Ha-ha, ugh!

Unfortunately, the blogs for this week and next seem to have gone missing. They are on a floppy disk, but said disk is not in my carrying case. So instead you get some awful clergy jokes.

A preacher, looking for a discount, said, "I'm only a poor preacher." Said the clerk, "I know. I've heard you preach."

A bellhop said about the preachers' convention: "They come with the Ten Commandments in one hand and a ten spot in the other and don't break either one the whole time they're here."

A filling station attendant said to the preacher: "They wait until the last minute, even though the trip was planned a year ago." And the preacher said "Works the same in my business, too."

Dad criticized the sermon. Mother thought the organist did a lousy job. Sister didn't like the choir's singing. Junior said: "All in all, I thought it was a good show for a buck."

"Does your dad prepare a new sermon for every Sunday?" "Naw, he just yells in different places."

Everybody liked the new preacher's first sermon. He kept repeating it Sunday after Sunday. "Parson, aren't we ever going to get a new sermon? "When I get action on the old one."

Hmm. I need some new jokes or I'm going to have to get a laugh-track for my sermons. You can tell these are old jokes. When's the last time you saw a filling station attendant? For that matter, when's the last time anyone called a gas station a filling station? I remember when they filled the gas tank, cleaned your windows, checked the oil and water, and gave away free dishes, all for 29 cents a gallon.

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

Well, we made it through the storm. We had a break in the weather this morning, sunshine and bits of blue skies, but we're back to thunder storms again on Sunday afternoon. Six inches of rain so far. All the ponds here at the apartment complex are up over their banks. The picture is of a farm just down the street from where I live. The road floods right there every time there is a big storm. Small tree branches are down and the lights nearly went our Saturday, but this has been pretty mild here. The schools were closed for four out of the last five days giving a unexpected extension to summer vacation.

Row, row, row, your boat,
Gently down the street,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Or else you'll get wet feet.

May the Lord bless you on your journey and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne


2502

TROPICAL STORM SPECIAL

After a week of zigzagging around Florida, Tropical Storm Fay is headed for central Florida. It won't be too bad here in Ocala because the storm is going north of us and the worst will be on the north-east side of the storm. On Thursday around 4:00 p.m. the rain is coming down pretty hard at times and the wind has picked up. It will take tonight and Friday morning for the storm to pass, but we may have rain for several days. I am posting this now because we often lose electric and telephone during storms.

I'll let you know how it turns out this weekend sometime.

Picture is a satellite view of the storm. Ocala is at the red dot.

Eternal Father strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bade the mighty oceans deep.
Their own appointed limits keep.
Oh hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea.

May the Lord bless you on your way and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne

KOFINK FAMILY

This is a special edition temporary post for the Kofink relatives. Here's a picture of the Chicago clan around 1912 or so. (Click to make it bigger.)

Back row from left: Henry, Minnie, Ernst, Anna, Walter

Front row from left: John (my grandfather), Wilhelmine (great-grandmother), Fred, Carl (great grandfather), Paul.

I have a partial genealogy back to the late fifteenth century. Contact me at afellowpilgrim @ aol.com. (Take out the spaces around the @ sign. I do that to stop the crawlers from reading the email. )

PRAYERS

I hadn't gotten anything finished this week because I have been so busy. I found some favorite prayers I had collected for a workshop I taught several years ago and decided to post them. The picture is "Beata Beatrix" Dante Gabriel Rossetti. It shows Beatrice at the moment of her death. It has always impressed me as a very spiritual picture.






DAY BY DAY

Thank you, lord Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits and blessings which you have given me,
For all the pains and insults which you have borne for me.
Merciful friend, brother and redeemer,
May I know you more clearly,
Love you more dearly,
And follow you more nearly,
Day by day.

Richard of Chichester

GOD BE IN MY HEAD

God be in my head
and in my understanding.
God be in my eyes
and in my looking.
God be in my mouth
and in my speaking.
God be in my heart
and in my thinking.
God be at my end
and my departing.

Sarum Primer, 1527

THE CALL

Come my way, my truth my life
Such a way as gives us breath,
Such a truth as ends all strife,
Such a life as conquers death.

Come my light, my feast my strength:
Such a light as shows a feast,
Such a feast as mends in length,
Such a strength as makes his guest.

Come, my joy, my love, my heart:
Such a joy as none can move,
Such a love as none can part,
Such a heart as joys in love.

George Herbert


COME HOLY SPIRIT

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love.

Send forth your Spirit, and they shall be created: And You will renew the face of the earth.

Religion in Schools

Years ago, when she was a high school student, my cousin wrote a letter to the editor opposing prayer in public schools. You have to know that our family was not a hot-bed of radicals. We were pretty much middle of the road to moderately conservative. We were all church goers. Church and school were the two major institutions that our lives revolved about. The Chicago public schools didn't have any religious exercises in classes, so prayer in school wasn't an issue anyone thought about until the Supreme Court decision of Engel v. Vitale which prohibited prayer in public schools. Suddenly, all sorts of people who had never noticed whether there was or wasn't prayer in schools started making a fuss about things.

My father disagreed with his niece's letter. I've tried to figure out why since there hadn't been prayers said while he was in school in the 1930s either. I think my father was typical of many people of his generation. He believed there should be freedom of religion in the sense that no one could tell you what religion to practice, but he didn't see any intrinsic conflict between religion and government. They worked together to make things better. Then too, people didn't think of schools as being the government. Oh sure, they knew that taxes supported the schools and the school board was appointed by government officials, but the local school was just part of the community, not really the government. Somehow the Supreme Court telling a school they couldn't have prayers was the same as telling you what you could or couldn't do in your own home or church.

The other factor at work with my dad was that the principle separation of church was just too theoretical to be of importance to him. Dad was a practical man with little for things theoretical. For example, Dad didn't care anything for theories of education. The schools should just teach what they were supposed to teach and that was that. He didn't give much regard to theology either. He was in a study group at church where there was a lengthy discussion of justification by faith, a central belief of Lutherans. Dad had been a member of the Lutheran church since his confirmation, yet he had no awareness of this belief. As far as he was concerned, Christianity was about doing the right things and then going to heaven.

Now I was impressed by my cousin's letter. I accepted what she wrote since she was a lot smarter than I was. I know that for a fact because several teachers had told me I wasn't as smart as my cousin. Anyway, her views certainly influenced me. I now agree that imposed prayer has no place in public schools because I have thought through the matter logically, but it was my cousin who sent me in the right direction. Thanks, Darlene.

Schools are part of the government, and I don't want the government imposing any religious beliefs or practices on anyone. I don't want them to make anyone pray, or listen to scriptures being read, or even force people to look at the Ten Commandments. Many people don't agree with me. I wish they could see how dangerous this sort of thing is.

Now I know some people who are absolutely furious that one congressman took the oath of office on the Koran. How dare he! That reveals the real issue. Some people want to use the force of government to impose religious activities only if it is their form of religion. Maybe if the schools required a reading from the Tao Te Ching or made people chant the Vedas, they'd see the point. But maybe not.

Some time back there was some fuss at our local elementary school because one teacher would not allow the children in her class to have birthday parties at school. No bringing of treats allowed. It wasn't a matter that she was trying to keep the children focused on education, but rather it violated her own religious beliefs that prohibited the celebration of birthdays. It was wrong of her to impose her religious views on others. Interestingly, the most vocal critic or her actions was someone who advocates starting the school day with prayers said aloud in class. There's the problem. I want to be free to impose my religious views, but you must be prohibited from imposing yours. The only solution is to deny anyone the right to impose religious views

I also believe people, including students in public school, have a right to exercise their religion. If they want to say grace before they eat at school, they should do so without interference as long as they don't disturb anyone else. If several of them want to pray and it is an appropriate time, like before school or at lunch time or after classes, leave them alone. If they want to bring Bibles or other religious books to school, that should be allowed. If their religious practice requires that they cover their heads, that should be permitted. If they mention religion in an essay and it is otherwise appropriate, there should be no penalty. Certainly no teacher should do what one did to a young person from my church–demand that they prove that God exists. That's a subject for philosophy of religion, not biology.

There has to be a sensible middle ground where children are neither coerced into religious observances or forbidden to practice them. Just stop all the fussing and teach your children at home and at church the value of prayer, and they will pray. Besides, who's to know whether or not they are praying when they are sitting at their desks waiting for the final exams to be passed out? Why is it so important that prayer be done aloud in a public place when our Lord himself instructs us to pray to our Father in secret?

I don't suppose I'll convert anyone to my position, but if we used the time we waste arguing about prayer in schools to do some praying, we might be better off.

May the Lord bless you on your way and greet you on your arrival.

Wayne

VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

Howdy! This is a late update because we were having Vacation Bible School at church this week and I didn't have time to write anything. Here's some neat pictures from VBS (Thanks to Cherie, BJ, Jay, and Matt who gets them online by some mysterious process.)


More pics here