Strangely Warmed

I recently read about a pastor who received an award for doing good works in his community. His efforts certainly sounded praiseworthy and the award provided the pastor an opportunity to speak about the work he was doing. What an opportunity to tell the church's story! It struck me as odd, then, when he used the first half of his speech to describe why the Christians among which he was reared were utter failures as people of faith. At the very least, it struck me as an awkward, ungracious moment. It certainly didn't contribute to whatever point he was trying to make. I think that it is also symptomatic of a kind of sickness - or emotional bondage - that infects the household of God. It is common to read essays by Christians who frame their arguments like this: “I grew up in a denomination that …” or “I was raised among Christians who …” or “I used to belong to a church that …” Instead of simply stating what the authors stand for and why – or what they disagree with and why ...

For Valentine's day, here is what my church's ritual says about the institution of marriage. First, from the contemporary language service. Friends, we are gathered together in the sight of God to witness and bless the joining together of [Name] and [Name] in Christian marriage. The covenant of marriage was established by God, who created us male and female for each other. With his presence and power Jesus graced a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and in his sacrificial love gave us the example for the love of husband and wife. - Rite I And then from the older service, inherited from our predecessor denominations and based more closely on the Book of Common Prayer . Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the presence of these witnesses, to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is an honorable estate, instituted of God, and signifying unto us the mystical union which exists between Christ and his Church; which ...

Today is the 71st anniversary of the sinking of the troop ship Dorchester  in the Labrador Sea just after midnight on February 3, 1943. Six-hundred seventy-two passengers and crew died when a German submarine put a torpedo in its side. Among the dead were four chaplains: George Fox (Methodist), John Washington (Roman Catholic), Alexander Goode (Jewish) and Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed). As the ship sank into the icy deep, the chaplains prayed with frightened soldiers, encouraging them and comforting them in the darkness. Survivors reported that the chaplains gave their own life vests to soldiers who lacked them, and then linked arms in prayer as the ship slipped from sight about 25 minutes after being hit. The story of the four chaplains continues to inspire those who hear it, and it serves as one of the Army chaplaincy's formational narratives. U.S. Army Chaplain Corps historian Dr. Mark W. Johnson recently published an article looking at the background of the sinking. ...