thoughts on the news of the day: cathedrals

hmmm…..

            Is the building the church or are the people the church?  The Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, California is buying the Crystal Cathedral.  Robert Schuller built this remarkable edifice and has been identified with it for many years.  What will become of the people who worship there? 

            The Catholic Church plans to make it a Catholic Cathedral so I guess that the worshipers from before still have a place to attend services, they just won’t be during an “Hour of Power” where celebrities take the stage along with the clergy.  It very definitely won’t be the same.

            Several years ago, our Presbyterian governing body had a disagreement with a church in Tulsa about who owned the property.  The church wanted to leave our denomination and wanted to take their elaborate building with them.  But clearly, our rules establish all church buildings to belong to the larger governing body.  The local church lost, but not without the paying of enormous legal fees on both sides.  The obvious question is:  wouldn’t that money have been better spent on mission?

            Massive worship facilities are not new to the world.  Medieval cathedrals are spread throughout Europe.  And I am sure there was a question then about building vast cathedrals when the people were starving. 

            I guess it’s OK to have gigantic structures built within to worship. There is something to be said about honoring our Creator with a beautiful earthly home.  We just need to remember not to worship the building.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: hymns

hmmm…..

            Last night our church family had a Thanksgiving dinner in our fellowship hall.  But that wasn’t the main attraction.  A pastor from a nearby church came to present a program on Fanny Crosby.  Most people don’t know a whole lot about her except that she wrote one of the all time favorite hymns, “Blessed Assurance”. 

            Fanny (Frances Jane) was born in 1820.  She lost her sight as an infant when a doctor treated an infection in her eyes with a hot poultice. This cured the infection but left her sightless for life.  Fanny was schooled by her grandmother’s encouragement and as a teenager had the opportunity to go to a school for the blind.  She wrote her first poem when she was eight and over her lifetime wrote over 8,000 hymns.  Pretty amazing, huh?

            She said the following about her blindness: 

            "It seemed intended by the blessed providence of God that I should be blind all my life, and I thank him for the dispensation. If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it. I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things about me."

            If I had a choice, I would still choose to remain blind...for when I die, the first face I will ever see will be the face of my blessed Saviour."

            Next time I am inclined to make excuses for my inability to accomplish a goal, I think I will remember Fanny Crosby and her contribution to Christians all over the world.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: jobs

hmmm…..

            When I first graduated from college, I remember that I couldn’t wait to get out on my own.  With a good job and a bright future, I rented my first apartment, a furnished efficiency.  It had a huge walk in closet which I converted into a sewing room.  I was in heaven – on my own and making my own money and my own car payments.

            It’s not so great for graduating seniors these days.  Jobs are hard to find and many former students are moving in with Mom and Dad until they are financially stable.  Another result of the sluggish economy.  In my own circle of friends and family, I know of several young adults who are staying with their parents until they find employment. 

            I think it is wise in most cases to hunker down and wait for the good jobs and the financial system to recover, but it is hurting the economy further.  Moving into a new apartment means paying rent for a place to stay.  It means buying kitchen utensils, some furniture ( even if its second hand) and groceries for heavens sake!  All that means fueling the economy with an infusion of cash. 

            But until the jobs are available, students can’t afford to move out and the economy continues to stagnate, which means fewer jobs, and on and on and on.  I am not sure what the solution is.  Everyone seems to agree that we need more jobs, but can’t agree on how to go about that.  I wish they would figure it out … my niece needs a job!

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: bookstores

hmmm…..

            So, I don’t have a Kindle, an iPad or a Knook; not yet anyway.    I read books the old fashioned way.  They are still paper for me, and they still collect dust on my bookshelf.  I predicted long ago that some day books would be collectors items because most information and reading material would be digital.   And my prediction is close to true.

            In Nashville, TN, a popular author, Ann Patchett and her business partner have opened a new bookstore.  They did this because Nashville no longer had a real bookstore that was not the specialty or religious type.  Can you imagine that in a city the size of Nashville there was not one bookstore?  There are used book stores and stores that reach into the suburbs, but no real bookstores in the city proper.

            This doesn’t mean that people don’t read anymore, although that claim has been raised.  It means that more and more people do their reading from downloaded material displayed on their electronic tablets.  That may be a good thing or not. It is convenient, that’s for sure – to download a book anytime day or night.  But the delight of browsing and discovery is lost sitting at a computer.  Not every book written is electronic, so there is at times, a need to buy a real book. 

            We do still have our own bookstore in the small Ozarks town I live in, but it succeeds by renting and selling videos as well as books.  I hope it will survive.  It still has its own coffee bar and comfy chairs to rest and relax in. 

            I, myself, continue to collect children’s books – I figure that some day they might be a novelty for my future grandkids and great grand kids and that maybe … maybe they just might read them.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day

hmmm…..

            Today is my birthday.  It started out great … I got to sleep in and then after making coffee, I sat down to open the cards I had received over the past few days.  One was a beautiful poem from a friend and there was a small package from my daughter.  The box held a beautiful necklace that she had made herself.  It was dear to me.  I left it on the coffee table and went to my bathroom to get ready for work.  I was planning on wearing the necklace to work.  When I looked on the coffee table to put it on, it wasn’t there. 

            My dog has this habit of eating things.  I looked everywhere for the necklace, knowing that she had gotten it, but hoping she hadn’t completely destroyed it.  Looking outside in her pen, I found it.  Or rather the pieces of it.  I was mad, frustrated, sad and disappointed all at the same time.  I had been having such a great birthday and that discovery ruined it.  On top of everything else, it occurred to me that my dog might have even eaten some of the wire – and that would be disastrous. 

            Does that happen to you sometimes?  Things cave in on you at the most inopportune times.  They all flood together and we get overwhelmed.   I am not sure how I will deal with it, but I know life will go on …  In the meantime, all I can  do is just hang in there and hope for the best …. Grateful that I have made it another year and hoping for a bright future in the next year.

            hmmm…..

thoughts on the news of the day: coming home

hmmm…..

            I am not much of a hockey fan.  But this morning I watched a film clip from the opening of the Boston Bruins game that was held on Saturday night.  The drop of the puck tradition was held when Darren and Lori Jacobs walked out into the middle of the rink.  As a surprise to them, the Bruins had brought their son, Lt. Charles Jacobs home on leave from Afghanistan.  Imagine the Jacobs amazement and delight to see their son.  He had come home, even if only for a short while.

            Coming home can sometimes be a bittersweet moment.  I am sure that no matter how long he is there, for the Jacobs, it will seem like too short a time.

            We had another homecoming yesterday at out church.  The extended family of one of our long time members had come to visit.  But this wasn’t a joyous occasion; they were coming home to bury their elderly mother, grandmother, great-grandmother.  The funeral is this morning, so they decided to join together in celebrating worship at their Mom’s church for what will probably be their last time.  We welcomed them with open arms.

            Thanksgiving can be a coming home.  And it can be joyous or not so joyous.  For family who get along, it is a wonderful occasion for celebration.    I have one good friend who will be in the hospital over Thanksgiving and won’t get to come home – not very wonderful at all.  Cold turkey on a plastic tray is probably awaiting her.

            For all of us who will be with family and friends, let’s be grateful for our time together.  It will be so short.

            hmmm…..,

thoughts on the news of the day: on call

hmmm…..

            This weekend I am “on call”.  Several pastors and I serve as “on call” chaplains at the local hospital here in the Ozarks.  You never know how busy you will be.  Some weekends the calls seem never ending but some weekends are free.  Either way, there’s no going out of town; no late night gatherings, no walks deep into the woods near Lake Norfork.  This would mean being out of range of the pager – a no-no for those who are supposed to be ready at any moment’s notice to arrive at the emergency room ready to go to work. 

            Yesterday morning I was relaxing at my home, anticipating a long day planning for a funeral when the call came.  I raced to get dressed, throw some make-up on and comb my hair.  As I was walking out the door, I received another call.  False alarm.  I could go back to my reading.  But it was already too late.  I cleaned up the morning dishes and headed out the door for my appointment with the deceased’s family.

            So why do I mention this?  Because while I am feeling sorry for myself, it occurs to me that lots of folks are “on call”.  Firefighters, police officers, doctors and nurses all take their turns being on call and that names just a few of those affected by the demands of their jobs. 

            Take a moment today to tell someone “on call” that you appreciate them and the work that they do.  You never know when you will need them.

            hmmm…..