Talking with the Angels
I was having breakfast at the Skillet Restaurant early one morning when I saw Ray Harris, a family friend for many years. He is a carpenter and a master cabinet-maker. One time in particular Ray’s handiwork became a ministry to our family.
My nephew David Kreswell Suits came into the world in October 1981, the fourth of eight children born to my sister Mamie and her husband, Dr. Steve Suits. Kres was a twin. The other child, William Haynsworth Suits, was stillborn. Mamie knew immediately that something was wrong with Kres. He screamed and shook uncontrollably. Mamie could do little to console her baby boy. Several pediatricians examined Kres. An older physician suggested that Mamie and Steve take their infant son to a pediatric neurologist for an ultrasound. Read more…
Writings from Prison
When I was in seminary, I read Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl. The book chronicles his experiences as an inmate in both Auschwitz and Dachau Nazi concentration camps during the Holocaust. Frankl’s writing details the various ways inmates find meaning during imprisonment. Frankl’s words prompted me to pay attention to other important works written from a prison cell.
On Martin Luther King Day I recall some of the most profound words that have been written from behind bars. Read more…
People of the Book: The Bible and Spiritual Renewal
My wife enjoys sharing little nuggets of truth with me, and sometimes she does that by showing me comics that appear in the funny paper. One of her favorites is Hagar the Horrible. Inevitably, Hagar comes home from a battle, covered with all kinds of injuries, only to hear his wife complain about mud on his shoes or some other trivial matter.
One day last week, I returned home late at night. When Clare handed me a Hagar the Horrible comic, I read it but did not laugh or even crack a smile. She fussed, “Your job is just too hard. It takes all the humor out of you.”
I agree. Sometimes my job does seem too hard.
An experience right here on Christmas Sunday made me cherish this congregation even more. Some of you will remember that Holly, Paula, and Gail organized a wonderful service of lessons and carols, which involved the choir. Special music followed lessons from the Scriptures.
Jim Pennington prefaced the passage he was to read by saying, “I am reading the King James Version from the Bible that Preacher Mike McGee gave me when I was baptized.”
Later in that service Carla Pitman read another passage of Scripture with the use of her smart phone. I thought, I love Morningside. We have such diversity in our congregation. Both individuals read the Scripture in two very different ways.
Before I left town last week, it occurred to me that I should preach a series on the Bible. Today is the first of that series, People of the Book. We will consider the Bible and spiritual renewal for the next several weeks. Read more…
