First of all, at big CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who participated in the Christmas service (program). It was tremendously heartfelt, thought-provoking, and flat out entertaining. How we worship God involves more than what is traditional. There is always room for us to express ourselves in ways that are true to self while being welcoming of others.
Read MoreWhoa! Major shade was flung (not thrown) this past MLK Day. In this corner, we have a disgruntled former co-worker, and in the other corner, we have the wife of a disgruntled (recently snubbed) Hollywood celebrity. While many are weighing in on whose video had more impact, there is an observation that may be missing
Read MoreFirst of all, at big CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who participated in the Christmas service (program). It was tremendously heartfelt, thought-provoking, and flat out entertaining. How we worship God involves more than what is traditional. There is always room for us to express ourselves in ways that are true to self while being welcoming of others.
Read MoreAh, yes. Does anything say that it’s time for caroling like and image from Charles Schultz’s It’s Christmas, Charlie Brown? No. Not at all. And it is time for caroling. On Friday, December 11, 2015, our youth will be caroling. We will be singing at various homes, calling, or leaving voice messsages for those who
Read MoreHello, Cyberspace, Our next YDF is this Friday, November 20th (2015). And, since, this is the Friday before Thanksgiving, we are going to do something relating to togetherness, and being thankful. The idea was provided by one of our youth who is helping to plan these YDFs. That is, until he goes off into the
Read More‘Tis the season to be thankful. And while we see all of the commercials about black Friday and Christmas, let’s slow down one moment and reflect on Thanksgiving. It is easy to be a bit side-eyed about the holiday: the first Thanksgiving was followed by centuries of social famine (kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/history/first-thanksgiving/). Anyway, the holiday has come
Read MoreOkay. So. It took a little longer to return than expected. No excuses. Part two of the Halloween–yes, love it, or nay, throw it away–question is below. There is a loooot of information — mostly confused — out there on the subject of Halloween. These are my go-to sources: “Treat or Trick? : Halloween in a Globalising
Read MoreFor many years, Halloween has been an issue for Christians. People wonder if being a Christian means that celebrating Halloween is forbidden. Nay, I say, no. You can be a Christian and celebrate Halloween without feeling guilty. Fact: Halloween means All Hallows Evening. It is a religious reference. All Hallows Evening can be a time to
Read MoreI remember being in the youth choir as a kid. We got to wear choir robes and sit in the choir stand like the adult choirs. Singing in the choir felt like an important contribution to the worship service. As I grew up, the songs changed. You could say that they “grew up,” too. We
Read MoreComing up with a name for our youth ministry was work. The name had to have meaning beyond the words themselves. It had to do two things: describe the intentions of youth ministry at Lincoln Memorial; and describe ministry as a whole. So, the two words chosen were wheel and scape. Usually, when we think wheel,
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