The theme of the Fall 2020 issue is The Church – Ministry & Hierarchy.
We want to know – what do these ideas mean to you personally? How do you see them in your church, in your life and in the lives of others?
Join us as we explore liturgy and worship. In these pages you will learn about how different people worship and the liturgical practices of different denominations. You will find non-fiction, poetry, reflections, puzzles, book and media recommendations, and a new set of prayers for your prayer beads. We can’t wait to hear what you think!
My latest washable mask is from the skilled fingers of a local young woman artisan who crafted it with variations on our Lone Star Flag. When I drive into town on errands I’m not only doing my small part for the safety of others, I’m also showing my loyalty to our Republic…
The month of August in the Catholic Church is dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which makes it perfect for the biggest names in the Dominican order to have feast days in this month. The Dominican Order is known for their dedication to and honor of the Mother of God. They are not the only order to be known to have the Mother of God as their special patroness, but they are the most associated with her special protection.
“I wanted to see everything. I wanted to travel and see the whole world!” Your face falls. “But that will never happen, so I’m seeing everything in town, just so I don’t miss a thing.”
“Well, traveling just to different parts of town can be more productive than traveling to other parts of the world,” he says.
But we consult the winds, the clouds, the stars
Whose songs and shapes and brilliant silences
Allow us to savor all mysteries
The hymns of Creation from long ago…
The dog ran into the classroom first, followed by the two children.
“Should we be in here?” the boy asked.
The girl shrugged. “Why not? Just ‘cause it’s a big-kid classroom?”
“It’s Saturday,” the boy reminded her. “And we’re not even in the kindergarten wing.”
Jessica Olsen just wants to spend some time with her grandma when she and her family go to Hollywood to visit her, but Jessica has just about had it with her sister Sara’s obsession with actor Christopher Wilde…
Our eternal Constantinople is
Never to be lost, never defeated:
In every Christian flows Dragases’ blood
Every village is the Holy City
Every church is Hagia Sophia…
David spun around at Trin’s scream, just in time to see a beam of blue light race back into the castle. He turned to look at Trin, but a skeleton now sat where she had once stood.
“Doctor, Captain, we have to get to Adinburgh Castle immediately! Bones just kidnapped Trin!
They had been working on the mystery for a couple of weeks, and not a single clue had turned up, nothing but more skeletons as more people vanished, primarily the rest of the council who were just coming back from vacation or visiting family. David had learned that it was the untimely disappearance of Judge Murray that had alerted the press to the strange kidnappings. But where had the council and the judge gone?
The men had only sat down when a blue light outside the window caught their attention. They rose to see what it was, but it grew brighter, causing them to cover their eyes. It grew so bright that it filled the whole room. After a minute, the blue light faded away, and there was nothing but skeletons sitting down to the meeting.
…This season’s gardening at my rural estate along Jasper County Beer Can & Garbage Dump Road 400 has been similarly rewarding in matters of archaeology, only without any human remains….
With everything going on lately, the 4th of July this year felt different. The murder of George Floyd, followed by widespread protests affirming that black lives matter, combined with being stuck at home and actually having time to talk and learn about these issues beyond the superficial level, has given me a wake-up call.
There is a fashion – and as fashions come, they go – of decolonizing one’s bookshelf. The idea is that the reader should self-interrogate his (the pronoun is gender-neutral) cultural influences and determine if they are not right, not approved, not liked. Or, as Pasternak’s officious, oppressive, busy-body Soviet Deputy says, noticed.
I’ve basically dedicated my life to the pursuit of stories and story-telling. Without stories, everything falls apart. A lot of people try to dismiss fantasy as being escapist or childish. Well Tolkien himself said, “Fantasy is escapist and that is its glory.” You can never diminish the power of storytelling, no matter the genre.
Summer is better in theory than in practice:
Watermelon days barefootin’ in the shade
Pole-fishing for perch in the neighbor’s pond
Oak-tree afternoons lost in a library book…