Sometimes, you sing something year and after year and never know there was more to it. I know 5 verses of “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” Turns out there are more. It was verse 2 that really got me on the new reading. Who would have thought of pairing the idea of creation with Jesus’ [...]
Revelation 12 Fox Valley Presbyterian Church December 21, 2008, 8:30am Pray for us, because at the next service, we’re handing the preaching of the word over to the children. They’re doing a Christmas pageant. Christmas pageants are not safe. Let’s be honest: when Mary is 8 and Joseph is 5 and the innkeeper is 3, [...]
We just canceled a session meeting due to the weather. From the sudden level of activity as the phones ring and e-mail lists are compiled, you would think we were in an airport.
Yeah, it’s not a proud day here in Lincoln-land. Honestly, I don’t think anyone in illinois is particularly surprised by B-Rod’s bad behavior, only maybe by the utter depths and stupidity of it. Here’s my favorite quote on the whole mess: Â It’s a little incredible that prostitutes weren’t involved (or aren’t yet, at least).
If you’re thinking about the American Auto industry bailout, it would be worth reading this. It’s a take on the whole issue from someone who has consciously chosen to live in Detroit and think about it what it means to watch Eastern Michigan crumble (and remember that the crumbling of Eastern Michigan started well before [...]
How’s this for ethnic confusion: my Presbyterian Church is currently overrun by little Swedish Lutheran kids celebrating the Feast of Santa Lucia. (And it’s actually the Feast of St. Nicholas today, so me and my Dutch genes are thinking about going home and whipping up a pot of pea soup.) Meanwhile, just to make things [...]
I hold a soft spot in my heart for the neighbors up north. When people ask what I miss most about my switch from the CRCNA to the PCUSA, I usually answer: “The Canadians!” (The CRC is a rare bi-national denomination: actually the same organization in the US and in Canada, unlike many other protestant groups who have [...]
There’s this piece of child-rearing advice that makes perfect sense to me: imagine that you were a 2-year-old. You never get to make your own choices. All day, people say, “no” “don’t” and “do this”. So, you give your kid some sense of control when you give options (pre-packaged options that give the sort of [...]
I’m trying to script out the Christmas pageant. We haven’t had one at Fox Valley in a while so we’re going to try it this year. Being stubborn, I am doing it myself from scratch…the scripting that is. The costumes are what truly scare me about planning these things, but it turns out we have [...]