Visiting Other Churches

Columbine

As mentioned earlier, we are taking the summer off in our transitional work as a congregation. So we have decided to get a feel of where the broader church is headed today by visiting other congregations in our area.

Our first experience was with a congregation from a more conservative conference within our denomination. At least, that was our thought before we visited. But we discovered that at least as far as their worship service is concerned, they are no more conservative than our own congregation. Perhaps even less so. The style of music was much more contemporary than what our congregation offers, mostly praise songs with a band. It was a much smaller church so the preaching, by comparison, left much to be desired. The style of dress was perhaps even more modern and relaxed than our church. They are struggling within that conference with many of the issues facing our broader denomination today, just like our conference.

Our next visit took us to a church that has recently left this same, so called "conservative", conference. One of their reasons for their leaving was the divorce issue. The women in this congregation appear more conservative and no musical instruments were used in the service. We really enjoyed the singing here. There is something about the simple use of the human voice in praising our Maker that is refreshing. We had no problem with knowing the hymns that were used, even those sung spontaneously during the offering and at the end of the service. Our only concern with this group was the obvious double standard in outward appearance. The men could be anyone you would meet on the street today...but the women wore long hair (always put up into bun style), coverings and dressed modestly. There seems to be one standard for the women and another for the men. Some men had long hair and pretty contemporary clothing. This congregation is presently strugling with the use of musical instruments in their worship service. Several people recently have left this congregation over the instrument issue. The preaching was very biblical and well done. (As a matter of fact, the pastor giving the sermon was at one time pastor of the church we had visited previously.) We noted that this congregation was larger with many families and the facilities were very comfortable.

Our next visit will be to a non-denominational church that uses a traditional service. At least, that is what has be reported to us...and remains to be seen.

Collision Theory Revisited

Sunrise

It has been some time since reporting a collision theory incident. You may recall that this occurs when the walker encounters two vehicles heading in opposite directions while on a seldom traveled country road on a thirty minute walk.

Since walks are being enjoyed at the crack of dawn (usually around 6 a.m.) this phenomenal occurrence has been very seldom. One incident, about a week ago, was not reported. Today, with only a total of four vehicles passing by, the collision theory again came into play.

So, as long as walks are in the early morning, the theory seems to be almost dormant. Walks are interspersed recently among the frequent rains we have been having of late.

God's creation is truly beautiful in the early morning dawn and we recommend you also enjoy the relative quiet and tranquility of a stroll enjoying the Lord's gift of nature.

Lamium Maculatum ei. Dead Nettle

This variety is called 'Beacon Silver' and bears pink flowers. The verigated leaves of these plants add a nice contrast to the flower borders.

'White Nancy' has very silvery leaves, along with white flowers that appear in spring. These plants need partial shade and with evenly moist soil they are easy to grow and very prolific

Heaven by Randy Alcorn

In the most comprehensive and definitive book on Heaven to date, Randy invites you to picture Heaven the way Scripture describes it--a bright, vibrant, and physical New Earth, free from sin, suffering, and death, and brimming with Christ's presence, wondrous natural beauty and the richness of human culture as God intended it.

Amish Grace by Kraybill, Nolt, and Zercher

This book, written by three college professors, is a study on forgiveness as revealed in the Nichol Mines Pennsylvania tragedy. The authors go beyond the simple facts and explore the cultural aspects of the Amish, explaining their ability to "transcend" this tragedy with forgiveness.

Dainty Bleeding Heart

This delicate plant is surprisingly easy to grow. It's just very important to leave enough room because it has manners. It won't try to grow where the space is limited. We do have one more variety that is called Double Bleeding Heart. For some reason my store of photos doesn't include a photo of the double. Looks like it's time for more picture taking.

Wild Geranium wonderer

The color on these Wild Geraniums didn't come out very true. They appear much more pink. It is easy to grow and very prolific, often producing volunteers in other parts of the garden.

Pineapple Quilt and Miniature

The above quilt top is finally all quilted and waiting for the sawtooth border finish. A miniature duplicate doll quilt/wall hanging is also in the process of being completed. May enter these in the fair competition if they are done in time. And that's a BIG if!

Lovely White Lupine

We purchased this plant a couple of years ago at a garage sale, of all places. It has taken a few years of coaxing, but we have finally been rewarded with some lovely blooms.

Eternal Life

This light pink peony is also called "The Century Plant" because it can last more than 100 years.

We often like to listen to radio preachers. They tend to preach from the Scriptures and they also tend to bring out something from the Scriptures which we have not encountered before...or something that has been revealed before but not quite in the same way.

Last week a radio preacher made this comment: We all have an eternal life. Where that eternal life is spent, either with or without God, is up to our acceptance or rejection of His Son. Evangelism is basically making this truth evident to those around us.

Now we have both grown up in the church, and you would think that this idea would not be new to us. And perhaps this concept is not exactly new, but it was a way of thinking about evangelism that we had not thought of before. Every person we come in contact with has an eternity. God would like to be in that person's life now and for eternity. We need to let them know this in such a way that they will see how much God loves and cares for them. Then perhaps they will want this also. It's as simple as that.

Simple, but somehow not easy. Talking about eternal life doesn't come up in casual conversation. Most people rarely even think in terms of eternity. That includes Christians. When you see how some Christians live (and that includes ourselves at times) you would think that this life is all there is. So much of our time is spent concerned with this life. How can we share that there is an eternity when we are so wrapped up with things here?

But the main point of the radio preacher was that until a person realizes that they have an eternity to spend either with or without God, they will never see the need to believe in Jesus. This is the concept that was a revelation...and an inspiration to us to draw others to Christ.

Phlox or Dame's Rocket ?

Now here is what happens sometimes in our garden. A few years ago we planted some seeds. These are the flowers that keep appearing year after year since then. They are about 5 feet tall and only bloom in late spring. They are very prolific and easy to transplant. Some have told me they are phlox (the non-creeping variety) but we had also planted some Dame's Rocket, so we are not sure. Whatever they are they have a very showy display each year and we are thankful that they decided to make their home with us.

I Will Plant You a Lilac Tree by Laura Hillman

Five years after Hitler came to power, Laura was separated from her town and family. The events Laura witnessed in the camps kept her from writing for many years, but she finally set out to write her memoir, facing for the first time the circumstances that led to her survival.

This book is important to read. We must remember that not too many years ago our world was in the throws of a world war and many Jews were exterminated during that time. We must remember, so these events do not repeat themselves.

Thanks to survivors like Laura, we can have a glimpse into the horror she experienced. The rest of her family did not make it through. But thanks to a man called Schindler a few destined for the gas chambers were safe until the end of the holocaust. Laura was one of the few.

This book is mostly about her experiences before getting on Schindler's list. It is written in the first person and shares many of her feelings. Her love and concern for her family often puts her in danger.

This is not a book to read for entertainment. It needs to be read as a reminder of what humankind is capable of, both the good and the bad. It is very well written and yet not easy to read because of the subject. So be warned that you will probably cringe and want to put it aside at times. Try not to do that.

Beyond the book Laura finds her future husband (another survivor on Schindler's list) and makes a life for herself.

Blue Flag Beauty

Forgot to add this little early iris last time. They appear first thing in the spring with the crocus. Only about 5" high but easy to grow. Don't blink or you may miss their blooms so early in spring. Very prolific!

Beautiful Blue Iris and More

Iris is very easy to grow. Once in a while you need to thin and remove some pretty ugly pests. We just soak the corms in water with soap and mouthwash added. Those creepy crawlies end up rising to the surface and this method of pest control is very successful. Then they easily transplant and you get more and more beautiful blooms of various colors, shapes and sizes.

Johnny Jump Ups

Johnny-Jump-Ups (Viola) are happy little flowers that stay all spring and most of the summer into fall. They are self seeders, but they tend to wander. It's good to trim them back if they get too leggy. And they have a very sweet smell.

Forsythia

Forsythia don't last long when the weather turns warmer.
They are the welcome first sign of spring and very easy to grow.

Two votes and vision

Beautiful double Azalea in a rose pink

Last night was our final TT meeting until fall. Our congregation is taking a summer break from our transitional work. In that spirit, we have decided to take the summer to visit other churches in our area, both within our denomination and others. We want to know whether others are also struggling with the issues that we have been facing as a congregation.

Before beginning the work, each TT meeting begins with our transitional pastor giving a meditation and lighting a lamp. The lamp signifies God's presence with us as we work.

The first part of our meeting was the taking of votes. The voting eligibility amendment and the use of women in leadership were the two issues that were voted on this time. We decided as a congregation, with the recommendation of our leadership, to dramatically expand the eligibilty of voting to allow all active participants to vote in elections and restrict membership voting to only active members and active associate members. We also decided to allow only men to be considered in the lead pastor role with the most qualified candidate (male or female) to be considered for the second position yet to be determined. This position has been put on hold because of our decline in attendance. We may decide we need a youth or associate pastor in the future.

The first vote needed to pass by at least 75%. It did pass with more than 79% of those voting, who were current active members. The second vote only needed a simple majority for selecting which candidates can be considered by the Pastoral Search Committee. The full congregation will be voting for/against that candidate when the time comes.

The rest of the time was spent discussing our vision for the future. This was done in small groups. Each individual previously filled in a questionnaire listing our preferred vision in priority fashion.

Meantime our congregation is still "bleeding" with at least two couples leaving within the past several months. We are wondering about the merit of our transition process, since it appears that everything of consequence is still just coming down to a congregational vote.

Lovely Luminous Lilac

As mentioned before our lilacs this year were just beautiful.

Rhododendron

We just moved our Rhododendron bush last spring. It appeared that something was always eating off the buds before they had a chance to flower. So we moved it a little closer to the house and put up some deer repellents and now this year we were rewarded with a full bush of beautiful blooms. So now this plant has found its home.

Does anyone know what is causing the tears in the leaves that show in the above photo?

The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder by T. L. Tedrow

Home to the Prairie

When Pa comes to visit the farm in Missouri, he and Laura have so much fun reminiscing about the old days that they decide to set out in search of their old homestead, and on the way they relive many of the special memories of their past.

Also in this book from the series, the Youngun family along with other youngsters from Mansfield meet the Monroe Street Tigers and other kids from the St. Louis Monroe Street Parish in a football game beyond imagination. This is for ages 9-12 and there are at least eight books in this series.