Blog - Poverty

Last night, we learned that there will be no indictment of Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

I’m a soul and I like cake.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks, to be sure, in the news here and abroad.

So, poverty is in the news here in South Dakota.

(This blog is an adaptation of a recent presentation I gave at the Sawmill Retreat Center in Huron, OH, for a clergy and rostered leaders’ event for two combined ELCA synods.  The theme of our days together was that of discipleship).

I was fussing with the idea of re-posting this blog this week, but then a friend of mine made reference to it today, and I viewed it as a sign that maybe I should just as well go ahead and do it for the third year running.

Many years ago, my Grandma Madsen got fired from the Brookings South Dakota jail.

I was listening, the other day, to a man on the radio who said that he advocated “Value Based Voting.”

Below is the text of August 12th’s sermon for Springdale Lutheran.  The texts are below the sermon, and were captured at http://bible.oremus.org.

John Westerhoff wrote:
“Stewardship is what we do after we say we believe, that is, after we give our love, loyalty, and trust to God, from whom each and every aspect of our lives comes as a gift. As members of God’ s household, we are subject to God’ s economy or stewardship, that is, God’ s plan to reconcile the whole world and bring creation to its proper end.” (Grateful and Generous Hearts, Atlanta: St. Luke’s Press, 1997, p. 20.)
I know that I’ve blogged about Westerhoff’s words before.

We just returned from two weeks Florida, the children and I.

Question:
I was brought up being told that God is everywhere, and all powerful, that those who seek shall find, and that it is quite possible to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, while fearing no evil.

Next Monday we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I remain unable to let go of the irritation I feel at myself that I did not think of the name of this strange venture of mine, namely OMG: Center for Theological Conversation.

We get the Atlantic at home, and gracing the latest cover is a patriotic Doonsebury (Zonker?) figure with the headline The Boomer’s Last Chance: They Ruined Everything, But Can Still Be the Greatest Generation.”  (October 2010)

That’s a provocative observation from theologian Sallie McFague.

So, we have not delved into the etymological well for some time, being busy with lots of good reader comments to the blog and questions!  Thanks for those, and more are always welcome!