The thirteenth anniversary of my youngest daughter’s death is in a few days. I still miss her sparkling personality. She lived to have fun and to help young children. She talked and laughed a lot. It was not possible to be around Sarah long and not be smiling. She loved Lake Tahoe where Read More
What follows is a book review of God and Dreams: Is There A Connection? It was written by Dennis Cole who is also an Episcopal priest and who happened to be a fraternity brother of mine many years ago when we were in college. I was not aware until recently that he'd Read More
“I will fear no evil for thou art with me” — Psalm 23:4
In my previous blog I wrote about non-productive ways men typically handle fear. In this edition I want to address constructive methods for addressing fear.
Fear is dissolved by love. As C. FitzSimmons Allison observed: “…fear…does not lead us to safety but Read More
James Hollis in his terrific 1994 book, Under Saturn’s Shadow, The Wounding and Healing of Men (Toronto: Inner City Books) writes about eight secrets men carry that shape their lives. I hope each of you will read his book.
What I want to focus on is secret number two: “men’s lives Read More
March 31st, 1968 was a Sunday. I was almost finished with my first year of seminar; was recently engaged to be married; and was getting ready to drive across country from Washington, D. C. to Portland, Oregon for training at Emmanuel Hospital in pastoral education. I was out of my comfort zone and full of anxiety, Read More
I recently attended a seminar entitled, “Brain Injury: Alzheimer’s, Stroke & Head Trauma.” The seminar was put on by the Institute for Natural Resources (INR). One of the topics that caught my attention was 16 characteristics of centenarians who do not develop dementia. Imagine living to be 100 or older and not being mentally impaired. That Read More
St. Matthew's account of the birth of Jesus is filled with dreams. This reality is generally ignored by contemporary Christians. Reread the first two chapters of the Gospel of Matthew and you will see that the birth event would have been very different - if at all - without the dreams and Joseph's conviction Read More
I heard two women on the local news just before Halloween say that because they are Christians their families would not be participating. “It is a demon holiday,” they concluded. The implication I was left with was, “We are better than those who partake of such unchristian activities.” While most sincere and earnest, these Read More
I agree with your comments regarding Hallowed Eve. All too many non-thinking Christians fail to realize that not only is Halloween the eve of All Saints Day, it also marks the protestant reformation and Martin Luther's nailing his theses to the church door in Wittenburg. Protestant ministers/priests should not only be educating their congregations, but also celebrating our religious freedom enjoyed here in the United States. It's a great time to sing the Luther hymn, Ein Feste Berg (Almighty Fortress Is Our God)!
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Roger Kirchner
Nov 02, 2010 10:19 AM EDT
I heard that from a few people, too. Perhaps they have mixed up Halloween with Samhain, which does occur on the same day, but that's like saying Passover and Easter are the same when they fall on the same day.
I believe dreams come from God. This may sound irrational to many of you; but the belief has deep roots in history, as my book, God and Dreams: Is There A Connection?, demonstrates.
Martin Buber, the 20th century Jewish theologian, retells the following story in one of his books. It is the Read More
It was on Father’s Day that I made the climb to the bridge halfway to the top of Vernal Fall in Yosemite National Park. Vernal Fall is part of the Merced River which runs through the heart of the Park. The footpath that leads to the bridge is called the Mist Trail for Read More