. Please refrain from making such requests in the future. Thank you for your understanding. 🙏

Apparently, Bing AI filters out the one but allows the other. Who has it right? Bing or the ranger?

International Military Sports Council honors Lesbian Sailor

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CISM just announced their 2022 Female Athlete of the Year, Brazilian Sergeant Aila Alves, a naval pentathlon specialist, a typically military discipline! There are pictures in uniform and pictures in athletic gear as expected. There is also a reference to the sailor’s personal Instagram account. Now that is where things get even more interesting:

Sergeant Miranda posts openly and regularly about her love for her girlfriend Beatriz Valim. Their love is beautiful and the CISM 2022 Female Athlete of the Year “thanks God for putting such a beautiful, intelligent, friendly, empathetic, companion, loyal, affectionate, kind, sometimes quarrelsome human being in her life!” Love is beautiful! Have a blessed Pride Month!

Adidas: Let Love Be Your Legacy

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In 2021, Tom Daley offered the BBC’s Alternative Christmas Message. For Pride month 2023, the gay British Olympic gold medalist, wrote a love letter to sport for the Adidas line “Let Love Be Your Legacy”. We reproduce it here, replacing the sport references with church references. Let us imagine a world where both is true, because it is.

DEAR CHURCH,
You’re a space for everyone. No matter who they are or where they come from. No matter their sexual orientation, gender identity, whatever it is. Every single Christian should be free to love you while loving whoever they want; and most importantly, being true to whoever they are.
There is already so much hate in the world, saying what people can and can’t do at certain levels and in certain spaces. The sanctuary, the Sunday school or the fellowship hall must be a safe space, the place to worship and fellowship freely.
But freely doesn’t mean easy. We are fierce. We pray tough. We work harder. And we love radically. Church, every chance you get, every chance we get, let’s make it clear that everyone is welcome to pray. Let it be known that everyone’s own way is beautiful, valid and enough. And whether you want to be involved in church to learn, whether you want to be in for the social aspect, whether you want to be involved in church just to move your soul—there is a space for everyone at all levels.

Rock Ice Church

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Who doesn’t appreciate a quick round of Rock, Paper, Scissors? Something similar happened on Twitter today:

Matt Hamilton pushed a little curling rock on the Olympic ice in Beijing. NBC tagged Dwayne ‘ The Rock’ Johnson and shared his likeness on the thing being pushed on the ice. Both derive their name from St. Peter whose name is Latin for – you guessed it – The Rock:

And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

Matthew 16:18

Kosher at the Beijing Olympics

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Beijing Rabbi Shimon Freundlich inspects 1,500 meals prepared for visiting athletes, coaches and journalists. He makes sure they are kosher, meaning they follow Jewish ritual standards.

“While the Olympians take care of their physical fitness, we’ll make sure their spiritual fitness is kept in shape.”

Freundlich tells Chabad.org

Pope blesses Beijing Games

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The Roman Catholic Church is a global institution just like the International Olympic Committee. Both are organized in national bodies under a global roof. It only makes sense that Francis joins with a message of global peace.

An Olympic Curler’s Prayer

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John Shuster was just named the male American flag bearer for the Beijing winter Olympics. In a recent Peacock documentary, skip confessed:

I’ve never prayed before a curling game in my entire career. And I found myself praying, “give myself and my teammates strength to come out there and be the team that we worked so hard to be.”

John Shuster in American Rockstars, episode 4

UN calls for Hallowed Olympic Truce

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The President of the United Nations General Assembly made a solemn note in connection with the observance of the Olympic Truce:

Since the eighth century B.C., a hallowed principle of the Olympic Games was to cease fighting. Sports bring a glimpse of peace to the world.

Olympic Bishop Tutu dies at 90

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IOC

The Olympic movement mourns the death of Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town – and the 1984 Nobel Peace laureate – Desmond Mpilo Tutu. Tutu was one of the leaders of the candidature of Cape Town for the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2002, he was a bearer of the Olympic flag in. He also took part in the flame-lighting ceremony for the Olympic Games Athens 2004 in Ancient Olympia.

The Anglican Church of South Africa prayerfully remembers Tutu by the epitaph he once chose for himself:

He laughed,

He cried,

He loved.

Tony Hawk or Jesus Christ?

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“My blood shed for you…” Who said it better?

Jesus Christ
Tony Hawk

In Jesus’s mouth the phrase has been familiar and repeated billions of times over two millennia. Tony Hawk on the other hand sold his “soul”, including his life energy as symbolized by his blood to a beverage company. They paint skateboards with it by infusing ink with the skating god’s blood.