-
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
-
CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
Upvote
0
FEMA employees set to be fired over ‘egregious’ $59M payment for NYC migrants
- By HarleyER
- American Politics
- 392 Replies
You apparently never did an agency budget. Every Department or Agency has so many personnel slots associated to it to fulfil the mission. They also have so much money allocated to them and their budgets don't often allow them to fulfil the personel slots. Say Department X has 10 slots available for people to hire, but because of their budget, they can only afford to hire 8 people. Two slots remain empty unless OMB takes it away or the Department gets new funding to fill those empty slots. Now let's suppose Department X gets a additional mission from government. Often this comes with additional slots and a budget increase to support those slots.
Here is a case in point from the State Department back in November.
State Dept sees record hiring, but seeks higher budgets through 2030 to fully replenish ranks
The State Department is bringing in a record volume of new hires, but is calling on lawmakers for increased budgets through the end of the decade to fully replenish its ranks.
federalnewsnetwork.com
From the article:
Verma said those funding increases allowed the department to recruit and grow its workforce “in a way that we haven’t done for many years.”
However, Verma said the department would need to see about an annual 7% increase in its budget through FY 2030, just to get the department back to a baseline level of staffing and “run the department at all cylinders.”
The State Department under Biden requested a 7% increase in its budget to get to their "baseline" level (unfilled personel slots). They also requested additional funds to increase that baseline for new hires.
This is standard practice not only in government but business.
So when we talk about 86,000 people for the IRS, it is impossible these are all unfilled slots, especially since the IRS currentl;y has only about 86,000 employees. Like the State Department, the Biden Administration was ramping up government hiring.
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
Full Text: Msgr. James Shea at the 2025 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
- By Michie
- One Bread, One Body - Catholic
- 0 Replies
Your Eminence, your Excellencies, my brother priests, beautiful religious who are here with us, dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I feel like the luckiest man in the world. I was so scared to get up here and give this talk. I've been really nervous about it for the 20th anniversary of the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, with all of you amazing people, in the presence of Congressman Chris Smith who received very worthily the Christi Fidelis Laici award. In the midst of all of that, I've been very concerned.
And then the Vice President of the United States shows up, and I thought, 'Wow, what a relief!' And then... Taylor Swift's boyfriend's teammate shows up, and I felt like no one is ever even going to remember that I was here. All the pressure's off! I can say whatever I want and so I'm feeling nice and relaxed, very happy.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
And then the Vice President of the United States shows up, and I thought, 'Wow, what a relief!' And then... Taylor Swift's boyfriend's teammate shows up, and I felt like no one is ever even going to remember that I was here. All the pressure's off! I can say whatever I want and so I'm feeling nice and relaxed, very happy.
Continued below.
Full Text: Msgr. James Shea at the 2025 National Catholic Prayer Breakfast
Marking the Jubilee Year, the president of University of Mary offered three images of Christian hope.
Upvote
0
Upvote
0
Release International prayers for Iraq.
- By LoricaLady
- Persecuted Christians
- 0 Replies
28 February 2025 – Iraq
Pray for Christians throughout Iraq who are even more at risk and marginalised because of the ongoing conflict across the Middle East, in which all non-Muslims can be seen as ‘the enemy’. Pray for protection for them and courage to stand firm in their faith.YES - I will Pray
27 February 2025 – Iraq
Pray for Rev Canon Faez Jirjees of St George’s Church in Baghdad. Thank God for his ministry and leadership. Pray for strength, wisdom and peace for him and his family.YES - I will Pray
26 February 2025 – Iraq
Pray for protection for our partner’s team and their families, especially when travelling. Conflict in the Middle East is causing regular flight cancellations and travel chaos across the region.YES - I will Pray
25 February 2025 – Iraq
Ten years after ISIS seized much of northern Iraq, forcing thousands into Kurdistan, the Government is now closing the camps for displaced people and instructing them to return home. However, many do not feel safe to go back or have nowhere left to return to, especially those who have become Christians since leaving.YES - I will Pray
24 February 2025 – Iraq
Pray for our partner’s publishing ministry, producing and distributing Christian literature in Kurdish. This year it will produce five more books. Ask God to give wisdom in dealing with a number of sensitive topics. Pray that the finished publications would be a blessing to those who read them.YES - I will Pray
23 February 2025 – Iraq
Pray for our partner’s practical support to Syrian Christian widows in Kurdistan who turn up regularly for food parcels, fellowship and encouragement.YES - I will Pray
22 February 2025 – Iraq
Our partner in Kurdistan praises God that it has obtained a licence for its new church and can relocate to a larger building where services can be held in Arabic, Farsi and Kurdish. Please pray for fruit from this ministry.YES - I will Pray
Sign up for email prayer alerts
To lift up persecuted Christians in your prayers and see God at work in their livesSubscribe
#9 in Christian persecution, Iran
- By LoricaLady
- Persecuted Christians
- 0 Replies
Iran
In Iran, the Christian community is divided between constitutionally recognised and unrecognised Christians.
Unrecognised converts from Islam to Christianity face severe religious freedom violations, primarily from the government and, to a lesser extent, from society and their families. The government views these converts as a threat, believing they are influenced by Western countries to undermine Islam and the regime. Both leaders and ordinary members of Christian groups are often arrested, prosecuted and given long prison sentences for “crimes against national security”.
Recognised historical communities such as Armenian and Assyrian Christians are state-protected but treated as second-class citizens. They face many discriminatory legal provisions and aren’t allowed to worship in Persian or interact with Christian converts. Those who support converts can also face imprisonment.
Meet Fatemeh
“They were tearing us apart, one by one. Every time we heard the doorbell, we feared it was the police. We still can’t forget the day when the police raided our house church, took some of us away, and forced the rest to sign a paper confessing we would never meet or engage in Christian activities again.”Fatemeh (name changed), a believer in Iran.
What does Open Doors do to help?
Open Doors raises prayer support for the believers in Iran.Please pray
- Pray that God will protect and grant wisdom to the network of secret house churches.
- Pray for their mental and physical wellbeing of Christian prisoners and their families.
- Pray that God will bless and protect the Church in Iran as it grows and shares the Gospel.
Twelve Ground Rules for Dialogues on Difference
- The Kitchen Sink
- 0 Replies
Whether we are at the kitchen sink at home with family, or at the water cooler at work we have the opportunity to communicate and to learn. Now more than ever, when our country, our countries and the world seem polarized, when each "side" sees the other as living in a fantasy, when differences seem impossible to get beyond, we as proclaimed believers in the name, person and ministry of Jesus, are called to step up. How? What can we do that the rest of the world seems incapable of doing? We can work for peace through dialogue. I know I can be as bad at it as anyone. So here are a few guidelines.
vocationmatters.org
- Be authentic.
- Recognize complexity.
- Look for the humanity of “the other.”
- Respect the person and reserve judgement on ideas/beliefs.
- Prepare for tolerable discomfort.
- Do not start with difference.
- Listen.
- Look for assumptions.
- Correct.
- Accept you may not agree.
- Reflect and be open to change.
- Take a break and repeat.
Twelve Ground Rules for Dialogues on Difference
To develop an authentic sense of self in a context that is increasingly characterized by diversity and confusion, we need to think about what voices we hear (and don’t) and to which we should listen (or not). As a nation and as individuals we are in deep need of dialogue across the differences...
vocationmatters.org
