In Defense of the No-Name Village

You’ve probably heard or read the stories about the politically correct eggnog all over the face of the city of Philadelphia and Mayor Nutter himself.

A couple of years ago a group of entrepreneurs got together and asked the city if they might use Dilworth Square near City Hall for a “Christmas Village” loosely modeled on the market days leading up to Christmas in Medieval Germany. Seemed like a win-win. The city got to collect permit fees for the use of square and sales tax on the trinkets sold by the vendors who rented space in the village. The citizens had one more place to buy Christmas trinkets and, well, it felt like Christmastime in the city. Continue reading →

The End of Thanksgiving Day
 
In noting the plans of Walmart and Sears to remain open on Thanksgiving Day, the news article tried to help us put it all in perspective: “The sanctity of Thanksgiving may be violated, but Walwart and Sears will have a (holiday sales) head start on their rivals… Retailers apparently will to do anything to avoid getting a lump of coal in their stockings again this year.” Continue reading →

Are There any Unintended Consequences in the Kingdom of God?
 
We all know about the Law of Unintended Consequences and we often think of it in terms of its negative outcomes. The well-intended ladies of Woman’s Christian Temperance Union did plan on aiding and abetting organized crime. They just wanted to be away, away, with rum, by gum. 

I’m just back from Richmond, Virginia, where I participated in a mission symposium we called STM 2.0, Short-Term Mission 2.0.  One of the goals of the symposium was to wrestle with the how we’ve arrived at a brave new world of international mission and how it impacts the life of a local congregation.  I was pleased to be with some old friends from Brazil as well as some American friends new and old. Continue reading →

So far as it depends on you: saying no to personal attacks
The election, Thanksgiving and school board politics
 
The election is now past, and it was an important election. The pundits will spill much ink trying to figure out what it all means. Each of us would do well to give a try at some figuring, too.  What does this election with its shifts and changes say to us and about us? Course correction or buyer’s remorse? Did they betray the confidence we put in them last time around, or are we so fickle as to never know exactly what it is we want? Did we vote high principles or rank self-interest.  And if so, did our high principles change in two years? We already know that rank self-interest shifts with each new tide. Was it an electorate sobered by reality or drunk with anger that went to the polls this past Tuesday? What does the election say to me and about me? Continue reading →

The Mall is a Bad Place for the Pursuit of Happiness (ask Anthony and Edith)
 
A friend recently sent the link to this story, “For Happiness, Sitting in Church Beats Shopping at the Mall.” The report tells of a new study released by researchers at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University using University of Chicago data on the relative happiness of Americans pre- and post- the end of the blue law era when most commercial activity on Sundays was prohibited by law (16 states, 1973-1998). If you read the story, you will see that the study was specific to Christians because of our Sunday worship traditions and that it is sophisticated and nuanced, taking into account a variety of other factors that may have influenced our sense of well being. The bottom line: there is a direct correlation between church attendance and levels of happiness, and, specifically, exchanging worship for the mall leads to less happiness. Continue reading →