The Second of May, in the Year of our Lord 2025

Greetings One and All,

It’s Eastertide, The People’s Pope has died. The conclave will convene May 7, 2025, a Jubilee Year.  It is safe to say many are thinking of their loved ones who passed on and those who are here, as we contemplate the life and death of Pope Francis, our own mortality, moral compass, and purpose. Seeking solace I reached out to my Bishop Trevor.  He queried if I had shared his blessing for the event we held back in March at the United Nations Church Center.  I watched it again. And prayed.  It took on new meaning.   I googled the Vatican website, I gazed upon the liturgical calendar and discovered the Prayer of the Faithful.  Moved, I reflected on Death and Resurrection, taking into account forgiveness and new beginnings.

Coincidentally, I am working on the second chapter “Love Ya, Gotta Go.”, covering how I met William, fell in love and discovered that we held similar beliefs. Our time together and the events surrounding his death.  Naturally, I thought of loved ones that have passed and their influence on my life’s journey.  My grandfather an inventor, my mother a Bohemian, and many more who have shaped how I saw the sciences and religions.  Most would  say they are at odds with each other. I once thought that way too.  Then about 30 years back, a friend and mentor, Fred “Rico” Hurvitz, who represented the first girl to legally play in the Little League,upon return from a trip to Israel, shared the following:

It is the most important day on the planet earth, folks have decided that in order for world peace to transpire a trial is to be held. Is it Intelligent Design or the Sciences? After jury selection the team representing the Sciences team went first, putting forth their argument.  Half way through the judge leaped excitedly from his chair exclaiming “Your right!”   A juror took note.  Then it was time for the Creative Design team to present their case.  Again, the judge erupts with a “Your right!” The juror seeking clarification states, “Your honor, how can this be?”  The judge replied, “It’s a win-win situation.”

And so it was, this  past Saturday morning I woke up to watch the live broadcast of Pope Francis’ funeral. I studied his letter to the US Bishops sent this past February, focusing on Section 4, “I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations. The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality. At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival. That said, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.” .  I felt drawn to also consider Franciscus ‘ Urvi et Orbi in which he heralds the good news , “Love has triumphed over hatred, light over darkness and truth over falsehood. Forgiveness has triumphed over revenge. Evil has not disappeared from history; it will remain until the end, but it no longer has the upper hand; it no longer has power over those who accept the grace of this day… …Let us entrust ourselves to him, for he alone can make all things new (cf. Rev. 21:5)!”

As I pondered his last words, the concept of grace stood out above the rest. A recent rainy evening, reluctant to grasp the hand-railing, I stumbled down two flights of stairs.  That very morning enroute to my job at Amazon, on the same flight of stairs grasping the cold metal hand railing discovered it smeared with feces. A young black woman immediately came to my aide, offering a paper towel and hand sanitiser.  Miraculously, not one scratch, bruise or broken bone.  I was O.K. All was good.

It is the dawning of the Age of Information Technology. We are making great medical strives, we have the tools to usher in world peace and the adventurous spirit to explore the stars.  Strategising for best possible outcomes, this past March, Katrina’s Dream partnered with ERA Action hosting AI, Automation, Amazon Labor Unions, and the ERA, a parallel event at the 69 UNCSW/30+ Beijing Platform. The event was a potpourri of panellists and chock full of information.  Wrestling with the direction our country is moving, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Michael Kratsios, Director of Information Technology and Policy Director tweeted on X  a request for additional public comments on the 2025 National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development (R&D) Strategic Plan.  What an opportunity!

My thoughts wandered and I dwelt upon the plight  of my immigrant co-workers at Amazon, fearful that their days are numbered.  The Pope’s message was hitting home. One associate has been given their walking papers they has until May 26. Another stands a small chance at an asylum immigration hearing later this month. I thought of high-tech blue-collar workers who like myself are organizing for better wages this summer at the  Unite & Win Conference 2025. Workers who face the day to day dangers in the workplace that barely get news coverage. These deaths are often not accurately reflected in statistics or covered in the news.  For yet again, another person was killed at an Amazon facility in New York.  And just this past April 22, Amazon was ordered to bargain and enter into a union contract.  Haven’t workers waited long enough?

As I further pondered Katrina’s Dream’s ministry, the desperation reflected in those screeching “Constitutional Crisis”, painting dystopian futures likened to Handmaid’s Tale and Hunger Games.  And a few in the Ivory Tower, such as the head of the ERA Project who flippantly stated, “States could become gender justice laboratories.“. And at an event in which she joined others who support her approach another panelist offhandedly encouraged the attendees to go about defacing public library reference materials. Inciting folks to file frivolous lawsuits and promote vandalism rather than work with our elected officials. I don’t get it.  Isn’t the goal to uncomplicate life, to make things easier? Accountability is key.  Words count.   I wish them the best.

I am grateful that Senator Murkowski is leading the charge,  While the ERA is not yet law, it is far from dead. There is no constitutional crisis.  The ERA is well on its way.

I thought about weapons of war and instruments of peace. I thought about Franciscus ‘ last public address and the events preceding and following his death. His last public visit with JD Vance, who met days later with Prime Minister Modi to hammer out an US-India trade deal, to President Trump’s meeting with Zelenskyy, and Putin’s subsequent ceasefire.  My mind traveled to visits with Bishop Pradip Kamble and his wife Rev. Magda Kamble,  at Camp Deolali, India.  I mulled over the conversations William and I had with religious leaders of the Abrahamic religions:  Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and many of those beliefs who have been influenced by these faiths.  India has been under rule by many different belief systems, from the lost Indus Valley, to Alexander’s conquests, the growth of the Eastern Church.  Then Muslim rule, subsequent British rule where. And under Gandhi and Nehru as of 1947 full Independence.  The Dalai Lama is in Dharamsala too. Then this past Sunday I was pleasantly surprised by Senator Chuck Schumer interview on Up Close with Bill Ritter forward thinking proposals concerning wars in the Middle East.  Contemplating forgiveness I thought about how we in the US view this nation’s debt  and the Pope’s declaration that this was a Jubilee Year.

The writing was on the wall, inspired by world events, I dug deep on the internet looking for a way to string concepts together on how some believe these are the end times, … Doom and Gloomers… whose fears ripple throughout society, as they continue their attacks differentiating themselves from those that are working on solutions. Recalling  a conversation with an extended family member who had the battery replaced in the microchip placed in their brain to help with their Parkinson’s.  I marvelled at the advancements in medical treatments. Things are getting better and I see more good times ahead. Using AI, I came across this  pearl from a pre-2000 LA Times article quoting Eumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul–the “first among equals”, (a title sometimes used to reference the head of the US. Supreme Court), “[The Book of Revelation] presents a world of cruelty and injustice which is punished by God. But to the Orthodox, God is a God of love; he is never a punishing agent,…People may cut themselves off from him and punish each other with their cruelty. But to us, God is like the sun, emanating life, grace and honour.”  That sums it up for me.

It is truly an ahh-mazing time.  I am grateful to be alive.  I look forward to a win-win for all.  Life is good.  And for my youngest son, “Happy Birthday, Harry!  It’s a Great and Glorious day to be Alive.  Love you!”

Love and Light in Christ,

Helene de Boissiere-Swanson

P.S.      Moving forward, Power of One program updates:

• Protect the Right to Organize Act
  • Please call Congress and urge them to vote “Yea!”.
• Establish the Ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment
  • Katrina’s Dream and ERA action are setting up virtual meetings with members of Congress starting off with the offices of Senators Murkowski and Schummer; and
  • We expect we shall soon have a “Dear Colleague Letter” to circulate; and
  • Please call Congress and urge them to co-sponsor the legislation and vote “Yea!”
• Amazon Annual Stockholders Meeting.
  • The SEC has order Amazon to include Stockholder proposal  
  • Submit your questions
  • Please vote in the upcoming meeting there are numerous concerns regarding:the environment, multiple software AI glitches. And  work place concerns. Let your conscience be your guide.

P.S.S.      Couple of songs  Sounds of Silence by Disturbed played daily at Amazon and to balance things out Love is in the Air by John Paul Young (William’s favorite)

P.S.S.S.  Working for Justice – United Nations Church Center, NYC, NY – March 10, 2025 Working for Justice everyday panelist from the AI, Automation, Amazon Labor Unions, and the ERA take a moment to memorialize the memory. From left to right Sharon J. Hill, Antonio Rosario, Rina Cummings, Chermo Toure, and Helene de Boissiere-Swanson. Photo Credit: Unknown