Sunday worship notes…

Today we began using the liturgy for Communion setting one from Evangelical Lutheran Worship for our Sundays in Lent. Our congregation enjoyed singing the new Kyrie and all of the other musical elements of this service. What a joyful noise we made before God this morning in our worship.
One thing that continues to amaze me [...]

One Man’s Junk…

Well, after the great bathroom extreme makeover, I had the old bath tub to get rid of. Those cast iron tubs are heavy…believe me! I have had it in the back yard waiting for son #1 to come home from college for a weekend. He finally showed up but told me he didn’t have time [...]

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna was for all intents and purposes, the bridge between the Apostolic Age and the age of the Church Fathers. According to ancient writing, he lived from about 70 A.D. until 155 A.D. a very long life by biblical standards.
Antiquity suggests that perhaps Polycarp knew the apostle John and was maybe [...]

Word Cloud

Thanks to Carolanne for posting this one. Kind of sums it all up doesn’t it? Well, read some of the posts in my archives and then decide. Like Carolanne said, if you want to make on for your own site, all you have to do is go to SnapShirts.com.

Ash Wednesday

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:10-12 NRSV
Just and Righteous God, you alone know the hearts of [...]

Talent…who needs talent?

What a great night of pancakes fun and fellowship. I have to say that some of our kids are very talented. They sing, they dance, and they play musical instruments. Then, well, there is the vicar who plays the nose flute. Thank you to MSDaughter 1.0 for allowing me to accompany her as she played [...]

Shrove Tuesday

Many of us have come to know today as Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent. Shove Tuesday has long been a favorite church tradition of mine, mostly because the resulting pancake supper. Mardi-Gras in New Orleans has its Fat Tuesday and King Cake, but I’ll take pancakes, bacon and a good old [...]

A little smokey

I have just returned from outside and my first experience of burning the palms for Ash Wednesday. Oh, I have been a casual observer before, but this time I got to play with fire and all that stuff. One thing about palm fronds, they make plenty of smoke! You pastors out there and anyone else [...]

Back from Vacation

Well, today was my first day back from my “mini” vacation. It was good to get away from all of the busy-ness, but it is also so good to be back among the folks whom I have grown to know and love over the past seven months. I am particularly happy to find that I [...]

Growing Boys

Have you ever noticed how much food a growing boy consumes? I’m talking about those boys that are around 14 or 15 years old, who seem to grow an inch taller every time you say their name. We have one of those boys in our house right now, and he is indeed living up to [...]