Mondays are for First Snow Ramblings

Let it snow Let it snow Let it snow

Winter gave us an extra month off this year (as opposed for the “Hey welcome to Indiana we are going to start snowing the first week of November and not stop until March” welcome we received last year). But today the snow started falling and it will keep falling off and on for a couple of days. Oh well, I am prepared this year. For my birthday I got a new ski coat, some serious boots, and a new comfy sweatshirt for when I come home each day. I even have my snow blower gassed up and ready to go. Oh man, I really sound like I am from Indiana now.

Continued Disappointment

After the weekend my sports teams had I have to vent for a moment. I will do so briefly and without typing in caps.

The Skins, as awfully as they started the season should be 6-6 and trying to make a playoff push. Instead they are 3-9 and thinking about what to do in the draft and who will be doing the drafting. Yesterday’s game, however, was simply finding unbelievable ways to lose a game. I was so frustrated watching it my daughter kept trying to console me. (While patting my leg…”Daddy it is okay, no one is going to die, it will be alright, we can play games together instead of watching this.”)

The Terps had a good shot at beating a really good Villanova team but they can’t rebound and Villanova was insanely hot from 3 in the first half. They will finish 9-7 in conference and squeak into the tournament, but unless Vasquez starts making at least 40% of his shots this will be a lost season. They look better when he isn’t on the court right now.

The Wizards are simply stinky. They need Mike Miller back and they need to play some defense. I can’t believe I am putting our season on the return from injury on a white guy with a ponytail, that says enough doesn’t it.

Barna on Mainline Churches

The last 50 years haven’t been kind to mainline denominations. George Barna’s new report offers interesting insight into what is really happening in these churches. While attendance and giving numbers have not been nearly as bad as some have thought, the future is not looking bright. Attendance and giving are no longer equaling participation in the life of the church. Barna calls this “softer commitments” from those who are part of mainline congregations. Check out the study it is really interesting.

Anglicans Elect Lesbian Bishop

Intentionally ignoring the pleas of the worldwide Anglican Church, the Episcopal Diocese in Los Angeles elected Rev. Mary Glasspool as assistant Bishop. This move doesn’t surprise me, the ordination of homosexuals in the Episcopal church seems to be a decision not to be soon overturned. What grabbed me in the article was this quote from the Bishop elect.

“Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one, isolated aspect of their persons yearns for justice and equal rights,” Glasspool said in a statement, thanking the diocese for choosing her.

Any group of people who have been oppressed because of any one, isolated aspect of their persons!?!? Regardless of where you stand on the whole debate, how is our sexuality isolated from any other aspect of our lives. There are many arguments being offered around this issue, but let’s not be ridiculous. Our sexuality is an integral not isolate part of who we are. Isn’t that why scripture talks about it all the time. If it was isolated then it wouldn’t affect our spiritual walk or our emotional state or our physical well being or our soul. But we can no more isolate our sexuality than we can isolate our personality or our physical state from the rest of our person. You can have lots of conversations around this issue but that is not one aspect that there should be much conversation about.