Chris Christie and the Bullying God

Last updated on: January 17, 2014 at 10:08 am By Christy Thomas

According to multiple news reports, Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey and someone who clearly covets the Presidential office, has declared, “I am not a bully.” Now, he made this disclaimer after the shocking revelations that his minions and closest advisors apparently decided to play havoc with a little town called Fort Lee, New Jersey. This town hosts feeder lanes to the George Washington Bridge, which connects New Jersey and New York City and is possibly the busiest bridge in the... Read more

The Bible Doesn’t Support Inclusion

Last updated on: May 6, 2016 at 1:44 pm By Christy Thomas

It could be that the current move toward a more inclusive church is itself anti-biblical. To be truly biblical may mean we need to move to greater exclusivity. We may need to institute genitalia checks on every man who comes in. The Scriptures clearly state, “No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord” (Deut 23:1). We also need to check and make sure no woman who is... Read more

Smaller Portions in 2014, Please

Last updated on: January 2, 2014 at 9:03 am By Christy Thomas

Over Christmas, I saw, Philomena, a well-done movie of evil masquerading as good, the need for closure, the temptation for revenge, and the freedom of forgiveness. Major human life themes combined with great acting: compelling and captivating. The story revolves around an Irish woman trying to find her son, adopted nearly 50 years before. When she learns that he had been adopted by US citizens and grown up here, her immediate concern: “What if he is obese? The portions are... Read more

A Re-thought Life

Last updated on: December 31, 2013 at 10:26 am By Christy Thomas

Although technically, my retirement doesn’t take place until tonight at midnight, for all effective purposes, I retired Sunday at 12 noon. I had picked this last Sunday of the year to say goodbye because it is normally a very low attendance Sunday and I figured I could be in worship with my congregation and then quietly slip out. For several years now, we have set the worship space in tables this day, invited people to bring food, enjoyed brunch together,... Read more

The Long Goodbye

Last updated on: December 26, 2013 at 12:16 pm By Christy Thomas

“My bags are packed, I’m ready to go . . . ” and thus starts one of my favorite songs from my younger days, Leaving on a Jet Plane. Yes, my bags are packed. In fact, essentially my whole life is packed, and safely stored for the time being. No jet plane, but indeed, “O babe, I hate to go.” For months now, I’ve been preparing for this goodbye with my retirement, official on Dec. 31,2013. I search for words to describe what... Read more

Christmas: It's Worth Celebrating

Last updated on: December 25, 2013 at 11:57 am By Christy Thomas

It’s about the poor and left out. That’s the main message of Christmas–doesn’t matter what religion or beliefs you hold, the center of this crazy, shopping-exhausted, fueled-by-adrenaline partied, frenzied decorated, over-the-top worship-extravaganzad day is that invisible, lonely, cast-out, poor and powerless people matter. We just tend to forget that in the stampede for the “perfect” Christmas, be it gift, meal, family, event or decor. Christmas is about the minimum-wage person who exhaustedly checked you out on the last-minute shopping. Christmas... Read more

The Bleak Midwinter: Why Sad Music at this Time of the Year?

Last updated on: December 17, 2013 at 6:46 pm By Christy Thomas

I wrote this column last year and it turned out to be a huge hit on this blog, so decided to run it again this year. Dear Christmas Advice-Giver, Why are some of the religious Christmas Carols so sad when this is the season of happiness? I mean, really, “In the Bleak Midwinter?” Nothing like a downer. Aren’t we all supposed to be just super joyful right now? And what does “bleak” mean anyway? Signed, “Bleakless” Dear Bleakless, Here’s the... Read more

The Crusty Poinsettias; The Crusted Over Soul

Last updated on: December 11, 2013 at 12:26 pm By Christy Thomas

Yearly, members of the church I serve order poinsettias to decorate the worship center during Advent and into Christmas. We purchase them through a local non-profit agency that helps the impoverished in the area as part of their yearly fund-raising efforts. This year, I jokingly challenged the congregation to order lots of them to make sure that I got my December exercise, since this will be my last year to undertake the task of KEEPING ALL THOSE POINSETTIAS ALIVE UNTIL... Read more

One Month, One Day: The Ongoing Book Dilemma

Last updated on: November 30, 2013 at 2:52 pm By Christy Thomas

Although it is technically one month and one day until the formal retirement, my handy-dandy retirement calculator app tells me that I have twenty-seven work days left. And it is really far less as I will be taking off the last two days of the month and at least an extra day after Christmas. Not to mention that the movers will be here in 18 days, so I suspect I shall not be at work that day either. I’m extremely... Read more

Four Months, Six Days: The Handoff and the Resurrection

Last updated on: November 26, 2013 at 5:47 pm By Christy Thomas

At the height of their summer glory, the elephant ears gracing the front of the parsonage where I live looked like this: After the unusually early and quite hard frost we experienced here on Nov. 12, I found this one lone ear still when I trimmed back the dead foliage. A bit heartbreaking to lose them so early–they had survived the summer heat unusually well and still were full of life just before the frost. But now they have gone to... Read more