Note: I do not have a computer with me so these articles are dictated. As a result there are typos and misspellings. Please ignore them and read for the meaning! It was the acacia tree that got to me. We had started at the top of the Mount of Olives, and we’re slowly making our way down the unexpectedly steep slope. We stopped at the Dominus Flevit, the chapel of tears actually built in the shape of a teardrop. Planted... Read more
Please note: I do not have a computer with me so these articles are dictated. As a result there are typos and misspellings. Please ignore them and read for the meaning! “Sir, sit down. Now!” I heard near panic in the flight attendant’s voice. We had entered Israeli airspace and had been given plenty of warning that no one was to leave their seat at that point. One passenger either didn’t listen to that warning or didn’t think it applied... Read more
I am sure that many have heard of the exceedingly sad story of a family of Orthodox Jews whose seven children were killed in a house fire last Saturday. The fire was caused by a hot plate left on from Friday afternoon in order to keep food warm for the Sabbath. This is a common practice among the Orthodox because it keeps them from violating a commandment not to strike a fire on the Sabbath. Turning on a stove (or... Read more
Below this commentary/rant are two articles I wrote on two recent church visits: the Church of Christ and the United Church of Christ. I felt that I’d just experienced the movie, “Pleasantville” in the move from the safe black-and-white, carefully managed world to one of chaotic color and the messiness of human emotions. One had only a finger snap and four people on microphones as musical accompaniment. The other a full orchestra and two choirs. One was full of older,... Read more
Like millions of others, I shall board an airplane tomorrow. First a reasonably quick flight to Philadelphia and then an overnight flight to Tel Aviv. Every step of this journey is an exercise in trust. We trust the competence and willingness to abide by traffic rules of our driver and other drivers on the way to the airport. We trust the people who check us in that our luggage will actually arrive with us and that we’ll board the correct... Read more
I listened to this story about our circadian rhythms this morning and immediately wondered, “Will researchers ever figure out that we also need a sabbath, a day of real rest in every seven, for health?” The article itself speaks of our many body clocks that need to stay in rhythm with each other in order to keep our bodies functioning healthily. Their words have particular relevance to those who do shift work. However, they are equally important to all who... Read more
It had been over a year since my father died. My sister and had I made multiple attempts to come to my mother’s house so we could go through his clothes and give them away. We found multiple excuses to delay this task. When we finally made it, we did reasonably quick work of the immediate tasks. My dad has been quite the clotheshorse in his day. He still had some nice suits hanging in the back of his closet. As we... Read more
A third reason the UMC is dying may be something we don’t want to acknowledge: the decision to ordain women and bring female clergy to positions of highest leadership. As a professional Mystery Worshiper, I would say that the LDS web presence is possibly the least visitor-friendly site I’ve seen. The services are lackluster, noisy and unprofessional without much music and no technological bells and whistles. The messages are shallow and amateur at best, the dress code rigid, the women oppressed, and... Read more
[Note: this article is slated to run in the March 13, 2015 edition of the Denton Record Chronicle. An analysis of this mystery worship and the LDS environment may be found here.] It may have been the first Sunday in daylight savings time, but that didn’t keep people from filling the worship space at the LDS (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) on Teasley Drive in Denton. We attended the 9 AM sacrament meeting, the first of three... Read more
Democrats are furious, Republicans defiant, it’s a possibility that an egregious act of treason has been committed, but more than that: neither side knows the rules of civil discourse any longer. What we have is a bunch of children ruling this country. I for one say, “enough is enough!” When two people or two parties disagree, no matter how serious the disagreement, the only right and mature action is to go directly to the person with whom you have a... Read more
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