Several years ago, while working as a hospital chaplain, December came around and thehospital auxiliary frantically made sure as many places as possible were covered by some sort ofdecoration. Now, I’m not much into that sort of thing. I’ve often said that my decorations forChristmas consist of the possibility of putting a red cloth on …
November is here, and one word will keep cropping up as we move through it. Holidays. Plans are no doubt being made for travel, food, gifts, and other assorted details. There will be joyful anticipation, and more than a little anxiety. And, for some, sadness will creep in as memories fill chairs where loved ones …
As I write this, the sky is grey, storm clouds gather on the horizon. Predictions are that we will have significant rainfall over the next couple of days. Then, we’re supposed to have cooler temperatures as the Autumn season begins as the rain falls. We look at these forecasts and predictions as a type of …
As a child, I was part of an independent, non-denominational, fundamentalist congregation that only read from the King James Version of the Bible. To this day, they still maintain that stance, refusing to consider any other translations that use contemporary language, or that have fewer errors in translation. We occasionally encountered chapters that we called …
Why are we here? From time-to-time I ask that question, and most of the time it’s not after I’ve missed a turn while driving through an unknown area. Well, at least it’s not often such a literal question. St. Paul’s has been the sole presence of The Episcopal Church in Darke County, Ohio, since 1837. …
Someone once said the only thing that’s constant is change. They should have copyrighted the phrase. As we move further into Summer and the second half of 2021, changes are in the works. Again. We have received word from the Diocese that, for the most part, restrictions placed due to the coronavirus pandemic have been …
June already? That’s what the calendar says, so we might as well go with it. This year June brings us many changes, some expected, some anticipated and welcomed. First of all, as is our custom, the first Sunday in June finds our Sunday worship beginning at 9:30 AM to try to beat the heat. Good …
It’s May! The cold weather is supposed to go away, the flowers start to bloom, yada yada yada. In the church, this month brings the end of special seasons, and we move into what’s best known as Ordinary Time. We gave up the septadecagesimaquasi Sunday terms long ago. Pentecost Sunday, when we celebrate the gift …
Several years ago I noticed a trend in our country. It was April, and in the church we were celebrating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In our country, however, cries of grief and anger followed the sounds of violence that had erupted in some locations. That particular year saw the massacre at Virginia …
We’ve all heard the phrase “got lost in the translation.” We’re usually referring to words or phrases whose meaning do not have a precise corollary in our own language. Holy Scripture is filled with words like that, and an annotated translation will often indicate this with a footnote stating “original unclear,” whether it’s Hebrew, Aramaic, …