The festival of Epiphany, derived from a Greek word that means “an appearance or manifestation,” always falls on January 6 in the church’s liturgical calendar. Epiphany is the occasion when Followers remember the story of the wise men who supposedly came from afar to recognize Jesus as the King of kings. This story is told … Read more
One of Jesus’s best-known parables is the parable of the talents, found in Matthew 25:14-30. The story is about a wealthy man who goes on a journey and loans three of his slaves some talents (one of which was worth more than a laborer’s salary for fifteen years). The first slave receives five talents, the … Read more
In my office, I have a pile labeled Interesting where I put extracts from magazines, books, and newspapers that I’m not sure what to do with yet. Occasionally, I sort the pile into different files—or the circular file. I was sorting through this pile the other day, and I found an old, yellowed piece of … Read more
I don’t want to die now—maybe later. Right now, I’m having too much fun. In this blog post, I want to talk about the words I want used when my heart and brain stop working. I want people to say, “Bil died!” Please don’t say, “Bil passed.” I don’t like that word being used to … Read more
Advent, according to Dictionary.com, is a word of Latin origin with several similar meanings: A coming into place, view, or being; arrival. The coming of Christ into the world. The period beginning four Sundays before Christmas, observed in commemoration of the coming of Christ into the world. Second Coming. I like the first definition. The … Read more
I suspect almost everyone on earth has heard the word holocaust. The immediate association is what the German Nazis did to the Jews, gays, Gypsies, and disabled during World War II. I recently witnessed what I would call a holocaust in Israel and the Palestinian territories, of all places. Two of the definitions for holocaust … Read more
One day in a class at church, someone brought up the idea of the soul, starting a conversation about souls and what they do after we die. I listened for a while and then asked, “What is a soul?” For the next half hour, we discussed souls. Allow me to share some of the ideas … Read more
I don’t scare easily and am generally very accepting of people. However, I want to introduce you to someone who scares me and see if he scares you also. He talks with God. (Which one?) He states that the US Constitution was founded on God. (History would contradict that.) He rejects the theory of evolution. … Read more
My wife and I travel a great deal, and before we go, we always read up on the latest scams. However, my most recent scam happened last week near my home. I was going to our post-office box, and as I was about to make a left into the store, a man in a truck … Read more
Every Tuesday at 4:00 p.m., fifteen to twenty-plus people meet at our church for Bible study. The Reverend Ken Wyant, a fun and funny teacher with a great understanding of the Bible, leads the class. Almost all of us are members of Irvine United Congregational Church, but the group is open to all. After all, … Read more