Category Archives: Faith

The Supposed “War on Christmas”

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OK… let’s get a couple things straight here.

[-] There is not a vast left-wing conspiracy to secularize Christmas.Â? At least, there isn’t a conspiracy to secularize it any more than it already is.
[-] Not every person on this planet celebrates Christmas.Â? Thus, “Happy Holidays” is sometimes the better choice, especially since you normally can’t tell who is Jewish or Wiccan at this time of year.
[-] There is no religious significance to a Christmas tree.Â? There is nothing Scriptural about it.Â? It’s a pagan custom that was integrated into Christianity and is now a secular part of the holidays.Â? Ditto with the yule log, miseltoe, and holly.

Having said that, I’d like to tell my fundie Christian and Orthodox Jewish blogging friends who are up in arms over the holiday trees being taken down at Sea-Tac to CALM DOWN.Â? Sea-Tac was *not* trying to discriminate against the Chabad rabbi who requested permission to put up an electric menorah.Â? Likewise, taking the trees down was not an assault on Christmas — rather, it was trying to neutralize the situation because there was a lawsuit being threatened.

To the rabbi who started this mess: your timing was not good.Â? With the increased holiday traffic going through Sea-Tac, getting the menorah up would have been a logistical nightmare.Â? If you had gone to them in October and asked, I think the board of directors would have been more than happy to accomodate you.

Sea-Tac has actually said that they will start figuring out a way to exhibit holiday symbols for all religions celebrating December holidays next year.Â? Maybe the rabbi could work with the board on that, maybe donate a small menorah so that there could be a display that includes a creche, an Advent wreath, a menorah, some kinte cloth, and a yule log or something?

Or… perhaps we could find some neutral decorations like a wreath in a peace sign with candles since this is a season where we’re all praying for peace.

Let’s just please not make this a season of lawsuits and backbiting over whether it’s more appropriate to say “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas”.

All I Want For Christmas Is Some Sheep!

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OK… a few people have asked what I want for Christmas. My answer: I’d really like a lamb or sheep donated to the Heifer Project. They’re an awesome organization and I’d love it if people would support them in my honor this year at Christmas.

My Heifer.Org registry is here. Choose “Sheep” and donate as many shares of a sheep as you want. Just please send me an e-card so that I know what’s been done, OK?Â? The address is jen-at-grace-filled-dot-net.

Thanksgiving Prayer

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Almighty God our Father, your generous goodness comes to us new every day.Â? By the work of your Spirit lead us to acknowledge your goodness, give thanks for your benefits, and serve you in willing obedience; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.Â? Amen.

Freezing Body Parts Off

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We had serious frost yesterday morning so I had to go scrape the car off while Jon was doing the 8:00 service.Â? This is a tip: do not scrape ice off a car with an expired credit card unless you have mittens on.Â? My fingers were not happy with me.

After two worship services, I went to the local prison and worshipped with Jon.Â? It was interesting going into the prison after seeing all the MSNBC shows.Â? Chapel started late because the count was late but it was awesome.Â? Probably 30-40 guys showed up and we all had a great worship time despite not having musicians and having to sing acapella.Â? I’m going through training in November to be a religious volunteer.

I had a dream about going to Nebraska for some strange reason last night.Â? I think I’ve been listening to too much Lime n’ Violet.

My Theological Worldview

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You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan. You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God’s grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan
 
89%
Neo orthodox
 
86%
Roman Catholic
 
71%
Reformed Evangelical
 
57%
Emergent/Postmodern
 
50%
Fundamentalist
 
46%
Charismatic/Pentecostal
 
36%
Classical Liberal
 
7%
Modern Liberal
 
7%

What’s your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

(ganked from Pisco)

My Day (Other Than Needing a Cloak)

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Jon and I worshipped at the Episcopal Cathedral downtown this morning and it was lovely.Â? (Pisco, stop dancing around with joy.Â? You look like a dork!)Â? We sat apart (mostly so I could have the experience of worshipping anonymously without being distracted) and it actually worked out well.Â? I was able to do about 90% of the liturgy (including music) without looking at the prayerbook (they used a Sanctus that I hadn’t sung before) and other than not being able to get my kneeler down without it crashing (and making the handsome guy at the other end of the pew snicker), it was like being home.Â? Oh yes… unlike many Catholic cathedrals (and Mormon temples), the cathedral wasn’t HUGE — it was built kind of to a human scale.Â? The stained glass windows were also amazing — the one at the front of the altar area of the annunciation kind of distracted me with its beauty.

The sermon was also not too bad — the preacher stuck to the texts and while there were some veiled references toward same-sex marriage being approved, it was actually somewhat engaging.Â? Oh yes… I made an impression on the celebrant… by walking in the door, tripping on the step, and landing in her arms.Â? (Not that she mentioned it after the service as Jon and I were leaving.Â? Noooooo…)

After getting lunch at the Gateway Plaza, we got roundtrip rail tickets for the UTA system and headed up to Temple Square.Â? We were actually left alone by missionaries — Jon had stayed in his church clothes so he looked professional and people probably assumed that the dumpy woman with him was a convert.Â? (It’s my blog — I can rip on myself as much as I want.Â? Besides, I’m also feeling bloated and icky right now.)Â? I have to say… if the ELCA had the PR people that the LDS have, we’d be the biggest church in the USA.Â? All the missionaries on duty were impeccably dressed and very attractive young women from all around the world.Â? (TheyÂ?hadÂ?flags on their name tags and I don’t think there was a language not represented.)Â? The temple grounds were just immaculate — I would seriously go to the grounds to read or journal if I lived in SLC because it was lovely and quiet.Â? The visitor’s centers were welcoming, clean, and very light.Â? The displays were well-done and there was always someone there to answer your questions.Â? The temple itself was closed today (hellooooo Sabbath!) but I still got pictures of it from a distance.Â? It is massive — possibly on par with Westminster Abbey in terms of size and quite beautiful.Â? Unlike most temples, it actually looks like something churchy.

We rode the UTA to Sandy and back to try and see some more of the city and it was a nice ride.Â? We hit up $tarbuck$ before heading back to the motel and got to witness some SLC police officers dealing with a guy who hadn’t taken his meds and was screaming at everyone.

We’re going to do Applebee’s for dinner tonight.Â? (It’s at The Gateway Plaza and I know I can actually eat the food there unlike most places where portions are too big and the food is too greasy.)Â? God willing, I’ll make it there and back without a problem.

I get to see my kitties tomorrow!!!!!!!!!