They used to call it Decoration Day because it first meant decorating the graves of the Civil War dead. Later it became Memorial Day in honor of the dead in all the nation’s wars. In our generation it is mostly about sales at Wal-Mart and a three day weekend.

I am a national holiday purist.  I don’t like Monday holidays (for those too young to remember, it used to be that most national holidays had dates attached to them – February 12 for Lincoln’s birthday and February 22 for Washington’s birthday; May 30 for Memorial Day, July 4 for Independence Day and November 11 for Veterans day. The original legislation that invented the Monday holiday wanted to move Independence Day to the first Monday in July and Veterans Day to the second Monday in November.  I still get cranky just thinking about it). Continue reading →

Did I ever tell you I have the best job in the world?  I do and I could count the ways except that I would run out of numbers before I ran out of ways.  One of the best parts of this best job is getting to know our Confirmation Class students. I teach the class once a month and am invited along for retreats and other activities. And towards the end of the school year – just this past week, in fact – I get to meet with each student individually while his or her parents are meeting with Barb Chase. I don’t know what Barb and the parents talk about. The students tell me about their faith and what it means to be a Christian when you’re fourteen or fifteen and the year is 2012.

This year’s class has included ten amazing ninth graders and one wonderful eleventh grader, seven girls and four boys. You’ll have a chance to see and hear who I am talking about on Sunday June 3 when they lead and participate in all three services. Continue reading →

I don’t like this part of politics, it demeans us all. I’m talking about name calling and character defamation. This week it’s the digging up of incidents from long ago to be cast in the partisan terms of this year’s campaign.  I know, it is nothing new, as old as the republic itself. In some ways we have not evolved one bit.

The Washington Post sent some reporters to rummage through the dumpster of Mitt Romney’s past and they have come up with an ugly incident from the candidate’s senior year in high school. The people who remember the incident recall it so well that they can quote exact words spoken. Romney says he doesn’t remember it all. Maybe, on both counts. Continue reading →

We’ll be watching “The Avengers” this weekend.  Oh, maybe not you or me, but we in the collective sense. “The Avengers” is the new super superheroes movies that opens today across the U.S. It got a week’s head start in 39 other countries and has already earned nearly $200 million in ticket sales. People are saying it will not only be the biggest hit of 2012, but that it will break all sorts of other box office records. Within a few weeks it is sure to pass the $600 million that’s been earned by the year’s first blockbuster, “The Hunger Games.” Continue reading →

How would you answer the question if it was posed to you by someone still wondering about God and whether God is worthy of our trust? How do you answer the question in the quiet of your own heart?  Is God generous?

One of the speakers at last week’s West Coast Presbyterian Pastor’s Conference spoke of God’s generosity – a generous creation that sustains and nurtures life, a generous redemption that calls the prodigal home and seeks the lost lamb, a generous sanctification that pours out the Holy Spirit upon the redeemed.  Yes, a generous God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Continue reading →