Nov 25, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
The observance of Thanksgiving is almost as old as our nation. President George Washington issued a proclamation for “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer. ”On October 3, 1789, President Abraham Lincoln built on that and established “a Day of Thanksgiving and...
Nov 21, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
I heard his story from a preacher friend. A little boy was diagnosed as having a terminal illness. When he was told the situation and that he would soon die, he retreated fearfully into a cocoon of total silence. No one…not his doctors or nurses, not even his...
Nov 14, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
My family was not long on formality. To say that we were “casual” may be an understatement. Warmth of the relationship and the caring of my parents is what I remember most. How we related to and treated another, whether formal or casual, is what mattered. That was...
Nov 7, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
When we meet someone we haven’t known, we don’t get far in the conversation before we ask, “And what is your job?” Many times we ask the same question another way, “And what do you do?” Hardly ever, but now and then we may ask it, “And what is your vocation?” We...
Oct 30, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
Nations keep their history alive through monuments that mark significant persons or events. Memory is important, and we need markers for our memories. In recent years, the toppling of public statues has become a kind of “mark of protest” for the topplers. My...
Oct 23, 2022 | Pondering and Kindling
In his Letter to the Colossians Paul referred to Christians as Saints in the light (Colossains 1-12) Saints. What does that image conjure in your mind. Stained glass? A well-lighted painting in a museum, like El Greco’s Saint Jerome which I saw at the Metropolitan in...