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The delights, curses of Christmas cards

Bah humbug!! To me, Christmas cards represent the best and the worst about the holiday season. Don’t get me wrong, I love receiving them. It’s the sending part that I hate. It’s a long story. When I was a kid, my mother sent cards to only extended family and out-of-town friends. “Why would I send cards to people I see every day? I can wish them a Merry Christmas in person without wasting a card and a 3-cent stamp.” Imagine that price. I do remember buying 3-cent stamps. We received a handful of cards each year to hang on the dining room mantle. But Mom always bemoaned how ...

Methodist dispute appears to be over lost love

Almost 30 years ago, I married at Warren First United Methodist Church then headed east to start adulthood and a career. The pastors of my youth were intellectually and spiritually challenging leaders who prepared us for discernment and witnessing Christ’s love. Their faith teachings grounded me as I started work as the communication director for United Methodist Women in New York City, then the largest women’s organization in the world. In 1998, Matthew Shepherd, a young man from Wyoming was tied to a fence and beaten to death because he was gay. James Byrd, a black man from ...

View from Hickory Heights: Baking a tradition

I have always made Christmas cookies. First, at home with my grandmother, then in my apartment. By the time I had my own apartment, my grandmother no longer made cookies. I would make a batch then send some to them to enjoy. Once I was married and had my own kitchen in the trailer, I again made cookies. The children loved to help. I would put some chairs by my table and let them help. What they liked the best was licking the bowl and the beaters. My love of cookies came long before. My best friend’s mother made delicious cookies. I asked if she would give out her recipes. ...

Life is a series of meetings, partings

The minister at today’s funeral of an old friend said just that from the pulpit: Life is a series of meetings and partings. Later he paired those with happiness and sorrows, joy and suffering. And he really got me thinking. The funeral was for a lovely lady I had known since the first Christmas I lived here 44 years ago. I met Adele in our neighborhood, and she and her husband attended our first party, a trim-a-tree brunch. The admission fee was an ornament – preferably homemade. Hers was adorable, a precursor of the talents she would later display when she opened her beautiful ...

There’s more to story on painting of St. Hubert

Editor’s note: This series will connect topics between Christianity and hunting. The series will run throughout the archery and rifle deer seasons. The painting, The Vision of St. Hubert, is by William Carl Rauber in 1892. The painting, at right, depicts the moment when Hubert gazed at ...

Get children involved

“Tell me and I’ll forget. Teach me and I’ll remember. Involve me and me and I’ll learn.” Benjamin Franklin Today I want to teach you and involve you so you will learn. The season of Advent is upon us. What exactly is Advent and where did it come from? Advent is a Latin word that means “coming”. Established as early as the sixth century, it refers to the “Sunday nearest to November 30 and running to Christmas Eve”. Christians are to use this time to reflect on the coming of Jesus. Many families and churches use symbols as reminders. Advent wreaths can to ...