My January 2011 Newsletter Article

Don't forget to pick up your newsletter from the table in the Narthex on Sunday, either before or after worship.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Whenever a congregation calls a new pastor, people wonder… “What’s the pastor going to change?” For some, this causes a lot of stress and uncertainty. So to take the edge off, here are some answers.

The first change Georgia, Al, Brionna and I have made is that I have begun to process with the Acolyte. With that, Al has begun making the announcements before the procession.

Also, we have started singing more verses from the hymns. Not more hymns, just more verses.

Next, during Advent, the baby Jesus was missing from the manger scene. Why? He doesn’t show up until Christmas Eve, so he didn’t show up until December 24. In the same way, the three wise men don’t make an appearance until Epiphany, so they’re making their way through the church and now the sanctuary until that glorious day in early January.

As for a bigger change, in the coming year we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often than in prior years. In the past, we have celebrated this sacrament six times per year. In 2011, we will celebrate it eighteen times! This is three times as often as in the past.

Starting in 2011 we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the first Sunday of every month except in January and August. In January, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the 9^th, which is also Baptism of the Lord Sunday. In August, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the third Sunday as the Fellowship Communion just like last year. We will also celebrate the Lord’s Supper on every Sunday from Easter through Pentecost, the seasons of the dying and rising of our Savior and the Birth of the Church.

Why celebrate the Lord’s Supper more often? The sacraments are important; they are the visible signs of God’s invisible grace. As we celebrate them, we remember them and the impact they have in our lives. They are signs of God’s covenant relationship with the people of God, with us. The Lord’s Supper is specifically the food that nourishes and sustains us in our lives as Christ’s disciples. We believe it builds the body of Christ, and to lift an old advertising slogan, the Elements of the Communion, they do the Body good.

There are some other exciting and glorious things happening too. In the coming weeks we will have at least two families join the church. Baptisms, both infant and adult, will be coming in the late spring too.

Just as important of a question is “What isn’t changing?” This has a very simple and even more important answer. First Presbyterian Church in Marshall, Texas is still a place where Christ is proclaimed. Who we are and what we do are wrapped around the simple truth that Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ, the fully human and fully divine God Incarnate. He shared life on earth and came to know all that we know from birth to death; including birth and death. He rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. He sent his Spirit to indwell us and strengthen us for this life that we might live worthy of our faith in God, and even more, God’s faith in us. This isn’t changing. This will never change.

Let us worship God together.

See you at church, Paul

Alcopop

Isn't that a great word, Alcopop! Alcopops are a variety of alcoholic beverage that comes premixed with a variety of other ingredients to enhance taste or whatever.

Some beverages in this category include the Bacardi Breezer, Smirnoff Ice, and the recently notorious Four Loco Energy Drink.

My favorite in this category is Sparks. On the label, it plainly tells all who will imbibe in this fine beverage that it contains Yellow Number Five.

Thank God, that old Yellow #4 is just vile.

Stupid Warning Labels

Last week I went to our local Long John Silver's restaurant. (So when did the filets become as flat as a pancake? Anyway...) By the cash register there was a warning sign:

Shellfish Warning

Your food is prepared either with or in proximity to shellfish.

People with shellfish allergies should be aware and take necessary precautions.

If you have a shellfish allergy I would think the first precaution would be not to eat in a place that specialized in shellfish! Even if it is fast food shellfish!

Yesterday I ranted against Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell for his take on postponing the Eagles/Vikings game. His take that we are becoming a nation of wusses hinges on the fact that in the olde days "we wouldn't have done it that way." I took the point that if he wants to call the Philadelphia Eagles a bunch of wusses he should get out of his limo, walk past his protection detail, and say it to their faces.

What I say about "Stupid Warning Labels" is be aware of your surroundings and if you have an allergy to seafood stay out of the seafood restaurant.

One is a matter of public safety and the other a matter of personal responsibility. And it's still a stupid warning label.

Wuss!

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Wendell has declared us a nation of "Wusses" because the NFL didn't play a game in a blizzard. Well, here's what I have to say about that.

First, if you want to get style points on FoxNews by name calling then pick another city. Philly fans once booed Santa Claus for getting hurt in a parachute stunt. Then Philly fans once booed a guy who fell from the upper deck because he didn't get hurt. Wusses?

Second, if you're paying the contracts of the guys who could get hurt in all of this you might be happy the league (not the team or the city but the league) called off the game.

Third, if you are injured and emergency vehicles are focusing on maintaining Lincoln Financial Field instead of your street you might be glad the game was called.

Forth, if you're a beer vendor you're probably glad you didn't have to navigate snowy steps carrying case after case of bottles for two hours.

Finally Mr. Governor, get out of your limo, ditch your security detail, and tell the good people of the city you once served as mayor that they've become wussified. I'll watch that on pay-per-view.

On another weather related wuss note, an ESPN Radio talking head this morning said that "This wouldn't have happened in Colorado where he lived." He didn't mention that snow doesn't stay on the ground in eastern Colorado. Denver, the front range, the high plains, they can all get snow, but then the winds blow and it's all gone in a day or two. Don't play the "Winter in Denver" card until you compare it to a Philly blizzard.

As for me, I grew up in Kansas City where when winter locked in it locked in. Winds from Alberta made the air temps zero and the wind chills horrible. When it snowed, it stayed on the ground for a couple of months. Oh, that was after the glaze of ice that fell first.

Then I moved to the high plains. Yes it's cold, and yes it's windy (dear GOD is it windy), but while I remember Trick or Treating being snowed out on Halloween three months later I was on the golf course on Ground Hog Day. Wuss this five iron.

Superstition

"When you believe in things you don't understand and you suffer, then you suffer; Superstition ain't the way." --Stevie Wonder

I hate behaving in superstitious ways. It doesn't prevent me from acting in superstitious ways, but I still hate it.

About ten years ago, after we moved to Austin, Marie wasn't feeling well. This was nothing new for either of us, she hadn't been well since we moved to Austin. The Dean of Students at the seminary asked how we were doing and how specifically Marie was feeling. Now, I knew she wasn't faking it, but I wondered out loud if "she could find a job and hit a tempo and find a rhythm that she might not feel better." Just thinking out loud. I knew she wasn't faking, but I just hoped if she found something to keep her busy she might feel better.

This is where the organ player starts playing in a minor key.

Well, I said something stupid and she got really sick. In a couple of weeks she had a bowel resection. I was hoping "she would find a rhythm" and she was fighting off a ton of infection and whatever else was causing her abdominal problems. (They still aren't really sure either.)

So Marie hasn't been feeling well lately. I know about the Crohn's disease and the host of other issues she has. I also know better than to say something stupid like I did ten years ago again. But I told this story to my secretary yesterday and... you guessed it--Shingles! Marie has Shingles.

THAT'S NOT FUNNY GOD! Did I tempt fate telling that story again? Stevie has it right: "When you believe in things you don't understand and you suffer, then you suffer; Superstition ain't the way."

I love you Marie, and I pray you get better soon.

Congrats UConn Women's Hoops

Last night, the University of Connecticut Huskies Women's Basketball team set a new NCAA consecutive wins streak record with 89 wins. This beats the former record set by John Wooden's UCLA Bruins between 1971-1973.

Sports TV, radio, and blogs have been on fire about whether this record means as much because it's a "women's" record. I believe there is only one way to know, judge them by the quality of the competition they faced.

Were Geno Auriemma's teams tested like Wooden's? Which team saw more ranked opponents? You can ask the question about which team dominated its opponents more, but then you also have to ask if a blowout a sign of a superior team or inferior competition?

Well, I won't say that one is better or worse. Let me say congrats tot he UConn Huskies (not the Yukon Huskies) on their achievement. It was a long time coming and is well deserved. Don't let any nay sayers take a bit of your achievement away from you with the words "you're girls."

Til Death

The New York Times has a column called "Vows" where Debs and their Fraternity President betrothed's tell stories of meeting and courting with cute stories and quippy anecdotes. Not last Sunday.

Here's the story of Carol Anne Riddell and John Partilla as found in the New York Times.

To me, here is the quote of the article: As Mr. Partilla saw it, their options were either to act on their feelings and break up their marriages or to deny their feelings and live dishonestly. “Pain or more pain,” was how he summarized it.

Another good quote: I did a terrible thing as honorably as I could.

Today, Yahoo reports Mr. Partilla "has some misgivings -- about agreeing to let the Times profile him." Still, they say they were honest with each other and their spouses. As soon as they declared their feelings for each other they went to their spouses--they didn't go off and have a tawdry affair, and Mr. Partilla is proud of that.

I think he's setting the bar kind of low on pride here.

This is kind of like the flip-side of Meatloaf's "Paradise by the Dashboard Light." In that song, the man proposes so he can get physical release. In this case there are two divorces so the new couple can get release, you fill in the blank about what kind of release.

So what do we learn from all of this? Nothing our mama's didn't tell us growing up and we forgot while watching Springer, "Keep your dirty laundry off the line!" The happy couple wanted "one honest account" of their relationship to date. They didn't think of it as dirty laundry, but many comments on the NYT web page seem to differ. I guess they didn't have a tawdry affair, but was what they had-is what they have-so much different?

I believe being proud that as they discarded their vows they did it above board is not enough.

Editor's note: Cases of abuse and abandonment are different from what's going on here. That's a whole different ballgame.

Then again, what do I know...I'm a child of divorce and lies about divorce. My sisters have both been divorced and I have been married 13 years after not getting married until my mid-30's. If you get it, please share. Not just the reason for the divorce but the reason for sharing, I'm kind of stumped.

Cliff Lee to the Phillies

The Hero of the Texas Rangers, Cliff Lee, has signed to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies for the next five seasons, and one more if the optional year is exercised. The deal is substantial, over five years he will be paid $120 million.

As big as that number is, the Texas Rangers and New York Yankees both offered more money. So why did Lee pick the Phillies?

First, he played for them last year and liked playing there.

Second, he is now one of four top flight starting pitchers on the staff. Any team that has two top flight starters is tough, three is a machine. Four? Nobody has four. There haven't been so many good starters on a single team since the Atlanta Braves in the 80's and before that it was the Baltimore Orioles in the 70's. It's rarefied air.

Third, is it the money? Well, other teams wanted to pay him more, but seriously, how much money does one family need. If $120 million can't hold someone over, nothing can... but that leads to

Four, it's not so much money that the rest of the team will be crippled. By going to the Phillies and going for a "little less" money, the Phillies can still pay the rest of their rotation, along with Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Raul Ibanez, and others. Not only is he getting paid, but so is a real roster. In Texas, it probably would have been closer to "Cliff Lee and the League Minimums."

Five, Cliff Lee's son has leukemia which is currently in remission. One of the best children's hospitals in the hemisphere is in Philly, the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). His son had been treated there and will continue to be treated there without commuting through a timezone to get to his appointment.

Finally, the Philly players have a commitment to youth, and particularly CHOP.

These videos are about a young man named Josiah Viera and his relationship with his favorite player, Ryan Howard. Sure, it's about ten minutes worth of video, but they are worth watching.

In addition, it was my honor to know an Aunt and Uncle of a young woman with a rare form of cancer who was being treated at CHOP. While at the hospital, in what can best be described as an adoption, Phillies relief pitcher Brad Lidge became very close to a young woman named Leah and her family. Brad Lidge was generous with his time and his love for this young woman and her family. I've been praying not only for her family, but for Brad Lidge ever since.

So there it is. There are a lot of teams that have lost out on a great pitcher, but this is one man who has gained much because his choice of who he went to work for was based on more than the money it put in his pocket.

To all of the other teams in the league, particularly the Rangers, I'm sorry, it wasn't fair, you couldn't offer everything that would sway Cliff Lee's decision.

As for the Yankees, I've hated you since the 70's when you beat the Royals for the pennant all those times. I'll never be sorry you didn't get a free agent! You can take your money and go home!

Have You Ever Been to Marshall, Texas in the Winter?

If you have never been to Marshall, Texas in the winter, you are missing a wonderland.

Marie and I saw the lighting of the courthouse lights on the day before Thanksgiving and it was a joy. The Chamber brought in Rhema Marvanne to do a show and it was great. If you've never heard her, follow the link. The most wonderful thing about this young singer is that even with such powerful pipes, she is still a seven year old girl. She's not twenty-two in a seven year old's body nor is she forty-eight in a seven year old's body. She's seven and that's special.

There are light shows all over Marshall with bus tours and horse drawn carriages to see them in.

There's even an outdoor ice rink on the square.

There's only a few days left to see it all, so come on down. For details, check out http://visitmarshalltexas.org/ on the internet. See you soon!

My December Newsletter Article

Every month I write a letter for the church newsletter. Here's this month's letter...

Dear Friends in Christ,

The other day I was driving to the church up south Washington toward the square. It was one of those balmy Indian Summer mornings when it wasn’t too chilly and you knew it was going to be a lovely day. My mind was wandering a little, as far as it should while driving in the hospital zone. Just south of the hospital is the Marshall Manor nursing home and as I was passing the nursing home I saw something that simply mesmerized me. On the patio facing the street, facing the east, was about a half-dozen residents. Some were in jackets, others wrapped in blankets. Some were on benches and others were in wheelchairs. Nobody had either a cup of coffee or the newspaper. All of them were gazing into the rising sun. They were sitting on the patio being bathed in the first rays of the dawn of the day as they rose above the treetops.

Of all things, it reminded me of a 1988 movie starring Nicholas Cage called “City of Angels” about an angel who fell in love and fell to earth so he could be with Meg Ryan. One of the recurring scenes in the movie shows the angels standing on the seashore or on tall buildings and gazing into the sunrise and sunset. At these quiet moments, the angels can hear the music of God’s glory ringing through creation. As I was driving past the nursing home, when I saw these people sitting on the patio gazing into the morning dew, seeing these fragile people who had seen so much in this life; I imagined them as the angels hearing the music of God’s glory in the breaking of the sun on creation.

It may be kind of cheesy, but that’s just the way my mind works some days.

As we come into Advent (and as we say, “Advent” means “Coming”) I am not reminded of God’s coming in power and might, I am reminded of an infant. I am reminded of a newborn who can do nothing for himself. I am reminded of someone who is totally powerless and needs people around him to do the most basic and mundane things, beginning with cleaning and feeding. But I am also reminded that in the early light of the star that burns so bright in the night sky, there is a music that everyone can hear, a music that comes not from creation, but from the Creator, from Him. He comes without power and might, and he comes in majesty and in glory.

So during this Advent season, let us prepare for his coming. Let us prepare for this coming and for his next coming in majesty and glory and in power and might. As we prepare our homes let us prepare our very selves to hear the music that is aching to be played in our soul. Let us be like those residents of Marshall Manor, sitting in the morning glory like the angels hearing the music of God’s glory in the breaking of the Son of Man.

Have a wonderful Advent… and a Merry Christmas, Paul

NFL Week 12

Sure, everyone else on earth has been here and so I'm going now. This is the big bru-ha-ha coming to you through the auspices of the World Wide Leader--ESPN.com...

And this gem is from a photo caption on ESPN.com

[Tennessee Titans Safety] Cortland Finnegan and [Houston Texans Wide Receiver] Andre Johnson engaged in a full-blow fistfight late in the Texans' 20-0 victory over Tennessee. On Monday, both players were fined $25,000.

It seems so demure when you express it in a picture caption. What happened was far wilder.

Cortland Finnegan is an instigator. He loves to pick fights with receivers and on Sunday, that receiver was Andre Johnson. Finally Johnson got sick and tired of the whole thing and a fight broke out. Both players lost their helmets, but it was Finnegan who looked like a speed bag during a hard workout and Johnson was playing the role of the boxer.

By the way, Finnegan was giving up a good 4" in height and 40 pounds. You can pick all the fights you want, but look out for when they decide to fight back. Finnegan is a bully and it's just bad logic to bully someone bigger than you are.

Both players were ejected from the game and, as you read, both were also fined $25,000. Was it a just decision, well, I have another idea...

I say, as the player who got his clock cleaned, the NFL should have allowed Cortland Finnegan to set Andre Johnson's punishment. Then I believe the NFL should have doubled it and given it to Finnegan for instigating the whole thing.

Did I mention that the Johnson's team shut-out Finnegan's team? Did I mention that this is the second shut-out in the history of the Houston Texan's franchise? So true...

Hey Cortland--Don't cross the river if you can't swim the tide.