COMING SOON -- Issue 28: April 2026 (print edition released gratis 3/15)

OF NOTE APRIL 2026

AN ISSUE OF TASTE

It Might Mot Be For Everyone...

As Christians open the month of April with Holy Week and the holiday that defines the Christian Faith, Easter, I honor the mixed bag of emotions that comes with the challenging history of the Faith and it’s spread across the Globe. But just as I acknowledge the often cruel and unjust actions by early missionaries and even some modern Christians, I also acknowledge that such cruelties are not unique to Christianity. Such cruelty and coercion to conversion exists in all religions I have studied. So, the cruelty that is touted by non-Christians as a reason to condemn the entire Faith is in fact an innate trait of all humanity. Humans are cruel and controlling and greedy and mean. There are those who preach the idea of “tolerance” as if that is in some way more ethical than coerced conversion. But I say it is not…and it is not what Christ, Himself either preached or practiced. No. The teachings of the man called Jesus the Christ in scriptures both preached and practiced acceptance of the other and the self. And if you can not accept the other, He taught to “shake their dust from your sandals” and move on. Twelve Step Programs also focus on acceptance: God great me the serenity to accept the things I can not change; courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference. Persons bent on conversion are Spiritual addicts. They miss the point of the sacrifice demonstrated in the story of the Crucifixion of Jesus. His times were wrought with peril and poverty, violence and danger, politics and war. His community, the Jewish community, wanted a scapegoat for their suffering and Jesus’ teachings of forgiveness and personal accountability did not sooth their seething wounds. Nor did his willingness to hang with non-Jews. And His crucifixion did nothing to fix their problems either. Sounds a lot like today. Violence never really fixes anything. Neither does throwing money at a problem…or tolerance. Real change and progress only happens when individuals make a change from the inside for themselves. Once they accept themselves and the other they are free to either change themselves or walk away, and both are valid non-violent choices. Cases of self defense are something else all together that I am not talking about here.

In this issue you will read about the changing environment on the continent of Africa, about a woman, Z, who changed from employee to business owner, how I am learning to accept the limitations of my body since being attacked, and a follow up on my interaction with Congressman Jimmy Panetta’s office and efforts to incite political change. You will also find the first two chapters of my original work of fiction, Brave Enough. When the main character, Lettie, had her life changed by the unexpected death of her husband, Allen, so many years ago, she packed up her life, shook the dust of the East Coast from her sandals and headed to California for a whole new experience. So, whether the holiday of Easter is your taste or not, sit back and enjoy this 1UV a kind issue of 1UV MONTHLY. I bet you’ll find something you like and I promise none of it requires you to accept Jesus as your Savior…

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