THANKSGIVING Heap high the board with plenteous cheer And gather to the feast And toast the sturdy pilgrim band Whose courage never ceased. Give praise to that All-Gracious One By whom their steps were led, And thanks unto the harvest’s Lord Who sends our daily bread. Alice Williams Brotherton
FREEDOM A teacher of American history asked her class in a test: “What was the reason for the Puritans coming to this country?” The best reply, she said later, came from a boy she had always considered her dullest pupil. His answer was: “They came to worship in their own way and to make everyone …
FORM AND SUBSTANCE A devout Christian who had a cat used to spend several minutes each day at prayer and meditation in his bedroom. He read a portion of scripture and a devotional book, followed by a period of silent meditation and prayer. As time went on his prayers became longer and more intense. He …
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COSTLY THANKS The story is told that when Pythagorus discovered the law of the hypotenuse he was so grateful for discovering this great mathematical insight that he sacrificed 1000 oxen to the gods as a thank offering. Now, so the legend continues, whenever someone has a truly great idea — all around the world, the …
PARENTING — THE GIFT AND THE GIVER Bill Butterworth tells about the time his son’s sixth birthday was approaching. He had mentioned he wouldn’t mind a party, and as his son usually was very specific about the kind of presents he liked the dad asked him what he could get him. Bill expected a well-planned …
EXCUSES Here’s an old classic you might not have used for a time. It’s entitled “Pastor Quits Sports: Twelve Reasons Why A Local Clergyman Stopped Attending Athletic Contests.” Everytime I went, they asked me for money. The people with whom I had to sit didn’t seem very friendly. The seats were too hard and not …
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THANKSGIVING IDEALS I return to this place for Thanksgiving, Hills created with scarlet and gold. And hear whispered from treetop The nostalgic memories they hold. I bow now in prayerful remembrance And thank Thee, O God, for this day. For these friends who embrace me so warmly, For these hills in their autumn array. Gelia …
SEEKING THE WATER OF LIFE Drought drove us onward though we did not know. Beyond wide rivers cool among their palms. Past young white-water streams where willows grow To screen their rapid innocence from jaded eyes; Along steep mountain slopes where waterfalls Precipitate in mist from lichened cliffs Fed by the dazzling glaciers of the …
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THE MYSTERIOUS The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed. Albert Einstein
LETTERS TO CHESTER, THE CHURCHMOUSE Dear Chester, Why do you call the benches that you set in pews? 1st & 2nd grade Sunday School Class Dear Class, That is a very interesting question. There are two explanations that I remember from Church Mouse University. One — Many years ago in Germany where the Lutheran Church …
DRESS REHEARSAL I wonder if the Magi ever guessed How hard it is to simulate a jewel; Or whether Gabriel ever gave a thought To how a human haberdasher deals With wings when getting Christmas pageants dressed? What does one do when crowns appear to shrink? And how do shepherd costumes ever get A look …
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MUSIC LOVER Oscar Wilde was asked to buy a subscription to the opera. However, Wilde found the opera to be a bore and refused. It was pointed out to him that his friend had bought a subscription and his friend was even deaf. Wilde replied, “If I were deaf, I would buy one too.” Funny, …
SILENT NIGHT A member recently passed along to me a powerful book, entitled Life And Death In Shanghai, by Nien Cheng (Grove Press, New York, 1986). It is the amazing, personal story of a Chinese woman who was arrested and spent seven years in solitary confinement beginning in 1966 during the Cultural Revolution in communist …
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GOD’S GRACE OVERCOMING PREJUDICE The following story was
ON THE MORNING OF CHRIST’S NATIVITY This is the month, and this the happy morn, Wherein the Son of Heaven’s eternal King, Of wedded maid and virgin mother born, Our great redemption from above did bring; For so the holy sages once did sing, That He our deadly forfeit should release, And with His Father …
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PRAISE AND SUFFERING I suppose most of you are also familiar with context a monthly “commentary on the interaction of religion and culture” written by Martin Marty. It’s a great publication full of meaty quotes from Marty’s eclectic reading. In the November, ’81 issue he quotes from Thomas Howard of Gordon College as follows: “Five …
BEFORE THE PALING OF THE STARS Before the paling of the stars, Before the winter morn, Before the earliest cockcrow, Jesus Christ was born: Born in a stable, Cradled in a manger, In the world his hands had made Born a stranger. Priest and king lay fast asleep In Jerusalem, Young and old lay fast …
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THE ACID TEST In our church where people have been sitting in the same pew for years, the following is apropos: The old retiring usher was giving instruction to his young, inexperienced replacement: “And remember, my boy, that we have nothing but good kind Christians in this church until you try to put someone else …
THE FAMILY OUTING The kids were always asking their Dad to take them out for a treat such as an ice cream soda after Sunday School and Worship. But one Sunday he protested and asked: “Where does it say that you kids should always get something to eat and drink right after church?” Sis responded: …
THE OXEN Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock. “Now they are all on their knees,” An elder said as we sat in a flock By the embers in hearthside ease. We pictured the meek mild creatures where They dwelt in their strawy pen, Nor did it occur to one of us there To doubt …
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