The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage

from The Book of Common Prayer (Episcopal)
Dearly beloved,

We have come together
in the presence of God
to witness and bless
the joining together of
this man and this woman
in Holy Matrimony.
The bond and covenant of marriage
was established by God in creation,
and our Lord Jesus Christ
at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.
It signifies to us
the mystery of the union
between Christ and his Church,
and Holy Scripture commends it
to be honored among all people.

The union of husband and wife in
heart, body, and mind
is intended by God
for their mutual joy;
for the help and comfort
given one another
in prosperity and adversity;
and, when it is God's will,
for the procreation of children
and their nurture in the
knowledge and love of the Lord.
Therefore
marriage is not to be entered into
unadvisedly or lightly,
but reverently, deliberately
and in accordance with the purposes
for which it was instituted by God.

Lutherans could learn from these Catholic Nuns

The Sisters of Mercy are aging, shrinking in numbers and reorganizing in order to have enough members to keep the doors open. They wear contemporary dress and seem to be a social justice volunteer organization. On the other hand, The Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist who do wear the habit are mainly in their 20s and so many want in there is a wait list. Their focus is their prayer life and the Eucharist. The story at Catholic Pillow Fight.

Hymns for Memorial Day

We're at our cottage in Lakeside, Ohio, for the holiday week-end. Although I always load the car with more books and magazines than I'll ever read (because I'm supposed to be cleaning and preparing for the summer), I scan the cottage bookcase for neglected items. My Lakeside shelves are a bit different than those at home, and one book I have here is The Methodist Hymnal (c.1964). I picked it out of a free box at a book sale about 5 years ago. The Methodists of the 18th and 19th centuries had a huge influence through revivals and the Awakenings on all American denominations. At least until the "contemporary" music took over for Sunday worship, the hymnody of the Methodists bound us all together. The early Lutherans in America absorbed many English hymns into their tradition as they lost their European roots, particularly those written by the Wesleys. This hymnal has about 80 hymns by Charles Wesley and 8 by John Wesley.

Most hymnals have special indices and appendices to aid the musical director or pastor in planning themes. This one has a category "Memorial Day," Although nothing for July 4 or even Christmas or baptism. Since this is Memorial Day week-end (the "real" day is May 30 and there was a bill introduced about 9 years ago to restore it to that date since so many Americans have no idea what the holiday is about) I'll list them. I haven't gone through every tune and verse, but these hymns are rousing and unspecific. I think they could be sung in any country for any war dead.

Eternal Father, strong to save

Father eternal, Ruler of creation

For the might of thine arm

God of grace and God of glory

God of our father

God, the Omnipotent

Judge eternal, throned in splendor

Lord, while for all mankind we pray

Mine eyes have seen the glory

My country, 'tis of thee

Not alone for might empire

Now praise we great and famous men

O God of earth and altar

O Lord, our fathers oft have told

These things shall be

This is my song

Turn back, O man

I don't know how many hymns G K Chesterton (1874-1936) composed--he was a British critic, poet and a novelist--but I think I've read that "O God of Earth and Altar" was a response to the terrible carnage of WWI, where 5-10,000 men could be lost in one battle that won nothing. Don't quote me, because I can't find a source. He became a Roman Catholic late in life.

O God of earth and altar,
Bow down and hear our cry;
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die;
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide;
Take not thy thunder from us,
But Take away our pride.
Hymns that include no theology or Christology, no atonement, no resurrection, no gospel, can easily be sung by almost any group or nation or faith because they focus on the general condition of all mankind--faltering rulers, love of money, general nastiness, and pride.

Why Lutherans can't sing

together. These days we're having a musical style problem--our church (UALC) has four--but 200 years ago American Lutherans weren't even speaking the same language. Some Lutheran immigrants didn't have an English hymnal until the late 19th or early 20th century. Here's a very interesting history by Gracia Grindal from the archives of ICM SW Minn. WordAlone Newsletter

"The first Lutherans in this country, those who would regard the Muhlenberg tradition as their own, what became the United Lutheran Church in America (ULCA), had been here for several generations when a new wave of immigrants from Germany, Sweden and Norway began landing on American shores. These Lutherans settled in Ohio, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, and later the Dakotas. When they got here, unused to the pluralism of America, they thought the old Lutherans had been theologically corrupted by their American context which they saw, perhaps, most clearly in their English hymnals with hymns by Watts and Wesley, which these immigrants did not recognize as Lutheran.

The new immigrants did not speak English and needed hymnals in their own languages, not the English versions that members of the Muhlenberg tradition had prepared over the years. So the Germans of the Missouri Synod began producing their own materials in their own languages, as did the Ohio Synod, as did the Norwegians, Swedes, Danes, Finns, Icelanders, and Slovakians. Read the whole article.

Upside down prayer

It's a good idea to get your focus on Jesus first; then get out the laundry list. Start with the cross and resurrection. That you can pray in confidence with no doubt or hesitation.



Martin Luther said many times that prayer was hard work, more difficult than preaching. "Satan resists Christ at all points and would love to keep a person from hearing any Gospel anywhere, from believing and living and doing it. Just so he also hinders the work of prayer, keeps on from gladly praying, and makes it very difficult to get at it; for he knows well what the might and influence of prayer are, knows that Christians have no stronger protection and power against his might."

There's room for you

on the cruise to the Holy Land, March 2009. UALC folks are cruising! We are going and so are a lot of our friends--Cairo, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Haifa, Sea of Galilee, Antioch, Tarsus, Antalya, Aspendos, Perga, Ephesus, Athens and Corinth. Wow. I'm worn out already.

Luther and Religious Education

"The emphasis on Christian education is not what it once was in Lutheran circles. Some branches of Lutheranism have practically conceded all education to the state, attempting to fill the void in spiritual training with youth programs, family ministries, and the like. Some Lutheran church bodies no longer support a system for training ministers of the gospel to any great extent. Among others, support for such a system is waning rapidly.

One sometimes hears of Lutheran pastors and teachers that no longer teach the catechism to any great extent, of others that require little, if any, memory work. What would Luther say? Would he say that since times have changed, the Small Catechism is no longer relevant? Would he say that children can no longer be expected to memorize the chief parts of the catechism, or Scripture verses, or
hymn stanzas? Would he say that more important than doctrine is making children feel good about themselves, helping them realize their full potential as human beings, and keeping them entertained and happy all the time?

If Luther could speak today, it is this writer’s opinion that he would have more than a few choice words (maybe even some very colorful and shocking words) to say to our society and possibly even to many of those who bear the name Lutheran."

"If we fail to put forth our best efforts to establish and maintain Lutheran educational institutions, if we are not willing to do whatever it takes and to spend whatever is necessary to give our children and young people a Christian education, if we let our children and young people decide for themselves what to believe or
how to live, then we can be certain that the devil will quickly take over. A smattering of religious knowledge would seem to be hardly enough these days to keep our children strong in the faith. There are too many temptations, too many dangers, too many pitfalls. Add to that the concerted efforts of anti-Christian social engineers who not only seek to remove all evidence of Christianity from our society,
but who strive to portray Christianity as ignorant, repressive, and even offensive. Faced with such opposition and persecution, it is the rare young Christian who can remain steadfast unless he or she is firmly grounded in the faith."

Luther and Religious Education, by Mark Lenz, Lutheran Synod Quarterly, 46:1, 2006. Evangelical Lutheran Synod [this is not ELCA].

Is this the long awaited messiah proof for the Darwinistas?

"Australia's unique duck-billed platypus -- an egg-laying, furry animal with web feet that spends most of its time underwater -- is in fact part bird, part reptile and part mammal according to its gene map." Science News

Baptism by immersion

I don't remember exactly when I was baptised--it was either 1950 or 1951, at the Church of the Brethren on Seminary Ave. in Mt. Morris, Illinois. But I clearly remember the event, and the six weeks of study with Rev. Statler that preceded it, because we lived in another town and it meant a Sunday afternoon drive. But I didn't know this about immersion baptism:

"The plunging of an adult or an infant into the baptismal font three times is the most important moment in the baptismal ceremony, and meant to be the most moving one as well. Most of us understand that this action is associated with the Trinity. It is. But the more ancient association is with the three days Jesus lay in the tomb. This is one reason why the Church now encourages candidates for baptism to be fully immersed wherever practicable. The sprinkling of water over a catechumen's head just doesn't capture the drama which the ritual intends. But when we see a person take a breath, plunge under the water, and come up for air three times, we can powerfully see the identification between Jesus' time in the tomb and the person rising to new life in Christ."

This is from a blog at a Roman Catholic site, America, the National Catholic Weekly. There is content from the print issue, and then there is on-line only material, which is where I found the link to the two blogs, one on preaching and one by editorial staff and contributors.

An assortment of authors

It could scramble one's brain--if they weren't all pointing to Jesus. I'm reading (or dipping into) four Christian authors of totally different traditions and writing centuries apart, yet they all say much the same. Oswald Chambers (late 19th century, Baptist, Holiness), My Utmost for his Highest, particularly those daily readings that focus on intercession and the cross; St. John of the Cross (Carmelite, Roman Catholic Saint, 16th century), The impact of God; Jeremiah Burroughs (Puritan, 17th century), "Christ is all in all" (sermon); and A.C. Wieand (Church of the Brethren, founder of Bethany Seminary, mid-20th century), who drew from many traditions, The Gospel of Prayer (1953). The frayed, second hand Wieand book I've had on my shelves at Lakeside for probably 15-20 years, and yet this week-end I opened it with a fresh eye and it seemed to come alive, reading it in the context of the other writers who direct us beyond on our damaged, sinful lives and troubles to the purity and holiness of Jesus Christ. In the words of Burroughs, Wieand fits perfectly:

"That which I shall this day endeavor is to show you something of the glory of God shining in this truth: that God communicates Himself through a Mediator, through His Son. It is absolutely necessary for you to know if you would have eternal life. It is possible to be ignorant of many other truths and still be saved, but there must be something of this or there can be no salvation. The mistake in this very thing is the miscarriage and the eternal undoing of thousands upon thousands of souls. Many believe that they have need of, and can never be saved without, God's mercy. The light of nature convinces us of this. But they are ignorant of, and do not see the reality of, this truth: that God communicates His mercy through a Mediator. They miscarry and perish eternally with cries to God for mercy because they come to God, but not through a Mediator."

Oh, that there could be more substance and solid food in contemporary Christian books which seem to be so choked by anecdotal cotton candy and tangential concepts like diets or parenting or church growth or signs from the headlines. But praise God for the classics!

Sometimes Luther didn't recognize his own pirated works

When I see Luther paraphrased for this or that cause within the church--global warming, illegal sanctuary, marriage for gays, radical feminism--in such a way and useage we can't even understand the quote or source, it's good to remember it isn't new--it happened in the 16th century, too.

Greed goes to work and plays this mean trick on the publishers of my books: Others quickly reprint the productions soon after their appearance and in this way use the labor and cost of our men for their own profit. . . they pay little attention to the accuracy or the inaccuracy of their reprints. And so it has often happened to me that, reading the text of the reprinters, I have in many places not recognized my own work and have had to revise it anew. They do things in a hit-and-miss manner; their object is money." What Luther Says, vol II, Concordia (1959) p. 848

Lutherans assisting unlawful behavior

LIRS is another liberal Lutheran group--Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service stretching at the seams and borders (literally) of the faith to find someone in trouble. They don't have to look far. Among the illegals pouring into the country from central and South America, the Caribbean, and Mexico are violent criminals. Unfortunately, the police in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Diego and other cities can't do much about drug traffickers, gang violence, murders and assaults (usually against other immigrants)--because these are "sanctuary cities." LIRS has one advantage over the Sexuality/ Gendered task force group--they are better writers and their English is so clear and precise it's scary!

LIRS has one thing right in its letter and memo of 2007--the immigration system is broken (primarily because it isn't enforced, not because it is). The mess we're in now was in part created by an ungodly coalition of business, unions, civil rights activists, and churches who thwarted the call to fix the 1965 immigration law with the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, which legalized the status some 2.7 million illegals already here. As Dr. Phil would say, "How's that working for you?"

However, plan of LIRS is to promote a "new sanctuary movement" by taking a "public, moral stand," not for law enforcement at our borders, not for demanding Mexico stop using its poor as a wind tunnel to blow funds back home, not for assisting Mexico in developing its own infrastructure to help its underemployed or unemployed, not for restoring the villages that have been decimated by evil people luring workers north, not for requiring businesses obey employment laws, and not for demanding that our federal government commit to protecting our border.

The four criteria suggested in the letter, of course, refer to "families," because that's always a good hook for little old lady Bible studies--and LIRS essentially encourages Lutheran churches to harbor illegals, because they won't be prosecuted. It does provide some useful clarification to misinformation at the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law web site. As I noted--LIRS does not fall into the pit of pious, erotic, and squishy, cut and paste god-words like the sexuality task force--they actually have good research, even if I disagree with their intent. Well, I could do without the hokey phrase "prophetic hospitality," but that's as bad as they get.

I truly believe that Lutherans who want to encourage other Lutherans in illegal behavior should raise their own funding from their own pockets--reduce their tithe to their own churches (if they put their money where their mouths are)--and not ask the rest of us to pay their salaries, hire their legal consultants, and pick up the tab for their plane tickets, workshops, websites, and publications.

LIRS, with probably good intentions and a Christian heart, is nonetheless part of a huge problem--of smuggling criminals along with honest workers into the country, of winking at employers and hiring practices, of flooding our social services like schools, police and hospitals with people who don't pay taxes, of splitting up families, of a massive phony document industry, crooked politicians and union leaders hoping for more votes and members, and the list goes on and on.

Right now with the economy struggling, we're already seeing illegals going home, and not as many coming across the border. The same thing happened during the Depression with some 60% of the immigrants who came in the 1920s returning home. New Deal social programs were not accessible to them. Think about it, LIRS. What if there were no carrots to lure them here in the first place?

Martin Luther's message to the ELCA

Different time, different church structure and level of authority, but the message is the same, whether it's to the powerful papacy of the 16th century or the weak Chicago branch of Lutheranism in the 21st century.

"The focal point of Luther's conflict with the papcy--whether it was his condemnation of the sale of idulgences or other evils, the publication of his 95 theses and the explosion it created, his debate with Eck at Leipzig, his immortal defense at the Diet of Worms, his subsequent excommunication from the fold--revolved around one problem: what was to be the supreme and final authority in spiritual matters, the Church or the Word of God?" David Otis Fuller, "Valiant for the Truth," (1961) p. 99-100

Lutherans spout hot air on sexuality

but reduce their carbon footprint and accept money from George Soros. ECLA Lutherans apparently take seriously the directive by God to care for the earth (while ignoring the crown of the Creation story of one man and one woman), but have fallen for the carbon footprint scam.

"Our social statement, 'Caring for Creation: Vision, Hope and Justice,' commits us as individuals, as a worship community, and as a public church, to address the threat of global warming. I encourage all Lutherans to calculate their carbon footprints, reduce their energy consumption, and purchase carbon offset credits where appropriate," [Mary] Minette said.

The carbon footprint market was created by the Kyoto Protocol, and the developers of the schemes are all European (the biggest in England) and the auditors of the scheme are mainly Norwegians (who are sitting on their own oil cache). It's paying for the right to pollute. Of all the environmental wacko nonsense, this one has the most questionable value to the planet. Why would people who probably wouldn't fall for the e-mail story of a Nigerian royal family bank scheme fall for something as bizarre as a purchasing a permission slip to spew carbon dixide?

Meanwhile, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service partners with George Soros / Open Society Institute, a far left, anti-American organization to assist immigrants in various stages of illegal behavior.

But I commend ELCA: They have come up with at least one social statement that doesn't use the word "poverty."

Lutherans within the ELCA synod

who are concerned about the direction are saying"

"ELCA churches and members are turning to authorities other than the authority of God’s Word, revealed in his risen Son, Jesus Christ, and in his inspired Word in the Holy Scriptures. The other authorities – human experience, wisdom and tradition – are used to turn aside the authority of God’s Word. The weaknesses within the ELCA – ecumenical agreements that compromise on significant biblical and confessional truths, the teaching and preaching of universalism, a decline in the proper mission of the church (global missions and new mission starts) and the push for approval of sexual relationships outside of marriage to name just a few – are symptoms of the deeper problem within the ELCA, the crisis over the authority of God’s Word." Word Alone

"In the past 16 years the ELCA lost approximately 466,000 baptized members from the 5,240,739 members reported in 1990, Almen said. More than two-thirds of the decline occurred between 2002 and 2006, (97,559 members from 1988 - 1995, 90,612 from 1996-2001, and 325,674 members from 2002 - 2007) . . ." [The ELCA committed to the Sexuality study in 2001 under the leadership of Bishop Hanson] Fred Seling (member of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Smithville, Ohio)

"After careful and prayerful consideration, the members of Lutheran CORE have concluded that those seeking changes in the Church’s understanding of human sexuality have not met, and almost certainly cannot meet, their burden of showing that those changes are consistent with the foundational tenets of the Christian faith." Lutheran Core

"I don't know what our congregation (UALC) is waiting for--it took this sexuality task force seven years to write a mish-mash and hodge podge and submit it to the people of God as a serious work. Every paragraph looks like the sentences were drawn from a hat of former reports and pasted to a page. It is an insult to our common sense and a travesty of our faith. It's time to go. It really is. These people will not back down; they'll just wear us out." Norma

Our Children's Ministry

My intention was to ask some questions, but instead I just picked up the April 1 Council Meeting Minutes and found that the Children's Ministry had been the subject of a report, so I'll just mention here what was reported.

Russ Nagy* directs the Discipleship Ministries of UALC, and the Children and Student Ministries are under him. Russ is a layman, not a pastor, but is paid staff. He has been teaching youth and adult Bible studies for as long as I've been attending the church. He says the vision for these ministries is "Grow up strong in God's Word and Truth." UALC's Children's Ministry involves 6 paid staff, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of kids, according to Russ. It has the traditional things like Confirmation classes, VBS, Sunday School and Youth groups--but today's kids are much more interested in experience than knowledge. Regular attendance isn't particularly valued by children or parents, and they might float between different churches with only nominal influence from UALC (I'm paraphrasing.) Numbers are down in the traditional offerings, but up in over all contacts (called "touches"). Some kids the staff see only once; others, hundreds of times. The staff believes "'touches' educate, comfort, inspire, encourage, and proclaim Christ's forgiveness."

The 1970s were the "glory years" of UALC's Luther League, according to Russ (we began attending in 1975 when our children were little, but I had my eye on that youth program which was really terrific). The current program, Genesis, is well attended but not like it was 35 years ago--but he thinks the newer programs to involve more parents are a positive change. He is always looking for more "touches" and more volunteers.

Other members of the staff reported that there are home groups, luncheon meetings with high school kids, and small groups for girls. Joy Peterson is in charge of the below middle-school children, and she noted that the programming differs between Lytham Road Campus (original location of UALC) and Mill Run (opened in 2000), but doesn't give specifics. I attend Lytham which has two traditional services (also one contemporary and one high-energy called x-alt), so perhaps the Lytham Sunday School reflects the families who attend there. 4th and 5th graders have "Funky Fridays." 6th graders have their own small groups. The two locations have separate children's choirs. A layman, Mike Mills (don't know if he is staff or volunteer), is in charge of pre-confirmation classes, for 7th graders. Some of the notes in the minutes were so cryptic, I'm not sure what they mean, but it looks like there is an after school Bible club at Windermere Elementary School, and if it's in this report, I'm assuming it is sponsored by UALC. The VBS theme this year (which draws between 2500-3000) is "Hope--Above and Beyond." It is a Narnia type theme and is being written by Tony Auseon.

I don't think I'm reading between the lines if I see some hint that the staff--paid and volunteer--are swamped with casual, not particularly deep contacts, with kids who don't return or only come around occasionally. Could it be the "business model" they use from Purpose Driven Church doesn't meet our needs at UALC? Perhaps that's not be best model for equipping young people to meet today's challenges.

*Russ is also a well-known musician. His band played for our daughter's wedding, and my husband hired him to come to the house on my 50th birthday to serenade me with his trombone (my instrument). He and his brother Joel composed and published Christian music. My son-in-law's mother was his choir director when he was a little boy!

When sin is left out of the message

Scott has noticed something missing in the lectionary:

"At the church where you worshiped April 20, was the second lesson I Peter 2:2-10? Did you wonder why the text started with verse 2, rather than at the beginning of the chapter? Was the text read from a Bible or off a Scripture insert in the bulletin?

I ask those questions, because, over the years, I have begun to analyze the lectionary more carefully, noting especially what is *not* included. I have learned to pay particular attention whenever the appointed readings skip an odd verse or two, because very often the verses that are left out are those that declare judgment against sin--the voice of the Law. The bad news of our sinful nature and condemnation before God is too often carefully removed, so that only the good news of salvation remains. When those lessons are read from Scripture inserts, it is easy not even to notice the actual citation and so not realize that the readings have been abridged in that way."

It's not just missing from the lectionary. It's also missing from the Sunday School take-homes at my church. Last Sunday's Hands-On Bible Curriculum (see April 21 entry) Bible verse was James 4:8a, "Come close to God, and God will come close to you." No, this isn't the Thomas Jefferson Bible. The writers just left out some very telling details that put this into perspective. Verse 7 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The other half of verse 8 says, "Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Religious instruction and curriculum

I don't recall what I was looking for yesterday but I came across a 41 page Roman Catholic outline for religious instruction of children produced by the Religious Education Office of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City. There's no information on the document about who uses it--the schools, the parents, or the churches. Also no information if this is a document in general use or if that archdiocese created it. It's simply an outline, but it is amazing in its depth. If anyone, child or adult, systematically used this guide, she would have a seminary education (although I don't actually know what's offered in seminary) without all the psychology and sociology extras.

The general outline for 5th grade is, I. Creed--students will demonstrate understanding of the core of Catholic beliefs; II. Sacraments--students will learn the importance of sacraments in their life (Lutherans only have 2, so we're unfamiliar with some of these like penance and holy orders); III. Christian living (discipleship, human dignity, human interaction/sexuality). See pages 18-19.

I couldn't help but compare that to a curriculum our church uses from Group Publishing, called Hands On Bible. I don't teach Sunday School so I don't know what additional material the teachers receive from the education department to use with the material given to the children. Yesterday's handout sheet "Dealing with Family Crises, Week 8" for take home for Grades 5 & 6 included "Discussion Starters" and "Family Building projects" for kids only, for parents only, and for the family to use together. There is one snippet of a Bible verse on the page, a very short 3 paragraph story, and some genderless cartoon people who have huge saucer shaped heads, bodies and hair, but the rest is obscure. The story, as told by a 15 year old, was about an alcoholic father, a marriage that was a mess, and the dad becoming a Christian after the mother dragged him to church.

"But after my dad became a Christian, he stopped drinking. He stopped yelling and started smiling! He has a bunch of friends in our church now. He hasn't had a drink in over 5 years! My parents still have their problems, but they are really working together to make our family better. My dad is a different person, and I know it is because God is real and has healed him. As a result, I have become a Christian, too, and I am so thankful that God has brought the same happiness in me that he has given my parents."

I have no idea what the teachers had to work with or if the class discussion dealt with family crises. But I can see a few holes in the story, things that might raise more problems than it solves. I hope they didn't have to deal with 20 eleven year olds sharing about their family problems. I don't know if the students received any Bible stories in class for content. I'll ask. You can't judge a whole program on one handout--even one that is as disappointing as this one.

Clutter

We prayed over every aspect of this building, but forgot to ask, "Lord please save it from clutter." It's been open about eight years. I just hate to see it get filled with clutter everywhere you turn. If a display (not a piece of art) is up longer than 2 or 3 months, it becomes wallpaper, and loses its message. Our missions display has an important message, but has been up over 2 years.

This is what it looked like in 2006.
This is what it looked like last week.
It must have been extremely difficult to attach these since there is no hanging system in the Narthex, so I suspect they will stay until the building falls down. I was in one of the classrooms behind this wall last week (after I'd taken the photograph) and said to another woman that I thought the wall in the Narthex was too cluttered with flags and posters (there are also flags representing the local schools). She had no idea what I was talking about. She had forgotten what was there and she attends church there every week. As I said, 2 to 3 months, and then it's wallpaper. I don't attend church at MR so I notice it when I come in, but not in a positive way.

I've never been sure why coat rooms have fallen out of favor in new public buildings, because free standing coat racks just turn the halls into coat storage in cold weather, or storage for empty hangers in warm weather. You can imagine what the halls look like when people are in the building on a cold day.

And it isn't unique to this building (The Church at Mill Run). Today I took some materials over to our Lytham Road campus and on my way out the door I heard some lovely music from the sanctuary. I slipped in and sat down in the back. The bright sunlight was dancing through the stained glass windows. When my eyes adjusted to the dark, I realized someone in the balcony was working with the sound equipment. But it was so lovely and peaceful I just stayed and listened. As my eyes adjusted I could see about 2/3 of the chancel--the other 1/3 was covered by the large screen dangling from the ceiling, as it is every Sunday worship. These ubiquitous screens appear in churches all over the country, blotting out the design, windows, altar or art of the front of the sanctuary or chancel. And for what? So people can clap or raise their hands. What about the eyes?

Pro-choice Yalies must be proud

She says she didn't do it for shock value, or to scandalize, and I believe it. Nothing pro-choice people do shocks me anymore. Seen at James Taranto's column, April 17

Blood and Ivy
The Yale Daily News reports on what can only be described as a sick joke:

Art major Aliza Shvarts '08 wants to make a statement. Beginning next Tuesday, Shvarts will be displaying her senior art project, a documentation of a nine-month process during which she artificially inseminated herself "as often as possible" while periodically taking abortifacient drugs to induce miscarriages. Her exhibition will feature video recordings of these forced miscarriages as well as preserved collections of the blood from the process. . . . Shvarts insists her concept was not designed for "shock value."

"I hope it inspires some sort of discourse," Shvarts said. "Sure, some people will be upset with the message and will not agree with it, but it's not the intention of the piece to scandalize anyone." . . .

Shvarts emphasized that she is not ashamed of her exhibition, and she has become increasingly comfortable discussing her miscarriage experiences with her peers.

Women abort babies for lots of reasons--they don't like the daddy, it's not a good time, mama told them to, or they're on a power trip. Why not abort for art? Maybe this could be like that shoe exhibit for murdered Jews--sort of a memorial to the 50 million legally aborted babies in the U.S. (I'm not sure of the number--sort of lost track after 30,000,000). Imagine what her parents must be feeling--"We paid over $100,000 for this?" Or her instructors. "Was it something I said?"