You know, fake mail.  It comes to our house fairly often, and two pieces snuck into our mailbox yesterday.  Fake mail is junk mail dressed up to look like first class mail.  A machine applies a fake stamp to the envelope, a junk mail stamp dressed up to look like a first class stamp.  Then a printer addresses the envelope with a fake font dressed up to look like human handwriting.

I suppose the idea behind fake mail is to fake us out. Just before we drop the fake mail in the trash can with all the other junk mail, we take a second look.  We see the almost human-like handwriting and the stamp in the upper right hand corner and we wonder who sent us some first class mail.  It’s not until we’ve opened the envelope and begin to read the letter that we realize we took the bait.  It was just junk mail dressed up to look like first class mail. Continue reading →

#ReformationDay500. While some may be preoccupied this coming Tuesday with tricks and treats and little ghosts and goblins knocking at the front door, others of us will have the Chapel Door in Wittenberg in mind. Maybe we’ll lift a good German beer to the occasion rather than sneak another couple of candy corns.

Five hundred years ago this coming Tuesday, All Saints Eve, the young monk – a college professor, really – Martin Luther, posted 95 Theses to the Chapel Door at Wittenberg. 95 complaints about corruption and abuse in the medieval church. We mark the day as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Continue reading →

This past Tuesday was the last full day in Paris as Becky and I celebrated our anniversary with an altogether wonderful trip to the City of Light.  We had taken an early morning train to Versailles. We loved the gardens, but the opulence of the palace was overwhelming in the way that too much of something sends the senses reeling, unable or unwilling to take it all in. As someone posted in reply to a photo I posted on Facebook, “it would have made me want to start a revolution, too.”

Returning to Paris mid-afternoon, we roamed our neighborhood on the Left Bank of the Seine, enjoying lunch at a sidewalk café, finding some last minute souvenirs, and visiting both Saint Sulpice and Saint Severin churches. Unlike Sainte Chapelle and Notre Dame we had seen earlier in the week, Sulpice and Severin are not so much tourist attractions, though tourists wander through the churches all day long.  Images of the stained glass and magnificent organ of Saint Sulpice and the soaring arches of Saint Severin will remain in my mind’s eyes for years to come. Continue reading →

Many of you know that Becky and I are away this week (and don’t worry, this was posted ahead of time). We are in Paris celebrating our 40^th wedding anniversary.  Such joy!  Much could be said and will be said, but as we remember October 16, 1977, we remember especially words spoken.

He may have used an older version of the Worship Book, but the Reverend Kim Warner’s words would have been something like this: Continue reading →

The details don’t matter. I had to deal with the bureaucracy on behalf of someone else. I assumed my informal advocacy would be of little avail, but it seemed worth a try. Who knew the person on the other end of the line would be the Best Bureaucrat.

As our conversation began, I explained my friend’s problem as best I could. The Best Bureaucrat listened well and asked clarifying questions. When it became clear to her that I do not speak bureaucratese, she immediately switched to English. Again she listened well as I tried to describe the dilemma in which my friend found himself. The Best Bureaucrat did not recommend I fill out a form or read a publication. She listened and explained and made sure I understood what she was saying, just as she made sure she understood what I was saying.

Once we were clear about the problem my friend needed to solve, the Best Bureaucrat went to work. I would have to call another office. The Best Bureaucrat told me what to ask for, and, by the way, what not to say. She described for me the place my friend would want to be after all the questions were answered and all the information provided. Our goal was not a completed form, but the particular benefits my friend deserved. Continue reading →